GAINESVILLE — UF shifted to midday for the second day of fall camp Thursday, practicing in a heat index of 99 degrees as a storm system began to form to the far west.
Coach Billy Napier plans to stage the team’s 17 practices at 10:30 a.m., 2:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. because of the varied start times of the nation’s toughest schedule. UF opens the season at 3:30 p.m. on Aug. 31 against Miami in the Swamp.
The school provided a 10-minute viewing period for media during individual drills.
Top takeaway: Florida’s new co-defensive coordinator Ron Roberts wants the Gators to clean up missed tackles, one of the key sources of their defensive struggles the past two seasons.
“We’ll evaluate that on a daily basis, obviously grade it, work it,” Roberts said Tuesday during Media Day.
Wrapping up and taking down the ballcarrier was a focal point for the secondary during individual drills Thursday, One defensive back held a blocking pad to absorb the contact as another tackled him onto a large pad to cushion the fall to the ground. New secondary coach Will Harris and co-defensive coordinator Austin Armstrong were among the coaches overseeing the drill.
Roberts has a high bar to be met for missed tackles by the time the Gators open the season.
“When we play in games, I’m usually looking for something in the single digits,” the 57-year-old coach said. “If I was playing 80 snaps, we’d want that to be 10 or less.”
Step forward: Former Orlando Boone standout receiver Aidan Mizell did not factor as a first-year freshman, but is poised to make a Year 2 leap. The 6-foot-1 1/2, 186-pound sophomore has added 19 pounds since he enrolled in January 2023. The extra strength added to his explosiveness. He recently was clocked by GPS tracking running more than 23 mph, tied with true freshman blazer Tank Hawkins. On Thursday, Mizell was on the receiving end of a few throws, including a long touchdown from Graham Mertz.
Step back: Mertz’s hookup with Mizell ended a five-minute period focus on deep passes on a high note. Otherwise, the veteran quarterback was either off the mark, overthrowing the speedy Hawkins or putting too much air under the football on a touchdown to sophomore standout Eugene Wilson III. While the window provided a minuscule sample size, first-year freshman DJ Lagway threw a better deep ball with a tighter spiral and superior accuracy displayed during a hookup with walk-on Alex Gonzales and a pass to starter Kahleil Jackson that bounced off his hands.
Trainer’s room: OT Fletcher Westphal, the Gators’ top-rated lineman in the 2024 class, wore a black non-contact jersey for the second straight day while redshirt sophomore tackle Jamari Lyons of Cocoa also donned one.
Edgar Thompson can be reached at egthompson@orlandosentinel.com
