A change of scenery for the Florida Gators football team as they held their eighth spring practice at Ben Hill Griffin stadium. Media were in attendance Tuesday during warmup and individual drills prior to the Gators first organized scrimmage. For head coach Billy Napier and staff, Tuesday presented a critical chance to evaluate the talent of this year’s team in various of situational game-like circumstances.
As expected, the session saw their fair share of highs and lows, according to Napier. However, the second-year head coach is optimistic the mistakes during the scrimmage are vital learning opportunities for players and coaches alike.
#Gators first scrimmage tonight pic.twitter.com/SqXWoHSSw9
— Nick de la Torre (@delatorre) March 28, 2023
Of course, Florida is months away from their season opener against the Utah Utes on the road so, errors in late March will surely not determine the trajectory of the 2023 season for the Gators. Luckily, Napier did mention the effort and physically the team displayed were pleasing to say the least.
Right in the bread basket.@mmax_23 ➡️ @AidanMizell pic.twitter.com/2mUZn8XPpS
— Florida Gators Football (@GatorsFB) March 28, 2023
Micah Mazzccua Remains at Florida
After Tuesday’s scrimmage, Napier addressed the mysterious situation surrounding offensive lineman Micah Mazzccua. The junior recently mentioned he will be re-entering his name in the transfer portal via Twitter.
Mazzccua, a transfer from the University of Baylor, was expected to play a major contributor in Florida’s offense. However, the 6-foot-5 guard deleted his initial post and was not seen in recent practices during media viewing periods.
Mertz to Mizell pic.twitter.com/c3Miw35vgO
— Nick de la Torre (@delatorre) March 28, 2023
Napier took to note Tuesday, Mazzccau will indeed remain at Florida and disclosed an interesting development. It would seem, the former the Baylor Bear underwent surgery recently. An injury that will sideline Mazzccua for some time, according to Napier.
Nappier continued to mention that he hopes to get the Philadelphia native back before fall camp as they team discovered the injury during an MRI. While, Mazzccua will remain at Florida, expect redshirt freshman’s Christian Williams and Jalen Farmer to receive more reps with the first team offense as spring camp continues.
“Injuries are a challenge,” said Napier. “We’re hopeful Micah makes a healthy return and we’re going to support him through his rehab and all the things that come with an injury.”