Florida coach Billy Napier has made no bones that he desires his offense to be predicated on the bottom recreation.
It’s the identical strategy he took whereas teaching at Louisiana, the place the Ragin’ Cajuns completed among the many high dashing groups within the nation each season from 2018-21.
The Gators have been sluggish out of the gates, averaging 205 yards via the primary two video games, however what’s stood out is the distribution of the soccer. Three tailbacks are averaging at the very least 17 carries and 103 yards, led by sophomore switch Montrell Johnson Jr. (137 yards), Trevor Etienne (110) and Nay’Quan Wright (63).
“We’re very much a running back by committee group,” mentioned Napier. “That’s been our philosophy for a very long time. We’ve been among the finest dashing groups within the nation. Those gamers have gone on to play within the National Football League. Montrell, Trevor and Nay’Quan are guys which are subsequent up.
“The good thing about that room is those guys are selfless; they’ve got a great attitude and work hard each day.”
Etienne’s older brother, Travis, performed at Clemson when USF coach Jeff Scott was the Tigers’ offensive coordinator.
“He looks just like Travis did at Clemson, except I don’t know that Travis looked like that as a true freshman watching him play this past week,” mentioned Scott. “He’s already a big kind of playmaker for them.”
“Trevor, in particular, is learning more and more as a rookie player, but Nay’Quan provides leadership and Montrell is still a young player but played in our system last year,” added Napier.
Johnson was certainly one of three operating backs with at the very least 100 carries, at the very least 500 yards dashing and at the very least 8 touchdowns for Louisiana final season. The true freshman completed with a team-high in carries (162), dashing touchdowns (12), and 838 yards.
Preparing for the Swamp
One benefit Florida has been afforded via the primary two video games has been the house crowd on the Swamp.
According to the newest NCAA figures, the Gators have averaged 90,396 followers, with Ben Hill Griffin Stadium stuffed to capability.
Scott is anticipating the identical ambiance when USF takes the sphere Saturday, and the problem this week has been making ready the Bulls for what to anticipate.
“I’m looking forward to seeing how our guys handle the crowd noise,” mentioned Scott. “This will be our first road game of the year and I’m expecting it to be as loud as it always is there.”
USF has been engaged on dealing with the gang noise all through the week, attempting to recreate comparable situations by pumping in noise via audio system close to the apply fields.
“You’ve got to change up how you do your snap count,” Scott defined. “You can’t go with a verbal cadence. A lot of it has got to be eye contact with each other and sometimes hand signals. It’s just a little bit different from when you’re playing at home.”
This article first appeared on OrlandoSentinel.com. Email Matt Murschel at [email protected] or observe him on Twitter at @osmattmurschel.
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Source: www.bostonherald.com