Coach Dan Mullen Talks Alabama Game and Gator Nation

In a recent press conference, Florida Gators head coach Dan Mullen discussed the football game against Alabama this past weekend and what is to come. While the Gators did not come out victorious, they definitely held their own in the battle with Bama.

Looking Back at the Performance Against Alabama

Even with a shaky start to the game, the Florida Gators and Gator Nation took “Won’t Back Down” very literally. Mullen said the atmosphere and energy in the Swamp kept the team going.

“We had a couple of communication issues in the beginning of the game,” said Mullen. “The complete focus on our execution and doing what we are going to is something we need to clean up.”

The defense, minus a few errors, did a lot that can be built off of, explained Mullen. As for the offensive line, Mullen said that they played solid but still need improvement.

“We gotta win the game,” said Mullen. “We didn’t win the game; that’s the bottom line. There’s no moral victory, there’s nothing. For me to come out and say that we played poorly, I can’t say that but you are not gonna make the mistakes that we made and win that type of game.”  Even with praise coming from all forms of social media after Saturday’s game, Mullen said that the team was not cheery Monday morning in the meeting room coming out of that loss.

“We need to embrace the positives and correct the negatives. If we are able to do that, we gotta do it in a hurry. You don’t get much time to catch your breath with Tennessee coming in town, but that’s part of the SEC.”

The Quarterback Room

Mullen gave Emory Jones some praise for this performance against Alabama. Jones did what he needed to do.

Anthony Richardson was cleared to play in last weekend’s game but the coaches decided it was better than he rested instead of making the injury worse. The MRI on Anthony Richardson’s hamstring was not as bad as the coaches suspected it would be, but it is still not 100%, Coach Mullen stated.

Richardson practiced all week and will continue to focus on his health for this weekend’s game.

When asked about the coaching staff and their knowledge of the game, Mullen explained that the team as a whole has enough to fall back on. They have to find the comfort level that this year’s guys have of what they do well and make sure it fits their abilities.

“We have a good coaching staff that comes up with good plans and are able to teach the guys the right way. We have good players and we teach them a big foundation of the offense in spring training camp so that they have this great foundation so that we can make slight changes here and there throughout the season,” said Mullen.

Week Four for the Gators

The Gators look to increase to a 3-1 record as they will host the Tennessee Volunteers in the Swamp at 7 p.m. The game will be aired on ESPN.