Despite the fact they’ve made it a priority in practice the past two weeks, the Gators continue to struggle with their tackling. There were more missed tackles and broken tackles in Lexington.
“When guys are in the open field, part of that is we try to go take the big hit rather than breaking down and wrapping up,” McElwain said. “Again, it really shows up out there in the open-field misses. And part of it too is actually the angle and leverage in which we’re going, knowing where your help is. Just got to continue to do it.
“The drills (in practice) are actually rugby oriented. You think about watching a rugby game, those guys are hitting each other full speed without helmets. You know what they do a great job of? Keeping their eyes up and wrapping up. A lot of it is want to do it right. We just continue to teach that.”
Gardner is by far the worst tackler the Gator defense has seen in years. That guy just needs to work on tackling everyday all day until game day.
You guys are at the front of a twenty year plague. Good luck…
Pete – You guys are 0-2
If you’ve ever played the game you have to know that tackling is a WANT TO mentality.
There are other factors involved of course, but its mainly about getting in there and being aggressive and physical. I’ve seen teams loaded with 2 and 3 star players tackle much better than an opponent with 4 and 5 star players plenty of times.
Its mentality and focus. The coaches must be able to find and tap into that with each player.