Florida Overview

[CoachKen]

Normally I would go into great detail about players on the opposing team, I will do that to some degree, but I would rather focus on what we can expect from each team so here it is:

Florida Offense: This will be a bold statement, but I believe this is the best offensive team in the nation. More weapons than the U.S. Military! It does not matter who will our will not play against the Warriors since the backups are exceptional athletes. We can talk about Tim Tebow all day. No one truly understands the level of dedication that this kid puts into the sport. You will not outwork him and he has the heart of a champion. The Gators would like nothing more than to have him finished by halftime so they will attempt to score often and quickly. What to look for:

1. An improved running game: The Gators had been criticized at the running back position but I believe they have the depth and talent at this position to compete. Florida's spread option will be in heavy use. I do not believe they will run Tebow that much, but he will be a threat. Counters and traps to keep the Hawaii blitz game confused. No major trick plays, those will be saved for the SEC.
2. Passing game: Tebow has worked all summer correcting some throwing motion problems and he has accomplished his mission. Numerous weapons. Percy Harvin most likely will not play. Of all the Gator receivers however the one I like the most is 6'5" Riley Cooper. Size, speed, hands and heart....a great combination. Lots of short passes early until they feel like they have discovered something. If they catch you in man coverage they will try to out run you deep. If they catch Hawaii in any kind of three deep, look for double fades on the outside and crossing patterns up the seam to freeze the safety.

Summary: This offense is scary good! Actually scary great! We need to cause turnovers to neutralize them otherwise they will score! We need to hope that the Gators stop themselves with penalties, turnovers and miscues. I think the Gator coaching staff is great at game preparation but sometimes the gameday play calling leaves a little to be desired.

Defense: Defensive Coordinator Charley Strong has been playing with young athletes and now they are closer to maturing. Injury particularly in the secondary could be a problem. Some injury problems on the D-line. I think they will be very capable of stopping the run in the SEC but must stay healthy. Spikes is an exceptional linebacker but most likely will not play against Hawaii. Look for them to use a Georgia game plan of coming hard at the Hawaii QBs to stop the passing game. This is where I wish we had Tyler Graunke who thrives on pressure. If they can stop the QB and stuff the running game it will be a very long afternoon for the Warriors. Problems with players at the safety postion could be Hawaii's saving grace if they can get the ball downfield. The run and shoot thrives on inexperience with the receivers double reads. The Hawaii receivers know how the take advantage of inexperienced safties.

Special teams: How do you describe a player like Brandon James, their return specialist? In two words: Chad Owens. Every bit as quick as Chad but with more speed. He can break a game open instantly. He is short, powerful and given any kind of room he will score.

Hawaii: New offensive players, same run and shoot with some variations. One of the best defenses in Hawaii history. New Coach Greg McMackin has brought more discipline and work ethic to the team. The players rally around him and will play with heart and enthusiasm.

Hawaii offense: With June Jones at SMU there will now be two teams in the NCAA that have the run and shoot. Why is this important? The average fan will try to compare it with typical spread offenses from Hal Mumme's AirRaid and a similar look by Texas Tech....you cannot make that comparison. If the offense can get the ball off it will cause Florida problems early on. The closest Florida has seem to the run and shoot is Troy University last year and Troy was able to score, just not enough! The biggest thing we have to be concerned with is giving the QB time to throw. We must catch the football! Dropped passes will stop drives. Penalties will stop drives.

Passing game: Two quick slots in Aaron Bain and Michael Washington. I think both of these guys are underrated and are capable of making big plays. The best hands I have ever seen in Greg Salas...He is better at catching in a crowd than any player I have seen. Malcolm is solid and fast. QB is still a mystery, they can look very good or.... This worries me but hope they will rise to the occasion. I say they, because I expect Hawaii to play at least two the whole game. If they take too much time on passing plays, Florida will punish you. Look for Hawaii to go short often to keep the rush at a minimum. If the QB has time I predict a big day for the UH receivers.

Running game: Daniel Libre and Leon are both exceptional backs with different talents. I think we will find it very tough to run against the Gator defense, another big worry! We have to move the ball on the ground to slow the pass rush. We will need 50 yard plus gains out of both of these guys.

Hawaii defense: Injuries have hurt our depth but Cal Lee and Coach Mack will play a lot of kids in the Florida heat. Look for a lot of zone blitzes to try and get to Tebow, occasional man coverage. Florida has the most trouble with an odd defensive front and a disquised four deep cover four. This is what LSU did against them. Tim Tebow has gotten very good at reading defenses, but if you can make every coverage look the same initially it is hard on any QB. I like Mouton at the corner, he is as good as any college corner I have seen.

Special teams: Wild and crazy! Not sure who we will use at the return positions at this time but I don't expect any big plays on the Hawaii side simply because of the talent level of the Gators in all phases of the game.

The twelth man: The Florida summer heat and humidity. The Swamp has very little wind on the field level. At 12:30 pm the morning dew is burning off the field creating a higher level of humidity than what the weatherman says. Expected to be high 80's at game time which equates to close to 100 degrees at the field level. Florida will be using the patented shoulder pad cooling system for all the players as well as cooling fans...unfortunately you can't take the cooling fans on the field of play. Heat will be more of a concern for the Hawaii players since you cannot duplicate it in Hawaii. Take the worst Hawaii day and you have a nice fall day in Gainesville, Florida. One glimmer of hope on this is the hurricane in Haiti. It is expected to be in the Gulf by Saturday and if it moves closer to Florida could spell a rainy day...cross your fingers and pray.

We should be proud to play one of the best teams in the nation at a stadium that is filled with tradition. Hawaii fans...out of respect please stand in the fourth quarter when they sing "We are the old boys of Florida." It is an outstanding tradition by great fans! If we were Tennesse or Georgia they might be more aggessive as fans, but expect a warm welcome by most of the Florida fans, they are outstanding people!

CoachKen

[The808Chef]

Thank goodness Warrior football is back. Not only do we get excited for Warrior games, we get chicken skin knowing we also get Coach's overview for every game.

Do we know if Rick made the traveling squad? Hoping he did....

[CoachKen]

The808Chef,

Thanks! And yes, Rick will be suited up for the Florida game!

CoachKen

[TemeculaWarrior]

Hey, that is super to hear, CoachKen.
Too bad Rick doesn't play defense.
How funny would it be if Tim threw his old HS receiver... an interception?
That would count as a completed pass still, wouldn't it?




TW

[CoachKen]

TW,

I would count it as a completion! Right now any pass is welcome!

CoackKen

[Exiled]

Rick will be suited up for the Florida game!

Wow, that's great to hear! I don't know you folks outside of this forum, but, I felt bad for Rick when I heard in previous reports and newspaper articles (one in particular online from Florida) that he wasn't going to suit up. It is just one of the nice story lines that is part of the Warrior Ohana and make this game with Florida something more than just another football game. I hope he gets to reconnect with Tebow off the field as well.

As for the preview.

I feel like you know this team more than any other we have faced or will face, Coach Ken.

Given their Offensive scheme (putting aside comments about talent), I think the game will hinge on the play of our DE's and LB's. If they read and flow well on all the zone option stuff, it will take pressure off our safeties from over playing the run. Florida's biggest plays come off play-action, especially the QB fake-pull-up-and-throw-it-deep play (or the goal line jump-pass). Again, the main reason for this is the pressure the option stuff puts on our DE's and LB's. Fortunately, this is the strength of our D this year. If we get beat up on that front, we are in for a long day.

[XKamaaina]

That's great news CoachKen and a long time coming!

Wishing the best to all our Warriors, I hope we can keep it close and have a shot to steal the win at the end. Having a repeat of 'Bama in '06 except with a winning TD as time expires would be awesome!

[Scott]

Thank you for the report Coach Ken and awesome news about Rick. Good Luck to all of the Warriors in Florida!

[Raudi]

I can see UH running alot of the new "wrinkles" they've added this year to help them buy time for the QB. Too bad about Tyler as he would have been perfect for what UH seems to want to do.



Also, glad to hear that Rick is making the trip. I wish I could have made it too!

[2left]

My question is are any of the WRs going to be able to step up and replace Jason Rivers? Bess had a lot of talent, but when the DBs are too fast and strong to slip by, JR always managed to have big games by toughing it out mano a mano. Can Salas fill his shoes?

[Grinch]

God bless Coach Ken and his detailed and objective game summary as we don't have to hear arguments being made over and over and over about why the Warriors should revert to Rainbows. Auwe.

Rick traveling - the best news I've heard ... unless Hawaii pulls the upset. Congrats Rick for working hard.

[oldtimegator]

A good analysis.
Actually Tebow may be a better threat running this year if the running backs step up and produce. Tebow has been very successful running when everyone knows he is going to run. If you don't know what to expect, look out. Tebow was a first year starter at QB last year, if he improves, oh say 30% it could be scary. He is the real deal. You can call him a system QB, say he won't make it in the pros or any thing else you want, all UF fans want is an SEC title and a shot at the BCS.
When Meyer came to UF he stated he needed to establish depth. Said he needed 10 quality WR's. UF fans thought he was crazy. I am now beginning to understand. UF has wave after wave of quality WR's now. There should be some tired DB's in the 4th Q chasing fresh WR's.

This team will only go as far as the D. The D will probably be better than expected and the O not as great as expected. Once again depth has been established on D. The question is will it be experienced enough.
Don't kick to Brandon James, he will make you pay. Protect your punter also or you will pay.
The heat will be bad, but it's more of a head game. These are young kids at the peak of condition. Harder on the old overweight fans.
Enough of this yapping, it's time for someone to hit someone else upside the head and draw some blood.
Go Gators!!!!!!

[falsekrack]

Mahalo Coach Ken for the report!

I've been checking the board everyday for your review. I truly appreciate your ability to break down the +'s and -'s of each team, with respect. Love your style and insight.

Our team has traveled to Florida and is going up against one of the top (if not thee top) football teams in the nation. And, regardless of what the experts (ie ESPN monkeys) say, we got a chance. It might be slim, but we got a chance.

This feeling of anticipation and excitement we all share heading up to the game can't be replicated. Add to those feelings the pride we feel for our boys and you have the best organized sport scenario going.

Last New Year's Day, the outcome was obviously not what we wanted. But I will never, ever forget the feelings I felt heading into the Sugar Bowl. Anticipation, excitement... but most of all, pride. Pretty much the same things going on now. Gotta love it.

College football rules. The Warriors Rule. Imua Warriors.

[guaransballbearins]

Thanks for the overview Coach!

I know you coach DB's, have you had a chance to take a look at and evaluate Jameel Dowling?

[Manoa]

Thanks, Coach Ken. As always a great breakdown.

I know it is contrary to the hard facts and the analysis, but I feel quite good about this game, but like you would feel better with Graunke in there because of his experience. I feel the team will rise to the ocassion and Florida will make some mistakes. We were shaky in fall camp, but we will gell in the game. Florida finished very strong in camp, but they will have rough first game. The closer margin will make this game more interesting. I want to see Hawaii improve with every game.

Congratulations to Rick!!