Gerald Chatman coaches Florida's DL ‘the way I want them to play’

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida’s Cam Jackson was training in Dallas when he first spoke with his new position coach, Gerald Chatman. He called Jackson and had a laid-back conversation with his senior nose tackle.

“He was quiet,” Jackson said. ” So, I’m like, OK, I got one of them quiet, cool coaches.”

Fast forward to the start of spring ball on March 7, Jackson and his teammates were in for a rude awakening. There’s nothing quiet about Chatman on the grass.

“The first day of spring practice, we got out there on the field and he just got loud all of a sudden,” Jackson said. “And I’m like, ‘OK.’ Like, he really had me fooled.”

Chatman has set the tone for the defensive line this spring with his intense, demanding coaching style. He holds his players to a high standard and will make them redo drills for poor energy, bad body language or lack of urgency.

He harps on every rep and every player, from the starters to the walk-ons, and is unrelenting in his attention to detail. What you see is what you get with Chatman.

“Coaching is leadership to me. I’m authentic,” Chatman said. “It’s just who I am. I think when I got into coaching, I understood right away that attention to detail is important. Coaching defensive line is a huge demand.

“It’s very demanding what they do. I coach them the way I want them to play — intense, with detail, discipline, relentless mentality, effort, urgency. So, if I expect them to play that way, then I have to coach them that way.”

Jackson and Florida redshirt junior defensive lineman Caleb Banks both said they’ve never had a coach as intense as Chatman. And although he’s very vocal, it’s not always someone being yelled out.

Many of Chatman’s loud outbursts are him praising players for a strong rep or going crazy after they make a play during practice.

“I ain’t had nobody like that. You can hear Coach Chatman from a mile away,” Jackson said. “He brings a lot of energy. He holds us accountable. We’re gonna have fun with it, but we also go out there and work.

“He’s an exciting guy. It’s fun having him around. He’s a great coach and I love having him coaching me. … He’s teaching me a lot and I feel like I improved from last spring to this spring. The whole D-line has.”

Banks added, “His energy is making us more physical. We’ve been doing some real good stuff based on his energy, so I feel like it’s gonna be a great year. We’re gonna have a lot of pressure on the quarterback, a lot of sacks, a lot of TFL’s, a lot of excitement, a lot of energy going around on the sideline.”

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Despite his intensity at practice, Chatman has a different side away from the game. He’s taken the players out to eat and had them over to his place. They’ve seen the “quiet, cool” Chatman at home as a husband and a father.

“He’s got his three daughters and his baby boy,” Jackson said of Chatman’s children, ages 7, 5, 3 and 1. “They’re really like some younger brothers and sisters to me. So, when they come around, they basically try to do everything the D-line does. I love having them around. I feel like it inspires me even more.”

Chatman is trying to instill a mentality with his players to “attack everything” that’s in front of them, both on and off the field. Fatherhood has taught him how to flip the switch, but he’s authentic and attentive with every aspect of his life.

“I have four kids, but God blessed me with three daughters and then we had a son on fourth down. I always say that we finally got off the field,” Chatman joked. “But maybe God knew I was intense and whatever the case may be, so boom, one daughter after the other. I’m definitely not as intense with them as I am with the guys, but that’s a good balance there.

“We’ve got to be able to build that bond off the field. … I’m not yelling and screaming in my office or in the meeting room. It may get a little loud, but I talk to them. I mentor them as well. When we hit the grass, something triggers, right? And it should trigger for them as well. When they put their cleats on and buckle up, put those pads on, something’s got to trigger.”