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Florida 2023 Spring Camp Notebook: Observations From Day 12

All Gators' notes and observations from day 12 of Florida Gators' 2023 spring camp, focusing on Florida's inside linebackers.

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Photo: Scooby Williams and Jay Bateman; Credit: Zach Goodall  

Florida is back on the practice field, with 2023 spring camp underway ahead of head coach Billy Napier's second season with the Gators.

All Gators serves up its notes and observations from the 12th day of spring camp below, with our focus on Florida's inside linebacker position ahead of the team's second intrasquad scrimmage of the offseason.

Check out our previous 2023 spring camp notebooks:

Focus on the inside linebackers

Although a notebook was not published for Tuesday's practice, All Gators watched assistant Jay Bateman's inside linebacker group that day and continued to do so ahead of the Gators' second scrimmage on Thursday. 

The group — consisting of scholarship contributors redshirt senior Teradja Mitchell, redshirt junior Mannie Nunnery, redshirt sophomore Scooby Williams, sophomore Shemar James, redshirt freshman Deuce Spurlock and freshman Jaden Robinson — split in two shortly after the media viewing window opened on Day 11. 

To continue observing Bateman with his players, we monitored the group comprised of Mitchell, Williams and walk-on Curran Webb. Bateman took each player through a coverage drill where the linebackers could drop into a backpedal, speed-turn and cover an assistant running a crossing route. Williams' reps stood out in particular, showcasing his fluidity and speed after identifying his coverage assignment and positioning himself to make plays on the ball.

Bateman then led Mitchell, Williams and Webb through a gap-splitting drill. Impersonating the nose tackle in a traditional defensive structure, aligned between two trash cans to create A-gaps, Bateman would move in one direction unannounced to force the linebacker behind him to shoot through the opposite gap.

Onto Thursday, there weren’t necessarily standouts as the media viewing window contained merely warmup stretches and positional drills, but the groupings in which the linebackers went through stations led by Bateman were notable. 

Mitchell and James worked in tandem during both block shed and form tackling drills, sticking near the front of the line to present their undeniable standing as first-team players. 

The duo behind them included Williams and Nunnery. Each has earned significant praise for their contributions thus far in the spring, with Nunnery described as a "freak athlete" by Williams while Bateman singled Williams out in his own right for emerging as a "special player."

"The guy that's jumping out right now is Scooby Williams," Bateman said about Williams on Tuesday. "Scooby is a really unique player. At the end of the [2022] season, we were doing some pretty creative things with him. He has a chance to be really good."

It indicates a potential four-deep rotation at this point in the spring, something that Florida will look to execute more consistently in year two as newly minted defensive coordinator Austin Armstrong implements his aggressive tendencies into play calling.

All of this goes without mentioning the absence of Derek Wingo, who’s expected to challenge Mitchell for the starting middle linebacker role when cleared to return to full participation as he rehabs from multiple procedures this offseason. 

It’s a promising sign pertaining to the unit’s replenishment following the departure of two grizzled veterans in Ventrell Miller and Amari Burney — as each player is seeking an opportunity in the National Football League this April.

Plus, their replacements provide more variety than in years past from skill set standpoints. 

The first tandem aligns as more natural talents and instincts operating in the second level of the defense, while the second presents high-level athleticism to provide more playmaking ability to the middle of the Gators' defense.

Both will be necessary to overcome the defensive woes of years past in 2023.

Participation report

All Gators' participation report is modified from its typical structure for scrimmages, splitting the list in two to specify players that were seen in no-contact jerseys and those who were not observed during the media viewing portion of practice.

Participating in no-contact jerseys

  • WR Alex Gonzalez
  • OL Jalen Farmer
  • CB Devin Moore
  • CB Ethan Pouncey

Gonzales, Moore and Pouncey left the practice field following team stretches while Farmer remained with his position group.

Not observed in attendance during media viewing window

  • TE Keon Zipperer
  • TE Dante Zanders
  • TE Jonathan Odom
  • OL Micah Mazzccua
  • OL Kamryn Waites
  • LB Derek Wingo 

Stay tuned to All Gators for continuous coverage of Florida Gators football, basketball and recruiting. Follow along on social media at @AllGatorsOnFN on Twitter and All Gators on FanNation-Sports Illustrated on Facebook. 

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