On to the Goal

So sometimes a compliment really is just a compliment. A few hours ago, I wondered whether Sam Robey’s sudden emergence as a potential starter on the offensive line was serious or more of a motivational tactic by Meyer. Well, wonder no more, apparently:

Sam Robey is officially the Gators’ starting center. Barring injuries or ineffectiveness this August, your starting offensive line will be (L to R): Carl Johnson, Maurkice Pouncey, Sam Robey, Mike Pouncey and Marcus Gilbert. “Robey has been a great surprise this spring,” Addazio said. “He has really stepped up with maturity and toughness.”

Well then. Mea culpa. My initial skepticism was based on the assumption that both Johnson and Matt Patchan were too good to keep off the field. April lineups are very much subject to change, but so far, it looks as if Johnson is till a starter. Count me among those who believe he may be a better fit at guard than on the outside, but I could think of worse things than having a talent like CJ anywhere on the line.

Patchan’s case is a bit more interesting — we’ll cover that in a moment.

First, what is this thing you call a “Sam Robey“? Listed at 6′4″, 291, Robey is a redshirt freshman from Louisville, KY. He has an intriguing pedigree — his father, Rick, was an All-America basketball player at Kentucky and won an NBA title with the Celtics. From a recruiting standpoint, however, Robey was more of a “meh.” Robey was somewhat of an afterthought in the 2008 class that paid immediate dividends for Florida. Both major services had him ranked as a solid three-star player, Rivals as the #19 overall center and Scout, interestingly, as the #62 overall defensive end.

But as I mentioned previously, the Gators have had an impressive run of recent success developing merely “OK” or “good” linemen (from a recruiting perspective) into bigtime contributors. If Robey holds onto the center spot, he could be the latest success story. Because he’ll be just a redshirt freshman next season, he could be a big success story at that, but let’s just leave it at that for now.

So what does this mean for 2008’s heralded offensive line recruit, Patchan? Gilbert has more or less settled in at right tackle as of press time, so assuming Robey holds and Johnson stays on the outside (again, it’s April, folks), Patchan appears to be the odd man out. Of course, having the aforementioned starting lineup with Patchan, James Wilson and Maurice Hurt as backups would be a pretty good spot to be in.

But based on the superb athletic ability Patchan displayed last year as a backup defensive tackle, I find it hard to believe that he won’t contribute in some way next year. Patchan’s future is likely on offense, so a move back to the defensive line seems counter-productive.  But he quite literally hasn’t grown into the role of an everyday offensive lineman yet. He’s been stuck somewhere in the neighborhood of 270 pounds, mainly as a result of a bizarre string of ailments including a gunshot wound, mono and a scooter accident. But Patchan, ever the colorful interview, says he’s a “utility man” who will play wherever the team needs him. So let’s recap:

• Freakishly athletic blocker
• About a mid-sized toddler shy of 300 pounds
• Must play on offense
• Starting O-line may be set
• Willing to play anywhere

Oh, and one more thing: The Gators have a shortage of tight ends/H-backs. So, uh, are you thinking what Dan McCarney and I are thinking? Maybe “Matt Patchan: Tight end” is a bit of stretch at this point, but I’d love to at least see it, especially in short-yardage situations. And who knows? If he can catch the ball with any consistency, maybe we’re onto something here.

I freely admit that, despite a relatively out-of-context quote from a defensive assistant in early March, this is wild speculation on my part. But since I’ve missed out on most of this spring’s overly optimistic banter, humor me for a moment. If nothing else, the news of Robey’s asecndance and the potential depth chart issues it would raise is, again, a very good problem to have.

This entry was posted on Monday, April 13th, 2009 at 5:37 pm and is filed under Spring, Wild speculation. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.