Blue offense and orange defense evenly match in Florida football spring game

Under sunny skies in The Swamp, 47,100 Florida fans gathered for their first look at the Gators under Jon Sumrall. 

With many question marks revolving around Buster Faulkner’s offensive scheme and how Brad White has developed his defense through 14 spring practices, the Orange & Blue Spring Game gave Gator Nation a way to gauge whether Florida has become a cohesive unit on both sides of the ball.

Instead of the traditional orange versus blue format with the roster split into two teams, the game consisted of the offensive (blue) and defensive (orange) units going head to head. The offense earned points through traditional scoring, while the defense earned various points for interceptions, three-and-outs, turnovers on downs and punts.

Despite the yearly game’s new look, the competition didn’t disappoint.

Faulkner’s offense came out with an up-tempo approach, but failed to score in the opening quarter. Redshirt junior Kanye Clark stuffed Baugh on a 4th-and-1 run to open the game’s scoring with defensive points.

Clark racked up four solo tackles, including one for loss, in the first quarter alone and finished with six total tackles.

Sophomore linebacker Myles Johnson had 5 total tackles (4 solo) in the first half, while sophomore defensive back J’Vari Flowers and senior linebacker Jaden Robinson each had four. Johnson finished with seven tackles, while Flowers had five at the game’s conclusion.

Redshirt sophomore LJ McCray also made his presence felt on the line with constant pressure. He finished with four tackles, including one for loss, and a pass breakup.  

The Orange defense quickly jumped ahead 8-0, with a forced turnover on downs, three-and-out and a punt, with Brad White’s group showing no plans of relenting. 

Aaron Philo

Redshirt sophomore Aaron Philo handled the first drive for the blue offense and distributed the ball well. He completed passes to sophomore Vernell Brown III, redshirt junior Bailey Stockton,  junior Jadan Baugh, redshirt sophomore Luke Harpring and senior Eric Singleton Jr., all in his first drive against the stingy orange defense.

However, several miscues stifled many early opportunities the blue offense saw.

Philo overthrew redshirt sophomore TJ Abrams, who was open in the endzone down the left sideline in the first quarter, and he missed graduate receiver Kahleil Jackson on a go-route down the right sideline in the second.

True freshman KJ Ford sacked Philo on 3rd-and-10, forcing the blue offense to settle for a 48-yard field goal off the foot of redshirt sophomore Patrick Durkin.

Philo was also intercepted by senior safety DJ Coleman early in the second quarter as the orange defense took a 14-3 lead. The defense continued to show strength in the trenches as redshirt senior Emmanuel Oyebadejo also sacked Philo on third down to force a punt to add a 15th defensive point.

Philo’s early struggles didn’t end there. He threw behind Brown III, leading to an interception by junior safety Cam Dooley before halftime. The pass went off the sophomore receiver’s hands and right into the arms of Dooley. 

By then, the orange defense held a 25-10 lead, but the blue offense roared back with 15 unanswered points.

Philo answered with a 31-yard strike to Brown III with 44 seconds remaining in the half that moved the blue offense into a manageable 25-17 deficit. 

Then, with 30 seconds remaining in the half, Philo also drove the offense 60 yards downfield and hit Mays for his second touchdown of the afternoon, this one from 23 yards out. 

Mays finished with four catches for 122 yards and two touchdowns, while Philo finished 18-of-24 for 171 yards with two touchdown passes and two interceptions.

Tramell Jones Jr.

Though he struggled in his first two drives, redshirt freshman Tramell Jones Jr. first came to life when he put together a 65-yard touchdown drive, trailing 15-3. He hit Singleton on a 38-yard deep cross to bring the blue offense within five, 15-10. 

Just one play following Philo’s 31-yard touchdown to Brown, Jones found Micah Mays Jr. down the right sideline for a 75-yard touchdown. The blue offense scored a two-point conversion with a pass from Jones to Stockton that tied the game at 25.

With the late surge of Philo, Jones and Mays, the blue offense carried a 32-25 lead into halftime despite the orange defense’s 8-0 start.

Jones continued to operate well within Faulkner’s offense in the second half and hit Abrams on a 35-yard pass to set up a 29-yard Durkin field goal. 

He finished the game 13-of-17 for 210 yards and two touchdowns, earning a 219.1 passer rating.

Aidan Warner

Redshirt junior Aidan Warner also made his way into the spring game and added a rushing touchdown for the blue offense after stringing together a 75-yard drive. 

Warner’s 19-yard touchdown run gave the offense a commanding 42-25 lead.

In the fourth quarter, Warner led the blue offense to yet another score. He produced a 57-yard drive down to the 8 yard line, but the defense stood tall and forced a 26-yard Durkin field goal.

Warner finished 4-of-7 for 62 yards and added 22 yards rushing.

Will Griffin

True freshman Will Griffin looked to give fans their first look at his play in The Swamp, but struggled early. 

Through two drives, he allowed 10 defensive points and was intercepted by redshirt freshman Onis Konanbanny as the defense cut its deficit to 42-35 entering the fourth quarter.

Griffin led the offense downfield on his final drive, but Durkin missed a 49-yard field goal to give the defense three points and end the game in a tie, 45-45.

The true freshman finished 13-of-17 for 75 yards and an interception.

Aaron Williams

Redshirt sophomore Aaron Williams saw a drive’s worth of action in the spring game and completed 2-of-8 passes for 33 yards. He also produced a nice 7-yard rush and hit true freshman Justin Williams for a 25-yard gain.

He got the offense down to the 16, but a 34-yard field goal attempt by redshirt sophomore Brandon Rabasco sailed wide left.

Now, Sumrall says he will meet with all 111 of his players to discuss where they stand within their position groups and what they need to improve on through the remainder of the spring and into the summer.

Contact Curan Ahern at cahern@alligator.org. Follow him on X at @CuranAhern.

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