FILM ROOM: Observations from UT-Martin's season-opening game

GatorMaven watched and broke down UT-Martin's first game of the 2019 season so you don't have to.

UT-Martin Relations

The Florida Gators are preparing to take on the University of Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on Saturday that will likely see half of the stadium clear out by halftime due to an overwhelming lead by the home team.

That's just how these types of games work. Florida is bringing UT-Martin to town to open their home schedule by dropping the hammer on an FCS program. Most SEC schools do this to open their season and typically find success in doing so.

Unless, of course, you're the Tennessee Volunteers. But that's a discussion for another day.

Florida should handily beat the Skyhawks this Saturday, but GatorMaven watched UT-Martin's season-opening game against Northwestern State anyways. Which Skyhawks players could make an impact on Saturday? What weaknesses dies UT-Martin have that Florida can expose? Let's get to the film room.

FILM ROOM

Skill players

The most impactful player on the Skyhawks offense appears to be running back Peyton Logan, who stands at 5-8, 180 lbs. However, while he may be small in his frame, Logan is an elusive back with an ability to break tackles and plays with strong contact balance to pair with his speed.

The small running back stereotype holds true with Logan - he's a pretty fast runner. Once his lane is established, he hits top gear and goes. Florida could have a problem in their hands should they let Logan bounce outside on handoffs - Logan rushed for 149 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries in Week 1. He was named to the 2019 Phil Steele Preseason All-Ohio Valley Conference Second Team.

Another skill player to keep an eye on is wide receiver Jaylin Moore, a vertical threat who stands at 6-2, 190 lbs. Like Logan, Moore was placed on Phil Steele's Preseason All-OVC Second Team and has an impressive catch radius that the Skyhawks should use near the boundary.

This was his only reception in Week 1, albeit a pretty nice one in coverage down the sideline that went for six points. He is coming off of a 52 reception, 799 yard, and eight touchdown season last year though, so when given a chance to be productive. he does just that - produces.

The Skyhawks have a dangerous return man in Terry Willians, a 5-10, 165 lb. receiver. He made the Phil Steele Preseason All-OVC Second Team as a punt returner, as well as the third team as a WR, playing with legitimate burst, change-of-direction agility, and breakaway speed. He returned four punts for 98 yards and a score on Saturday and averaged 11.7 yards per punt in 2018.

Defensive line could make some noise

Flipping it over to the defensive side of the ball, UT-Martin has enjoyed the development of their defensive line under coach Clint McMillan - a former Florida Gators nose tackle who played at UF during the Urban Meyer years and the 2006-07 National Championship season.

One of the most noticeable, quality players on the Skyhawks defensive front is nose tackle Austin Pickett. He's stout, standing at 6-1, 290 lbs., but he uses his frame to build upon natural leverage as he pursues the backfield. The bull-rush is his most utilized - and most effective - move to create pressure, as his pad level starts in a good position considering his height. His legs are powerful and his hands are fast to get into the blocker's chest, which makes the move impactful a good amount of the time.

Pickett made the Preseason All-OVC team for his ability to use that bull-rush in both the pass rush and as a run defender, clogging up lanes and redirecting the run from up the middle. He's pretty athletic for his size and can jump on plays as well, as seen on this tackle-for-loss that he created on his own bu stuffing the middle up.

Another guy to watch for on the Skyhawks defensive line is defensive end Julian Crutchfield - a 6-5, 300 lb. edge setter with a strength of redirecting the run. He recorded two sacks and nine tackles for loss last year, which landed him on the Preseason All-OVC team, but it's what he does to prop up the other guys on the box score that stands out. 

Crutchfield is a huge figure coming off of the edge and does a good job at redirecting the run, clogging gaps and forcing the running back to move elsewhere than his intended lane, which slows the run down and allows his fellow defenders to come up and make a play.

Then, there's the new(er) kid in town in defensive tackle Kenyonte Davis, a 6-5, 280 lb. redshirt freshman who didn't play a snap in 2018. However, he's already out here making plays in his first career game like the tackle for loss above. He explodes through the line and uses his hands well to generate some push off of his blocks before wrapping up and making a big play. His aggressive style of play could do some damage, and I'm curious to see how he continues to utilize it.

While the strength of this Skyhawks defense resides in the trenches, strong safety Wanya Moton earned OVC Defensive Player of the Week honors for his performance in Week One. Now, this safety group has serious issues with range and covering the deep ball (more on that later), but the lengthy safety - 6-1, 190 lbs. - is polished at coming down to break on plays. 

The above interception - one of his two from Week One - displays that - Moton reads and reacts well to the whip route (also known as a "pigtail"), tracking the ball through the horizontal route break and making a play that leads to a pick-six.

Moton also flashes this ability in pursuit of the ball carrier, like on this screen play. He lines up as the nickel cornerback here, diagnoses the screen immediately, and angles himself well to make a tackle for loss. The Gators love to throw screen passes to WR Kadarius Toney, and while Toney is incredibly elusive, Moton is a threat to bring him down given his processing and discipline.

Where the Gators can take advantage

Despite previous praise for Moton, this safety group is bad in deep coverage and possesses little ability to react in a timely fashion to routes going deeper than their pre-snap alignment. They just lack range and the processing to time their turns in coverage until it's too late, which leads to plays like the touchdown above. Watch the safety lined up in the middle of the field, standing on the goal line.

It's just... it's bad. Really bad. Considering the speed Florida has in their receiving corps, they should have no problem creating big plays down the seam and into the deep middle of the field. Slot receivers Josh Hammond and Freddie Swain are in for big days on Saturday, and perhaps we'll get a glimpse of Jacob Copeland as starters begin to split their reps. This is the perfect matchup for Copeland to post his true breakout game for the Gators.

The Skyhawks run a 3-3-5 defense, a unique look that Gators head coach Dan Mullen has praised during the week. Given the talent on their three-man line, they can create some modest pressure without blitzing, but they do send linebackers on blitzes occasionally - which can lead to their downfall.

When they delay blitzes, the deep game gets established with receivers moving downfield. This opens up the short middle of the field for crossing routes, which the Gators can utilize their slot WR and tight ends for. Perhaps we will see Kadarius Toney on more than just screens, and rather on crossing-style routes out of the slot and then let him make a play in the open field.

Finally, quarterback John Bachus III is a redshirt freshman who is fresh off of his first career start. While the threw two touchdown passes, Bachus completed a miserable 40% of his 20 passes and displayed some issues that are to be expected out of young quarterbacks on small-school teams. There were times where he'd lock onto receivers from the snap, like the play above, and make risky throws on a predetermined read.

If Bachus has these same issues on Saturday, the linebackers and STAR nickel cornerback position should have a day. Trey Dean III and Amari Burney are talented in coverage with good instincts playing the ball through their reads - both of those guys would have intercepted this pass as the flat defender and taken it to the house.

And obviously, the rest of the secondary has a chance to make plays against a young, inexperienced quarterback from a small school, in probably the biggest stadium he's ever played in. But I'd assume that given those circumstances, Bachus will attempt to play safe and stick with the short game, which gives Dean, Burney, and fellow box defenders a chance to shine.

All in all, Florida fans know what to expect of this game - a blowout in the Gators' favor. There are some guys that will be worth keeping an eye on for UT-Martin as seen above, but they should not come in the way of a large margin of victory for Florida.