Florida Gators Football: Jim McElwain Wants UF More Physical Up Front
The Florida Gators football team just completed another strong season under head coach Jim McElwain, but he’s already looking towards the future.
The Florida Gators football team enters the 2017 offseason with reason for confidence and intrigue. It dominated the Iowa Hawkeyes in the Outback Bowl, won a second consecutive SEC East title, and has the potential to make a splash in recruiting.
Regardless of whom the Gators land on the recruiting trails, the goal in Gainesville is to remind opposing teams that Florida is one of the titans of the SEC.
The SEC has made its name by being the most physical conference in all of college football. The teams that fail to reflect such a strength often struggle to live up to their potential as championship contenders.
According to Ryan Young of SEC Country, head coach Jim McElwain wants the offensive line to become more physical for the 2017 season.
"“One thing I will tell you, going through this offseason, we’ll become a lot more physical up front than we were this year, and I’m looking forward to getting Swamp Life going,” McElwain said."
Swamp Life is a strength and conditioning program that McElwain hopes will help the offensive linemen prepare for 2017.
"“We got our skill players out in the open a little bit. I don’t think we did enough,” he said of the win Monday. “We’ve got good skill players, but we’ve got to develop a mentality up front that says we’re not going to be denied, and that’s going to happen over this offseason.”"
In other words: McElwain is proud of what his team accomplished in 2016, but knows they’re capable of more.
Florida will return two of the best linemen in the country in offensive tackles Martez Ivey and Jawaan Taylor. It’s also added a pair of four-star recruits in Kadeem Telfort and T.J. Moore, as well as physical blocking tight end Kemore Gamble.
With running backs Jordan Scarlett and Lamical Perine returning to Gainesville for the 2017 season, the personnel exists for physical dominance.
McElwain is hoping to establish that power and physicality before the start of the 2017 season.
Florida is hoping to improve at quarterback after struggling in virtually every season of the post-Tim Tebow era. Luke Del Rio will return to Gainesville in 2017 and the likes of Jake Allen, Feleipe Franks, and Kyle Trask are underclassmen with intriguing upside.
The key to those players achieving success at the next level will be discovering consistency along the offensive line.
Must Read: Duke Dawson will return for his senior season
Even after a strong and rewarding season, the ambition remains strong in Gainesville.