Say what you will for Jon Sumrall, but he is seldom satisfied even after a win. Some might think that’s being performative but history shows that the coaches who are never satisfied are the ones who get the most out of their players.
So even after a massive SEC road win to move to 3-0 on the season, Sumrall knows there is one area that has to get better as Florida gets ready to prepare for Ole Miss.
Florida’s secondary called into question after Auburn win
Florida gave up 39 points to Auburn and were still able to get a win. That’s great news for Florida’s offense, but we are assuming the defensive film room wasn’t as fun. It is true that Florida was the victim of a couple of highly questionable calls combined with Auburn getting away with holding on virtually every play, but the level of play from the secondary felt lacking once again.
Sumrall was asked about the state of his secondary and he didn’t mince words when talking about the improvements that need to be made:
“What's frustrating is I could make an eight-to-ten play cut-ups of some coverage stuff from Saturday night's game, and you're like, man, we look really good. Like, how about Cormani (McClain’s) pick? Like, really good. There was some great play in there.
Then there were, I could make eight to ten more. The last touchdown they had makes me want to puke watching it. Just really bad football. And so what we have to understand is in this game, at this level, as we move on to this opponent this week, the margin for error for us is so much smaller.”
We noted last week, and were backed up by Brad White later on, that Florida’s secondary just didn’t feel like they were competing for the ball enough. They have been in a decent enough position more times than not, but when it comes time to actually fight for the ball, that fight has been lacking from the starters.
The juxtoposition of Florida’s night in pass coverage was the interception that Cormani McClain had, while at the same time giving up a late Hail Mary type touchdown. On the interception, McClain came back hard to the ball and was rewarded. On the last touchdown, he seemed to lose the ball in the air.
It wasn’t just McClain, though. On 35 passing attempts from Brown, the Gators had just two pass breakups.
With Trinidad Chambliss around the corner, combined with the fact that Ole Miss RB Kewan Lacy is a game-time decision against Florida, the corners for the Gators will get tested on Saturday.
Pass that test, and the Gators will win.
Fail that test, and we could have a track meet in The Swamp this Saturday.
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