Man down, man up
Jordan Scarlett, time to step up.
Florida running back Adam Lane has decided to transfer out of the program in order to be closer to home, according to UF. The Gators granted Lane a full release from his scholarship this morning.
Jim McElwain released a statement about Lane this morning: “Adam Lane has some family issues that he is dealing with and wants to be closer to home. As you’ve heard me say many times, family comes first in this program and we will grant him his release and we will do everything we can do to help him.”
Lane’s Gator career was short, but rather eventful. He was buried on the bench by Will Muschamp for most of his time at Florida, but went off in the Gators’ Birmingham Bowl win over East Carolina, earning MVP honors. Then came the incident at Splitz Bowling Alley last month, where Lane and teammate Caleb Brantley skipped out on paying a tab, an occurrence that paints him as more stupid than malicious, but not the proudest moment for the program in either case.
So all things considered, Florida loses a decent running back who, at best, would have served as a bowling ball in short yardage situations once Jordan Scarlett established himself. It’s true that Lane would have started the year as the number two back behind Kelvin Taylor. But Scarlett is far more talented a natural tailback than Lane, with a dizzying array of moves and a true tailback’s vision, while Lane just likes to plow through things. Now, Scarlett doesn’t even have to beat Lane out, and the backup running back job is his.
I wish Lane the best in dealing with whatever it is he has to deal with. But I can’t say that losing him is going to hurt too much.
