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<p>Will Muschamp looks on during the Orange &amp; Blue Debut on April 12 in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.</p>

Will Muschamp looks on during the Orange & Blue Debut on April 12 in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.

HOOVER, Ala. — The eyes of college football fans are upon Hoover, Ala., all week as the 2014 Southeastern Conference Media Days kicked off on Monday.

The coach with the hottest seat in the country — Will Muschamp — took the podium Monday in a much different situation that he saw himself in this time a year ago.

Last year, Florida was coming off of an 11-2 season, a Sugar Bowl berth and was pegged as the SEC East favorite.

Fast forward 365 days, and the Gators are trying to rebound from an injury-plagued, laughingstock of a season. Despite the circumstances, Muschamp remains confident in the team he has heading into the 2014 season.

“I think we’re going to have an outstanding year, I really do,” he said. “I’m very confident in this football team and this staff. I think this is the most complete football team we’ve had since I’ve been here from the standpoint of offense, defense and special teams.”

There’s no question that Muschamp was shocked by the drastically different way the 2012 and 2013 seasons went.

But after accepting the fact that it happened — even at a perennial power like Florida — getting back to work and moving forward is the next step.

“I think as a competitor you want to get back out on the field, play as soon as you can,” Muschamp said. “That’s why I’m really looking forward to getting to football and practicing and developing this football team.”

***

There have been a lot of comparisons during this offseason between the 2012 Auburn Tigers and the 2013 Gators.

Both teams had losing seasons. But in 2013, Auburn, after going 0-8 in the SEC just one year earlier, shocked the world by winning the conference and playing Florida State in the National Championship game.

Muschamp doesn’t think about the comparisons.

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“We totally focus on the University of Florida and what we need to do to be successful, and not how somebody else does something,” he said.

Dismissing the similarities between those two teams isn’t that illogical. For instance, the Tigers head coach Gus Malzahn was the offensive coordinator at Auburn from 2009-11 before a short stint as head coach at Arkansas State in 2012.

So even after leaving for a year, Malzahn already had a good handle on the offensive personnel at Auburn in 2013 — not to mention he recruited most of the players who started on the roster last season.

Would college football fans love to see Florida be 2014’s Auburn? Absolutely. But the situations both teams were in are very different.

***

One of the most important changes Muschamp made in the offseason is the addition of offensive coordinator Kurt Roper, who is implementing an up-tempo spread offensive scheme in Gainesville for 2014.

A key component to the offense’s success is quarterback Jeff Driskel, who is fully recovered from a broken fibula that he suffered last season against Tennessee on Sept. 21. Driskel is one of only five starting quarterbacks returning in the SEC.

For Driskel, Roper’s offense will move him to the shotgun as opposed to directly under center — the type of offense he ran in high school at Hagerty. Throughout spring, Driskel looked much more confident from the shotgun, especially when he would take off on the run.

“I think what we’re doing now offensively fits him better,” Muschamp said. “That was part of the reason why I hired Kurt and what they do with the quarterback, his development at the position, I think Kurt’s track record speaks for itself.”

Success for Driskel is simple: Manage the game.

While the expectations for Driskel are high, considering that, of the three systems he has been in, this one is the most suited to his skill set. He won’t have to have a Johnny Manziel-type season to be successful.

Given the depth Florida has at running back, the offense might not have to rely so much on the passing attack. UF returns Mack Brown, Matt Jones and Kelvin Taylor in the backfield for 2014. Early enrollee Brandon Powell also has the talent to contribute this fall as well.

“Kelvin Taylor had a great year for us,” Muschamp said. “Mack Brown is going into his senior year. Matt Jones missed most of last year and missed all of camp with a viral infection, I think the fifth game against LSU, he tore his meniscus. He’s up over 230 pounds now, carried it extremely well watching him this morning.”

The best way to deal with being on the hot seat is pretty simple in Muschamp’s opinion.

“You combat that by having a good football team which we’re going to have,” he said, “and winning games which we’re going to do.”

***

Muschamp wasn’t the only coach who had controversy heading into the SEC Media Days.

Auburn quarterback Nick Marshall gave Gus Malzahn some baggage leading up to SEC Media Days, as Marshall was charged with possession of marijuana on Friday. Marshall was supposed to be in attendance in Hoover, but it was announced Sunday evening that tight end C.J. Uzomah would take his place.

Malzahn did not directly address what Marshall’s punishment would be on Monday at the podium.

“Nick made a mistake and he’ll have to deal with the consequences,” he said. “I’m not ready to say what those consequences are at this time, but he will deal with it. I know he’s regretful and he feels very bad about it.”

The other coach in attendance was Vanderbilt’s Derek Mason, who is in his first year with the Commodores. Mason was hired from Stanford, where he served on the Cardinal defensive staff from 2011-2013.

Mason, who inherits a Vanderbilt program coming off of a historic two nine-win seasons, said that while those accomplishments should be respected, he wants to do a lot more than just win nine games in a year.

“When I look at where we’re at, what’s going on, Vanderbilt is a great opportunity, a great job,” Mason said. “But my expectation is to push the envelope a little bit. We have to move past the idea of playing for nine wins. Nine wins, it’s really exceptional. At the end of the day why have nine when you can have ten. Why settle for 10 when you can have 11?”

Continue to follow the alligatorSports staff for nonstop coverage of all the action in Hoover.

Follow Morgan Moriarty on Twitter @Morgan_Moriarty

Will Muschamp looks on during the Orange & Blue Debut on April 12 in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.

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