Coach Billy Napier’s front five delivered their most dominant performance yet, as Bryce Lovett’s surge at tackle provides critical protection for Florida’s newly minted starting quarterback.
On Monday, Florida Gators head coach Jon Sumrall revealed Georgia Tech transfer Aaron Philo won the right to start in Week 1 against FAU.
The starting quarterback job was one of the most important battles in training camp this summer, but it was hardly the only one keeping Sumrall up at night.
During the first scrimmage of the summer, Sumrall said he was worried about the play of his offensive line, especially at tackle.
During his news conference on Monday, Sumrall said Florida is "close" to seeing what it wants at tackle. He praised Bryce Lovett for his play over the last week.
"I've had more concern up until this past week on the O-line," Sumrall said, via USA Today. "The O-line played their best scrimmage, their best football Saturday night since I've been here. I was freaking jacked.
"I was excited. Bryce Lovett, man, y'all asked about him a week ago. I've challenged him. Our staff's challenged him. He's responded. I think he has really elevated at tackle. He's played a lot of guard. He's played some tackle."
The Gators need the offensive line to be efficient in run blocking, helping to aid star running back Jadan Baugh. Sumrall liked what he saw from the most recent scrimmage in that regard.
"We've worked most of the week with that first five together, so you're starting to create cohesion and then have confidence in each other and how they're working combination blocks," Sumrall said. "I feel like sometimes people don't understand how hard it is for that group to play as one, how challenging it is.
"Targeting things in the run game or the pass pro, having things up the right way is harder than people realize, especially when you're playing our defense and we're doing 9000 things up front — there's a lot of moving parts. But I think they're gaining confidence."
With an inexperienced Philo starting at quarterback, the Gators need the offensive line to excel at run blocking, especially to start the season.
The offensive line was a worry for Sumrall during the spring and the early part of training camp. It looks like the Gators are improving in that area with less than two weeks to go before the start of the regular season.
