After the first practice of camp, UF coach Dan Mullen stressed that mental effort will be one of the most important focuses for his players this fall.
Florida’s new head coach said his favorite play of the day was a check-down made by redshirt sophomore quarterback Kyle Trask that went for six yards.
“That’s starting to show grasp,” he said. “Now that’s the mental side of things I really want them to pick up.”
Mullen was full of praise for the 6-foot-5 signal caller.
He highlighted Trask’s size and ability to stand tall in the pocket and read the field. He also brought attention to Trask’s talent of being able to make accurate throws at different distances using different arm angles in addition to his willingness to leave the pocket and be a physical runner.
“He’s very conscious about trying to do what we ask him to do,” Mullen said. “He’s more than capable to do everything we need him to do and be really successful at it.”
Trask and incumbent starter Feleipe Franks both received the same amount of reps with the first team, according to the head coach.
Freshman quarterback Emory Jones also showed positive signs Mullen said. Jones looked especially comfortable running read-option drills inside the 10-yard-line.
“Sometimes he doesn’t look like a freshman because he’s had a spring and you can see he’s worked hard at it,” Mullen said.
From a team standpoint, Mullen stressed to his players that attitude will determine how much success the Gators will have in 2018.
“We should be a great football team this year,” he said. “But when everyone in the locker room changes that to ‘we must be a great team’ and has a desperate attitude and mindset toward it, that’s when we’ll become a great team.”
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A unit of Florida wide receivers, including transfers Van Jefferson (12) and Trevon Grimes (8), rests during Day 1 of fall camp after catching passes from the quarterbacks.
