Thoughts of the Day: Florida O-line could be wounded warriors

A few thoughts to jump start your Thursday morning:

A week ago, with an offensive line as healthy as it’s been in three weeks, the Gators couldn’t run the football against Kentucky and they struggled to pass protect for quarterback Graham Mertz. The Gators managed only 69 rushing yards and Mertz was not only sacked three times for -21 yards, he was flushed out of the pocket on a regular basis.

One week later, the Gators (3-2, 1-1 SEC) are faced with the possibility of facing Vanderbilt (2-4, 0-2 SEC) with left tackle Austin Barber and center Kingsley Eguakun both listed as questionable while dealing with lower body injuries. Barber is still listed as the starter at left tackle, but Jake Slaughter, who has started games against Utah, McNeese State and Charlotte, is listed as the starter at center. If Barber can’t go, Lyndell Hudson II will get the call. Hudson has spent most of the season at right tackle.

With Hudson shifting over, Kamryn Waites is listed as the backup right tackle behind Damieon George Jr.

At this point, it seems the Gators will be going with somewhat of a patchwork line, not exactly ideal considering this is a Southeastern Conference game and the Gators are coming off a dismal performance against Kentucky last week. While stating confidence that Waites, Hudson, Jordan Herman and others can get the job done after good practice weeks, there is always that issue of continuity. Vanderbilt might be an SEC bottom dweller, but the Commodores did stuff the Florida running game last year (Gators were 21-45) and that was against a UF offensive line that was one of the best in the country in blocking for the run game.

“So you know, it’s one of the solutions that we’re pursuing to some degree, right?” Napier said. In terms of continuity up front. We haven’t you know, it’s not just game day where continuity becomes an issue. It’s also in how you practice, who’s available during the week, the mixture of rotations.”

No matter who is available on the offensive line, the Gators may be down their most explosive running back. Trevor Etienne (60-357 rushing, 2 TDs, 5.97 per carry) is listed as questionable with what is described as an upper body injury. In the event Etienne is unable to answer the bell, Montrell Johnson Jr. (56-253, 3 TDs, 4.52 per carry) will take on the bulk of the carries while backed up by true freshman Treyaun Webb (18-76, 2 TDs, 4.22 per carry).

Montrell Johnson on the team mentality after the Kentucky loss: “The message has been just to continue to not beat ourselves. I feel like the games that we lost it was us beating ourself, it was not anything the opponent did. It was just execution issues, stuff like that, and things that we have to fix on.”

Montrell Johnson on the possibility of an increased workload in the event Trevor Etienne can’t go Saturday: “If Trevor can’t go, I trust the coaches to put me in the right position to make the right plays. If that means getting an extra load, I’m down for the challenge.”

Montrell Johnson on expectations that the UF defense is due for a bounce-back performance against Vanderbilt: “I’m very confident. They just had a magnificent practice today. They had the mindset that nobody is going to beat us on the ground ever again. I think that’s all mentality. I think that we took that and ran with that after last game, and I think that we are going to be great moving forward.”

Montrell Johnson on what’s holding the Florida offense back: “I think it’s us. We are the only ones that’s holding ourselves back. I feel like nothing the opponent did. They did nothing to stop us. I feel like it was us and we got to find a way to get it together.”

Injury report for Vanderbilt: LT Austin Barber (lower body, questionable); WR Thai Chaiokhiao-Boman (lower body, questionable); WR Caleb Douglas (lower body, out); C Kingsley Eguakun (lower body, questionable); RB Trevor Etienne (upper body, questionable); S Miguel Mitchell (lower body, questionable); TE Jonathan Odom (upper body, out); LB Ja’Markis Weston (upper body, out); TE Dante Zanders (lower body, questionable).

SEC football:

No. 11 Alabama (4-1, 2-0 SEC): Linebacker Deontae Lawson and offensive lineman Terrence Ferguson, who both missed last week’s game with Mississippi State, are practicing this week. Nick Saban says it’s unclear right now if either will be able to go Saturday at Texas A&M.

Arkansas (2-3, 0-2 SEC): Sam Pittman has moved Patrick Kutas to center this week. More changes on the offensive line are possible prior to Saturday’s game at Ole Miss … Alabama is favored by only 1.5 points to beat Texas A&M. The line opened at 2.5 points on Sunday.

Auburn (3-2, 0-2 SEC): Defensive lineman Mosiah Nasili-Kite suffered a torn biceps against Georgia last week. He’s expected to miss the remainder of the season. Linebacker Austin Keys has missed every game since the season opener due to a thumb injury. Decisions will have to be made whether to bring him back for the remainder of the season or use this as a medical redshirt year.

No. 1 Georgia (5-0, 2-0 SEC): Kirby Smart says every SEC team Georgia plays is capable of beating the Bulldogs. He doesn’t seem to think it’s a down year in the league. “I personally think every SEC team should be ranked,” Smart said Wednesday. Currently, only seven of the 14 are ranked by the Associated Press … The betting line favoring the Bulldogs over Kentucky has increased from 14.5 points to 15 points since Sunday.

No. 20 Kentucky (5-0, 2-0 SEC): On the SEC Coaches Teleconference call, Mark Stoops said Kentucky had a decent practice on Monday but said the Wildcats “weren’t up to par on Tuesday to go play the No. 1 team in the country on the road.”

No. 23 LSU (3-2, 1-2 SEC): Safety Greg Brooks, who had a brain tumor removed back in September, has been diagnosed with medulloblastoma, which is a very rare form of brain cancer … Brian Kelly’s message to his team heading into Saturday’s matchup with No. 21 Missouri is “play fast, play physical, don’t worry about making mistakes, just go play.”

Mississippi State (2-3, 0-3 SEC): Asked on the SEC Coaches Teleconference to evaluate how well he’s done as a first year coach nearing the midway point of the season, Zach Arnett replied, “I’ll be honest with you, I don’t think that’s a good or fair question right now in the middle of the season because to me those are things you reflect on and can answer better at the end of the season.” The Bulldogs face Western Michigan of the Mid-America Conference Saturday, maybe the last game they’ll be favored to win all season … The Bulldogs are favored by 20.5 points Saturday.

No. 21 Missouri (5-0, 1-0 SEC): Quarterback Brady Cook has thrived under first year offensive coordinator Kirby Moore. Cook has yet to throw an interception and his string of 347 consecutive passes without a pick that dates back to last year is an SEC record. Cook has thrown 10 touchdown passes while averaging 9.8 yards per attempt in the last three games … Missouri is a 5.5-point underdog at home against LSU Saturday.

No. 16 Ole Miss (4-1, 1-1 SEC): Ole Miss was fined $175,000 by the Southeastern Conference. The SEC fined Ole Miss $75,000 because its fans delayed the win over LSU by throwing trash on the field after an official’s call they disagreed with and $100,000 for fans storming the field after the 55-49 win … The Rebels are 11.5-point favorites to knock off Arkansas in Oxford on Saturday.

South Carolina (2-3, 1-2 SEC): The Gamecocks are getting a short practice week so they can heal up from all the bumps, bruises and strains of the first five game. Beamer said quarterback Spencer Rattler needs the time off most since he took a physical beating against Tennessee when he was sacked seven times.

No. 22 Tennessee (4-1, 1-1 SEC): Josh Heupel has wide receivers who can catch the football, but his concern after losing Bru McCoy with a broken and dislocated ankle is how to replace McCoy’s physicality on the perimeter when it comes to blocking … The Vols get the week off, but their next three games are Texas A&M at Neyland followed by roadies to Alabama and Kentucky.

Texas A&M (4-1, 2-0 SEC): Jimbo Fisher says the key to neutralizing Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe is “keep him in the pocket when you rush him and not give him outlets.” Milroe has thrown for 838 yards and six touchdowns, but he’s dangerous when he breaks containment. Against Mississippi State, Milroe ran 11 times for 69 yards and two touchdowns.

Vanderbilt (2-4, 0-2 SEC): Linebacker Kane Patterson will miss the Florida game and maybe a few more weeks, but he’s not out the rest of the season. Injured in the loss to Missouri, Patterson had 17 tackles in six games … Vanderbilt remains an 18.5-point road underdog against Florida.

ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: The NCAA, in its infinite wisdom, strikes once again. This time the Division I Council is proposing to shorten the transfer portal windows. Under the new proposal, football players will have 30 days at the end of the regular season and 15 days in the spring. That’s 45 days and a difference of 15 from the last two years. For men’s and women’s basketball, the window will be open only 45 days at the conclusion of the season.

In one respect, the reduction to 45 days will give coaches more time to recruit high school kids as well as get some extra time off after long, grueling seasons. The move will mean less time for kids to make their transfer decisions. While true that 61 percent of all kids make their decisions within 30 days, there has to be a way to adjust the window so that kids on bowl or playoff teams have adequate opportunity to make the right choice.

If the NCAA is indeed serious about the welfare of the student-athlete, then it needs to ensure that the kids aren’t rushed into bad decisions. The problem is how to arrange the timing? It’s easy for basketball since the season ends the first weekend in April. A 45-day window is more than adequate time since there is no new semester beginning.

Football is a different story. Kids who don’t want to bail on teammates during bowl preparation or the playoff will feel a serious squeeze. How do they concentrate on being true to their team and teammates if their window of opportunity ends on January 1 or, in the case of a playoff team, maybe a week later? The importance of being on campus in time for the start of the second semester and to have mat drills plus spring practice with new coaches and teammates cannot be overstated.

Most Division I Council proposals are almost rubber-stamped, which is one of the reasons nobody in his right mind trusts the NCAA to do the right things for student-athletes. This latest attempt at doing the right thing might indeed have some ideas worth consideration and expansion, but it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to pick a few holes through it.

The transfer portal needs some work, no doubt about it, but if the NCAA rams this one through and makes it the law of the land, it will most likely wind up as effective as anything else the organization does. In other words, a college sports equivalent of the Titanic going down in the North Atlantic.