Powell and Goolsby Produce In New Gator Offense

The much anticipated Florida Gator offense did not disappoint in new head coach Jim McElwain’s debut where they defeated New Mexico State 61-13 last week. Florida put up 606 total yards of offense with 384 in the air and 222 coming on the ground. The Gators saw contribution from nearly everyone on offense with 14 different players having a reception. One player in particular who shined was running back turned receiver Brandon Powell. Under the new

offense Powell has transitioned to full time slot receiver after spending time at running back his freshman season. Powell scored the first points of the game in the first quarter when Treon Harris connected with the sophomore for a 37 yard touchdown. Powell talks about how it felt to get onto the field as a full time receiver. “I was kind of nervous coming into the first game as a full time receiver. I just went out and played and everything just came to me. Go out there and have fun that was pretty much it.” Powell’s freshman year he played in 11 games and started twice with time coming at both running back and receiver. He talks about what helped him with the transition to receiver. “Going against our DB’s every day in practice it gets you prepared for anything that you’ll see in a game. That’s what’s really prepared me for the game and helped me transition to wide receiver.” Powell wasn’t the only one to produce in this new offense; sophomore tight end DeAndre Goolsby recorded his first career receptions. Goolsby caught three passes for 38 yards including a nice sideline catch from Will Grier for 23 yards. Goolsby played in seven games as a freshman but recorded no stats. Last year’s offense under Muschamp didn’t feature the tight ends often but under McElwain tight ends are heavily involved. Goolsby talks about what it’s like to be in an offense featuring tight ends. “I feel like we’re going to be involved a lot. Coach Mac has a good history with tight ends and really likes to play them so you know just getting all of us involved and everybody getting big plays while being out there and competing felt really good.” The next test for the Gators offense is this Saturday against the East Carolina Pirates. Florida defeated ECU in the Birmingham Bowl last season 28-20, but this is a brand new Gator team with an explosive offense. Kick off for that game is at 7 p.m. To hear sound from Powell and Goolsby click below: Goolsby 1 Goolsby 2 Goolsby 3 Powell 1 Powell 2 Powell 3