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On Tuesday, offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner, defensive coordinator Brad White, senior cornerback Dijon Johnson, and junior tight end Luke Harpring spoke about the SEC opener against the Auburn Tigers at Jordan-Hare Stadium on Saturday.
Faulkner on the Auburn defense and where his unit stands
Faulkner said DJ Durkin’s defenses are committed to stopping the run, and wherever Durkin has coached, his defenses have “played with their hair on fire.” He thinks the quarterback competition will help junior quarterback Aaron Philo be prepared for the road environment, and the preparation of the offense doesn’t change with the game being on the road.
“He was in a quarterback competition for months, so that’s pressure every day; it’s something that you got to bring it every day, which he was able to do,” Faulkner said. “Then do everything that we’ve done with our offseason training, all that stuff is designed to be able to play anywhere.”
Faulkner said Philo has done good things through the first two weeks, and he has always been impressed with his ability to make “off schedule” plays. He highlighted Philo’s 40-yard touchdown pass to sophomore wide receiver Dallas Wilson as a play where Philo was able to identify him off schedule.
For the offensive line, Faulkner said communication will remain key for them to be successful, and it was an issue against Campbell.
“Towards the second half of that game, regardless of who’s in, it got a little sloppy, and it all started with communication,” Faulkner said. “Obviously this week will be big with the crowd noise and making sure we’re all on the same page.”
Faulkner said Wilson’s work ethic is what separates him as a player.
“His work ethic, you know, I truly believe the best players are the hardest practicing players; they go every day,” Faulkner said. “If you watch him practice, sometimes you have to tell him to calm down, which is a good thing; I think that’s what separates him.”
White on how his unit shapes up against Auburn’s offense
Defensive coordinator Brad White said the length of time for players in Auburn’s offensive system, the tempo, and their offensive line will present challenges for his defense. Specifically, Auburn senior quarterback Byrum Brown is someone White said will be a threat.
“There’s a reason that he’s been successful for a couple of years now,” White said. “When he’s got the ball in his hand, he’s a threat, he throws a really nice deep ball, and they can create explosives that way.”
White also said Auburn senior running back Jeremiah Cobb has balance and strength that could give the defense trouble if they don’t thoroughly tackle him.
“I always thought he had a great vision, contact balance, and again, another guy that’s got a really good, strong lower half,” White said. “If you don’t make solid contact into his legs, if you arm tackle, he can run through them.”
White said the defense has to be able to recognize screen passes, and he said Baylor gave them film they can watch to prepare. He said they have a clean slate going into each week, not thinking about any of the previous weeks.
He said sophomore JACK Jayden Woods is continuing to grow as a player and understand his rushes. He praised sophomore cornerback J’Vari Flowers was competitive at the top of each route, and he said Flowers still has to clean up aspects of his technique.
White praised sophomore defensive lineman Jeramiah McCloud’s competitive nature through the first two games of the season.
“We just talked about J’Vari and how competitive he is, you feel 91, you feel his competitive energy on game day,” White said. “I don’t even have to look, and you can like feel him walking behind you.”
He said junior linebacker Myles Graham has been a stabilizing presence for the defense.
“He’s that really stabilizing force,” White said. “The best thing about Myles is that like there’s never a high, there’s never a low.”
Johnson on coming back from injury and preparing for Auburn
Cornerback Dijon Johnson said he was excited to get back on the field, and he took every day as a chance to recover after his knee surgery by using all the resources available to him.
He likes the ability to play free in White’s defense, and he gave credit for his interception against Florida Atlantic to senior defensive back DJ Coleman. He thinks the defense is heading in the right direction for Saturday’s SEC opener, and they aren’t thinking about last season’s USF game.
“I feel like this is a new year; it’s another opportunity for us to put together our best game,” Johnson said. “I feel like we haven’t done that yet, but I feel like each week we are growing in the right direction.”
As a senior, Johnson is trying to lead the rest of the players in the cornerback room. While he said it’s a challenge, he knows it’s something he needs to do.
“Well, just leading those guys is a challenge each and every week,” Johnson said. “My coaches challenge me to do so, I’m just doing my best to lead those guys. I’ve been around a little longer, so I feel like I owe that to them.”
Johnson thinks the defense took a step in the right direction against Campbell in playing tighter in coverage and knows they will need to cover tightly against Auburn’s receivers.
“It’s another challenge for us; it’s another challenge to get sticky coverage on those guys, but this is what the SEC is all about,” Johnson said.
Harpring on the offense and going on the road
Tight end Luke Harpring said he thought Florida was the best place for his development when transferring. He thinks Philo has been impressive through his first two games at Florida.
“Philo’s been great, he’s a slinger, he can throw the rock,” Harpring said. “I’ve been impressed so far, and I think the sky’s the limit for him.”
He said he thought the tight end room was an underrated part of the offense, and he said when they get a chance to make a play they have to capitalize.
Harpring is excited to go into the road environment on Saturday, and he thinks any competitor should enjoy the environment.
“If you’re a competitor, you like a road environment,” Harpring said. “The loud aspect of it; I love a road environment. Going in there, knowing everyone wants you to lose, then you step on their throat and win, something about it gets me going.”
He thinks his blocking has been an area he has improved on since transferring to Florida, and the coaches wanted him to improve on it as well.
“Since I came here in the spring, that’s been a big emphasis on my improvement, and I think I’ve gotten a lot better at that.”
Harpring and the offense will get a chance to showcase their unit for the first time on the road against the Auburn Tigers in the SEC opener on Saturday at 7 pm.
Video courtesy GatorVision on YouTube
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