Watch & Read: Hansen working on being a total tight end

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Florida Co-Offensive Coordinator Rob Sale, defensive line coach Gerald Chatman, along with tight end Hayden Hansen and Edge George Gumbs Jr. met with the media after Tuesday’s spring practice.

ROB SALE

• Sale said that Bryce Lovett has had a good first three days. He is growing up and getting better every time he is out on the field. He said that he has the skillset to play all five positions
• Talked about Marcus Mascoll doing a good job. Said that he has been clean snapping the ball and he sees a very bright future for him.
• It’s great to have Jake Slaughter back. He’s a great person who does everything the right way. He is the glue along the offensive line.
• Sale said that this is the deepest offensive line that they’ve had since they’ve been here. He talked about it being a position where evaluation is important. You want four and five-star players, but you see some of those five stars and wonder what others are seeing in them.
• He called Billy Napier a closet offensive line coach.
• There’s a year-round quality to developing offensive linemen.
• Roderick Kearny is more natural as a guard.
• Others at right tackle are Caden Jones, Devon Manual. On the left side there’s Austin Barber and Fletcher Westphal as the one-two. He said Jones is right there in the mix. Said he is 6-foot-8, 345-pounds and can bend.
• He said that they have options, which is a really good thing.
• He wants to see how the players progress in June and July. He said that Enoch Wangoy is taken a good step forward here in his second spring.
• In talking about Knijeah Harris, he said his football instincts are different than what he is used to seeing. He looked like he was in year two while in year one. He talked about IMG Academy preparing him.
• Devon Manuel is battling back from his injury. He can play left or right, but they moved him to right to create a battle over there.

GERALD CHATMAN

• You can see when the pads go on how the technique they worked on in the offseason comes into play to help you.
• As for Florida’s late season surge, he said that how the team responded to the adversity they faced, they stayed bought in, they didn’t flinch is part of it.
• He said he never saw Billy Napier flinch in times of adversity last year, and that carried over to the coaches and players.
• Chatman called Jamari Lyons a special kid, a stand-up guy. Called him impactful.
• He said Michai Boireau is a smart kid, a tough kid, he expects him to have a big role.
• As for Caleb Banks, he said that he is looking for him to continue to grow as a man, besides the football part of it. He started to reach his peak during the back end of the season. Getting him to do that from day one and be consistent throughout the year. He has to work to be the guy that they saw at the tail end of the season.
• Despite losing Cam Jackson and Desmond Watson, he doesn’t think UF will miss a beat with Boireau and Lyons. He talked about Tarvorise Brown coming along as well.
• Chatman talked about the Chicago Bears interest in him. Opportunities come, he’s thankful that he is part of the UF program, under the leadership here. It’s great to be a Gator.

HAYDEN HANSEN

• Hansen talked about improving his route running and speed out of his stance, getting out of breaks faster. He worked with wide receiver coaches to get better. He said coach Chad Lucas and Dallas Wilson have worked with him.
• He has picked up some tips working with UCLA receiver transfer J. Michael Sturdivant. He said he is tall, and long. Complimented him on how he comes out of his breaks.
• Hansen said that Harrison Bailey has made it a point since arriving to connect with his teammates. He said Tramell Jones Jr. is almost like a veteran already.
• He said hopefully the ball finds him more this season. He likes to improve off of situations. Instead of a 20 yard gain, he wants to turn them into touchdowns this year.
• Bryce Lovett has made big strides. He said it is clicking with him, and when that happens, you play much faster
• He said that there are four or five tight ends who could play.
• Amir Jackson is a little banged up.
• Tony Livingston has had his ups and downs with injuries. He said that he and Livingston will be a problem in 12 personnel.

GEORGE GUMBS JR.

• Gumbs Jr. said he’s had a pretty good offseason. He is trying to find little things in his game to critique. He feels like he needs to be better in his footwork and his hand placement.
• He said that true freshmen Edge Jayden Woods is very violent. He said that even when they were in t-shirts and shorts, watching him strike people, he knew some of the tight ends hate seeing him on the edge because he is borderline violent. He said he has seen him translate that to the pads.
• He was asked about freshmen outside of the edge room and Gumbs Jr. singled out Jeramiah McCloud.
• After the flareup of UF planting their flag midfield after beating FSU last year, Gumbs Jr. said that he would do it again.

Videos courtesy GatorVision

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