TRANSCRIPT: Dan Mullen on Florida Gators Camp, One Week In

One week into the Florida Gators fall camp, head Coach Dan Mullen has a better sense of his team. He met with local media on Thursday to recap practices the past week, talk quarterback Emory Jones, the ACL tear for Jaydon Hill, updated COVID protocols and more.

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And stay tuned this weekend! Your mailboxes will be getting another Express Issue: Fall Camp Edition!

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Opening statement

“Back to the Zooms. Hope everybody is doing alright. Getting ready. Obviously first good week of training camp right now with our guys. Pretty good attitude, guys working hard. We’re over there at the Rec fields, getting out there and get that training camp mentality. It’s been pretty good. You’ve got your normal bumps and bruises. Got a couple – Robert Carlson is going to be out for the year with an ACL. Jaydon Hill tore his ACL. He’ll be out for the year. Very unfortunate when you’ve got to deal with injuries. It’s really a tragedy with the amount of work that these guys put in, how hard they put in. Both of them were non-contact injuries. Just kind of a shame that stuff happens out there on the field. Besides that, everybody else is kind of, you know, your normal bumps and bruises that guys miss part of a practice or limited or banged up or one day rest and back the next day. Everything else, I think the training camp is going pretty well. We’re still in the installation phase of things right now. We’re going to continue to install through the weekend and the plan is to have our first scrimmage on Sunday. I’m hoping we get through Saturday morning’s practice which would really put in the Saturday afternoon-Sunday-Monday schedule is a little influx right now right now because on the weather, so we might be mixing up some of those days around to make sure we get the right thing, so don’t get frustrated if we have to change schedules on you at the last minute, but that’s kind of what we have going on right now.”

How do you address loss of Jaydon Hill and who do you look to?

“There’ll be a bunch of guys. You’re still in training camp. There’s going to be a lot of opportunities for guys coming in. We have (Jadarrius) Perkins, transferred in, going to have an opportunity. Obviously, Avery Helm who I think is going to be extremely talented. Might just have to accelerate his career to get him on the field. (Ethan) Pouncey coming off the surgery is really kind of getting back to the player we thought he could be. There’s going to be some of those young guys that might just get a little more opportunity than they were expecting at this point.”

LAST TIME YOU SAW EMORY ON FIELD BEFORE CAMP? AREAS OF GROWTH YOU'VE NOTICED?

"It would have been, what? Last spring practice, because we're not allowed to be out there with a ball. I mean we do some walk-through stuff here and there or discussions at meeting times. But not on the field; would have been our last spring practice that we had. So as you go through different things with him, I just think he's approached everything very well. But he's approached things great since he's been here. I think he's never been a guy to come in, always been a guy that's open, learning, willing to adapt, learn how to adjust to the role he's in, learn how to grow and continue to grow through different roles. I think he's been able to do a really good job of that. And so I think when you do that and you've seen how everybody approaches things and you approach things the right way, which he has through his whole career, I think, 'Hey, this role, I know what to expect and I'm expecting kind of maybe the additional scrutinies and pressures coming into the season.'"

PLAYERS RAVING ABOUT GERVON DEXTER, YOU SEEING WHAT THEY SAY ON HIM BEING A BEAST THIS SEASON?

"You know, I don't... you know me, I don't go to those extremes maybe with compliments. Right? But the one thing to me that Gervon, that I like that I've seen... obviously we know he's got physical talents. But one of the things that you see is different is his maturity, is his understanding that, you know, 'Hey, I have these physical talents but I also have to understand and play within the scheme. I have a job to do on every single play. I've got to complete my assignment. And my approach to how I come out and play,' I think he's shown a great deal of maturity within it. It's maturity and that leads into leadership. Maturity leads into his better preparation and maturity and understanding of, 'Hey, I'm not just this big guy running out here trying to make plays, I'm out here trying to execute the defense.' And I think that's what's really shown to me."

What is your comfort level with the offensive line?

"Kingsley's really been a guy that's embraced it. We rotate, in spring we rotate a lot of guys through because you've gotta have depth at that position. The other positions you've gotta block but there's an extra skill involved with the snap at that position so you want to create depth. He's a guy that really kind of jumped and embraced that role. He's a guy that, 'I'm not here getting reps, I'm not here preparing.' Really, to me, his approach since last spring is, 'I'm here to be the starting center.' I mean he's really approached it with that kind of attitude and mindset and it shows. With the mental aspect that goes with it, the leadership, he's embraced everything that comes with being the center and wanting to go be the starter."

Kingsley chosen for the leadership council as a freshman

"I just think you look at guys, find guys that are going to fit that mold in the future. he's extremely intelligent. He has a very high care factor, really loves being a Florida Gator, and represents the program well. When you look at some of, especially those things outside of that, it's guys that want to embrace those types of roles and he's someone who has wanted to do that.''

Emory retention from spring to fall

"Really good. I think he has a good grasp. He obviously has a really good grasp of the offense, been around a couple of years. I think it's really getting into more of how to function, how to use the offense, constantly on accuracy, balance, making all his different types of throws that he needs to make and then his comfort level of how to make plays and when to make plays. We limit some of that in practice. You have the freedom to scramble today. There will be days where I won't give him that freedom, you have got to stand in the pocket. Then you actually gotta coach beyond that and say, 'hey, I hope you would have scrambled in that situation, because there was a huge running lane and go take advantage of it. We give him a lot of different things. I think his grasp of the offense is really good. It's getting him prepared in every situation in how to be the best playmaker he can be."

Tyreak Sapp

"We're hoping. On our end everything's done. Now it's just waiting on other people."

How are are Nick Elksnis and Marcus Burke fitting in?

“They’re doing good, learning. There’s a lot of learning curve. They’re out there getting reps. You can see both of them are going to have really bright futures with us with how they play. They both have excellent skill sets. Obviously Nick has a little advantage having gone through spring. He had the opportunity to go through spring, so coming out there he at least knows how practices work, knows what’s going on, he’s run the plays in the offense once before. Both of them are going to have really good futures with us.”

Jaydon same knee (right) as high school?

“Other one.”

Anthony Richardson wearing No. 15 and responsibilities that come with that?

“The nice this is, I think he was 2 and he said, can I go to 15? I looked at the roster, I don’t know who was 15, wasn’t Copeland 15 last year. He had already changed out and so Anthony got to me and there wasn’t a waiting list at 15, there’s a huge waiting list at 2, of people that want jersey No. 2. So I said what an easy benefit to get somebody, right, there’s not a waiting list for 15, but there is for 2.”

Fenley Graham a returner, who else looking at?

“Fenley coming out of high school, obviously everybody knew that was a guy that was very much a utility player, a really good football player, can return punts, can return kicks, can move him around defensively. A guy who has a really natural instinct for the ball. Obviously in the return games he’s up there big. Trying to work Demarkus Bowman into that situation to return kicks. For new guys, I’m trying to think who else we got back there … we really just started with kickoff return so I haven’t seen those guys do that. Punt return, obviously you have Xzavier Henderson back there, Kaiir Elam, guys that have been back there in the past to go do that stuff as well. We’re just kind of working through those things with that. Ja’Markis Weston is a guy I’m really excited to see in a kickoff return role possibly. We kind of really have been more on technique and individual part of special teams rather than the return game and the full-on scheme; that’s coming in the next week.”

How do you feel about the NCAA acclimation period?

“Ahh, I don’t know. It is what it is. They create the rules. I would do it very differently for the health and safety of players. The acclimation period, the one big thing they did was allow the little spider little protective things on you’re non-padded days, so I think that helped. For the first time probably in a long time we didn’t have injuries in the first two days probably because of that. I don’t know. You put on full pads one day earlier. Could they change it back a day? Sure. Absolutely. I don’t think there would be an difference in that one way or another. I don’t know that that made a factor. I think the biggest factor, as always, is them trying to cram 25 practices into 29 days, which is a lot. The health, all the experts say the more rest and recovery you have the healthier the team will be so I don’t know why we weren’t able to start two or three days earlier and add more off days. Today is one of our first recovery days within the calendar. I would have liked to have already had one already before this. But because you have to cram the practices in, it does hurt that way and, honestly, it’s not even the physical. It’s the mental health of players of giving them a little bit of breather time. We try to work the schedule as best we can to help them and get them all prepared. But, you know, you have these 25 days of practices set up and you’d love to do them over 32 days and give everybody a little bit more time of rest and recovery in between.”

Voice gone?

“That’s just football. I’m of my summer chill voice, right? I don’t scream Jimmy Buffett tunes that loud when I’m in the summertime, so you’re kind of like a little more chilled voice. In season, you kind of pick up voice and have to yell a little bit. I think I’m doing pretty good, to be honest with you, with my voice. I didn’t come in like this and I’m not all the way full Nick Savage yet. I’m doing OK.”

Jaydon Hill’s mind-set after this? He think he has a shot next year?

“Absolutely. I think massive disappointment. Being ready for this opportunity to be the guy, but you’re looking at a young guy that’s been through this once and came out on the positive end on the other side. I think he understands how to come through it, what he needs to do and how he can get through it and how it’ll improve. I think with him knowing the program, knowing the defense, knowing his maturity, he’s a guy that’s going to be pretty comfortable, I think, saying I put myself in the position to be a starter. I had this little setback, but I’ve worked hard. Nothing was ever handed to me. I had to work hard to be a starter. If you’ve done that, if you know the path of hard work, how to get into that role, when you get knocked off course, you know how to get back there. If it was just handed something, maybe it was harder. But he’s worked his tail off to earn everything he’s gotten here. I think that makes it easier because you und how to get back there. I know that path. I know what I need to do, and I plan on being back full speed here shortly.”

Tebow with the Jags – been able to see any footage?

“I haven’t. How’s he doing? I’m in, like…I’ll be honest with you. If you tell me about anything goes on in the world right now, it would be news to me. If it doesn’t involve Florida football, I have no idea that it’s actually happening.”

Would Tebow be one of the few guys who could make that transition?

“I never put anything past Tim, of doing things. You know what I mean? We’ll see. I’m not there. I think he could. He’d be an interesting guy in that position because I think he brings different value of a guy that has a different skill set, right? It’s kinda like —hey, it’s a guy that has developed a unique set of skills through the years that makes him very dangerous to people like them or whatever. What’s that movie? Liam Neeson? Taken? I think that’s kinda cool. You want to be a guy with a very unique set of skills. That’s an all-time classic movie, too. That is a great movie."

Movie banter about Liam Neeson

“He did it so perfectly in that role, so…I would. I don’t want…I would have it slightly ahead of Replacements. Just slightly.”

Do you really have a waiting list for jersey numbers?

“I mean if you really wanna see it, like I’m gonna just go, ‘ok anybody—we’re gonna open up jersey numbers. Every jersey number has been cancelled. You need to be outside my office and we’re gonna reassign jersey numbers.’ And I’ll let you guys handle it. It’s like the craziest, I’m like, ‘ok what number?’ 'I want this number but if you don’t have that, I want this number.’ I’ll get text and I’m like ‘put them in order.’ It’s like 10 different numbers in order of what they want.”

Should put a sign up outside the door.

“It’s unbelievable. It’s just crazy. You know what I was gonna do, I was just gonna assign them weekly so every week, everybody has a different jersey number. That would give everybody the experience of playing in the different jersey numbers.”

Opponents would hate that while scouting

“I’m sure, I’m sure—if there isn’t a rule, there’d be one. Like you can’t wear a t-shirt right before the game.”

New Dan Mullen Rule

“More Dan Mullen rules.”

Georgia would hate it.

You probably have a section in the rule book; all the rules because of Dan Mullen.

(Laughs) “Oh”

You didn’t play for or coach with Bobby Bowden, but any sort of impact on you in scheme, etc?

“Absolutely. You know he came to speak, when I was at Mississippi State, he came and spoke for us there. You know, being around him, you study him—obviously schemes. I thought he was, you know, a pretty unique innovator, during the, of the game of football; a lot with the shotgun and no huddle offense’s and very much an innovator in the game that way, you know. And then, obviously, one of the things you see, guys that have a long period of success, they must be doing something right. Obviously, it's so many amazing things right over that long period of success, but even more importantly—to me as a coach—is, you look at how people, you know, where they hold them. Obviously, not just—it’s, one thing is the respect that coaches have as a peer. But I think what’s even more telling is all the respect his former players have and the impact he made on their lives which is so special, which really shows you, not just that he was a great coach and an innovator of the game and made an impact on the game that way. But even more importantly, made an impact on so many young men’s lives, I think is what what really makes him so special.”

Thoughts on the competition at kicker?

"Yeah, it'll be a good little competition between those two guys. You know, obviously, Chris has been with the program since I've been here and I've seen unbelievable improvement of him from one year to the next within our program. I think, comes into the year with a lot of confidence. And then obviously, Jace, knowing Jace, recruiting Jace out of high school, having him play for me. Heck, you know, I mean he scored the points the last time we were in a stadium and I was just on the opposite sideline this time. He's the one that scored the points when we went out there to play him a couple years ago at Mississippi State against us. So, I know that he has experience and a background. So, it'll be a good little battle for those two guys, but I think they work together and it gives us the opportunity to make sure we have two kickers that are ready to go play."

Your guys are saying the right things about NIL, focus is on football. Is that your message or their own?

"I think they're feeling their way through it all right now. I think everybody is, you know? I mean, it's just kind of still continuing to feel their way through it, finding all the different things going on. I'll be honest with you, I think our guys probably, the most part are very focused on football and that's consuming a massive amount of time right now in everybody's lives. So, you know, there's probably not that time to sit there and say, 'Okay, how am I doing this deal? How am I working this? How am I working that?' when their focus is football and being better in football right now. So, we discussed it, we had a little team meeting earlier today to discuss a couple of little small factors in it. But all of those are still growing deals and making sure we're doing it the right way, following the law the right way, how are we doing it? As we continue to learn, here's some different information to continue to give them, you know? But guys come up and they're asking questions all the time. I think you're going to continue to see, you know, little things here and there that guys are continuing to work on."

On the changes with COVID protocols, and the discussions with health officials at UF health

"We're still educating and learning. We had a big meeting the other day, looking at the curve and the expected curve and trying to continue to educate our guys. We kind of switched back to - we're not mandatory masks in anything we do, but highly encouraged especially in any sort of team or positional meeting when we're indoor confined spaces. See, I brought my mask up here today, too, that I had on. And I think our guys understand that and have done a pretty good job of that, of understanding that and having been through it. And we know, little bit more educated on the situation of preventative aspect of it and where to be comfortable and how not to be, and what not to do. So, we have changed that since we've gone, but we have not put any mandates in on anybody. We continue, you know, our vaccinations continue to increase - I don't know the exact number. We're not at 100%, but we're really, very, very, very high that way. We're at a grade that you could bring home to your parents, you wouldn't have to hide that report card. We're at that percentage where you'd be proud to bring your report card home with our percentage number on there. But we're just continuing to educate and learn but haven't gone full on to mandatory anything just yet."

On mental health issues in athletes

"I mean there's a lot. I mean obviously we're involved in their lives, you're very much a family, so you're very connected that way. You know year around. I mean, anytime you have a serious injury that takes something away from you, you know. I mean guys that would give anything to just have an opportunity to go compete and be out there on the field with our teammates, I think that's what makes people special is that their desire to get out there want to just go in and in compete with their teammates and when you know you've worked so hard that gets taken away from you. It's really difficult. We’re there with our guys you’re a family you understand it, we have a big support system and then checks and balances to be honest with you. Making sure, you know, I mean we do have our counselor programs set up that guys meet with, you know, there's some that we kind of we push into the meeting some that request it, but others are that you know as you pay very close attention, I mean you have to have a great relationship. The great thing in training camp you're around the players so much that you usually can catch any issues or problems that are out there and get them the help and assistance they need. You know, to, to battle through different issues and problems that they have and you know the biggest thing I tell our guys is the hardest problem for me to fix is one I didn't know existed. So if I don't know a problem exists it's really hard for me to fix so we just have a constant open communication. We start every staff meeting with player issues, what have you noticed, you know, does anybody even have a faraway look in their eye, is anybody sad about something in the training room you know and and everybody in the program, is there something that we're missing or that people aren't talking about that we can help our guys out with."

There’s a long line for No. 36 right?

"I mean, seriously, if you want to get special treatment on the team, why would you wear 36? You're going to be, you're going to be looked through like rose-colored tinted glasses. No. 36 It's hard to scrub, you know."