Florida Gator baseball began the 2021 season as the unanimous No. 1 team in the nation. They ended the season on their home field in a fast exit to the NCAA tournament. Florida’s postseason run ended quicker than most would have predicted. After going 0-2 last weekend in the Gainesville Regional, Florida’s season came to a close. *Watch below for a full video recap Season In Review Expectations for Gators Head Coach Kevin O’Sullivan and his squad were high. In 2020, they won 16 of 17 games before COVID-19 struck. Florida returned all three weekend starting pitchers and seven of eight position players from the 2020 team. So - how could a team with so much talent have the season that the Gators had? The 2021 season was full of both highs and lows. Florida finished 38-22 on the season and 17-13 in conference play. It was the inaugural season at a $65 million ballpark for the Gators. Despite dropping their opening series to Miami at home, the Gators went 28-8 at Florida Ballpark. Florida finished the regular season ranked third in the SEC East behind Tennessee and Vanderbilt. They entered the NCAA Tournament as the No. 15 national seed. They, then, fell to both South Florida and South Alabama. Gators Who Might Not Be Repping Orange and Blue Next Spring The 2021 MLB Draft is quickly approaching, and there are some Gators who, likely, will not be in a Florida uniform come spring. MLB.com has two Gators sneaking into the top-30 picks this summer. Jud Fabian The outfielder should be a solid late first round pick. Despite a rocky start to the 2020 season, piling up strikeouts on inside fastballs, he got hot at just the right time. Fabian finished the season with 20 home runs and 46 RBI’s. He plays a good outfield and can steal bases. This season he accounted for six stolen bases, making his total as a Gator 15. Tommy Mace Florida’s “ace” finished with a 6-2 record and just a 4.38 ERA across 15 starts. Despite Mace’s rough patches this year, he has shown growth. He has added both a four-seamer and improved his curveball. He is best known for his fastball. The 2021 MLB Draft begins July 11. Despite the fact that Florida will, likely, be losing some talent this summer, the future's still bright for the Gators. O’Sullivan is one of the nation’s top coaches, and UF is one of the nation’s top programs. With the pandemic ending, the Gators should have a regular off season and a full-capacity ballpark all season long come 2022. After weeks of rumors about his name being in serious contention for the open LSU baseball head coaching job, Gators Head Coach Kevin O'Sullivan released this statement on Thursday: "I am the head coach at the University of Florida and remain fully committed to the Gators program. This is where I want to be, and I do not have interest in the head coach openings at any other schools. I look forward to continuing to build upon the success this program has experienced over the past 14 years, with the goal of bringing Florida back to the College World Series as we pursue yet another National Championship for Gator Nation."

As I stumbled into my house after a rather rough workout at the gym on Thursday morning, my dad was in the kitchen packing his lunch – just as he is every morning. Except this time, you could tell he was bothered and just itching to talk to me as he whipped around, stopping my beeline to the shower. “Wanna know something crazy,” he asked me. Before I could make some snarky remark about how I likely didn’t want to listen to his “crazy” tirade at 6:45 in the morning, he continued. He told me he had tried to find the final score to the second game of the Women’s College World Series’ championship series, which had been played on Wednesday night. However, CBS Sports, his go-to sports app, had no mention of the game. And my dad was 38 hot about it. At this point, I was shocked. I wasn’t shocked because my dad was lobbying for women’s sports – he always has. But my dad has always been grounded in the argument that, at the end of the day, it’s a business. And you have to follow the money – which more times than not, is not found in women’s athletics. But college softball might be the exception, despite its lack of nurturing from the NCAA and sports media. In a report from the 2017-18 year, which is the last time the data was reported, college softball programs across the nation raked in $500 million in revenue – including 70 programs that boasted over $1 million in revenue. In 2003-04, the first year the same data was reported, not one college softball program in the nation made $1 million. The sport’s 339.6% increase in revenue makes it the fastest-growing sport in the NCAA. All of this accomplished with little airtime of significance. My dad, who reluctantly admits to being a Florida State fan, was invested in this year’s Women’s College World Series’ championship series between Oklahoma and Florida State. The fact that it was 9 p.m. before he finally called it quits and went to bed during the sixth inning of Wednesday night's game speaks a lot about a guy whose bed time is 7:30. And when Oklahoma evened the series at one game apiece, I think he was really looking forward to watching a winner-take-all showdown. Except he wouldn’t have an opportunity to watch it. The championship-deciding game for the NCAA’s fastest-growing sport took place at 3 p.m. on a Thursday afternoon, making for an inconvenient time for the average working adult – my father included. For the sake of being fair, a 2.5-hour rain relay in one of the semifinal games extended the WCWS schedule of games by a day, which might’ve have caused a scramble in media scheduling, but likely nothing that couldn't have been overcome. But more inconvenienced than softball fans looking forward to watching the forced third game were the players playing in the forced third game. Every player in Thursday’s championship game had played six games over the course of five days. Florida State starting catcher Anna Shelnutt had crouched behind the plate for six games across five days heading into Thursday afternoon’s championship game. The on-field temperature in Oklahoma City was 104 degrees when Shelnutt was relieved of her catching duties and later seen in the dugout doubled over -- something that very possibly could have been avoided had the game been played in the evening. Nonetheless, the blistering temperatures didn’t stop fans from showing up and showing out. The USA Softball Hall of Fame Complex in Oklahoma City can house 12,000 spectators. And on three consecutive nights, every seat was full. The sport’s following has exploded in recent years. Take Florida for example: In the 2019-20 season (most recent season not impacted by COVID-19), the average capacity percentage at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium was 109.32% -- up over 8 percentage points from the 2015-16 season. And Gators’ fans also have to endure the intense temperatures of the Florida spring when they come and watch Tim Walton and his team, which consistently competes for a national title. There’s a lot of value in the sport of softball – all around the country, but especially in Gainesville. Florida’s early exit from the postseason was shocking. After taking care of business in the Gainesville regional, where the Gators beat South Alabama and USF twice by a combined 19-0 margin, Florida welcomed Georgia to KSP in the Gainesville Super Regional. Against the Bulldogs, who the Gators beat twice in the regular season, Florida’s bats went silent as Georgia ran off with two straight wins 4-0 and 6-0. In each of those games, however, KSP neared a sell-out crowd. Through the course of the Women’s College World Series, ESPN reported historic viewership. In game one, ESPN registered 1.8 million average viewers, with a peak of 2.2 million – up 37% from 2019’s game. Game two boasted similar results, averaging 2.08 million viewers and peaking at 2.6 million – up 14% from 2019’s game. There is value in college softball. And if my dad, who just started watching college softball this year after I started hogging the television remote on the weekends, can pick up on it, why can’t the NCAA?

A few thoughts to jump start your Thursday morning: PERHAPS RUMORS OF O’SULLIVAN TO LSU ARE GREATLY EXAGGERATED Ever since LSU baseball coach Paul Maneiri announced he was retiring, in part due to health reasons, the Kevin O’Sullivan to LSU rumors have taken on a life of their own. Apparently, we can put the rumors that KOS has one foot out the door because Kendall Rogers of D1baseball.com, one of the better college baseball reporters in the country, has gone on record that retired Oregon State baseball coach Pat Casey has emerged as LSU’s target. The interest apparently is mutual and if financial terms can be agreed upon, Casey will be the new head coach. This is not the first nor will it be the last time that O’Sullivan’s name will be connected with a high profile opening. Texas made a run at him when Augie Garrido retired in 2016 but then UF athletic director Jeremy Foley gave O’Sullivan a 10-year, $12.5 million contract that made him the highest paid coach in the country with promises to upgrade McKethan Stadium. When Foley retired, Scott Stricklin went a step further and promised to build O’Sullivan the kind of ball park that would be conducive to outstanding recruiting. O’Sullivan has always been an outstanding recruiter but the new Florida Ballpark had something to do with the Gators signing the top recruiting class in the country for the 2022 season. Despite winning the 2017 national championship, O’Sullivan has only received minimal salary increases. His current salary is listed at $1.389 million, which is dwarfed by the $2.317 salary Vanderbilt pays Tim Corbin and the expected $2.5 million per year deal Texas A&M is giving Jim Scholossnagle. Stricklin gave Dan Mullen a $1.6 million raise and a three-year extension last week. It’s probably a good idea to extend O’Sullivan’s deal two or three more years while bumping his salary to the $2-2.5 million range. Otherwise, it’s only a matter of time before someone offers O’Sullivan Godfather money with a deal he can’t refuse. THOMAS MARDAL WINS NCAA HAMMER THROW CHAMPIONSHIP The Gators wasted no time getting on the scoreboard at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon. Mardal won the event with a throw of 251-9, the sixth best score in NCAA history. As of 11 p.m. Wednesday, the Gators were in a fourth place tie with Tulsa, Arizona State and BYU. The championships will finish up Saturday. Nine other UF men are scheduled to compete. Eight UF women will be competing. The women’s events begin this morning. PETE ALONSO SAID IT … When asked about Major League Baseball pitchers doctoring up the baseball, former Gator and New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso said, “For me, whether they are using pine tar, rosin, sunscreen or bullfrog or whatever they want to use to control the ball, let them use it because for me I go into the box and see guys throwing harder every day. And I don’t want 99 mph slipping out of someone’s hand because they didn’t have enough feel for it.” THE SEC AND THE FOOTBALL TRANSFER PORTAL Every SEC football team has taken advantage of the NCAA transfer portal. Here is a list of the transfers as of June 9 and potential impact players (likely starters): Alabama (3): Jack Martin, P (Troy); Henry To’o To’o, LB (Tennessee); Jameson Williams, WR (Ohio State) Impact: Martin, To’o To’o Arkansas (6): Tre Williams, EDGE (Houston); John Ridgeway, DL (Illinois State); Markell Utsay, DL (Missouri); Kade Renfro, QB (Ole Miss); Tykieast Crawford, OT (Charlotte); Trent Gordon, CB (Penn State) Impact: Williams Auburn (8): Jordon Ingram, RB (Central Michigan); TJ Finley, QB (LSU); Marcus Harris, DT (Kansas); Donovan Kaufmann, CB (Vanderbilt); Bydarrius Knighten, S (Southeast Missouri State); Tony Fair, DL (UAB); Dreshun Miller, CB (West Virginia); Andrew Leota, EDGE (Northwestern) Impact: Kaufmann, Knighten FLORIDA (5): Jadarrius Perkins, CB (Missouri); Jace Christmann, PK (Mississippi State); Daquan Newkirk, DT (Auburn); Antonio Shelton, DT (Penn State); Demarkcus Bowman, RB (Clemson) Impact: Perkins, Christmann, Newkick, Shelton, Bowman Georgia (3): Arik Gilbert, TE (LSU); Derion Kendrick, CB (Clemson); Tykee Smith, S (West Virginia) Impact: Gilbert, Kendrick, Smith Kentucky (5): Tre’von Morgan, WR (Michigan State); Will Levis, QB (Penn State); Luke Fulton, LB (Michigan State); Wan’Dale Robinson, WR (Nebraska); Justice Dingle, DE (Georgia Tech) Impact: Levis, Robinson, Fulton LSU (2): Major Burns, S (Georgia); Mike Jones Jr., LB (Clemson) Impact: Burns, Jones Mississippi State (7): Jamire Calvin, WR (Washington State); Randy Charlton, DL (UCF); Makai Polk, WR (California); Jalen Green, CB (Texas); Chance Lovertich, QB (South Alabama); Jack Abraham, QB (Southern Miss); Jack Kristofek, QB (Sam Houston State) Impact: Calvin, Polk, Charlton, Abraham Missouri (3): Blaze Alldredge, LB (Rice); Mookie Cooper, WR (Ohio State); EJ Ndoma-Ogar, OL (Ohio State) Impact: Alldredge, Cooper Ole Miss (3): Nigel Knott, CB (East Carolina); Chance Campbell, LB (Maryland); Jahcour Pearson, WR (Western Kentucky) Impact: Campbell South Carolina (8): Carlins Platel, CB; Ahmarean Brown, WR (Georgia Tech); David Spaulding, WR (Georgia Southern); Jordan Strachan, LB (Georgia State); Jason Brown, QB (Saint Francis); EJ Jenkins, WR (Saint Francis); Jahkeem Green, DT (Nebraska); Debo Williams, LB (Delaware) Impact: Ahmarean Brown, Williams Tennessee (9): William Mohon, LB (Michigan); Juwan Mitchell, LB (Texas); Da’Jon Terry, DL (Kansas); Caleb Tremblay, DL (Southern California); JaVonte Payton, WR (Mississippi State); Kamal Hadden, CB (Auburn); Joe Milton, QB (Michigan); Chase McGrath, PK (Southern California); Hendon Hooker, QB (Virginia Tech) Impact: Hooker, McGrath, Tremblay, Payton, Mitchell Texas A&M (1): Jahmir Johnson, OT (Tennessee) Impact: Johnson Vanderbilt (3): Joseph Bulovas, PK (Alabama); Junior Uzebu, OT (West Virginia); Re’mahn Davis, RB (Temple) Impact: Bulovas, Davis OVER, UNDER, AROUND AND THROUGH THE SEC Alabama: Alabama announced another home-and-home football series with a Power Five team Wednesday. The Crimson Tide will visit Boston College in 2031 with BC making the trip to Tuscaloosa in 2034. Arkansas: Former Gator and last year’s Arkansas QB Feleipe Franks has been impressive in minicamp workouts with the Atlanta Falcons. He’s not going to unseat Matt Ryan as the starter and veteran AJ McCarron has been signed to be the backup, but Franks has a better than average shot at making the roster as the third team (practice squad) QB. Georgia: Jamie Newman, the Wake Forest transfer quarterback who caused Poodle fans to have cataclysmic football orgasms in anticipation of their first national championship since Herschel Walker was a freshman back in 1980, didn’t even make it to preseason camp in the NFL. The Philadelphia Eagles waived the undrafted free agent QB Wednesday. Is it possible Newman might be second guessing (a) his decision to transfer to Georgia in the first place and (b) the decision to opt out of the 2020 season? Kentucky: Kentucky is thought to be the team to beat for former Ole Miss linebacker Jacquez Jones, who led the Rebels in tackles with 75 last year and finished his career at Ole Miss with 175 tackles in 33 games. LSU: Pat Casey, who won the College World Series three times at Oregon State (2006-07, 2018), has emerged as the top candidate to replace the retiring Paul Manieri. Casey has been retired since winning the 2018 national title. He is 62 years old … Coach O would like to occasionally line up cornerback Darryl Stingley Jr. at wide receiver. Mississippi State: Putting their name in the NCAA baseball transfer portal are Bulldogs Jack Eagen, Jared Shemper, Landon Jordan, Steven Lewis, Austin Reed, Devin Sweeney, Davis Rokose and Jaxen Forrester … Former MSU interim baseball coach Gary Henderson, who took the Bulldogs to the 2018 College World Series, has been hired as the new head baseball coach at Utah. Missouri: Defensive back Chris Milles, who played in six games last season, has placed his name in the NCAA transfer portal … Placing their names in the baseball transfer portal are Steven Sanchez, Cam Swanger, Cam Pferrer, Seth Halvorsen, Will Fricker, Paul Winland, Chad McDaniel, Gabe Nutter, Caden Griffen, Trey Dillard, Alex Peterson, Mark Vierling, Jackson Lancaster and Jared Simpson. Ole Miss: Since tearing his ACL and electing to keep on playing without undergoing surgery, Tim Elko is hitting .302 with seven home runs, including a grand slam in the regional championship game against Southern Miss … Ben Gilbert, Luke Baker, Hudson Sapp and Jake Payne have placed their name in the baseball transfer portal. South Carolina: Placing their names in the baseball transfer portal are Dylan Harley, Josh Shuler, Mag Cotto, Travis Luensmann, Brandon Fields, Sam Swygert and Nick Dagnello. Tennessee: The Knoxville News-Sentinel reports that tickets for Tennessee’s super regional baseball series against LSU are being scalped for $500 … and that’s just the cheapies. Texas A&M: The new baseball coach is Jim Schlossnagle, formerly of TCU where he won ten conference championships (seven Mountain West, three Big 12) and went to the College World Series five times. TCU made a strong financial push to keep Schlossnagle, who made $1.6 million last year. His salary is expected to top that of Vanderbilt’s Tim Corbin, who is paid $2.3 million. Vanderbilt: Head football coach Clark Lea surprised three walk-ons Wednesday by putting them on scholarship. Senior defensive back Camden Coleman, senior punter Harrison Smith and sophomore linebacker Michael Spencer won’t have to pay for school next year. ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: For years we have been led to believe former Michigan football coach Bo Schembechler was this highly principled man of unquestioned integrity, but apparently legend and reality are not one and the same. At least that’s what some former Michigan football players and Schembechler’s son Matt will allege at a press conference today in which they will state Bo knew all about former team doctor Robert Anderson, allegedly a serial sexual abuser, and did nothing about it. Allen was the subject of a University of Michigan investigation carried out by the law firm WilmerHale. The firm interviewed more than 300 former patients and 200 UM employees during a 14-month investigation, concluding that Allen not only was an abuser but people in authority knew it and didn’t do anything about it. Matt Schembechler says Anderson sexually molested him when he was 10 years old and shortly after Bo was hired to coach Michigan. Matt Schembechler says that Anderson fondled him and did “an anal probe” when he went to the doctor for a sports physical. When he told Bo of the incident, Matt says his father “closed-fist punched me. It knocked me all the way across the kitchen.” During the WilmerHale investigation, many former Michigan athletes claim that Anderson assaulted them, fondled them and made inappropriate sexual comments about them. Several former football players told investigators that they spoke to Bo about Anderson during the time they were playing at Michigan. There is a statue of Schembechler outside the Big House. I have to wonder if Michigan will elect to remove the statue and how long it will be before action is taken.

A few thoughts to jump start your Wednesday morning: SIX, EIGHT, 12 OR 16: WHAT IS THE BEST PLAYOFF EXPANSION OPTION? The addition of a 12-team model to the College Football Playoff discussion makes talk of expansion feel like a trip through the Wendy’s drive-thru. The combo meal is most cost effective at the drive-thru but does your appetite encourage you to go small, medium, large or super-size it? For months there has been talk of expanding from the current four-team model to either six (small), eight (medium) teams, but Pete Thamel of Yahoo Sports writes that going large to 12 is pushing all the right buttons with many of the people who will have make the final decision, more so than a super-size 16-team option. We’ve known for some time that interest in the playoff has been waning, in part because the usual suspects – Alabama, Clemson and Ohio State – are fixtures in the final four, which all but eliminates the possibility of a Cinderella story like we see with March Madness. The playoff has rendered bowl games meaningless except for directional schools that think it’s a treat to spend a week in a scenic outpost such as Shreveport. Since the only games that really count are the two playoff semifinals and the championship game, opt outs like Florida experienced when Kyle Pitts, Kadarius Toney and Trevon Grimes (and others) decided their future NFL careers were more important than suiting up one more time for the Gators in a bowl game are only going to become more commonplace. Expanding the playoff is viewed as the simplest way to save college football while adding more revenue at a time when rising costs are forcing cutbacks in athletic departments nationwide but there are more decisions than just adding teams. For example, can the playoff and the bowl system co-exist? Does the playoff include the top tier bowl games while leaving the minor bowls to serve as the football equivalent of the NIT? Does it make more sense to play some of the games on campus while others at neutral sites? How many games are played before Christmas and how many after? Can college football force the networks to pony up enough money so that ticket prices can stay more affordable? Is there any way to ensure this doesn’t become a logistical nightmare, not only for athletic directors who have to get tickets distributed to fans and boosters while dealing with their team’s travel requirements? How much more revenue will an expanded playoff bring in than the current model? These are just the questions that come to mind immediately. When it comes to staging events of this magnitude, questions will breed like rats. Every time one question is answered, count on another five new ones that will require more staff and even greater attention. For now, however, let’s focus in on the four expansion models: The six-team (go small) option: Very few have ever seen this as a long-term solution but networks and a large number of college presidents have favored it as a nice trial run to prep for further expansion. In most six-team models, all five power conferences would get their champions into the playoff. In the most recently concluded playoff, the SEC, ACC and Big Ten were all represented along with Notre Dame, leaving the champs of the Big 12 and Pac-12 on the outside looking in. In the seven-year existence of the playoff, the Pac-12 champ has been represented only twice – 2014 and 2017. The Big 12 champ has missed the playoff three times and the Big Ten has gone without representation twice. The flaw in a six-team model that includes all five power conference champs is it leaves only one at-large. So what happens if you wind up with Notre Dame and an SEC runner-up both have only one loss and there is an unbeaten from the Group of Five? After UCF won 27 straight games and didn’t make the playoff even once and Cincinnati went unbeaten in the regular season (2020) and wasn’t included, it is getting more and more difficult to ignore Division I football’s country cousins. What appeals to presidents and networks is that it would add only one weekend and two games to the schedule. The network wouldn’t need extra crews, technicians and announcers. It would give athletic directors an opportunity to work out the logistic kinks and prep for expansion in a few short years to either an eight- or 12-team model. The eight-team (go medium) option: In this model, all five power conference champs would get in, leaving three at- large teams, one of which would be the highest ranked Group of Five team. It sounds fairly reasonable until you consider the possibility that Notre Dame could have an undefeated or one-loss season, two (or more) conference runners-up could have only one loss, and perhaps two Group of Five teams (see Cincinnati, Coastal Carolina, Liberty and BYU last season) could all have one or fewer losses. The eight-team model would mean a three-week playoff with four teams the first weekend then the semifinals followed by the championship game. The way the playoff is today, the two semifinal games and championship game are included in the bowl system. It would be next to impossible to pin four playoff games to bowl games in that extra week. Would that necessitate playing the first weekend on campuses? That would, at least, eliminate large travel expenses for four teams and their fans. There is no way to have an eight-team playoff without all five power conference champs getting in, so while eight teams is certainly preferable to the current four-team playoff, this model is every bit as flawed as the six-team model. If you’re going to allow one or more at-large teams, then there will be just as much controversy as there is now with only four teams. The 12-team (go large) option: In one of the 12-team proposals, all ten conference champs (Power Five and Group of Five) would get in with two wild cards, one of which would likely be Notre Dame. While that format would make all the champs from Group of Five conferences happy, it wouldn’t satisfy the power conferences. Thamel sees a model that would include the five power conference champs, one Group of Five champ and six at-large which could also include teams from the Group of Five. What seems more likely is the five Power Five champs, the two best Group of Five teams and then five at-large teams. In this scenario one power conference could get three teams in and it would be hard for the others to complain much since they all would have a team in the playoff. The 12-team model requires four weeks to play. Eight teams play the first week with the top four seeds getting a bye. There would be four games the second week, semifinals the third week and the championship game in the fourth. To make this work, regular seasons are going to have to be scaled back to 11 games since with the conference championship game added, the two teams that play for the big trophy will have played 16 games. Of course, that’s just one more than the two teams that play for the national championship in the current playoff format. The 16-team (super-size) option: You could have all 10 conference champs and six at-large teams. Like the 12-team format, to make this work the regular season will have to be reduced to no more than 11 games, but even taking that one game away, the two teams that play for the national title would play 16 games. My conclusion: Walk before you run and maybe crawl before you walk. Before there is a 12-team or 16-game playoff, the networks are going to balk and there will be enough concern from presidents and athletic directors who will demand either a trial with six teams or going directly to eight. I think there are too many questions to answer before a 12- or 16-team model goes into effect. ACTON, BUTLER AND EDGE IN THE BASEBALL TRANSFER PORTAL Second baseman Cory Acton, first baseman/pitcher Jordan Butler and outfielder Brock Edge have placed their names in the NCAA transfer portal, which really isn’t a big surprise when you consider baseball is limited to 11.7 scholarships and the fact that Kevin O’Sullivan has signed the nation’s No. 1 recruiting class. Due to changes in the Major League Baseball Draft, fewer kids will be selected both at the high school and collegiate levels, so opportunities will diminish for players who spent a good bit of time on the bench. Acton, Butler and Edge would almost certainly see fewer opportunities to get on the field at Florida next season so they probably will see more options somewhere else. OVER, UNDER, AROUND AND THROUGH THE SEC Alabama: Alabama and Oklahoma State will play home and home in 2028-29. Alabama will visit Stillwater in 2028 with Okie State traveling to Tuscaloosa in 2029. Alabama and Notre Dame will play home and home in 2029-30 with Alabama visiting South Bend in 2029 and Notre Dame traveling to Tuscaloosa in 2030. Arkansas: Trey Wade (6-6, 218, GR) is transferring in from Wichita State. He averaged 6.7 points and 5.5 rebounds last season at Wichita State ... Pitcher Kevin Kopps is a semifinalist for the Golden Spikes Award as the nation’s top collegiate baseball player. Kopps has a 12-0 record with an ERA of 0.68. He was the SEC Pitcher of the Year and Collegiate Baseball’s National Player of the Year ... Legendary Arkansas track coach John McDonnell died. His teams won 40 NCAA championships (indoor track, outdoor track and cross country) and six times won the track triple crown – the indoor, outdoor and cross country title in the same year. McDonnell was 83 years old. Auburn: Desi Sills, the Arkansas guard who announced he’s transferring to Auburn, isn’t transferring to Auburn after all. Sills has pulled the plug on Auburn and headed to Arkansas State. Georgia: Pro Football Focus gives Georgia a 60 percent chance to win the SEC East and a 24 percent chance to win the SEC championship … One day after 5-star defensive tackle Bear Alexander de-committed from Georgia, 5-star athlete Deyon Bouie also de-committed. Ironically, both Alexander and Bouie visited Texas A&M last weekend. Kentucky: Wide receivers coach Jovon Bouknight has been suspended without pay since he was arrested for DUI back in May. Bouknight has not been fired by HBC Mark Stoops. LSU: Coach O calls new O-line coach Brad Davis, hired last week from the Arkansas staff, a “game changer.” LSU won the Joe Moore Award as the nation’s best offensive line in 2019 under James Cregg, the coach Davis replaced. Ole Miss: Lefty pitcher Doug Nikhanzy, a two-time All-America selection, is a Golden Spikes Award semifinalist. Nikhanzy, who struck out 16 in seven innings against Florida State in the Oxford regional last week, is 11-2 with a 2.39 ERA and 132 strikeouts in 86-2/3 innings. Tennessee: Tim Priest, who has been the color analyst on the Vol football network since 1998, announced his retirement. He will be replaced by former UT/NFL quarterback Pat Ryan. Texas A&M: The Aggies seem to have zeroed in on TCU baseball coach Jim Schlossnagle, who could be offered the job in the next day or two. Schlossnagle, who is paid $1.56 million at TCU, has a career record of 770-374. ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: Expanding the College Football Playoff is seen as one rather large step in saving college football from itself but it’s not the only change that needs to be made. We need fewer paycheck games against teams from D1AA and more interconference games. The SEC-Big 12 Challenge works so well for basketball. Why couldn’t we see something like that for college football, like perhaps an SEC-Big Ten Challenge? Do it on a home-and-home basis. I think Florida fans would be thrilled at the possibility of a home-and-home with Ohio State, Michigan or Penn State. As for the D1AA teams that need the paychecks, play those games in the spring instead of a glorified intra-squad version of two-hand touch with a running clock. I think we’d sell out The Swamp if Bethune-Cookman or FAMU came for the spring game and brought their bands. They’d get their paychecks, win halftime and we’d see better football.

A few thoughts to jump start your Tuesday morning: THINGS THAT HAVE ME THINKING ON A MONDAY EVENING A theory about UF contract extensions: Florida fans have been second-guessing athletic director Scott Stricklin ever since it was announced that he had extended the contracts of football coach Dan Mullen, basketball coach Mike White and women’s basketball coach Cam Newbauer. Mullen had three years added to his contract (he’s signed through 2027) and had his pay raised to $7.6 million per year. White didn’t get a raise but had two years added to his contract (signed through 2027). Newbauer, who has yet to post a winning record in four years on the job, received a three-year extension through 2025. On the surface, none of the contract extensions make a ton of sense, particularly to Newbauer at a time when LSU just made a 7-year, $22.5 million commitment to women’s basketball in the form of Hall of Fame coach Kim Mulkey, who won three national championships at Baylor. How do you compete with that when the program is spinning its wheels and the perception is that women’s basketball at Florida is nothing more than a Title IX requirement? Although Mullen’s season ended poorly with three straight losses, he did get the Gators to a third straight New Year’s Eve bowl game. Because he already was under contract until 2024 and was already making $6 million a lot of Gator fans felt the raise and extension was a bit much. From a symbolic sense, however, it does tell recruits that Florida is 100 percent behind its football coach but the perception among many fans and a good portion of the media is that Mullen will bolt for the NFL at the first opportunity to be a head coach. Other than White’s second year on the job in 2017, the Gators really haven’t made a dent in the NCAA Tournament, cause for consternation among UF fans who believe White is the Peter Principle personified. The three-year extension without a pay raise has raised plenty of eyebrows among fans and the basketball media. I have a theory why Stricklin gave the extensions. It is my opinion that Stricklin is so focused in dealing with Florida facilities deficit that he doesn’t want to be bothered with coaching searches for awhile. That the University of Florida is middle-of-the-pack in the Southeastern Conference when it comes to facilities is disgraceful and Stricklin knows he’s got to act swiftly before UF falls farther behind. The top priority at this moment is the stand-alone football facility, scheduled to be completed in 2022. Since football is the cash cow for all sports, the stand-alone facility will level what has for years been a most unlevel playing field when it comes to recruiting. Until the new facility opens, Mullen will continue to be at a serious recruiting disadvantage. When Stricklin took over as Florida’s athletic director, there was no facilities master plan. He inherited an O-Dome renovation project that had to be re-started and went way over budget and an indoor practice facility that also had cost overruns since no one took into account there were no end zones, bathrooms, scoreboards, etc. Stricklin has overseen the new Florida Ballpark, which is a serious upgrade, and there are other facilities on the drawing board. Of course, new facilities require more money and in addition to the planning that goes into bring Florida athletic facilities into the 21st century, he has to do some serious fund raising. That’s another area that went lacking prior to Stricklin’s arrival. So back to the original premise. It’s easier to give contract extensions at a time when the focus needs to be elsewhere than it does to deal with buyouts, coaching searches and the cost of hiring new coaches. That’s my theory and I’m sticking with it. Tre Mann in ESPN and CBS mock NBA drafts: A month ago just about every mock NBA draft had Florida’s Tre Mann going somewhere between 13-15. A month later he’s still in the first round but both ESPN and CBS have added Michigan’s Franz Wagner and Kentucky’s Isaiah Jackson to as lottery picks and three international players inside the top 20, bumping Mann down a little bit. ESPN has him going No. 20 to the Atlanta Hawks while CBS has Mann going No. 21 to the New York Knicks. I don’t see Mann as a good fit with the Hawks who have Bogdan Bogdanovic (16.4 points per game) and Kevin Huerter (11.9 points per game), both very good 3-point shooters. The Knicks already have R.J. Barrett (17.6 points, 5.8 rebounds) and they desperately need a point guard since Derrick Rose is 32 and hasn’t played a full schedule since 2010. Mann would fit best with the Memphis Grizzlies, who need a dynamic scorer to pair up with Ja Morant. Nick Saban gets a contract extension: Alabama is giving Nick Saban a contract extension that comes with a pay raise and will keep him in Tuscaloosa at least until February 28, 2029. Saban, who is 70 years old, will work with a base salary of $8.425 million but with bonuses and incentives, he will be making in excess of $10 million a year. As Andy Staples of The Athletic pointed out, Saban would be cheap at three times the price when you consider the amount of money he brings in to the University of Alabama. As one example, Staples points out that just since 2011 the number of out-of-state students at Alabama has doubled from more than 11,000 to more than 22,000 and one of the chief reasons is the kind of publicity and advertising that comes from Alabama football being on TV all the time and winning those national championships. Out-of-state students pay more than $30,000 a year in tuition while in-state students pay $10,780. Staples writes the out-of-state students are “worth an additional $200.4 million a year to the school.” I know a lot of SEC football fans wish Saban would ride off into the sunset sooner than the 2028 season, but I contend that Nick is good for the SEC. The league has won 11 national championships (Alabama 6, Florida 2, LSU 2, Auburn 1) since 2006 when Florida started a run of seven straight. Alabama raises the bar of expectation at every SEC school and because expectations are so high, there is a greater commitment to football from top to bottom of the league that attracts the best players, fills stadiums on game day and results in unprecedented television contracts. The SEC distributed more than $45 million to each school for the athletic season that ended in the spring of 2020 and that’s with a CBS television contract that pays each SEC school around $3 million. There is a new contract with ESPN that goes into effect after the 2023 season and will pay each school $20 million, bringing the yearly distribution to more than $60 million per school. That pays for a lot of new facilities, scholarships, etc. And think about this: our country cousins in the Almost Competitive Conference just broke $30 million distribution for the first time. The Big 12 did $37 million last year. The Pac-12 barely made it to $30 million. Here in the state of Florida, Florida State and Miami (both ACC) will be pinching pennies while Florida is on TV more often and rakes in practically double the amount of money. Recruits will notice. For that, we can thank Nick Saban, who has made the SEC brand hotter than it’s ever been. So, is he good for the SEC? You bet. OVER, UNDER, AROUND AND THROUGH THE SEC Alabama: Patrick Murphy needs to be second-guessed after Alabama lost two straight games to Florida State at the Women’s College World Series. Sunday, Murphy elected to sit Montana Fouts, who had pitched a perfect game against UCLA Friday night. Instead, he started Lexi Kilfoyil and lost, 2-0. He brought back Fouts Monday evening but she wasn’t anything close to the pitcher she was the first two games of the WCWS when she went 14 shutout innings, striking out 30. Fouts gave up six runs and seven hits in 2-2/3 innings as FSU took an 8-5 win to advance to the championship series against Oklahoma. Arkansas: The Razorbacks (49-11) had to come from behind to knock off Nebraska, 6-2, in a do or die game to take the Fayetteville regional. The No. 1 national seed Razorbacks will host North Carolina State (33-17) in super regional play … Cody Kennedy, who was the O-line coach at Tulane in 2019-20 before joining the Arkansas staff, has been moved from tight ends to O-line to replace Brad Davis, who left last week for LSU. Auburn: JT Thor (6-10, 205) will remain in the NBA Draft. Thor averaged 9.0 points and 5.4 rebounds as a true freshman. ESPN lists him as the No. 66 prospect. The NBA Draft is two rounds, 60 players. Georgia: Shooting guard Andrew Garcia (6-6, 225, SR) is transferring to Kent State. Garcia averaged 8.7 points and 4.0 rebounds last year … Softball coach Lu Harris-Champer, who took Georgia to the Women’s College World Series, announced her retirement. She had more than 1,100 wins in 25 years, the last 21 at Georgia. LSU: Paul Manieri lives to coach another day. The soon-to-be retired LSU baseball coach is heading to the Knoxville super regional after the Tigers (38-23) won the Eugene Regional by knocking off host and No. 14 seed Oregon, Mississippi State: The Bulldogs (43-15) beat Campbell, 6-5, Monday afternoon to advance to win the Starkville regional. The 7th-seeded Bulldogs will host 10th-seeded Notre Dame (33-11) in the super regional. Missouri: Wide receiver Jalen Knox has officially entered his name in the transfer portal. In his three years at Mizzou, Knox caught 77 passes for 1,031 yards and four touchdowns. Ole Miss: Ole Miss (44-20) finished off Southern Miss, 12-8, Monday afternoon to win the Oxford regional. The 12th-seeded Rebels travel to Tucson to face 5th-seeded Arizona (43-15) in the super regional … Power forward/center Khadim Sy (6-10, 240, GR) is transferring to Wake Forest. Sy averaged 3.1 points and 1.9 rebounds last season, but in 2019-20 averaged 9.0 points and 5.5 rebounds. Tennessee: The national No. 3 seed Vols (48-16) will be hosting a super regional against a familiar face. LSU (38-23) emerged from the Eugene regional to set up an all-SEC super regional in Knoxville. Vanderbilt: Fourth-seeded Vanderbilt (43-15) will host 13th-seeded East Carolina (44-15) in the Nashville super regional … Power forward Akeem Odusipe (6-9, 230, FR) is transferring to Kent State. He averaged 0.5 points and 1.2 rebounds in 11 games last season. ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: The College Football Playoff is going to expand, most likely a couple of years before the current contract expires. Over the past four or so months there has been plenty of speculation that the CFP people will choose to walk before they run, which means a six-team playoff for a couple of years before adding two more teams. In the six-team format the champs of all five power conferences would get in with one spot held for Notre Dame or a higher ranked team from the Group of Five. In the eight-team format, the power conference champs would get in with the top-ranked team from the Group of Five and two wild cards that could include Notre Dame and the next highest ranked team. One more proposal is making the rounds, however, and that is a 12-team tournament that would include all ten Division I champs and two wild cards. The four highest seeded teams would get a bye while the other eight teams would play for a spot in the quarter-finals. If sounds interesting, but my guess is this is the least likely proposal to be adapted. While I think the Power Five would prefer the six-team model, I think the pressure will be too great to include at least one Group of Five team every year and the only way that will work is eight teams. In my opinion, we’ll see expansion in 2023.

A few thoughts to jump start your Monday afternoon: TIME TO PUT THE 2020-21 SPORTS SEASON IN THE REARVIEW I don’t know about you, but I’m so ready for the 2020-21 sports season at the University of Florida to be over and done with. I’ve had enough. I need June, July and August to recharge batteries that have been drained dead. I have no more energy for the Gators, not for another three months. It has been a weird year just about everywhere but no place has the year been stranger than the University of Florida, where men’s tennis (national champs), men’s swimming (SEC champs for the 9th straight year), track and field (Mouse Holloway always factors nationally, whether indoors or outdoors) and lacrosse (NCAA quarter-finals) are the only sports that didn’t end in disappointment. Contemplate the following: FOOTBALL: The final record was 8-4. Forget the loss to Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl. Nobody wanted to be there and everyone was still hurting from an SEC Championship Game that could have been and should have been won by Florida. One defensive stop is all it would have taken. An offside penalty on Marlon Dunlap that negated a third down stop would have helped. So would Kyree Campbell hustling to get off the field to prevent an illegal participation. That killed another third down stop. Florida hung 46 on Alabama, the most by far of any team the national champs played in 2020. Alabama made Justin Fields look like a high school sophomore. Kyle Trask made the Alabama defense look like refugees from the scout team. That was the story of the season. There was the fourth quarter fumble by Malik Davis in Aggieland that snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. The LSU game. Oh my. Get in the end zone on fourth and inches and it doesn’t matter if a Marco throws the shoe. Evan McPherson’s field goal in the fog missed by a foot. Two more losses, each one decided by one play. It should have been 11-0. It wasn’t and Dan Mullen still hasn’t heard the end of it. BASKETBALL: I was talking with a friend recently about the roller coaster ride that was Florida basketball last season. We reached a stalemate when the debate turned to what movie title best described Florida’s 15-10 season. He said, “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.” I said, “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.” Strange it was. In retrospect, I think Florida’s basketball season was on life support the moment Keyontae Johnson collapsed in Tallahassee. He was Florida’s rock and without him the Gators were an amoeba, constantly changing shape. They were good enough to beat anyone in the country – see Tennessee at the O-Dome and West Virginia on the road – and they were bad enough to lose to a horrible South Carolina team when they played the last five minutes like they took their basketball lessons by mail order and the mail was late. Ten games were cancelled, six by Covid-19, four in the aftermath of Keyontae. That didn’t help continuity. Tre Mann found his mojo. Scottie Lewis sent his sinuses to Arizona, his liver to Peru, his lungs and his kidney for the summer to Sydney and his game to Timbuktu. Colin Castleton was a warrior. Omar Payne played like a peaceful protestor. Noah Locke could shoot but couldn’t play a lick of defense. Ques Glover never met a turnover he couldn’t commit. Osayi Osifo was 6-feet-7 inches tall and not much else. It was 15-10. The Gators should have at least made the Sweet 16. They didn’t. Mike White lost four players to the transfer portal, replaced them with four who are better from the portal. He lost two coaches. He replaced them with two nobody has ever heard of. He also got a contract extension that has folks scratching their heads and asking why? BASEBALL: There were weekends when the Gators played like the No. 1 team in the country that they were hyped to be when the season began. See Ole Miss. See Vanderbilt. There were weekends when the Gators were beyond bad. See South Carolina and more recently, the NCAA regional here in Gainesville where the season concluded with a two-and-through, the final game a 19-1 kibosh at the hands of South Alabama. A week ago the Gators played like a team poised to make noise in the NCAA Tournament. This past weekend they played like a team ready to get the season over. The Gators had enough physical talent but did they have it between the ears? Losing Nick Pogue and Tyler Nesbitt to Tommy John surgery before the season put a serious crimp in the pitching staff. Tommy Mace had a lot of good outings. Hunter Barco won 10 games and set himself up to be a first round draft pick next year. Jack Leftwich found life as a closer. Franco Aleman pitched like a guy who didn’t get a full juco season and no summer ball. In fact, the entire pitching staff pitched like it hadn’t gotten in those innings playing summer ball somewhere like Cape Cod or the Valley League. There were too many hitters afflicted with Pedro Cerrano disease – “Straight ball I hit it very good. Curveball bats are very afraid.” Jud Fabian hit 20 home runs. He also struck out 79 times. There were far too many games like the 11-7 loss to Vanderbilt in which the Gators left 14 men on base. Hitting in clutch situations was not a real forte of this team. This was the worst fielding team in Kevin O’Sullivan’s 16 years on the job. The Gators committed 70 errors in 60 games. Contrast that to the 2017 national championship season when UF committed only 53 errors in 70 games. Mace and Leftwich will be gone to the MLB Draft as will Fabian and Nathan Hickey. Jacob Young, Aleman, Kris Armstrong and Christian Scott are all draft-eligible. There are future stars in Sterlin Thompson and Colby Halter along with the nation’s No. 1 recruiting class, but will KOS be around to coach them? LSU is expected to make a Godfather offer of as much as $3 million per season. Will KOS be able to refuse? SOFTBALL: Like baseball, the season ended disastrously, this one in the super regional where the Gators were shut out twice and run-ruled in the second game to Georgia, of all teams. Unlike football, basketball and baseball, you get the feeling Tim Walton got everything this team had. He didn’t have a dominating pitcher and of the four consistent hitters in his lineup, only three were threats to leave the ball yard when they hit. To win 45 games required smoke and mirrors. The incoming recruiting class is outstanding and features a flamethrower pitcher in Lexie Delbrey. Alabama transfer Skylar Wallace and incoming recruit Reagan Walsh added to Hannah Adams, Charla Echols and Cheyenne Lindsey should make the offense better. The season ended in disappointment, but unlike football, basketball and baseball, no one is grinding teeth about the head coach. GYMNASTICS: When Trinity Thomas was healthy, Florida had the best team in the country. When she suffered a high ankle sprain, the Gators’ chances to win a national championship went down the drain. When Thomas is healthy, she is the best gymnast in the country and the Gators are at least a half point (in football terms that would be two touchdowns) better than anyone else. The recruiting class is the best in the country. Next year should be outstanding but it won’t take the sting away from what might have been in 2021. Other disappointments: WOMEN’S BASKETBALL: Complete and total disaster. Four straight losing seasons got Cam Newbauer a three-year extension. Go figure. WOMEN’S TENNIS: The Gators are 50-33 since their last national championship in 2017. SOCCER: In the final three seasons of her UF coaching career, Becky Burleigh was 24-27-8. It was time for a coaching change. GOLF (MEN AND WOMEN): It’s Florida, a state with a bazillion golf courses and incredible weather. How can you not be a top five program every year? They don’t even sniff the top five. GATORS SURPRISE IN SPORTING NEWS PRESEASON TOP 25 When it came to the Gators, Sporting News didn’t follow the lead of Athlon and Lindy’s when it named its preseason top 25. Florida is a surprising No. 8 pick after No. 11 by Athlon and No. 12 by Lindy’s. 1. Alabama; 2. Clemson; 3. Ohio State; 4. Oklahoma; 5. Georgia; 6. Notre Dame; 7. Texas A&M; 8. FLORIDA; 9. Iowa State; 10. Cincinnati; 11. LSU; 12. Southern Cal; 13. Texas; 14. North Carolina; 15. Indiana; 16. Oregon; 17. Oklahoma State; 18. Iowa; 19. Miami; 20. Wisconsin; 21. Ole Miss; 22. Auburn; 23. Coastal Carolina; 24. Army; 25. Penn State. GATORS AND THE MLB DRAFT The Major League Baseball Draft has been shortened to 20 rounds and with 42 fewer minor league teams there won’t be nearly as many opportunities. While this is viewed as effective cost cutting that makes financial sense to the bean counters at Major League Baseball, there is widespread concern that the end result will be reduced interest in the game by the kids who play it. The prevailing thought is the first ten rounds will be heavy with high school kids, while rounds 11-20 will more heavily favor the college kids. The reason? The money will be good in the first ten rounds so high school kids will be more inclined to sign. The money in 11-20 won’t be so great but college kids may feel the need to go ahead and sign even with another year of eligibility remaining. Here is where ESPN and MLB.com rate current and signed Gators: ESPN’s Kiley McDonald updated his player rankings for the 2021 draft. Here are the current or signed Gators in his 150 top prospects (current Gators in bold face): 16. Andrew Painter, RHP (Fort Lauderdale, FL, Calvary Christian); 21. Jud Fabian, CF; 43. Chase Petty, RHP (Somers Point, NJ, Mainland Regional); 52. Tommy Mace, RHP; 69. Nathan Hickey, C/1B; 73. Jay Allen, CF (Fort Pierce, FL John Carroll Catholic); 75. Michael Robertson, CF (Venice, FL); 88. Jac Caglianone, LHP (Tampa, FL Plant); 126. Jacob Young, LF; Pierce Coppola, LHP (Verona, NJ). Here are the current or signed Gators in the MLB.com top 200 prospect rankings: 17. Jud Fabian, CF; 18. Andrew Painter, RHP (Fort Lauderdale, FL Calvary Christian); 25. Chase Petty, RHP (Somers Point, NJ); 34. Tommy Mace, RHP; 37. Jay Allen, CF (Fort Pierce, FL John Carroll Catholic); 61. Jac Caglianone, LHP (Tampa, FL Plant); 98. Michael Robertson, CF (Venice, FL); 114. Pierce Coppola, LHP (Verona, NJ); 135. Nathan Hickey, C/1B; 145. Jack Leftwich, RHP; 171. Karl Hartman, RHP (Merritt Island, FL Rockledge); 193. Jake Fox, SS (Lakeland, FL Lakeland Christian). In its June 2 mock draft, here is where MLB.com had the following current or signed Gators going: 17. Andrew Painter, RHP (Fort Lauderdale, FL Calvary Christian) to Cincinnati; 22. Jud Fabian, CF to Chicago White Sox; 27. Chase Petty, RHP (Somers Point, NJ) to San Diego; 28. Tommy Mace, RHP to Tampa Bay. ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: Urban Meyer threw some cold water on the critics who have been sniping away since Tim Tebow got a make good free agent contract to sign with the Jacksonville Jaguars. This is not guaranteed money. Tebow is one of 90 players on the Jaguars preseason roster. He still has to prove he can make the team and contribute on the field. Meyer spoke with Rich Eisen of ESPN and basically admitted that it will not be easy for Tebow to make the team while changing positions after all this time away from football. Meyer said, “What’s the percentage of making the team? We don’t know. This is uncharted water. This is going to be very difficult, but he’s been doing great. He’s been doing great in practice. He’s learning the offense as you can imagine. He’s working as hard as anybody. I see a good camaraderie amongst the team and Tim, and it’s been good so far.” The part about Tebow’s hard work and camaraderie is the big take away here. Tebow will work harder than anyone on the team and he will indeed be a force for positive in the locker room. If he actually makes the team and contributes on the field, it will be a bonus.

The magic numbers that can help the Florida Gators navigate the road to Omaha for the College World Series are three, five and seven. Three as in three quality starting pitchers. Five as in five wins over two weekends of regional and super regional play in the NCAA Tournament. Seven as in seven pitchers that break down like this – three quality starters, three who can give you long innings or spot starts and a closer. Last week in Hoover, Alabama, Florida baseball coach Kevin O’Sullivan connected all the dots and found his magic numbers. Heading into the SEC Tournament, O’Sullivan knew he had two starters who he could throw against anyone but the third was the big question. Then Franco Aleman (2-4, 5.02 ERA), who had been flirting with domination all spring, giving two great innings here and three there but never long, strong outings, put it all together against an Alabama team that played its way into the NCAA field with its good showing in Hoover. Aleman, who can heat it up to 97-98 mph on occasions, didn’t need to consistently blow the ball by the Alabama hitters. Rather than let the Bama hitters sit on the fast ball, Aleman mixed it up, busting an 85-87 mph slider in on their fists and keeping them off balance with a very effective change-up that he kept low and away. The result was five harmless singles in seven scoreless innings, Aleman’s longest and easily the most effective outing he’s had this season. Bama hitters spent the day behind in the count and pounding the ball in the dirt as Aleman had command of all his pitches and didn’t give them anything fat to barrel up. By the time Aleman walked off the field after 92 pitches, O’Sullivan knew he had the third guy he will need if the Gators are to win a regional and super regional. A three-man rotation of Tommy Mace (6-1, 4.32 ERA), Hunter Barco (10-2, 3.81 ERA) and Aleman can take the Gators a long way if they throw like they did in Hoover. In Hoover, Mace got a win against Kentucky when he gave up one run in five innings while striking out eight. Barco followed that up with the best game of his college career, a 7-inning 4-hitter against then 4th-ranked Mississippi State. Mace, Barco and Aleman are capable of beating any team they face when they throw strikes. When they’re making opponents earn their way on base instead of handing out free passes, they can be very difficult to beat. And, if they can get past the fifth inning, they can save the bullpen and give the Gators a real shot at a win. That brings us to the number five. With five wins over the next two weekends, the Gators can make an eighth trip to Omaha in O’Sullivan’s 14 years on the job at UF. They need a minimum of three in Gainesville this weekend at the Gainesville regional that includes Miami, South Alabama and South Florida. Win in Gainesville and the Gators will need two more to advance beyond the super regional. Florida is the No. 15 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament which pairs the Gators with the Austin regional, hosted by No. 2 national seed Texas. The key for the Gainesville regional will be to win those first two games and get at least five innings from Mace and Barco to save the bullpen in case it’s needed on Sunday. Florida faces South Florida (28-27) at noon Friday and with a win will face the Miami-South Alabama winner on Saturday. If the Gators are unbeaten through their first two games, the team that emerges from the loser’s bracket will have to beat UF twice on Sunday, which is a rather tall task since the Gators are 28-7 at The Florida Ballpark. Lose either Friday or Saturday and it takes a total of five wins to punch the ticket to the super regional. If O’Sullivan can get three consecutive quality starts from Mace, Barco and Aleman, the odds of advancing are very much in Florida’s favor. Seven is a key number because whether it’s a regional or super regional, it takes a minimum of seven reliable pitchers to make it to Omaha. Now that the regular season has ended, there is no need to save pitching for midweek games, so O’Sullivan has the entire staff ready to go but he has seven ready to go. In addition to Mace, Barco and Aleman, O’Sullivan has Trey Van Der Weide and Brandon Sproat who can go long relief or do a spot start, Christian Scott who can do long relief, setup work or close, and Jack Leftwich, who has emerged as a very effective closer after spending the first half of the season as a starter. Van Der Weide (2-2, 2.93 ERA, 2 saves), who transferred to Florida from USC-Upstate, has gone as long as three innings on three occasions, more than two innings nine times. He had 14 starts at Upstate before coming to Florida so he could be that experienced extra starter if the Gators have to play through the loser’s bracket. He’s extremely effective against lefthanded hitters. Sproat (2-1, 3.86 ERA) can hit 98 on the radar gun and when he’s throwing strikes, he’s very tough to hit. In his last 8-2/3 innings Sproat has allowed only seven hits and three earned runs. He got a start against Tennessee in Hoover but struggled with his control, walking four in 3-2/3 innings. Christian Scott (4-2, 3.08, 2 saves) is the do-it-all guy. He has starter’s stuff with mid-90s velocity on his fast ball and he changes speeds quite well. He’s worked mostly as a long reliever this year, but he can close. If O’Sullivan needed a fifth starter this weekend, Scott might get the call if he hadn’t thrown much out of the bullpen. Leftwich (7-4, 3.49 ERA, 5 saves) began the season as a starter, but when he struggled in consecutive starts against South Carolina and Ole Miss, he went to the bullpen. In his second game out of the pen he pitched four hitless innings in relief against Florida State to pick up the win then followed that up with another four hitless innings for a save against Missouri. He’s been the closer ever since. * * * At the regional level, it’s critical to get to Sunday without a loss to avoid having to play five games in three days. If there is a loss in either of the first two games, then the pitching staff will be stretched thin to stave off elimination and advance. Obviously, the fewer games played at the regional, the better rested the pitching staff will be for the super regional. Because it’s two teams playing a best two-of-three format at the super regional, the strategy changes. It’s a max of three games so win the first two or lose the first two and it’s all over. Lose one of the first two and game three becomes do or die with no need to hold back any pitchers since there is no tomorrow for the loser. Whether it’s the regional or super regional, it still takes three quality starters, three who can be used in a variety of ways and a closer to can snuff out opponents in the last couple of innings. Florida has the makings of a staff that is capable of winning five games in the next two weekends. * * * In Hoover, Florida got mixed results offensively. In game one, a 4-1 win over Kentucky, Florida was outhit 11-5 but the Gators got the critical hits early and held on. Against Mississippi State and Alabama, the Gators exploded for 32 hits and 20 runs only to be shut out on four hits in the SEC Tournament semifinal against Tennessee. This is a Florida team with good but not great power and not a lot of speed throughout the lineup. When the Gators are scoring a lot of runs as they did against Mississippi State and Alabama, they’re making a lot of contact, hitting the ball in the gaps, getting some power often from unexpected sources and they’re not striking out in critical situations. Key for the Gators will be at the top of the lineup. When Jacob Young (.317, 5 HR, 41 RBI) and Nathan Hickey (.312, 9 HR and 48 RBI) are getting on base, the rest of the Florida lineup tends to be quite productive. For the Gators to win this regional, they will need productivity from Jud Fabian (.258. 20 HR, 46 RBI), a third team All-America center fielder who ranks sixth nationally in home runs. Fabian has had four two-homer games this season. If he gets untracked, he can carry Florida offensively for an entire weekend. Friday the Gators will be going against South Florida’s Jack Jasiak (6-7, 2.92 ERA), a redshirt freshman righty who has given up only three runs and 11 hits in his last 29-2/3 innings. Jasiak pitched the Bulls into the American Athletic Conference championship game by going 8-2/3 shutout innings against Tulane, allowing only two hits while striking out 12. His only bad outing of the season was against No. 8 national seed Texas Tech, which lit him up for eight runs and nine hits in 4-2/3 innings back in March. The Gators will need to get to Jasiak early because once the game gets past the sixth inning, the Bulls will bring on their two closers – lefty Lyle Logan (4-1, 2.03 ERA, 4 saves) and Orion Kekering (4-3, 2.36 ERA, 4 saves). Between the two of them, they have 95 strikeouts in 82 innings and they’ve allowed only 61 hits. It will be critical for Mace to shut down the Bulls three power hitters – Carmine Lane (.326, 10 HR, 41 RBI), Riley Hogan (.280, 11 HR, 36 RBI) and Roberto Pena (.249, 12 HR, 38 RBI). If Mace can keep those three in the yard or from hitting with men in scoring position, the Bulls will have a difficult time scoring runs. * * * By no means is this the best Florida team that O’Sullivan has put on the field. The Gators are flawed in so many ways, but they’re resilient and the way they played in Hoover showed what they’re capable of doing. O’Sullivan has made it to Omaha seven times in the past so he knows the three, seven, five formula works quite well. He has the three quality starters that it takes to win five games over two weekends and he has seven reliable pitchers. If the Gators can add some hitting and avoid making critical errors in the field, they are capable of making it to Omaha, but first things first. You can’t even think about Omaha until you’ve first gotten out of Gainesville.

As I sit here less than 100 days before the kickoff of the best game on God’s little acre, I am beset with three emotions: Concern, Confusion and Confliction. What I’m searching for is a fourth “C,” Clarity. I don’t know where college football is going. Nor do I see a clear path. That’s the bad news. However, in keeping with the “C” theme, I am ready to join everyone in Celebration of CFB’s return. The good news for Gator fans is that the best coach they could want has been re-upped after a rocky finish to the tumultuous 2020 campaign and is ready for a jump start in 2021. So let the Dan Mullen Era Part 2 begin with a touch of gratitude and a tinge of expectation. If some of you want to disagree, or aren’t convinced Mullen is the long term answer, that’s fine. The cards have been dealt and let’s see how the game plays out. I’ve seen and heard enough to buy stock in Mullen for the next five years. One reason is that he’s a thinking man, a problem-solver who may be the SEC’s best developer of offensive talent. I don’t have the band width yet to absorb the problems that are coming with the new Name, Likeness and Image legislation. Thus my comment and concern about “Confusion." As for all you haters, go pound sand. I, myself, raised some unresolved issues about Mullen a few weeks ago in a story headlined: “Is Honeymoon Over For Dan Mullen?” They included: 1. Torqued because he felt Kyle Field appeared to have more than the allowed number of fans, Mullen fired off a comment that he wanted 90,000 in The Swamp for the LSU game. 2. The half-time squabble when Mullen ran on the playing field and physically confronted Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz and was later fined $25,000 by the SEC. 3. Mullen offers from NFL: Did he receive any? 4. NCAA level II and level III violations, a $5,000 fine and a one-year show-cause penalty for breaking recruiting rules. Maybe a little “Clarity” please? Scott Stricklin is confident Mullen can move forward now. The contract extension was a strong move by the Florida AD – and a little too strong for some that basketball coach Mike White was also extended two more seasons – but the hiring business is tough these days. Ask around – I know it’s a different level with these millionaire coaches, but the principle remains the same. Business needed to get done in a timely fashion. Just in case you’re struggling with that word, “gratitude” let me help you. Seems to me that one of the favorite pastimes of the Gator Disgruntled is ragging on Mullen for something. No SEC title after three years. Average recruiting. And, of course, the one not of his doing -- subpar facilities. All things considered, Mullen has done a good job and given his skill set, the future look bright. The facilities are morphing. I would agree there should have been more transparency on the NCAA probation meted out -- before the media even learned about the “time served” clause was invoked. That’s on Stricklin and UF President Kent Fuchs. And when it finally came out the comments were sparse, murky and what few there were sounded disingenuous. They can do better. Now you’re beginning to understand my “conflicted” comment. Re: Gratitude. The people with short memories have already forgotten the sorry state of affairs which had befallen Gator football at the end of 2017 when Jim McElwain quit caring, phoned it in and came up with the lame excuse of death threats, wanting to opt out of his final four games, which he did, as the Gators suffered their second losing season since 1979. It was one of the lowest periods for Gator fans I can remember since the late 1980s when the NCAA came up just short of administering the Death Penalty for cheating. Doing a talk show and writing a column as Mullen came aboard, I’d never heard such hopelessness. And when the faux hiring of Chip Kelly turned out to be a smokescreen, I heard grown men bemoan that Gator football, as we knew it, would never recover from such an abyss. The photo of Dan Mullen doing The Chomp as he disembarked the flight at Gainesville Regional Airport looked like a hero’s welcome for the Return of a Prodigal. Yet here we are almost four years later, complaining about not having enough 5-star recruits to beat The Greatest Coach of All-Time who is gunning for what feels like his 25th straight national championship. Let me confess to you that while I honor the journalistic tradition of listening to all sides, I’m really tired of hearing the Johnny-One-Note responses of That Expert out there with 50 followers on Twitter who knows anything and everything about anything and everything. I am in the information/opinion business as host of a streaming show 4-6 times weekly, editor/columnist of a weekly digital magazine at GatorBaitMedia.com and author of seven books. Not that it makes me any smarter or better than anybody else, but at least I’ve got experience listening to people, plus my longevity (over 50 years). So forgive me for not valuing the opinion of Johnny Popgun on Instagram as much as I do, say, Dan Patrick, Tony Barnhart or Pete Thamel. I respect the Facebook comments of former Gator players like Jack Westbrook and Fee Bartley, even if I do disagree with Bartley, who has become a harsh Mullen critic: “It’s moronic for a coach that’s never won the sec nor even made the playoffs to date. To pay him as a top four coach when he’s not won sh-t is rewarding mediocrity. New Years bowls are all runner up bowls in this age. Welcome to MSUeast,” Bartley posted. I asked him who he’d like to see hired over Mullen. He declined to answer. Chris Doering said on my show this week, “I am convinced Dan Mullen is the right coach for Florida. And Florida is the right place for Dan Mullen.” Mostly comments were positive. Two other journalist friends felt the need to comment: “With UF’s substandard FB facilities, Mullen has put a pretty good product on the field. Once, the new facilities are finished, the bar needs to be raised with recruiting and championships.” Mike Hodge, former writer and editor in Gainesville and Ocala. “I don't want any other coach right now. Glad he's signed up!” said Eric Girard, who started on training wheels in Cocoa, worked in Atlanta and wound up as a colleague at the New York Daily News before moving to several other editing jobs. I agree with Eric, so let’s leave it there. Concern, Confusion and Confliction. I’m still searching for Clarity. But happy to join in the Celebration to begin the under-100 days countdown for the greatest game on God’s Little Acre.

A few thoughts to jump start your Friday morning: GATORS FACE SOUTH FLORIDA AT NOON IN GAINESVILLE REGIONAL If the Gators (38-20) are to make a run toward Omaha for the College World Series, they’ll have to take the first step today at the Florida Ballpark against American Athletic Conference tournament champ South Florida (28-27) at noon (SEC Network). Tommy Mace (6-1, 4.32 ERA) will get the ball for the Gators while South Florida will counter with redshirt freshman Jack Jasiak. Mace is coming off a 5-inning outing against Kentucky in the SEC Tournament in which he gave up one run and seven hits while striking out eight. Jasiak went 8-2/3 innings against Tulane in the AAC Tournament, allowing no runs, two hits and striking out 12. In his last 29-2/3 innings, Jasiak has given up just 11 hits and three runs while striking out 27. If Jasiak can last deep into the game, the Bulls turn the game over to closers Lyle Logan (4-1, 2.03 ERA, 4 saves) and Orion Kekering (4-3, 2.36 ERA, 4 saves). The Bulls are a dangerous team that has gotten hot at just the right time. They’ve won six of their last seven games including two over East Carolina, which is seeded No. 13 nationally and hosting a regional. USF doesn’t hit for average (just .266) but they have three power hitters in the lineup who can drive the ball out of the yard in Roberto Pena (12 HR), Riley Hogan (11) and Carmine Lane (10). Florida’s game with USF will be followed by Miami (32-19) and South Alabama (32-20) at 5 p.m. Saturday, the two losers from Friday will face off in an elimination game with the two winners playing in game two. The winner of the elimination game and the loser of the winners’ game will face off Saturday night with the loser of that game going home. It’s a double elimination format with the team that starts off 2-0 needing only one win on Sunday advance to the super regional next weekend. PROS AND CONS OF FLORIDA BASKETBALL In an article entitled “Sales Pitch: Who has the most to offer on the SEC men’s basketball recruiting trail,” a couple of unnamed coaches made the following comments about the University of Florida, which is considered the second best program in the SEC: Pro comment: "You're the lone SEC school in the state of Florida," one coach said. "There's so much talent in there. And it's just Florida, Miami and Florida State. They're the flagbearer for the SEC in the state. They're really close to Atlanta. Gainesville isn't too far off from other places ... And it's not just tradition, it's recent history, too. It's national titles within the last 15 years, they have guys that are in the NBA, that's important. Their facilities aren't that bad. And it's 60 degrees and sunny in the winter. And for kids in the south, that can't go overlooked." My comment: Florida is the second-best program in the SEC, but it’s also become the second-best program in the state behind FSU, which is doing a far better job of landing the best talent in the state despite rotten facilities. Con comment: “The fan support isn't what it is at Tennessee, Kentucky, Arkansas, even Auburn," one coach said. "Unless they're winning national championships, that place [the O'Connell Center] isn't full. And they play in an older facility, although they've renovated it." My comment: The fan support is embarrassing. Unless it’s a big game the O-Dome is rarely full and if the game isn’t white knuckles, fans are leaving for their cars with about 7-8 minutes to go. The renovated O-Dome is better than it used to be but it’s still lipstick on a pig. For what was spent to renovate UF could have built a brand new arena like the one at Ole Miss, which is beautiful and high tech. The renovated O-Dome may look better but it is lower third of the SEC. The practice facility which was once as good as it got anywhere in the SEC, is in desperate need of a makeover. SEC CHANGES INTRA-CONFERENCE TRANSFER RULES The Southeastern Conference has eliminated the one-year residency requirement for transfers from one league school to another. Thursday, the SEC presidents and chancellors voted to give intra-conference transfers immediate eligibility, which falls in line with votes taken in the other power conferences. This clears the way for players like former Tennessee linebacker Henry To’o To’o to play immediately for Alabama this fall where he’s expected to take over for the graduated Dylan Moses and become a force for the Crimson Tide defense. Athletes who have already announced their intent to transfer will be eligible in 2021 but future athletes will have to declare their intent to transfer by February 1 for fall sports, May 1 for winter sports and June 1 for spring sports. In another matter voted on by the league presidents and chancellors, schools that receive an NCAA postseason ban in basketball or football will be limited to 50 percent of the conference-distributed money in that particular sport while the ban is in place. If a school gets a postseason ban in football or basketball in the five years after they come off a postseason ban, they will forfeit 100 percent of the distributed revenue for the duration of the ban. To put that in perspective, LSU has a potential postseason ban in football for which it has self-imposed some sanctions to stave off a harsh response by the NCAA. If the NCAA issues a postseason ban for the 2021 season for LSU football, the school will only receive 50 percent of the conference’s distribution that is directly tied to football. And, if LSU went on probation again in the five years after that ban, then it would not receive any football money for as long as the probation was in place. That is needed legislation. OVER, UNDER, AROUND AND THROUGH THE SEC Alabama: Third-seeded Alabama (51-7) knocked off 11th-seeded Arizona , 5-1, in the first round of the Women’s College World Series. Alabama will face 2nd-seeded UCLA, a 4-0 winner over Florida State, in the second round today … Former Alabama wide receiver Joshua Lanier is transferring to Jackson State to play for Deion Sanders. Lanier never caught a pass at Alabama … Alabama (31-23) will face North Carolina State (30-17) in the Ruston Regional today as the NCAA Baseball Tournament gets under way. Arkansas: The No. 1 seed Razorbacks (46-10) will face New Jersey Tech (26-22) in the first round of the Fayetteville regional today. Auburn: Eli Stove, who signed with the Los Angeles Chargers as an undrafted free agent, has been waived after surgery to repair a torn ACL. Georgia: Georgia (34-22) dropped a 3-2 decision to 5th-seeded Oklahoma State in the first round of the Women’s College World Series. Georgia will face national No. 1 seed Oklahoma, which lost for only the third time all season to James Madison Thursday in an elimination game today. Georgia, it must be noted, handed Oklahoma its first loss of the season back in April. Kentucky: Chris Collins has been hired to coach the defensive backs at UK. He coached safeties and served as recruiting coordinator at Georgia State last year. LSU: One day after it was announced O-line coach James Cregg has been fired, Coach O Brad Davis from Arkansas to take his place. Davis has coached in the SEC at Missouri and Florida. Also, former Kansas O-line coach Lee Grimes has joined the LSU staff as an analyst … The Tigers (34-22) will face Gonzaga (33-17) in the Eugene, Oregon regional today. Mississippi State: The No. 7 national seed Bulldogs (40-15) will face Samford (35-22) in the Starkville regional today. Ole Miss: The No. 10 national seed Rebels (41-19) will face Southeast Missouri State in the Oxford regional today. South Carolina: The Gamecocks (33-21), who are the 2nd-seed in their own regional, will face Virginia (29-23) today. Tennessee: The Vols (45-16), who are the No. 3 national seed, will face Wright State (35-11) in the Knoxville regional today. Texas A&M: Former Aggie QB Johnny Manziel says he was paid $3,000 to sign 10,000 autographs after he won the Heisman Trophy. Vanderbilt: Vanderbilt (40-15), the No. 4 national seed, opens its Nashville regional against Presbyterian (22-21) today. COACH K SAYS IT WAS TIME TO CALL IT QUITS At the press conference in which he confirmed the reports that he’s retiring, Duke basketball coach Mike Kryzyzewski dismissed the idea that he’s leaving for any reason other than it is time to move on to whatever is next in life. After more than 40 years of the almost year-round grind of coaching, there is plenty more even though he’s 74 years old. Perhaps there are other reasons that he’s keeping to himself why he’s walking away, but whether there are or whether there aren’t any, he’s been around long enough with more than enough success to dictate the terms of his departure. He will turn 75 next February, but I don’t think anyone believes he’s too old to relate to today’s generation or that the game is on the verge of passing him by. I do think he won’t miss what’s in store in the next four or five years once the wild, wild west of the transfer portal merges with name, image and likeness. ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: Major League Baseball umpires have vowed to crack down on pitchers who are doctoring baseballs with banned substances after the league says the practice has gotten out of control. I’m reminded of Gaylord Perry, who won 314 games with a career ERA of 3.11 for eight teams and who wrote a book entitled “Me and the Spitter.” Umpires were constantly searching Perry for any kind of illegal substance that he used to make the ball dip and curve. Although he was inspected by umpires on a regular basis they only found an illegal substance on him once in his 21st year in the big leagues. For that he served a 10-game suspension. At the 1972 All-Star Game, played at the Launching Pad, AKA Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, I was in a group of reporters who were interviewing Gaylord when someone asked how often he throws a spitter during a game? He just grinned and answered something to the effect of “If nobody can catch me throwing one how sure are you that I throw it?” Well, he threw it although I have no idea how often. Still, should he be in the Hall of Fame when he broke the rules and guys like Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Roger Clemens and Rafael Palmeiro aren’t for using banned substances in their bodies?

The town of Citra is home to just over 8,000 people. And North Marion High School, which services the town, has just 1,300 students enrolled. But the quaintness of the town and the school’s derogatory nickname, “Cow Patty High”, doesn’t stop it from breeding high-caliber athletes and sending them 45 minutes north to the University of Florida. On the gridiron, the North Marion Colts shipped former Florida Gators wide receiver and current Seattle Seahawk, Freddie Swain, to don the Orange and Blue. That was in 2016. Most recently, the Colts’ most coveted athletes are found on the baseball diamond. Last season, North Marion alum Sterlin Thompson signed with the Florida Gators after previously being committed to play for the Stetson Hatters. “I’ve always wanted to be a Gator,” Thompson said on his signing day on Feb. 27, 2020. “I really like the program there; I like Coach Sully and what he’s doing there... He has a powerhouse of a program.” And that same rough-around-the-edges ball coach and his powerhouse of a program is slated to draw another North Marion Colt stud into Gainesville. This season, Deric Fabian, younger brother of Gators’ centerfielder Jud Fabian, is next in line to leave behind North Marion High School en route to a career with the Florida Gators baseball program. Thompson, who spent his first three high school seasons with Ocala’s Forest High School, transferred to the team up north for his final season. Thompson’s stats for his senior season aren’t available online. Nonetheless, the numbers he put up during his first three seasons of high school ball speak for themselves. Through his first three seasons, Thompson maintained a .357 batting average, which was bolstered by an outstanding junior season. As a junior at Forest, Thompson boasted an average of .542. Through 48 at-bats, Thompson recorded 26 hits -- 20 of which drove in runs for the Forest Wildcats. Thompson also lifted three balls out of the yard his junior year, before eventually transferring to play under Dale Hall at North Marion. Now, just one year removed from his high school career, Thompson is one of the most reliable batters on Florida’s roster. With a .313 batting average, Thompson is second to only Jacob Young, a sophomore who edges Thompson with a .317 average. Hall only coached Thompson through seven games before COVID-19 nixed the high school sports season. But a shortened season didn’t prevent North Marion head coach Dale Hall from getting a good look at who Thompson was as a baseball player. According to Hall, Thomspon’s success at the plate can be attributed to his mindset. “I think Sterlin takes a very simplistic approach to the game,” Hall said. “I don’t think he lets a lot get to him. He was the same way in high school.” After going 4-for-9 from the plate during the Gators’ disappointing showing against Arkansas to close out the regular season, Thompson could have folded. In the remaining at-bats that the freshman didn’t record a hit in Fayetteville, he struck out. However, instead of that taking the wind out of his sails heading into the SEC tournament, Thompson brushed himself off and kept moving. In the four tournament games the Gators played in from Hoover, Alabama, Thomspon issued six hits and struck out just two times. His three-hit, one-RBI performance on May 27 helped lift the Gators to a convincing 7-2 over Alabama behind an offensive explosion featuring 14 hits off Florida bats. “Sterlin has a passion for the game,” Hall said. “I can guarantee you he’s tearing up the nets at the University of Florida, just like he did at North Marion High School. He won’t be outworked. He’ll do everything he can to stay in the lineup. He’ll play anywhere you could possibly ask him to play. “I think the main thing with Sterlin and what has made him successful this year is that he’s just playing the game of baseball. He’s not going to let the hype of, at the beginning of the season, being the number one team in the country... he’s not going to let that affect him at all. He’s just going to go about his business.” And fortunately for Florida baseball fans, Hall included, the next North Marion Colt to suit up in the Orange and Blue shares a lot of the same qualities. “He and Deric are very much the same in that aspect that they don’t let a lot of things get to them. And I think that’s very important as a baseball player is that you don’t let your failures overcome you because it’s going to happen a lot. Those two have done a great job at separating at-bats or separating a base-running mistake, or an error in the field... they just do a really good job at forgetting. And that’s something that you have to do as a baseball player.” Fabian, who like Thompson, transferred to North Marion, helped lead the Colts to the Class 4A state championship game this season. The flashy shortstop carried a .462 batting average through his senior season behind 43 hits and 53 RBIs. The senior also lifted 13 home runs out of the park in the 2020-21 season. But according to Hall, Fabian’s numbers shouldn’t be what Gators fans are most excited about. “Just an amazing human being,” Hall said. “I told him this after the state championship game – you could take all your baseball abilities completely away from you and -- I just cannot put into words how I feel about him. “He’s just such a positive person. You never see him too high; you never see him too low. He’s very consistent.” Citra isn’t home to much or many. But it is home to North Marion High School, which is home to the baseball program that has yielded great results for the Florida Gators. “It’s a great feeling to have two guys up there, simply because I’m a Gator fan,” Hall laughs. “I’m really excited about being able to watch Sterlin this year and being able to watch both of them up there next year. “But all the credit goes to them because both of those players have worked extremely hard to get to where they’re at.”

I’m looking for Jo. First name Mo. As in Mo-Jo. Counting the final 45 days or so of spring, trying to bust through the Wall of Pandemic Hangover with a sprint to football season 2021, here in my three-point stance, skipping over the forthcoming summer heat and cutting right to the chase. I want college football back, full go. Just to be certain, I looked it up. “Mo-Jo. To regain one’s confidence, energy, or enthusiasm, especially coinciding with a resurgence in one’s success.” Yeah, that’s what I’m looking for. However, I’m also a realist. Things are going to be different. For instance, you and I know The Honeymoon is Over for Dan Mullen. It’s Year 4. There are no championship trophies in the case yet. And while progress is nice, patience is not in abundance when it comes to The Gator Nation. If you haven’t already, are you willing to invest long term in Dan Mullen? And is he willing to reciprocate? No, I’m not throwing shade on Mullen, because I still think he’s the ideal Florida coach. But facts is facts. In Urban Meyer’s fourth year at Florida, he went 13-1 and won the BCS national championship. In his fourth year at Ohio State, the season after winning his third career national championship, he went 13-1 and won the Fiesta Bowl over Notre Dame, winding up No. 4 in the final AP Poll 5. In Steve Spurrier’s fourth year at Florida, 1993, he went 11-2, beat West Virginia in the Sugar Bowl, won the SEC and wound up ranked No. 5 in the AP Poll. Fourth-year seasons have been fairly kind to Florida’s greatest coaches. What will it be like for Dan Mullen in 2021? You’ll get a mixed bag of answers – as I have on #The Buddy Martin Show in recent weeks. Most of my so-called “expert” guests who specialize in college football – and especially the Gators – see moderate success ahead. Perhaps it can be best described “close but no cigar” for Mullen whose progress was rocking along nicely until the semi-collapse at the end of the 2020 season. No matter how you slice it – and most of my most knowledgeable guests commentators tend to cut Mullen slack – the tail-end 0-3 swan dive was not a pretty optic. We can talk about the unfortunate oopsies that occurred as the Gators closed out a season which had included an encouraging win over Georgia, but the truth is 0-3 still 0-3. And the question is: Where do they go from here? OK, so The Shoe Game was ugly, but perhaps an anomaly. And we don’t just assume Kyle Trask would have gotten Evan McPherson close enough to have cut through the fog with a sure-fire winning field goal over LSU. But probably. So chalk that off to circumstance. Besides, they could be forgiven for peeking around the corner at Alabama. If the Crimson Tide were the measuring stick in 2020 – and why wouldn’t they be? – then let’s apply the Dan Mullen Algebra to the question that he answered about Georgia in 2019 when the Gators lost by a touchdown to the Bulldogs: Reporter: “How far behind is Florida to Georgia?” Mullen: “Seven points.” By that standard, since Saban beat Mullen only, 52-46, in the SEC Championship game, it could be argued Florida is nipping at the heels of Alabama, except we all know that’s not the truth. Nobody else came within 6 points of Alabama. Progress, but no cigar. And then we don’t even need to discuss that disastrous 55-20 loss to Oklahoma in the Cotton “Opt Out” Bowl, do we? So Mullen must own all of that. And as he cobbles together his roster from various sources, including the happy hunting ground of the Transfer Portal, we shall be watching keenly to see if the 2021 squad can drum up a rebuilt defense and reshape the offense behind four-year non-starter Emory Jones. Meanwhile, Mullen must expunge some of the missteps of 2020-2021. Critics will continue to bring up: 1. Torqued because he felt Kyle Field appeared to have more spectators than may have been allowed, Mullen fired off a comment that he wanted 90,000 in The Swamp for the LSU game. The AP wrote: “I know our governor passed that rule, so certainly, hopefully, the UF administration decides to let us pack The Swamp against LSU – 100% – because that crowd was certainly a factor in the game,” Mullen said after the Aggies upset his Gators. 2. The half-time squabble when Mullen ran on the playing field and physically confronted Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz and was later fined $25,000 by the SEC, with three Missouri players receiving one-half suspensions for their part in the fisticuffs. Later, he donned a Darth Vader costume for the post-game press conference – already pre-planned and not in any way related. But the untimely optics didn’t help the situation. 3. Mullen offers from NFL: Did he receive any? After showing no apparent interest in a pro head coaching job, Mullen’s name started popping up at the beginning of 2021, at which time he seemed to change his position. It didn’t appear he was seeking employment elsewhere, but Mullen’s name surfaced in a few stories about the New York Jets job and he didn’t go out of the way to deny it. Understandable perhaps that an agent would utilize leverage if it’s there, but not embraced by many Gator fans who may have taken umbrage that while Mullen asked for loyalty from them and the players, he was willing to breach it in his own case. 4. NCAA level II and level III violations, a $5,000 fine and a one-year show-cause penalty for breaking recruiting rules. The show-cause prevented him from all off-campus recruiting in the fall of 2020 and a four-day ban in 2021. Very little was said and not much is known about the circumstances except that he and an unnamed assistant were charged with “impermissible in-person contact” with a recruit and that the two violations were cited for lacking in the promotion of “an atmosphere of compliance.” Then came the “Opt-Out” bowl. Who knew? Having said all that, I think most people would agree that Dan Mullen is exactly the right man for the job and still has plenty of time to win a championship. It is not without significance that after his first 34 games, Mullen became the first Gator coach to ever go 28-6 – including Spurrier and Meyer. However, after reaching that mark, he only won once more as his Gators lost three of the last four in 2020 and currently sports a respectable 29-9 record. He did not overtake the two legends. When you consider all things, Mullen is about where he needs to be – poised, confident, scouting the transfer portal for more help, at 49 wiser and more experienced, a guy who can hang points on the scoreboard but needs some relief on defense, a year of Covid-19 survival under his belt, equal to the challenge. He can be forgiven for his mild transgressions. And will be. Especially if he takes care for business for the home opponent on Sept. 18. You know, the one that he’s only six points behind.

A few thoughts to jump start your Thursday morning: OUTSIDE THE TOP TEN IS NOT A BAD PLACE TO START A FOOTBALL SEASON It is safe to assume that when the Associated Press and Coaches polls come out in August the Florida Gators will be ranked somewhere outside the top ten. The preseason rankings from Athlon (11th) and Lindy’s (12th) are usually fairly close to what we will see from the polls in August. While plenty of Gator fans are disappointed now and will probably be disappointed again in August, this isn’t such a bad place to be. There is a certain predictability about the magazines and the August polls. Alabama and Clemson are the usual suspects at the top with Alabama this year’s number one and Clemson relegated to No. 2. Oklahoma, which is almost always top five and an occasional College Football Playoff party crasher, is No. 3. Ohio State, which nearly always makes the playoff is No. 4 at Athlon and five at Lindy’s. Georgia, which only made the playoff in a fluke year (2017) is once again over-hyped, four at Lindy’s, five at Athlon. Starting the season ranked in the top five is no guarantee of future playoff success. Georgia is living proof of that. The Poodles made it to the championship game of the playoff in 2017 where they lost to Alabama, which won the national championship despite not playing in the SEC Championship Game. Georgia was No. 3 in the 2018 preseason, No. 3 again in 2019 preseason and No. 4 in 2020. Of course, they haven’t won the SEC or made the playoff any of those years. There will be pressure on Georgia this year, as much or more than any year since the 2017 championship game collapse against Alabama. The fan base is restless, wondering when the 40-year national championship drought will end. There are only so many Near National Championships that even a delusional fan base can handle. Barring an upset of monumental proportions in the other 10 games on the regular season schedule Georgia’s 2021 season will be determined by two games, both played on neutral sites – Nov. 4 against Clemson in Charlotte and October 30 against Florida in Jacksonville. The pressure to win those two games will be enormous. Florida, on the other hand, may also have what amounts to a two-game schedule – September 18 against Alabama in Gainesville and October 30 against the Poodles in Jacksonville – but the pressure won’t be anything like it will be for Georgia. Georgia is expected to win the SEC East, play Alabama for the SEC Championship, and if that’s the only loss, be the second team from the SEC in the playoff. If you go by preseason projections Florida is supposed to lose to both Alabama and Georgia but consider this: The Gators get Alabama on a September afternoon when the heat at field level and the decibels can be a rather powerful 1-2 punch; and if Georgia should lose the opening game to Clemson the Poodles will have the weight of the world on their shoulders in Jacksonville. At least in the mind of the media, it is the uncertainty at quarterback and on the defensive side of the ball that keeps the Gators outside the top ten in the preseason and it’s why they think the Gators are certain to lose to Alabama and Georgia. However, Dan Mullen is a known quarterback whisperer who tells anyone who will listen he thinks Emory Jones is primed for a big year and thanks to the additions of Daquan Newkirk and Antonio Shelton at the tackles, a corps of fast, active linebackers and improved coaching for the secondary, the Gators aren’t going to give up nearly as many yards or points as last year. Could they beat Alabama and Georgia? While it may not be probable, it’s within the realm of possibility if Jones is electric and the defense is vastly improved. Just because the Gators start the season outside the top ten doesn’t mean that’s where they will finish. You can bet the ranch Mullen isn’t complaining. He knows he’s at Florida to win big games, but he also knows the pressure on the Gators isn’t going to be anything like it is for Georgia. CULPEPPER, RHETT ON COLLEGE FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME BALLOT Former Gator All-Americans Brad Culpepper and Errict Rhett were on the College Football Hall of Fame ballot that was released Wednesday. Because he won the Draddy Award as college football’s top scholar-athlete in 1991 and was a first team All-American anchor of a nasty Florida defense, I think Culpepper is probably a lock to get in the hall this year. I think Rhett is quite deserving – he did, after all, run for more than 4,100 yards and catch more than 140 passes in a marvelous 4-year career – but I think he will have to wait a year or two before he is inducted. ECHOLS MAKES FIRST TEAM NFCA ALL-AMERICA Florida third baseman Charla Echols, who led the team in hitting (.387), home runs (15) and RBI (55) while striking out only three times, was named first team All-America by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association. Making the third team were third baseman Hannah Adams (.356, 10 HR, 38 RBI) and pitcher Elizabeth Hightower (17-6, 1.61 ERA). COACH K RETIRING AFTER NEXT SEASON At a press conference the night before the Liberty Bowl in Memphis in December of 1973, then North Carolina State coach Lou Holtz was asked if someday he would want to succeed Woody Hayes at Ohio State. Holtz, who was once one of Woody’s assistants, replied, “No. I never want to be the coach who follows a legend, but I wouldn’t mind being the coach who follows the coach who follows the legend.” In 1977 Holtz broke his own vow and tried succeeding Frank Broyles at Arkansas. He went 60-21-2 in seven seasons there, which is actually better than Broyles did in his last seven years as the Arkansas HBC, but it wasn’t all rosy. Broyles was the AD and he had a cult-like fan base. Nothing Holtz did was going to satisfy them so he left for Minnesota of all places, sorry he had violated his own vow about following a legend. After Minnesota he had the good sense to follow the inept Gerry Faust at Notre Dame. I am reminded of the Holtz story because Duke basketball coach Mike Kryzyzewski will be retiring at the end of the 2021-22 season. He has five national championships and 1,170 wins to his name. He is a living legend who turns 75 in February and has a recruiting class that he hopes will bring home a sixth and final NCAA title. When he hangs it up someone will have the unenviable task of following one of sports’ all-time legends. Gary Parrish, the nation’s best basketball writer who broke the story that Coach K was doing the big adios, believes that Duke assistant Jon Scheyer will get the call even though he’s only 33 years old and has no head coaching experience. Duke fans may prove to be more patient with a head coaching novice than they would someone who has experience. For years, everyone thought Jeff Capel would succeed Coach K but he was connected to NCAA violations at Oklahoma and has posted three straight losing seasons at Pitt. Bobby Hurley hasn’t exactly ripped and shredded at Arizona State. Steve Wojciehowski was a fan and Coach K favorite when he played at Duke, but he was fired at Marquette after seven seasons. Chris Collins has had four straight losing seasons at Northwestern so he’s out. Mike Brey and Johnny Dawkins are too old. Quinn Snyder cheated and was forced out at Mizzou. There is one other reason that Scheyer probably makes the most sense. Six miles from the Duke campus is Chapel Hill where Roy Williams walked away a few weeks ago. Hubert Davis, who has never been a head coach, is the replacement for the Carolina legend but he’s Tar Heel blue through and through, played for Dean Smith, spent 10 years in the NBA and coached for a bunch of years for Roy. If Carolina is going to turn the program over to a blueblood but untested Hubert Davis, then Duke probably feels safer giving the keys to the Caddy to the cabana boy. OVER, UNDER, AROUND AND THROUGH THE SEC Alabama: Former Alabama DB Scooby Carter is transferring to Arkansas State. It’s the second transfer for Carter, who left Alabama after the 2019 season and spent last year at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. He was a 4-star recruit coming out of high school in Mansfield, Texas ... No. 3 seed Alabama opens play in the Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City tonight (7 p.m.) against 10th-seeded Florida State ... Former Bama All-America running back Shaun Alexander and center Sylvester Croom are on the College Football Hall of Fame ballot. Arkansas: On the College Football Hall of Fame ballot are former Arkansas DT Dan Hampton and former offensive guard Brandon Burlsworth. Auburn: Former Utah State special teams coordinator and tight ends coach Roc Bellantoni is joining the Auburn staff as an analyst. Georgia: Cornerback Daran Branch, who was a 2020 recruit, is leaving the Georgia program although there is no indication whether he is transferring out, was kicked off the team or is retiring from football … Georgia faces No. 5 seed Oklahoma State at 2:30 today as play begins in the Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City ... Former defensive back Champ Bailey and running back Garrison Hearst are on the College Football Hall of Fame ballot. Kentucky: Nine UK baseball players entered the NCAA transfer portal Tuesday, raising speculation that HBC Nick Mingione’s job is in jeopardy. Kentucky hasn’t made the NCAA Tournament since 2017, Mingione’s first year on the job … Former UK All-America QB Tim Couch is on the College Football Hall of Fame ballot. LSU: LSU has fired offensive line coach James Cregg after three seasons on the job … Former LSU running back Kevin Faulk and linebacker Bradie James are on the College Football Hall of Fame ballot … Redshirt freshman running back Kevonte Bradford has entered the NCAA transfer portal. He carried the ball 10 times for 58 yards in 2020. Bradford is a former 4-star recruit who was listed as the No. 13 running back recruit in the country in 2020. Missouri: Former Mizzou head football coach Gary Pinkel is on the College Football Hall of Fame ballot as is former wide receiver Jeremy Maclin. South Carolina: The Gamecocks got a rare bit of good news for a basketball program that has seen eight departures since March. Forward Keyshawn Bryant (6-5, 197, JR) and guard Jermaine Couisnard (6-4, 211, SO) both withdrew their names from the NBA Draft and made the decision to return to South Carolina for the 2021-22 season. Bryant averaged 14.4 points and 5.4 rebounds per game last season while Couisnard averaged 10.1 points, 3.0 rebounds and 3.2 assists. Tennessee: Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel, who quarterbacked Oklahoma to the 2000 national championship, is on the College Football Hall of Fame ballot. Also on the ballot are former UT safety Eric Berry, wide receiver Willie Gault and wide receiver Larry Seivers. Texas A&M: Former Aggie defensive back Kevin Smith is on the College Football Hall of Fame ballot … Former Aggie D-lineman Josh Rogers is transferring to Buffalo. Signed in 2017, Rogers was in on five tackles during his time in Aggieland. ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: In a very offhand way, Roy Williams pointed to the upcoming issues with a transfer portal gone crazy and name, image and likeness as reasons why he shocked the college basketball world by stepping down as North Carolina’s basketball coach a few weeks ago. It wouldn’t shock me if Mike Kryzyzewski’s decision to step down at Duke isn’t rooted in the exact same issues. College sports are changing and I’m not at all convinced for the better. I think we need to brace ourselves for the eventuality that a lot of iconic and respected coaches in both football and basketball decide they would rather ride off into the sunset than deal with what’s in the future.