Florida Football: Injuries Won't Stop Will Muschamp from Toughening Up Gators

Last season was an utter disappoint by recent Florida Gators standards. The team went 7-6, was inept on offense and the defense could not carry them against the nation's elite. Now, in year two,  Muschamp is looking for answers, starting with the team's mentality. After sifting through the roster that was depleted a year ago and pushing to get going on offense, Muschamp gets to one of the toughest things for a defensive guy like himself to admit: his team was soft.

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"It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever said. But you go back and look at it, and we didn’t consistently stop the run and we weren’t able to run the ball. You can attribute it to multiple factors. We’ve tried to address that with our strength program, recruiting and overall numbers at multiple positions"

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Forget all the youth at  quarterback and the need for the Gators to find an offensive system that works. The truth, for Muschamp, was that his guys just didn't play 60 minutes of hard football. That push for toughness starts this spring and even though plenty of Gators are missing the fifteen practices due to injury, the second-year coach plans on working his guys into the mold that he wants. Tough. Hard-nosed. Big Boy football players.

If toughness up front and across the board is job one in Gainesville, then finding a way to utilize his two sophomore quarterbacks effectively should be job two for Muschamp. Dealing with an injured John Brantley, Coach Boom was forced into playing not one, but two freshmen a year ago. And it doesn't matter if you're in the ACC, the Sun Belt or, in his case the SEC—that's never a plus. Jacoby Brissett and Jeff Driskel are back for round two and both quarterbacks should benefit from the insertion of new offensive coordinator Brent Pease.

Pease comes from Boise State, where he worked with Chris Petersen to orchestrate one of the college football world's most dynamic, unpredictable and high-performing offenses. Now Pease brings his approach to the game to the SEC, where defense is king and he is tasked with getting two young quarterbacks up to speed in a spring and a fall.

Look for the two young quarterbacks to have their strengths and athleticism used as Pease looks to be multiple in his looks and utilize play action to get receivers and help quarterbacks feel comfortable.

On defense, look for the Gators to find some answers this spring as that is Muschamp's "baby," so to speak. This unit has to be reliable for the second-year head coach to be successful and that means putting his players in the best position to make plays. In year two of the 3-4 defense with some 4-3 looks, the players should be more comfortable, and after not landing a player on the 2011 All-SEC team, look for guys like Jon Bostic, Matt Elam, Shariff Floyd and Jelani Jenkins to really grow into that caliber of player.

This spring is a big one for Muschamp, a coach that has to start working towards reclaiming an SEC East title, before the natives truly grow restless.