It was only a matter of time before Florida’s offense became a topic of discussion for recruits.
After six games this season, Florida ranks 11th in the SEC in total offense, averaging 323.7 yards per game. Where does that put the Gators in the national rankings? All the way down to No. 96 in the country.
Florida State tops the state rankings coming in at 28th nationally with 439.5 yards per game. Miami is 60th (381), Central Florida is No. 70 (362.2) and Florida International is No. 81 (346.8). Florida does beat out Florida Atlantic, which comes in at No. 108 with just 298.8 yards per game.
Again showing the downfield passing game has been all but scrapped in its offense, Florida mustered just 154 passing yards and no touchdowns in the Gators’ 33-29 loss at home to LSU Saturday. A game that saw a slew of top recruits visit from around the country.
Florida 2012 wide receiver Gators verbal Latroy Pittman was in the south end zone stands with the handful of prospects and certainly noticed the offensive ineptitude.
“Guess it’s the effect of losing a great senior class and trying to find guys to take their place,” the Citra Marion County prospect said of about Florida’s struggles.
A major playmaker for Marion County, the 6-foot-1, 190-pound Pittman said watching Florida sputter on offense has turned into a concern for him, but it has also motivated to get on campus. He feels he could be a guy who is heavily relied upon early.
To Pittman, Florida’s offense is close to becoming more explosive, but there are little things hold the Gators back.
“The talent is there, the speed,” he said. “Just about every key thing they need is there, but guys just have to step up.”
With the tools quarterback John Brantley has, Pittman said he thinks he just needs to relax more in certain situations and he’ll start making more consistent plays.
“He’s stressed,” Pittman said. “He stays checking down. It’s as if he is afraid to sling it.”
Pittman, who said he’s still solidly committed to Florida, said the Gators’ failure to consistently execute on offense or make big plays could have a negative impact on recruiting, but he doesn’t think it will be major with so much of the season left to play.
What did help Florida was the energy generated from the fans during the fourth quarter of the LSU game. Pittman described the night as “crazy” and that everything was fun except for the outcome.
He also noticed the heavy amount of boos that rained down from the stands during Florida’s 10-play, 80-yard scoring drive late in the fourth. Pittman said he wasn’t negatively affected by it, but could understand the fans’ frustration.
“They felt the play-calling was not good,” he said. “It just shows the fans want to see more excitement from the offense. You can’t advertise great speed and talent, but never throw deep or have any long runs and not expect the viewers to have question and concern and frustration.”
Though he has more than a year left to go through recruiting and holds a handful of verbal offers from some of the top college programs, Pittman said he currently doesn’t have interest in visiting other schools besides Florida.
Pittman has a better grasp of what is wrong with this offense than SA. He even tells the media the truth.
Wow this kid really understands whats going on here.
“You can’t advertise great speed and talent, but never throw deep or have any long runs and not expect the viewers to have question and concern and frustration.”
True.
SA is going to cause us to lose recruits. Johnny B isn’t afraid to throw the ball its just his OC thinks like a lineman and not a QB
everyone keeps saying nice things about Brantley but frankly I haven’t seen it. He can throw but doesn’t. He can’t run and can’t scramble. And if he were a strong leader he would be pushing SA/Meyer to let it rip. I get no sense that he is pushing anyone. He really needs to make it happen. End of story.
Am I imagining this or in the last two games has Will Hill played awfully? I saw multiple, crucial tackles missed in both games.
This recruit sounds like he gets it. I think his point about JB always checking down is spot on.
Meyer is the best recruiter in the counrty IMO, and no dohbt, he’ll take to heart what Pittman said when the season is over and he’s analyzing the offense. Many say Meyer will never demote/fire Addazio, but this is a clear indicator that he will deal with this problem at season’s end.
Meyer needs to make his number one concern in the offseason of finding the next hot shot OC to fill the shoes of the departed Dan Mullen. This will bring the recruits to UF and keep the fans happy. It seems our D is in good hands, but it is not a surprise that UF is a mess with all the coaches we have lost over the past 2-3 years.
I think we better found us another offensive cordinator after this year or we will be in the same situation FSU was in when Jeff Bowden was the offensive cordinator there. The recruits will want to go where there is some good play calling
I love this kid! He’s saying exactly what just about everyone in Gatornation has been saying all season. The mystery is why can’t our coaches utilize the tremendous talent they have? Why keep calling Tebow plays when #15 is gone? Why don’t we mix up our plays, run some out of the I-formation, throw some screens and slants to our speedsters, get guys like Debose and Demps out in space where they can do damage? We have a slew of four-star receiver recruits on the team, but very few make an impact. Recruits are obviously noticing, and you can bet other schools will say, “Why go to Florida? You’ll never get the ball.” I hope Urban makes the neccessary adjustments and the players keep their hearts in it, because the season isn’t over yet!
Offensive Coordinators are creative and the best ones think outside the box. Offensive Line coaches stress fundamentals and techniques, no creativity. Future back and receiver prospects will look at the OC situation now used and look elsewhere unless playcalling duties are reassigned. Perhaps Coach Meyer will decide to be fulltime again and stop mailing it in.
Could not have said it any better myself,just what i’ve been thinking!Smart kid!
Can he be our new OC?
This kid is a junior in high school and he is analyzing Brantley as well as the overall offense? Focus on high school and let Meyer do his job.
Addazio is extremely dedicated to the program but clearly he isn’t comfortable with control of the “O”. One thing is certain, our supposed “best O-Line” since his arrival to the program isn’t helping matters. Meyer should put his personal feelings aside and put Addazio back as the O-line coach and search for a replacement immediately after the season.
the gators look like they are playing not to loose instead of playing to win just like when ZOOKER was here
why cant we take one of theses highly rated fullback and run the ball down there throats in the red zone of just saying block for the little guy lets say fullback watch some Alstott video and run over somebody
Yea, other schools are having a field day with this! I know a very highly ranked player and he is on the fence with Florida, when he should be locked in already! Alabama has closed the gap and it is starting to look not so good for UF! By the way, he plays defensive line and is only ranked #1, in the nation, at his position. If we end up loosing him, I will be one mad dude! We have got to see some changes and quickly!
If your talking about Jadaveon Clowney Ocala Gator, which im pretty sure you are im not sure we even have a shot at him, especially since we signed the #1 DE in the nation LAST year. But if we could grab him thatd be awesome
I just thought to myself that your thinking of Timmy Jernigan most likely, i have been thinking that with him its gonna come down to us and FSU, either way i can tell its either him or clowney your talking about
I hope Meyer is publicly supporting Addazio and kicking his rear end in his office for the conservative play calling that is limiting Brantley’s progress and all the talented players on the offensive side of the ball. Some of them need to step up to make big plays, and not just on dunk passes that Addazio nearly limits himself to these days.
I also hope he is all over him for the lack of development of the offensive line….
Question…..why is Addazio a coach on the Florida team? Seems to me he should be coaching a high school team somewhere.
it,s time coach meyer changes the offense to the player he has also its time for Pouncey to step up and be the leader of the O-line. Because if he doesn’t show up on a couple of saturdays those coaches on sundays are noticing where he wont be at next year
Everyone needs to face reality: Addazio is in over his head. How many OL coaches out there are also OCs? Anyone else? There is a reason why most OCs and certainly the best OCs were either QBs, WRs, or RBs. They have an attacking, aggressive mind set. They want to score early and often. I’m sure Addazzio wants to score early and often too, but he lacks the attacking, offensive mindset of an OC who actually have a long background of personally moving the ball and scoring. Look at Spurrier, former QB, never really had a game plan, simply looked at a defense, saw the holes, and attacked. Don’t take my word for it, call Doug Johnson on AM 850 on any Thursday show and ask him. Do any of you honestly think that is what Addazio is doing? He reminds me a little of another former OL guy, Phil Fulmer. Sure Fulmer won an NC, as his recruiting suffered and alumni bailed on football. Remember how that worked out for Fulmer? No, Fulmer is not the right comparison, for me it is Jeff Bowden! An OC that has offensive production down by almost all stats and a special relationship with a head coach who shelters him from the storm. With our talent Addazio will limp along and win more than he loses, yet make the likes of LSU look good year in and year out. Everyone better buckle up, it is going to be a rough ride. But just like Fulmer, the ride will be comical, and just like Jeff Bowden, it will end in as a farce. Question: Where is Jeremy Foley? Soon his reputation will suffer as well. Any how, Go Gators, beat MSU! You can boo if you want to!
Need to pass first and run second. The dink stuff doesn’t do it and you need to have time to throw it deep. Mid-range stuff 10-15 yards down the field would be terrific. Johnny will hit them and you don’t need to stand back there all day while they are sending the kitchen sink after you. Look at where are big plays have been (other than Demps) and it’s the mid-range stuff that we only call once in a while. Mix it up…..the Wisconsin offense is more exciting than ours. Go Gators!
At least a couple of message boards, citing a post from the Only Gators web-site, are saying that A.C. Leonard, who apparently attended the LSU game this weekend and was not impressed, has said that UF is now out as a choice for him.
Rooferman, how can you come down that way on Chris Rainey without ever having spoken to him.
As a fair judge, wouldn’t you have to do that?
We need to do this, we need to do that. What we need is to get behind our team and staff and give them our full support during this tough time. I remember when Urban announced he was resigning and my heart sunk. He is stuck on an offense that doesnt seem to fit right now, but I for one have confidence he will get it right. And I will stand firm behind him until that happens. All of the complaining wont fix anything. Go Gators!
4 star TE A.C. Leonard decommited from UF today … attended the UF/LSU game, left very unimpressed and now the Gators aren’t even in the picture. “You can’t advertise great speed and talent, but never throw deep or have any long runs and not expect the viewers to have question and concern and frustration.” Wow Coach … we love you but please wake up before things really start spiraling out of control.
Addazio has to go at the end of the season. Loyalty is a 2-edged sword. Coach Meyer needs to learn that over-protecting an associate with whom he has had a long relationship can come back to haunt him and his program. Move Addazio back to being the OL position coach and bring in a fresh mind as OC. Also, just what the hell good is Scott Loefler, the QB coach? I didn’t see Tebow taking snaps under center last year and he was still winding up and chucking the ball from just above his ankles. I don’t see anything out of Brantley except a guy throwing a lot of short, sometimes medium range passes, but never seemingly emotionally involved as far as providing leadership. If Tebow was still here, his O linemen would have caught it pretty good from him starting early in the Miami game with those bad snaps and sloppy play. The biggest issue the Gators have is an OC who doesn’t get it and a lack of leaders on the team. One or two guys willing to step up and lead might make a big difference. Playing to the best of your ability and getting beat is honorable but playing half-ass and getting beat is disgraceful.
I just couldnt help responding one more time. I am sad about loosing any good potential recruit. I hope its not contagious. But the more we as fans complain and fill the boards with our negative views, the more these guys will catch the infection. We all know there are problems, but are we only fans when we are winning or are we true fans? Lets quit the negative and start looking for something positive. Go Gators!
On board completely with the Adazzio thing, I hate the play calling. I also am one of those guys that is not on board with the John Brantley is a great QB thats being held back by Addazio’s play calling. Brantley has not shown up to his job either. He’s not as good as advertised as I see him, he does not look like a QB that can run a big time program like this one. I know he is a local boy and dad was a Gator, but Jr. is just not cutting the mustard. To the guy that says oh this kid Pittman is just a high school junior, what does he know? Open YOUR mind and look at what the kid is saying, he is a highly regarded recruit and thats how he see the state of the Florida program as it stands right now. Don’t think other kids vision is blurred to the point that they don’t see the same thing.
Dan, because people express their opinion and its not all peaches and cream does not mean they are not supportive of the gators or the program. They are just supportive Gators with an opinion. It may not to your liking but its their opinion and if every one on the board had the same opinion there would be no need for this type of site. The recruits watch ESPN, they are negative to Programs in their reporting, you don’t think they are influenced by those comments? Be a realistic Gator supported, we support the Gators as you do, we just have opinions and this is a medium to express them.
Al: I am not down on Rainey personally, he is just the most recent in a long line of arrests on the Gator team. Let us not forget he threatened to kill a fellow human being. It is not like under 21 and drank a beer. This is serious stuff. Al, why aren’t you down on all the arrests we’ve had on the team? When does it stop? 31 arrests is enough!
Creek Gator, couldn’t agree with you more. Dan, just as it’s not un-patriotic to occasionally criticize the US government, it’s not being a bad Gator to occasionally voice displeasure at some aspect of the football program. That doesn’t mean we don’t support UF and Urban. I’m sure Urban has forgotten more about football than I’ll ever know, but it seems like these days, there are some obvious issues that need to be corrected. When hoops season starts, I’m sure I’ll find problems with Billy D’s decisions on this or that. Doesn’t mean I’d want any other coach in the nation to lead our program. Go Gators!
We all feel differently about what to do to fix the problems and many people have some great ideas. I trust our coach to find the answers. He didnt get to where he is using bad judgement. I know most of you are true supporters, but I do get tired of hearing about the problems. Maybe I shouldnt get involved in these discussions. No hard feelings. GO GATORS!
I love the way they rank teams under the same list who play drastically different schedules. Comparing UF’s offensive output, against an SEC schedule, to FIT’s offensive output, which plays teams with players whom no decent team wanted, isn’t just not comparing apples to apples; it’s not even comparing apples to oranges. It’s actually much closer to comparing apples to horse manure.
I wonder a bit about kids who give up on a program just because of a bad year, bad game, or even a bad stretch. Makes me question their heart. It’s easy to play for a powerhouse full of seniors and winning. It takes guts and great heart to go to one that is struggling. I think Urban needed his time away, I just wonder if what got him to the pinnacle has been misplaced somehow. Unfortunately with all the coaching and player changes, this is one season when full time and then some was what was really needed. I really hope it all gets figured out– Love them Gators!
Our offense is so predictable my wife who knows very little about football can predict 75% of the play calling. Dive play up the middle, run to the outside or dink pass and pray that is all that is called most of the game,it’s very frustrating watching this. Why as a recruit would you come to Florida.