GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- When Jim McElwain first arrived at Florida and plopped his offensive playbook down on the table, eyes got wide around the room. Jaws dropped.
"Our first install was probably like eight pages more than last year’s entire playbook," receiver Valdez Showers said. "Guys were like, ‘Oh my God.’"
Rather than being overwhelmed, Florida players embraced that they were about to start something very, very new. McElwain and his staff haven't slowed things down at all since that first day, constantly adding to the playbook and tweaking.
The evidence was easy to see Saturday, as the Gators pounded New Mexico State with a completely revamped passing game. Routes were crisp and smartly designed. Formations kept the defense from knowing what was about to happen.
The changes haven't just been tough for the offense to figure out, either. The team's best unit even struggled to adapt during spring practice and fall camp.
"They make everything look the same," defensive backs coach Kirk Callahan said. "As a defender trying to play an offense, when you start to try to get those tips, those formation tendencies and things like that, it gives you a couple answers. But they do a great job of making everything look the same.
"Facing those guys, they've only made us better. They stressed us tremendously in camp with things that we'll see out there on Saturdays, and it's only bettered us as a group of DBs."
Practices are no longer a one-sided affair. Everyone is being pushed to the limits by a playbook that leaves no room for wasted time.
"We have adjustments for everything for every coverage and things like that," Showers said. "Last year it was very simple, just get out there and go fast. That was basically the playbook and everything. But this one is more complex, more pro-style and everything like that."
Callahan wasn't around to see last year's offense, but he's coached long enough to know when he's being challenged. And McElwain and his staff are pushing him to his limits as a coach each day out on the practice field.
Camp was a learning experience, to say the least.
"It was kind of like a chess match out there, because we may cover something right the first time and then he comes back and tweaks something," Callahan said.
Players have all echoed the sentiment: The Gators are getting better, and quickly.
"Now we’re getting tested in practice with all these different route combinations," cornerback Jalen Tabor said. "It’s the same receivers but just different ways they’re running routes, different combinations. We can tell they’re being coached really well."
Perhaps more importantly, McElwain's revamped playbook has bred more than just opportunities for players. It's brought something to the offense that has been sorely lacking the last few years.
"Big difference: confidence," Tabor said. "Last year they were just guys. This year, Coach Mac, he needs his receivers. He’s making them feel like they can be somebody. They have a lot more confidence, and that’s all it was last year."
