#9 Florida vs #7 Georgia Preview

by | Oct 22, 2018 | Football game previews, Game Previews, Gator Football

As we officially enter Georgia hate week, it’s time to preview the biggest game of the season. I’m going into detail in multiple ways to prepare the fans the best I can for a game Florida is expected to lose, as Georgia is favored by 7.5 over Florida, on top of FPI giving Georgia a 69.8% chance of beating the Gators.

Basic statistical comparison

Florida Georgia
Total O/YPG 408.3 ypg – 67th 461.9 ypg – 27th
Passing O/YPG 211.0 ypg – 91st 235.6 ypg – 65th
Rushing O/YPG 197.29 ypg – 39th 226.29 ypg – 22nd
Scoring O/PPG 34.4 – 35th 39 ppg – 18th
Time of Possession 81st 56th
Yards Per Play 6.23 – 35th 7.14 – 7th
Scoring Margin +17.86 – 16th +22.71 – 7th
Passing TDs 16 – 25th 15 – 34th
Rushing TDs 10 – 91st 16 – 33rd
Rushing Avg 5.10 ypc – 31st 5.78 ypc – 12th
Pass Comp % 58.0% – 85th 67.6% – 14th
QB Rating 146.74 – 41st 168.16 – 7th
RZ Scoring % 89.66% – 26th 89.29 – 27th
3rd down conv % 41.38 – 50th 45.68 – 21st
Sacks allowed 9 – 20th 12 – 39th
Scoring D/PPG 16.6 – 15th 16.3 – 13th
Rush D/ YPG 163.14 – 73rd 136.29 – 40th
Pass D/ YPG 160.1 – 6th 174.3 – 14th
Total D/ YPG 323.3 – 22nd 310.6 – 17th
Rush AVG allowed 4.15 YPC – 68th 4.17 YPC – 70th
QB Rating allowed 99.82 – 7th 106.14 – 14th
Pass Comp allowed 50.0% – 6th 57.5% – 48th
Yards Per Play allowed 4.83 – 23rd 4.76 – 21st
Sacks 21 – 23rd 9 – 117th
Penalties 8 per game – 111th 6.3 per game – 58th
Turnover margin +9 – 7th +2 – 43rd
Opp 3rd down conv 34.91% – 40th 30.30% – 15th
Opp RZ scoring % 78.57% – 43rd 84.21% – 75th
Punt returns 14.40 avg – 22nd 17.00 avg – 11th
Kick returns 15.13 avg – 124th 22.50 avg – 43rd
Opponent punt returns 7.86 avg – 69th 6.00 avg – 45th
Opponent kick returns 20.11 avg – 54th 22.25 avg – 93rd

Advanced metric comparison

Florida Georgia
S&P Overall 14 5
S&P Offense 32 6
S&P Defense 19 24
S&P ST 9 13
FEI 8 5
F/*+ 10 5
RSOS 13 20
OFEI 42 4
DFEI 14 21
SFEI 9 4

Note, for an explanation of these statistics:

https://www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/fplus
https://www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/ncaa
https://www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/fei
https://www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/ncaaol

A look at Georgia

I decided to take a look at two of Georgia’s games against the top 2 teams they have played this season per S&P, LSU, and Missouri.

A look at UGAs offense

Jumping right into it, Fromm tends to catch a lot of flak for making extremely simple passes, a criticism from Florida fans that can at times seem contradictory considering that almost Floridas entire passing game is based on the perimeter screen game. Georgia’s passing game isn’t complex, it isn’t creative, it’s flat out simple.

Georgia’s version of asking Franks to throw the screen game is the quick passing game in regards to short hitch routes, like below, or slants.

Georgia’s offense is not based on the run as heavily as it was last year, I figured that Chaney would show more trust in Fromm this season, but Holyfield and Swift are both excellent backs, one of the reasons UGAs O is not as dangerous as a year ago is because UGA runs the ball less. Through 7 games a year ago, UGA ran the ball 343 times vs 274 times this season through 7 games.

Fromm is still 2nd in the SEC in completion percentage and QB rating, so it’s not as if Chaney’s trust in Fromm is misplaced, but Fromm’s deep ball looks shakier this year.

Now, these aren’t all of his deep balls, he’s hit on a number of them this year, but in these 2 games I reviewed, his deep ball accuracy wasn’t there on contested throws.

Fromm isn’t bad at reading defenses, but the reality is, he doesn’t tend to go through his progressions. I don’t necessarily want to say that the entire passing game for Georgia is a one read system, but I don’t think you would be in the wrong to label it that. Here is one example of how Fromm has his decision made up pre-snap despite fine coverage on the slant route.

Again, this doesn’t make Fromm a bad QB, he runs their offense fine, one bad game vs LSU doesn’t deem a benching, despite seemingly the entire Georgia fan base wanting him benched for a true freshman QB. Fromm is money on back shoulder throws, which is one of those odd things to see his issues with the deep ball in these games but seeing his back shoulder throw is fun to watch, rival or not. There is one drop in here, the throw was fine.

We have an excellent pass defense from a statistical point of view, and the tape agrees that we have locked down the passing offenses Florida has played. But Florida has not been tested by a QB of Fromms talent level yet. Henderson and Gardner-Johnson are both reliable cover guys but I still think it’s a question whether they can consistently defend against Fromms back shoulder throws.

Georgia’s WRs are a unit I can see giving Florida’s secondary an issue. One of the issues you get with UGAs simple quick passing game is that it makes it tough to defend their route running ability. Here the slot WR runs the DB out of his shoes and gets wide open.

There are other examples of this that I didn’t GIF. What you tend to see are corners playing 7-10 yards off Georgia’s wideouts and they’ll run a 7-yard hitch that pushes the corner off enough to make the throw easy for Fromm. Eventually, you will see corners sneak up to eliminate the hitch and slants and something like the above will happen. That or someone like Riley will run what looks to be another 7-yard hitch, he’ll dip and flash the hitch and turn around and run a go route, getting past the secondary for a wide-open target for Fromm to hit (or overthrow as shown in some of the GIFs above).

LSU played a lot of zone vs UGA to eliminate the short stuff and to keep the deep stuff in front of them. When they did play man, they had success doing so because Greedy Williams is a future 1st round lockdown corner who wouldn’t let the man he was covering beat him.

Now, moving into the running game, Chaney not sticking with Swift and Holyfield more is an odd thing, because these 2 guys are amazing to watch run the ball. UGAs running scheme is a simple power running scheme. You very rarely see an OG pull to lead the way for an outside zone run for instance. When you watch Florida’s offense operate in the run game the scheme is completely different, you will see 2 linemen, or 1 lineman and a TE pull constantly. Georgia, IIRC, has the biggest OL in the SEC, they’re the 2nd most talented unit behind Alabamas, Kirby’s philosophy is “we are bigger than you, we are more talented than you, our line will punish your line and you can’t stop us” and more often than not, he’s right.

The biggest reason Georgia’s run game is so dangerous? Swift and Holyfield both have an incredible jump cut that creates a lot of extra yards for that offense.

This is a big concern I have for Florida’s defense. I believe that we have the best defensive line that Georgias has faced all season, but as I have gone over in prior Twitter reviews, as good as Reese and Joseph have been at points this year, they still have issues running themselves into bad spots. Grantham likes to use a one safety look with the 2nd safety as a run support, box safety. One of the issues that became visible vs Vanderbilt was how often our safeties and corners get out position vs the run.

When you watch tape of plays where Georgia can’t get a run play going, it’s because everyone did their job. The DL held their ground vs bigger UGA linemen, the linebackers and defensive backs are pressing the edge and forcing Swift/Holyfield to run it up the gut, like these two plays show. You see the DBs take away that outside cut and the linebackers stay in their gap and don’t get blocked out of the play. Run is dead.

Florida can run with a variety of looks on its defensive line. There is enough size that Grantham can run with 3 guys over 300 pounds with 2 of Zuniga/Polite/Jefferson standing up. One look that’s given some lines issues is by putting Jefferson right over the center, and despite me banging the drum about CeCe having a down year this year, he’s done pretty well at being a handful for interior linemen to block. He just hasn’t been able to translate that into much production.

So I don’t think it’s impossible that Florida can defend Georgia’s run game, but I don’t think it’s likely. I would far easier project Georgia hitting 200 yards rushing before I predict Florida keeps them to under 100.

Sticking with the offense, Georgia is NOT creative. This is not a surprise to me as Chaney is an above average coordinator on his absolute best day. And maybe the lack of creativity by Georgia is a Kirby decision, but the next two GIFs are an example of the most creative plays Georgia ran in these two games. I’m not sure there exists a world in 2018, with the creativity you see out of so many offenses, where a WR end around is deemed creative, but this is what Georgia brings to the table from a trickery point of view.

A look at Georgia’s defense

It’s not a surprise that Georgia’s defense has taken a step back this year, the amount they lost a year ago to graduation and to the NFL was similar to what Florida lost from 2006 to 2007. Georgia is still solid on D, as the numbers show, they still have plenty of speed, as the numbers show, but they aren’t remotely as dangerous as they were a year ago, and a big reason for that is they don’t have a linebacker on roster who is in the same zip code of accomplishing what Roquan Smith did on a snap to snap basis for their defense last year.

Georgia’s run D is their weak spot, 40th in rush defense and 70th in yards per carry allowed. What this tells me off the bat is Georgia’s run defense would be noticeably worse if Georgia wasn’t routinely playing ahead of their opponent by such a large margin that it required their opponent to go into a pass only game plan to try and get back into the game.

Georgia’s run defense looks pretty weak in the middle. You can see the speed on wide outside zone runs as UGA does a pretty good job of stringing plays out and keeping those outside zone runs to a short gain. But I looked at about 1 1/2 quarters of the Vanderbilt game before deciding to stick to only breaking down 2 games and the runs up the ‘a gap’ were there for Vanderbilt just like you see below for Missouri and LSU.

One thing I noticed watching Georgia’s defense is how well they play runs that go wide out of the shotgun. Vanderbilt had some success running wide when taking snaps from under center. LSU had two big runs I will show below that came late in the 4th when I think Georgias defense was tiring. Earlier in the game, LSU was having some issues going wide, Missouri had issues going wide as well. UGA is young on D, but the speed is still there.

But late in the 4th, LSU lined up in a run-heavy look under center and was able to pop off two big runs on a tired defense.

One thing I was looking for was how Georgia played the short stuff, and while there isn’t a lot of stuff on tape in these 2 games that I could compare to Florida’s passing offense that relies heavily on short stuff to show you that offenses can move the ball at will like that, Missouri did move the ball on one of their TD drives by moving the ball how you would expect Florida to move the ball, with the short passing game. LSU ran a few WR screens that I thought were well blocked but the ball carrier shows poor vision, as the last GIF here shows I think, looks to me like he can get the first if he bounces the run to the outside versus inside towards the linebacker.

Georgia doesn’t have a good pass rush. While I believe that sacks are an extremely overused number in regards to discussing the kind of productivity a line or player has, the tape agrees. Georgia is fine at producing pressure when they bring 5 or more, which isn’t unique at all, most defenses will have more success bringing 5 or more. But when Georgia sticks with its base pass rush, more often than not, the QB has time to throw. Ledbetter and Clark seem to be the only two guys that flash on tape for them on the DL but it’s not really an impressive kind of flash. The only way I’ve seen Georgia produce any kind of pressure without getting exotic with blitz packages is by stunting up front.

Florida absolutely brings the better pass rushing unit to this game in Zuniga and Polite. Georgia has no one like Zuniga or Polite, and this is Florida’s best pass blocking unit since Meyer was at Florida. The combo of Taylor and Ivey being solid in pass pro over the last several games and even Johnson playing better at RG playing a unit that ranks as one of the worst pass rushing units in CFB says that, on tape, Florida should have time to run their passing offense.

Another thing that stuck out to me about Georgia’s front 7, looks like Florida might have some success with a Franks read option or two. Maybe Kirby didn’t expect for Burrow or Lock to pull and he caught them by surprise, Franks usually keeps on 2 or 3 read option plays a game so the tendency is there for Georgia to prepare for, but it still stuck out to me how poorly UGA played the read option vs two QBs who aren’t really overly athletic guys.

Georgia’s secondary is good but not great. Baker is a really good corner, arguably the best in the SEC and he only got beat once vs LSU that I recall, LSU spent quite a lot of time targetting freshman Tyson Campbell. He gave up a number of catches and got burned quite a bit. Not only did Campbell get burned, but there was a handful of plays LSU WRs got behind Georgia safeties. Replace Burrow with a league average QB (Burrow is 13th in the SEC in completion percentage) and it’s possible and probable that LSU puts up 40+ on Georgia, their secondary was not good vs LSU and routinely found themselves way out of position.

How does Florida beat Georgia?

In the off-season, I was so pessimistic about Florida’s roster that I gave Florida single-digit percentage odds to win this game. I was not expecting this staff to make the amount of difference they have made this fast. While I still think lowly of Franks as a QB, he’s limited his mistakes to about half of what he did a year ago, the offensive line is no longer a dumpster fire, the defense is in much better hands with Grantham (which I did see happening), the special teams coverage units have improved and despite losing a good kicker and arguably the best punter in program history, there has been minimal drop in terms of punting average and frankly the freshman kicker is a better officiating crew away from being perfect on place kicking for the year.

So here we are in the middle of October and this game is very winnable compared to how many a pessimist viewed this game after the Kentucky loss. You will even find an increase in Georgia fans who are more worried about Florida than they were when the Mullen hire was originally announced.

Georgia opened this game as 7.5 point favorites and ESPNs FPI gave Georgia a 69.8% odds of winning this game, both the line and the FPI odds are ones I agree with now, which as someone who thought Florida had a 5% chance of winning this game in July, that’s improvement in confidence.

When Florida is on offense

I haven’t seen anything to indicate that Florida can’t continue running their offense the way they have run it in all but the LSU game (we threw 1 or 2 screens in that game?). Mullen is far more creative than any play caller Georgia has seen this season, and with a bye week to add more to the offense, Georgia is likely going to see a number of looks that you would of had to go back to Mississippi State to see. The biggest thing I noticed added in the Vanderbilt game was the introduction of using 2 running backs in the backfield next to Franks in the shotgun, it gave Vanderbilt fits, you hope it does the same to a better Georgia defense.

Georgia doesn’t have a pass rush, statistically speaking it’s the worst pass rush Florida has seen outside of Charleston Southern, and that’s not to say that their pass rush won’t come alive vs Florida, but South Carolina is tied with Florida in sacks allowed and Missouri has allowed one less sack than Florida has, so Florida isn’t exactly bringing an otherworldly OL to the table that Georgia hasn’t seen on the year. If you think Georgia’s pass rush grew in the bye week, I could argue that our pass protection schemes have gotten better in the bye week as well. Going off the tape and numbers I think Florida matches up well with Georgia up front.

Looking at the way teams have run on Georgia, you could see this being a game that has the potential to shape up how Florida approached the Georgia game in 2014 (6 passes, 60 rushing attempts). While I don’t see Mullen calling less than 10 pass plays, a run-heavy approach wouldn’t be a bad plan, and while technically all of our games have a run-heavy approach, I’m talking more than usual (we average 38 attempts a game), so bumping the runs up to 45ish wouldn’t surprise me, nothing about the stats or the tape indicates to me that Georgia is going to completely shut down Floridas run game.

My concern on offense still completely revolves around Franks. He’s still not good enough to win games on his own. If Georgia shuts the running game down and can control or eliminate the perimeter screen game, I see an easy win for Georgia. The odds that Franks is beating Georgia by sitting in the pocket and having to complete passes over the middle of the field are probably slim to none.

While beating LSU was fun, that game provided Georgia with as much a recipe for making life difficult on Franks as the LSU game gave Florida a recipe for beating Georgia. That was statistically Franks worst game in terms of comp % and QB rating, and the reason why? Florida couldn’t run their screen game vs LSU. When you force Franks to throw over the middle of the field, or you dare him to beat you deep, you are putting Floridas offense in a really ugly place because Franks touch is not ideal, specifically on deep balls. Franks is a QB who can complete all of 3 plays with any kind of consistency: WR screen, slant, comeback. Every other route in the route tree is a route Franks either can’t complete at all or probably completes less than 50% of his attempts on those routes. So while Franks is better than a year ago, he’s still extremely limited, limited to the point that it wouldn’t take me by surprise if Georgia sells out against the run and dares Franks to beat them with his arm. But I expect a lot of trickery by Mullen to move the ball through the air, that and focusing on targetting freshman corner Campbell quite a bit.

When Florida is on defense

Floridas defense is the most dependable, trustworthy unit on the team. And despite saying this, the defense is why I believe Florida loses this game. Vanderbilts RB1 (Ke’Shawn Vaughn) had 7 rushes for 56 yards before getting hurt. As I re-watched the Vanderbilt game I saw Joseph and Reese out of position quite a bit (prior to Joseph being kicked out of the game). Yes, Joseph had the game of his life vs LSU, but LSU doesn’t have a Holyfield or a Swift running the ball. It’s a lot easier to tackle Brossete an Edwards-Helaire in the open field then it is to tackle Swift and Holyfield.

Defensively, it requires almost an absolutely perfect game from Florida to win this game. I’m not buying into Georgia being shown to be a pretender because of one bad game at one of the hardest places to win a game after convincingly beating everyone else on their schedule. I fully expect a rebound game from Fromm, I kind of expect for Kirby to force Chaney to dial in and run the ball more than they throw it, and that running game is my concern. I don’t have much faith that this defense can keep those jump cuts at a minimum. In almost every game this season it has taken Grantham and the front seven 2 to 3 drives to figure out what the other team is doing in the running game, Vanderbilt and LSU both scored quickly, MSU put up 6 in their first two drives, you can’t get away with that vs Georgia. Swift and Holyfield are so good that if the defense doesn’t dial in right away, you could see Georgia score on their first few drives before the defense figures out what is going on and while this Florida team has shown amazing mentality and fight in answering when things get ugly, no one on Florida’s schedule has the talent Georgia does, you don’t want to spend this game playing catchup because it took the staff and defense 2-4 drives to figure out how to contain Georgia’s offense.

Now continuing on, Polite and Zuniga are the only two consistent pass rushers on Floridas roster, CeCe has had a world of issues getting to the QB, and the hurries aren’t really there for him so it’s not like CeCe has a bunch of “almost got him” to lean on, and no one else on the defensive line is a realistic threat of producing a pass rush vs this huge Georgia offensive line, I say this because Polite and Zuniga were non-existent vs Vanderbilt. For Florida to win this game, not only does the defensive line need to play out of this world in the run game, with the linebackers staying in their gaps and getting help from the corners and safeties in forcing Georgia runners to have to run into the teeth of our defense, Polite, Zuniga and CeCe HAVE to play lights out. You have to get Fromm out of his comfort zone.

And if you can’t get to Fromm? Then we’re looking at the secondary needing to play lights out vs that dangerous back shoulder throw that Fromm seems incapable of throwing poorly at times. And speaking of our secondary, Georgia’s wide receivers are really good. Speedy, agile, elusive guys who are really good route runners who do a good job of selling corners on one route and burning them deep with another. My biggest fear in terms of these guys is not getting burned deep by them after they spend a couple drives having Fromm complete short slant and hitch routes. The stop and go has been there for Georgia quite a lot and our corners and safeties need to be on their A game.

But, I saved arguably our best weapon for the last part of this defensive part. Jim Chaney and Georgia’s simplistic power scheme. Chaney is likely not going to outplay call Todd Grantham. Grantham is a much better coordinator than Chaney is. As someone who lives in Atlanta and has talked to many a Georgia fans, whenever you bring up Chaney’s creativity the conversation usually leads to huffing and puffing and criticisms of how bad Chaney is at dialing up a trick play. Not that it requires trick plays to win this game, but Florida’s defense is fast and ultra-aggressive and one of the best ways to make a defense pay for coming at you with 6 or 7 guys is to get creative. Chaney’s creativity revolves almost entirely around end arounds and a random WR pass or a flea flicker. Chaney lacks the creativity that you see in so many offenses in college football now. You give Georgia an offensive mind like Lincoln Riley and I would be MUCH more pessimistic on Florida’s chances in this game. Chaney is a coordinator who, despite after Georgia running backs averaging a first down almost every touch on one drive vs LSU, that the first run play that only went for a yard, Chaney went pass-pass and Georgia ended up settling for a FG because he suddenly stopped trusting a huge offensive line and two elite level running backs.

There is a lot of this in Chaney’s play calling, the moment a run play fails, Chaney has a tendency to immediately lean on Fromm for the offensive production. Chaney could be Florida’s best weapon in this game if Florida’s defense can force a stop at or behind the line of scrimmage and immediately force Chaney into skittish, irrational play calling.

Prediction

Georgia: 33
Florida: 23

Ultimately, I think Georgia approaches 200 yards of rushing, I think this is the first game that really mimics what Georgia did a year ago on offense, with Fromm not being the focal point of the offense like he’s been a lot this season. I view Kirby as an elite defensive mind who I expect to clean up some of the secondary breakdowns that happened vs LSU. If both running games are equally strong, which is a possibility with how weak Georgia is up the middle and how Florida linebackers tend to find themselves out of position, the tiebreaker for me would be Fromm. Fromm can make more throws than Franks can and at the end of the day, I don’t see Florida shutting down Georgias passing AND running game, which on a neutral site is what I think may have to happen for Florida to win this game.

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OT David Conner commits to Florida

OT David Conner commits to Florida

Photo via David Conner Florida’s offensive line play has been suspect at best these past few years, and the Gators’ 2022 recruiting class has been somewhat stuck in reverse so far. Both of those things got a nice boost today with the commitment of offensive tackle...

LB EJ Lightsey commits to Florida

LB EJ Lightsey commits to Florida

Photo credit: Keith Niebuhr, 247Sports Linebacker EJ Lightsey (Fitzgerald, GA/Fitzgerald) has just become the newest member of the Gators' 2022 recruiting class. He announced the decision on twitter this morning. Though Florida's fan base does have a propensity to...

Florida CB Jaydon Hill tears ACL, will miss 2021 season

Florida CB Jaydon Hill tears ACL, will miss 2021 season

Photo credit: John Raoux, AP A big part of the small amount of depth the Florida Gators had in its secondary is now gone for the season, as cornerback Jaydon Hill has torn his ACL. Hill suffered the injury in practice on Sunday. Rumblings that Hill would miss the...

Four star RB Terrance Gibbs commits to Florida

Four star RB Terrance Gibbs commits to Florida

Photo via Terrance Gibbs The Gators have finally landed a top running back out of high school as opposed to the portal, as Terrance Gibbs (Winter Park, FL/Winter Park HS) has committed to Florida. Though Gibbs is only rated as a four star by both Rivals and 247Sports,...

2023 TE Mac Markway commits to Florida

2023 TE Mac Markway commits to Florida

Photo via Mac Markway Tim Brewster has landed another one for the Florida Gators, raiding the Show Me State for a Mac Markway, tight end that schools across the country wanted. Markway, a consensus four star target from St. Louis, chose Florida over Ohio State and...

ATH Jamarrien Burt commits to Florida

ATH Jamarrien Burt commits to Florida

After laying dormant for quite some time, the Gators' 2022 recruiting class is picking up some steam at last. A mere four days after Florida added a pair of commitments from linebacker Shemar James and wide receiver Chandler Smith, athlete Jamarrien Burt has joined...

Athletic four star LB Shemar James commits to Florida

Athletic four star LB Shemar James commits to Florida

Photo credit: Scott Donaldson, preps@al.com Florida's 2022 recruiting class just gained perhaps its most highly touted piece yet, as consensus four star linebacker Shemar James announced his commitment this afternoon. James- out of Mobile, AL/Faith Academy- was...

Four star DB Julian Humphrey commits to Florida

Four star DB Julian Humphrey commits to Florida

Photo via TexAgs Not even three months after poaching QB Nick Evers from the Lone Star State, Dan Mullen and the Florida Gators rode west to Texas once again and pulled out another stud in Julian Humphrey, a consensus four star prospect from the Houston metropolitan...

Underrated three star WR Isaiah Bond commits to Florida

Underrated three star WR Isaiah Bond commits to Florida

Photo via Isaiah Bond After a lull the past couple months, the Gators are making moves with their 2022 recruiting class again, this time adding wide receiver Isaiah Bond. https://twitter.com/isaiahbond_/status/1391513186566819845?s=20 247Sports credits Billy Gonzales...

Florida Gators 2021 NFL Draft primer

Florida Gators 2021 NFL Draft primer

Photo credit: Kim Klement, USA Today Happy NFL Draft Day, Florida Gators fans! Today is the day where 32 former college football stars take the first step towards making their lifelong dreams of playing in the NFL a reality. That, of course, will include former Gators...

(Unofficial) results from Florida’s NFL Pro Day

(Unofficial) results from Florida’s NFL Pro Day

Photo credit: Florida Gators Due to the cancellation of the Gators' spring football game, the Florida Gators Pro Day was the closest thing to live football we're going to get this offseason. Luckily for the fans- and much more importantly, themselves- several...

Who should replace Mike White at Florida? (2021 version)

Who should replace Mike White at Florida? (2021 version)

Photo credit: John E. Moore, Getty Images A year ago, after Mike White's coaching malpractice pushed me over the edge for good, I wrote about all the laundry list of candidates I would love to see Florida replace Mike White with. After his horrifying late game...

TE CJ Hawkins commits to Florida

TE CJ Hawkins commits to Florida

Image via 247Sports The Gators got off to a slow start with their 2022 recruiting class. But with the addition of CJ Hawkins, it's officially picking up steam. Hawkins, a tight end out of Tampa, FL/Berkeley Prep, committed to Florida over South Carolina. The Gators...

Athletic OT Tony Livingston commits to Florida

Athletic OT Tony Livingston commits to Florida

Image via BuckeyePlanet.com Florida picked up a major boost for its 2022 recruiting class with the addition of Tony Livingston. Livingston, a consensus four star offensive tackle from Tampa, FL/Carrolwood Day announced his decision on twitter this evening. He also had...

2022 QB Nick Evers commits to Florida

2022 QB Nick Evers commits to Florida

Image via TexAgs.com Coaches will tell you that in every recruiting class, signing a quarterback is a need. For the Gators' 2022 class, Dan Mullen just filled that need in the name of Nick Evers, who just committed with an announcement on twitter. Evers is a consensus...

Videos: highlights from Gator football’s 3/2 practice

Videos: highlights from Gator football’s 3/2 practice

Photo credit: Florida Gators/@GatorsFB The Gators held Day 6 of spring practice today, and as has been the case for several of the prior practices, the program decided to open it up (virtually) to the public, and streamed most of the reps live on the team's Instagram...

Videos: highlights from Gator football’s 2/26 practice

Videos: highlights from Gator football’s 2/26 practice

Day five of full pads. (Image via Florida Gators.) For the third time this week, the Florida Gators football team held a virtual open practice, streaming most of the day's work on Instagram live for all to see. Here are all the videos I managed to capture from Friday...

Videos: highlights from Gator football’s 2/24 practice

Videos: highlights from Gator football’s 2/24 practice

Jason Marshall vs. Xzavier Henderson: something we'll be seeing a lot of in practice for a very, very long time. (Photo credit: Florida Gators) For the second time this week, the Gator football program virtually opened its practice to the public on its Instagram page,...

Videos: highlights from Gator football’s 2/22 practice

Screenshot from Florida's practice today (via Florida Gators) Dan Mullen and the Florida Gator football team hit the field for practice today as usual. One thing that made today's practice different from a lot of the Gators' other practices, though, was that today's...

Kicker Adam Mihalek commits to Florida

Kicker Adam Mihalek commits to Florida

Image via Adam Mihalek The Florida Gators snuck in one last addition to their 2021 recruiting class at the last second: kicker Adam Mihalek. Mihalek, a local from Tampa, has announced his intentions to stay close to home and attend the University of Florida as a...

Four star 2022 DE Francois Nolton commits to Florida

Four star 2022 DE Francois Nolton commits to Florida

With the Gators' 2021 recruiting class all wrapped up, Dan Mullen and his staff have gone to work setting up their 2022 class. https://twitter.com/99_nolton/status/1357739221822418945?s=20 Francois Nolton, a 6'4, 225 lb. four star defensive end from Miami, has...

Gators land former LSU five star TE Arik Gilbert

Gators land former LSU five star TE Arik Gilbert

Dan Mullen remains undefeated in the NCAA transfer portal with the addition of Arik Gilbert. And now, a year after Florida lost unanimous All-American tight end Kyle Pitts to the NFL, the Gators may not miss a beat at that position. Gilbert, a former five star tight...

Florida Gators’ 2021 football schedule revealed

Florida Gators’ 2021 football schedule revealed

When the SEC first pieced together a twelve year football schedule rotation in 2014 that dictated which teams would play who from the other division, the Florida Gators knew that they'd be hosting Alabama as their cross-division opponent in 2021. But now, following...

Gators complete coaching staff with Jules Montinar

Gators complete coaching staff with Jules Montinar

UPDATE: Florida has officially announced Jules Montinar as the newest member of the Gator football staff. https://twitter.com/GatorsFB/status/1353802427313618945?s=20 (Initial story begins below.) With linebackers coach Christian Robinson presumably staying at...

Auburn DL Daquan Newkirk transfers to Florida

Auburn DL Daquan Newkirk transfers to Florida

DaQuan Newkirk is coming home. Daquan Newkirk has decided to return home (or close to it) for his final year of eligibility. And thus, Florida's shaky offseason took a step in the right direction. https://twitter.com/holdthat_2/status/1349757297782829056?s=20 Once a...

Florida LB James Houston to enter transfer portal

Florida LB James Houston to enter transfer portal

Best of luck to James Houston as he searches for a new home. James Houston IV, a junior linebacker from Fort Lauderdale, has told me that he will be entering the transfer portal. Houston was known for making a few of the bigger defensive plays of the last couple of...

Keyontae Johnson placed into medically induced coma

Keyontae Johnson placed into medically induced coma

Keyontae Johnson has been placed into a medically induced coma, according to the USA Today, who spoke with Johnson's grandfather. His grandfather, Larry DeJarnett said in a phone interview that his grandson was transported to Gainesville earlier today after receiving...

Florida vs Tennessee: Film Review – Defense

Florida’s 2020 season has overall been a successful one by most measures. The Gators are 8-1, ranked in the top ten in every major poll and are four wins away from securing the program’s fourth national title. But in order to obtain that national title, there’s a lot...

Several Gators listed as national award semifinalists

Florida's efforts on the field have been rewarded in the sense that the Gators now control their own destiny to SEC and national championships. But for several players, their efforts are being rewarded in more individual manners, too. Four Gators have been listed as...

Five Takeaways from Florida’s 31-19 win over Tennessee

Florida didn't play especially well, but did more than enough to beat Tennessee and wrap up the SEC East for the first time since 2016. What were the major takeaways from the game? Florida simply does not have a running game Tennessee came into the game with a five...

Photo Gallery from Florida’s 34-10 win over Kentucky

As we anticipate tomorrow's road matchup with Tennessee,  let’s take one more look back at last week’s game against Kentucky. Our podcast host, Dustin Smith, happens to also be a fantastic photographer. He was at the game last Saturday, and got some great photos of...

Florida RB Iverson Clement will transfer

Florida's deep stable of running backs has just gotten a little thinner. Iverson Clement, a junior tailback from Mount Holly, NJ, has decided to transfer. He departs from Florida having carried the ball twelve times for 94 yards. He nearly scored a touchdown against...

Gators make belated Thanksgiving feast out of Wildcats

Florida was missing key pieces on both sides of the ball a week ago in a sluggish 38-17 win over Vanderbilt. The Gators got them both back today, and the result was fairly similar: Florida struggled for a half against a historically inferior divisional opponent,...

Five Takeaways from Florida’s 34-10 win over Kentucky

It took awhile for Florida to get itself going, but they eventually did do exactly that and rolled away from Kentucky. What stood out in the victory? A tale of two halves Florida's offense was stuck in reverse for most of the first half, mustering a grand total of...

No. 6 Gators overcome sluggish start to run past Vandy

Florida arrived at Vanderbilt’s small stadium a mere hour and two minutes before kickoff, determined to avoid the cramped quarters in the visitors’ locker room at all costs and intent on spending as little time on the premises as they had to. Then the Gators took the...

Five Takeaways from Florida’s 38-17 win over Vanderbilt

It wasn’t pretty, but Florida fought off a tough challenge from Vanderbilt and got out of Nashville with a 38-17 win. What stuck out in the victory? The defense is still a problem. Yes, Florida played better on defense after a miserable first quarter, and sure,...

Photo Gallery from Florida’s 63-35 win over Arkansas

Before we look ahead to Vanderbilt tomorrow, let's take one more look back at last week's game against Arkansas. Our podcast host, Dustin Smith, happens to also be a fantastic photographer. He was at the game last Saturday night, and got some great photos of various...

Trask, Gators run Hogwild in blowout of Arkansas

Trask, Gators run Hogwild in blowout of Arkansas

Feleipe Franks’ dramatic return to the Swamp was the story of the day when his Arkansas Razorbacks faced off against #6 Florida in the Swamp. But it was his long-time understudy, Kyle Trask, who dominated the night. Trask continued his push for a Heisman Trophy by...

Five Takeaways from Florida’s 63-35 win over Arkansas

Five Takeaways from Florida’s 63-35 win over Arkansas

Florida earned its most lopsided win of the season over Arkansas, and former quarterback Feleipe Franks, 63-35. What stood out most along the way? Kyle Trask is now the Heisman frontrunner After several years of hyping up various quarterbacks as Heisman Trophy...

A Tribute to Feleipe Franks: I Will Remember You

A Tribute to Feleipe Franks: I Will Remember You

Hello again, Feleipe Franks. It's been about fourteen months since your Gator career ended in a particularly gruesome fashion. Tomorrow, we meet again. Only this time, your job will be to ruin Florida's season, not enhance it, and our job will be to make you...

Gators kick Georgia out of Cocktail Party

Gators kick Georgia out of Cocktail Party

Throughout Dan Mullen’s short tenure at Florida, Kirby Smart has had Mullen’s number.  And three minutes into their third meeting in Jacksonville, it looked like that would continue. But then Florida flipped the script and turned the game— and the rivalry— on its...

Five Takeaways from Florida’s 44-28 win over Georgia

Five Takeaways from Florida’s 44-28 win over Georgia

WE DID IT!!! Yes, at long last, Florida has gotten the Georgia monkey off its back and toppled the Bulldogs to take control of the SEC East. What did we learn along the way? Kyle Trask is officially a Heisman Trophy frontrunner He may not win the award, but he has to...

2021 OL Yousef Mugharbil commits to Florida

2021 OL Yousef Mugharbil commits to Florida

A day before the Gators take on Georgia in the Cocktail Party, Yousef Mugharbil kicked off their weekend the right way. Mugharbil, a consensus four star offensive lineman from Murphy, NC/Murphy HS, has committed to Florida. He also had offers from Penn State, Virginia...

Five takeaways from Florida’s 41-17 win over Missouri

Five takeaways from Florida’s 41-17 win over Missouri

Florida bounced back from a rough loss to Texas A&M three weeks ago with a statement win against Missouri. What stood out in the process? The defense isn't great, but it's getting better. Even without three starters in the secondary (and without Zachary Carter in...

For Gators, a new season begins against Missouri

For Gators, a new season begins against Missouri

Three weeks ago, Florida completed its preseason portion of the 2020 schedule with a good deal of promise, but well aware of what it had to work on. One ugly COVID outbreak and three weeks later, and the Gators begin the meat of their schedule- a seven game stretch...

2022 Safety Sam McCall commits to Florida

2022 Safety Sam McCall commits to Florida

Just as things are getting back into full swing for the Gator football team, things are heating up on the recruiting trail, too. Florida has nabbed a commitment from 2022 athlete Sam McCall, a consensus five star recruit from Lakeland, FL/Lake Gibson HS. He chose...

2021 Edge rusher Jeremiah Williams commits to Florida

2021 Edge rusher Jeremiah Williams commits to Florida

Defensive end Jeremiah Williams, a consensus four star prospect out of Birmingham, AL/Ramsay HS, has committed to Florida, giving the Gators yet another dynamic piece for their 2021 recruiting class. Signs were pointing towards Gainesville for the highly touted edge...

Florida-Missouri game postponed to October 31

Florida-Missouri game postponed to October 31

According to multiple sources close to the team, the Florida-Missouri game scheduled to take place on October 24th will now be pushed back one week, to Halloween on October 31st. In All Kinds of Weather first reported yesterday that the game was extremely likely to be...

Florida-LSU game postponed due to COVID-19 outbreak

Florida-LSU game postponed due to COVID-19 outbreak

Multiple sources have confirmed that the Florida-LSU game scheduled for this Saturday is going to be postponed. An announcement could come as early as Wednesday afternoon. The news comes less than 24 hours after an outbreak of COVID-19 within the Gators' football...

COVID-19 outbreak places Florida-LSU game in jeopardy

After just three games, the novel coronavirus that has wreaked havoc on pretty much everything in 2020 appears to have found its way into the Gator football program. And predictably, the COVID-19 outbreak has thrown up a blockade in front of the season. A few days...

Texas A&M forces Florida to address defensive issues

Texas A&M forces Florida to address defensive issues

Throughout the game on Saturday in College Station, Florida seemed to be one step ahead of Texas A&M. Until they weren't. And then it was too late to do anything about it as the Florida program trudged off the field following a familiar fate- a loss to Jimbo...

Five takeaways from Florida’s 41-38 loss to Texas A&M

Five takeaways from Florida’s 41-38 loss to Texas A&M

Florida suffered its first loss of the season against Texas A&M today, an ugly 41-38 setback that’s far more irritating than damaging— but one that exposed a great deal of Gator shortcomings. What stood out in particular? (Spoiler alert: a lot of them are...

Imperfect Gators outlast South Carolina to start 2-0

Imperfect Gators outlast South Carolina to start 2-0

The various struggles the Florida Gators have endured on defense didn’t matter too much in their first two games against Mississippi and South Carolina. They might in their next game. And they almost certainly will later in the season. Kyle Trask tossed four touchdown...

Clemson RB Demarkcus Bowman to transfer to Florida

Clemson RB Demarkcus Bowman to transfer to Florida

The Lakeland-to-Gainesville pipeline has continued, albeit via a detour. Demarkcus Bowman has chosen to transfer to Florida. Mere days after announcing his decision to enter the transfer portal, Bowman told Gators Territory of his decision. Bowman, a former five star...

Trask’s career day propels Florida past Mississippi

Trask’s career day propels Florida past Mississippi

Dan Mullen returned to the place he once called “The School Up North” in his new set of colors for the first time. And he provided that school up north with a first class education in just how lethal his new offense is. Kyle Trask went wild, completing 30 of his 42...

Five takeaways from Florida’s 51-35 win at Ole Miss

Five takeaways from Florida’s 51-35 win at Ole Miss

The Gators opened their 2020 season with a somewhat convincing 51-35 victory over Ole Miss in Oxford. In doing so, Florida knotted the all time series score against the Rebels at twelve wins apiece. Here are my five initial takeaways from the game: Kyle Trask is...

2020 Gator football position preview: secondary

2020 Gator football position preview: secondary

Our position previews of the 2020 Gator football team conclude today with a look at the defensive backfield. Can the unit colloquially known as "DBU" move forward without CJ Henderson? Previously previewing: quarterbacks | running backs | wide receivers | tight ends |...

2020 Gator football position previews: linebackers

2020 Gator football position previews: linebackers

The penultimate piece of our position preview segment takes us to the Florida linebackers- a unit that was very good in 2019, but will look a bit different in 2020. Let's get right into it. Previously previewing: quarterbacks | running backs | wide receivers | tight...

2020 Gator football position preview: defensive line

2020 Gator football position preview: defensive line

Having completed our offensive position previews, today we move to the defensive side of the ball. And as is the case everywhere in the SEC, it starts up front. Previously previewing: quarterbacks | running backs | wide receivers | tight ends | offensive line The...

2020 Gator football position preview: offensive line

2020 Gator football position preview: offensive line

Fresh off our preview of Florida's tight ends, our 2020 Gator football position preview rolls on with a look at perhaps the key to the entire team: the offensive line. Last year, was so-so a year ago in pass protection, but really let the team down in the ground game....

2020 Gator football position preview: tight ends

2020 Gator football position preview: tight ends

With kickoff just around the corner, our position by position previews of the 2020 Gator football team are about to start hitting the presses rapid-fire. Having already published our previews on Florida's quarterback, running back and wide receiver rooms, the first of...

2020 Gator football position preview: wide receivers

2020 Gator football position preview: wide receivers

Having previously broken down Florida's quarterbacks and running backs, our position preview segment moves along today with a look at Florida's receivers. It's a unit that lost four of its top playmakers from 2019 (Van Jefferson, Freddie Swain, Josh Hammond and Tyrie...

2020 Gator football position preview: running backs

2020 Gator football position preview: running backs

After a bit longer of a gap between position breakdowns than I intended, the series rolls on today with a look at Florida's running backs. What do the Gators have in stock in their RB room this year? The leader: Dameon Pierce The leading returning rusher from 2019 has...

Snapshot: the 2020 Florida-FSU chart

Snapshot: the 2020 Florida-FSU chart

Ladies and gentlemen, it is my distinct honor and privilege to present to you, the 2020 Florida-FSU chart. Many of you already know what I'm referring too. For those who don't, "The Chart" is an annual In All Kinds Of Weather tradition that compares the Florida Gators...

2020 Gator football position preview: quarterbacks

2020 Gator football position preview: quarterbacks

With kickoff at long last in sight, it's time to break down the 2020 Gator football roster, position by position. Who's back, who's going to start, how good are they, and so on. Man, it's great to finally be talking about that again. So with that said, let's start...

Gators learn four of ten kickoff times for 2020 season

Gators learn four of ten kickoff times for 2020 season

Three of Florida's first four games of the 2020 season carry the potential to be broilers. The Gators' season opener against Mississippi in Oxford on September 26th will kick off at noon, and air on ESPN. The following week, Florida will return home and again play in...

#GreatestGatorEver Sweet 16 bracket breakdown

#GreatestGatorEver Sweet 16 bracket breakdown

Having announced the tentative plans for the schedule of the remainder of the #GreatestGatorEver fan voting tournament (update; the tournament resumes tomorrow on twitter and Instagram stories), it's time to refresh our memories regarding the final sixteen contestants...

#GreatestGatorEver tournament schedule update

#GreatestGatorEver tournament schedule update

For those who have been keeping track of the #GreatestGatorEver tournament, the excitement level has reached yet another all time high, as it does with the completion of each round. For those who haven't, it's not too late to be introduced to the event. Here's (a very...

Gators’ 2020 football schedule unveiled

Gators’ 2020 football schedule unveiled

At long last, the Florida Gators 2020 football schedule has been released. Here it is, in full. Florida Gators 2020 football schedule Week Date Opponent 1 9/26 @ Mississippi 2 10/3 S CAROLINA 3 10/10 @ Texas A&M 4 10/17 LSU 5 10/24 MISSOURI 6 --- BYE 7 11/7...

Four key Gators sit out first fall practice

Four key Gators sit out first fall practice

For the time being, it looks as though the SEC is going to give its college football season a go in 2020. But at least for today's inaugural practice, the Florida Gators football team launched its fall season down four critical pieces. As first reported by Sports...

DT Desmond Watson commits to Florida

DT Desmond Watson commits to Florida

Florida had been suffering through a bit of a lull on the recruiting trail earlier this month, a period that was low lighted by Clinton Burton flipping his commitment from Florida to Boston College. But if the past couple of weeks didn't vault Florida out of that rut,...

Gators flip OL recruit Jake Slaughter from FSU

After a bit of a lull on the recruiting trail, Florida has suddenly picked it up over the course of the last week. Last Saturday, safety Donovan McMillon committed; less than 48 hours later, receiver Marcus Burke followed suit to rev the engine a little bit on a 2021...

Top Jacksonville WR Marcus Burke commits to Florida

Top Jacksonville WR Marcus Burke commits to Florida

The Gators' 2021 recruiting class got a boost Saturday with the addition of Donovan McMillon. Today, Dan Mullen & Co. built on that momentum with the addition of receiver Marcus Burke. https://twitter.com/CERTIFIED_MB4/status/1285296008747003904?s=20 Burke, a...

Safety Donovan McMillon commits to Florida

Safety Donovan McMillon commits to Florida

Clinton Burton out, Donovan McMillon in. McMillon, a borderline three/four star safety from McMurray, PA/Peters Township High School, has committed to the Gators. The move provides Florida fans with a bit of relief following the decommitment of fellow defensive back...

#GreatestGatorEver tournament set to heat up

#GreatestGatorEver tournament set to heat up

Welcome to the part of the #GreatestGatorEver tournament where things really start to get interesting. For those who are just catching wind of the tournament, a quick explanation of how it works. Created with the goal of deciding the greatest Florida Gator athlete of...

Gators announce six new positive COVID tests within football program

UF confirms 11 positive COVID-19 cases since April

The University of Florida has acknowledged that eleven different positive tests for COVID-19 have taken place since April. The news comes a week and a half after the announcement that no returning Gator football player had tested positive. From Florida senior...

2021 CB Jordan Young commits to Florida

2021 CB Jordan Young commits to Florida

It may be one of the slowest times for sports in recent memory, but the inverse has been the case in the world of Gator football recruiting. 2021 cornerback Jordan Young (Tampa, FL/Gaither) has committed to Florida. A consensus three star prospect with offers from...

Kamar Wilcoxson re-commits to Florida for a third time

Kamar Wilcoxson re-commits to Florida for a third time

Kamar Wilcoxson is back on the Gators' commitment list- and he says this time, it's for good. https://twitter.com/KamarWilcoxson4/status/1274100941369806850?s=20 I think at this point, most Gator fans are familiar with who he is, and if you're not, I'll explain why I...

Safety Dakota Mitchell commits to Florida

Safety Dakota Mitchell commits to Florida

It probably got lost in the news of yesterday’s news that the Florida band will stop cueing up the “Gator bait” chant due to the term’s racist history, but while Florida football lost a ritual, it gained a commit. Safety Dakota Mitchell (Winter Park, FL/Winter Park)...

Gator baseball pitcher Tommy Mace to return in 2021

Gator baseball pitcher Tommy Mace to return in 2021

Tommy Mace has just pulled perhaps the biggest offseason surprise in the world of Florida Gator athletics. Mace, the ace of the Gator baseball pitching staff, has decided to return to Gainesville for another season after going undrafted in the MLB Draft. Per...

#GreatestGatorEver bracket breakdown: 15 Regional

#GreatestGatorEver bracket breakdown: 15 Regional

The sixteenth and final Regional of the #GreatestGatorEver tournament gets underway later tonight. Thus, our Regional previews conclude with a look at the 15 Regional: The bracket Regional participants (Players are listed in order they appear on the bracket.) (1)...

Lorenzo Lingard granted immediate eligibility for Florida

Lorenzo Lingard granted immediate eligibility for Florida

Happy birthday, Lorenzo Lingard. Florida's newest running back addition has announced on twitter that his waiver to be able to play in 2020 has been granted: https://twitter.com/d1champ99/status/1266464118950723584?s=20 Florida's running back room wasn't bad to begin...

#GreatestGatorEver tournament set to heat up

#GreatestGatorEver bracket breakdown: Regional 2

The penultimate Regional of the #GreatestGatorEver tournament is just about set to get underway. As is customary by now, let's acquaint ourselves with the sixteen player field a little more first. The bracket Regional participants (Players are listed in...

#GreatestGatorEver bracket breakdown: 10 Regional

#GreatestGatorEver bracket breakdown: 10 Regional

Round one of the #GreatestGatorEver tournament is drawing to a close. Today, we take a look at the third-to-last of the sixteen Regional brackets to be played: the 10 Regional. The bracket Regional participants (Players are listed in order they appear on the bracket.)...

#GreatestGatorEver bracket breakdown: 7 Regional

#GreatestGatorEver bracket breakdown: 7 Regional

We are officially three quarters of the way through of the first round of the #GreatestGatorEver tournament. Tomorrow morning, we begin the first round of the fourth quarter of the bracket- the 7 Regional. The bracket Regional participants (Players are listed in order...

Class of 2021 RB/WR Charles Montgomery commits to Florida

Class of 2021 RB/WR Charles Montgomery commits to Florida

Charles Montgomery will be suiting up in orange and blue on Saturdays. On an instagram live feed, Montgomery announced that he was choosing Florida over Maryland. A consensus four star prospect out of Seffner, FL/Armwood, Montgomery also had offers from Alabama,...

#GreatestGatorEver bracket breakdown: Regional 14

#GreatestGatorEver bracket breakdown: Regional 14

Time to complete the upper right hand corner of the #GreatestGatorEver bracket with the 14 Regional. Y'all know the drill by now; let's get to it. The bracket Regional participants (Players are listed in order they appear on the bracket.) (1) Kelly Barnhill (softball,...

Florida unveils plan to bring athletes back to campus

Florida unveils plan to bring athletes back to campus

Photo credit: University of Florida COVID-19 has pretty much shut down college athletics since it made its way over to the United States a couple of months ago. Now, the first steps are being taken to see their resumption. Earlier today, SEC school presidents have...

#GreatestGatorEver bracket breakdown: Regional 3

#GreatestGatorEver bracket breakdown: Regional 3

Up next in our #GreatestGatorEver tournament is the 3 Regional. Before voting gets underway, let's take a closer look at the field. The bracket Regional participants (Players are listed in order they appear on the bracket.) (1) Al Horford (basketball, C/F-...

#GreatestGatorEver bracket breakdown: Regional 11

#GreatestGatorEver bracket breakdown: Regional 11

Eight Regionals down, one underway, and seven more to go in Round One of our #GreatestGatorEver tournament. Next up is the 11 Regional. The bracket Regional participants (Players are listed in order they appear on the bracket.) (1) Jack Youngblood (football, DE/DT/K-...

#GreatestGatorEver bracket breakdown: Regional 6

#GreatestGatorEver bracket breakdown: Regional 6

We're halfway through the opening round of our summer long #GreatestGatorEver tournament. Now, we shift to the right side of the bracket, and start at the top with the 6 Regional, which gets underway tomorrow morning. The bracket Regional participants (Players are...

#GreatestGatorEver bracket breakdown: Regional 12

#GreatestGatorEver bracket breakdown: Regional 12

The eighth and final Regional on the left half of the 256 player #GreatestGatorEver tournament is set to get started tonight. Another way of putting that: after tonight's 12 Regional voting, we will officially be halfway done with the opening round of this summer long...

#GreatestGatorEver bracket breakdown: Regional 5

#GreatestGatorEver bracket breakdown: Regional 5

Our #GreatestGatorEver tournament rolls on today with Round one of the 5 Regional. As was the case for the previous Regionals and will be for all ensuing Regionals, let's take this opportunity to refresh our memories regarding what, exactly, the sixteen players in...

#GreatestGatorEver bracket breakdown: Regional 13

#GreatestGatorEver bracket breakdown: Regional 13

With the 4 Regional of the #GreatestGatorEver tournament currently winding down, it's time to preview the Regional it's paired with in the Sweet 16: Regional #13. The 13 Regional bracket Regional participants (Players are listed in order they appear on the bracket.)...

#GreatestGatorEver bracket breakdown: Regional 4

#GreatestGatorEver bracket breakdown: Regional 4

Our #GreatestGatorEver bracket is set to continue tomorrow with the opening round of the 4 Regional. Let's get to know that 4 Regional: The bracket Regional participants (Players are listed in order they appear on the bracket.) (1) Emmitt Smith (football, RB-...

#GreatestGatorEver bracket breakdown: Regional 9

#GreatestGatorEver bracket breakdown: Regional 9

Our #GreatestGatorEver bracket is set to continue later today with the opening round of the 9 Regional. With voting in the 8 Regional closing soon, let's familiarize ourselves with said 9 Regional: The bracket Regional participants (Players are listed in order they...

#GreatestGatorEver bracket breakdown: Regional 8

#GreatestGatorEver bracket breakdown: Regional 8

Our #GreatestGatorEver tournament is off and running. Voting for the opening round of the 1 Regional has been completed; the 16 Regional is underway and will wrap up this afternoon. Shortly after its conclusion, the 8 Regional will get underway. So, let's get to know...

#GreatestGatorEver bracket breakdown: Regional 16

#GreatestGatorEver bracket breakdown: Regional 16

Yesterday, voting began in our #GreatestGatorEver bracket in the 1 Regional. Today, voting will continue with the 16 Regional, but before the polls open, let's preview the field and refresh our memories on the players' accomplishments. The bracket Regional...

#GreatestGatorEver bracket breakdown: Regional 1

#GreatestGatorEver bracket breakdown: Regional 1

Voting for the #GreatestGatorEver bracket begins this afternoon. In the name of eliminating potential recentism in the voting, I thought I'd set the stage by previewing each Regional before the voting gets underway. Today, we'll take a look at Regional 1, which of...

2021 guard Kowacie Reeves commits to Florida

2021 guard Kowacie Reeves commits to Florida

Mike White's 2021 recruiting class is off to a great start. Kowacie Reeves (Macon, GA) has committed to Florida. Reeves, a highly sought after four star, also earned offers from North Carolina, Texas, Auburn, Georgia and Seton Hall, among others. This commitment might...

Introducing the Greatest Gator Ever bracket

Introducing the Greatest Gator Ever bracket

Part of what has helped fans make it through a long, frustrating quarantine is the abundance of fan polls on social media. In particular, 64-team, March Madness themed brackets that allow fans to vote on the winner of each matchup in each round have captured a lot of...

Michigan F Colin Castleton transferring to Florida

Michigan F Colin Castleton transferring to Florida

Colin Castleton is coming home, and Florida is adding some more frontcourt depth for the future- potentially even next season. Castleton, who spent the last two seasons at Michigan, will be transferring closer to home and joining Mike White's Gator basketball squad....

Recapping the Gators’ weekend in the 2020 NFL Draft

Recapping the Gators’ weekend in the 2020 NFL Draft

The 2020 NFL Draft has just concluded, and once again, the Florida Gators were very well represented. Below is a list of all the selections from Florida. Click on the player names for further analysis on what they bring to their new teams. Florida Gators in the 2020...

How Dan Mullen fixed a broken Gator football program

How Dan Mullen fixed a broken Gator football program

What was a fractured program less than 30 months ago needed a hero to put it back together. In Dan Mullen, Florida found that hero. This is the story of the toxic culture he walked into, how he went to work taking it apart, and how he's replaced that toxic culture...

Tebow, Spikes, James inducted into UF Hall of Fame

Tebow, Spikes, James inducted into UF Hall of Fame

Three members of the Florida Gators' 2008 football team- universally regarded as one of the best in college football history- are finally getting the ultimate recognition they deserve- spots in the UF Hall of Fame. Explosive kick/return man Brandon James posted a...

Scottie Lewis to return for sophomore year

Scottie Lewis to return for sophomore year

Florida’s basketball team got a sort-of-but-not-really-surprising boost today, as shooting guard Scottie Lewis announced that he will be coming back for his sophomore season. Lewis, a ridiculously athletic kid from southern New Jersey, arrived in Gainesville last fall...

The “Kyle Trask Emory Jones” debate: why not both?

The “Kyle Trask Emory Jones” debate: why not both?

The "Kyle Trask Emory Jones" debate is in full swing. Yes, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic that has, among other things, lengthened college sports fans' offseason, the fanbase-wide argument regarding who should be the starter at the most important position of...

Coronavirus abruptly ends 2019-20 NCAA athletic season

Coronavirus abruptly ends 2019-20 NCAA athletic season

Photo credit: Jamie Squire/Getty Images UPDATE 5:10pm: although it feels wholly logical to assume that college baseball and softball are over for 2020, the language in the two released statements- from the SEC and NCAA, and which you can read below- left one pair of...

TE Nick Elksnis commits to Florida

TE Nick Elksnis commits to Florida

Tight end Nick Elksnis (Jacksonville, FL/Episcopal) has announced his decision to be a Gator, thus netting Florida its first commitment of its Junior Day weekend. In doing so, Elksnis effectively flips from Penn State, from which he decommitted last week....

2020 Florida Gators’ Junior Day visitors list

2020 Florida Gators’ Junior Day visitors list

The Gators' second Junior Day event in Gainesville is upon us, and it's important to keep an eye on because more often than not, Florida uses it to add members to its list of commits. This time around, the chances of the Gators doing so are increased appreciably-...

Four star TE Gage Wilcox commits to Florida

Four star TE Gage Wilcox commits to Florida

Congratulations to Gage Wilcox. You, sir, have just become the first commit for Tim Brewster. Wilcox, a four star tight end from Tampa's Jefferson High School in the Class of 2021, committed on an Instagram Live video, as captured by twitter user @CurtisK421....

Florida takes step forward by throttling LSU

Florida takes step forward by throttling LSU

Photo credit: Florida Gators Maybe this is another mirage, the latest peak in a dizzying array of sine waves for Mike White’s Gator basketball team. Or maybe, after we all erroneously thought this team had turned the corner several times before, this is the game that...