Tale of the tape: Florida’s Jim McElwain works wizardry

South Carolina coach Shawn Elliott broke out a rather peculiar word to describe the job Jim McElwain, his Florida counterpart, has done in his first year: magical.

College football coaches rarely invoke that one, and almost never outside some surprise run or moment. To compare a counterpart’s work to that wizardry, it’s certainly different.

A close look at film, and it’s not totally unwarranted. McElwain inherited the bones of an offense that had been awful for years during Will Muschamp’s tenure and an offensive line starting a transfer from FCS Fordham.

Yet, he’s deployed a range of tricks to make it passable. He had a few pieces. Kelvin Taylor is a solid enough back. Antonio Callaway is a secretly explosive receiver. Tight end Jake McGee is used almost everywhere.

McElwain even inherited quarterback Will Grier, a player SBNation’s Ian Boyd called “greatest prize on campus.” Then Grier got suspended for PEDs. Treon Harris stepped in, and things didn’t go off the rails.

The Gators offense works because of all sorts of quirks. At heart, it’s built on bludgeoning, heavy runs to open passes, often rollouts, and it will use the same concepts from all manner of formations. They’ll throw out bunch looks, easily switch between empty backfields and lining up for power and even throw a defensive tackle in as a blocker. Boyd pointed out a subtle tweak of pitching the ball in the shotgun, so the placement of a running back doesn’t tip the direction of the run.

The reclamation project on offense can thrive because the other side of the ball is doing the thing it did with Muschamp: playing nasty.

The group can throw out a few different looks and is versatile all around. The line at full strength is one of the best in the country, deep and talented, but South Carolina gets a break with all-around monster tackle Jonathan Bullard (five sacks, 13 TFLs) listed as doubtful. The back four (really five) flies around and hits, with a likely first-round pick in Vernon Hargreaves III capable of smothering a top target. All told, they’re in the top 10 for yards allowed per play.

For some staffs, year one is a rebuild. This Florida team gets a division title and a trip to Atlanta.

Maybe magical was appropriate after all.

Offense notes

▪  Florida will roll with almost any shotgun look that can be concocted and a few under-center ones. You’ll see two tight ends in the pistol, a range of bunch looks, empty backfields or even the wide-set spreads Baylor runs.

▪  Defensive end Bryan Cox doubles as a goal-line fullback and the Gators have a short-yardage look that could make Stanford proud. They line up an unbalanced formation with four tight ends stretched out to make a nine-man unbalanced line.

▪  McGee is a key to the whole thing. He’s usually moving around, lining up all over, letting the offense get blocking and a big target in different spots.

▪  Harris is merely fine behind center. He’s an OK passer, but won’t set the world on fire. He’s a decent runner, but you can’t build an offense on his legs. He does do a Russell Wilson-esque spin out of the pocket when escaping front-side pressure, and that can open up wheel routes (where receivers break out and then up), which seem to be a staple. Florida’s receivers overall seem slightly more dangerous than their numbers indicate.

Defense notes

▪  For the last three games, the Gators have mostly played a 4-2-5 look, but having Alex McCalister as a tall, hybrid linebacker/DE rush end allows them to roll between three- and four-man fronts if its needed.

▪  Before Bullard and fellow tackle Joey Ivie gut hurt, Florida had absurd depth on the interior. Even without them, Taven Bryan and Caleb Brantley are both capable of shoving SEC guards and centers into the backfield.

▪  The UF linebackers are serviceable and workmanlike. Jarrad Davis came from being a less-heralded prospect (three stars) to become an anchor for the group.

▪  South Carolina receivers coach Steve Spurrier Jr. raved about how effective Hargreaves is, how he aggressively causes problems pressing at the line and shuts down jump balls. With that in mind, it will be interesting if he gets any time inside on Pharoh Cooper, as outside receivers have not been hyper productive for USC this year.