Florida guard Ethan White talks spring ball, new coaching staff
After dealing with a number of injuries in his first three seasons in Gainesville, Ethan White is poised to be the starting left guard for the Florida Gators this year.
Prior to the 2020 season, it was a fall camp knee injury that held him out for a majority of the fall. He still appeared in four games.
Last season, the Clearwater, Fla., native made the transition from center to guard and started the first seven games there. However, he suffered a high ankle sprain against LSU.
It affected him both physically and mentally, but he was good to go through camp this spring.
“I feel good right now,” White told Gators Online and others after one of UF’s spring practices in April. “Everything’s, knock on wood, feeling very healthy and just trying to stay healthy for the rest of the spring.”
What it’s like having two O-line coaches
Florida’s offensive line has been the position group impacted the most by Billy Napier’s hiring as the Gators now have two offensive line coaches in Rob Sale and Darnell Stapleton.
Alongside Sale and Stapleton, Florida has quality control offensive line assistants in Cheston Blackshear and Mike Richard.
What’s the difference in having a number of coaches to work with compared to just one offensive line coach?
“A lot more reps,” White said. “Like in individual, there’s not as much standing around while another guy is going. We can split it up, we can get more work for each guy. So there’s a lot more reps for the older guys and the younger guys.”
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With that, Sale has coaching experience in the NFL after a one-year stint with the New York Giants last season while Stapleton played in the league from 2007-10 and won a Super Bowl in the 2008-09 season with the Steelers.
“The main benefit that I’ve noticed is you get two different opinions, two different ways of looking at it,” White said. “So, Coach Sale sees something one way and maybe we’re not seeing eye to eye, coach Stape [Stapleton] can come in and kind of give me a different perspective, a different way to look at it to help me understand.”
Ethan White on Florida’s new offense
When it comes to the offense in general, White said he’s confident in the group the Gators have.
There’s plenty to work on, and that will come with more reps in fall training camp. White thinks the running game will be the strength of Florida’s offense.
“I think we’re going to be solid,” White said. “I always think we’re going to be good in the run game.”
“I think all the backs, Montrell [Johnson], Lorenzo [Lingard], [Demarkcus] Bowman, they’ve all looked solid. Again, a new offense, they’ve kind of got to get used to it, how we’re blocking things differently, where the aiming points are. We’ve just gotta get on the same page.”
