Gator offensive linemen of the future: Humphries and Dunker

[travisduncan]

As it stands now for the 2012 class there are two verbal commitments from offensive linemen-at they are quite notable.

D.J. Humphries 6-foot-6 275 lbs, Mallard Creek High in Charlotte, NC. Humphries is ranked as the No. 1 offensive tackle in the land by Rivals and ESPNU.

He is ranked at the 8th best player at any position in the Class of 2012 by ESPN.

ESPN reports, "You will have a hard time finding a better pure athlete than Humphries at the offensive tackle position in the 2012 class. He is long, lean and extremely agile. Looks and moves like a defensive end"

Jessamen Dunker 6-foot-6 315lb offensive tackle, ranked among the Top 20 offensive linemen for the class of 2012. He plays at Boynton Beach.

Dunker recently told ESPN "I am 100 percent behind Florida, I went to the Alabama game and had a great time."

The Gators will continue to focus recruiting at the line of scrimmage Gators head coachWill Muschamp said this week.

"We'll recruit well up front," said Muschamp.

"I'm very excited about where we are from that standpoint. We'll continue to improve and gain depth as far as recruiting is concerned, and we have to do a better job coaching here on campus."

He added, “It is a hard position for young guys to adjust to, but I‟ve had offensive linemen start as freshmen. It is tougher. I've always said that the closer your position is to the ball, the harder it is to play early. A lot of that can change, especially now with early enrollees, you just never know."

Muschamp says that, "Recruiting is just building relationships with people. The more you're able to build relationships, the easier it is to be able to recruit. In that time period when we started in January, as far as going out and finishing last year's class and then working into this year's class, that's what we've been doing."

The Gators have the No 4. ranked recruiting class by both ESPN and Rivals.

Other News and Notes

-Freshman cornerback Marcus Roberson will miss the remainder of the season with a kneck injury. The injury is expected to heal in 4 to 6 weeks however.

-Muschamp said Wednesday that center Dan Wenger will miss Saturday's game against Furman with an ankle sprain. Offensive tackle Chaz Green is questionable for the game also with an ankle injury.

-Florida AD Jeremy Foley cautions that the Gators must take it one-day at a time while the football team plays mediocre at best.

"I hate this for Gator Nation," Foley told TampaBay.com "I hate it for our coaching staff. I hate it for Will. The guy is a competitor. He's got a fire in his belly. I've had to tell him, 'Will, I can't help you. It's unfortunate, but I can't help you get through this. The future only comes one day at a time."

Foley adds, "For successful coaches, and I've been around them, the Billy Donovans of the world, the Kevin O'Sullivans of the world, the Urban Meyers, it's always one day at a time. We can't just fast-forward tomorrow and it will be next year. We'll go back to work. And we'll be okay. We'll be fine."

Men's Hoops

The Men's Hoops team had a disappointing loss on the road to No. 3 Ohio State Tuesday night. But it wasn't all bad, despite losing 81-74.

Patric Young (14), Bradley Beal (17), Kenny Boynton (15), and Erik Murphy (14) each scored in double-figures.

The Gators host North Florida Thursday night at 8 p.m. ET. The next major test for the Gators will be Friday Dec. 2 at Syracuse.

 

[DRU2012]

This WILL be a "turning-point" recruiting class when we look back in 2 or 3 years, I believe. Power RBs, superb athletes for BOTH lines, a long, tall and fleet WR or 2, further top-flight help in the secondary, and so on--plus a couple of possible last-minute "surprises". Despite the growing buzz, an undercurrent of consensus that this will be "one of the best", the Gator braintrust is UNDERplaying the reality of what they are aiming for and are in striking distance of achieving.
I like the way Foley approaches all of this, his realistic yet hopeful and supportive take on where we are and where we're going, and frank assessment of his Head Coach's pain, stoic determination, and undiminished drive towards "what-will-be".
We all know how hard "one-day-at-a-time" is, and we certainly have plenty of reminders how many in Gator Nation aren't up to it--how many don't accept (or have even ever begun to consider) that there IS no way, no magic incantation to fix the things that we have come to realize are broke, missing or were never there in the first place, on what is left of our once proud squad. It's got to be rebuilt, and done so in a new way: that takes time, vision and effort--and the right people in place to pull it off. Foley is certain that we now have that. I am inclined to believe he is right, but no matter where you stand on that, they will need and get a reasonable amount of time to see things through, get it done--or not.
I guess I ask the more thoughtful and intelligent (though no less passionate and demanding) fans, like the better part of those here at GE, accept that situation as a "given" for now and that "foreseeable future" (at LEAST 2 years), and approach these coming months from a more active, positive and proactive P.O.V. as far as our potential "return to greatness". No matter what, this will be a new and different kind of team--it was time for a change, regardless, and by now it had become necessary to the point of crisis. We're ALL counting on Coach Muschamp and his guys to "get it right", and that's the perspective from which we should judge the results in the months ahead.