Florida offensive coordinator Brent Pease hears what people say about his offense. But when describing his scheme, stay away from one adjective in particular.
“First off, I don’t know what vanilla … I’ve heard the word vanilla. I don’t know what vanilla is,” Pease said. “I’ve never made a game plan with vanilla. It’s never what I would go into with a game plan. I would feel too uncomfortable saying, ‘We’ve got to save all this, save all that.’”
Pease’s alleged “vanilla” scheme worked for the Gators in a 24-6 win against Toledo.
Florida tallied 262 rushing yards on 48 carries for a 68.6 percent rush rate that ranks third in the Southeastern Conference. The Gators also hogged the football and ranked second in the nation with a 39:48 time of possession after Week 1.
But UF’s passing attack gained only 153 yards and ranks 94th nationally after one week of play. The Gators struggled in the vertical passing game last season, and Toledo’s quarters coverage caused Pease to rely more on check-down throws.
Still, Florida showed potential through the air and on the ground with nine “explosive plays.” UF tags running plays that gain 12 yards or more and passing plays of 16 yards or more as “explosive plays.” But the yardage gained by a play is of less consequence to Pease than its ultimate result — a first down or a touchdown.
“I’m not measuring it on yards,” Pease said. “That’s called, ‘You’re trying to get your guru card.’ Maybe when I was 30 years old, but I’m not 30 years old anymore.”
The offensive focus relies solely on winning, but senior wide receiver Trey Burton, who led the team with five catches for 69 yards on Saturday, believes UF is capable of more.
“There’s a lot more potential,” Burton said. “Off the top of my head, I can think of 17 points that we left on the field. We didn’t capitalize on those opportunities. Hopefully, in the future, we can put up more points. But we’re just worried about wins right now.”
Pease praised one play in particular from freshman wide receiver Ahmad Fulwood. Fulwood gained 5 yards on his first career catch, a play that converted the lone third down of the Gators’ second touchdown drive against the Rockets.
“You guys see it as a 5-yard catch,” Pease said. “I see it as a first down on a third-down conversion that last year we probably don’t get.”
Pease said that by focusing on moving the chains rather than trying to find extra yardage, Fulwood showed maturity. Fulwood was playing to win.
“I know what it means because a kid tries to dance around and go lateral,” Pease said. “[Fulwood] sticks his foot in the ground and nice and gets it. He’s 2 yards short of the sticks, but he gets it. He has enough awareness to stick his foot in the ground and get forward. Terrific work. He got the first down for us.”
The play-by-play mentality has diminished the output from the passing game since Pease’s arrival in Gainesville, but it’s hard to argue with the results. UF is 12-2 with Pease calling the shots on offense.
When Pease went to apologize to Demarcus Robinson for what some would call the freshman wideout’s “vanilla” debut, Robinson gave Pease the cherry on top.
“I went up to him in the locker room,” Pease said. “I said, ‘You know what? Just be patient. I’m going to do a better job of getting some things designed.’ ‘Coach,’ he goes, ‘I had fun and we won.’”
Follow Joe Morgan on Twitter @joe_morgan.
Jeff Driskel reaches for a snapped ball during Florida’s 24-6 victory against Toledo on Saturday in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Driskel completed 17 of 22 passes for 153 yards and a touchdown in the game.
