The confidence in the Florida offensive line among players and even coaches probably couldn’t be much higher at this point. The Gators unit is missing four starters from last season and has nothing but youth and inexperience among the second teamers, but the guys are feeling pretty comfortable with the way the big uglies are playing up front right now.

That should be music to the ears of Gator fans. Many believe the play of the offensive line is the only thing that could back an offense that returns the quarterback, leading rusher and a couple of other backs that have played a lot, and all six of the top receivers from a year ago.

The lone returner up front has to be a leader and has been. Redshirt senior center Nick Buchanan started 12 of 13 games a year ago and should be the guy the rest of them lean on. He maintains a businesslike approach to getting ready for the opener against Miami on Saturday.

“Still getting better every day,” Buchanan said about the line on Tuesday. “I’d like to say we’re better today than we were the first day of camp and we’ll be better tomorrow than we were today. That’s our mindset, we come out here and we worry about the little things, the technique, the fundamentals, and we get better every single day.

Not willing to overplay the progress of the line, Buchanan says all of the work they have put in during the offseason should show on Saturday.

“We are not going to win the game on Saturday, we started winning this game way back in January when we started the offseason conditioning, so that’s what it is all about. So it’s not about being comfortable going into game week, it’s about going into game week and feeling comfortable with all the work you have done up to this point and trusting that when you get out there that your technique will show. At that point it’s the show and it’s time to play some football.”

Redshirt junior guard Brett Heggie started most of the 2017 season before falling to injury. He was playing better than anyone on the line back then, but struggled to get on the field as a starter in 2018 after a lingering recovery and other minor injuries. He will also have to be a leader in 2019. Heggie has seen a lot in his time and thinks the offensive line has really improved over the last eight months.

"I feel like we have (come a long way since January), now it's just prepping for Miami and getting used to what they’re doing,” Heggie said. “And getting adjusted to their defense."

Heggie asked if the line is ready, given all the angst from fans about the losses up front.

"Absolutely,” he said. I would say so."

"We are just clicking up front. Again just going in after practice and watching the tape and see what we did wrong and see how we are going to fix it, and then going into the next day just to get prepared with the situation we are going to play, whether it be first down, second down, or third down. That’s the biggest thing. It is just another game and we just have to be ready. We got to get prepared."

Co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach John Hevesy understands the pressure on his group. But he’s always been a guy that isn’t afraid of adversity, more so he embraces it.

"Yeah, we're the younger group of all them, so we've got to hold our own and do our job,” Hevesy said. “Elite skill players and quarterback and running back and receiver, all those guys. So we've got to give them an opportunity to make a play."

"Yeah,” he said when asked if he felt good about the line heading into the opener. “I have no choice but to."

"All the confidence in the world… they've got to go play and they've got to go play hard."

Florida saw a big improvement in offensive line play last year, the first under Hevesy. It was an older group that had played a lot of football, but never played well as a group. This year, it is a younger group, but Hevesy said there is a positive in knowing what he has unlike the start of last season.

"It's a different deal,” he said. “I think we have as much potential, if not more. The thing is last year everyone was learning. Everyone was learning… me, the offensive coaches. These guys know me now for the most part besides the young kids."

“I kind of know each player and what they are. I mean last year at this time even going into it I still didn't know. I know they were returning, but what were they going to do at game time? The one difference is that they had at least had experience and it wasn't a shock for them. It wasn't walking into a stadium with noise and they've never seen this or played in this. All of those kids had done it. The great thing, though, is like Chris (Bleich) being the one redshirt freshman now that he at least played in four games last year. I don't know what game it was, I guess the bowl game he gave us first-team snaps, but he's at least been on the field to see it. He wasn't on the sidelines like, 'What is that like out there?' So he's been able to watch himself on game tape. He's got a little bit of experience out there."

Hevesy has seen signs of positive play from the group this camp that isn’t just about playing aggressive and knocking their man off the ball. The offensive line has done well in terms of not succumbing to false starts, something that has been a big issue in the past.

“We’ve been pretty decent during camp,” he said of the false start calls. “We had the referees they’re in the scrimmages. It hasn’t been a big issue. But again, you’re going through a different environment. You’re going to an environment with people, with a lot of noise that’s going to be into it and obviously the intensity of not necessarily being in a scrimmage, but now it’s a little different. So, we just got to keep our poise and breathe.”

That’s where they are at. He sees the promising play, now it’s time to do it in front of a big crowd. They seem to be confident that will happen.