What Austin Armstrong, Rob Sale Said During Florida 2024 Spring Camp

Everything Florida coordinators, Austin Armstrong and Rob Sale, said during their Gators' 2024 spring training camp press conferences.

Photo: Florida defensive coordinator Austin Armstrong; Credit: Alex Shepherd 

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Florida coordinators, Austin Armstrong from the defense and Rob Sale from the offense, met with reporters on Tuesday evening to discuss their outlook on the team and their specific units amid the Gators' 2024 spring training camp.

Find everything Armstrong and Sale said on Tuesday evening below.

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Florida defensive coordinator Austin Armstrong

Opening statement:

“I’m happy to get back to work with our team officially. You go through the offseason on the road recruiting in January, we’re able to do minor stuff with them in February and then you get going here with a couple of practices in camp right now. They’ve got really month to work on our craft, create as much value as each individual player in their unit and create value doing all they can to help our team. I love spring practice because you get to focus on the fundamentals, the techniques, you get to create as much value for each individual player on the team going to the next phase. I’ve been pleased with the urgency of this group, the work they’ve put in. You know, it's different now in college football, you hurry good players in, you hurry good players out. I’ve been very impressed at the chemistry and the dynamic of this team, the job everybody associated with our team has done, from the support staff, the strength staff, recruiting staff. 

First thing, grateful for our staff. Obviously, a lot of change, and I think anytime there is change, it’s an opportunity to bring people to add value to the organization, and I think we did that. We hired great staff. First, Coach [Ron] Roberts. I think Coach Roberts is one of the best football coaches in America. That was not an option to add him to our team in the initial cycle. The opportunity to add somebody who is one of the best football coaches in America to our staff and collaborate with is a blessing to say the least. Our agenda here is to create the best defense in college football, and you do that by hiring smart, capable, competent people and we couldn’t have gotten anybody better than him. It’s a unique thing for me because I was the guy’s [graduate assistant] five years ago. It’s kind of good for me to have a guy in the trenches with you again that you have a close, personal relationship for five years. He’s made me better throughout my career and the guy doesn’t get enough credit. A lot of modern defenses he’s gotten over the years. A big part of our system that we managed directly from him. He’s one of the fathers of modern defensive football and to have him in this building and to have him at my right arm at all times helping us, I couldn’t be luckier. You know, Gerald Chatman coaching defensive line brought a tremendous amount of urgency. I think you guys see that during the media period. It takes a lot of toughness, physicality, technique to play that position and the urgency that he’s brought, he’s already made us better. And Will Harris, in our first conversation with Will in December, I knew this guy had something special about him. He’s hungry, he’s humble, he’s smart … he’s had a unique experience as a player and this guy has worked with some of the best coaches in football: Pete Carroll, Chris Petersen, and adding him to our team has made us better. And then you’ve got in the return, you have Mike Peterson. Coach Peterson has done a good job. They’ve got a talented group and coaches them really, really good, a unique respect and passion for this place. And tremendous support staff. We’ve got a great support staff here. It takes so many people to make this place run and the job they do, and the contributions they have, we’re certainly grateful. We’re excited to get to work.”

On Florida's offseason transfer portal additions to each level of its defense:

“The thing that was unique is that we played seven freshmen on defense. We had the most all-conference players and stuff like them, but it wasn’t just that. A lot of our guys contributed to our team and were able to play every team that we played. You just sit there, and there’s just certain things, experience does matter. I think the experience that we added, especially in the third level with Asa [Turner], Trikweze [Bridges], DJ [Douglas], older players in the tactical positions: safety, linebacker, guys that have to articulate and speak to people, get people lined up, I can’t say enough about that group of guys and contribute to a young group who has played a bunch of football. Bryce Thornton and Jordan Castell, those guys have been in the fire, now. And they have been out in third-and-five in the Swamp against Tennessee. Everybody thinks they know how to do it and it’s time to do it. So, the balance of those players who played in those games and adding guys that have done it somewhere else, I think you can’t put a price tag on it. It’s the confidence, it’s the vulnerability that they’ve failed before, too. So, like they don’t rattled as much, you know what I mean? They’ve done a great job. The same thing at inside linebacker. We added some players there, added [Grayson] 'Pup' Howard. Has experience but not an older player. On the defensive line and edge, we’ve added George Gumbs, Joey Slackman and some players in there that have played. Joey was obviously a revered player in the Ivy League. It’s not just the football experience, it’s the life experience we get and adding that to our team I think is going to be really good.”

On what Armstrong learned from his first year as an SEC defensive coordinator:

“I don’t think we have enough time to say what we learned. You know, one the respect of the league and the quality of the coaches and players in this league. There's a lot of great football, and I'm not here to have any comparisons for any other league like that, but  I have a deep appreciation of our league. I have a deep appreciation for the week-in and week-out grind, from a schematic standpoint and from a physical standpoint. It just means more in this league, right? Yeah, you go out there and play on Saturdays and you find out pretty fast that it’s true. You learn every day. We have a unique perspective. I have been in a leadership role probably longer than I have been a coach, so we had experience going into this league, the routine, the yearly calendar, like I said, I think I got here 10 days before spring practice started last year. So we’re going on spring break last week, kind of the first vacation that we’ve kind of had. I just came back so refreshed and so grateful. I think the biggest thing is the perspective that we have is the in-season routine, offseason routine, everything that comes with that, from the recruiting calendar to the football piece, it’s a highly competitive deal and we’re looking forward to taking the next step.”

On if Armstrong can pinpoint what led to Florida's defensive regression in 2023 after a strong start to the season:

“Yeah, at the end of the day we had to coach them better - that’s my responsibility - and put them in position to be successful. At the end of the day, we can make all the excuses about having a young team and such, and that’s true. At the end of the day, it’s a results-driven business and we had an opportunity in all those games to be successful. I’m sitting here thinking about, like, Arkansas. They’re showing best games of the college football season the other day I saw on Instagram, and they score a touchdown with three minutes left in the fourth quarter and it’s 23 to 20, we’d given up 13 points at that point. Missouri, 13-7 at halftime; even LSU, obviously one of the most dynamic offenses in the history of college football, it’s 21-17; Florida State … you can just name them off. It kind of makes you sick a little bit. The inability to finish those games. At the end of the day, that’s my responsibility. And it’s our responsibility collectively as a staff. I’m excited for the work that we’ve put in to help to get that right.”

On what it was like for Armstrong to experience such highs and lows:

“Yeah, I think you can’t really succeed until you fail. We’re in a unique position. God’s been really to us, we’re really fortunate, kind of in uncharted waters for a lot of us professionally. When you’re young and you’re successful, you’re boy wonder. When you’re not you’re boy blunder. That’s just part of it. The same people that praise you are the same people that clown you. I don’t get on social media, stuff like that, it made me want to work harder for our players. That’s what stands out for me is we had an opportunity to really do something significant, and we did a lot of good things last year, and it makes me sick that we couldn’t finish for these players. I think about it a lot.”

On the coaching dynamic between Armstrong and Ron Roberts:

“It’s been really fun. Coach Roberts is a football savant. The ability to talk ball, work through issues, not just him our whole staff. We had a unique relationship, he was kind of like a football dad a little bit. We weren’t together after the first year, but we’d talk on the phone two or three times a week and we threw ideas against the wall with each other or had like opponents or issues. The kind of guys that played defense like us, we talked a bunch. To have him here and to help you and guide you. To be honest, the guy’s been doing, I joke 100 years, but he’s been doing it for 30 years at a really high rate - and a lot of different levels. That’s the respect I have for him. The guy was a good defensive coach in high school, in junior college, at Division II, FCS, and then Division I in the Big 12 and then the SEC. There’s mistakes that he’s made that he’s able to guide me on to not make. And to have the humility to work together, ‘Hey, let’s do something special.’ That guidance you can’t put a price tag on. I can’t thank him enough. The thing that’s unique about it is there really wasn’t an option. You couldn’t imagine this is where we’d be sitting this time of the year, sitting with us and collaborating with us. At the end of the day, this is our defense, this is the University of Florida’s defense. He’s going to be a big part of putting together a product we all can be proud of.”

On Auburn's defense allowing one fewer touchdown and four fewer first downs under Roberts compared to the year before and how a similar statistical jump would help Florida's defense:

“It’d be good. Yeah, right now we’re taking it day by day. Those are all result-driven. Right now we’re focused on maximizing each player’s ability so they can contribute to the team and we can go out there and put the best unit possible. I think we saw a lot of results in the past, but having him here, heck he’s probably worth some of those things with first downs and stuff a game because he’s that good of a football coach.”

On defensive back Aaron Gates at STAR nickel cornerback:

“Excited about him. Aaron, when I got here last year Aaron was coming off a knee injury, was playing corner. The thing I respect about Aaron, anybody who’s played sports who’s been injured, this guy’s a high achiever, he gets a chance to play at the University of Florida and he tears his ACL like one of his first high school games of his senior year. So that’s a pretty challenging thing. To be able to come back from that, and then the thing that gets unspoken about him we moved the guy to safety last year. He plays safety in practice, getting long, we were going to redshirt him due to his circumstance and the guy’s not asked one time, why are you doing this? Why are you doing that? I just want to play Coach. The guy has a lot of physical ability, he’s really excited, he had a great mom and daddy, I’m really excited about him. We have a great battle at that position right now. We want as many guys in the can-do category as possible and playing winning football. Him and Sharif [Denson], Josiah [Davis], and we have some other guys that can move there, I’m excited. I have kind of been working with them. I think the guy can be a really special player. I’ll tell you this, he’s a special human being.”

On what Armstrong expects of EDGE/defensive lineman Kelby Collins in year two:

"Yeah, Kelby, you know I was talking to a recruit on the field. You know, the way we practice, right? We two-spot, we have multiple drills going on at a time. And the best way to get better, to be a better football player is playing football. And, you know, Kelby is a great example of that. Kelby gets here in January, he's got a unique, physical skill set, right? He's big, he's long. You know, is he an inside player, is he an edge player? In our defense, he can really do both, and that's what really makes him special. The thing I respect about Kelby is he stayed with it. We were able to create a role for him in our subpackage last year, started on third down really the whole season and was a really productive player. Obviously, he was a Freshman All-Conference player. I think Kelby can be as good as anybody in this conference. His position flex is really impressive. He's tough. I think he's brought a tremendous amount of urgency to that room. Kelby wants to win, and you talk to his family, they want to win, and they're serious. And I respect him so much for the work he puts in. I'm excited to see, I don't want to put any expectations on the guy. But I really think the guy can do something special."

On the importance of cornerback Jason Marshall's return to Florida in 2024:

"Yeah, I think the first thing talking about Jason is, you know, Jason was probably as good of a Christmas gift that I got, you know what I mean? You know, working to that process of the climate in college football, the opportunity to play in the National Football League. And Jason is a first-class person, he's got a great family. I think the things that the University of Florida is about, I think the things that coach Napier is about, that he and his family are about, the degree, the human experience here, the value this place adds to your life. And it just so happens Jason's really good football player, too. I can't put words to describe the job that Will has done with Jason, the urgency that he's brought out of him. You know, the last practice before we got on spring break, he made a huge play and punched the ball out. I think Jason can be as good as he wants to be. I sat by him in the team meetings and we were talking about a Bill Walsh quote today. I was reading The Winning Edge during the break, and talking about how, you know, being a successful player or successful life is the manifestation of doing something at a high level over a period of time. And if Jason continues to practice the way he practices with the ability that he has, I think he can have a really good year for us."

On Armstrong's early impressions of freshman EDGE/defensive lineman LJ McCray:

"LJ, you know, what a great addition to the University of Florida, First class person, great family. I enjoyed recruiting LJ as much as anybody I have ever recruited. He's just a great person. And I think we lose a little bit of perspective right now with the recruiting of young players. These guys have got a lot of pressure on them. And, you know, LJ was a player, he didn't have any bad options, you know what I mean? That's a lot of a young person, and the people around him who were able to help him and guide him. I'm definitely glad he's gonna be wearing orange and blue out there. You know, you go through that process, and you can finally get to see him out there, it's a cool experience. A lot of people worked really, really hard in this building to get him."

On McCray's skill set:

"I mean, I think obviously, you know, he walks in, he's 6-foot-6, he weighs 270-something pounds. He can run, he can bend. He's really smart. He loves football, he's highly motivated. He wants to be really good, he's humble. He's really everything you want. And I think coach Peterson has done a really good job coaching him. He plays our field defensive end, you know, he's a hybrid guy that can play 4i [technique], that can play 5 [technique], can drop, can rush. I mean, I think the sky's the limit for the guy."

On Florida's struggles with tackling and turnovers in 2023:

"Yeah, absolutely. At the end of the day, we didn't get enough. And down the stretch we didn't tackle good enough. And, you know, turnovers are kind of a unique thing. That's been a huge emphasis of ours in the offseason, study people. You know, you add Joe Houston, you add some guys from the National Football League where they get to spend more time doing football in the offseason, some of the things they brought, Chris Couch. You know, they do a lot of that stuff for us from a football research standpoint. It's that conscious effort all the time to attack the football. And every play, someone should be doing it, you know what I mean? At the end of the day, that ball is our job, and the urgency that it takes, and not just that, but the deliberate work to get the ball out. And look, you know, our last year at Southern Miss we had, like, 25 or 28 turnovers, and we really didn't do anything different. You know, and end of the day when you don't have a good result, you've got to soul search and you've got to figure out how to do it. And I think we've done a really good job with that. I think so far in practice, you've seen that.

"And relative to tackling, you know, inconsistency. We didn't tackle very good in the third level of defense last year. There were some things that I could have done better to keep the ball off of them a little bit, but in this league, they're gonna make you tackle in the secondary. We've got to get better, and we've got to approach the football. I think that's some of the value Will has brought to our team, coach Roberts. And it's a mindset, too, you know what I mean? Like, everybody tackles, you know what I mean? You're gonna play at Florida? You're going to tackle. It wasn't good enough and I think what we've done so far has been good. We've gotta get headed in the right direction a little more and we'll be alright."

On EDGE TJ Searcy's spring camp and opportunity at his position:

"Yeah, I love TJ. TJ, he's my kind of guy, South Georgia guy. He's tough. He loves football. You know, like, when he's out there, he plays the game the way it's supposed to be played. It's important to him. He's really smart. Even though he's a quiet guy, he's a conscious note-taker. He wants to be the best he can be. And, you know, the guy played a bunch of good football for us last year as an 18-year-old, as a freshman. And I think he's not just for him, but everybody. You know, I think that he can take some steps relative to playing the run and doing some stuff for us. He played a lot in subpackage for us last year. But TJ is tough, he's smart, he's hungry, he loves football. And you want to get as many guys like that on the team as possible. I'm glad he's on our team."

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Florida offensive line coach/co-offensive coordinator Rob Sale

On the construction of Florida's 2024 offensive line:

“I agree they are a hungry group, they are a group that wants to come to work every day. There’s no egos in there. They are a pleasure to coach. It really is, it’s a new year, a new group, these young two groups that we recruited, two classes are now older and bigger and stronger. I think we hit on all those guys, they have the intangibles we’re looking for they are big guys that can bend and move and I do like the two guys we got in the portal, Devon [Manuel] and Brandon [Crenshaw-Dickson] they got really character they are really good people and they are really good players, too.”

On what Sale sees from Crenshaw-Dickson in particular:

“Long and athletic, he can slide his feet. He’s played both at San Diego State, played left and right, We have him at right right now, he had some length and athleticism at that position, so, we’re able to move Damieon in at guard, that’s what he’s more suited for.”

On George Jr.'s move from tackle to guard:

“Good, he’s done a really good job taking care of his body, he’s lost some weight. He’s doing really good. Had two practices in, had spring break, came back today, but, moving around well in there, he has power. That’s where he’s suited. So we’re really excited about him at that position.”

On if George is more of a straight-on blocker rather than sliding:

“Uh, yeah, he’s just a bigger guy has a lot of mass, I think right now he’s 350, 354 something like that. But, he can knock a three-technique back right, can slide his feet and he can run, so when it comes to outside zone, doing the things we like to do. But he’s more suited there.”

On the guard spot opposite George:

“Right now we’ve got Knijeah [Harris] playing left guard, Knijeah Harris is doing a really good job, you know he played a lot of snaps last year, and then we’ve got Christian Williams backing him up as well.”

On the competition created at tackle by Austin Barber being out due to injury:

“I mean even if Austin was back, we have tackle depth now which we haven’t had in the past. Which is, it gives you so many more variables to get a starting lineup, who is the best five. Like last year, we had so many different lineups, it was what is was, you know. So right now we got six, seven tackles that we can count on to go play winning football. Caden Jones is a young guy that’s going to be a really good player, Bryce Lovett can play tackle, it’s just hard to play as freshmen, it really is, a small handful can do it but we’ve got more tackle depth, you’ve got Devon, you’ve got Kam Waites who has done a good job losing weight right now he’s at left tackle, Brandon is at right so, we have tackle depth.”

On how key it is for Florida to have Jake Slaughter back at center:

“He’s just a great leader, does everything the right way. Communicates. He has presence in there, takes a lot of Graham’s [Mertz] plate, calm up front, giving the MIKE ID. Obviously Graham has the trump card to check the play however we want but Jake just does a really good job, makes everyone around him better, and communication from inside and out, and Rod [Kearney] is doing a really good job pushing him.”

On how things are going with new Florida co-offensive line coach Jonathan Decoster:

“It’s going good. He’s only been here a week I guess, I think you know but getting on the same page, communication, going through all of the, some of the Browns stuff, some of the individuals, stealing some ideas, what can we do to tweak what we’re doing a little bit, might be a word key. I mean drills or drills, what fits your system, what do like, but it’s really good. It’s given us another set of eyes and ears and perspective on the position.”

On Kearney pushing Slaughter and his improvement at center:

“Rod, last year he knew he was probably going to come in and redshirt. He led those guys over there, you ask the defense, 'Who is the guy that brought it every single day?' It was Rod Kearney. A leader leads, I don’t care if you are a freshman, sophomore, junior or senior, and that’s what he does. And now it’s just a transition where it’s time to go compete and get a starting job.”

On Slaughter's game-to-game improvement in 2023:

“You know we had all the trust and confidence in Jake, and you know, he just, like you said, he got better and better. He really didn’t have much experience before that, and Kingsley [Eguakun] battled coming back, he was in and out of the lineup type deal. Jake really got better every single time. You know what you are going to get with Jake, that’s what I like, but the ceiling is really high for Jake.”

On the potential of Florida's run game in 2024:

“You know when you’ve got more length, you’ve got more tackles, more depth I mean. When you got more bullets in the gun, you know, you’ve just got options. Who are the best five? We got a long time between now and the first game to figure that out but you’ve got more depth. I mean right now you’ve got five or six tackles that can play and you’ve got some inside guys that can play as well. I mean, there’s options if we need to move a tackle, whatever it may be, to get the best five. Last year it was what it was, we had injuries, had to move guys around. We hung on the best we could but now it’s depth. We signed two really good classes that have good intangibles, they’re big, they’re long, they’re powerful and now they just keep growing up. Now we have layers in that room of old guys, guys that are in the middle and then young guys. So, I really do like this group.”

On the frustration from last season and the optimism going into this year:

“Last year was last year, you know. I just don't like to … it was what it was, you know? And look, we just, we had depth issues, right? It comes with it. When you take over a job, trying to recruit some guys and then there’s the new dynamics that we're in college football. But I really do like the guys that we signed. They're good kids, they got good character, but they're also really, really good players that we’ve hit on. It's a fresh breath of air in there, it really is. And you ask the guys, we’ve got guys that have each other's back, the togetherness, the five equals one that we talk about that we're trying to instill in these guys. I'm really excited about this group, really am.”

On Sale's first impressions of Florida's freshmen linemen:

“Let's see, who we all got. Fletcher [Westphal]. Noel [Portnjagin], Mike Williams. That’s the three we got on campus right now. Marcus [Mascoll] is still in high school. They're really going to be good players. You know, Fletcher's long. I mean, the guy’s like 325. I don't know if y'all see him out there. I mean, he looks 285, you know what I mean? And his muscle mass can go up, you know. He can put on more weight and carry it, but he can bend. He's flexible. He's really smart. Noel, you know, we hit on him. He's a really good football player. He's an inside guy that's going to play a lot of ball around here, and Mike Williams is a guy that is long and athletic, so we're excited about all of them.”

On Portnjagin reminding Florida's coaching staff of O’Cyrus Torrence:

“I mean, listen sometimes we might not win the first impression of the body, but the guy’s lower half, when you watched him, I was like, ‘Damn, that's O’Cyrus.' And one thing that we've done is evaluate offensive lineman and take the guys that we want and develop them. O-line is a developmental position. We've had success in doing that. Just got two guys paid $160 million, so we're doing something right in the evaluation and the development of offensive linemen. So we're excited about it.”

On Torrence’s rookie season with the Buffalo Bills:

“Not surprised. Not surprised. Not to toot the horn, but I said he's going to start day one, he's going to play a long time in the National Football League. I’ve been in this league, I know what they look like and not surprised, you know. I'm not surprised what the left tackle and the quarterback at Buffalo said about him. He's a great teammate. He wins the team over wherever he's gonna go. He works hard, puts his head down, yes sir, no sir. He's what you look for as a player and the character that you wanna coach.”

On Portnjagin's path to Florida from Germany: 

“There were kids that were younger than him and then there were guys that were 27, 28 years old. It's just a little bit different, you know, putting the pads on with some grown men out there running around. But the game is going to slow down to him. I say knowledge is power in the offensive line room. Until you fully know what to do, then you can't think about the technique. You’ve got to know what to do so you can concentrate on the technique to fully get an evaluation of the offensive line. Because you got guys moving, line, slam, linebackers plugging, firing, whatever it may be, but it's gonna slow down to him. But when he came to camp, you know, he passed the evaluation. There's things that we do when it comes to players and what we look for in them and he checked all those boxes and he's going to be really, really good player.”

On if Sale has coached a player with a background similar to Portnjagin's:

“Freak athlete. His mom's a choreographic dancer, you know, so he has a breakdancing background. To do that, you gotta bend and flexible and things like that. So I've never seen a 320-pound offensive lineman able to put his hands over his back and flip up. To do that, it's pretty impressive. You gotta have some explosive power and be able to bend to do that. I would hurt a lot of things if I tried something like that.”

On Florida co-offensive coordinator Russ Callaway’s climb up the coaching ranks:

“I've worked with Russ at another school and the Giants as well. He's a ball coach. You get around him, he has passion, energy. Players love him, respect him. He's a ball coach. He really is. I’m proud of him.”

On the development of Florida offensive lineman Knijeah Harris:

“He did. Part of depth issue sometimes yout get guys moving around and can't get them locked at one spot because of where you’re currently at at that time. Kingsley was out, right, and Rod was redshirting and wasn't ready for the show at that time. So Knijeah was the first guard in. You gotta practice guard reps, but hey, he's the next center in for game two when Kingsley's down, you know what I mean? So, where are you working at in practice? But he's a guy that came from IMG, he's very smart, he can handle any inside three. He can go to the left guard, go to right guard within a game, go in practice and get some center reps. But his development kind of hit a wall a little bit there because of what we had at that position at that time. We just didn't have enough centers but now we’ve gotten guys developed to where we're ready.”

On the jump Harris could make  in 2024:

“It's going to be the same for him. He's just a smart guy. He has instincts. He understands defensive patterns. He knows where his eyes are supposed to go. He communicates with the tackle. So if a tackle maybe might not be on the same page, he could tell him what to do. That might have been a bad example, but he just does a good job of all being on the same page. And just the way he comes in, he’s a really good kid and he’s a good Gator for us. We need more guys just like him.”

On how the offensive line benefited from Florida's new strength and conditioning program:

“Our players liked it. You know, the feedback from them, they really enjoyed it. I think they got better, they got leaner. Our guys are in a good spot. They like it. I like it.” 

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