A few thoughts to jump start your Friday morning: COULD EIGHT GATORS HEAR THEIR NAMES CALLED IN THE MLB DRAFT? It’s a much different Major League Baseball Draft that will start Sunday night and run through Tuesday. The draft has been shortened to 20 rounds with a hard cap on draft bonus money. Undrafted kids can sign for a maximum $20,000 bonus. At first glance it would seem that the reduced draft and the reduction in minor league teams would favor the high school prospects, but fewer teams means fewer players and that probably means more teams will go after kids who have proven themselves at the collegiate level. If that holds true, then the Gators, who could lose as many as eight players in the draft, could re-stock with high school signees. Florida does have eight high school signees listed among ESPN’s top 200 prospects including two (Andrew Painter, Jay Allen) listed in the top 25. Both will probably never play college baseball. As for the other six, their fates could be determined by how much of the money each team spends on first and second rounders. Here are the eight Florida players who are considered draft eligible by D1baseball.com, Baseball America, MLB.com and ESPN. Jud Fabian, CF: Fabian was listed as the No. 3 non-pitching prospect when the 2021 season began but his draft stock dipped a bit due to a sluggish start and concerning strikeout numbers. Fabian was a third team All-America choice (Collegiate Baseball) after a season in which he hit only .249 but launched 20 home runs. What will keep him in the first round is Major League level power and his ability to track down fly balls in center field. He’s ranked the No. 13 college prospect by D1baseball.com, the No. 27 overall prospect by Baseball America and No. 28 by ESPN. Most draft projections have him going either to the Chicago White Sox or Chicago Cubs. Tommy Mace, RHP: Mace’s 4.37 ERA wasn’t impressive, but scouts see 90-1/3 innings pitched with only 21 walks and 113 strikeouts. He’s also 6-6 and 230 pounds and that always gets the scouts’ attention. He had a career record of 22-7 at Florida. Mace throws a mid-90s fastball with a very nice slider that is a great out pitch when he’s on his game. Among college players, D1baseball.com ranks him the No. 17 prospect. MLB.com has Mace No. 45 overall while ESPN has him at No. 64 and Baseball America has him at No. 65. Mace could sneak into the first round, but he’s likely to be gone by the middle of the second. Nathan Hickey, C/IF: Nobody is going to draft Hickey for his catching skills. His bat is his calling card. He hit .317 with nine homers and 50 RBI in 2021. Among college players, D1baseball.com rates Hickey as the No. 53 prospect. He’s the No. 83 overall prospect for ESPN, No. 132 for Baseball America and the No. 141 for MLB.com. He should go somewhere between rounds 4-7. Jack Leftwich, RHP: Leftwich (6-4, 220) saw his draft stock rise when he became Florida’s closer. He throws consistently mid-90s and can heat it up to 97-98 on occasions. He finished 2021 with a 7-4 record, 3.36 ERA and five saves. He has a career 20-14 record at UF. He’s the No. 98 college prospect at D1baseball.com, No. 156 overall by MLB.com and No. 209 by Baseball America. He figures to go rounds 6-10 although he could sneak into the top five. Christian Scott, RHP: Scott throws low to mid-90s and rarely walks anyone (9 walks, 54 innings in 2020). He finished the season with a 4-2 record, 3.00 ERA and 51 strikeouts. He is projected either as a potential long reliever or starter at the next level. He’s the No. 124 college prospect for D1baseball.com, the No. 168 overall prospect for ESPN, No. 217 for Baseball America and the No. 228 for MLB.com. Franco Aleman, RHP: Aleman’s numbers aren’t that impressive – 2-4, 5.74 ERA – but he has a fast ball that wows the scouts (high 90s) and he has the kind of size they like (6-6, 235). He needs another year of development but he’s a third-year guy who will have limited options if he comes back for his senior season. He’s ranked No. 243 by MLB.com and No. 305 by Baseball America. If he’s drafted it will be in the late rounds. Jacob Young, LF: Young came to Florida as an infielder but transitioned to the outfield in 2020. He’s a career .330 hitter with gap power and very good speed. He’s a solid defensive outfielder who made only two errors in 2020-21. He is the No. 356 overall prospect by Baseball America. ESPN, however, ranks Young as the No. 152 overall prospect. He figures to go somewhere between rounds 8-15. Ben Specht, RHP: Specht is a longshot to be drafted although he’s the No. 482 prospect by Baseball America. He had a brilliant 2020 as UF’s closer when he was 2-0 with a 0.75 ERA and three saves, but he couldn’t get anyone out in 2021 and appeared in only eight games. If someone drafts him, he probably needs to sign. He has his name in the NCAA transfer portal. UF high school signees ranked in ESPN top 200 prospects: 18. Andrew Painter, RHP (Fort Lauderdale, FL Calvary Christian); 25. Jay Allen, CF (Fort Pierce, FL John Carroll Catholic); 65. Chase Petty, RHP (Somerset, NJ Mainland Regional); 91. Michael Robertson, CF (Venice, FL); 116. Phillip Abner, LHP (Port Charlotte, FL Charlotte Christian); 117. Pierce Coppola, LHP (Verona, NJ); 130. Jac Caglionone, LHP (Tampa, FL Plant); 176. Jake Fox, 2B (Lakeland, FL Lakeland Christian) GATORS WILL PLAY IN THE JUMPMAN INVITATIONAL DEC. 21-22 Both the Florida men’s and women’s basketball teams have been invited to participate in the first Jumpman Invitational Tournament in Charlotte, North Carolina December 21-22. Sponsored by the Charlotte Sports Foundation and Jordan Brand, the Gators will be joined by North Carolina, Michigan and Oklahoma. These were the first four schools to sign shoes and apparel deals with Jordan Brand, which is under the Nike umbrella. The games (two each night) will be played at Charlotte’s Spectrum Center with all games aired on ESPN. Matchups have yet to be determined. Over the three years of the initial contract of the tournament, the Gators will face the other three Jumpman teams. The Tournament could expand after the initial three-year run if more top programs sign on with Jordan Brand. THE BEST PLAYER ON OFFENSE/DEFENSE AT EACH SEC SCHOOL Alabama: The offensive player that everyone seems to be stuck on is quarterback Bryce Young, and while he may turn out to be a great one, the player that will keep every defense honest is wide receiver John Metchie III, who caught 55 passes for 916 yards (16.65 yards per catch) and six touchdowns as a sophomore last year. Christian Harris was Alabama’s second leading tackler last year (79 stops, 4.5 sacks, 1 interception), but the best defensive player is cornerback Josh Jobe, who had 55 tackles, two sacks, two forced fumbles and 11 pass breakups. Arkansas: The best offensive player is wide receiver Treylon Burks, who caught 51 passes for 820 yards (16.08 per catch) and seven touchdowns in 2020. The best defensive player is linebacker Grant Morgan, who finished third in the country with 111 tackles. He had 7.5 tackles for loss, two sacks and five pass breakups. Auburn: Quarterback Bo Nix is the guy who has to have a brilliant year for Auburn to be anything but a break even team in 2021, but the best offensive player is sophomore running back Tank Bigsby, who had 834 rushing yards (6.0 per carry) and five touchdowns past year while catching 11 passes for 84 yards. The best defensive player is linebacker Zakoby McClain, who could be playing for pay this fall except he wanted to come back to school to get a degree and improve his draft stock. Last season, McClain led the country in tackles with 113. He also had three sacks, a forced fumble and a pass breakup. FLORIDA: By the end of the season, quarterback Emory Jones will be hearing plenty of praise but as the 2021 season begins, Florida’s best offensive player is running back Dameon Pierce, who ran for 503 yards (4.75 per carry) and four touchdowns on a very pass-oriented team. Pierce also caught 17 passes for 156 yards (9.8 per catch) and a touchdown. Kaiir Elam and Brenton Cox Jr. are getting the most preseason hype on the UF defense but the best player is defensive end Zachary Carter, who would have been drafted if he had bolted for the NFL. Last season he was in on 36 tackles with 9.5 tackles for loss, five sacks, two pass breakups, 12 quarterback hurries and a fumble recovery that he ran back 35 yards for a touchdown. Georgia: The guy getting all the hype right now is quarterback JT Daniels but the guy who will make this offense go is running back Zamir White, who ran for 779 yards (5.4 per carry) and 11 touchdowns in 2020. The defensive player that gets the draftniks all excited is nose tackle Jordan Davis, but the best player on that side of the ball is linebacker Nakobe Dean, who led Georgia with 71 tackles last season. Kentucky: The best player on offense is left tackle Darian Kinnard (6-5, 338) who projected as a second round NFL Draft pick after last season but came back for his senior year. The best defensive player is safety Yusuf Corker, who was in on 77 tackles, an astounding number for a safety. He also picked off two passes, had a sack, forced a fumble and broke up two other passes. LSU: The best player on offense is sophomore wide receiver Kayshon Boutte, who had a brilliant freshman season with 45 catches for 773 yards (16.3 per catch) and five touchdowns. The best defensive player is corner Derek Stingley Jr., who basically takes one side of the field away. Last season Stingley was in on 27 tackles with a forced fumble and five pass breakups. The numbers would be far better if opponents tried to throw to his side of the field more often. Mississippi State: The best offensive player is sophomore wide receiver Jaden Walley, who had 52 catches for 718 yards (13.8 per catch) and two touchdowns as a true freshman last year. The best defensive player is corner Emmanuel Forbes, who finished tied for second in the nation with five interceptions as a freshman in 2020. Forbes also had six pass breakups and was in on 44 tackles. Missouri: The best player on offense is quarterback Connor Bazelak (67.3% completions, 7.3 per attempt), who threw for 2,366 yards and seven touchdowns once he became the starter in the third game. The best defensive player is edge rusher Trajan Jeffcoat, who had 23 tackles, six sacks and seven quarterback hurries last year. Ole Miss: The best offensive player, not only at Ole Miss but in the SEC, is quarterback Matt Corral, who threw for 3,337 yards (70.9% completions, 10.2 per attempt) and 29 touchdowns while running for 506 yards (4.52 per carry) and four more TDs. The best defensive player is free safety A.J. Finley, who picked off three passes and broke up seven others. He also had 62 tackles and two quarterback hurries. South Carolina: The best player on offense is Kevin Harris, who is also the best running back in the SEC. Last season Harris ran for an SEC best 1,138 yards (6.15 per carry) and 15 touchdowns on the ground, also best in the SEC. Harris had three games of 100-plus yards and two of 200-plus. He also caught 21 passes for 159 yards and a TD. The best defensive player is linebacker Kingsley Egbare, who had 30 tackles in 2020 with six sacks, two quarterback hurries and three forced fumbles. Tennessee: The best offensive player on the team didn’t play at Tennessee last year. In eight games at Virginia Tech, Hendon Hooker passed for 1,339 yards (65.9% completions, 8.9 per attempt) and nine touchdowns. He also ran for 620 yards (5.17 per carry) and nine touchdowns. The best defensive player is safety Trevon Flowers, who had 63 tackles, three pass breakups and a forced fumble last year. Texas A&M: Running back Isaiah Spiller and tight end Jalen Wydermyer are getting all the preseason hype, but the best offensive player is left tackle Kenyon Green (6-4, 325), who was an All-American guard last year when the Aggies allowed only seven sacks in 11 games and opened the holes for more than 200 rushing yards per game. The best defensive player is defensive tackle DeMarvin Leal, who had 37 tackles, one interception that he ran back 43 yards, a fumble return, a forced fumble, 2.5 sacks, three pass breakups and eight quarterback hurries. Vanderbilt: The best offensive player is quarterback Ken Seals, who threw for 1,928 yards (64.6% completions, 6.7 per attempt) and 12 touchdowns as a true freshman last year. The best defensive player is linebacker Anfernee Orji, who had 66 tackles, one sack, two pass breakups and a forced fumble. ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: Bruce Feldman, the fine college football writer at The Athletic recently posed these questions: (1) What happens if an athlete signs an NIL deal with an apparel company and his school wears a different brand? and (2) what happens if an athlete signs an NIL deal with a pornography site? These questions haven’t been answered by the NCAA, of course, and while they may sound extreme, get used to it. You can bet the farm something like this is going to happen. The NCAA hasn’t a clue and Congress isn’t going to bail them out.

It’s a month until August camp opens for the Gators, time to begin evaluating the 2021 team position-by-position, starting with the backfield. Dan Mullen may not have the household names at quarterback and running back that he had the last three seasons, but from a pure talent standpoint, the Gators aren’t lacking and may, in fact, be the most talented Florida backfield in years. Here is the breakdown of the four scholarship quarterbacks and five scholarship running backs on the Florida roster as of July 8, 2021. QUARTERBACKS (4) Emory Jones (6-2, 210, RJR): More than once during spring practice, Mullen let it be known that while Jones is a fast, elusive runner he is also a very capable passer with an arm that is both strong enough and accurate enough to make all the throws he demands in his offensive scheme. Jones spent the last two seasons backing up Kyle Trask more as a change of pace runner to Trask’s strong pocket presence as a passer. In 2020, Jones ran for 217 yards (6.8 per carry) and two touchdowns. He did throw the ball 32 times (18 completions) for 221 yards and two more TDs. Jones’ career numbers are 92-514 rushing (5.58 per carry) for six touchdowns; 55-86 for 613 yards (7.12 per attempt) and seven touchdowns passing. Because Mullen has put Jones on the field with games on the line in each of the last two seasons, he’s hardly inexperienced and shouldn’t be bothered by large crowds when the Gators go on the road. This is Jones’ fourth year in the program so he is familiar and comfortable running the offense. After two seasons of an offense that essentially started throwing the moment the bus came to a standstill outside the stadium, this will be more run-first to take advantage of Jones’ quick feet but that does not mean the Gators will abandon the pass. Jones has too good an arm for that to happen. Jones is a former 4-star recruit out of Heard County High School in Franklin, Georgia. Anthony Richardson (6-4, 232, RFR): Richardson is a freak athlete who accounted for more than 6,200 yards of offense and 78 touchdowns (37 passing, 41 running) at Gainesville Eastside where he was a 4-star recruit. He played in four games at Florida in 2020, going 1-2 passing for 27 yards and a touchdown while running for 61 yards on seven carries. He can make all the throws whether in the pocket or on the move. He is very accurate although he needs to develop as a touch passer. Not every throw has to be a 90 mile per hour fast ball. As a runner, he is a long strider who is deceptively very fast and once outside the pocket he’s very capable of turning what appears to be a 5-yard opening into a 25-yard gain. He had a very productive spring in which he constantly pushed Jones. Richardson will see the field early and often in the fall as Mullen starts grooming him to take over as the starter when Jones graduates. Richardson draws a lot of favorable comparisons to another former Mullen-coached quarterback – Dak Prescott, then of Mississippi State, now of the Dallas Cowboys. Carlos Del Rio-Wilson (6-2, 238, FR): A true dual threat quarterback, Del Rio-Wilson has a very strong arm and the ability to pick up yardage on the ground in huge chunks whether it’s on designed runs or when the pocket breaks down. He is as comfortable as a drop back passer as he is in RPO situations where he gets outside the pocket with the option to throw or run. He throws very well on the move. An early enrollee, Del Rio-Wilson picked up the offense very well in the spring although he does have a habit of locking on to one receiver instead of going through his reads. He goes into fall camp as the No. 3 quarterback. Del Rio-Wilson is a 4-star recruit from Cartersville, Georgia. Jalen Kitna (6-5, 198, FR): The son of former NFL quarterback Jon Kitna, Jalen has excellent fundamentals when it comes to footwork and throwing mechanics. He has a very strong and accurate arm. He’s more of a pure pocket passer than dual threat guy although he has nice movement in the pocket and is capable of picking up yards when the pocket breaks down. He’s grown an inch since he was recruited and put on about 10-12 pounds of muscle. He has a frame to add another 20-25 pounds of muscle and he may grow another inch or two. He will almost certainly take a redshirt year. A 3-star recruit out of Burleson, Texas, Kitna was an early enrollee who was able to go through a full spring practice. ASSESSING THE QUARTERBACKS Although he’s never started a game in three years at Florida, you can’t call Emory Jones inexperienced. Dan Mullen has had a plan in place to prep him for the day he becomes THE MAN in the Florida offense. That time is now. Jones may not have the pocket presence or anticipation that Kyle Trask had but Trask was never a threat to turn a two-yard opening into a 25-yard gain, which is the tradeoff you get with Jones taking the snaps. The option also comes into play with Jones, particularly with Florida’s loaded running back situation. Pro Football Focus projects Jones as a potential top ten pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. Expect Mullen to use Richardson in much the same way he used Jones the last two years, which is to say he will be inserted into games often in critical situations. It might be sort of a reversal of roles from the past two years, however. Whereas Jones came in primarily as a runner who was a capable passer Richardson may be inserted in games primarily as a passer who can hurt opponents with his feet as well. Both Del Rio-Wilson and Kitna are talented young guys who need time to develop and learn the offense through and through. Del Rio-Wilson is probably this year’s mop-up guy while Kitna takes a redshirt. There is no lack of talent in Florida’s quarterback room. The people who write the preseason football magazines call Jones inexperienced, but he has far more experience than Kyle Trask had when Trask took over for the injured Feleipe Franks in game three of the 2019 season. We all know how that worked out. While the Gators may not throw as often as they have in the past two seasons, the passing game figures to be explosive and quite productive with Jones and Anthony Richardson taking the snaps. Because Jones and Richardson are such gifted runners, opponents won’t have the luxury of dropping seven and eight into coverage as they have in recent years and they will be hesitant to blitz because once these two break containment they can pick up big yardage. Losing Trask, Kyle Pitts, Kadarius Toney and Trevon Grimes would be a death blow to most offenses. At Florida, it simply means the game changes to fit the personnel. From a 60-40 pass to run ratio the past two years the offense will be more of a 50-50 balance with the possibility of an even heavier tilt to the run. It all starts with the quarterbacks and Dan Mullen has two dual threats who should make for a highly explosive offense. RUNNING BACKS (5) Malik Davis (5-10, 198, RSR): Spring was a revelation because it brought back memories of the old Malik Davis, the one who averaged 6.66 yards per carry and gained 526 yards as a true freshman in 2017. Seven games into the 2017 season Davis suffered a season-ending injury, then three games into 2018 bad luck struck again with another season-ending injury. After an unproductive 2019 spent healing and regaining his strength, Davis put together a solid 2020 in which he ran for 310 yards and caught 31 passes for 377. He ran for 81 yards against LSU and caught five passes on wheel routes out of the backfield against Georgia for 100 yards. During spring practice, Davis showed the speed and moves that have been missing since the 2018 season have returned, lending expectations that he will have an extensive role in the 2021 offense. Davis is such a good receiver that it’s entirely possible he will see time in the slot as Mullen revives concepts he used as Urban Meyer’s offensive coordinator in 2008 when he had Percy Harvin line up in the slot where he was a lethal pass catcher and regularly shift into the backfield where he was Florida’s most explosive running back. Davis is a former 3-star recruit out of Tampa Jesuit. Dameon Pierce (5-10, 212, SR): Pierce is Florida’s power back who figures to get the bulk of the between the tackles carries this season. He’s strong enough to run through tackles and quick enough to make people miss once he gets through the hole. He has proven in the previous three seasons that once he gets through the hole and to the second level he can find that extra gear and run past people. Pierce comes into the 2021 season with 1,232 career rushing yards (10 TDs; 5.4 yards per carry) and with long runs of 68, 75 and 38 yards. He has also caught 26 passes for 206 career yards and two touchdowns. Pierce is coming off a 2020 season in which he ran for 503 yards and four touchdowns while catching 17 passes for 156 yards and another TD. Because Florida has emphasized the pass so much in 2018-19, Pierce is relatively fresh and primed to have his best season statistically. The former 4-star recruit out of Bainbridge High School surpassed the legendary Herschel Walker on his way to a top ten spot in Georgia’s career high school rushing records. Lorenzo Lingard (6-0, 206, RJR): Lingard’s 2020 season never got off the ground after transferring in from Miami. The combination of a high ankle sprain and Covid-19 limited him to spot duty in nine games in which he carried nine times for 32 yards. The former 5-star recruit with sprinter’s speed out of DeLand, was healthy all spring and it was eye-opening as in nearly every full contact practice or scrimmage he broke a run of 40 yards or more. As a freshman at Miami in 2018, Lingard injured his knee six games into the season. He came back his sophomore year but played in only two games. The Miami experience and the high ankle sprain suffered last year do raise questions about his ability to stay healthy, but if Lingard can stay injury-free he has the kind of explosiveness that has been missing from the Florida running game for years. Nay’Quan Wright (5-9, 197, RSO): Wright had a productive redshirt freshman season in 2020, rushing for 213 yards and two touchdowns while catching 19 passes for 219 yards including three for 71 on wheel routes out of the backfield against Georgia. He put together an excellent spring practice, serving notice to the other four backs that he will see the field early and often in 2021. Wright has surprising power for his size and excellent open field moves. His good hands and ability to pick up yards after the catch make spending some time in the slot a distinct possibility in 2021. Wright is a former 4-star recruit out of Miami Carol City, where he was instrumental in the Chiefs winning the state championship in 2018. Demarkcus Bowman (5-10, 187, RFR): It only took two games for Bowman to figure out that he made a bad decision to sign with Clemson out of Lakeland High School. So, the former 5-star running back transferred to Florida where he will be eligible immediately. He’s got go the distance speed and the best moves of a Florida running back since Chris Rainey, ironically another Lakeland Dreadnaught. After a spring and summer with Nick Savage, Bowman should be stronger and faster than ever before. From a pure talent perspective, he’s probably the best Florida has had at the position since Percy Harvin and Rainey. ASSESSING THE RUNNING BACKS From top to bottom, this is Florida’s deepest and most talented group of running backs in years and it comes in handy since it’s the same year Dan Mullen will transition the offense from more emphasis on the passing game into one that will be at a minimum a 50-50 pass-run mix. Mullen will go into the fall with five backs he can feel comfortable giving the ball to including two or three who might see some of their playing time in the slot. In Dameon Pierce and Malik Davis, Mullen has two experienced backs with starting experience. Both have averaged more than 5.0 yards per carry in their UF careers and both are coming off productive seasons. Pierce is a hammer between the tackles while Davis relies on quickness. Both are proven pass catchers with three years of experience in the offense. Davis is coming off a spring in which he showed the pre-injury moves and quickness. Because Pierce only has 229 career carries, he has fresh legs that will allow for an increased load. Nay’Quan Wright had an extremely productive spring. He’s quick to the hole and is exceptional once he gets to the second level. There was already talk of the possibility that he would move into the slot back during the 2020 season. He is likely to see a portion of his playing time there where he can be more of a downfield threat in the passing game and still get carries in the running game. The X-Factors for the Gators are the two transfers – Lorenzo Lingard and Demarkcus Bowman. For pure breakaway ability, they are the missing links. Lingard hasn’t been healthy since the midway point of the 2018 season at Miami and Bowman is coming off a spring in which he spent most of the time dinged up. If these two are healthy, Mullen has options in the running game that he hasn’t had, not only during his three previous seasons as Florida’s head coach, but in his entire 12 years as a head coach dating back to 2009 at Mississippi State. If Mullen can keep everybody healthy, then the biggest question will be finding enough ways to get all five of them the football. Mullen has a creative enough mind to do it, he just needs all five of them healthy. ASSESSING THE BACKFIELD If you go by the projections offered by the preseason magazines and website gurus, then Florida’s offense is going to take a serious hit in 2021 but people who have examined the Gators closely are far less inclined to write off UF based on Mullen’s history. Mullen’s offenses tend to be highly productive and personnel driven. The personnel for 2021 says the Gators have all the pieces in place to run the ball better than any time since 2009 when the Tim Tebow-led offense averaged 221 yards per game on the ground while running for 30 touchdowns. We could see an offense in 2021 that closely resembles those of 2008-09 when Tebow gave the Gators a running threat at quarterback. Tebow combined for 1,583 yards and 26 touchdowns on the ground those two seasons as the Gators put together back-to-back 13-1 records. Neither Emory Jones nor Anthony Richardson have Tebow’s raw power but they do have more speed and elusiveness. The option comes back into play for UF in a very big way. Opposing defensive coordinators hate to defend the option when they’re facing a team that has quarterbacks that can throw accurately and receivers who can get downfield. Just because the quarterback isn’t named Kyle Trask and Kyle Pitts, Kadarius Toney and Trevon Grimes have moved on doesn’t mean the Gators won’t throw the football. They will throw all right, although without the same frequency of the past two seasons but because of the running threat the passing game could be every bit as explosive. Back in 2018, Mullen’s first year at UF, the Gators averaged 213 rushing yards per game with Feleipe Franks at quarterback. Franks gave the Gators enough of a running threat at QB that opened things up for the backfield trio of Jordan Scarlett, Lamical Perine and Dameon Pierce. Both Jones and Richardson are better runners than Franks and Florida’s five-deep backfield has more speed and explosive play possibilities than that 2018 team ever had. The only sure thing in the Florida backfield right now is Jones, who, barring injury between now and the September 4 opener with Florida Atlantic, will start at quarterback. As for the rest of the backfield, it might look like running back by committee because even a creative offensive mind like Mullen is going to be challenged to find ways to get all five of his backs involved. Florida may not average 509 yards per game in 2021 as they did last season, but the offense is still going to be highly explosive. Next week: The receivers.

It was 2004; the Team USA Olympic softball team was on their pre-games tour, ahead of the Athens games. Excitement was palpable with the Olympics back where they'd began centuries ago. The celebration was on worldwide. Red, white and blue was everywhere in the United States, schools steered most lessons towards the Olympics and after watching Team USA softball in her hometown, a young Aubree Munro was enthralled. She had to be a part of that team one day. Related: Florida Gators In the Olympics: Grant Holloway, Track and Field “It’s what I dreamed of when I was a kid,” reflects Munro. “[In 2004], that's when I first started dreaming of playing for Team USA, every school project that year was red, white and blue themed. I couldn't get enough of it. “I remember doing, like ‘what do you want to be when you grow up’ kind of thing and I [drew] ‘one day I will be an Olympian’ and I drew a little picture of myself and what I thought a USA jersey would look like with a one on it.” But fate threw Munro and softball fans everywhere a loop, when the IOC [International Olympic Committee] cut the sport from the games. This summer, it makes it’s triumphant return to the world stage. And Munro, the former Florida Gator catcher, will suit up for Team USA in that No. 1 jersey she drew 17 years ago. As she dons the red, white and blue however, there will be so much more Munro carries with her to Japan than a childhood dream. Preparing to leave for Tokyo and the 2020 (2021) Olympic Games, Munro sat down with GatorBait Magazine and others to reflect on her path to this point. After the games took away softball, Munro was forced to change her dream. So the California native put her focus and energy into playing elite college ball. She did just that and more, winning two National Championships with the Gators. Munro also set a few individual records for herself. “My dream kind of shifted towards college I ended up at Florida had the career of a lifetime.” She is one of nine Gators in history to record a perfect fielding percentage (minimum 50 chances) in a season. As a junior, she did not made an error in 354 chances behind the plate in 2015. For that matter, Munro committed just one error in her final two seasons (874 chances) and made only four miscues in 1,423 chances during her career. That mark ranks tied for second in school history. Not only did Munro leave an indelible mark on the Florida Gators program, but it her as well. After graduating in 2016, Munro was selected for Team USA. She has won two gold medals at the World Championships (2016 and 2018). In 2019, she was named to the Olympic team. “When they named the team it was just an absolute dream come true, really emotional. And just really special. We all have families that have been a part of this for a really long time so it's not just my dream it's like my family's dream.” That family extends to the Gators and the fans she made along the way in Gainesville. Softball fans she met while in Orange and Blue now come support Munro and the team in the flag colors. It’s an honor she doesn’t take lightly, heading into Tokyo. “I knew that there was going to come a time when no one was going to really care who I was anymore. I wanted to take every opportunity to just kind of be a good ambassador for myself, [the] Florida Gators and now Team USA. So take it pretty seriously.” Each and every iconic moment in which Munro has found herself with Team USA, she’s been able to draw on her experience with the Gators and Head Coach Tim Walton to help her through. "I just felt really prepared for adversity and I know what it takes to win, I'm not scared of those big moments,” explains Munro, the starting catcher for the 2014 and 2015 back-to-back National Championship teams. “I have a lot of experience in winning and I think that's something that you don't always know how to put value on it. But as I find myself in big moments, repeatedly, you know—we won Worlds in 2016; we won worlds in 2018, something that hadn't hadn't happened for USA in a very long time, and…those moments are my favorite moments and I think that's something I really learned at Florida competing under Coach Walton. “He really preached to us about, ‘the team that can make this big moment the most normal is a team that's probably going to succeed.’ And so being able to feel normal in those big moments while still taking in the excitement and taking in, like the gravity of the situation, but, while at the same time being able to maintain, just like a steady heartbeat and just knowing who I am and try not to get too big—I think I learned a lot of that in my time at Florida.” Now Munro—along with other former Gators Kelsey Stewart and Michelle Moultrie are settling into the Olympic Village in Tokyo. It’s a dream coming true, leaping out of the picture Aubree Munro drew in 2004 and into reality. And if she wins gold there will be no small part that is thanks to her time with the Florida Gators.

Kelsey Stewart has waited years for July 21, 2021. The last of which was the longest. Stewart’s journey with Team USA started after her sophomore season at the University of Florida in 2014. The Wichita, Kansas native had just helped the Florida Gators softball program capture its first national championship in program history, notched her first All-American distinction and led the Southeastern Conference with a .464 batting average. Following her historic season, Stewart and Team USA won a silver medal at the International Softball World Championship in the Netherlands (now Women’s Softball World Cup). At the time, that was the height of the possibilities for Team USA softball. Recognized as an Olympic sport from 1996 to 2008, softball was nixed from the Olympic games and wouldn’t return in time for the 2016 Rio Olympics -- the first that Stewart would be eligible to participate in. So when the sport returned for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, there was no denying that Stewart was itching to be called an Olympian. “It hurt (when softball was removed from the Olympics),” Stewart said. “It was a dream that was, like, wiped away and we can do nothing about it. “So when we were brought back in 2016, I felt like a little kid again. I was dreaming big and no one could tell me anything different.” However, when the COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc across the globe, the former Florida Gator was once again forced to wait. Disappointing? Absolutely. But now the moment has finally arrived for Stewart and the rest of Team USA’s roster -- most of whom are also being called an “Olympian” for the first time. “This is my eighth year on the team, so it’s been a dream for me for a while,” Stewart said. “It was just a dream come true… something again that we’ve been working for for so long since softball has been out of the Olympics. And to be a part of that core 15 that’s going to represent the USA is just… I’m blessed and I’m truly grateful.” Becoming one of just 15 softball players in the country to represent the United States in the Tokyo Olympics doesn’t happen overnight. Instead, when she thinks about her journey to becoming an Olympian, Stewart looks back at her time at the University of Florida and her four years under Tim Walton. As a Gator, Stewart won two national championships -- which remain to be the only two titles in program history. “We won a lot at Florida,” Stewart said. “So just being able to try and bring that over to the Olympics and to those games… Like, I’ve been here, I’ve done this. I was made for this moment.” Both winning ball games at Florida and adopting the mindset that even the biggest stage on the globe isn’t too big stemmed from Florida Gators softball head coach Tim Walton. “There was no such thing as a big moment,” Stewart said. “I think something that I take with me to this day is just that mentality of training practice. So in a game, there’s no surprises. You’re not nervous; you’re prepared for the big moment.” Stewart has no shortage of sheer athletic talent. As a Gator, Stewart knocked 355 hits into play, maintained a .395 career batting average, hit 15 balls out of the yard and consistently fielded to the tune of a .963 fielding average through four years in Gainesville. But it’s her mentality that sets her apart. According to Stewart, whether it be a rep in practice or a live ball during an exhibition game, she treats it as though everything is on the line and it all rests on her shoulders. “I could field a ground ball; I could hit a ball in my sleep,” Stewart said. “But what takes the normal athlete to elite is their mental state.” In the batting cages, Stewart will tell herself that she’s in a tied ball game and she needs to get on base. In the field, she’s gotta make the stop and try to turn two. Stewart is prepared. She’s thought of it all -- right down to what she’d do with a gold medal. “If we win a gold medal, I don’t think it’s ever gonna come off of my neck,” Stewart said. When her mom offered that maybe she should invest in a safe to protect her hardware, Stewart it quick to shoot it down. “No, I need everyone to know I won gold medals,” Steward laughs before setting the record straight. “I don’t have no idea. I’m just worried honestly about game one and winning game one and then, obviously, gold medal is the ultimate goal.” Kelsey Stewart and the rest of Team USA’s softball team will make their Tokyo 2020 Olympic debut on July 21 as they play Italy in game one at 11 p.m. EST.

Former Florida Gator baseball star Mike Zunino will be making his first ever All-Star game appearance. On Sunday, it was announced that the Tampa Bay Rays catcher would play for the American League team in this year’s MLB All-Star game. Zunino has led the Rays this season holding the majors’ top on-base plus slugging percentage at 1.189. His Journey Setting Records at Florida He could have signed straight out of high school, but he didn’t. The Oakland Athletics selected Zunino in the 29th round of the 2009 draft, but he chose to attend college instead. Zunino spent three years at the University of Florida and led the Gators to three consecutive College World Series appearances. He set records. He won accolades. 47 home runs, fourth best all-time 2011 SEC Player of the Year 2012 Golden Spikes Award 2012 Dick Howser Trophy 2012 Johnny Bench Award Zunino’s nine-year pro career has had its highs and lows. The Seattle Mariners selected Zunino with the third overall pick in the 2012 MLB Draft. Zunino was promoted to the big leagues in no time. He made his majors debut in 2013, singling in his second at bat on an 0-2 pitch against the Kansas City Royals. A few days later, he hit his first career home run. In August 2015, Zunino was demoted to Triple- A Tacoma hitting .174 with 132 strikeouts in 112 games. Returning to His South Florida Stomping Grounds The 30-year-old Cape Coral, Florida, native is now a catcher for the Tampa Bay Rays. Zunino was traded in November of 2018. He struggled in his first two seasons in Tampa Bay. He finished the 2020 season batting .147 with four home runs over the course of 28 games. After claiming the American League pennant in 2020, the Rays advanced to the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. They lost in six games. Zunino hit four homers with eight RBIs during the American League playoffs. After some contract negotiation failures, Zunino became a free agent on October 30, 2020. He re-signed with the Rays on December 16, 2020. He agreed to a one-year contract with $3 million guaranteed. Zunino spent the winter months rebuilding his swing. Fast forward. July 4 news broke that Zunino was selected to appear in his first ever MLB All-Star game. The 2021 MLB All-Star game is set to take place at Coors Field on July 13 in Denver, Colorado. This will be the 91st All-Star game on record between the American and National League. It is the second to take place in the city of Denver and at Coors Field. Zunino will be playing for his manager, Kevin Cash, on July 13. Cash was chosen to represent the American League in Denver. After both some ups and downs in his career, Zunino is proof that hard work pays off.

A few thoughts to jump start your Wednesday morning: A QUESTION OR TWO FOR EVERY TEAM IN THE SEC The three obvious questions for the Florida Gators in 2021 center around quarterback Emory Jones, improvement on the offensive line and a defense that underwhelmed enough to set records as the most inept in UF football history. Solve those issues, it would seem, and the Gators could not only challenge for but win the SEC East title. Jones is a dynamic runner but can he be equally effective throwing the football. If he is able to make all the throws and complete passes to receivers like Jacob Copeland opponents won’t be able to load up the box against the Gators. The offensive line returns five guys who are either returning starters or who have seem spot duty as starters in the past. A slimmed down Stewart Reese at center flanked by Ethan White and Josh Braun with Richard Gouraige at left tackle should give UF four solid starters. But what if Jean Delance can’t get it done at right tackle? The defense couldn’t be worse than last year when the Gators ranked 83rdnationally, could they? The infusion of transfer tackles Antonio Shelton and Daquan Newkirk along with linebacker Diwun Black should at least get the Gators into a top 40 finish defensively. If Todd Grantham coaxes a top 25 finish, Florida might rule the SEC East for a second straight year. A bigger question than these might have everything to do with September 18 when Alabama comes to town. Playing at home and early in the season might make this game far more competitive than experts currently think, but what happens if UF malfunctions in all areas and Alabama does to the Gators what it did last year to Texas A&M (52-24 win)? What if it’s a heartbreaker? Either way, will the Gators recover enough to remain in the SEC East race? They’ll still have to beat LSU in Baton Rouge and Georgia in Jacksonville but they will have their backs to the wall and two SEC losses probably won’t cut it. Now for the rest of the SEC: ALABAMA: Everybody assumes that Alabama is going to run the table and win a second straight national championship but there is a new QB (Bryce Young), a new offensive coordinator (Bill O’Brien) and only three returning starters on offense. Eight defensive starters return and that figures to be the strength of this team. If Young and the offense shoot blanks early on, can the defense win games until the offense matures? And, what about that season opener with Miami? That might actually be the toughest game on the Alabama schedule and D’Eriq King is the type of quarterback that can make even great defenses look silly. Just ask Clemson. ARKANSAS: A year ago Florida transfer Feleipe Franks played so well that Arkansas was within eight points of a winning record. Franks has moved on to the NFL and Arkansas won’t have the element of surprise in 2021 although eight starters return on offense where KJ Jefferson takes over at QB and nine return on defense. On paper Arkansas has a better, more experienced team and that should make for a very competitive team. Can the Hogs get bowl eligible against a schedule that includes Texas, Texas A&M, Alabama, Georgia, Ole Miss and LSU? AUBURN: New HBC Bryan Harsin had a good thing going at Boise State where the Broncos are the only Division I program in the entire state. Now he’s in the Southeastern Conference and not just anywhere, but in Alabama where he has to share the state with Nick Saban. Not only that, he’s got to play Penn State, Georgia, LSU, Ole Miss and the Aggies. And, not only does he have to do it with Bo Nix at quarterback but with Mike Bobo as his play caller. Can Bobo coach up Nix enough to win against good SEC defenses or does Harsin need to hire an exorcist? If Nix can’t get it done Auburn is going to have a VERY long season. GEORGIA: The latest Moses who is charged with leading Georgia to the promised land is JT Daniels, who curiously didn’t start a game in 2020 until AFTER the loss to Florida even though he was cleared to play medically prior to the Auburn game. He wasn’t better than Stetson Bennett IV or D’Wan Mathis? Was he not smart enough to pick up the offense? Or was there some other issue? Once Daniels did start he lit up three nondescript SEC opponents and Group of Five Cincinnati to go 4-0 and spring hope eternal among the Georgia faithful, who haven’t tasted a national championship in 14,797 days – but who’s counting? What happens if Daniels not only loses but stinks it up against Clemson in game one? At Southern Cal and in the four games last season Daniels couldn’t read a blitz spelled CAT if you spotted him all three letters. Brent Venables is drooling. KENTUCKY: Mark Stoops hired a brand new offensive coordinator in Liam Coen and charged him with juicing up one of the more predictable offenses in the country. There are two problems, however: (1) The personnel is built for ground and pound with Chris Rodriguez and Kavosiey Smoke and (2) there is no quarterback with any kind of track record throwing the ball. The Wildcats added Nebraska wide receiver transfer Wan’Dale Robinson, who is capable of stretching the field but can Joey Gatewood, Beau Allen or Penn State transfer Will Levis be able to get the ball to him? LSU: If you go by talent alone, LSU has enough to run the table in 2021 and that’s with Florida, Alabama, Ole Miss and Texas A&M on the schedule. Talent isn’t going to be the issue for Coach O and the Tigers. The issues will be off the field where the NCAA is pondering whether to accept LSU’s self-imposed sanctions for a number of violations or drop the hammer and a Title IX lawsuit that not only calls into question LSU’s football culture but names Coach O as a defendant. Those are the kind of distractions that can derail an entire football season. If the NCAA comes down hard and the Title IX lawsuit isn’t settled out of court, will LSU stick by Coach O or will it stand by its man? MISSISSIPPI STATE: In year one of the Mike Leach Era at Mississippi State, the Bulldogs ran for 483 yards. That’s not a one-game total. That’s the whole season. Compounding matters were the 18 interceptions the MSU quarterbacks threw. Is there any wonder why the Air Raid spent a lot of time in the hangar getting its props feathered? Leach offenses routinely carved up defenses in the Big 12 and Pac-12. Can the Bulldogs (a) run the ball enough to keep defenses honest in 2021 and (b) will the Air Raid work against SEC defenses? MISSOURI: Eli Drinkwitz over-achieved in his first year on the job by going 5-5, but that was with a stud runner like Larry Rountree III (3,720 career rushing yards) on offense and a tackling machine-like Nick Bolton (192 tackles in 2019-20) on defense. They’ve moved on to the NFL, and the Tigers don’t have studs capable of replacing them. There are six very winnable games on the schedule. Can Drinkwitz win the games he’s supposed to and steal one or two others to finish in the upper half of the SEC East? OLE MISS: Lest we forget, Lane Kiffin turned Jonathan Crompton into an NFL draft pick and he won a national championship with Jacob Coker at QB at Alabama. Neither of the two JCs could sniff the jock of MC (Matt Corral), who was brilliant last year when he wasn’t completing passes to the other team (13) in three of the Rebels’ 10 games. In the seven games in which MC was OF (on fire), he threw 23 touchdown passes and completed only one pass to the bad guys. Now that he’s had a year to learn the offense and a spring practice, MC could be LO (lights out) for an entire season which could be BN (bad news) for just about everybody on the Ole Miss schedule. Don’t forget, he threw for 365 yards and averaged 13 yards per attempt against Alabama last year. If MC can avoid the INT can the Ole Miss D create enough TOs (turnovers) to improve the W-L (won-lost) record enough that the Rebels can contend for second place in the SEC West? SOUTH CAROLINA: New HBC Shane Beamer has never been a head coach nor an offensive or defensive coordinator. He does know special teams, which is a good thing since the Gamecocks figure to be punting and receiving kickoffs with a certain amount of regularity in 2021. Beamer does have two stud running backs in Kevin Harris (1,138 yards, 15 TDs in 2020) and redshirt freshman Mar’Shawn Lloyd. Does Beamer risk boring an already bored fan base by going ground and pound to try to shorten games or does he make things more exciting by spreading the field and chunking the ball all over the yard? Either way it’s going to be a long season. There are three winnable games on the schedule – D1AA Eastern Illinois, Troy and Vanderbilt. TENNESSEE: Tennessee fans spent the last three years watching their quarterbacks launch one SCUD after another so they are excited that new coach Josh Heupel brings a track record of high powered offensive success with him from UCF, where his three teams all averaged more than 42 points per game. That’s the good news. The bad news is Heupel was a diminishing return after going 12-1 in 2018 with leftovers from Scott Frost. UCF went 10-3 in 2019 and 6-4 last year. Six of the seven losses the last two years were in shootout games and by eight or fewer points. Shootouts figure to be the norm in 2021 also. Can Tennessee score enough points to satisfy the faithful while getting the Vols within sniffing distance of .500? TEXAS A&M: When the teams were selected for the College Football Playoff the Aggies did a dandy impersonation of Georgia, one that Frank Caliendo would have been proud of. Listen to Jimbo and it was one of those NNCs (Near National Championships) because the Aggies “deserved” to be in the playoff. Of course, there was that teensy little problem of losing by four touchdowns to Alabama and failing to win their division. This year Jimbo has a loaded up defense and an offense that will break in a new QB and four starters on the O-line. The Aggies are saying this is their year. There is, of course, that minor little detail of Alabama, Ole Miss and LSU on the schedule along with the fact Nick Saban is undefeated against former assistants. Can Jimbo Fisher depend on his defense to win games while he uses smoke and mirrors until the offense figures things out? VANDERBILT: It’s back to square one for Vandy, which has turned to alum and former Notre Dame defensive coordinator Clark Lea to see if he can be James Franklin, Part Deux. Franklin caught lightning in a bottle and did the unthinkable by taking Vandy to three straight bowl games and two straight 9-win seasons. Now the chardonnay and brie tailgate see, to think they could do this every year. The Commodores need offense in the worst way (averaged all of 14.8 points per game last year) so when they fired Derek Mason, a former defensive coordinator, what did they do? They hired another defensive coordinator. There are three winnable games on the schedule – D1AA East Tennessee State, at Colorado State and UConn. Can the Dores win two out of three? If they can Lea might be a candidate for SEC Coach of the Year. ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: Dave Stewart, who won a World Series MVP and 169 games in his career, has ripped the Los Angeles Dodgers for their handling of abuse allegations against pitcher Trevor Bauer. Stewart makes a point that the Dodgers should have suspended Bauer prior to Major League Baseball stepping in, but it seems a bit hypocritical that Stewart has the loudest voice here. He was, after all, arrested in 1985 on suspicion of lewd conduct with a prostitute who turned out to be a transvestite.

A few thoughts to jump start your Tuesday morning: MLB.COM HAS FABIAN GOING NO. 22 TO THE CHICAGO WHITE SOX Although CBSSports.com has dropped Florida center fielder all the way down to the No. 41 prospect for the July 11-13 Major League Baseball Draft, Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com isn’t wavering. He’s got Fabian going No. 22 to the Chicago White Sox, noting “Fabian’s tools are undeniable, though the swing-and-miss concerns some.” R.J. Anderson of CBSSports.com isn’t so optimistic. He writes, “Teams won’t be running pell-mell in Fabian’s direction, but a club who believes his hit took can approach fringe-average could pop him before the end of the first round.” Mayo has the Gators losing signee Andrew Painter (6-7, 230, Fort Lauderdale, FL Calvary Christian) going No. 13 to the Philadelphia Phillies, noting the Phillies “like Painter’s size, how his arm works and his feel for pitching.” CBSSports.com ranks Painter the No. 22 prospect in the draft. CBSSports.com ranks Florida signee Chase Petty (6-1, 185, Somers Point NJ Mainland Regional) as the No. 37 prospect. Anderson writes, “He has big time arm strength, of course, with which he’s broken the 100-mph mark in the past. His slider has also shown promise as a putaway pitch.” Assessing the Gators in the draft: I’m of the opinion that Fabian will go in the first round, probably somewhere between 20-25. His strikeouts are a concern, but he’s one of the younger draft-eligible players since he skipped his senior season at Trinity Catholic to enroll early at UF so he’s got a very high upside. Nathan Hickey still has three years of eligibility (2020 didn’t count per the NCAA) so he has options if he doesn’t get a contract to his liking. He’s a consistent hitter who probably goes in the first three rounds. Tommy Mace is a late first rounder in some mock drafts. MLB.com had him ranked as the No. 31 prospect just a month or so ago. He’s probably going mid-second. When Jack Leftwich was switched to the bullpen, he improved his draft stock considerably. He could be picked as a closer or long reliever since he has plenty of starting experience. MLB.com ranked him as the No. 136 prospect. Other Gators who could be drafted are pitcher Franco Aleman, left fielder Jacob Young and first baseman Kris Armstrong. Young needs to go if he’s drafted. Aleman needs another year in the worst way and Armstrong needs another year to get hold of his power consistently. Because the draft has been shortened to 20 rounds and the money pool has been reduced, some of the high school prospects signed by UF may opt for college baseball. The money is going to be there for Painter and quite possibly for Petty. There are mock drafts that have center fielder Jay Allen (6-3, 190, Fort Pierce, FL John Carroll Catholic) going first round but he’s more likely a second rounder. If Florida can somehow hold on to catcher Rene Lastres (6-3, 205, Hialeah, FL/Fort Lauderdale, FL Calvary Christian) and lefties Jac Caglianone (6-5, 210, Tampa, FL Plant), Pierce Coppola (6-8, 215, Verona, NJ) and Phil Abner (6-1, 220, Port Charlotte, FL Charlotte Christian) then Kevin O’Sullivan can call this one of the best recruiting classes he’s ever signed. All four figure to go mid-second to fifth round. TRE MANN UP TO NO. 10 IN ONE MOCK NBA DRAFT Gary Parrish of CBSSports.com, the nation’s best basketball writer, has moved Florida guard Tre Mann all the way up to No. 10 in his July 5 mock draft. Parrish has Mann going to the New Orleans Pelicans and says, “The Pelicans still need to surround Zion Williamson with shooting – and adding Tre Mann would accomplish that goal. He shot 40.2% on 4.7 3-point attempts in his final season at Florida, where he also played and guarded several positions. Also at CBS, Colin Ward-Henninger has Mann going No. 20 to the Atlanta Hawks and Kyle Boone has him going No. 21 to the New York Knicks. Ward-Henninger writes, “I don’t rate Mann as highly as some other draft evaluators, but the Hawks would be lucky to get him at this point and start grooming him as Trae Young’s backup. His scoring ability is undeniable and his shot creation is among the best in the draft.” Boone writes, “He made 40.2% from 3-point range at Florida last season and has the offensive versatility to add a little on and off the ball as a scroer and creator.” MATT HAYES ON LIKELY PROBLEMS FROM NIL Matt Hayes, one of the best college football writers in the business, answered this question for a reader over at the Saturday Down South website: “You can always find a negative, and there will be a handful with this new frontier. Recruiting – more specifically, cheating in recruiting – is at the top of the list. There’s really no way to control it, and that was the biggest concern of nearly every administrator and coach. One overlooked problem: tiers in the locker room. Or as one SEC coach told me last week: ‘There are people and things I have no control over setting up a tier system in my locker room.’ “Translation: players who sign NIL agreements and earn money are automatically on a separate tier from those who don’t. Will there be jealousy? Absolutely. Will it cause friction? Unquestionably. Coaches spend all season trying to keep everyone on the same level, pushing toward the same goal. Like it or not, that will be harder to preach (and manage) in the NIL world. And that will impact team chemistry, the one true foundation of championship teams.” CHARLES BARKLEY WEIGHS IN ON NIL Speaking on the Dan Patrick Show, Charles Barkley said he’s concerned what endorsement deals for a few will do for the rest of the players on teams. Barkley talked about the problems that would have been at Auburn during the time he and Bo Jackson were in school. “What really bothers me and scares me and scares me about the whole scenario, Dan, there’s going to be so much resentment from other teammates. They’ll be like, ‘Damn, Charles is selling jerseys. He’s got a car deal. We work just as hard as him.’ Same thing with Bo Jackson. The offensive lineman – he opens up all the holes for Bo Jackson. Bo Jackson is making all this money and the offensive lineman who has to do all the work is not making a dime. I think there’s going to be resentment and jealousy on these teams.” WHERE SEC COACHES RANK NATIONALLY PER SPORTING NEWS Okay, we know who the obvious choice at No. 1 is, but Sporting News went to all the trouble of ranking the other 129 football coaches in Division I. Here are the top 25 and after that, just the SEC coaches and where they rank: 1. Nick Saban, Alabama (256-65 career, 165-23 at Alabama) 2. Dabo Swinney, Clemson (140-33) 3. Lincoln Riley, Oklahoma (45-8) 4. Brian Kelly, Notre Dame (134-60 in Division I, 81-39 at Notre Dame) 5. Jimbo Fisher, Texas A&M (109-33 career, 26-10 at A&M) 6. Ryan Day, Ohio State (23-2) 7. Kirby Smart, Georgia (52-14) 8. DAN MULLEN, FLORIDA (98-55, 29-9 at Florida) 9. Matt Campbell, Iowa State (71-43, 35-28 at Iowa State) 10. Mack Brown, North Carolina (259-132, 15-10 at North Carolina) 11. James Franklin, Penn State (84-43, 60-28 at Penn State) 12. Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern (106-81) 13. Luke Fickell, Cincinnati (41-21, 35-14 at Cincinnati) 14. Ed Orgeron, LSU (61-41, 45-14 at LSU) 15. Jim Harbaugh, Michigan (78-43, 49-22 at Michigan) 16. Mario Cristobal, Oregon (52-57, 25-10 at Oregon) 17. Paul Chryst, Wisconsin (75-38, 56-19 at Wisconsin) 18. Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State (137-67) 19. Kyle Whittingham, Utah (134-66) 20. Kirk Ferentz, Iowa (168-106) 21. Tom Allen, Indiana (24-22) 22. Gary Patterson, TCU (178-74) 23. Mark Stoops, Kentucky (49-50) 24. David Shaw, Stanford (90-36) 25. Clay Helton, Southern Cal (45-23) The rest of the SEC: 26. Lane Kiffin, Ole Miss; 28. Mike Leach, Mississippi State; 33. Eli Drinkwitz, Missouri; 35. Bryan Harsin, Auburn; 39. Josh Heupel, Tennessee; 56. Sam Pittman, Arkansas; 66. Shane Beamer, South Carolina; 77. Clark Lea, Vanderbilt OVER, UNDER, AROUND AND THROUGH THE SEC Alabama: Redshirt freshman quarterback Bryce Young has an NIL endorsement agreement with Cash App … Pitcher Dylan Smith has moved up to the No. 44 prospect for the MLB Draft according to CBSSports.com. Auburn: Wide receiver Hal Presley, who enrolled in June and then abruptly left the program has committed to Baylor. Kentucky: Now that he’s withdrawn from the NBA Draft, Minnesota guard Marcus Carr will remain in the transfer portal with Kentucky, Texas, Kansas and Louisville as his final four. Kentucky is the favorite to land Illinois big man Kofi Cockburn if he elects to withdraw from the NBA Draft. LSU: Darren Rovell of Action Network says LSU gymnast Olivia Dunne could make more than $1 million on NIL. She has more than one million followers on Instagram … Pitcher Jaden Hill is the No. 42 prospect for the July MLB Draft according to CBSSports.com. Mississippi State: Will Bednar, the MVP of Mississippi State’s national championship run, is the No. 31 prospect for the upcoming MLB Draft per CBSSports.com. The MLB.com mock draft has Bednar going No. 11 to the Washington Nationals. Ole Miss: Former Utah offensive lineman Olando Umana (6-4, 329) is expected to announce he is transferring to Ole Miss … CBSSports.com ranks pitcher Gonnar Hoglund the No. 17 player for the upcoming MLB Draft. The MLB.com mock draft has Hoglund going No. 20 to the New York Yankees. Vanderbilt: CBSSports.com ranks pitchers Jack Leiter and Kumar Rocker the No. 2 and No. 8 prospects for the MLB Draft later this month. Jonathan Mayo of the MLB.com website has Leiter going second to the Texas Rangers and Rocker going seventh to the Kansas City Royals. NOT THAT I’M COUNTING OR ANYTHING BUT … It has been 14,796 days since Georgia last won a national championship in football back on January 1, 1981. That is 486 months and 2,109 weeks. Georgia is 355-139-5 since the 1981 season with four SEC championships. Florida is 359-136-4 with three national championships and eight SEC titles. Alabama is 353-134-2 with seven national championships and 11 SEC titles since 1981. LSU has won three national championships and seven SEC titles since 1981. Tennessee has won a national title and so has Auburn. It has also been 38 years since Herschel Walker won the Heisman Trophy, the last Georgia player to win one. Since Herschel, Alabama has had three Heisman winners (Mark Ingram, Derrick Henry, Devonta Smith) and Florida has had two (Danny Wuerffel and Tim Tebow). Just a little bit of information that might come in handy should you run into one of those “you guys don’t stand a prayer against us this year” Georgia fans. ALL-TIME ROSTER FOR MY FAVORITE MLB TEAM Growing up, my American League team was the Baltimore Orioles. They were a dominant team from 1964-83 but have dropped off the radar since. Here is my all-time 25-man Orioles roster. Catcher: Andy Etchebarren First base: Boog Powell Second base: Davey Johnson Shortstop: Cal Ripken Jr. Third base: Brooks Robinson Left field: B.J. Surhoff Center field: Paul Blair Right field: Frank Robinson Designated hitter: Eddie Murray Reserves: Rick Dempsey, C; Rafael Palmeiro, 1B/DH; Mark Belanger, SS; Ken Singleton, RF/DH; Adam Jones, CF; Doug DeCinces, 3B; Manny Machado, SS/3B Starting pitcher: Jim Palmer Starting pitcher: Dave McNally Starting pitcher: Mike Cuellar Starting pitcher: Mike Mussina Starting pitcher: Milt Pappas Relief pitcher: Hoyt Wilhelm Relief pitcher: Gregg Olson Relief pitcher: Stu Miller Relief pitcher: Jim Johnson ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: For all the hand wringing and head shaking over NIL, at least one player has his heart in the right place. I can’t see anyone on the Florida State team having a problem with defensive lineman Dillon Gibbons, who will use whatever he can make from his name, image and likeness to go into Go Fund Me to help friend Timothy Donovan, who suffers from a rare disease that affects the nerves in his hands and feet. I hope more athletes use their NIL platform to help those less fortunate. I can dream, can’t I?

A few thoughts to jump start your Monday morning: OVERCOMING EIGHT (COUNT ‘EM) YEARS OF MEDIOCRITY The numbers speak for themselves. In the 20 years from 1990-2009, the Florida Gators went 202-52-1, which is the best record in all of college football, a full 20 wins more than Tennessee (182-66-2), which was eighth nationally and second best in the Southeastern Conference, and 32 more wins than Georgia (170-74-1). During that 20-year stretch, the Gators won three national championships (1996, 2006, 2008) and eight SEC titles. Starting with Urban Meyer’s final season in 2010 and running through the seven years of Will Muschamp and Jim McElwain, the Gators were 60-41, ninth in the Southeastern Conference and 43rd nationally. Over that same stretch, Alabama went 99-12, LSU went 78-25 and Georgia went 77-31. Florida has won the SEC East three times (2015-16, 2020). The best explanation for Florida’s plunge into mediocrity when the Gators went from first to 43rd nationally is poor coaching choices compounded by facilities that are well below average. Will Muschamp had never been a head coach before and while he had been a high profile defensive coordinator for Nick Saban and Mack Brown’s head coach in waiting at Texas, he was not the coach who had any business following Urban Meyer. Jim McElwain had no business whatsoever at any high profile program, much less one with Florida’s history and tradition. Even before Meyer retired in 2010 Florida was starting to fall way behind in facilities and the problems have only escalated since, to the point that the Gators have been losing recruits to schools with better facilities for the last decade. Recruits like the bells and whistles, no question about it, but what they see at a school with great facilities is a commitment to excellence. Back in 2014 when the SEC Network money began to kick in, it was a chance for Florida to go into a catch-up mode when it came to facilities, but it wasn’t until the hire of Scott Stricklin as the athletic director that there was a long-term plan to upgrade put in place. With the additional $20 million a year that will be coming in once the new contract with ESPN goes into effect, Stricklin will be able to further implement upgrade plans, not only for football, but all UF sports. In the meantime, Florida has managed to close the gap significantly in the last three years thanks to vastly superior coaching. Dan Mullen’s 29-9 record since he took over the program in 2018 trails only Alabama (38-3), Georgia (31-7) and LSU (30-8) in the SEC. He is doing it with facilities that are – at best – eighth or ninth in the SEC. At least for now, Mullen can show recruits that a standalone football operations building is actually going up and that Florida will be in position to compete with the top schools in the SEC. There is no excuse that the powers that be at Florida allowed the football program to slip so far. From the top program in the country to one that was 43rd when Mullen took over … it’s unfathomable and it could have been avoided. CAN NIL TIP THE BALANCE OF POWER IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL? Antwan Owens, a graduate transfer defensive end at Jackson State via Georgia Tech, just got a $2.5 million endorsement deal for 3 Kings Grooming, which makes high end hair products. Hercy Miller, a basketball player at Tennessee State and son of rapper Master P, got a $2 million endorsement deal with No Limit Records. Before you roll your eyes back in your head and think we are on a collision course that will wind up in a head on crash that totals college sports, take a moment and consider this: What happens if a quarterback that Nick Saban desperately needs at Alabama, gets offered a 7-figure endorsement deal for an oil company in Fargo, North Dakota. Nick can sell the kid on national championships at Alabama all day long, but not only can the kid get 7-figures from that oil company but he can play for national championships, albeit the D1AA kind, at North Dakota State. If Mac Jones has a strong rookie camp, Alabama will have three starting quarterbacks in the NFL this year. If Trey Lance does what everyone thinks he will do in San Francisco, North Dakota State will have two so if Nick tries to sell the stud QB that he can win a national championship and then go to the NFL so can NDSU. Championships? Alabama has won six since Nick Saban became head coach in 2007. North Dakota State has won eight since 2011 and has done something Nick has never done – five in a row (2011-15). Sure, you play before bigger crowds at Alabama and you play against SEC competition, but the right cash deal just might make those factors meaningless. Has it happened? Not yet. Could it happen? Essentially, it’s only a matter of time. Will it ruin college sports? That’s debatable although a lot of people seem to think so. What isn’t debatable is what might happen if the right player or players get cozy deals to sell their names, images and likenesses for good old fashioned cash to the highest bidder. A 7-footer who can eliminate anything around the rim or a 3-point shooter with Steph Curry skills can make all the difference in the world for basketball. The right pitcher can lead his team to the College World Series. Put those players at a school that never was or has been and suddenly you have transformed a dead team into a modern day Lazarus. One player can make a difference in football at a school like Alabama or Clemson that already has everything else in place, but take a school like Mississippi State, for instance. The Bulldogs have never won a national championship and the only time they won an SEC title was 1941 for coach Allyn McKeen. It’s difficult to imagine one player making that much difference at MSU, but let’s say thanks to some hefty endorsement deals they land a quarterback, running back, wide receiver and a pair of offensive tackles that all have 5-star rankings. Maybe that’s not enough to win a national championship, but when you consider those 5-stars would probably be going to Alabama or Clemson or Ohio State, it’s not a reach to see how the balance of power can shift. The games will still be played the same way they’ve always been played, just that many athletes are likely to choose where they play based on who offers the best money-making deals. That might not always turn out to be Alabama, Clemson or Ohio State for football, Kentucky and Duke for basketball. Remember these words: balance of power. That’s what is poised to take the biggest hit because of NIL. CASTLETON WITHDRAWS FROM NBA DRAFT Colin Castleton’s foray into the NBA Draft was never about leaving the University of Florida. He knew he needed at least one more year of college basketball, but he wanted to find out what needs to improve to turn him into the kind of prospect who can stick in the league for a few years. So, the announcement Castleton is returning to UF should surprise no one. The last few weeks in which Castleton has trained and worked out for NBA types, probably earned the following advice: (1) Develop a reliable jump shot out to 15-18 feet that opponents will respect; (2) get strong enough to play more of a physical game in the paint both defensively and in the low blocks to prevent getting rooted out by more powerful opponents; and (3) become more consistent as a rebounder. Since last season doesn’t count against Castleton’s NCAA eligibility window, he could still play two more years of college basketball. Even with Castleton’s return, Mike White has a vertically challenged team for 2021-22. Castleon and Jason Jitoboh (both 6-11) are the only players on the roster taller than 6-7. White has one scholarship available that he can use to land another big, most likely through the transfer portal since nearly every top high school kid has already signed. The best bigs in the transfer portal are Moussa Cisse (6-10, 225, FR, from Memphis) and Kevin Obanor (6-8, 225, JR, from Oral Roberts). Cisse is a former 5-star who recently withdrew from the NBA draft. Obanor, who averaged 18.7 points and 9.6 rebounds, had a 29/11 game against the Gators in the NCAA Tournament second round. GATORS IN THE TRANSFER PORTAL Second baseman Cory Acton, who hit .250 with 10 RBI last season is transferring to Georgia. Eight other Gators are in the transfer portal, including: pitcher Ryan Cabarcas (0-0, 6.75 ERA), shortstop Jordan Carrion (.244, 1 HR, 8 RBI), pitcher Ben Specht (0-2, 13.86 ERA), pitcher Chase Centala (2-0, 2.13 ERA), pitcher Hunter Mink (0-0, 0.00 ERA), first baseman/outfielder Jordan Butler (.248, 1 HR, 16 RBI), outfielder Brock Edge, and Mark Roberts. Former Gator linebacker James Houston IV is transferring to Jackson State. Houston was in on 37 tackles last year, 103 for his career with 4.5 career sacks. OVER, UNDER, AROUND AND THROUGH THE SEC Alabama: Alabama self-reported a Level 3 NCAA recruiting violation for football. Alabama also self-reported violations for softball, soccer and gymnastics. Arkansas: Wide receiver Trey Knox has an endorsement deal with PetSmart ... Pitcher Caleb Bolden, who was 2-0 with a 4.50 ERA in 44 innings, will be a grad transfer. Auburn: Running back JaTarvious “Boobee” Whitlow, who transferred from Auburn to Western Illinois, is on the move again. Whitlow didn’t play in any of the six games Western Illinois played during the spring. He gained 1,550 yards and scored 16 touchdowns at Auburn in 2018-19. Georgia: Infielder Garrett Blaylock, who hit nine home runs with a .243 batting average, is in the transfer portal as a graduate. Kentucky: Davion Mintz, who was Kentucky’s leading scorer last season, and Georgia transfer Sahvir Wheeler have withdrawn their names from the NBA Draft. Mintz averaged 11.5 points per game at UK after transferring in from Creighton. Wheeler led the SEC in assists last year (7.4) and averaged 11.3 points and 5.8 assists per game in two years at Georgia ... Catcher Coltyn Kessler, who hit .349 with seven home runs, is in the transfer portal. LSU: Jacob Berry, who hit .352 with 17 homers and 70 RBI last year at Arizona, is following head coach Jay Johnson to LSU … Pitcher Brandon Kaminer (10.38 ERA) is leaving LSU as a graduate transfer. Mississippi State: Fresh from their College World Series championship, the Mississippi State baseball team got a parade through the streets of Starkville over the weekend. Missouri: Nineteen Missouri baseball players are in the transfer portal including pitcher Seth Halvorsen, who started 14 games. Ole Miss: Quarterback Matt Corrall, who is partnering with Dreamfield for NIL, charges a mere $10,000 if you want to hang out with him for an hour. South Carolina: Eleven Gamecock baseball players are in the transfer portal. Tennessee: The unofficial football numbers for the Vols are 28 transfers and four who have been released from their national letters of intent. Ten have transferred in … Relief pitcher Connor Housley (3.48 ERA), who appeared in 12 games, has entered the transfer portal. Texas A&M: Ainias Smith has pledged a portion of whatever he makes on NIL to be divided equally among his teammates. Vanderbilt: Linebacker Dmitri Moore will be a grad transfer to D1AA Missouri State where he will play for former Arkansas and Louisville HBC Bobby Petrino. ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: Reggie Bush wants his Heisman Trophy back and his records reinstated. After Bush had won the Heisman (2005) and was long gone from Southern Cal, the NCAA investigated and ruled that he and his family had taken money from an agent. The NCAA hit Southern Cal with harsh sanctions (bowl ban, scholarship losses, wins vacated) and stripped Bush of his records. The Heisman Trust vacated its award to Bush. Bush believes that in light of the NCAA decision to allow players to benefit from their name, image and likeness, it’s nothing more than what he was doing. He may have a point. And, if the NCAA reinstates Bush, then do Florida football players have a case against both the NCAA and SEC for what happened in 1984?

“Think of it as a ship coming into harbor. The athlete is standing on the bow, looking ahead at the icebergs. And he knows what's going to happen. The name of the ship: The Titanic.” A week ago I thought it was a good thing, long overdue reparation for the players, even if those past sins could not yet be completely absolved. Two days ago I changed my mind and came down on side of the Chicken Littles with blinders: Maybe this might NOT be good for the players. Right now I’m somewhere in the middle, leaning toward yes. But know this: The idea that infused money is always for the best is just a false narrative. And there are always unintended consequences. Many times, the money just simply corrupts. And quite often the payoff goes mostly to predators before it gets to the intended person in the food chain. I fear when they get through slicing and dicing the NIL money targeted for the athlete, breaking off a piece for lawyer-agents, the school, the SEC, and any licensing fees, not much will trickle own to the actual athlete. Many of us have lived through cataclysmic changes in college sports and believe me, I’ve experienced it all for the past 60-plus years -- including integration in the South, which was necessary and noble. But this one has me befuddled because I both love it and hate it. I also don’t really have a clue about how it works. But the path is certainly going to be an adventurous one. “Think of it as a ship coming into a harbor,” one former Gator player and now a prominent lawyer told me. “The athlete is standing on the bow looking ahead at the icebergs. And he knows what’s going to happen. The name of the ship: The Titanic.” But as the cliché goes, that ship has already sailed. So, we are going to have to play this one as it lies. Whatever, the rules officially began at 12:01 a.m. Thursday. And you only needed to check Twitter to see that players and lawyer-agents were sitting on ready. Cash is now king in the CFB lockerroom. “We’ve invited the real world into college football and the amateurism dynamic,” said Oregon coach Mario Cristobal. Be honest now – doesn’t an envelope of money or a check feel a little dirty? Like the McDonald’s wrappers in Knoxville? Or golden handshakes? Or Mailbox Money? One former coach told me he knew for sure some SEC players were once paid through a church. Bag men come in various disguises. There is no doubt that the NIL changes will help some people, especially African American athletes, which is a good thing. The danger of the “Pie-In-The-Sky” mentality that suddenly college players are going to be expecting big-time money. Unfortunately, when they get recruited, there will also be a money discussion – and maybe marketing. And here’s the reality – some of the athletes have already been getting paid under the table. Always have. As we stand, less than 48 hours into the new policy for allowing renumeration, we should not lose sight of the fact that some very bright people will prosper. They are the ones that have already chosen work ethic as a priority over party time. As a person who worked his way through college as a part-time sportswriter and summer intern, I fully understand the work ethic, capitalism and the needs for funding. I paid my own tuition. Today’s collegians have far more opportunities through social media and the smart ones are already on it with their own logos, Tok-tok followers, Tweet brigade and maybe Facebook and LinkedIn accounts. Several Gator players and recent signees have already announced their desires to peddle their wares and have revealed logos – including wide receiver Jacob Copeland. Auburn quarterback Bo Nix have already cut a deal with Milo Sweet Tea. And so they're off! Ca-Ching! (*Just before time of publishing, Jacob Copeland indicated he would be taking a bit of time before officially releasing his merchandise, so as to better understand what all is and isn't allowed under the new rules.) Florida has already revealed its “Gatormade” video on its brands as an enticement, showing clips of Tim Tebow, Emmitt Smith, Laura Rutledge and other Gators which is spiffy and smart. It is a de facto endorsement and advertisement for future athlete-entrepreneurs: Open for business. Put your brand alongside ours. There are also hyenas and wolves roaming around college programs already and despite the state regulations for lawyers and agents, some slime will fall through the cracks. We didn’t need Michael Douglas as Gordon Gekko in Wall Street to warn us about greed because there’s a little larceny in all our hearts, but maybe it’s time for these young athletes to look him up on YouTube. In the end, it doesn’t really matter what we think, because the new day has arrived. We wish all the athletes great prosperity, granted that the imbalance between cash for the schools and the players has been shameful. But it can’t be made up in a day or a month or a year. I confess that I’m desperately afraid for the greatest game in sports being in peril and that Gordon Gekko is alive and well, about to pounce. And that doesn’t make me sleep well these nights.

The schedules are set. We only count down the time until September 4 when all hell breaks loose in the Southeastern Conference when all 14 teams take the field for the first football games of the 2021 season, which will be played once again in stadiums filled to the rafters and with parking lots jammed with tailgaters firing up their grills. Once again, we’ll see such a thing as home field advantage, which was largely absent last season. There is something to be said about the electricity we feel in a stadium filled with passionate fans. As we saw at the College World Series, a filled to capacity stadium adds to the joy and excitement of college sports, something we desperately missed in 2020 when COVID-19 turned the whole country upside down. So, who has the toughest schedule in the SEC? Whose schedule is the easiest? And, where does Florida’s schedule rank among the league’s 14 teams? Unlike last year when the Gators played a 10-game, all Southeastern Conference slate, this year scheduling is back to normal which means the Gators play the usual six suspects from the SEC East, permanent SEC West foe LSU and this year’s rotating team from the West, 2020 national champion Alabama. When we last saw the Gators and Alabama it was in the Southeastern Conference Championship Game. Alabama won, 52-46, but only after Florida put the fear of God into the Crimson Tide in the only close game Nick Saban’s team played all year. Another sure sign things will return to normal. The Gators close out the season on Thanksgiving weekend with Florida State at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. The annual renewal of the in-state rivalry with the Seminoles is the way the college football season is supposed to end. Last year when COVID-19 eliminated the game, it just didn’t feel the same. Here are the schedules and analysis of all 14 SEC teams. RANKING THE SEC SCHEDULES MOST DIFFICULT TO EASIEST 1. Arkansas 2. South Carolina 3. Auburn 4. Ole Miss 5. Kentucky 6. FLORIDA 7. Alabama 8. Mississippi State 9. Tennessee 10. Vanderbilt 11. Missouri 12. LSU 13. Georgia 14. Texas A&M (7) ALABAMA 9/4 vs. Miami (in Atlanta); 9/11 Mercer; 9/18 at Florida; 9/25 Southern Miss; 10/2 Ole Miss; 10/9 at Texas A&M; 10/16 at Mississippi State; 10/23 Tennessee; 11/6 LSU; 11/13 New Mexico State; 11/20 Arkansas;11/27 at Auburn Schedule breakdown Power 5 opponents (9): Miami; Florida; Ole Miss; Texas A&M; Mississippi State; Tennessee; LSU; Arkansas; Auburn Group of 5 opponents (2): Southern Miss; New Mexico State D1AA opponents (1): Mercer Home games (7): Mercer, Southern Miss; Ole Miss; Tennessee; LSU; New Mexico State; Arkansas Road games (4): Florida; Texas A&M; Mississippi State; Auburn Neutral site games (1): Miami 2020 bowl teams (7): Miami; Florida; Ole Miss; Texas A&M; Mississippi State; LSU; Auburn Alabama will be favored to win every single game and it will be that way until someone knocks the Crimson Tide off. All 12 Alabama games are quite winnable and there are only four that pose a problem: Miami, Florida, Ole Miss and Texas A&M. Miami is supposedly neutral site but 90 percent of the seats in Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta will be filled with Alabama fans. Florida and Texas A&M are roadies that could be troublesome if Alabama hasn’t gotten in a consistent groove. Lane Kiffin has a way of getting under Nick Saban’s skin, plus he will have one of the nation’s most dynamic offenses but the game is in Tuscaloosa. Expectations are for a 12-0 season but that’s the way it is every year for a Nick Saban-coached team. Seven defensive starters return and that’s where the strength will be. If Bryce Young lives up to the hype the Bama offense will be just fine. Still, you can figure this year someone will find a way to burst that unbeaten bubble but Bama will still win the SEC West with, at worst, an 11-1 record. (1) ARKANSAS 9/4 Rice; 9/11 Texas; 9/18 Georgia Southern; 9/25 vs. Texas A&M (in Arlington, TX); 10/2 at Georgia; 10/9 at Ole Miss; 10/16 Auburn; 10/23 Arkansas-Pine Bluff (in Little Rock, AR); 11/6 Mississippi State; 11/13 at LSU; 11/20 at Alabama; 11/26 Missouri Schedule breakdown Power 5 opponents (9): Texas; Texas A&M; Georgia; Ole Miss; Auburn; Mississippi State; LSU; Alabama; Missouri Group of 5 opponents (2): Rice; Georgia Southern D1AA opponents (1): Arkansas-Pine Bluff Home games (7): Rice, Texas; Georgia Southern; Auburn; Arkansas-Pine Bluff; Mississippi State; Missouri Road games (4): Georgia; Ole Miss; LSU; Alabama Neutral site games (1): Texas A&M 2020 bowl teams (9): Texas; Georgia Southern; Texas A&M; Georgia; Ole Miss; Auburn; Mississippi State; LSU; Alabama The Hogs over-achieved last year in Sam Pittman’s first year as head coach. This season, however, the Hogs are breaking in a new quarterback plus they lost their most dynamic playmaker to the transfer portal. There are three winnable games on the schedule – Rice, Georgia Southern and D1AA Arkansas-Pine Bluff. After that the pickings are slim. At least six of the games could be lost by two or more touchdowns – Texas, Texas A&M, Georgia, Ole Miss, LSU and Auburn. Anything more than a 3-9 record should be considered progress as Pittman tries to bring Arkansas back to respectability. It’s going to be a very long year in Fayetteville. (3) AUBURN 9/4 Akron; 9/11 Alabama State; 9/18 at Penn State; 9/25 Georgia State; 10/2 at LSU; 10/9 Georgia; 10/16 at Arkansas; 10/30 Ole Miss; 11/6 at Texas A&M; 11/13 Mississippi State; 11/20 at South Carolina; 11/27 Alabama Schedule breakdown Power 5 opponents (9): Penn State; LSU; Georgia; Arkansas; Ole Miss; Texas A&M; Mississippi State; South Carolina; Alabama Group of 5 opponents (2): Akron; Georgia State D1AA opponents (1): Alabama State Home games (7): Akron; Alabama State; Georgia State; Georgia; Ole Miss; Mississippi State; Alabama Road games (5): Penn State; LSU; Arkansas; Texas A&M; South Carolina 2020 bowl teams (7): Georgia State; LSU; Georgia; Ole Miss; Texas A&M; Mississippi State; Alabama First year coach Bryan Harsin lost a lot of very good players to the graduation, the NFL Draft and the transfer portal so Auburn isn’t going to be nearly as talented as in years past. It’s going to take a couple of years for Harsin to rebuild the roster and another couple years after that for Auburn to become a challenger once again. It’s going to take a lot of patience, something Auburn fans and boosters aren’t exactly known for although they’ll get their hopes up when they go 3-1 in September with three cupcake wins and a road loss to Penn State. October should provide a reversal of fortunes with a 1-3 record (win against Arkansas). The Tigers have two losses (Texas A&M and Alabama) and two tossup games in November. A 6-6 record should be considered a triumph. Anything better will depend on quarterback Bo Nix playing lights out and Derek Mason’s defense playing out of its mind. A 4-8 record is entirely possible. (6) FLORIDA 9/4 Florida Atlantic; 9/11 at South Florida; 9/18 Alabama; 9/25 Tennessee; 10/2 at Kentucky; 10/9 Vanderbilt; 10/16 at LSU; 10/30 vs. Georgia (in Jacksonville); 11/6 at South Carolina; 11/13 Samford; 11/20 at Missouri; 11/27 Florida State Schedule breakdown Power 5 opponents (9): Alabama; Tennessee; Kentucky; Vanderbilt; LSU; Georgia; South Carolina; Missouri; Florida State Group of 5 opponents (2): Florida Atlantic; South Florida D1AA opponents (1): Samford Home games (6): Florida Atlantic; Alabama; Tennessee; Vanderbilt; Samford; Florida State Road games (5): South Florida; Kentucky; LSU; South Carolina; Missouri Neutral site games (1) Georgia 2020 bowl teams (6): Florida Atlantic; Alabama; Kentucky; LSU; Georgia Florida’s season is going to be determined by three games – Alabama, LSU and Georgia. Win those three and the Gators are probably going to Atlanta for the SEC Championship Game. Lose two or more of those three and they’ll finish second in the SEC East. If Florida bushwhacks Alabama in game three with a home crowd raising the decibel level to the highest it’s been in years, it will raise expectations to near unrealistic levels even though the Gators still have to deal with LSU in Baton Rouge and Georgia in Jacksonville. The Gators get Alabama in game three which certainly is a better option than November. The LSU and Georgia games are definitely winnable. To win all three of the toughest games, the stars and planets will need to align, quarterback Emory Jones will have to prove he can throw as well as he can run, Demarkcus Bowman and Lorenzo Lingard will have to show breakaway ability and Todd Grantham’s retooled defense led by Kaiir Elam, Brenton Cox Jr. and Ventrell Miller will need to prove that last year’s disaster was an aberration. Dan Mullen had a rather confident air about him when spring practice ended. It seems Mullen likes his chances for the Gators to be better than projected by the national media but going unbeaten is out of the question. A 10-2 season seems realistic. (13) GEORGIA 9/4 vs. Clemson (in Charlotte); 9/11 UAB; 9/18 South Carolina; 9/25 at Vanderbilt; 10/2 Arkansas; 10/9 at Auburn; 10/16 at Kentucky; 10/30 vs. Florida (in Jacksonville); 11/6 Missouri; 11/13 at Tennessee; 11/20 Charleston Southern; 11/27 at Georgia Tech Schedule breakdown Power 5 opponents (10): Clemson; South Carolina; Vanderbilt; Arkansas; Auburn; Kentucky; Florida; Missouri; Tennessee; Georgia Tech Group of 5 opponents (1): UAB D1AA opponents (1): Charleston Southern Home games (5): UAB; South Carolina; Arkansas; Missouri; Charleston Southern Road games (5): Vanderbilt; Auburn; Kentucky; Tennessee; Georgia Tech Neutral site games (2): Clemson; Florida Bowl teams 2020 (4): Clemson; Auburn; Kentucky; Florida In the 40 years since Georgia’s last national championship, probably no team in college football has had more seasons when expectations were through the roof without actually delivering. If they awarded trophies for near national championships, the Georgia case would be full. Instead that 1980 national championship trophy is lonesome and collecting dust. This is another football season, therefore Georgia fans and the adoring media alike are saying this is the year Kirby Smart breaks through. In their opinion, quarterback JT Daniels is the reason why. He’s never played against a ranked SEC team yet he’s being hyped for the Heisman. Of course, they said the same thing last year when Jamie Newman, the Wake Forest transfer who bailed in August, was projected to lead the Bulldogs to the promised land. The schedule favors Georgia since there are only two games that have a losable look – Clemson in Charlotte on opening night and Florida in Jacksonville, a place where Georgia dreams have gone to die so many times in the past. Georgia could lose to Clemson and still win the SEC East. Count on one loss for sure, but two are possible even against the second easiest schedule in the Southeastern Conference. (5) KENTUCKY 9/4 Louisiana Monroe; 9/11 Missouri; 9/18 UT-Chattanooga; 9/25 at South Carolina; 10/2 Florida; 10/9 LSU; 10/16 at Georgia; 10/30 at Mississippi State; 11/6 Tennessee; 11/13 at Vanderbilt; 11/20 New Mexico State; 11/27 at Louisville Schedule breakdown Power 5 opponents (9): Missouri; South Carolina; Florida; LSU; Georgia; Tennessee; Mississippi State; Tennessee; Louisville Group of 5 opponents (2): Louisiana Monroe; New Mexico State D1AA opponents (1) UT-Chattanooga Home games (7): Louisiana Monroe; Missouri; UT-Chattanooga; Florida; LSU; Tennessee; New Mexico State Road games (5): South Carolina; Georgia; Mississippi State; Vanderbilt; Louisville 2020 bowl teams (4): Florida; LSU; Georgia; Mississippi State Tired of being good just not good enough to be a contender, Mark Stoops hired a brand new offensive coordinator to make the Wildcats less predictable. Liam Coen may have the long term offensive answers but for the Wildcats to be anything more than ground and pound in 2021, he’s going to have to (a) find a quarterback (three contenders) who can throw downfield accurately and (b) Nebraska wide receiver transfer Wan’Dale Robinson is going to have prove he can stretch a defense. Otherwise it’s a lot of eight-in-the-box looks. Kentucky looks to start 4-0 but then comes Florida, LSU and Georgia back-to-back-to-back. That’s the toughest three-week gauntlet in the SEC. The last five games are all winnable but Kentucky has a habit of stumbling against beatable teams. Something like 7-5 seems quite realistic. Anything better than that and Stoops might be a coach of the year candidate. (12) LSU 9/4 at UCLA; 9/11 McNeese State; 9/18 Central Michigan; 9/25 at Mississippi State; 10/2 Auburn; 10/9 at Kentucky; 10/16 Florida; 10/23 at Ole Miss; 11/6 at Alabama; 11/13 Arkansas; 11/20 Louisiana Monroe; 11/27 Texas A&M Schedule breakdown Power 5 opponents (9): Group of 5 opponents (2): D1AA opponents (1): Home games (7): McNeese State; Central Michigan; Auburn; Florida; Arkansas; Louisiana Monroe; Texas A&M Road games (5) UCLA; Mississippi State; Kentucky; Ole Miss; Alabama 2020 bowl teams (7): Mississippi State; Auburn; Kentucky; Florida; Ole Miss; Alabama; Texas A&M From a talent standpoint, LSU should be a contender this year, but there are NCAA sanctions and a Title IX lawsuit that names Coach O one of the defendants hanging over the program. That’s a lot of noise LSU has to cancel out. There are eight games that LSU should win even with uninspired efforts but then there are the four games that will define the Tigers season and all four are losable – Florida, Ole Miss, Alabama and Texas A&M. The Tigers get Florida, Ole Miss and Alabama consecutively. The Ole Miss and Bama games are on the road. Those three games figure to define the season even before the finale with the Aggies. They will, perhaps, determine Coach O’s future. If the NCAA and/or Title IX come down hard on LSU, Coach O could be made the scapegoat, especially if the Tigers aren’t in contention to win the SEC West title. With all the distractions, it wouldn’t be a shock to see LSU go 9-3 even with personnel to die for but 10-2 seems more realistic. (8) MISSISSIPPI STATE 9/4 Louisiana Tech; 9/11 North Carolina State; 9/18 at Memphis; 9/25 LSU; 10/2 at Texas A&M; 10/16 Alabama; 10/23 at Vanderbilt; 10/30 Kentucky; 11/6 at Arkansas; 11/13 at Auburn; 11/20 Tennessee State; 11/25 Ole Miss Schedule breakdown Power 5 opponents (9): North Carolina State; LSU; Texas A&M; Alabama; Vanderbilt; Kentucky; Arkansas; Auburn Group if 5 opponents (2): Louisiana Tech; Memphis D1AA Opponents (1) Tennessee State Home games (7): Louisiana Tech; North Carolina State; LSU; Alabama; Kentucky; Tennessee State; Ole Miss Road games (5): Memphis; Texas A&M; Vanderbilt; Arkansas; Auburn 2020 bowl teams (9): Louisiana Tech; North Carolina State; Memphis; LSU; Texas A&M; Alabama; Kentucky; Auburn; Ole Miss Year II of the Air Raid should show improvement when the Bulldogs have the football. Mike Leach has experience at quarterback where Will Rogers returns after starting seven games last year. Rogers will be challenged by Southern Miss transfer Jack Abraham, who has thrown 41 TDPs in his career. The Bulldogs still have to find some semblance of a running game and the defense will have to improve mightily if MSU intends to be much better than a break even team. There are the usual suspects in the SEC West that have to be contended with plus there are non-conference matchups with North Carolina State and Memphis that won’t be easy. Breaking even will mean going 4-0 in the non-conference games plus beating Vanderbilt and Arkansas. A 7-5 season will be near miraculous. (11) MISSOURI 9/4 Central Michigan; 9/11 at Kentucky; 9/18 Southeast Missouri State; 9/25 at Boston College; 10/2 Tennessee; 10/9 North Texas; 10/16 Texas A&M; 10/30 at Vanderbilt; 11/6 at Georgia; 11/13 South Carolina; 11/20 Florida; 11/26 at Arkansas Schedule breakdown Power 5 opponents (9): Kentucky; Boston College; Tennessee; Texas A&M; Vanderbilt; Georgia; South Carolina; Florida; Arkansas Group of 5 opponents (2): Central Michigan; North Texas D1AA opponents (1): Southeast Missouri State Home games (7): Central Michigan; Southeast Missouri State; Tennessee; North Texas; Texas A&M; South Carolina; Florida Road games (5): Kentucky; Boston College; Vanderbilt; Georgia; Arkansas 2020 bowl teams (5): Kentucky; North Texas; Texas A&M; Georgia; Florida Missouri got hit hard by transfers – 20 departed the program including its most experienced wide receiver Jalen Knox and way too many experienced defenders – but the schedule isn’t particularly daunting. There are three games you can all but pencil in a loss – Texas A&M, Georgia and Florida – but there isn’t a single game of the last nine that a win would be considered a monumental upset. The key to improvement and going 7-5 is in the hands of quarterback Connor Bazelac. If he improves as much as he did during the season in 2020 then the Tigers will go bowling. (4) OLE MISS 9/4 vs. Louisville (in Atlanta); 9/11 Austin Peay; 9/18 Tulane; 10/2 at Alabama; 10/9 Arkansas; 10/16 at Tennessee; 10/23 LSU; 10/30 at Auburn; 11/6 Liberty; 11/13 Texas A&M; 11/20 Vanderbilt; 11/27 at Mississippi State Schedule breakdown Power 5 opponents (9): Group of 5 opponents (2): D1AA opponents (1): Home games (7): Austin Peay; Tulane; Arkansas; LSU; Liberty; Texas A&M; Vanderbilt Road games (4): Alabama; Tennessee; Auburn; Mississippi State Neutral site games (1): Louisville 2020 bowl teams (7): Tulane; Alabama; LSU; Auburn; Liberty; Texas A&M; Mississippi State There might not be a more fun team to watch offensively in 2021 than Ole Miss. Lane Kiffin has a quarterback he loves in Matt Corral, an explosive group of running backs led by Jerrion Early and Snoop Conner and plenty of speed at wide receiver led by Donatario Drummond. Of course, the Rebels have to stop people. That was the Achilles Heel least year and may prove to be the killer once again in 2021 if Ole Miss intends to win by something other than a shootout. It’s because the offense is so good and because Kiffin is such a good play caller that Ole Miss could shock the world and win eight or more games this year. The toughest games are Alabama in Tuscaloosa and Texas A&M in Oxford. The most intriguing game is November 6 when Liberty and former Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze come to Oxford. Liberty is capable of beating more than half the tams in the SEC. This has a 7-5 feel to it but 8-4 wouldn’t be a shocker. (2) SOUTH CAROLINA 9/4 Eastern Illinois; 9/11 at East Carolina; 9/18 at Georgia; 9/25 Kentucky; 10/2 Troy; 10/9 at Tennessee; 10/16 Vanderbilt; 10/23 at Texas A&M; 11/6 Florida; 11/13 at Missouri; 11/20 Auburn; 11/27 Clemson Schedule breakdown Power 5 opponents (9): Georgia; Kentucky; Tennessee; Vanderbilt; Texas A&M; Florida; Missouri; Auburn; Clemson Group of 5 opponents (2): East Carolina; Troy D1AA opponents (1): Eastern Illinois Home games (7): Eastern Illinois; Kentucky; Troy; Vanderbilt; Florida; Auburn; Clemson Road games (5): East Carolina; Georgia; Tennessee; Texas A&M; Missouri 2020 bowl teams (6): Georgia; Kentucky; Texas A&M; Florida; Auburn; Clemson This has the making of a rather long, very difficult season for first year coach Shane Beamer. He’s got to navigate a schedule that has four almost certain losses and only two games the Gamecocks figure to win. You can all but pencil in Georgia, Texas A&M, Florida and Clemson in the loss column. The only two games South Carolina figures to be favored to win are D1AA Eastern Illinois and Troy. The Gamecocks might not be favored in any of the other six but at least they figure to be competitive. To get anywhere close to break even Beamer is going to have to get a lot of mileage out of running backs Kevin Harris and redshirt freshman MarShawn Lloyd. A 4-8 record would probably be considered an outstanding coaching job on the part of Beamer. (9) TENNESSEE 9/4 Bowling Green; 9/11 Pittsburgh; 9/18 Tennessee Tech; 9/25 at Florida; 10/2 at Missouri; 10/9 South Carolina; 10/16 Ole Miss; 10/23 at Alabama; 11/6 at Kentucky; 11/13 Georgia; 11/20 South Alabama; 11/27 Vanderbilt Schedule breakdown Power 5 opponents (9): Pittsburgh; Florida; Missouri; South Carolina; Ole Miss; Alabama; Kentucky; Georgia; Vanderbilt Group of 5 opponents (2): Bowling Green; South Alabama D1AA opponents (1): Tennessee Tech Home games (8): Bowling Green; Pittsburgh; Tennessee Tech; South Carolina; Ole Miss; Georgia; South Alabama; Vanderbilt Road games (4): Florida; Missouri; Alabama; Kentucky 2020 bowl teams (5): Florida; Ole Miss; Alabama; Kentucky; Georgia Josh Heupel’s three years at UCF proved he really does know how to put points on a scoreboard. Transfer quarterbacks Hendon Hooker (from Virginia Tech) and Joe Milton (from Michigan) will do well in Heupel’s system although the Vols have to find some running backs and someone who can catch the football. Over on the defensive side, the transfer portal wiped out the experience, particularly at linebacker. So, the Vols will have personnel disadvantages, not good when you have a schedule that includes Pitt, Florida, Ole Miss, Alabama and Georgia. There are four winnable games – Bowling Green, Tennessee Tech, South Alabama and Vanderbilt – so the trick for Heupel will be to win those four and find two games to steal somewhere else on the schedule to go bowling. If he goes 5-7 or better it will be semi-miraculous. (14) TEXAS A&M 9/4 Kent State; 9/11 at Colorado; 9/18 New Mexico; 9/25 vs. Arkansas (in Arlington, TX); 10/2 Mississippi State; 10/9 Alabama; 10/16 at Missouri; 10/23 South Carolina; 11/6 at Auburn; 11/13 at Ole Miss; 11/20 Prairie View A&M; 11/27 at LSU Schedule breakdown Power 5 opponents (9): Colorado; Arkansas; Mississippi State; Alabama; Missouri; South Carolina; Auburn; Ole Miss; LSU Group of 5 opponents (2): Kent State; New Mexico D1AA opponents (1): Prairie View A&M Home games (6): Kent State; New Mexico; Mississippi State; Alabama; South Carolina; Prairie View A&M Road games (5): Colorado; Missouri; Auburn; Ole Miss; LSU Neutral site games (1): Arkansas 2020 bowl teams (5): Colorado; Mississippi State; Auburn; Ole Miss; LSU This is supposed to be THE year for Jimbo Fisher and the Aggies and the schedule will have something to do with it because it’s very easy by SEC standards. The Aggies are replacing a four-year starter at quarterback, four offensive linemen must be found and there isn’t a receiver who has proven he can stretch a defensive vertically but that might not matter against a schedule that has only three losable games – Alabama, Ole Miss and LSU. While Jimbo waits for Haynes King to develop at QB and to find if his O-line can punch holes for Isaiah Spiller to run through, the defense should be very good with three D-line starters and six of the back seven back to start another year. The Aggies will probably be 5-0 when Alabama comes to town. Win that one and they’ll easily be favored the rest of their games although they face Ole Miss in Oxford and LSU in Baton Rouge. This has the look of a 10-2 or 11-1 team. (10) VANDERBILT 9/4 East Tennessee State; 9/11 at Colorado State; 9/18 Stanford; 9/25 Georgia; 10/2 UConn; 10/9 at Florida; 10/16 at South Carolina; 10/23 Mississippi State; 10/30 Missouri; 11/13 Kentucky; 11/20 at Ole Miss; 11/27 at Tennessee Schedule breakdown Power 5 opponents (9): Stanford; Georgia; Florida; South Carolina; Mississippi State; Missouri; Ole Miss; Tennessee Group of 5 opponents (2): Colorado State; UConn D1AA opponents (1): East Tennessee State Home games (7): East Tennessee State; Stanford; Georgia; UConn; Mississippi State; Missouri; Kentucky Road games (5): Colorado State; Florida; South Carolina; Ole Miss; Tennessee 2020 bowl teams (5): Georgia; Florida; Mississippi State; Kentucky; Ole Miss Former Notre Dame defensive coordinator Clark Lea is the new head coach, replacing a former defensive coordinator turned head coach in Derek Mason, who is now Bryan Harsin’s defensive coordinator at Auburn. Vanderbilt’s problems run deeper than any head coach. There isn’t a single projected starter who would start for any upper tier SEC team. Even though there are eight offensive starters returning, this is a unit that AVERAGED 14.8 points per game and a very pedestrian 4.71 yards per offensive play last year. There are exactly two winnable games on the schedule – the opener against D1AA East Tennessee State and UConn, which opted out of 2020 and is 6-30 in the last three seasons it has played. The closest thing to a tossup game among the other 10 is South Carolina and that one has to be played on the road. Vanderbilt did a reverse (0-9) run of the table in 2020. The East Tennessee State game means there shouldn’t be a second straight winless season, but it’s still going to be bad. A 1-11 season seems imminent.

The 2020 (2021) Olympic Games in Tokyo will begin on Friday July 23. As always, the Florida Gators will be well represented. GatorBait will spend the next couple of weeks introducing you to some of the biggest Gator names to watch for on the world stage. The University of Florida and Florida Gators athletics program has been blessed with Olympic talent. For decades now, the Gators and the Olympics have been synonymous with each other. There is a laundry list of names; names that are known for gold medals and world records and legacies that can be traced back to Gainesville. But few have been as successful as Grant Holloway. Related: Grant Holloway on Ron Coleman: The Right Person At the Right Time For the Florida Gators The Track and Field star was special from the jump, tearing up the SEC and NCAA while in the Orange and Blue for Florida. He broke his own records and made Gator track events, must see TV. By the time Holloway graduated, he had helped bring three championships to Florida: the 2017 NCAA Division I Championship, 2018 NCAA Division I Indoor Championship and the 2019 NCAA Division I Indoor Championship. Now a part of Team USA, Holloway is the reigning world champion in the 110 meter hurdles and current world record holder in the indoor 60 meter hurdles. While at the U.S. Olympic Trials last week—running in blazing, record setting heat in the Pacific Northwest—Holloway continued to make history. The former Gator ran away with the 110 meter hurdles, leaving the man in second place in his dust. The spectacular run clocked in at 12.81 seconds. The time was 1/100th off of the world record. For the man who has made a habit of tearing up the world stage, it was just all in a days work. “No emotions at all,” Holloway told USA Track and Field. “That’s what happens when you execute at a very high level. The main goal was to set myself up and to let everybody know that I'm here to win. “I didn't come to this party to sit on the wall, I came here to dance. I’m very happy with what's going on and also with what's to come.” Still, does he feel he could break that elusive world record? “We’ll find out. I just think at this point it's definitely possible. A lot of people said I could never run 12.9 again.” While Holloway was always destined to be special, there is still one man—and one program—that he credits with much of his success; Florida Track and Field Head Coach, Mike Holloway. “Coach Holloway, from when he started recruiting me in 2015, he promised me that I was going to be an amazing man and also an amazing hurdler. As the years go on, he’s stayed true to his word. I don’t see myself leaving coach Holloway anytime soon,” says Grant Holloway. Coach Holloway will still be with Grant this summer, albeit in red, white and blue as opposed to blue and orange. Holloway—who is in his 19th season as coach at Florida—was named the Team USA coach back in October 2019, when the Olympics were still scheduled to be held in the summer of 2020. That means he’s had to wait two and a half years to fulfill the dream. “Being named the Olympic head coach is an incredible honor,” Holloway said at the time. “It's honestly something I never thought about. People mentioned it to me over the last few years. But, for me, I always wanted to be a coach of Olympic athletes, to have an athlete at the Olympics. “This is something I will cherish for the rest of my life.” For Grant Holloway, he’s just cherishing being with his Florida coach yet again, stepping onto the worldwide stage to do what they’ve always done. "Me and Coach Holloway know what’s at hand. Everyday I tell the man that I love him, I tell him that I appreciate everything he’s done for me on and off the track. Like I said, me and him both have big plans.” Do those plans include a gold medal? For Grant Holloway, there is no other option. “If I don't say I want to win a gold medal, I don't think I should be going to Tokyo.”

Dan Mullen doesn’t live in Starkville anymore. He’s no longer employed by the Mississippi State athletic department. And he’s never coached a game of college baseball. But none of these facts mattered when it came to the (majority) of opinions that Mississippi State fans from around the country basked in the glory of the institution’s first ever national championship in any sport on Wednesday night. After a turbulent College World Series that ended in an all-SEC championship series after NC State was nixed from the tournament in the semifinals due to players testing positive for COVID-19, the Mississippi State Bulldogs and the Vanderbilt Commodores forced a title-deciding game after each team won a game apiece. College baseball fans around the country were cheering for the Vandy Boys’ downfall for one of two reasons: the belief that they didn’t deserve to be there after NC State was forced to forfeit, or the Vandy Whistler. Meanwhile, those loyal to Mississippi State were cheering harder. Not for the downfall of Vanderbilt, per se. But for the Bulldogs to capture the school’s first national championship... ever. Among those cheering for MSU through the series was a face familiar to those in Starkville – Dan Mullen. Mullen took over Mississippi State’s football program in 2009. He had just left Gainesville after serving as Urban Meyer’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks’ coach through the years of Chris Leak and Tim Tebow – who combined for two national championships and a Heisman trophy. For the next eight years, Mullen served as the face of “Starkvegas”. From the years of 2009-2017, Mullen led the Bulldogs to a combined record of 69-46, good for a .600 winning percentage. As pedestrian as that sounds, it was a pretty monumental feat for Mississippi State football at the time. When Mullen took the job in Starkville, he became the 32nd coach to lead the Bulldogs’ football program. And when he left, he became just the seventh football coach to leave with a winning percentage of .600 or higher. The last coach to leave behind percentage .600 or higher before Mullen was Darrell Royal, who took over the program in 1954. Obviously winning ball games in Starkville is possible, but not easy. Athletic programs in the Southeastern Conference can claim 212 national championships. Mississippi State is tied for last place with just one national title. Who are they tied with? In-state foe, Ole Miss. Truth be told, there’s not a ton that makes one fall in love with the Magnolia State. Personally, I spent a lot of my summers growing up along the gulf coast of Mississippi. I didn’t hate it, but there wasn’t a ton to it. Sprinkle that in with the state’s racial past, high levels of poverty and other factors that often knock the Mississippi down a few notches, the state becomes known as the one fun to spell, but boring to talk about. But in that span that Dan Mullen was coaching the Bulldogs, that changed. Of course, Mullen coached at MSU at the same time that Hugh Freeze coached at Ole Miss, but regardless – college football was blossoming in the State of Mississippi and Mullen surely had a lot to do with it. Through the course of the championship baseball series this week, the camera would pan to Dak Prescott, who made the trip to Omaha to watch his alma mater fight for its first national title – a feat Prescott and the Bulldogs’ football team was close to accomplishing in 2014. It was Dan Mullen’s sixth year at the helm of the Bulldogs’ football program and little was expected from Mississippi State after their less-than-stellar 7-6 finish the year prior. Despite the mediocrity, the 2013 season was good for two things: For the first time in school history, the football team made it to a bowl game four years in a row. The Bulldogs’ 434 yards per game on offense was also the highest average in program history. Despite the small victories, Mullen and the Dawgs weren’t expected to be much of anything in 2014. But by mid-October, Mississippi State was the top ranked college football team in the country – a feat that hadn’t been accomplished in school history. The Bulldogs were unranked when they began to mow down ranked opponents in a three-week timeframe that sent them flying up the polls. First it was No. 8-ranked LSU, then No. 6-ranked Texas A&M, followed by knocking off second-ranked Auburn on October 11. Mississippi State held on to the No. 1 spot in the polls for four weeks heading into Tuscaloosa where they’d fall to the No. 5-ranked Crimson Tide 20-25. Nonetheless, the Mullen-led Bulldogs made a name for themselves after a successful 2014 season. Dak Prescott donned the cover of Sports Illustrated in October of 2014, and was also the face of the Sports Illustrated’s 2015 College Football preview in August 2015. Scott Stricklin, then the athletic director at his alma mater Mississippi State, had one thing to say about the program’s surge in attention at the time. "The line I've used is 'There's a reason you can't buy that kind of exposure because they don't sell it,'" Stricklin said. "You have to be in these kinds of positions to get it." Dan Mullen put the Bulldogs in that position. And that continues to bleed into the Mississippi State athletics to this day – Wednesday night’s championship baseball game is proof of that. Mississippi State fielded a good baseball team this season. The Bulldogs played with tremendous grit – almost like a team looking to do something no team before them had accomplished. And Mullen can’t take credit for either of those. But bringing a winning culture to Starkville? Yeah – give the guy credit where credit is due. And many did. Florida fans should first applaud Mississippi State for its first national championship. And when they’re finished, they should find a sense of relief that they guy that put Starkville on the map now resides in Gainesville.