Kenny Carter Leaves, Stan Drayton Arrives (Again)
If you hear a rumor enough times, it seems to end up being true more often than not. During the last recruiting cycle, rumors started to spread about Plant’s (Tampa, FL)
Aaron Murray
choosing
Georgia
over
Florida
. Few believed the speculation because the star quarterback was thought to always favor the Gators. But sure enough, he committed to the Bulldogs. That’s not to say you should always believe the rumors, just to take heed when you hear the same one over and over again.
Earlier this week, rumors spread like wildfire stating running backs coach Kenny Carter would be joining Charlie Strong at Louisville. Current Gator commit Mack Brown said Carter told him as much. No one wanted to believe Carter would leave for a similar position at a (sorry Cardinals’ fans) smaller program. But he did. Carter left and Florida needed a replacement.
More rumors began to spread about exactly who that replacement would be. Stan Drayton’s name was pushed to the forefront and many couldn’t believe it. Why would Urban Meyer hire back a guy Florida let go after the 2007 season? A guy who didn’t exactly praise the Gators on his way out? The rumors didn’t make sense, but in the end they were true. Drayton will return to Florida to coach the running backs.
Before you get too deep into “but didn’t Florida not want this guy only a few years ago?” and “why would he ever be brought back?” take a look at what Drayton did and had to work with during his previous stint with the Gators.
Drayton came to Florida in 2005. The year before, Ciatrick Fason had an outstanding year in which he ran for 1,267 yards and 10 touchdowns after which he decided to enter the NFL Draft. Fason’s departure left the Gators with a returning unit that had no player carry the ball more than 58 times during 2004. Florida played in 13 games that season, meaning the leading returning ball carrier only averaged 4.5 carries per game the prior year. Due to that, and a new head coach and offensive philosophy, the run game struggled during 2005. It had its moments, but for the most part took a step back. But that should’ve been expected as the Gators adjusted to the new offense.
In 2006, the Gators won the National Championship in part due to a running game that gained nearly 500 more yards and ran for five more touchdowns than the previous season. The team’s top seven rushers all averaged at least 4.8 yards per carry. Although Florida wasn’t considering a “running” team, the unit did its part.
2007 would be Drayton’s final year with the Gators. It was a season that saw the team gain over 350 more rushing yards than it did in 2006 and up its run TD total from 24 to 39. Yes, a large part of that surge was due to a quarterback named Tim Tebow carrying the ball 210 times, but didn’t Drayton at least have something to do with that? It was Meyer’s offense, but you would think the running backs coach at least had something to do with all aspects of the run game regardless of who’s carrying the ball. Especially when it comes to plays designed to be a run.
The year after Drayton left, the running game seemed to take a leap forward. The three true running backs that carried the ball at least 58 times a piece all averaged over 7.2 yards a carry. Many seem to attribute this to a new coach and going away from the Drayton’s approach to the unit. Not to take anything away from Carter and his accomplishments as a Gator assistant, but he had Jeffery Demps, Emmanuel Moody, and Chris Rainey. Drayton didn’t.
So maybe Drayton’s return isn’t such a bad thing. Maybe he’s a better coach then we think. Maybe he knows the system and has worked with some of the other coaches before and will offer the smoothest transition in. Maybe he’s a great recruiter (which he is…then again, as One Eyed Willy says “it’s Florida, aren’t all the coaches at programs like this great recruiters?”). Maybe Drayton 2.0 will be received better than the first incarnation. We’ll find out soon enough.