The straw that broke the camel’s back: Florida must fire Mike White and save its basketball program

by | Jan 29, 2020 | Gator Basketball, Uncategorized

Mike White

He’s not dead yet, and his days may not even be numbered yet. But he’s headed in that direction. And now he’s starting to run out of time to fix things.

What was supposed to be one of Florida’s best basketball teams ever is quickly becoming one of the most disappointing. Its latest loss to Mississippi State was nothing new, but rather just the latest episode of ineptitude that left the preseason #6 team in the country staring the NIT square in the face and their coach’s seat getting hotter by the second.

Exactly how much more wiggle room Mike White has with athletic director Scott Stricklin is something I don’t know. He did, after all, just sign an extension that keeps him here through the 2024-25 season, which guarantees him $1.75M for every year left on his contract if he’s terminated without cause. And he’s a very likable human being to boot, which makes it harder to get rid of him.

But the straws have been piling up on the camelback of uncertainty for quite some time now, and last night was the straw that broke it. After gradually being pushed toward this conclusion over the better past of the last two seasons, I am now one million percent convinced that at some point in the not-so-distant future, White’s tenure in Gainesville will come to an end, and not by his own hand, barring the boilerplate caveat of a miracle run through the NCAA Tournament- a new development after being convinced he wasn’t the guy for this job but remaining uncertain of his ultimate fate.

Now, no sane or reasonable argument to fire a coach is based on one game, or even one stretch of games. Instead, a case to fire a coach requires the sum of the data to support the claim that the coach is not performing up to the expectations. And while the freedom of America allows you the ability to delude yourself into believing whatever you choose, I choose to believe the sum of that data- which paints a crystal clear image of a man who just isn’t up to the task.


Direction of the program under Mike White

Let’s establish from the get-go that I don’t believe in judging a coach solely by what he does in a single elimination tournament at the end of the year and completely disregarding the 30-35 regular season and conference tournament games before it. Because that’s not fair. Instead, I prefer to look at the totality of the information. The NCAA Tournament is of course what matters most, but it’s merely the largest piece of data, not the only one. I’m a big numbers guy, so by nature I like to look at advanced metrics like KenPom, RPI and NET rankings. I also use the regular season results, and subsequent NCAA Tournament seeds, as measuring sticks, to determine if a team’s loss in a certain round of the NCAA Tournament was indicative of that team’s performance throughout the year or a fluke, albeit one at a bad time.

So with that all in mind, let’s start with the largest-scale issue and work our way down. Under White, the Gator basketball program has undeniably regressed in each of the aforementioned categories. All those metrics (except for NET, which was just created last season, and Florida’s back to back Round of 32 exits) agree that since White’s second season, the program has steadily gotten worse. If the order of the results of his second, third and fourth years were inverted- meaning, White’s 2016-17 team is a 10 seed that beats Nevada and then loses to Michigan in the Round of 32, the 2017-18 team results remain as they were with a #6 seed and a Round of 32 loss to Texas Tech and last year’s team goes to the Elite Eight- this whole discussion isn’t happening, even if this 2019-20 season had completely gone off the rails. Because then, there would be clear and indisputable proof that White is capable of building a program from the ground up, and during a down year like 2019-20 is shaping up to be, it would be reasonable to believe that he could do it again.

A common talking point among White supporters is that “Billy Donovan struggled in his first four years too.” That statement is downright offensive to the legacy that Donovan left for a multitude of reasons, and if uttered with a hint of sincerity should be disqualifying in terms of ever again taking the person who uttered it seriously, but the most important reason is the difference in their year-to-year results, as shown in the table below. And by “year-to-year results,” I’m not simply talking about the NCAA Tournament; I’m talking about the totality of the season. The key is simple: green backgrounds denote improvements from the previous years, yellow denotes no notable year-to-year change, red backgrounds denote regressions, and brighter versions of the color indicate more significant changes.

Year to year results comparison
Coach
Years
Year 1 record
Postseason results
Year 2 record
Postseason results
Year 3 record
Postseason results
Year 4 record
Postseason results
Year 5 record
Postseason results
Billy Donovan
1996/97-1999/2000
13-17
None
14-15
None
22-9
Sweet 16
29-8 (SEC Champ)
National Title Game
24-7 (SEC Champ)
Round of 32
Mike White
2015/16-2018/19
21-15
NIT Quarterfinals
27-9
Elite 8
21-13
Round of 32
20-16
Round of 32
19-12
N/A (COVID-19)

To simply ignore the year to year improvement of Donovan and dovetailing year to year regression of White completely removes their ability to build a program from the equation, which is arguably the most important trait a coach can have. It also ignores the fact that Donovan’s best season in those first four years dwarfs White’s best season. But those facts are far more important than the overall records, because they indicate the development and the ceiling for both coaches. And as a postscript to all that: for as rough shape as the program Mike White took over was in, it was exponentially worse when Billy Donovan took it over (but more on that another time).

Because of all that, the idea of giving White a fifth year at a program whose standards are competing for championships was somewhat less than appealing. However, since he did import a surplus of new talent, including a pair of shiny five star recruits (Tre Mann and Scottie Lewis), a third recruit in the top 50 of 247’s Composite rankings (Omar Payne) and the most prized grad transfer in the sport (Kerry Blackshear), it was understandable to believe that his fifth year could break the pattern of regression and be more successful than the past two. Instead, the Gators promptly got blown away on their home court by an FSU team that lost even more talent from last year than Florida did to kick-start a third consecutive year of falling short of expectations that so far has been lowlighted by ugly losses to UConn, Utah State, Missouri, and most recently, Mississippi State.

Compare that to fans’ mindset regarding Billy Donovan in his fifth year and beyond, because some individuals still want to go there for some reason when the program’s future is brought up. Yes, Donovan’s team failed to get out of the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament for the next half decade following his appearance in the NCAA Championship Game. But drawing a comparison between the two because of that is nothing short of unbridled insanity.

Put aside the year to year growth of Donovan’s program and the fact that his best team within his first four years was better than White’s best team. Those first weekend exits were fluky or surprising finishes to strong seasons, while White’s Round of 32 exits were appropriate endings for teams that, when going by chalk, indicate that that was exactly where those seasons were supposed to end. In each of the next five years following that trip to the NCAA Title Game, when Donovan failed to reach the Sweet 16, his teams received a Regional #5 seed or better, meaning that they enjoyed strong regular seasons before being upset early in the Big Dance. And that’s not ideal, of course, but at least Donovan had those teams playing at an elite level at some point in the year. White, for his part, has not appeared to have an elite team for more than 40 minutes at a time since the #PK80 tournament in Portland in November of 2017. His last two teams received a Regional #6 and #10 seed, respectively, meaning that Round of 32 exits were more or less on par with what the course of the regular season told us to expect.

So with Donovan, even as his teams kept getting knocked out in the first weekend of the Tournament, there was legitimate reason to believe that one day, he could orchestrate a special stretch of games where his team played like it was capable of a run to the Final Four, the universally accepted standard of a special season. Because he’d done it before- not just with the 2000 team, but at various points in the five subsequent regular seasons. The conversation about Donovan was, “Man, if only he could get a team to play like they did at a previous point in time under him.” Whereas with White, it’s more along the lines of, “Is he going to ever hang a banner in the O’Dome?” When the answer to that question becomes a resounding no, the debate then shifts to whether or not you as an individual are content with consistent mediocrity from your favorite team. For fans of a program like Florida, with five Final Fours, seven SEC Championships and two national championships, the answer to that should be a resounding no as well- but more on that at the end.

In the meantime, we’re now two thirds of the way through White’s fifth season, so that’s the end of the “it’s still early, he’s learning, give him time” argument. Most monumental improvements take place within the first ten games or so, and this 2019-20 team has shown us what it is. And while I don’t doubt that it’s still capable of improving, you’re going to have a difficult time convincing a reasonable person that it’s capable of improving to the level of being the Final Four contender the national media thought it would be.

And at this juncture, even if White defies the steep odds, and he does take them on a magic carpet ride to the Final Four- though it would admittedly make me rethink the premise of this piece- it would still be a clear anomaly, the rogue result, the outlier. It would not leave me convinced that he is the right guy for Florida moving forward, because you prove that over the course of time, not with fluky NCAA Tournament runs as a low seed. At best, such a run would push me into the “Hmm, OK, that was interesting, you’ve got my attention, now what?” camp.

The bottom line is that with this team as stockpiled with talent as any he’s ever had or ever will have again, this was his golden chance to prove that he could win at the level the University of Florida expects across all sports, and he hasn’t done that- just the way he didn’t in his first four seasons.

Why not? Well, there are a few reasons.


White cannot be trusted late in close games

Some of those who still support White point to his X’s and O’s prowess, clinging to the idea that because he knows the game better than most, he should stay. Fine; let’s discuss that. Specifically, let’s talk about White’s end-of-game management. It’s not merely poor, or bad. It’s horrible. More often than is acceptable for a coach of an elite program, whatever the worst possible move or strategy one could deploy in a given late game situation is, White deploys it. And it usually costs Florida the game.

Take the South Carolina game in Gainesville last year. Never mind the fact that Florida had no business being in a close game with South Carolina, who finished .500 on the year and watched the postseason from home. And never mind the fact that that goes double at home. Florida built a fourteen point advantage with eleven minutes to go, imploded down the stretch before finally being revived and tying it back up on a Kevarrius Hayes free throw with three seconds left. There was only one way the Gators could possibly lose in regulation: by not defending the baseball type inbounds pass and giving up an easy dunk. Florida did exactly that, not even bothering to put a defender on the inbounds man and compounding that error by letting Chris Silva get behind all five Gators- whose feet were each firmly planted at the free throw line- for the uncontested game winning dunk. Bad coaching.

Take the Georgia game in the O’Connell Center two years ago. Again: never mind the fact that Florida had no business being in a close game with Georgia, who finished the year 11-21 (their highest loss total since 1955-56). And never mind the fact that that goes double at home. The fact was, Florida blew a double digit lead midway through the second half, but somehow recovered to rebuild a 59-53 edge with twenty seconds to go. There was only one way the Gators could possibly lose: by not defending Yante Maten and the three point line in general, immediately turning the ball right back over, and then somehow not learning from its mistake and not defending Yante Maten and the three point line for a second time in twenty seconds. Florida did exactly all three of those things, watched as Maten drained back to back uncontested threes sandwiched around a Jalen Hudson turnover, and lost in overtime. Bad coaching.

Take the Orange Bowl Classic against Clemson two years ago. The Tigers were a Sweet 16 team, and Jalen Hudson was having one of his worst games as a Gator, so a loss to them would have been acceptable; the manner in which the Gators lost to them was not. Florida was suffering through one of its trademark cold stretches, but still held a one point lead with 1:10 to go. The Gators’ next possession accomplished nothing other than dribbling out 28 seconds and KeVaughn Allen firing a desperation, off balance, contested three pointer with the shot clock at two. Of course, the shot wound up nowhere near the hoop, Clemson’s Marquise Reed caught the punt and then flung a baseball type pass the length of the court to Elijah Thomas for an open dunk (naturally, there was no safety back there) to give the Tigers a one point lead. Florida didn’t need a three on its next possession, but White ordered one anyway on a drive-and-kickout play from Chris Chiozza to Allen- who’d scored a grand total of two points in the entire second half, the very opposite of the hot hand- who missed and that was the end of that. Bad coaching.

And those are only three of a myriad of examples. Various late game coaching blunders also directly cost Florida wins over Mississippi, Georgia again and Vanderbilt in 2018, Mississippi State, Texas Christian and Georgia yet again in 2019, and Utah State this year.

Then there are the run-of-the-mill late game blunders that seem benign by comparison- because his players do something to bail him out. Things like allowing LSU’s Tremont Waters to dribble the length of the court in three seconds for a layup to send the game into overtime last year, where Florida lost. Things like not fouling Wisconsin’s Zak Showalter with a three point lead and :6.5 remaining in the Sweet 16 in 2017, which resulted in a game tying three. Things like slowing down the tempo with a twelve point lead with four and a half minutes to go against Xavier this year, which resulted in the offense stalling and Xavier nearly pulling off the comeback. And so on, and so forth. That said, Florida beat LSU two out of three times last year to render the one loss irrelevant, survived against Wisconsin because Chiozza hit one of the most miraculous shots in Gator basketball history, and survived against Xavier because his players made their free throws down the stretch.

Now, at times, White does make what all reasonable basketball fans would agree are good moves. Because he can’t not. Think about it: a college basketball season typically lasts 31 games, plus the conference and then postseason tournaments. Multiply that by 40 minutes’ worth of game action for him to make the right moves, plus the time in between games where he gets to play around on a whiteboard or craft adjustments with his assistants, and he gets a hell of a lot of individual opportunities to pull the right lever. Which he sometimes does: he’s adept at drawing up baseline out-of-bounds set plays, which often result in dunks, and every now and then he’ll adjust his defense during a game in a manner that pays off. And sometimes, his preparation for a game is masterful, like the time in the 2017 Round of 32 when he placed top defender Kasey Hill on All-ACC and future NBA guard London Perrantes of Virginia while the rest of the Gators swarmed and pressed the Cavs all night to the tune of an easy 65-39 victory.

But that ultimately doesn’t matter, because with all the examples of crunch time botchery, I cannot objectively bring myself to trust him to coach his team to a win. Oh, sure, his players can bail him out and make enough shots or plays to win, which they have at times, but that’s a different argument. White himself has long ago crossed the Rubicon in terms of me ever trusting him to provide Florida with the winning edge late in a close game. And yes, at a given moment, he can make a good defensive switch, or call a good set play, or even draw up the perfect baseline out of bounds play late in a close game as he did in Baton Rouge last Tuesday. But those instances are more than overwritten by his miscalculations, both in terms of frequency and in terms of their role in the game’s outcome.


White has been responsible for a large volume of disturbing losses- particularly at home

Speaking of the game’s outcome: regardless of how good or bad Florida was, under Billy Donovan, you could usually count on the Gators taking care of business on their home floor barring a lopsided talent disparity that favored the opponent. But not anymore. White has utterly destroyed the aura of invincibility the Gators’ home court once had, turning one of college basketball’s cathedrals into opposing teams’ practice facility.

Since the beginning of the 2017-18 season, the Gators have lost fourteen games in the O’Connell Center, seldom without infuriating circumstances. Two of those losses were the aforementioned debacles against Georgia and South Carolina that White gave away with his coaching blunders. Two more came against those very same opponents, meaning that both Georgia and South Carolina- two of the worst Power Five basketball programs in the entire country- currently own two game winning streaks over Florida in the O’Dome after the Gators had beaten the Bulldogs each of the last fourteen times, and the Gamecocks 15 of the last 17 times, in Gainesville. Other forgettable moments on their home floor have included getting blown out by archrival FSU twice, the ultimate ignobility of losing a payday game to Loyola Chicago, who even after their miraculous Final Four run sat twelve spots behind Florida in the final KenPom rankings that year, and the aforementioned loss to an LSU team that the Gators somehow managed to beat twice away from Gainesville last year. And then there was last night, a game that Florida led by double figures throughout most of the first half and five minutes of the second half before everything fell to pieces at once and Mississippi State pulled off a monumental comeback.

By contrast, Billy Donovan, the man that White’s band of remaining supporters just can’t stop comparing him to, quickly learned how to win games at home. After struggling with the concept initially in his first two years, Donovan’s teams would only lose six times on their home floor over the next half decade. The O’Dome quickly became known as a death trap for opponents as the program reloaded itself for a second reign of dominance with the famous “Oh-Fours” dynasty of Joakim Noah, Al Horford, Taurean Green, Corey Brewer and Lee Humphrey. Those back to back national championship teams lost a grand total of two home games.

While on the surface, regular season losses at home aren’t fatal, protecting your turf is unanimously regarded as the foundation for all strong teams. The confidence a good team gets from knowing that it will usually take care of business at home is vital to its success throughout the course of a long season. The fact that bad home losses tend to leave most fans extremely pissed off is far from the most damaging effect they have, because enough of them can leave a team in some extremely precarious positions when it comes time for the NCAA Selection Committee to create the 68 team tournament bracket.

It’s not like the Gators compensate for their home court ineptitude by picking up the slack on the road, either. Two years ago, Florida suffered atrocious road losses to Mississippi, Georgia (for a season sweep at the hands of the Bulldogs) and Vanderbilt. Those three teams finished the 2017-18 season with an average KenPom rating of 88. Last year, the Gators got chomped to pieces by FSU, Auburn and Tennessee in their respective buildings by a combined 47 points. And this year, Florida got ripped apart by a Butler team that’s solid, but does not have nearly the talent Florida has, and then blasted into the sun by a Missouri team that has zero chance to earn an at-large bid to the Big Dance.

By themselves, the home losses would be far more tolerable- they’d probably even come to be accepted as a necessary evil- if White proved capable of winning games when it matters most, in the NCAA Tournament. And the same goes for the road losses to teams that Florida should beat.

But he hasn’t done that. And because he’s failed to overwrite his failures with the ultimate whiteout of the NCAA Tournament, he’s cornered himself against mammoth expectations with nothing short of a David vs. Goliath battle ahead of him if he wants to work his way out of it.


White’s tenure has begged the question: what is the Gator (basketball) Standard?

Under Mike White, Florida has developed a distinct, yet simple pattern of results, from which his team seldom deviated in his four and a half years. Half, maybe six out of every ten of their games will go chalk, meaning the better team will win. Florida will beat some good teams here and there to raise false hope. And then they’ll lose to some bad teams to re-energize the calls to fire him. The net result of all of that? A team that’s somewhere between mediocre and decent. No better, and no worse. That pattern will extend into the postseason, where Florida will seldom make it out of the first weekend- if they get to the NCAA Tournament at all.

A popular defense of White among the supporters he has left is that he is not Billy Donovan, and thus, Florida should be content with a basketball program that bears an eerie resemblance to Ron Zook’s tenure as Florida’s head football coach. The Gators will never really be terrible under him. Going 9-22 in a season won’t be a worry. But just as sure as Florida won’t bottom out and become one of the worst teams in Division I, nor will the Gators ever become a true powerhouse under him.

And don’t dismiss the comparison out of hand, because the parallels run much deeper than the overall diagnosis. Zook’s record at Florida was 23-14, which is a winning percentage of 62.2%. By contrast, White is 101-61 at Florida so far, which translates into a nearly identical 62.3% win percentage. They each had one nice run in their second years to provide false hope; Zook’s 2003 team ran off a string of five straight wins, three of which came over top eleven ranked teams, and White’s 2016-17 team had the Elite 8 run that his supporters cling so tightly to. Now factor in that they’re both defense-first coaches with no prior experience in CEO-ing a major athletics programs, throw in a few stray upset wins over great teams, mix in some embarrassing losses to inferior opponents, and there you have it. Mike White is the approximate basketball equivalent of Ron Zook.

There’s one major difference, though. Back in 2004, then-AD Jeremy Foley set a precedent that Zookishness would not be tolerated on a long term basis in football. He dropped the axe on Zook midway through his third season, citing one simple reason: “What should be done eventually must be done immediately.” Zook was unfortunate enough to coach a sport where mediocrity did not net a team the same mathematical chance at a national championship as the elite teams. For all we know, had there been a 64 team playoff in college football in 2003, Chris Leak would have guided Florida to an upset win or two and taken them to the Elite 8. After all, that team did upset both the SEC East and West division champions in non-home game environments- the latter of which doubled as the eventual national champion (LSU).

On the other hand, because of the nature of college basketball where the NCAA Tournament can overwrite regular season shortcomings, it’s usually very difficult to utilize regular season shortcomings in any case to make a head coaching change. White gets an ex machina at the end of every season to overwrite his deficiencies; Zook did not. But under White, the aforementioned issues have become so frequent, gruesome and pervasive that they’ve slowly come to define his tenure.

If you’re still in the Mike White camp, I’d like to ask you something directly. Just for a minute, remove the method in which basketball and football crown their champions from the equation as well as the amount of games in a season, and now ask yourself why winning less than 62.5% of his games got Zook fired after two and a half years but leads you to still believe in White after four and a half years. Is it the .1% disparity between 62.3% and 62.2% that’s tipping the scale? Is 62.3% the magic number? Do you simply not care about basketball as much as football? Are you going to cite how bad Florida basketball was before Billy Donovan, conveniently ignore the fact that Florida basketball pre-Donovan had won more SEC Championships than Florida football pre-Spurrier, refer to Florida as a “football school” and claim it can’t do any better while historically inferior hoops programs like FSU, LSU, Auburn and Tennessee are each currently ten times the program Florida is? Or are you going to ignore all of those questions and continue to blindly believe White is capable of fixing the mess he’s started simply because he’s the coach of the Florida Gators and that all fans should blindly believe in him because that’s what a “true fan” should do? Sharp as those words are, they weren’t typed up to antagonize, but rather are legitimate inquiries. I genuinely want to know what the excuse is now.

Apparently, some people need a reminder: this is Florida we’re talking about. Not Florida Atlantic, Florida. Maybe football comes first in Gainesville, but this school still boasts a prestigious basketball program. The Gators own a pair of national championships (only nine schools in the country have more) and five trips to the Final Four (only fourteen schools in the country have more). A lone Elite 8 appearance due to a miraculous shot and plateauing as a Round of 32 team is not the standard for this program- especially not when those Round of 32 exits are paired with regular seasons that suggest that that’s where the postseason should end. And unlike with Billy Donovan’s early years, there’s zero proof that White is capable of building a program that can compete for championships in more years than not, which is the standard- not just because Donovan made it that way, but because a quick walk through the athletic facilities or a quick Google search will prove that that’s the standard for literally every other sport at the University of Florida.

Worst of all, the longer White is allowed to hang around without dramatic improvement, the stronger the message of, “Yes, that level of mediocrity is acceptable here” becomes (unless the pattern breaks for the worse, the wheels come off and the program enters a nosedive). Thus, the more difficult it will become to pull the plug with more and more instances of consistent mediocrity in the rearview mirror that didn’t result in the plug being pulled. And if it indeed plays out that way, there’s only one logical end point: one day several years from now, we’re all jarred awake, a decade has passed and our basketball program has nothing to show for it.

That’s not the Gator standard. But luckily, last night seemed to have opened some eyes. And I’m now becoming more and more convinced with each passing day that it won’t come to that.


The Diagnosis: what should be done eventually must be done immediately

The reality is that White is not dead, yet, but he’s just been sentenced to death, and nothing short of an absolute miracle will save him. This cannot possibly be what Stricklin envisioned when he signed White to an extension last October. This is a Gators team with several five star signees, and by far the best grad transfer on the resale market this past offseason. The national media took note of all that and anointed this team the sixth best in the country at the start of the year. Yet here we are, watching that same team- which was supposed to be White’s best team yet, and is now 43 in the NCAA NET rankings, nowhere close to sniffing the top 25 in either major poll, and one of the last few teams in the NCAA Tournament field according to most bracketologists- struggle mightily.

White is coaching this program down a dead end road, the end point of which is the unenviable position for Stricklin of having no choice but to make a coaching change. That end point has not been reached yet, and it is not yet what I would categorize as imminent, but we are starting to see it a little ways off in the distance, straight ahead of us. Stricklin may have just signed him to an extension out of blind faith, but he is ultimately an intelligent man, and every move he’s ever made other than that extension points to him one day soon realizing that he has to make a change. 

Exactly when and what it would take for Stricklin to realize that is anybody’s guess, and as a fan, you’re more than welcome to keep rooting for the Gators and hope against hope that White can prove me wrong. That’s pretty much exactly what I’m doing. My desire to see my favorite college basketball program succeed far outweighs my desire to be proven correct and see a head coaching change, because of course it does. But there is no longer a rational or logical reason to believe that Mike White is capable of returning the Gators to being the championship level program it deserves to be. That’s the bottom line. To reiterate: you can hope and pray for me to be proven wrong, and you can keep rooting for Florida in the meantime, but there is no longer a rational or logical reason to believe that Mike White is capable of returning the Gators to being the championship level program it deserves to be. 

As for who Florida should replace him with? There’s certainly no shortage of appealing candidates. Florida can get pretty much anybody it wants outside of Roy Williams, Coach K or John Calipari. My first call would be to Chris Beard of Texas Tech, and throw the checkbook at him. Nobody very good stays in Lubbock very long, and Florida is undeniably a better job than Texas Tech. Should that fail, I’d go after Mark Few of Gonzaga and Gregg Marshall of Wichita State, who have taken their respective programs as far as they can go, and offer them the keys to an even better program (yes, Florida is a better job than Wichita State and Gonzaga, and no, it’s not even close). In the (unlikely) event that all three say no, I’d go after Dana Altman of Oregon, Ben Howland of Mississippi State, Kevin Willard of Seton Hall, Steve Pikiell of Rutgers, and Brian Dutcher of San Diego State as safety options.

Again: White isn’t a terrible coach. He hasn’t exactly buried the program in the depths of college basketball hell. In a way, it would almost be better if he did, because at least then Stricklin would have pulled the trigger by now and restarted the process of building a championship level program. Instead, White’s yearly mediocrity has locked a once proud program in a vault in college basketball purgatory, with just enough success to merit not beginning to search for that vault key.

If an eternal spot in purgatory is your metric of success- meaning, if you’re a fan of Wake Forest or Vanderbilt- White’s the perfect fit. But because that’s not the metric of success at the University of Florida, White must be replaced. After last night, I’ve been left with no choice other than to believe that he will be, and not by his own choice, sooner or later. As Jeremy Foley once said, though: “What should be done eventually must be done immediately.”

And though I maintain that I like him very much individually and wish him nothing but the best at his next job, cutting bait with Mike White is something that there’s simply no remaining argument against eventually doing.

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(Photo credit: Chuck Cook, AP) The Florida Gators have a new head football coach, and his name is Billy Napier. Multiple sources say that Florida fired Dan Mullen with direct and specific intentions of hiring Billy Napier. Florida did have backup options in place, but...

It’s over: Dan Mullen is out as Florida’s head coach

It’s over: Dan Mullen is out as Florida’s head coach

Eighteen hours after an overtime loss to Missouri, the Dan Mullen era at Florida is officially over, according to multiple sources and corroborated by numerous additional reports. The firing is effective immediately. Greg Knox will serve as the interim head coach for...

An Open Letter To Dan Mullen: This Is Your Last Shot

An Open Letter To Dan Mullen: This Is Your Last Shot

Dear Dan Mullen, It's crazy how fast time can fly and how quickly things can change. You were the guy who called the offensive plays for two of the three national championships the Gator football team has ever won. You were the guy who developed Tim Tebow into a...

It’s time for the Florida Gators to fire Dan Mullen

It’s time for the Florida Gators to fire Dan Mullen

UPDATE: Florida has now parted ways with defensive coordinator Todd Grantham and offensive line coach John Hevesy. This goes against over a decade of data that suggested that Dan Mullen would never do so. Does it change things? Kind of, but not really; Mullen still...

Dear Dan Mullen: Show Me

Dear Dan Mullen: Show Me

The Florida Gators are set to do battle with archrival Georgia once again, but the script to this year's Cocktail Party seems eerily familiar. And the onus is on Dan Mullen to deviate from that script. Remember? Four years ago, speculation was swirling about the job...

Four star WR Jayden Gibson commits to Florida

Four star WR Jayden Gibson commits to Florida

Dan Mullen and the Gators have just picked up a commitment from wide receiver Jayden Gibson, a consensus four star wide receiver from West Orange, FL. And thus, the Gators' 2022 recruiting class is really starting to come along. Gibson announced his decision on CBS...

Gameday Tidbits: Florida Gators vs. Vanderbilt

Gameday Tidbits: Florida Gators vs. Vanderbilt

The Florida Gators, who are coming off a heartbreaking 13-20 loss to the Kentucky Wildcats need to bounce back this weekend in the Swamp.  Quite frankly, it should be very difficult for Florida to not bounce back against a very bad Vanderbilt football team. To put...

2022 DT Jamari Lyons commits to Florida

2022 DT Jamari Lyons commits to Florida

Florida's 2022 recruiting class got off to a fairly slow start, but has picked up some steam tonight with the addition of four star defensive tackle Jamari Lyons. Lyons, out of Melbourne and Viera High School, chose the Gators over South Carolina, Indiana, and...

Gameday: Florida Gators at Kentucky Wildcats

Gameday: Florida Gators at Kentucky Wildcats

Tonight, the Florida Gators face the Kentucky Wildcats in Lexington. This will be Florida’s first true road test of the season in what should be an incredibly hostile environment.  The Gators look to continue to roll through the SEC East as they take on division foe,...

Emory Jones deserves respect. Period.

Emory Jones deserves respect. Period.

  We are now just a few days from Emory Jones’ first true road test as a starting quarterback. And though the concept is fairly obvious to some, it's not to others, so it's worth diving into in more depth: he deserves respect for how far he’s come from the...

Game day: Florida Gators vs. Tennessee Volunteers

Game day: Florida Gators vs. Tennessee Volunteers

Tonight, the Florida Gators face the Tennessee Volunteers in a primetime showdown in the Swamp. This time, the Gators look to bounce back from a narrow defeat by the #1 Alabama Crimson Tide. Though Tennessee is not the Tennessee of Old, we still expect this to be an...

Game day: Florida Gators vs. Alabama Crimson Tide

Game day: Florida Gators vs. Alabama Crimson Tide

Finally, the day has come! Today the #11 Florida Gators will battle the #1 Alabama Crimson tide in a matchup of epic proportions. Florida fans circled this game in anticipation since the announcement came that Alabama would once again return to the Swamp. This is a...

Florida LB Ventrell Miller out for the season

Florida LB Ventrell Miller out for the season

Florida's defense took a hit last Saturday when linebacker Ventrell Miller suffered an unknown injury in the Gators' 42-20 win over South Florida. That injury was subsequently deemed to be an elbow injury, but the exact nature- and the exact severity- of the injury...

Game day: Florida Gators at South Florida Bulls Preview

Game day: Florida Gators at South Florida Bulls Preview

Gameday is once again upon us! This time, the Florida Gators will face the South Florida Bulls in a quasi-road game where the stands promise to feature as much orange and blue as green and gold- if not more. Amidst what some people deem to be a quarterback controversy...

Five takeaways from Florida Gators’ 35-14 win over FAU

Five takeaways from Florida Gators’ 35-14 win over FAU

The Florida Gators knocked off FAU 35-14 to begin the 2021 season, but left much to be desired. So: what stuck out along the way? (Aside: I'll be keeping these "five takeaways" pieces short and sweet throughout the season in order to get more stuff written each week.)...

It’s Emory Jones’ turn. His time. And his team.

It’s Emory Jones’ turn. His time. And his team.

Photo credit: USA Today Flash back to almost four years ago, December 20, 2017. It's the day that Emory Jones signed with the Florida Gators, which planted a seed for a career that has, for the most part, remained dormant- until now. Not too long before a letter of...

Florida’s Andrew Chatfield enters transfer portal

Florida’s Andrew Chatfield enters transfer portal

Photo credit: Evan Lepak, UAA Communications Florida linebacker/defensive end Andrew Chatfield has decided to enter the transfer portal. In doing so, he becomes the third Gators defender who has logged reps at linebacker to do so this offseason after James Houston IV...

Snapshot: 2021 Florida-FSU chart

Snapshot: 2021 Florida-FSU chart

Happy Chart Day! Yep, it's that time of year again. The annual In All Kinds Of Weather tradition of "The Florida FSU chart" is back in 2021. For those who are not familiar with "The Chart," every year since 2014, I have been laying out all the dizzying array of ways...

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...