Though he was unsatisfied with the outcome, coach Will Muschamp understood the shortcomings that plagued the Florida offensive line during his first season in Gainesville in 2011.
Now in his third year, a lack of better results has him mystified.
“I just don’t think we’ve performed as well as we need to, there’s no question,” Muschamp said Wednesday. “First year, we were a little handcuffed as far as where we were and what we were trying to do. But certainly this year, I felt like we would have played a little better.”
The Gators have allowed 17 sacks this season, third worst in the SEC. More troubling is the regression that has occurred and the affect it is having on quarterback Tyler Murphy, who has not thrown in practice this week because of an injured shoulder.
Muschamp said Murphy will begin throwing again next week and “should be fine.”
Florida’s line functioned as little more than a turnstile while allowing 10 sacks and 13 hurries in SEC road losses to LSU and Missouri the past two weeks. As a result of the poor protection up front, the Gators’ offense has grinded to a halt.
Against LSU, Florida managed 240 yards of total offense but failed to reach the end zone. The offense deteriorated further last weekend, mustering just 151 yards — the program’s fewest in a game since the 1999 season — while falling to last in the SEC.
“We’ve underperformed, obviously,” Muschamp said. “We’re better than what we put on the field, the last two weeks especially.”
Muschamp attempted to counteract the struggles of the line by shuffling the unit around prior to Saturday’s game.
Max Garcia, who had started at left guard, rotated to left tackle. Replacing Garcia at guard was reserve Kyle Koehne and starting left tackle D.J. Humphries was on the bench.
After little noticeable improvement against Missouri, Muschamp now is wondering what other choices he has.
One option to begin patching up some of the holes is to move Tyler Moore inside, which would limit his susceptibility to being beat around the edge. Another is to pull red-shirts off freshmen, such as Octavius Jackson, which is something Muschamp has done at other positions already this season.
“We need to settle on five and let those guys play,” Muschamp said. “Get them playing faster, get them playing with more confidence, get them playing the way they’re capable of playing.”
Kelvin Taylor would be a direct beneficiary of improved line play. Muschamp admitted the Gators got away from giving the ball to Taylor too early against Missouri. Florida’s third-year coach wants to continue getting the true freshman from Glades Day more involved in the offense.
“We need to do a better job across the board,” Muschamp said. “When you’re not producing, you can’t continue to do the same things or you’ll get the same result.”
About the Author
