10/27: Austin, players talk about Georgia game

Florida Gators defensive coordinator and cornerbacks coach Teryl Austin, redshirt sophomore defensive tackle Omar Hunter and senior linebacker Lorenzo Edwards spoke to the media Wednesday, taking a look back at two weeks of practice and ahead to the match-up against the Georgia Bulldogs in Jacksonville, FL, on Saturday.

DEFENSIVE INJURY UPDATES

Asked about the health of his unit on Wednesday, Austin gave updates on three players in particular according to the Palm Beach Post‘s Jason Lieser. Austin noted that redshirt freshman LB Jelani Jenkins (concussion) was back to full speed and practicing, redshirt junior DT Jaye Howard (ankle) was limited and is questionable, and senior cornerback Moses Jenkins (elbow) will be a game-time decision.

IT’s ON THE PLAYERS TO TURN THIS AROUND

Both Hunter and Edwards believe it is up to the players, not the coaches, to make sure Florida does not lose its fourth-straight game for the first time since 1988. Each has taken the three consecutive losses hard but thinks the team has turned a corner over the last two weeks.

“It was hard losing those three games, that’s more games than I’ve ever lost in high school,” Hunter said. “Losing three games in a row, it was a big burden on me. But you just got to let that go and move on to the next game.”

Adds Edwards: “This is our team. This is the players’ team. We have to step up as leaders and lead this team and not just let the coaches do it. We play a big role and our leadership and accountability and as leaders on this team we have to do a better job of getting a lot more people involved.”

HUH?

Not that we’re trying to call out anyone here, but Edwards provided a very curious answer when asked how three straight losses has affected the psyche of the team this year. “Obviously it has a big effect on us. I think it just makes us want to work harder and get better at the things we need to get better at,” he said. “These three losses came as a wake-up call and will suit us very well in the future because with winning comes losing and you have to experience losing in order to celebrate the full effect of a win.”

Obviously Edwards means that, when you lose, wins are that much sweeter and that losses often help ignite a team that has too high of an opinion of itself. Nevertheless, the way he said it was certainly off-putting.

QUOTES (After the break…)

Hunter on third down issues: “We definitely have to do a better job getting off the field on third downs. Third downs have been killing us this year. The more we get off the field on third downs, we give our offense better field position. […] One player out of assignment on one play can kill the whole defense. Eleven guys have to be strong on third down. […] That’s when everybody comes to play – third down. That’s the hardest down, that’s the money down.”

Hunter, a Georgia native, on the importance of Saturday’s game: “It’s a big rivalry for me. All my [high school] friends go to Georgia, friends and family root for Georgia all the time. I have three teammates on Georgia right now.”

Hunter on if there’s a lot of trash talk during the game: “I will say that, yeah. It’s a lot of jawing. It’s a rivalry game, you know? Everyone comes to play, everyone wants to win, do their best. It’s Florida-Georgia. There’s nothing PG-rated about that game.”

Edwards on head coach Urban Meyer has been more involved in special teams: “Coach Meyer’s always been involved in special teams. I don’t think that’s going to change. Coach [D.J.] Durkin is doing a great job of helping him. We’re just going to continue to execute and follow the plan to win.”

Edwards on “losing guys” if losses pile up: “We focus on Georgia and we focus on beating Georgia and that’s what we’re going to try to do Saturday. What happens in the future happens in the future but right now our focus is on Georgia.”