Good Morning Gators: Des Watson dropping weight, benching 560
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With spring football camp underway, one of the biggest UF storylines — literally — has been the weight of defensive tackle Desmond Watson.
He enrolled at Florida last year at 440 pounds, but was listed at 400 by the time the season rolled around. He played in all 13 games, making seven tackles and a half-sack.
Watson also gained the Freshman 15, reporting for spring practice at 415 pounds. However, he’s been able to lose some of that this month according to teammate Gervon Dexter.
“Des, he’s fighting real hard to drop some of his weight. He’s doing so,” Dexter said Thursday. “He’s moving around. A lot of people would see him and think, ‘He’s just big.’
“But he’s big and he can move. So, even running. We run a lot during practice, so that’s also helping. He’s really trying to drop some of his weight. He’s doing so.”
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The previous staff wanted to get Watson to 375 pounds, and new strength coach Mark Hocke and director of sports nutrition Kelsee Gomes are working with him to bring his weight down.
What kind of force could Watson be?
“There’s no word for that,” Dexter said. “It’s kind of like, who can block him? Nobody should be able to block him in that middle. He’s big, strong. He puts up like 560 on bench (press). Yeah, I think it was 560.”
In other Florida football news
- “We made a good choice”: Ohio State QB transfer Jack Miller is ready to compete for the starting job.
- UF linebacker Ventrell Miller is missing some practices this spring, but not due to injury last year.
- UF director of college personnel Bird Sherrill tasked with handling the transfer portal for Gators.
UF recruiting roundup
- Multiple blue-chip prospects visited Florida on Thursday, including a top-100 recruit in the On3 Consensus Rankings.
- Priority offensive line target Payton Kirkland got a taste of the Gators’ coaching style during his visit Thursday.
- Stanford tight end commit Jaden Platt landed an offer from the Gators and has a visit date in mind for next month.
Gators sports roundup
- There will be a top-25 matchup at Florida Ballpark this weekend as the No. 8 UF baseball team hosts No. 22 LSU for its SEC home opener.
Let’s keep talking
Want to keep the conversation going? Head over to our Florida message board, Swamp Talk. Gators Online is running a spring camp promo. Sign up here and join the discussion for just $10, which will cover the next four months.
Gators Twitter updates
- New Gators men’s basketball coach Todd Golden discusses his first week on the job Wednesday.
- March is Women’s History Month and some Florida football staff members share what it’s like to work in Billy Napier’s program.
