A few thoughts to jump start your Friday morning: AMID THE UNKNOWNS UF SEASON STARTS SATURDAY NIGHT Maybe we shouldn’t be upset that the Florida Gators open their 2021 football season Saturday night at The Swamp against Florida Atlantic ranked 13th nationally. When you think about all the unknowns, it’s actually a sign of respect that the Gators are ranked that high. After all, they’re replacing three highly skilled All-Americans, two starters on the O-line and a record-setting placekicker. Additionally, there are a lot of new faces on defense but considering last year’s abysmal performance, a lot of new faces are probably a good thing. There is so much we don’t know about the Gators and that’s probably by design. With the need to re-tool the offense to fit his personnel and the addition of so many transfers to shore up the defense, is it any wonder Dan Mullen elected to keep spring practice under wraps and offer little or no solid information about practices and scrimmages in August? No sense in giving anyone a head start on how to defend and attack UF by blabbing too much information. So when the Gators face FAU Saturday night, you can almost bet we’ll see the pure vanilla version. With Alabama looming on September 18, no sense in giving Nick Saban and his zillion analysts any more info than necessary that will help them prepare for their trip to Gainesville. Meanwhile, Alabama faces Miami Saturday so the Tide might not be able to play it close to the vest. After three years of waiting his turn, this will be the first start of Emory Jones’ career and he will get some opportunities to make plays, but Jones has been in big games before. Backup Anthony Richardson is the one who needs the experience so he may get 40 percent of the snaps. The offense will not be a problem. If the defense is flying around and making plays, it will be a good sign for the future. Florida is favored by 23.5 points. The Sayer says sooth: FLORIDA 48, Florida Atlantic 14 THE SEC SOOTHSAYER No. 1 Alabama vs. Miami (Atlanta): Miami has been focused on this game for nine months and the Hurricanes really believe they have what it takes to upset Alabama. Obviously, the oddsmakers aren’t impressed. They’ve made Alabama a 19.5-point favorite, believing freshman QB Bryce Young is the real deal and that the Bama defense isn’t going to let Miami QB D’Eriq King turn collapsing pockets into huge gainers. I’m not quite sold on Young just yet but as long as he can get Alabama 21 points, that’s all the Crimson Tide will need to win. The Sayer says sooth: Alabama 24, Miami 7 No. 5 Georgia vs. No. 3 Clemson (Charlotte): Georgia’s last national championship was 14,855 days ago. Expectations in Athens are that this will be the first year since Herschel that Georgia wins a national title. Georgia apologists are already selling that they can lose to Clemson, still win the SEC, make the playoff and win the national championship. The Bulldogs are going to lose to Clemson, which may have the nation’s best defense in 2021. An immobile JT Daniels will face the best pass rush he’s ever seen. The Sayer says sooth: Clemson 24, Georgia 14 Kent State at No. 6 Texas A&M: The Aggies are breaking in a new quarterback (Haynes King) and a new offensive line. They could be breaking in the QB from the sorority powder puff league champs and they would still beat Kent State. The Aggies are favored to win by 29 and it might be a shocker if they fail to cover. The Sayer says sooth: Texas A&M 41, Kent State 7 No. 16 LSU at UCLA (1-0): Maybe it’s Hurricane Ida that is creating the uneasy feeling that LSU might go down in flames at the Rose Bowl. A whole lot of LSU players have family and friends whose lives have been turned upside down by this devastating category 4 storm that caused billions of dollars of destruction. Will those LSU players affected most by the storm be able to focus on doing their job? The Sayer says sooth: LSU 28, UCLA 24 Louisiana-Monroe at Kentucky: At age 65, Terry Bowden embarks on his fifth head coaching gig at a job most consider one of the real dead ends in all of Division I. Terry spent the last two years working as an analyst for Dabo up at Clemson. If he only had some of Dabo’s players he might stand a chance against Kentucky. The Sayer says sooth: Kentucky 48, Louisiana-Monroe 10 Rice at Arkansas: Why is Arkansas favored by only 19 points? The Men from Uncle Ben are coming off a 2-3 season in which they finished 107th in total offense nationally. It’s hard to imagine them scoring even a couple of TDs against Arkansas. The Sayer says sooth: Arkansas 34, Rice 7 Louisiana Tech at Mississippi State: The good news for Louisiana Tech is that nine starters return on defense. That’s also the bad news because Tech stunk last year. Now they go against a Mississippi State team that has had spring football and an offseason to iron out the kinks from last year’s first year of the Mike Leach Air Raid. The Sayer says sooth: Mississippi State 44, Louisiana Tech 17 Central Michigan at Missouri: Jim McElwain won’t be at the game since he had his appendix removed during the week. Even if he were in attendance, the fighting Chips would lose. Missouri is favored by 14. The Sayer says sooth: Missouri 33, Central Michigan 13 Akron at Auburn: This will be dial-a-score. Auburn is favored by 37 over the Zips, whose offensive output will match their name. The Sayer says sooth: Auburn 49, Akron 0 Eastern Illinois (0-1) at South Carolina: This is a paycheck game for Eastern Ill which lost to Indiana State last week. Gamecock fans should savor the moment. They won’t win more than one or two more this year. The Sayer says sooth: South Carolina 35, Eastern Illinois 7 East Tennessee State at Vanderbilt: The Clark Lea era at Vandy begins with a win over a D1AA team. There is only one other winnable game on the schedule. The Sayer says sooth: Vanderbilt 28, East Tennessee State 10 Louisville vs. Ole Miss (Atlanta, Monday): Lane Kiffin is going to turn Matt Corral loose this year. He has to because the Ole Miss defense isn’t very good. Corral could throw for 500 or more yards Monday. The Sayer says sooth: Ole Miss 51, Louisville 35 WHERE THEY RANKED IN HIGH SCHOOL: C 2010 1. Miles Dieffenbach (Pittsburgh, PA), Penn State; 2. Brandon Linder (Fort Lauderdale, FL), Miami; 3. A.J. Cann (Bamberg, SC), South Carolina; 4. Kody Innes (Scottsdale, AZ), UCLA; 5. Austin Woods (Rockwall, TX), Oklahoma; 6. Hroniss Grasu (Encino, CA), Oregon; 7. Torian Box (Atlanta, GA), North Carolina State; 8. Chase Hughes (Springville, AL), Ole Miss; 9. Jake Alexander (Jenks, OK), Tulsa; 10. Michael Thompson (Farmersville, TX), TCU 2011 1. Reese Dismukes (Spanish Fort, AL), Auburn; 2. Brian Bobek (Palatine, IL), Ohio State; 3. Ryan Kelly (West Chester, OH), Alabama; 4. Ryne Reeves (Crete, NE), Nebraska; 5. Mo Latu (Gilbert, AZ), Arizona State; 6. Ethan Hutson (Destrehan, LA), Ole Miss; 7. Errin Joe (Lakeland, FL), Georgia Tech; 8. David Andrews (Norcross, GA), Georgia; 9. Jake Brendel (Plano, TX), UCLA; 10. Jack Allen (Hinsdale, IL), Michigan State 2012 1. Ty Darlington (Apopka, FL), Oklahoma; 2. Mike Matthews (Missouri City, TX), Texas A&M; 3. Jared Kaster (Rice, TX), Texas Tech; 4. Grant Bays (Oceanside, CA), Oregon State; 5. Matt Cochran (Atwater, CA), California; 6. Cody Waldrop (Seffner, FL), South Carolina; 7. Jay Guillermo (Maryville, TN), Clemson; 8. Joey Hunt (El Campo, TX), TCU; 9. Joe Spencer (Mason, OH), Illinois; 10. Isaac Hayes (Saint Paul, MN), Minnesota 2013 1. Patrick Kugler (Wexford, PA), Michigan; 2. Jake Raulerson (Celina, TX), Texas; 3. Khaliel Rodgers (New Castle, DE), Southern Cal; 4. Brandon Kublanow (Marietta, GA), Georgia; 5. Scott Quessenberry (Encinitas, CA), UCLA; 6. Dane Crane (Rancho Santa Margarita, CA), Washington; 7. Tyler Lancaster (Plainfield, IL), Northwestern; 8. Bryce King (Dillon, SC), South Carolina; 9. K.J. Malone (Ruston, LA), LSU; 10. Lovell Peterson (Dayton, OH) 2014 1. J.C. Hassenauer (Saint Paul, MN), Alabama; 2. Joshua Casher (Mobile, AL), Alabama; 3. Brian Allen (Hinsdale, IL), Michigan State; 4. Alec Eberle (Mechanicsville, VA), Florida State; 5. Connor Mayes (Van Alstyne, TX); Minnesota; 6. Dalton Risner (Wiggins, CO), Kansas State; 7. Terrell Cuney (Jasper, TX), Texas; 8. Coleman Thomas (Max Meadows, VA), Tennessee; 9. Jacob Bragg (Nacogdoches, TX), Kansas; 10. Andrew Marshall (Cumming, GA), Georgia Tech 2015 1. Tristen Hoge (Pocatello, ID), Notre Dame; 2. Patrick Vahe (Euless, TX), Texas; 3. Fred Ulu-Perry (Honolulu, HI), UCLA; 4. Tommy Hatton (Montvale, NJ), North Carolina; 5. Kaleb Kim (Hoschton, GA), Auburn; 6. James Daniel (Warren, OH), Iowa; 7. Tyler Jordan (Jacksonville, FL), Florida; 8. Darryl Williams (Bessemer, AL), Mississippi State; 9. Brian Chaffin (Charlotte, NC), Stanford; 10. Cole Smith (Mission Viejo, CA), Southern Cal 2016 1. Baveon Johnson (Lakeland, FL), Florida State; 2. Drake Jackson (Versailles, KY), Kentucky; 3. Connor McGovern (Lopez, PA), Penn State; 4. Eli Johnson (Oxford, MS), Ole Miss; 5. Sean Auwae (Kapolei, HI), Vanderbilt; 6. Brett Heggie (Mount Dora, FL), Florida; 7. Kellton Hollins (Zachary, LA), TCU; 8. Trystan Colon-Castillo (Webb City, MO), Iowa; 9. Zach Bycznski (Berea, OH), Cincinnati; 10. Matthew Allen (Hinsdale, IL), Michigan State 2017 1. Cesar Ruiz (Bradenton, FL), Michigan; 2. Brett Neilon (Rancho Santa Margarita, CA), Southern; 3. Creed Humphrey (Shawnee, OK), Oklahoma; 4. Mike Miranda (Stow, OH), Penn State; 5. Case Crook (Carrollton, GA), Missouri; 6. Dawson Deaton (Frisco, TX), Texas Tech; 7. Drew Dalman (Salinas, CA), Stanford; 8. Sam Gerak (Avon, OH), Northwestern; 9. Will Taylor (Loganville, GA), Duke; 10. Johnny Jordan (Washington, DC), Maryland 2018 1. Matthew Jones (Brooklyn, NY), Ohio State; 2. Justin Dedich (Temecula, CA), Southern Cal; 3. Emile Ekiyor (Indianapolis, IN), Alabama; 4. Juice Scruggs (Erie, PA), Penn State; 5. Warren Ericson (Duluth, GA), Georgia; 6. Verdis Brown (Chicago, IL), Illinois; 7. Tyrone Sampson Jr. (Detroit, MI), Fresno State; 8. Cole Smith (Pontotoc, MS), LSU; 9. Hank Manos (Chapin, SC), South Carolina; 10. Trey Stafford (Allen, TX), Stanford 2019 1. Clay Webb (Oxford, AL), Georgia; 2. Harry Miller (Buford, GA), Ohio State; 3. Zeke Correll (Cincinnati, OH), Notre Dame; 4. Branson Bragg (Crandall, TX), Stanford; 5. Layden Richardson (Manvel, TX), Texas A&M; 6. Ricky Stromberg (Tulsa, OK), Arkansas; 7. Vincent Murphy (Fort Lauderdale, FL), South Carolina; 8. Charles Turner (Bradenton, FL), LSU; 9. Logan Sagapolu (Lehi, UT), Oregon; 10. Breaux Limmer (Tyler, TX), Arkansas 2020 1. Sedrick Van Pran (New Orleans, LA), Georgia; 2. Luke Wypler (Montvale, NJ), Ohio State; 3. Peter Skoronski (Park Ridge, IL), Northwestern; 4. Myles Murao (Santa Ana, CA), Washington; 5. Jake Majors (Prosper, TX), Texas; 6. Cooper Mays (Knoxville, TN), Tennessee; 7. Gus Hartwig (Zionsville, IN), Purdue; 8. Drake Metcalf (Bellflower, CA), Stanford; 9. Reece Atteberry (Aurora, CO), Michigan; 10. Seth McLaughlin (Buford, GA), Alabama 2021 (Only five centers listed instead of 10) 1. Ryan Linthicum (Damascus, MD), Clemson; 2. Raheem Anderson (Detroit, MI), Michigan; 3. Ezra Dotson-Oyetade (Garland, TX), Arizona State; 4. James Brockermeyer (Fort Worth, TX), Alabama; 5. Jackson Light (Draper, UT), Oregon ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: Is the Big 12 on the verge of expansion? Both The Athletic and ESPN are reporting that after two days of meetings to discuss adding new teams, the four teams in the expansion crosshairs are BYU, UCF, Cincinnati and Houston. BYU is an independent that would join the Big 12 in a heartbeat. UCF, Cincinnati and Houston would each owe a $10 million exit fee to leave the American Athletic Conference, money the Big 12 could pay from the exit fees Texas and Oklahoma will be paying to leave for the Southeastern Conference, estimated at $50 million apiece. These four teams won’t make up for the loss in TV revenue by the Texas/Oklahoma exit, but they will allow the Big 12 to remain an autonomous Power Five Conference which means a large cut of the College Football Playoff revenue. If and when the playoff expands to 12 teams each power conference will be in line for as much as $200 million compared to the current $66 million. Don’t be surprised if the Big 12 elects to expand by six, adding South Florida and Memphis.

"Somehow, I think the computer algorithms don’t factor in the timely personal fouls and illegal shifts that are a big part of Taggart’s Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway Offense." BY CARLTON REESE (Not The Doorman) I guess I’m supposed to apologize to the readers of Gator Bait. My call into Carlton The Doorman (no relation) to see about his Guy’s ratings and picks ended up with me having to listen to a bragfest regarding Illinois’ win over Nebraska. Illinois was getting 6.5 points and was trending as his Guy’s lock, even to win outright. Well, who even cares about a Nebraska-Illinois game? So, I never thought to publish. Let the floggings begin. Well, on to Florida and the season-opener: If this game were in October and the Georgia Bulldogs were waiting the following week, no doubt Lee Corso would be barking out “not so fast, my friend” as this would be considered a trap game. Don’t be surprised if we have that ice pick jammed into our ear canals, anyway. Florida Atlantic, the house that Lane Kiffin built and soon to be burned to the ground by Willie Taggart, returns 21 starters including an awful starting quarterback who will watch ex-Miami Hurricane N’Kosi Perry lead the Owls’ offense. As of last Friday, Taggart, the king of strict discipline as we all well know, was still trying to decide who his starting quarterback would be. My guess is Perry probably won a dance-off at the end of practice to get the nod. Perry will be at the controls of Taggart’s juggernaut scheme that he once referred to as the “Gulf Coast Offense.” Might I suggest a new name: “The Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway Offense.” Returning 21 starters is no joke and I suppose The Doorman has a point when his Guy tells him the computer numbers say the Gators are in for a battle, likely to win by less than a touchdown. Somehow, I think the computer algorithms don’t factor in the timely personal fouls and illegal shifts that are a big part of Taggart’s Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway Offense. In other words, I’m not buying this as an FAU betting lock. Our Guy says 24.5 points are way too much to give FAU and he may be right, but a game coming down to the end? The Taggart factor seems too great to overcome. By the way, I’m told Taggart is not the FAU head coach – his title is really the Hagerty Family Head Football Coach. That’s right, a vodka heir bought the naming rights to the FAU head football coach position. Not a joke. This is serious. FAU touts it on its web site. The only thing outweighing the gratuitous glory signaling of Michael Hagerty here may be FAU’s shameless and successful venture into prostitution. That’s what $2.5 million reveals to the rest of the world. The Doorman’s Pick: FAU plus 24.5 over Florida As for the rest of the schedule, The Doorman informs me that an unusually large number of games hit his Guy’s threshold for picks, which generally come down to which underdogs are getting too many points to ignore. Personally, I love early season blowouts to cover spreads. As far as home underdogs, The Doorman says: · Charlotte plus 6.5 over Duke · Tulane plus 26.5 over Oklahoma · Texas State plus 13.5 over Baylor · UCLA plus 3.5 over LSU The Doorman likes the following road underdogs: · East Carolina plus 10.5 over Appalachian State · Western Michigan plus 17 over Michigan · Central Michigan plus 13 over Missouri · Louisiana Lafayette plus 16.5 over Texas · FAU plus 24.5 over Florida · Nevada plus 3 over California On a neutral site, The Doorman likes the following underdog: · Houston plus 1.5 over Texas Tech The Doorman lists the following predictions on certain games of interest according to his Guy: · Alabama by 14.5 over Miami · Florida by 4 over FAU · Clemson by 6 over Georgia · UCLA by 14 over LSU · N.C. State by 18 over South Florida · Notre Dame by 14 over Florida State · Ohio State by 8.5 over Minnesota · Wisconsin by 7 over Penn State · Central Florida by 0.5 over Boise State For historical reference, The Doorman’s road underdog selections from last year went 7-1 while home underdog selections went 11-8. Like most Florida fans, I am interested in what happens in Tallahassee and usually hoping for a train wreck – the last three years of this clown show have been quite entertaining. Unfortunately, FSU happens to be in a no-lose situation here: If they’re even close to Notre Dame we will have to suffer through a week’s worth of ‘Nole love from a media thirsting for a “Win One for Bobby” story. If FSU wins? Well, this could be Mike Norvell’s Charley Pell moment. You remember that game in 1982 when Wilber Marshall ate that Salisbury sandwich en route to a 17-9 UF win over Southern Cal? When the game ended, Pell raced off the field with arms flailing, creating an iconic image that still stands as a storied moment in the program’s history. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Norvell make a huge scene in that brick-facade erector set, perhaps his own Pell-esque victory lap for the cameras and You Tubers to exploit. ‘Til next week’s apology column,

Around the NFL, Tuesday was "cut-down day," when clubs were required to reduce their roster to the 53-man active roster. It meant a lot of jobs were lost, but also meant a lot of dreams were either finally realized or continued. In total 36 former players made the roster. We did not players who started at Florida then finished at another school, except in two instances (due to players longevity and impact at UF). The New York Jets and Atlanta Falcons each lead the way with four players each. Of the 35 players on rosters, 16 of them entered the NFL from the Dan Mullen regime. It is important to note this can change, possibly even fairly quickly. As clubs scour the waiver wire for players released by other teams, they can add to their roster, and release others as a result. That means some of these names could be let go, sent to other teams or reduced to the practice squad. That also means there are currently names not on this list that could still find themselves on NFL rosters, or at the very least, practice squad. Names like Tyrie Cleveland, Josh Hammond and Donovan Stiner, all of whom are good candidates to either be picked up or clear waivers and make their teams practice squad. This is the first year without a slew of certain players. For years, starters from the 2006 and 2008 National Championship team had dominated NFL rosters. As that class continues to grow older and retire, Joe Haden and Carlos Dunlap are the only Gator starters from those championships teams to remain in the league. Arizona Cardinals Offensive lineman Max Garcia Offensive lineman D.J. Humphries Corner Marco Wilson Atlanta Falcons Tight end Kyle Pitts Quarterback Feleipe Franks (finished at Arkansas; graduated from UF) Defensive lineman Jonathan Bullard Linebacker Dante Fowler Jr. Dallas Cowboys Linebacker Keanu Neal Detroit Lions Linebacker Alex Anzalone Green Bay Packers Defensive lineman T.J. Slaton Los Angeles Rams Wide receiver Van Jefferson New Orleans Saints Chauncey Gardner-Johnson *Brian Poole is currently on IR, but is expected to return, making 37 Gators in the NFL, when he does New York Giants Wide receiver Kadarius Toney San Francisco 49ers Linebacker Marcell Harris Seattle Seahawks Defensive end Carlos Dunlap Offensive lineman Stone Forsythe Wide receiver Freddie Swain Tampa Bay Buccaneers Quarterback Kyle Trask Washington Football Team Linebacker Jon Bostic Offensive lineman David Sharpe Cincinnati Bengals Offensive lineman Fred Johnson Kicker Evan McPherson Houston Texans Defensive end Jonathan Greenard Corner Vernon Hargreaves III Jacksonville Jaguars Defensive lineman Taven Bryan Corner CJ Henderson Defensive end Lerentee McCray Kansas City Chiefs Wide receiver Demarcus Robinson Punter Tommy Townsend New England Patriots Offensive lineman Trent Brown New York Jets Linebacker Jarrad Davis Safety Marcus Maye Running back La’Mical Perine Defensive lineman Jabari Zuniga Pittsburgh Steelers Corner Joe Haden Tennessee Titans Janoris Jenkins (1-year at Florida)

A few thoughts to jump start your Thursday morning: THE JUICE WILL RETURN TO THE SWAMP The feeling will be quite different Saturday night when Dan Mullen and the Gators gather in the south end zone tunnel, waiting for the signal to run out to the cheers of an expected crowd of 90,000 at The Swamp for their season opening game against Florida Atlantic. A year ago, when the Gators finally got to play their home opener against South Carolina, the electricity was missing. It was that way the entire year as COVID-19 forced games to be played in partially filled stadiums minus the normal juice. Dan Mullen missed the juice. “Well last year I mean just very, very unique in guys having to motivate themselves to play the game, which, I mean, our guys love to play the game,” Mullen said back on Monday. “We love to coach the game. We love everything the game stands for. So the motivating factor’s there, but it is that extra energy. “You do. You feel the crowd. You don’t just hear it, but you feel it. And I think that’s something that can really draw out things inside of you that you don’t get through last year when your self-motivation and desire to go play. When you can feel the energy of a crowd, it lifts you up even more.” Last year was unique in so many ways and in retrospect, it’s hard to fault a team that went 8-4 with all the adversity that the pandemic caused. We tend to forget these are 18 to 22-year-old kids who were forced to live in a bubble existence not knowing if there was even going to be a game next week. That they did as well as they did under the circumstances should be celebrated. And we should be celebrating Saturday night, too, because the juice will be back and Florida Field will be rocking once again. Returning to normal. What a concept. 4-STAR POWER FORWARD MALIK RENEAU COMMITS TO FLORIDA Score a double win for Florida basketball coach Mike White on Wednesday. First, he got a commitment out of Malik Reneau (6-9, 225, Hialeah Gardens, FL/Montverde, FL Montverde Academy). He’s the nation’s 23rd-ranked prospect by ESPN, 24th-by Rivals. He’s an athletic stretch guy who is as comfortable posting up as he is putting the ball on the deck from beyond the arc and blowing past everyone to the rack. Getting Reneau to commit to the Gators over Memphis, LSU, Florida State and Virginia was certainly a big win for White. It was also a big win for White because it was the first big recruit reeled in by new assistant Erik Pastrana. Maybe, just maybe, White has the recruiter he needs to pick up momentum ahead of the early signing period from November 10-17. Reneau, who will be playing once again for Kevin Boyle, the nation’s top prep basketball coach at Montverde, averaged 17.2 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.3 blocks per game playing for Nightrydas Elite on the Nike EYBL circuit during the summer. WHERE THEY RANKED IN HIGH SCHOOL: OG Here are the top 10 offensive guard recruits in the country every year since 2010. There are a bunch of names that might seem a bit overhyped in retrospect. 2010 1. Trey Hopkins (Galena Park, TX), Texas; 2. James Stone (Nashville, TN), Tennessee; 3. Bronson Irwin (Mustang, OK), Oklahoma; 4. Christian Lombard (Palatine, IL), Notre Dame; 5. Erick Mack (Saint Matthews, SC), Auburn; 6. Cam Feldt (Pilot Point, TX), Arkansas; 7. Kolton Houston (Buford, GA), Georgia; 8. Quinton Spain (Petersburg, VA), West Virginia; 9. Shep Klinke (Katy, TX), Texas A&M; 10. Erick Kohler (Thousand Oaks, CA), Washington 2011 1. Bobby Hart (Fort Lauderdale, FL), Florida State; 2. Sedrick Flowers (Houston, TX), Texas; 3. Angelo Mangiro (Succasunna, NJ), Penn State; 4. Cyrus Hobbi (Scottsdale, AZ), Southern Cal; 5. Jordan Walsh (Glen Ellyn, IL), Iowa; 6. Mitch Smothers (Springdale, AR), Arkansas; 7. Brendon Austin (Parker, CO), Stanford; 8. Jordan Rigsbee (Chico, CA), California; 9. Marcus Jackson (Vero Beach, FL), Tennessee; 10. Austin Blythe (Williamsburg, IA), Iowa 2012 1. Isaac Seumalo (Corvallis, OR), Oregon State; 2. Joshua Garnett (Pullyap, WA), Stanford; 3. Kyle Kalis (Lakewood, OH), Michigan; 4. Curtis Riser (DeSoto, TX), Texas; 5. Jessamen Dunker (Boynton Beach, FL), Florida; 6. Jordan Simmons (Encino, CA), Southern Cal; 7. Dan Voltz (Barrington, IL), Wisconsin; 8. Evan Boehm (Lees Summit, MO), Missouri; 9. Vadal Alexander (Buford, GA), LSU; 10. John Michael McGee (Texarkana, TX), Oklahoma 2013 1. Darius James (Harker Heights, TX), Texas; 2. Grant Hill (Huntsville, AL), Alabama; 3. Kyle Bosch (Wheaton, IL), Michigan; 4. David Dawson (Detroit, MI), Michigan; 5. Chris Fox (Parker, CO), Michigan; 6. Ira Denson (Madison, FL), Florida State; 7. Tyrone Crowder (Rockingham, NC), Clemson; 8. Denver Kirkland (Miami, FL), Arkansas; 9. John Montelus (Everett, MA), Notre Dame; 10. Josh Boutte (New Iberia, LA), LSU 2014 1. Damien Mama (Bellflower, CA), Southern Cal; 2. Rod Taylor (Jackson, MS), Ole Miss; 3. Braden Smith (Olathe, KS), Auburn; 4. Viane Talamaivao (Corona, CA), Southern Cal; 5. Demetrius Knox (Fort Worth, TX), Ohio State; 6. Garrett Brumfield (Baton Rouge, LA), LSU; 7. Isaiah Wynn (St. Petersburg, FL), Georgia; 8. Mason Cole (Tarpon Springs, FL), Michigan; 9. Toa Lobendahn (La Habra, CA), Southern Cal; 10. Donell Stanley (Latta, SC), South Carolina 2015 1. Chuma Edoga (Powder Springs, GA), Southern Cal; 2. Maea Teuhuma (Keller, TX), LSU; 3. Javon Patterson (Petal, MS), Ole Miss; 4. Lester Cotton (Tucscaloosa, AL), Alabama; 5. Richie Petitbon (Washington, DC), Alabama; 6. Josh Wariboko-Alali (Oklahoma City, OK), UCLA; 7. Matthew Burrell (Woodbridge, GA), Ohio State; 8. Kyonta Stallworth (Detroit, MI), Michigan State; 9. Jalin Barnett (Lawton, OK), Nebraska; 10. Dallar Warmack (Atlanta, GA), Alabama 2016 1. Michael Menet (Reading, PA), Penn State; 2. Patrick Hudson (Silsbee, TX), Texas; 3. Terrance Davis (Hyattsville, MD), Maryland; 4. Michael Onwenu (Detroit, MI), Michigan; 5. John Raridon (West Des Moines, IA), Nebraska; 6. Donavaughn Cambell (Ponchatoula, LA), LSU; 7. John Simpson (North Charleston, SC), Clemson; 8. Tyler Gerald (Portsmouth, OH), Ohio State; 9. Deonte Brown (Decatur, AL), Alabama; 10. Chris Owens (Arlington, TX), Alabama 2017 1. Wyatt Davis (Bellflower, CA), Ohio State; 2. Josh Myers (Miamisburg, OH), Ohio State; 3. Tedarrel Slaton (Fort Lauderdale, FL), Florida; 4. Jack Anderson (Frisco, TX), Texas Tech; 5. Robert Hainsey (Bradenton, FL), Notre Dame; 6. Netori Johnson (Ellenwood, GA), Georgia; 7. CJ Thorpe (Pittsburgh, PA), Penn State; 8. Tyrese Robinson (McKinney, TX), Oklahoma; 9. Jonah Melton (Mebane, NC), North Carolina; 10. Nick Brahms (Navarre, FL), Auburn 2018 1. Jamaree Salyer (Atlanta, GA), Georgia; Penei Sewell (Saint George, UT), Oregon; 3. Trey Hill (Warner Robins, GA), Georgia; 4. Tommy Brown (Santa Ana, CA), Alabama; 5. DJ Scaife (Miami, FL), Miami; 6. Marquan McCall (Oak Park, MI), Kentucky; 7. Sam Taimani (Salt Lake City, UT), Washington; 8. Curtis Dunlap (Bradenton, FL), Minnesota; 9. Chris Murray (Santa Ana, CA), UCLA; 10. Steven Jones (Temecula, CA), Oregon 2019 1. Devontae Dobbs (Belleville, MI), Michigan State; 2. Sean Rhyan (San Juan Capistrano, CA), UCLA; 3. Caeden Wallace (Princeton, NJ), Penn State; 4. Kardell Thomas (Baton Rouge, LA), LSU; 5. William Putnam (Tampa, FL), Clemson; 6. Doug Nester (Huntington, WV), Virginia Tech; 7. Enokk Vimahi (Kahuku, HI), Ohio State; 8. Keiondre Jones (Hogansville, GA), Auburn; 9. Dontae Lucas (Miami, FL), Florida State; 10. Nolan Rumler (Akron, OH), Michigan 2020 1. Nate Anderson (Frisco, TX), Oklahoma; 2. Andrew Raym (Broken Arrow, OK), Oklahoma; 3. Paul Tchio (Alpharetta, GA), Clemson; 4. Garrett Hayes (Athens, TX), TCU; 5. Chris Morris (Memphis, TN), Texas A&M; 6. Michell Mayes (Raleigh, NC), Clemson; 7. Aaryn Parks (Washington, MD), Oklahoma; 8. Geirean Hatchett (Ferndale, WA), Washington; 9. Aki Ogynbiyi (Sugar Land, TX), Texas A&M; 10. Zak Zinter (North Andover, MA), Michigan 2021 1. Donovan Jackson (Houston, TX), Ohio State; 2. Bryce Foster (Katy, TX), Texas A&M; 3. Terrence Ferguson (Fort Valley, GA), Alabama; 4. Rocco Spindler (Clarkston, MI), Notre Dame; 5. Drew Kendall (Boston, MA), Boston College; 6. Marcus Tate (Fort Lauderdale, FL), Clemson; 7. Laurence Seymore (Miami, FL), Miami; 8. Greg Crippen (Bradenton, FL), Michigan; 9. Dylan Fairchild (Cumming, GA), Georgia; 10. Jager Burton (Lexington, KY), Kentucky OVER, UNDER, AROUND AND THROUGH THE SEC Tonight’s game Bowling Green at Tennessee: It’s the first game of his UT coaching career for Josh Heupel, the first game of his last year as Bowling Green’s coach for former UF assistant Scot Loefler. The Vols are going to look better than they really are so UT fans will think the SEC Championship Game is theirs for the taking. Loefler is a nice guy, just not at HBC material. Barring something miraculous like winning six games in 2021, he will get pink-slipped. The sayer says sooth: Tennessee 44, Bowling Green 14 The rest of the SEC … Alabama: On the SEC Coaches Teleconference Wednesday, Nick Saban said Miami has “a real good quarterback” and “really good skill guys on offense” and a defense that plays “hard, tough, physical, aggressive.” Paul Finebaum of the SEC Network isn’t nearly as impressed as Saban. Finebaum says, “No miracle, no chance, none that Miami is going to win this game.” Arkansas: With Texas looming in week two, it’s likely that WR Treylon Burks sits the opener against Rice. Burks had 51 catches for 820 yards and seven TDs last year. Auburn: Brad Council, who will get the start at right guard Saturday, will be looking across the line at former teammates. Council spent the first four years of his collegiate career at Akron, Saturday’s opponent. Georgia: Kirby Smart still hasn’t released a depth chart for Saturday’s opener with Clemson so no one is 100 percent sure of the status of receivers Darnell Washington, Dominic Blaylock, Kearis Jackson and Jermaine Burton. Kentucky: Abdul Abadi-Fitzgerald, who has played in 18 games at UK since 2017, will get the first start of his career at defensive tackle Saturday against Louisiana-Monroe. LSU: Despite a bunch of players dinged up the past two weeks of practice, Coach O says “most everyone back” for Saturday’s season opener against UCLA in the Rose Bowl. Freshman wide receiver Malik Neighbors, however, won’t play and may not be ready for a couple of weeks. Mississippi State: Austin Williams, who caught 43 passes for 372 yards and three touchdowns last season, is beginning to emerge as the leader among the MSU wide receivers. “I think Austin kind of leads that pack in being the guy who has been the most productive,” HBC Mike Leach said Wednesday. Missouri: Mizzou will be facing a Central Michigan team minus head coach Jim McElwain Saturday. McElwain had to undergo emergency surgery to remove his appendix. Ole Miss: HBC Lane Kiffin is expecting a much-improved defense in 2021. “With young kids and transfers that sat out and current players who are in the system and had a whole offseason, we’re improved over there,” Kiffin said Wednesday. South Carolina: Zeb Noland, who has gone from graduate assistant to starting quarterback in a matter of two weeks was impressive from the day he took his first snaps in practice at South Carolina. “Zeb stepped right in that huddle and took command of that huddle,” HBC Shane Beamer said. “He went out there with like four plays and I want to say he went 4-for-4 and converted every third down.” Texas A&M: Jimbo Fisher’s salary will increase to $9 million on January 1, to $9.15 million on January 1, 2023 and by $100,000 every year through the remainder of his contract, which has been extended through 2031. Vanderbilt: HBC Clark Lea will start incumbent Ken Seals at quarterback against East Tennessee Saturday although backup Mike Wright will be playing as well. THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL A few games to watch … Ohio State at Minnesota: Minnesota returns 20 starters from last year including QB Tanner Morgan and the best running back you haven’t heard of in Mohamed Ibrahim. Meanwhile Ohio State breaks in a rookie QB (C.J. Stroud) who doesn’t have a million dollar NIL deal. Doesn’t matter. Buckeyes win. South Florida at NC State: The Bulls rehearse for next week’s game with the Gators by losing by at least three touchdowns. Boise State at UCF: Now that he’s not required to beat Alabama every year, Gus Malzahn has a new lease on life at UCF. A win at the Bounce House will feel just fine. East Carolina at Appalachian State: The Happy Appys are 10-point favorites in Boone. They may win but this will be white knuckles. ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: Nebraska coach Scott Frost was already feeling the heat after the Cornhuskers lost their season opener to Illinois last week but he did himself no favors when he made this comment: “About half of our game plan was out the window when they lined up how they did.” It’s one thing to be beaten on the field. It’s something altogether worse when you admit your team was so poorly prepared that they were caught by surprise after having had nine months to get ready. With that comment, the over-under on wins needed for Frost to keep his job went from seven to eight and eight isn’t going to happen.

As the No. 13 Florida Gators prepare to kick off their 2021 season this Saturday, everything speeds up and the details become more important. There is no more fall camp or offseason to wade through, hoping things work themselves out before the season. With that in mind, we break down the biggest pieces of news to emerge from the Gators thus far this week, and things of note from Head Coach Dan Mullen’s press conference. Annual Scooter Accident The students at University of Florida are infamous for their chosen mode of transportation; scooters and mopeds. They’re perfect for zipping through traffic and enjoying the Florida weather. When met with large football players, they’re also good for one or two wrecks a year. The Gators filled their card in that regard this week, when freshman offensive lineman Yousef Mugharbil was in an accident. According to the UF student newspaper, The Alligator, Mugharbil “suffered non-life-threatening injuries after he failed to use the proper designated lane.” Gainesville Police Department spokesperson Graham Glover told The Alligator that Mugharbil failed to stop and crashed into a semi-truck, suffering road rash. Mugharbil was transported to UF Health Shands Hospital and is in stable condition as of Monday morning, Glover said. Two and a half hours later, Mullen was asked if he and the staff knew of the crash. “Yep, we do. We know. I don’t have every detail but he’s ok,” revealed Mullen. Truesdell Transfers In The Gators continue to dominate in the transfer portal, picking up another huge get at the beginning of the week. Defensive lineman Tyrone Truesdell transferred from Auburn and is already enrolled in classes at UF. He joined the Gators for his first practice on Monday. He’ll join his former Auburn Tiger defensive lineman teammate Daquan Newkirk who transferred to UF this offseason. “He was a guy that we were excited about trying to get here, and then we're, you know certainly happy and fortunate that it finally came about and we look forward to watching him play on Saturday,” said defensive coordinator Todd Grantham, who also clarified despite the quick turnaround, Truesdell will be ready to play on Saturday versus the Owls. Added Mullen, “I think you’re looking at your depth and that was a position really, to me, it was a little bit of a recruiting gap in the middle that we’ve had from my first and second year here. Then you have some injuries and some guys not able to perform. “It was somebody that we looked at immediately at the start of training camp and it’s just something that you look at the depth chart, where you’re at, the needs, and you got a guy that started a lot of games in this league, the opportunity for him to come in — I know it’s kind of a late start but being a veteran guy that’s started in the league I think he’s going to adapt really quick.” Chatfield Transfers Out Defensive lineman Andrew Chatfield has put his name in the transfer portal, originally reported by Matt Zenitz of On3Sports. It was later confirmed by Chatfield on his social media. Given the depth at his position, there weren’t as many snaps available for Chatfield. Injuries Safety Kamar Wilcoxson did not appear on the depth chart Florida released on Monday. Probably due to the fact that on Saturday, he indicated on his social media that he had been injured to some capacity. Mullen downplayed the possibility, stating, “He has a slight knee issue, so he’ll be doubtful this week. We’ll see how that plays out, though, moving forward.” Yet half an hour before Mullen’s press conference, Wilcoxson tweeted he was heading into surgery. The full extent or nature of his injury is not known at this time. Defensive lineman Jalen Lee is “questionable” according to Mullen. The coach said Daquan Newkirk is “good to go.” *Make sure to check out GatorBait later this week for more previews as the Gators kick-off their 2021 season, as well as a depth chart analysis.

A few thoughts to jump start your Wednesday morning: GOOD THINGS HAPPEN WHEN YOU STUFF THE RUN The numbers don’t lie when it comes to pinpointing Florida’s defensive issues in 2020. The 2019 defense, which ranked 9th overall nationally and 8th against the run, gave up 102.77 yards per game on the ground and just 3.19 per carry. Only nine rushing touchdowns were scored against the Gators. In 2020, when the Gators were 83rd nationally in total defense, they were 71st against the run (170.5 yards per game, 4.56 per carry). In eight of Florida’s 12 games, opponents ran for at least 159 yards. Contrast that to only two games with more than 150 and just five with more than 100 in 2019. In the four losses (Texas A&M, LSU, Alabama and Oklahoma) the Gators gave up seven rushing touchdowns and 1,006 yards. Any competent defensive coordinator will tell you, when you can’t stop the run, odds are you are going to struggle against the pass, too. Not surprisingly, the Gators allowed 14 touchdown passes in the four losses in 2020. A year ago, the Gators were so soft in the middle that opponents simply lined up and knocked the UF D-line off the football. That should change this year with what looks to be Florida’s best defensive tackle rotation in years. Thanks to the transfer portal which has delivered Antonio Valentino (Penn State), Daquan Newkirk (Auburn) and Tryone Truesdell to go with Gervon Dextor, Jalen Lee and Demond Watson, the Gators have the potential to plug the gaps and get penetration up the gut. The ripple effect of stuffing the run is opponents become one-dimensional and the pressure off the edge is amplified. If the tackles can also get penetration up the gut then Brenton Cox Jr. and Zachary Carter will have big years off the edge and Florida’s secondary will not have to cover as long, hence improved pass defense. For a coordinator who seemed fortunate to keep his job after the debacle of last year’s final three games, Todd Grantham may have found the formula to make the Gators top 30 or better defensively. Those transfer tackles not only may restore Florida’s defense but they may also make Dan Mullen’s decision to keep Grantham seem like a stroke of genius. WHERE THEY WERE RANKED IN HIGH SCHOOL: OT Here are the top 10 offensive tackle recruits in the country every year since 2010. There are a bunch of names that might seem a bit overhyped in retrospect. 2010 1. Seantrel Henderson (Saint Paul, MN), Miami; 2. Ja’Wuan James (Suwanee, GA), Tennessee; 3. Robert Crisp (Hillsborough, NC), North Carolina State; 4. James Hurst (Plainfield, NJ), North Carolina; 5. Jake Matthews (Missouri City, TX), Texas A&M; 6. Chaz Green (Tampa, FL), Florida; 7. Luke Joeckel (Arlington, TX), Texas A&M; 8. Ian Silberman (Orange Park, FL), Florida; 9. Brent Benedict (Jacksonville, FL), Georgia; 10. Andrew Norwell (Cincinnati, OH), Ohio State 2011 1. Cyrus Kouandjio (Hyattsville, MD), Alabama; 2. La’el Collins (Baton Rouge, LA), LSU; 3. Christian Westerman (Chandler, AZ), Auburn; 4. Matt Hegarty (Aztec, NM), Notre Dame; 5. Brey Cook (Springdale, AR), Arkansas; 6. Kiaro Holts (Indianapolis, IN), North Carolina; 7. Andre Yruretagoyena (Paradise Valley, AZ), Oregon; 8. Antonio Richardson (Nashville, TN), Tennessee; 9. Brandon Shell (Goose Creek, SC), South Carolina; 10. Cameron Clear (Memphis, TN), Tennessee 2012 1. D.J. Humphries (Charlotte, NC), Florida; 2. Kyle Murphy (San Clemente, CA), Stanford; 3. John Theus (Jacksonville, FL), Georgia; 4. Andrus Peat (Tempe, AZ), Stanford; 5. Kennedy Estelle (Pearland, TX), Texas; 6. Max Tuerk (Rancho Santa Margarita, CA), Southern Cal; 7. Zach Banner (Lakewood, WA), Southern Cal; 8. Avery Young (Palm Beach Gardens, FL), Auburn; 9. Erik Manguson (Encinitas, CA), Michigan; 10. Jordan Diamond (Chicago, IL), Auburn 2013 1. Laremy Tunsil (Lake City, FL), Ole Miss; 2. A’Shawn Robinson (Fort Worth, TX), Alabama; 3. Kent Perkins (Dallas, TX), Texas; 4. Dorian Johnson (Belle Vernon, PA), Pitt; 5. Ethan Pocic (Lemont, IL), LSU; 6. Evan Lisle (Dayton, OH), Ohio State; 7. Derin Gray (Washington, DC), Maryland; 8. Austin Golson (Prattville, AL), Ole Miss; 9. Hunter Biven (Owensboro, KY), Notre Dame; 10. Steve Elmer (Midland, MI), Notre Dame 2014 1. Cam Robinson (West Monroe, LA), Alabama; 2. Damian Prince (District Heights, MD), Maryland; 3. KC McDermott (West Palm Beach, FL), Miami; 4. Jamaco Jones (Chicago, IL), Ohio State; 5. Quenton Nelson (Red Bank, NJ), Notre Dame; 6. Ross Pierschbacher (Cedar Falls, IA), Alabama; 7. Casey Tucker (Chandler, AZ), Stanford; 8. Brian Wallace (St. Louis, MO), Arkansas; 9. Trevor Darling (Miami, FL), Miami; 10. Alex Bars (Nashville, TN), Notre Dame 2015 1. Martez Ivey (Apopka, FL), Florida; 2. Mitch Hyatt (Suwanee, GA), Clemson; 3. Drew Richmond (Memphis, TN), Tennessee; 4. Abdul Bello (Montverde, FL), Florida State; 5. Isaiah Prince (Greenbelt, MD), Ohio State; 6. Toby Weathersby (Houston, TX), LSU; 7. Chidi Okeke (Ludowici, GA), LSU; 8. Jake Fruhmorgen (Tampa, FL), Clemson; 9. Jack Jones (Murfreesboro, TN), Tennessee; 10. Keenan Walker (Paradise Valley, AZ), Arizona 2016 1. Greg Little (Allen, TX), Ole Miss; 2. Jonah Williams (Folsom, CA), Alabama; 3. Tommy Kraemer (Cincinnati, OH), Notre Dame; 4. Landon Dickerson (Hudson, NC), Florida State; 5. Ben Bredeson (Hartland, WI), Michigan; 6. Landon Young (Lexington, KY), Kentucky; 7. Liam Eichenberg (Cleveland, OH), Notre Dame; 8. E.J. Price (Lawrenceville, GA), Southern Cal; 9. Darvis Holmes (Lincolnton, GA), Missouri; 10. Ben Cleveland (Toccoa, GA), Georgia 2017 1. Alex Leatherwood (Pensacola, FL), Alabama; 2. Foster Sarell (Graham, WA), Stanford; 3. Walker Little (Bellaire, TX), Stanford; 4. Trey Smith (Jackson, TN), Tennessee; 5. Isaiah Wilson (Brooklyn, NY), Georgia; 6. Calvin Ashley (Washington, DC), Auburn; 7. Jedrick Wills (Lexington, KY), Alabama; 8. Austin Jackson (Phoenix, AZ), Southern Cal; 9. Andrew Thomas (Atlanta, GA), Georgia; 10. Austin Deculus (Cypress, TX), LSU 2018 1. Nicholas Petit-Frere (Tampa, FL), Ohio State; 2. Jackson Carman (Fairfield, OH), Clemson; 3. Cade Mays (Knoxville, TN), Georgia; 4. Brey Walker (Moore, OK), Oklahoma; 5. William Barnes (Apopka, FL), North Carolina; 6. Rasheed Walker (Waldorf, MD), Penn State; 7. Richard Gouraige (Tampa, FL), Florida; 8. Nana Asiedu (Stafford, VA), Penn State; 9. Max Wray (Franklin, TN), Ohio State; 10. Junior Angilau (Salt Lake City, UT), Texas 2019 1. Evan Neal (Bradenton, FL), Alabama; 2. Darnell Wright (Huntington, WV), Tennessee; 3. Kenyon Green (Humble, TX), Texas A&M; 4. Logan Brown (Grand Rapids, MI), Wisconsin; 5. Charles Cross (Laurel, MS), Mississippi State; 6. Wanya Morris (Loganville, GA), Tennessee; 7. Pierce Quick (Trussville, AL), Alabama; 8. Tyler Johnson (Conroe, TX), Texas; 9. Jonah Tauahu’u (Harbor City, CA), Oregon; 10. Amari Knight (Alabaster, AL), Alabama 2020 1. Paris Johnson Jr. (Cincinnati, OH), Ohio State; 2. Broderick Jones (Lithonia, GA), Georgia; 3. Tate Ratledge (Rome, GA), Georgia; 4. Turner Corcoran (Lawrence, KS), Nebraska; 5. Walker Parks (Lexington, KY), Clemson; 6. Myles Hinton (Norcross, GA), Stanford; 7. Trey Wedig (Wales, WI), Wisconsin; 8. Andrew Gentry (Littleton, CO), Virginia; 9. Tosh Baker (Phoenix, AZ), Notre Dame; 10. Jack Nelson (Stoughton, WI), Wisconsin 2021 1. JC Latham (Bradenton, FL), Alabama; 2. Tommy Brockermeyer (Fort Worth, TX), Alabama; 3. Amarius Mims (Cochran, GA), Georgia; 4. Tristan Leigh (Fairfax, VA), Clemson; 5. Nolan Rucci (Lititz, PA), Wisconsin; 6. Kingsley Suamataia (Orem, UT), Oregon; 7. Landon Tengwall (Olney, MD), Penn State; 8. Blake Fisher (Avon, IN), Notre Dame; 9. Micah Morris (Kingsland, GA), Georgia; 10. Bram Walden (Scottsdale, AZ), Oregon TRY TO REMEMBER A KIND OF SEPTEMBER … Alabama: 9/4 vs. Miami (Atlanta); 9/11 Mercer; 9/18 at Florida; 9/25 Southern Miss The only two games that are a concern at Miami in the opener and Florida on September 18 and both have everything to do with QB Bryce Young starting his first collegiate game against Miami and playing his first game on the road in the SEC against the Gators. Prediction: A shaky 4-0 Arkansas: 9/4 Rice; 9/11 Texas; 9/18 Georgia Southern; 9/25 vs. Texas A&M (Arlington, TX) Winning game one shouldn’t be a problem but the rest of September won’t be easy. The Hogs will be underdogs to Texas and Texas A&M. The sandwich game with Georgia Southern could be a problem. Prediction: 2-2 Auburn: 9/4 Akron; 9/11 Alabama State; 9/18 at Penn State; 9/25 Georgia State There is only one losable game and that’s the road trip to Penn State. Winning that one is going to depend on just how much Bo Nix has progressed under the new coaching staff. Prediction: 3-1 start which puts the Tigers halfway to a bowl game in Bryan Harsin’s first year on the job. FLORIDA: 9/4 Florida Atlantic; 9/11 at South Florida; 9/18 Alabama; 9/25 Tennessee The first two games should be blowouts and that brings us to Alabama. The game’s in The Swamp so the crowd will be loud and rowdy, ready to give Bryce Young his first taste of SEC hell. Can the UF crowd give the Gators enough of a boost to spring the upset? The only way the Gators lose to Tennessee if there is if there is an Alabama hangover, whether giddiness for having sprung an upset or disappointment from a white knuckles loss. Prediction: 3-1 but the one is white knuckles to the very end. Georgia: 9/4 vs. Clemson (Charlotte); 9/11 UAB; 9/18 South Carolina; 9/25 Vanderbilt The first game sets the tone for the entire season. Beat Clemson and Georgia will have only one losable game the rest of the way (Florida, October 30). Lose to Clemson and the pressure will be on Georgia the rest of the way, particularly leading up to UF in Jacksonville. Prediction: 3-1 Kentucky: 9/4 Louisiana Monroe; 9/11 Missouri; 9/18 Chattanooga; 9/25 at South Carolina The only worrisome game for the Wildcats is that 9/11 game with Missouri, which beat UK 20-10 last year. The game is in Lexington, so UK should win. Prediction: 4-0 and needing only two wins in the last eight to make a sixth straight bowl. LSU: 9/4 UCLA; 9/11 McNeese State; 9/18 Central Michigan; 9/25 at Mississippi State About the only thing that can keep LSU from a 4-0 start is Hurricane Ida. Most of Louisiana is without electricity for the next several weeks so games may have to be played elsewhere and players will be distracted, worrying about family. Prediction: A shaky 4-0 Mississippi State: 9/4 Louisiana Tech; 9/11 North Carolina State; 9/18 at Memphis; 9/25 LSU They’re without electricity in Starkville and there was flooding due to Hurricane Ida. The only easy game on the schedule is Louisiana Tech. The other three are losable. Prediction: 2-2 Missouri: 9/4 Central Michigan; 9/11 at Kentucky; 9/18 SE Missouri State; 9/25 at Boston College Games two and four are on the road and both are quite losable. The Tigers went 5-5 last year by sneaking up on folks. No sneaking up this year. Prediction: 2-2 Ole Miss: 9/6 vs. Louisville (Atlanta); 9/11 Austin Peay; 9/18 Tulane Just what the doctor ordered for the Rebels, three very winnable games right out of the chute plus an open date before the Alabama game (October 2 in Tuscaloosa). Prediction: 3-0 South Carolina: 9/4 Eastern Illinois; 9/11 at East Carolina; 9/18 at Georgia; 9/25 Kentucky The first two games should produce two wins but then there is Georgia and Kentucky to end September. Not good. Prediction: 2-2 Tennessee: 9/4 Bowling Green; 9/11 Pittsburgh; 9/18 Tennessee Tech; 9/25 at Florida Games one and three are winnable. Pitt is a toss-up. Beating the Gators in Gainesville might take a miracle. Prediction: 2-2 Texas A&M: 9/4 Kent State; 9/11 at Colorado; 9/18 New Mexico; 9/25 vs. Arkansas (Arlington, TX) This is the perfect schedule for a team breaking in a redshirt freshman QB and new O-linemen. Very little chance the Aggies will lose a game in September. Prediction: 4-0 Vanderbilt: 9/4 East Tennessee State; 9/11 at Colorado State; 9/18 Stanford; 9/25 Georgia The Clark Lea era will begin with a win over a D1AA team and it will be a struggle the rest of the way. There’s only one other winnable game on the schedule and it’s not in September. Prediction: 1-3 ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: Quinn Ewers, who should be a high school senior in Texas, has signed a name, image, likeness (NIL) deal worth $1.4 million. It’s a 3-year deal for autographs. Supposedly, he’s going to have another monster NIL deal with a tea company. There is a very good chance Ewers won’t even see the field this year at Ohio State, especially if redshirt freshman QB C.J. Stroud is as brilliant in games as he has been in practice in August. So what happens if Stroud is so good that Ryan Day doesn’t dare bench him? What happens if Ewers sits all year and 2021 stretches into 2022 and beyond? And what happens in the locker room if a guy who can’t even see the field is getting all this money? Will there be resentment? Will the money follow Ewers if he remains buried on the depth chart? Brace yourself because college football is never going to be the same again and Quinn Ewers is just the tip of the spear.

Florida Gators Head Coach Dan Mullen met with local media on Monday to preview the Gators 2021 season opener. The No. 13 Gators kickoff Saturday evening against the FAU Owls in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. As a value GatorBait subscriber, we are offering this transcript in full. INTRO "Hey, we're excited getting into game week right now. Obviously been a transition from training camp into game week for our guys. It's a big transition now. You've got school going, it kind of resets the schedule for everything that we're doing and how we're preparing, how we get ready. Going to be exciting we get to play against another team. We've gone our offense against our defense for quite a while, so it's good to get going against another team. Obviously going to be an exciting weekend here on campus. I know our fans did a great job last year, but to go get fans back in the Swamp and create that atmosphere, create that home-field advantage, the energy, the excitement, whether you're going through the Gator Walk to running out in front of 90,000 fans in the Swamp, to hearing that energy and excitment they create for the players. I know the school is excited to honor Leonard George and Willie Jackson this weekend, so there's a lot of special things happening here in the Swamp and can't wait to have everyone come be involved in it." WHAT ARE YOU MOST EAGER FROM THE TEAM? "I don't know, I mean we've been practicing for so long, I mean you go from an offseason, conditioning, to spring ball and then training camp practice against each other and do that for so long... I'm excited to see these guys go out. All the hard work they've put in, to get to see them go play and go play in front of a packed stadium and go play in front of fans, just can't wait because I know these guys are excited to get out there to go." 13TH OPENER AS HEAD COACH, HOW HAVE YOU LEARNED OVER YEARS TO BALANCE EVERYTHING IN OPENER... HIGH EXPECTATIONS, SHOWING TOO MUCH, GETTING GUYS COMFORTABLE PLAYING, ETC? "Yeah, I think one of the biggest ones is to focus on winning the game this week. Obviously everything now goes from, 'Hey, it's practice. We're installing this or we're installing that, we're going against each other here and there,' to the focus of, 'How do we use our offense, defense and special teams? How are we applying it to this opponent? How are we preparing in this short window to go play a game?' That's obviously a huge transition for us, to make sure we prepare the right way for it. Then you try to always leave a little bit of extra time in the schedule this week just to get yourself into the routine. I'm always going through my checklist. We have a long checklist of things to make sure that you've crossed every T and dotted every I, that we're completely prepared in every single way, especially in Game 1. As the season goes you get very much into a routine and even for the coaches right now it's a different routine. So making sure we're getting back to the routine and we're getting handled everything that we need to get handled." BALANCE FOR YOU WITH HIGH EXPECTATIONS AND PERFECTIONISM, THOUGH? WITH THINGS GETTING MESSY AT TIMES IN AN OPENER? "Yeah, I don't like being messy. I don't care when we're playing. I want us to come out and play at an extremely high level. That's kind of our expectations. We've had a lot of time to practice, so we should be prepared to go execute." HOW MUCH EXTRA JUICE DO YOU EXPECT COACHES AND PLAYERS TO GET FROM SEMI-PACKED OR PACKED STADIUM? HOW DID YOU GENERATE SOME OF THAT LAST YEAR YOURSELVES? "Well last year I mean just very, very unique in guys having to motivate themselves to play the game. Which, I mean, our guys love to play the game. We love to coach the game. We love everything the game stands for. So the motivating factor’s there, but it is that extra energy. You do. You feel the crowd. You don’t just hear it, but you feel it. And I think that’s something that can really draw out things inside of you that you don’t get through last year, when your self-motivation and desire to go play. When you can feel the energy of a crowd, it lifts you up even more.” How different will it be running into full Swamp? “It’ll be very different. It’ll be great. It’ll be awesome. The excitement, the energy, even walking into the tunnel, it’ll feel very different.” Wilcoxson put stuff on social media about setback. What’s up? “He has a slight knee issue, so he’ll be doubtful this week. We’ll see how that plays out, though, moving forward.” Unofficial depth chart…Avery Helm as a starting CB. What see from him? “Yeah, well, I guess that’s today’s depth chart. It changes every day. Show up on Saturday, you get to see who starts. But I thought he’s done a really good job of putting himself in a position. Whether he starts or not, I don’t know. You gotta come out on Saturday, or plays the first play of the game. We’re going to play a bunch of guys on the back end. We’re going to rotate a bunch of guys through. I think Avery’s done a really good job of maturing. I think that was a big deal for him. I know he came in, when he got here, he was coming off a pretty significant injury, so that set him back with his rehab. But to grow and mature through that and then put himself in a position – obviously he has tremendous physical talents. But it’s the maturity of learning how to play within the scheme, play within what we’re doing and do what’s expected of him beyond just his physical talents. And he’s worked hard to go learn that, having missed all the time from an injury when he got here.” You’ve had a lot of different styles of QBs. Did you feel like you had to take their strengths and evolve from that, as opposed to trying to force a certain style on them? “I think you look at what makes quarterbacks successful and a lot of the intangibles that come with that. So a lot of our focus is on the intangibles at the quarterback position. Obviously we go out, and we teach the techniques. We teach the fundamentals of the position. We teach the offensive scheme and make sure that they understand what they’re supposed to do. We set up a lot of our practice is set up around quarterback development. But then it is really important to look and find what are their strengths and what are their weaknesses, and highlight their strengths or promote their strengths within the scheme that we do and protect against their weaknesses. Always put them in a position to be successful. And that’s really what we’ve done, and I guess we’ve been really good at identifying the strengths and then have the flexibility within our offense to highlight their strengths and to ask them to do what they do well, I think, is – I mean that’s kind of the secret, I guess.” Does it provide Emory comfort that you have a track record of being successful with so many different styles? "Yeah, I do. I think all our quarterbacks know because they sit in the room and they sit there and know how we prepare and put the packages together and we put the plan together and they see that it’s, I don’t know that I’ve ever had two that are similar. I think they see that, hey, we’re gonna build around their individual strengths and I think there is a comforting factor in knowing that.” Tyrone Truesdale transfer, did injuries play into that decision? “I think you’re looking at your depth and that was a position really, to me, it was a little bit of a recruiting gap in the middle that we’ve had from my first and second year here. Then you have some injuries and some guys not able to perform. It was somebody that we looked at immediately at the start of training camp and it’s just something that you look at the depth chart, where you’re at, the needs, and you got a guy that started a lot of games in this league, the opportunity for him to come in — I know it’s kind of a late start but being a veteran guy that’s started in the league I think he’s going to adapt really quick.” Injury status for Newkirk and Lee? “Jalen (Lee) will be questionable. (Daquan) Newkirk is good to go today.” Is this the longest you’ve had a QB before you started them? “Dak Prescott? Wasn’t the similar to that? I think redshirt junior year was his first year as the full-time starter.” I thought he was earlier? “He came in because guys were injured his sophomore year but coming into the season he took over as the full-time starter that year. I don’t know. I’d have to really dive into it to go figure all that out. I’m sure there’s a couple guys. Early on in my career I wasn’t around, we were kind of two years in and out at a couple stops.” Benefit for him to have that much time to develop in the system “I think he understands it, you know what I mean? You look at his playing time and experience throughout the years. I guess as everybody says this will be his first time playing the first play of the game but to say he hasn’t played in a lot of big moments in a lot of different games, big difference.” Potential scooter accident this morning with Yousef Mugharbil, have you heard? “Yep, we do. We know. I don’t have every detail but he’s ok.” Another QB thing, how long have you been wanting to use 2 QBs? Where does that come from? “Well, you know, a lot of it is based on experience. Every situation is very different and unique. Obviously you look at a situation, if your quarterbacks have very different skill sets, there’s a value in using different ones on the field. And then the second value comes into experience. We don’t have preseason games, we don’t have that, so guys are one snap away from being the guy. And we put a lot on our quarterback, we’re a very quarterback-based offense, so if, you sit there and look at somebody and say, ‘Hey I know you’ve never stepped foot on the field before, but in the fourth quarter of the game we expect you to go win the game for us’, that’s a hard situation to put people into. But if they’ve been on the field, if they’ve had experience, if they’ve played, then it is a little bit easier for that situation to put them into. And so, you know, there’s a lot a different reasons why we do what we do, but those are some of the main ones, is utilizing their talent of putting guys in position to do things that they do well, number one, and number two is having guys gain experience and so they are ready when their time and opportunity comes.” FAU, when you gameplan for them, how much do you look at former matchups with Willie Taggart, or is that not too valuable? “Well, I mean you look at that on that side of the ball, you know he’s an offensive guy so you’re looking at that on that side of the ball and what they did, and they have some guys back offensively. Defensively, obviously they have a very veteran coaching staff. New coordinator, so you’re kinda trying to put bits and pieces together, but they have a lot of veteran players back defensively, so you know I think you’re going to be taking little things from everywhere. You’re looking at the Oklahoma stuff, and you’re looking maybe at some Alabama stuff, and you’re looking at stuff that they did last year, so you’re kinda taking bits and pieces– seems like every year we seem to be playing a new coaching staff in game one or new parts of a new coaching staff or new coordinators in game one, where you kinda have no idea really what they’re going to do, so you’re watching other people trying to prepare for everything.” N’Kosi Perry, containing him? “I think you go back and you look, I think he’s got some athletic ability and obviously he has some great size, but a really good passer on top of it. So you’ve got to look, they’re going to put him in position to do different things, so you have to respect his arm talent and his size as a pocket guy to be able to see and have that height and that length, but you also have to be aware of his athletic ability and his ability to create outside the play.” To clarify Dak Prescott was full-time starter as redshirt junior according to Wikipedia? “There you go. That sounds about right. Yeah that year, the year of his redshirt sophomore year, we started three different quarterbacks because of injuries. That was a tricky year right there. So, we started Tyler Russell, then he got hurt. We started Dak, then he got hurt. I think we went, Tyler Russell was healthy at that point so he came back in, then he got hurt again, then I think we started Damien Williams, and then Dak came back for the bowl game, he was healthy for the bowl game to start that one for us.” Hope that doesn’t happen again “It’s a challenge.” How much do you throw on Emory’s plate this first week? “Yeah, we put it all in on him. You know what I mean? It’s not like he's a freshman or hasn't been around. That’s part of the experience. He’s played meaningful snaps in each of the last couple seasons. He’s a guy that I feel pretty comfortable (with). We’ll just throw the whole thing out of him and let him go.” How much leeway does he have to make his own calls? “He has a lot. We'll have a bunch of different things. We’ll have some package plays that are checked together. We’ll have some automatics that he can kill to. I think he knows he has the ability (to audible) if he sees something that he likes or that's different that we weren't planning for. A lot of times you get into a game, especially one that you don't have much film to go watch, you know you have to be very flexible during the course of the game. He’s a guy that I have the confidence in that, if he sees something, he can check to it and go take what he sees.” Your first game in the Swamp as an assistant coach? “Who did we play? No idea. 2005 or whatever. “Oh, first game back in 2005.” Yeah, your first game “I thought you were talking a couple of years ago, even. … Wasn’t that like against Wyoming or somebody like that?” That sounds right. … Yeah, Wyoming. You won 32-14. “Against who?” Wyoming “I do remember it because that was one of our last games at Utah and then it ended up being like the first game here, which is kind of a funny deal.” What were your first impressions of the Swamp? “Hmm. I thought it was pretty cool. I think early on, if you go back to it, I remember it being that that Tennessee game that year was at home my first year in the Swamp. And that was the first time you really got to feel how electric and loud it could be. The first game was awesome, it was really cool, but I just remember that Tennessee game it was really rocking. I think we called a reverse for a touchdown. And it was kind of cool because I was on the field. After that game I think I went up to the box, or right around that time, sometime around then. So I was on the field early on, and so it was kind of cool to be down there on the field. When you're up in the box, it's kind of like a video game or watching on TV sometimes, you know. You don't have that feel of what's going on. You’re kind of seeing it from – what do they say? -- like a 10,000-foot-view or something like that. But you really are. You're up so high looking down on the field. But I do remember feeling the noise of how crazy it was that first year at the Tennessee game.” How does the Swamp compare to the other SEC venues? “Well, I think it's always hard to judge because I've only been in the Swamp one time when I was on the opposing sideline. Almost all of my experience here is being on the good guy sideline. So your experience about it is very different when you're on that sideline. I had a good experience on the opposing sideline one day, the one time I was here. But when you're on the home sideline, it is a different feeling than when you're on that away sideline for sure. So you know, I’ve had coaches come and say it’s the loudest place they’ve ever been and the hardest place they’ve every played, some opposing coaches. So that’s something that is pretty unique and what makes it a very, very special place. When you’re on the home sideline it’s awesome because they’re always cheering for you. You know, when you go on the road, it’s like, hey you go, there’s 90,000 people that want us to win and want the other team to lose when they come in the Swamp and it’s kinda the same when we go to other places. Right there, there’s 90,000 people that wanna see you fail.” How big a factor is the heat and crowd on top of you? “Well, I think one big thing is how close everybody is to the sideline, how small our sidelines are and how close all the fans are to the field that makes it extremely intimidating.” Who decides the RB rotation? “He usually rolls them through, you know. I’m pretty comfortable with those guys being in the game. We’ll have certain packages that we want certain guys in for. But beyond that, he kind of rolls them through. There will be certain things at times or situations where we want a certain guy in. But for the most part, he’s just rolling them through.” Important to get Bowman and Lingard game experience? “Well, it would be great to get them that experience. We’ll see how the game plays out.” Speaking to Jalen Lee’s family about Hurricane Ida? “Yeah, not about that specifically. But most of the guys we’ve talked to in recruiting, they were going to be OK.” How do you manage stuff like that during game week? “Well, that’s just part of being a head coach. That stuff, there’s probably a lot of those things that come up on a daily basis that most people don’t even know about. So, there’s always little personal issues for everybody on the team that keep popping up all during the course of the season and all during the course of the year. And so you’re kind of dealing with those on an everyday basis.” Will both kickers play against FAU or have one guy? “Well, it’s Monday. So I have till Saturday at 7:30 to figure that out.” No Fenley Graham at kick returner or punt returner? “Yeah, he’s doing a good job. He’s doing a good job. I mean, he’s gotten some reps at that, so we’ll see.” You all sort of reshuffled your offensive line this year, obviously you have a new starter at center. A couple other guys at tackle and guard. Just how comfortable do you feel with that as a right now and how important is that O-line gonna be this season for you guys? "Well it's, I mean it's pretty it's pretty big, you know, I mean one of the things you want to do is put guys in position to be successful and so you know we feel like the combinations we're putting out there is putting guys in a position where they're at their best. You know and it gives us the opportunity to put the best five guys on the field, you know, and then you know as you keep going you mix and match some different combinations to always make sure you have your best five guys on the field at all times in positions where they can do things they do well. It's not just, these are the five most talented guys; it's what they do well. You know, is this, is this the best combination for us to be on the field?" Considering you guys are probably going to be running the football a little bit more this year, how important is it for that offensive line to establish the line of scrimmage, early on? “Well it's huge, they gotta, you know, whatever we do, they got to do a good job. You know, um, we'll see how it goes; if we run the ball, throw the ball more. I like us, I’d love us to be 50/50 balanced. That's our goal going into every year and some years we're heavy run and some years we're heavier pass and there's a lot of circumstances that go into that of which one you're going to be. But obviously you need your, either, it doesn't matter if we run it or throw it, we need our offensive line to be be pretty solid." Back to Emory for a minute, how much some of the real good moments that he had—whether it was that Auburn field goal series, some of the LSU plays were real big that game. Do you go back and show him those? How do you go back to those cause there’s some times where he played like one play in some games? "Yeah he’s, I think he's ready to go. I think he just, he understands that. I mean there were times during, that we would put him in for one to two plays and he would do well and we just leave him on the field, you know. I feel bad, maybe it hurt like Trask’s statistics sometimes last year but, you know, if Emory went in and we put him in to run a play or maybe two plays and all of a sudden we hit those two plays, we just leave him out there and just keep calling the offense. So I think he's pretty comfortable with it. I mean if you go back to his freshman year, you know, I mean, playing the playing against Georgia, you know, playing against Michigan, and he's been on the field in those games. So I think if you go back a couple years, I think he's ready for that moment, to be out there on the field and go make plays. And, you know, and he knows that we've left him out—not just a—you know we've put him out there to run specific plays but there's times we've just left him out there to keep running the plays, and, you know, so that's why I think he's going to be comfortable with what we have going on." You mentioned in camp that he's a little, maybe going to be a little more—I don't want to miss characterize— hit or miss than Kyle Trask, let's say. How's his consistency improved during camp? “Pretty good. I think, you know the biggest one is he has so many different ways that he can make explosive plays that you know, you're going to live with certain things. You know I mean there's certain things where, you know, Kyle was probably pretty, really efficient throwing the ball, manage the offense pretty well. There’ll be some times Emory will probably take, will take some shots. You know whether it's trying to extend the play scrambling or try to do that, you know, you're okay with because he can make something dynamic happen out there on the field and you just got to be patient with that as a coach instead of just say 'hey just, you know, take three steps, just check it down right now and let's play the next play, get the next read and keep moving.’ He needs to do some of that. But there's other times you're saying 'okay, hey, let it develop and see what you can create on your own, to allow explosive plays to happen.' And it's just kind of got to be a belief in what you do and how you manage the game.” "Thank you guys. Have a great week. It’ll be exciting, game day, game week in the Swamp. Packed crowd, it’ll be fun."

Florida Gators defensive coordinator Todd Grantham met with local media on Monday evening, to preview the No. 13 Gators season opener against the FAU Owls. Ahead of Saturday night's season opener, Grantham examined the Gators new corner, a move for a veteran player to safety, and closing the door on the 2020 season ahead of 2021. As a valued GatorBait subscriber, we are offering this transcript in full. Avery Helm, what does he bring you starting at corner opposite Kaiir after losing Jaydon Hill? “Yeah I think that, first of all, we want to wish Jaydon the best as he continues to recover. Those guys were all competing really well. You know, Avery’s a guy that has really good speed that’s really progressed every time he’s had an opportunity to play. You like the way he takes scrimmage 1 and the things he did there and improves on scrimmage 2. A really conscientious guy that works hard everyday to be the kind of guy you want, and then obviously being able to have Jason Marshall backing him up. As far as being able to rotate those guys, along with Elijah Blades coming in, we feel like we’ll be able to continue to compete at that spot.” Game-planning mode this week, the logistics change compared to last year? “Nah we feel pretty comfortable, we’ve evaluated everything that we do, we feel comfortable with what we’re doing. The players worked hard today on our first and second-down gameplan, and we’ll continue to add our gameplan as we move forward, and we look forward to playing on Saturday.” Scout N’kosi Perry before 2019 Miami game? “Yeah, I mean at that time he was in a quarterback competition there, so you know we had already done a little work on him and understood his strengths and the things that he brings to the table. When you look at their offense, it’s still a system offense from the standpoint of, you know the guys that were there last year, you know they were very involved in the quarterback-run game, because they’re athletic. This guy probably brings a little more dimension from a passing standpoint, so you will have to account for that, but you know we were aware of him, transferring from Miami and we had scouted him when we had played those guys. But like I said when you watch their offense, we feel like it will still be pretty much the same, but you will have a little bit more of a passing element to it with him in there.” Other guys you need to know where they’re at? “I think when you look at them, the thing that’s interesting, they have a lot of transfers. I mean I think it’s roughly between eight and 10. You know when you look at their wideouts, they have some guys that are good players right now. TJ Chase is a really good player. (John) Mitchell’s coming back off of injury, so he’s a guy that can help that way. Their slot receiver is 83 (LaJohntay Wester), and they kind of move him around, he’s got some pretty dynamic things to him. Their tight end’s a transfer from Notre Dame College. That’s a bigger-body guy that, you know, can give them some possible multiple tight end things like that. They have a transfer from USF, from South Florida, kind of a punt returner, kick returner, that can be a scat back that can make plays in space. So, when you look at them, what's unique is even up front they have some transfers. They have a lot of new pieces within their offense that we've kind of done our homework on as far as what those guys bring to the table and then really just kind of look at his past offenses and what he's done and try to play it from there.” Something about watching Emory Jones operate? “Yeah, I mean you're a little bit hard to hear. But I think you're asking about Emory and what he brings to the table. Anytime you get a quarterback that is an athlete at that position, you have the ability for him to extend plays with his feet so therefore when plays break down he can ad-lib to the play, make things happen with his feet and extend plays. That creates a dynamic there. Anytime your quarterback has the ability to run the ball it becomes truly 11 on 11 from a schematic standpoint so you don't always have the extra hat in the hole as far as when maybe that quarterback cannot run the ball and you can you can have an extra, overlap player. But when it's truly 11 on 11 it becomes an 11-on-11 game and that extra gap is there. The biggest thing to me is just his progression from spring practice, summer, all the way through August. You see a guy that's really worked hard to compete, worked hard to improve every day, and he brings energy to our offense and our team and I look forward to watching him play.” How comforting for Emory to have Dan Mullen mentoring him? “Yeah, I think that anytime as a player, the guy coaching you has had success with other players and they're probably at the level you want to get at, I mean, that's something that excites you as a player, knowing that if I work hard every day and take the coaching that I came to prove myself and maybe have those opportunities as well. So I think that creates excitement for him.” With a guy like Tyrone Truesdell coming in, is it almost back to your NFL days, you know, picking up a waiver guy on Monday and trying to get him acclimated as soon as possible? "Yeah, we're certainly excited to have him. You know he's a big bodied guy that can give us some stoutness in the middle, allow us to maybe expand some roles of some guys in there, and you know you never can have enough depth at that position as you go through the season. And he was a guy that we were excited about trying to get here, and then we're, you know certainly happy and fortunate that it finally came about and we look forward to watching him play on Saturday." What's a realistic timeframe for having him game ready and taking snaps? Are we talking a week, two weeks, three weeks what's sort of your timeframe? He'll play Saturday, he’ll play Saturday. What are your expectations for Brenton Cox, this season? “Yea I think that Brenton's done a good job of really trying to become a complete linebacker. You know when you play outside backer, a lot of people want to talk about your rush element and how many sacks you have and that is an important deal, but your ability to set the edge of the defense, your ability to give some coverage element to that at times, to become a complete player—I think he's done a really good job of buying into becoming a complete linebacker, a complete player, and has worked hard to improve his craft in every area. And, you know, I look forward to watching him play and, you know, give us some production." You guys listed Tre'Vez Johnson as the starting STAR. Can you just talk about what you've seen from him and sort of the special talents or traits it takes for him to play that position? “So Tre’Vez is a guy that you know, really can play multiple positions. You always talk about how can you get your best players on the field. You know he's been able to go through a spring practice and all season, you know, last year he was kind of thrown in the fire, and kind of learned on the run a little bit, but he's a very conscientious guy. He's really worked hard in the offseason to understand the nuances of that position along, along with understanding those things as well as developing in the weight room. You know he's a year older, a year more mature. It's allowed him, you know, in his cover skills to be a little bit firmer. So, you know, that position is one that, you know, you've got to be able to come up and set the edge on perimeter bubbles, and those kind of things. You got to be able to blitz a little bit, and then you've got to be able to cover. So, you know, we obviously asked a lot of him but you know we feel comfortable with his talents that he'll be able to do those things and we look forward to, you know, watching him show his progression as we move forward to the season.” Truesdell up to speed? “Well, I mean I think the first thing is you have a limited package for him and say, learn these things. I’m a big believer in as you learn, you learn the concepts. So this, you might have to play this one technique, but it applies to maybe four different defenses, and as you learn that you’re maybe learning three to four concepts, then all the sudden you know eight to 10 defenses and we’ll be fine with that. So it’ll obviously be a limited package with him in there. We’ll make sure he’s comfortable with it. I’ll make sure I go over the calls with him and make sure he knows exactly what to do and just let him go play and have fun. It’s been a long road for him to get here and we’re certainly excited we can add him to that unit to give it some depth.” Most eager to see from defense? “I’m looking forward to watching these guys play. They’ve really busted their tails since January. We’ve kind of had a saying of get better today, and then, team before all. And like I’ve said before when we first started it’s about us playing to our identity, which has always been fast, physical and aggressive. I feel like the players have bought into that. It’s really about playing as a unit because individually if we play as a unit and everybody brings their individual talents and we play as a unit we can create synergy which allows the unit to play better than maybe the individual parts. As we go through the season, if we can progress that way, then I think we can be the kind of team we certainly want to be. So it’s just a matter of being able to get on the field and go play.” Depth off the edge? “I think the biggest thing is looking to create one-on-one matchups and how do we create those matchups where guys go play. That will be the task every week to kind of mix that up a little bit to create the matchups relative to who we’re playing. As the guys you’ve mentioned (Carter, Moon, Cox, Princely) and some others we look forward to trying to get those guys one on one and letting them go play.” A lot of depth? “I think when you look at us, depth is one of those you have it and a couple quarters into the season you may not have it. But right now we feel like we’ve got some depth and I feel like we’ve done a really good job of moving some guys around to get our best players on the field in ways, I mean, how can we get these guys on the field? We’ve kind of mixed and matched some personnel groupings to allow us to do that, so it’s just a matter of going out and playing.”

A few thoughts to jump start your Tuesday morning: THE WAITING IS ALMOST OVER FOR EMORY JONES “You take it on faith, you take it to the heart, the waiting is the hardest part” – Tom Petty It couldn’t have been easy these last three years but give Emory Jones credit for seeing a bigger picture and realizing there was something worth waiting for if he could simply remain patient. He’s watched fellow Georgians Trevor Lawrence and Justin Fields, who were also recruits in 2018, play for national championships, make it to the Heisman Trophy podium in New York and hear their name called out as first round NFL Draft picks. At Florida he spent his true freshman season watching Feleipe Franks have the best year of any UF quarterback since Tim Tebow in 2009. Then he spent two seasons watching Kyle Trask completely outdo Franks and become a Heisman finalist. Franks transferred to Arkansas after the 2018 season but he will be on the Atlanta Falcons roster this fall. Trask was a second round pick of the Tampa Bay Bucs. Now, after all that watching it is Emory Jones time at the University of Florida. He’s gotten into a lot of games and even played significant snaps the last two years but Saturday night when the Gators take on Florida Atlantic, Jones will finally be the starting quarterback, able to show that the last three years haven’t been a waste of his time. “It has been hard but it’s all been for a reason,” Jones said, putting everything into perspective. “That’s what I’ve realized over the past years. I have been playing a little bit, so that keeps me going. I’ve just been watching guys in front of me do their best and watching how they move and how they operate and it’s definitely just helping me.” The waiting may have been hard, but it has given Jones a chance to absorb the Dan Mullen offense to the point that Mullen won’t be spoon feeding him Saturday night. “It’s not like he’s a freshman or hasn’t been around,” Mullen said. “That’s part of the experience. He’s played meaningful snaps in each of the last couple of seasons. He’s a guy I feel pretty comfortable [with]. We’ll just throw the whole thing out of him and let him go.” And if Jones doesn’t like what he sees at the line of scrimmage? “He’s a guy I have the confidence in that if he sees something he can check to it and go take what he sees,” Mullen said. Confidence. It’s obvious Dan Mullen has complete confidence in Emory Jones. It’s also evident that Emory Jones believes in Emory Jones, too, and Saturday night will be his first chance to really prove he’s not just a gifted runner but a quarterback who can do it all. “Whatever type, style quarterback you are, he’s [Mullen] going to make it happen,” Jones said. “For me, it’s just a different skill set. I feel I can do anything on the field.” TYRONE TRUESDELL IS A GATOR Is there a coach out there better at bringing in talent via transfer than Dan Mullen? Mullen has figured out how to make up for deficiencies in his roster by strategic transfer additions who have proven to be difference makers once they arrive in Gainesville. At least five transfers were already slated to be regulars in the 2021 defensive rotation, but now Mullen has added another experienced defensive tackle in Tyrone Truesdell (6-2, 326), who started the last two years at Auburn. Truesdale is already in school and has to go through the mandatory number of practices before he can suit up, but he’s going to be a huge help in the middle of the D-line where he can control two gaps at the nose. He is a grad transfer who could actually play two seasons at UF since the 2020 season won’t count against his eligibility. WHERE THEY WERE RANKED IN HIGH SCHOOL: TE Here are the top ten tight ends in the country every year since 2010. 2010 1. Xavier Grimble (Las Vegas, NV), Southern Cal; 2. Gerald Christian (Palm Beach Gardens, FL), Florida; 3. Curtis White (Eugene, OR), Oregon; 4. C.J Fiedorowicz (McHenry, IL), Iowa; 5. Austin Haywood (Moore, OK), Oklahoma; 6. Brian Vogler (Columbus, GA), Alabama; 7. Christian Thomas (Palmdale, CA), Southern Cal; 8. Randall Telfer (Rancho Cucamonga, CA), Southern Cal); 9. Travis Dickson (Pascagoula, MS), LSU; 10. Alex Welch (Cincinnati, OH), Notre Dame 2011 1. Nick O’Leary (Palm Beach Gardens, FL), Florida State; 2. Austin Sefarian-Jenkins (Gig Harbor, WA), Washington; 3. Ben Koyack (Oil City, PA), Notre Dame; 4. A.C. Leonard (Jacksonville, FL), Florida; 5. Jay Rome (Valdosta, GA), Georgia; 6. Jace Amaro (San Antonio, TX), Texas Tech; 7. Brandon Fulse (Fort Meade, FL), Auburn; 8. Jon Davis (Lousivlle, KY), Illinois; 9. Eric MacLain (Fayetteville, NC), Clemson; 10. Malcolm Faciane (Picayune, MS), Alabama 2012 1. Kent Taylor (Land O’Lakes, FL), Florida; 2. Ricky Parks (Hogansville, GA), Auburn; 3. Jalen Cope-Fitzpatrick (Rocklin, CA), Southern Cal; 4. Colin Thompson (Warminster, PA), FL; 5. Sean Price (Citra, FL), South Florida; 6. Christo Kortzidis (Orange, CA), Florida State; 7. Evan Baylis (Aurora, CO), Oregon; 8. John Thomas (Bossier City, LA), LSU; 9. Taylor McNamara (San Diego, CA), Oklahoma; 10. Devin Funchess (Farmington, MI), Michigan 2013 1. O.J. Henry (Prattville, AL), Alabama; 2. Adam Breneman (Camp Hill, PA), Penn State; 3. Hunter Henry (Little Rock, AR), Arkansas; 4. Marcus Baugh (Riverside, CA), Ohio State; 5. DeSean Smith (Lake Charles, LA), LSU; 6. Jake Butt (Pickerington, OH), Michigan; 7. Standish Dobard (New Orleans, LA), Miami; 8. Mike Heuerman (Naples, FL), Notre Dame; 9. Durham Smythe (Belton, TX), Notre Dame; 10. Josh McNeil (Durham, NC), Copiah-Lincoln CC 2014 1. Dalton Schultz (South Jordan, UT), Stanford; 2. Bryce Dixon (Ventura, CA), Southern Cal; 3. Jeb Blazevich (Charlotte, NC), Georgia; 4. Jacory Washington (Westlake, LA), LSU; 5. Daniel Helm (Chatham, IL), Tennessee; 6. Mike Gesicki (Manahawkin, NJ); 7. Nic Weishar (Chicago, IL), Notre Dame; 8. Marvin Saunders (Houston, TX), Florida State; 9. K.C. Crosby (Bamberg, SC), South Carolina; 10. Tyler Luatua (LaMiranda, CA), Notre Dame 2015 1. Alize Mack (Las Vegas, NV), Notre Dame; 2. Chris Clark (Avon, CT), UCLA; 3. Hale Hentges (Jefferson City, MO), Alabama; 4. Jackson Harris (Columbia, TN), Georgia; 5. Garrett Williams (Orlando, FL), Clemson; 6. Cheyenne O’Grady (Fayetteville, AR), Arkansas; 7. Will Gragg (Dumas, AR), Arkansas; 8. Devonaire Clarington (Miami, FL), Texas; 9. Tyler Petite (Moraga, CA), Southern Cal; 10. Jordan Davis (Houston, TX), Texas A&M 2016 1. Isaac Nauta (Buford, GA), Georgia; 2. Kaden Smith (Flower Mound, TX), Stanford; 3. Devin Asiasi (Concord, CA), Michigan; 4. Jake Hausmann (Cincinnati, OH), Ohio State; 5. Nasier Upshur (Philadelphia, PA), Florida State; 6. Octavious Cooley (Laurel, MS), Ole Miss; 7. Luke Farrell (Perry, OH), Ohio State; 8. Landon Rice (Calhoun, GA), Auburn; 9. Jamal Pettigrew (New Orleans, LA), LSU; 10. Carey Angeline (Exton, PA), Southern Cal 2017 1. Colby Parkinson (Thousand Oaks, CA), Stanford; 2. Brock Wright (Cypress, TX), Notre Dame; 3. Cole Kmet (Arlington Heights, IL), Notre Dame; 4. Josh Falo (Sacramento, CA), Southern Cal; 5. Hunter Bryant (Bellevue, WA), Washington; 6. Grant Calcaterra (Rancho Santa Margarita, CA), Oklahoma; 7. Kemore Gamble (Miami, FL), Florida; 8. Matt Dotson (Cincinnati, OH), Michigan State; 9. Major Tennison (Bullard, TX), Alabama; 10. Jimmy Jaggers (Roseville, CA), UCLA 2018 1. Brevin Jordan (Las Vegas, NV), Miami; 2. Jeremy Ruckert (Lindenhurst, NY), Ohio State; 3. Luke Ford (Carterville, IL), Georgia; 4. Zack Kuntz (Camp Hill, PA), Penn State; 5. Kyle Pitts (Warminster, PA), Florida; 6. Mustapha Muhammad (Missouri City, TX), Michigan; 7.Cameron Jurgens (Beatrice, NE), Nebraska; 8. Will Mallory (Jacksonville, FL), Miami; 9. Pat Freiermuth (North Andover, MA), Penn State; 10. Malcolm Epps (Houston, TX), Texas 2019 1. Baylor Cupp (Brock, TX), Texas A&M; 2. Keon Zipperer (Lakeland, FL), Florida; 3. Austin Stogner (Plano, TX), Oklahoma; 4. Hudson Henry (Little Rock, AR), Arkansas; 5. Brayden Liebrock (Chandler, AZ), Texas; 6. Grayson Boomer (Collinsville, OK), Oklahoma State; 7. Ryland Goode (Acworth, GA), Georgia; 8. Jud Wolfe (Belleflower, CA), Southern Cal; 9. Patrick Herbert (Eugene, OR), Oregon; 10. Jaelyn Lay (Riverdale, GA), Clemson 2020 1. Arik Gilbert (Marietta, GA), LSU; 2. Malcolm Mayer (Alexandria, KY), Notre Dame; 3. Theo Johnson (Windsor, Ontario), Penn State; 4. Maliq Carr (Oak Park, MI), Purdue; 5. Jalin Conyers (Gruver, TX), Oklahoma; 6. Kevin Bauman (Red Bank, NJ), Notre Dame; 7. Mark Redman (Newport Beach, CA), Washington; 8. D.J. Rogers (Sammamish, WA), California; 9. Brandon Frazier (McKinney, TX), Auburn; 10. Jack Yary (Murrieta, CA), Washington 2021 1. Jake Briningstool (Brentwood, TN), Clemson; 2. Thomas Fidone (Council Bluffs, IA), Nebraska; 3. Brock Bowers (Napa, CA), Georgia; 4. Michael Trigg (Tampa, FL), Southern Cal; 5. Moliki Matavao (Henderson, NV), Oregon; 6. Jermaine Terry (Richmond, CA), California; 7. Elijah Arroyo (Frisco, TX), Miami; 8. Hudson Wolfe (Savannah, TN), Ole Miss; 9. Cane Berrong (Hartwell, GA), Notre Dame; 10. Terrance Ferguson (Littleton, CO), Oregon OVER, UNDER, AROUND AND THROUGH THE SEC Alabama: Linebacker Quandarrius Robinson has been suspended indefinitely following his arrest and DUI charge after a three-car collision in Tuscaloosa. Arkansas: Wide receiver Treylon Burks and defensive tackle John Ridgeway remain questionable for Saturday’s season opener with Rice. Auburn: There is a bit of indecision about Auburn’s starting O-line for the opener with Akron. While Alex Troxell is set at LT with Nick Brahms at C and Brodarious Hamm at RT, Auburn lists Brandon Council or Alec Johnson at LG with Keiondre Jones or Tashawn Manning at RG. Georgia: Both tight end Darnell Washington and defensive back Tykee Smith are getting better according to HBC Kirby Smart. Both are considered highly doubtful for the season opener with Clemson in Charlotte. Kentucky: Scott Woodward is now the wide receivers coach. Former WR coach Jovon Bouknight, who pled guilty to DUI earlier in the summer, will remain on staff but in an analyst role … Senior offensive tackle Nasir Watkins has been suspended for the first four games of the season for unspecified reasons. He played in all 13 games last year as a backup at both left and right tackle. LSU: Mario Acitelli, who was the special teams coordinator at D1AA Elon, has joined the LSU staff as an offensive analyst. Acitelli worked with LSU quarterbacks coach DJ Mangas when the two were on staff at William and Mary. Mississippi State: The newly released depth chart for the season opener with Louisiana Tech shows incumbent Will Rogers or South Alabama transfer Chance Lovertich as the starting quarterback, meaning Mike Leach still hasn’t decided who takes the first snaps. Ole Miss: Kirk Herbstreit of ESPN named Ole Miss running back Jerrion Ealy as college football’s “Best Kept Secret” for 2021. Tennessee: Michigan transfer Joe Milton III will be the starting quarterback Saturday against Bowling Green. At Michigan last year, Milton completed 56.7 percent of his passes for 1,077 yards and four TDs with four interceptions. Texas A&M: Redshirt freshman Haynes King will start at QB. HBC Jimbo Fisher revealed why, noting, “There are a lot of guys on our team who can run. He’s one of them. I just hope he’s fast enough to outrun the guys chasing him.” ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: ESPN’s college football writers made their preseason predictions about the four teams that will make the College Football Playoff. Not surprisingly, all ten writers had Alabama and Clemson making up half the field. Eight of ten had Oklahoma. Four each had Georgia and Ohio State and there was a solitary vote for Texas A&M. Alabama, Clemson, Oklahoma and Ohio State are the four I would have picked all the way back to the day after Alabama won the 2020 national championship and those are the four I expect to be there with the playoff field is announced. That is precisely why the College Football Playoff has to expand, sooner and not later. When it’s the usual suspects every year, it’s time for change and the best option is the 12-team proposal that’s on the table now. The playoff has to give the Group of Five at least one seat at the table and possibly more. Those people play football, too, and they encompass a tremendous swath of the football-watching population. Cinderella has to have a chance for the glass slipper to fit or else college football will die of boredom. The longer we have the same four every year, the more college football is going to lose.

A few thoughts to jump start your Monday morning: FEELING GOOD ABOUT THE GATORS ON A MONDAY Florida’s 2021 season opens up Saturday night against Florida Atlantic. I believe this could be a year in which the Gators catch everyone by surprise. Here are three reasons why I’m feeling good about the Gators on a Monday morning. Receivers: There is no Unicorn nor is there the man with rubber bands instead of ligaments in his knee, which has everything to do with why Lindy’s picks the UF receivers as sixth best in the SEC and why Phil Steele has them seventh in the SEC, 27th nationally. Florida’s receivers will be no worse than second best in the league this year. Count on it. Jacob Copeland and Justin Shorter will be in the hunt for All-SEC honors and Xzavier Henderson, Trent Whittemore, Ja’Markis Weston and Ja’Quavion Fraziers will see the football a lot. These guys have size, speed and they’re going to catch a lot of passes. Write down the name Nick Elksnis. The freshman tight end is going to be an absolute stud, sooner and not later. UF won’t throw nearly as much, but the threat of the run is going to make them very explosive and productive. Defensive depth: Because there wasn’t a lot of experienced depth, a lot of kids had to play last year. The kids have experience now and it is going to pay off in a big way because the Gators aren’t going to have significant dropoff when they rotate people in like they did in 2020. I especially like the depth on the front seven which was a real problem last year. The Gators are three or four deep at every position. Everybody has a pretty good idea who the top 9-10 guys going to be but here are six backups who I think will be difference-makers if they can provide quality snaps when they rotate in – DE Princely Umanmeilen, DT Jalen Lee, DE Dante Zanders, OLB Antwaun Powell, OLB Lloyd Summerall III, and ILB Derek Wingo. The O-line: This isn’t like it is up in Tuscaloosa where if one NFL prospect goes down he’s replaced by another one because beyond seven guys this line is pretty fragile, but if the Gators stay healthy I think the O-line will have its best year since 2018. In 2018, the Gators averaged 213.15 per game rushing (5.27 per attempt, best since 2009) and 213.5 passing (only 18 sacks and 7.6 per attempt, both the best figures in years). If you add the 34 games Stewart Reese started at Mississippi State before transferring to UF, the Gators have a combined 89 career starts on the O-line, which is more than the 2018 line (80). I am not sold on Jean Delance at right tackle, but if he can show improvement as a pass blocker then I’m willing to be convinced. I think we’ll know by the end of the South Florida game if he’s up to the task. If he isn’t I expect Stewart Reese to slide outside (He started both tackle positions at Mississippi State) and Josh Braun to take over at right guard. WHERE THEY WERE RANKED IN HIGH SCHOOL: WR This is the top ten wide receivers coming out of high school every year since 2010. You will find a few household names in there, but you’ll also find a lot of busts. 2010 1. Kyle Prater (Hillside, IL), Southern Cal; 2. Mike Davis (Skyline, TX), Texas; 3. Da’Rick Rogers (Calhoun, GA), Tennessee; 4. Darius White (Fort Worth, TX), Texas; 5. Justin Hunter (Virginia Beach, VA), Tennessee; 6. Chris Dunkley (Pahokee, FL), Florida; 7. Markeith Ambles (McDonough, GA) Southern Cal; 8. Ivan McCartney (Hollywood, FL), West Virginia; 9. Chris Jones (Dangerfield, TX), Texas; 10. T.J. Jones (Gainesville, GA), Notre Dame 2011 1. George Farmer (Gardena, CA), Southern Cal; 2. Jarvis Landry (Lutcher, LA), LSU; 3. Trey Metoyer (Whitehouse, TX), Oklahoma; 4. Sammy Watkins (Fort Myers, FL), Clemson; 5. Charone Peake (Roebuck, SC), Clemson; 6. DeAnthony Arnett (Saginaw, MI), Tennessee; 7. Kasen Williams (Sammamish, WA), Washington; 8. Marvin Shinn (Mobile, AL), Alabama; 9. Jamal Turner (Arlington, TX), Nebraska; 10. Victor Blackwell (Santa Ana, CA), Southern Cal 2012 1. Dorial Green-Beckham (Springfield, MO), Missouri; 2. Stefon Diggs (Olney, MD), Maryland; 3. Thomas Johnson (Dallas, TX), Texas A&M; 4. Deontay Greenberry (Fresno, CA), Houston; 5. Amari Cooper (Miami, FL), Alabama; 6. Chris Black (Jacksonville, FL), Alabama; 7. Cayleb Jones (Austin, TX), Texas; 8. Germone Hopper (Charlotte, NC), Clemson; 9. Durron Neal (St. Louis, MO), Oklahoma; 10. Bryce Treggs (Belleflower, CA), California 2013 1. LaQuon Treadwell (Crete, IL), Ole Miss; 2. Robert Forster (Monaca, PA), Alabama; 3. Robbie Rhodes (Fort Worth, TX), Baylor; 4. Jalin Marshall (Middletown, OH), Ohio State; 5. Derrick Griffin (Rosenburg, TX), Miami; 6. James Quick (Louisville, KY), Louisville; 7. Stacy Coley (Fort Lauderdale, FL), Miami; 8. Steven Mitchell Jr. (Mission Hills CA), Southern Cal; 9. Damore’ea Stringfellow (Moreno Valley, CA), Washington; 10. Demarcus Robinson (Fort Valley, GA), Florida 2014 1. Speedy Noil (New Orleans, LA), Texas A&M; 2. Malachi Dupre (New Orleans, LA), LSU; 3. Ermon Lane (Homestead, FL), Florida State; 4. KD Cannon (Mount Pleasant, TX (Baylor); 5. Josh Malone (Gallatin, TN), Tennessee; 6. Travis Rudolph (West Palm Beach, FL), Florida State; 7. Drake Harris (Grand Rapids, MI), Michigan; 8. Artavis Scott (Tarpon Springs, FL), Clemson; 9. Johnnie Dixon (Palm Beach Gardens, FL), Ohio State; 10. Allen Lazard (Urbandale, IA), Iowa State 2015 1. Calvin Ridley (Pompano Beach, FL), Alabama; 2. Deon Cain (Tampa, FL), Clemson; 3. George Campbell (Tarpon Springs, FL), Florida State; 4. Christian Kirk (Scottsdale, AZ), Texas A&M; 5. Tyron Jonson (New Orleans, LA), LSU; 6. Damarkus Lodge (Cedar Hill, TX), Ole Miss; 7. Preston Williams (Hampton, VA), Tennessee; 8. Trent Irwin (Newhall, CA), Stanford; 9. Daylon Charlot (Patterson, LA), Alabama; 10. Da’Vante Phillips (Miami, FL), Florida State 2016 1. Demetris Robinson (Savannah, GA), California; 2. Tyler Vaughns (LaPuente, CA), Southern Cal; 3. Tyrie Cleveland (Houston, TX), Florida; 4. A.J. Brown (Starkville, MS), Ole Miss; 5. Devin Duvernay (Sachse, TX), Texas; 6. Nate Craig-Myers (Tampa, FL), Auburn; 7. N’Keal Harry (Chandler, AZ), Azizona State; 8. Michael Pittman Jr. (Thousand Oaks, CA), Southern Cal; 9. Austin Mack (Fort Wayne, IN), Ohio State; 10. Kyle Davis (Lawrenceville, GA), Auburn 2017 1. Donovan Peoples-Jones (Detroit, MI), Michigan; 2. Tee Higgins (Oak Ridge, TN), Clemson; 3. Jerry Jeudy (Pompano Beach, FL), Alabama; 4. Joseph Lewis (Los Angeles, CA), Southern Cal; 5. Jeff Thomas (East St. Louis, MO), Miami; 6. Trevon Grimes (Fort Lauderdale, FL), Ohio State; 7. Tyjon Lindsey (Las Vegas, NV), Nebraska; 8. D.J. Matthews Jr. (Jacksonville, FL), Florida State; 9. DeVonta Smith (Amite, LA), Alabama; 10. Jhamon Ausbon (Houston, TX), Texas A&M 2018 1. Justin Shorter (Monmouth Junction, NJ), Penn State; 2. Amon-Ra St. Brown (Anaheim, CA), Southern Cal; 3. Terrace Marshall (Bossier City, LA), LSU; 4. Derion Kendrick (Rock Hill, SC), Clemson; 5. Jaylen Waddle (Belleaire, TX), Alabama; 6. Devon Williams (Lancaster, CA), Southern Cal; 7. Justyn Ross (Phenix City, AL), Clemson; 8. Jordyn Adams (Cary, NC), North Carolina; 9. Marquis Spiker (Murrieta, CA), Washington; 10. Brennan Eagles (Houston, TX), Texas 2019 1. Jordan Haselwood (Ellenwood, GA), Oklahoma; 2. Garret Wilson (Austin, TX), Ohio State; 3. Theo Wease (Allen, TX), Oklahoma; 4. George Pickens (Hoover, AL), Georgia; 5. Dominick Blaylock (Marietta, GA), Georgia; 6. Kyle Ford (Orange, CA), Southern Cal; 7. Frank Ladson (Miami, FL), Clemson; 8. Jake Smith (Scottsdale, AZ), Texas; 9. Joe Ngata (Folsom, CA), Clemson; 10. Jeremiah Payton (Neptune Beach, FL), Miami 2020 1. Julian Fleming (Catwissa, PA), Ohio State; 2. Kayshon Boutte (New Iberia, LA), LSU; 3. Demond Demas (Tomball, TX), Texas A&M; 4. Rakim Jarrett (Washington, DC), Maryland; 5. Jaxon Smith-Njigba (Rockwall, TX); 6. Jordan Johnson (St. Louis, MO), Notre Dame; 7. Gary Bryant Jr. (Corona, CA), Southern Cal; 8. Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint (Fort Lauderdale, FL), Georgia; 9. Arian Smith (Lakeland, FL), Georgia; 10. Gee Scott Jr. (Sammamish, WA), Ohio State 2021 1. Emeka Egbuka (Steilacoom, WA), Ohio State; 2. Jacorey Brooks (Bradenton, FL), Alabama; 3. Troy Franklin (Menlo Park, CA), Oregon; 4. Mario Williams (Plant City, FL), Oklahoma; 5. Agiye Hall (Valrico, FL), Alabama; 6. JoJo Earle (Aledo, TX), Alabama; 7. Don’te Thornton (Baltimore, MD), Oregon; 8. Xavier Worthy (Fresno, CA), Texas; 9. Deion Smith (Jackson, MS), LSU; 10. Christian Leary (Orlando, FL), Alabama OVER, UNDER, AROUND AND THROUGH THE SEC #1 Alabama: Sophomore linebacker Quandarrius Robinson was arrested for DUI after an accident in Tuscaloosa … The oddsmakers like Alabama by 18.5 points over Miami. Saturday’s game: vs. Miami in Atlanta Arkansas: Wide receiver Treylon Burks remains questionable for the season opener … Arkansas has named five captains: LB Grant Morgan, S Jalen Catalon, S Joe Foucha, QB KJ Jefferson and LT Myron Cunningham … The Hogs are 19.5-point favorites to win the season opener. Saturday’s game: vs. Rice Auburn: UAB transfer Tony Fair has moved into the starting NT possession and Vandy transfer Donovan Kauffman will start at nickel … HBC Bryan Harsin, who has been in isolation due to COVID-19, is expected to return to practice today … The Tigers are 37-point favorites in the season opener. Saturday’s game: vs. Akron #5 Georgia: The Bulldogs are 3-point underdogs to No. 3 Clemson, but three experts from CBS (Kevin Carter, Aaron Murray and Brian Jones) like the Bulldogs to get the win in the high profile opener. Saturday’s game: vs. Clemson in Charlotte Kentucky: All six Kentucky football players charged with first degree burglary have waived their right to a preliminary hearing, so the case will go directly to the grand jury where prosecutors will argue their case closed-door and if they convince 12 jurors, an indictment will be handed down … The Wildcats are 29.5-point favorites to win their opener against Terry Bowden and Louisiana-Monroe. Saturday’s game: vs. Louisiana-Monroe #16 LSU: With Hurricane Ida approaching the Louisiana coast, LSU has relocated to Houston for its final preparations for Saturday’s game in Pasadena against UCLA … The Tigers are 3.5-point favorites in the season opener. Saturday’s game: at UCLA Mississippi State: Las Vegas likes Mississippi State by 23.5 points over Louisiana Tech. Saturday’s game: vs. Louisiana Tech Missouri: Missouri is a 13.5-point favorite to knock off former UF head coach Old Yeller McElwain in the season opener. Saturday’s game: vs. Central Michigan Ole Miss: Tim Brando predicts Ole Miss will pull off at least one shocker this year because Lane Kiffin will exploit the matchups so well. “At Ole Miss, he is going to beat either Bama, either LSU, either A&M.” Brando calls Kiffin the “Spurrier of this generation.” Labor Day game, September 6: vs. Louisville in Atlanta South Carolina: Zeb Norland who was a graduate assistant just a couple of weeks ago, could be the starter for Saturday’s opener. Norland, who came to South Carolina from North Dakota State, started his career at Iowa State. Saturday’s game: vs. Eastern Illinois Tennessee: Running back Tee Hodge has placed his name in the transfer portal. He is a former 3-star prospect who played in one game last year as a true freshman … The Vols are 34-point favorites to win their opener in the debut of HBC Josh Heupel. Saturday’s game: vs. Bowling Green #6 Texas A&M: Defensive end Michael Clemons has been suspended indefinitely after his arrest for unlawful carry of a weapon, giving false information to police, driving with an invalid license and possession of more than two ounces of marijuana. Clemsons is expected to be suspended for the entire 2021 season … The Aggies have been established as 29.5-point favorites to win the season opener. Saturday’s game: vs. Kent State Vanderbilt: The Commodores seem to have settled on a right side of the O-line combination of Ben Cox at RG and Bradley Ashmore at RT. Saturday’s game: vs. East Tennessee State ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: The buzzards aren’t circling yet over the football complex in Lincoln, Nebraska. They’re merely perched on the power line wires, patiently waiting for September 11 to arrive. That’s when Nebraska will be poleaxed by Oklahoma in Norman, at which point the fire Scott Frost snowball will start picking up speed to become an avalanche. Barring a miracle of Jesus healing 10 lepers proportions, the Cornhuskers are doomed for another bad season. Frost has to be asking himself, “What the hell was I thinking when I left UCF?” So what happened? Why has Frost failed at his alma mater? Did he forget how to coach or is it a case of Nebraska needing a miracle worker to revive the program? I’m of the opinion that Frost picked the wrong place and nothing short of a coach like Nick Saban or Urban Meyer is going to convince the kind of kids you can win championships with to spend four or five years in Lincoln. None of the kids the Huskers recruit remember that Tom Osborne posted 25 straight seasons with nine or more wins and won three national championships. Scott Frost does know how to coach, but unless they’re patient enough to give him another 3-4 years, he doesn’t have a chance to turn things around.

Oft times, the 2020 defense looked like the lights were on, but nobody was home. Call it the Tom Boudette scheme, not necessarily planned or endorsed by Todd Grantham. At times it was awful. Allowing 28 touchdown passes is certainly awful. What had gone wrong with the once-proud tradition known as DBU? “Independent Contractors.” A term Dan Mullen has purposely used to describe the selfish nature of certain players on last year’s Gator team. No names, but clearly he was referring to those members of Todd Grantham’s defense, mostly in the secondary, who played primarily for themselves and an NFL contract. As reprehensible as it sounds, flying in the face of team unity, one must ask: Isn’t that exactly what these players came to Florida to do? And in today’s “There IS a ME in Team” culture with side gigs allowed and encouraged under the NIL paradigm, shouldn’t they be expected to make economic decisions based on what’s best for themselves and their families? Yeah, I know, you hate it – and so do I. Every time I hear an athlete say, “I’m taking care of my family first,” it makes me want to hurl. I guess buying a $100,000 car, a $35,000 gold chain and a $25,000 watch is a new way of doing that. And yet, this is America and the free market is a wonderful thing when you’re suddenly rich. After all, isn’t that what they’ve sort of been promised to expect? To quote that famous philosopher Lee Corso, not so fast my friend. These young athletes are already endowed with a free ticket to college and a guarantee of celebrity status on campus, with facilities about to be upgraded from the Motel 6/Holiday Inn to the Ritz Carlton. And now they’re about to get a whole bunch of free stuff. Admit that you’re jealous. I am. Just keep it out of the lockerroom and the huddle. As we move into Mullen’s fourth season, we must not forget the mental and physical anguish that resides from the taxation of pandemic stress and the instability wrought by sudden and often cataclysmic change. By the time we wake up in a few weeks, the NFL may have already secretly annexed the entire SEC as its development league. Which it sort of already has. So where is the joy anymore in Gridville – let alone Mudville? As we’ve seen in other venues, like the Olympics, high-performance athletes are subject to an overdose of anxiety created by the cruelty of unreasonable self-expectation. And now it is layered with the fears that come with a second wave of Covid, the Delta variant. Mental illness and depression are not just for the poor and downtrodden. Sometimes it is also the root of poor decision making. So as they wound down the 2020 season, Gator players free-lanced and some tents were eventually folded. You might get by with a little of that improvisation on offense where the skill position players are taught to scramble. But defense demands one-voice unity and interaction with the person next to you. Which means clear communication, next level, is mandated. In baseball parlance, you step out of the box and get the sign, then you send back a signal of confirmation. Oft times, the 2020 defense looked like the lights were on, but nobody was home. Call it the Tom Boudette scheme, not necessarily planned or endorsed by Todd Grantham. At times it was awful. Allowing 28 touchdown passes is certainly awful. What had gone wrong with the once-proud tradition known as DBU? In recent weeks, as the media drilled down with coaches and players on some of this inefficiency as best we could via Zoom, members of the Gator beat worked diligently to identify and define these malfunctions. After hearing from about a dozen players and maybe half that many coaches – plus Mullen three of four times – I think we’ve uncovered a big part of the malady and what’s being done about it. Especially the Independent Contractors. They weren’t just on the wrong page, but in the wrong book, or maybe sometimes the wrong library. That’s why the two coaches in the secondary were replaced by Wesley McGriff and Jules Montinar, who began installing new methods with more attention to detail in the backend of Grantham’s defense last spring. That included an overhaul of attitude, work ethic and communication. We’ve yet to see what this defense will look like but it’s generally felt personnel has been upgraded both by extraction and addition. It was on Wednesday this week when we heard from new secondary coach McGriff that the picture began to look clearer – maybe even brighter. Quickly, McGriff made it clear that there was no hangover from 2020 and that defensive backs had not lost confidence. “Not at all,” he said. “There is a strong culture at Florida. These players don’t lack for confidence and play with a chip on their shoulder.” Perhaps the most encouraging news was that his unit has learned the importance of playing as a unit. Independent Contractors need not apply. These days they do everything together, and they write it down. They’ve also been to acting school. “I have to teach them how to be like Hollywood a little bit and be like actors, and make sure we call those signals out and make sure we hand signaling,” said McGriff. “And the biggest thing is not only just communicate with your teammates, but make sure your teammate co-signs off on it. That means now he has it, that he has the check, and I'll tell the safeties over and over again, ‘do not stop communicating till your teammate co-signs off on it.’" In the Defensive Back Room they now preach brotherhood.Translated by a player, sophomore safety Rashad Torrence, who said “you do EVERYTHING together.” He took it to absurd infinitum to make his point. “If one goes to the rest room, we all go to the rest room,” he said. “If we need to get a pencil, we all get a pencil.” They all needed to be reminded the two A’s: Attitude and Amnesia. They’re already playing with a chip on their shoulder, says McGriff. And if they screw up on a play, forget about it and move on. On those matters, you’re hearing adjectives like “tremendous” and “great” and “unbelievable” from the coaches. And that’s about not just the veterans, but the fresh faces like Kamar Wilcoxson and Jason Marshall. Back to the Independent Contractors. I think Mullen nailed it. Called it what it was. In fact, if I had a pickup band to busk on the street, that’s what I’d call them: “The Independent Contractors.” The problem is that the term infers you’ll never know who is going to show up or when. Believe me, it was like that when I played in a band. (And no, it wasn’t Tommy Dorsey or Benny Goodman, you smart asses!) Now you know something of what challenge is ahead for Mullen and his staff. Florida’s 49-year-old coach is nothing if not introspective. And he will have a plan. Sounds like he is already implementing it.

The old adage states, if you have two quarterbacks, you have no quarterbacks. The rotating door and swings in styles, the quick switch of quarterbacks for stretches of plays or drives can often disrupt an offense more than help. Whenever coaches or players try to justify the experiment, they point to the only time it’s worked in recent years; Chris Leak and Tim Tebow in 2006 with the Florida Gators. Arguably the only successful installment of the two quarterback system in this generation of college football, Leak and Tebow dominated defenses. Their differing but complimentary styles kept every opponent on their toes and won the Gators a National Championship. It would stand to reason, if anyone could recreate that magic, it would be the man who wrote the original formula. Since returning to the Gators, now as head coach, Dan Mullen has prodded defenses with two passers in a game. The offensive coordinator who expertly wove together two players at one position over a decade ago has toyed with the idea of trying again in the past three seasons. He supplemented Feleipe Franks with freshman Emory Jones in 2018. He broke up the pass attack from Kyle Trask, with the legs of Jones in 2019 and 2020. Now, with Emory Jones set to take the reins as the starter for the 2021 season, Mullen is preparing to also introduce the world to redshirt freshman, Anthony Richardson. As every coach, team and player that have tried to replicate the two-quarterback system over the years will tell you though, it’s not as easy as “insert player A, then insert player B.” It requires conducting, striking the exact note needed to hit a harmonious tone, or risk bumbling to a cacophonous disaster. Even Mullen has struggled at times. So what goes in to the system? More importantly, can the Gators pull it off with Emory Jones and Anthony Richardson? UNDERSTAND THE BALANCE For Richardson, the Gainesville native, his most important role this season is to be the man that props Emory Jones up, rather than the one trying to knock him off. “He’s been there throughout my recruitment,” Richardson said recently of Jones. “He’s like a big brother to me. He’s also my teammate and he’s also a leader, so you got to support the leader. You never know because it’s a lot of pressure just being a quarterback, just being a college athlete. It’s a lot of pressure. Sometimes you need that moral support in your background from people. I feel like I need to be that guy for sure.” He also mentally understands he’s there to bat clean-up. “My role I believe is to just to go out there and be clean-up, kind of,” explains Richardson. “I feel like whenever Emory needs a break and they need me to come out there, I have to bring the same intensity Emory’s bringing and bring the same energy, just all of that, just be the clean-up. So whenever he does his thing, I come in there - just a 1-2 punch. Never let off the gas.” A 1-2 punch is a good way to describe this duo. Because as Mullen wants to remind Richardson, the clean-up hitter can often be the most powerful man in the lineup. Mullen needs both guys to be home run hitters. “I think [Richardson’s] prepared himself to be the starter, which is what you want, you know,” points out the coach. “He’s going to be ready to get on the field in just about any situation that it is. Now it’s our job to kind of put him in the different situations, so that he has that experience in every different possible scenario for when he is on the field.” It’s a strategy employed with Feleipe Franks and Kyle Trask. While the former entered 2019 as the incumbent and unquestioned starter, the latter prepared with an equal number of reps in practice. When Franks suffered a season ending injury, Trask was mentally, physically and instinctually prepared to step in right away. He rode that insertion into the game to a Heisman Trophy finalist selection. And if you ask Richardson, no person has better exemplified knowing the balance—knowing your role—than Emory Jones. While most passers Jones’ age were transferring to find another “instant play” situation, Jones bided his time. It’s the blueprint Richardson is now following, to be ready when his time comes and patient while waiting. “Just trust the process. I've learned that in high school, just trust the process because not everything is going to be sweet for you. Just trust the process and let everything work out in your favor,” Richardson says of what he’s seen in Jones. “Seeing Emory do that is encouraging because you never know if that's going to be you in that situation, so trust in the process.” Adds quarterback coach Garrick McGee, “one thing I really respect about how Coach Mullen is doing things—and I learned last year—is that, you know everybody that's ready to play gets to run out there and play. You know there's times in games where you know, it's an important part of the game and the first quarter of the game and all the backups are out there. And I think that that's his vision of building depth in the team. “It gives everybody a chance to get prepared for the game and have passion about their preparation because they know at some point they're going to be out on the field. You know, so I think it's, you know, a really good thing for our program and that's how we'll go about it, you know with our two guys that are ready to play right now.” PLAY OFF THE SAME SHEET Mullen is the first to admit, his strategy with two QB’s this fall will look vastly different than in previous years. “You’re in a different scenario this year, so they’re very different. It’d be hard to compare the two.” As mentioned, there were times Mullen hit a sour note with his two quarterback piece; trying to insert Emory Jones into a game plan that was tailored for Kyle Trask. He’ll have a smoother transition this season, with Jones and Richardson playing more off of the same sheet. "It helps in a way that they have similar skill sets even though they’re a little different in their sets and what they do well. But there are similarities in their ability to create, both with great arm talent and their arm talent to create and extend plays with their legs. “You don’t have to have one package or this package, and you can kind of coach in a similar style where if you see this look don’t be afraid to take off running. If they give you this, take it, right away. If they give us this look we want to take this play every time because this is a problem for them and both of them have that skillset that they can execute.” In other words, they’re different enough to force a defense to prepare for both—providing a different swell of notes in the game, if we can stick with our metaphor—but they’re playing at the same tempo, with the ability to keep the same orchestra. "Emory is an electric, electrifying guy. He's very talented. He has a strong arm. I feel like I have the same things,” explains Richardson. “I’m capable of doing the same things he's doing. I feel bad for a lot of teams this year because once he does his thing I'm going to come in there and try to do the same thing. That's why I call it a one-two punch." LET EACH WORK WITHIN THEMSELVES Since we’re deep within this musical metaphor now, let’s talk about movements. A movement is defined as a self-contained part of a musical composition. It can stand on its own individually, but is a part of a larger composition. So even though the quarterbacks are playing the same music—as Mullen alluded to when describing their similar skill sets—they’re also capable of doing their own thing. Much like in jazz music, when a saxophonist will stay true to the rhythm of the song, but break free to a ride it’s own sequence. Knowing the limit of a quarterbacks capabilities, and understanding what they do well—versus what they don’t—is the most fundamental part of creating a functioning offense. For it to truly sing, the man in front has to be playing in a way he understands. It’s a simple lesson but one that came in a hard way for Dan Mullen. “I remember that going back to coaching Alex Smith. I'm a young coach coaching Alex Smith. I coached the No. 1 pick in the draft and then you're thinking, hey, I must be this unbelievable, spectacular coach, I coached this guy to be the No. 1 pick in the draft so when the next guy comes on I'm just going to coach him the same way and he'll be the No.1 pick in the draft. It doesn't work that way. “I don't need Emory [Jones] to ever be like Kyle [Trask]. I need Emory to be like Emory and my job is to get the best Emory I can get. Kind of like last year, we needed Kyle to become the best Kyle he could be and Feleipe [Franks] the best Feliepe he could be. You go back through the years that way. “I think you learn that as you go along as a coach and as a young coach that was a big learning step for me. I went from Alex Smith to Chris Leak and very different talent sets. I had to coach, and all of a sudden you think what works for one doesn't work for the other. You better learn that. As a coach you gotta not only do what the individual does well but coach to the style of the individual to make him learn the best as possible in how he learns.” Mullen has always been known as a QB whisperer, with an ability to get the most out of his passers than even the guy himself thought possible. He’s done it with every guy at every stop. It stems from that lesson he learned from Smith to Leak. It’s why the two quarterback system worked with Leak and Tebow, since one was never asked to do more than they could; never asked to do what the other did simply to copy what the other did. And it’s why Emory Jones feels confident whatever way he and Anthony Richardson are used this fall, it will benefit each passer. “Coach Mullen he definitely uses his offense around the quarterback. Whatever type, style quarterback you are, he’s going to make it happen. For me, just a different skill set. I feel I can do anything on the field. The offense is looking pretty good right now. We’re just taking it in stride every day, trying to get better every day.” Emory Jones was the first quarterback commit Dan Mullen garnered after becoming the Gators head coach. He’s known this day was coming, but even he admits that when committing he didn’t think it would take till now. Says Jones, “It actually made me feel a little bit better that I’m the guy he chose to go with when he first got here. That made me actually feel better. But I did not know it was going to take this long. But I was getting better every day and developing, and that’s all he preached to me and we’re here now.” Still there are things each guy can work on, improve on. Richardson as the back up, and Jones as the (finally) starter. “I feel like I've grown a lot throughout this fall camp, becoming a better passer,” notes Richardson. “I feel like I’ve grown a lot when it comes to reading defenses. You know, I feel like that's something I always struggled with, even in high school. I knew the basics and everything, but knowing that advanced things, I didn’t really know that as much. But coach McGee, he’s been helping us a lot with that. I feel like I've prepared enough to know certain things on defense that will help me excel on the field. I feel like that's the biggest thing that I have accomplished so far, and I think that’s getting me ready for the field this year.” As for Jones? His physicality has been honed over the past three years. Now he’s preparing himself mentally. “Just mentally, just trying to make myself more comfortable in different situations and be able to just make things work in different situations when everything isn’t going the way it’s supposed to. And leadership wise, we’re going to face adversity. You don’t know when. You’re going to face adversity in a game this year. I’ve been trying to find different ways to bring the team together and get us back on track whenever that time comes.” The old adage states, if you have two quarterbacks, you have no quarterbacks…but if the two can be complimentary? If they can understand the balance in a piece, play off the same sheet and feel comfortable enough to work with themselves? It could make music.