By: Dan

Anyone who has followed the Florida football team this spring is well aware that the defensive line has been manhandling the offensive line. Much of this domination can be chalked up to the fact that the Gators are missing four of their best offensive linemen because of injury.
Both of the Pouncey twins, Maurkice and Mike, as well as James Wilson Matt Patchan, are all out of commission with various injuries. While Patchan didn’t play on the offensive line last year, he did play in 11 games at defensive tackle and the coaching staff expects him to be a major player on the O-Line this fall.
Although the numerous injuries might be hampering the offense now, getting a number of freshmen invaluable experience will pay great dividends in the long run. Nick Alajajian, Jonotthan Harrison and Sam Robey are all freshmen linemen who have been pressed into duty with the injuries to the other linemen. The trio has drawn praise from Urban Meyer, but apparently he is very excited about Robey.
“When he’s in there, you don’t notice,” Meyer was quoted as saying in a recent Gainesville Sun article. “Other guys get in there and there’s a sack or missed assignment. Robey’s doing well.”
Getting the youngsters some experience against the first-team defense, arguably one of the best defenses in the nation, will certainly help their development down the road. And there’s always the possibility that they will get pressed into duty sooner than expected.
It was only last year that player after player went down with season-ending injuries, including Cornelius Ingram and Dorian Munroe. If that should happen again on the offensive line, then players like Harrison, Alajajian and Robey will be expected to step up and fill in. And at that point, the experience they gained in the spring will come in mighty handy.