It wasn’t supposed to be this way. The Florida Gators were not supposed to be two games behind SEC East leading Tennessee Volunteers with two weekend series remaining in the regular season. Forty-eight games into the season, Kevin O’Sullivan was not supposed to be tinkering with his pitching staff and trying to figure out why his defense offsets spectacular plays with errors on routine infield grounders. No, it wasn’t supposed to be this way at all. Way back in February the Gators were a unanimous No. 1 and the team nobody in his right mind wanted to play. Sully had it all – pitching, hitting, defense, depth and a brand new ball yard – or at least that’s the way it seemed leading up to that season-opening series with Miami in which the Gators dropped two out of three. Not exactly the kind of start you expect out of a No. 1 team. In the three months since the season began, the Gators have had more ups and downs than the Cobra’s Curse roller coaster ride at Tampa’s Busch Gardens. They can be positively brilliant as they were in taking two out of three from then No. 3 Ole Miss or when they won the last two to take the series from then No. 2 Vanderbilt. Along the way the Gators have also been swept by a good but not great South Carolina team and lost non-conference games with Florida Atlantic, Jacksonville and Stetson. The most recent series win against Kentucky in Lexington is the perfect example of how the Gators can stink it up one night, then play like champions the next two. In game one against UK, the Gators lost a perfectly winnable game one, 7-5, when the bullpen failed to hold the lead after UF had gone ahead 5-4 in the top of the seventh. Credit for resilience should be given to Kentucky, but the Wildcats got plenty of help from the Gators in the form of three costly errors, three wild pitches and a passed ball. Of Kentucky’s seven runs, only two were earned. One night later, the Gators rallied from a 5-4 deficit to an 8-5 win with four in the ninth, the final three coming on a 3-run homer by Kendrick Calilao. Sunday, the Gators put together one of their better efforts start to finish all season in taking out the Wildcats, 9-2, a game in which UF pounded out 11 hits – four by leadoff Jacob Young – and were flawless in the field. Lefty Hunter Barco pitched 6-2/3 shutout innings, giving up only two hits while striking out 10. Jack Leftwich, the former starter turned closer, got his second straight save. With Georgia (28-18, 11-13 SEC East) coming to Gainesville this weekend, O’Sullivan must feel like Forrest Gump and his box of chocolates. He never knows what he’s going to get from one game to the next. What he does know is the 9th-ranked Gators (33-15, 15-9 SEC) can’t afford a loss, not with a road trip to No. 1 Arkansas the final weekend of the regular season. In the SEC East, the Gators are two games behind Tennessee (38-11, 17-7 SEC East), a 1-1/2 behind Vanderbilt (35-10, 16-7 SEC East). A second place finish or even a division title isn’t out of the question, not with Tennessee closing out its regular season with Arkansas (37-9, 17-7 SEC West) in Knoxville this weekend and South Carolina (28-18, 12-12 SEC East) on the road. Vandy has to visit Ole Miss (34-14, 14-10 SEC West) and then finishes out with Kentucky at home. Finishing second is the realistic goal. A second place finish in the East would practically assure the Gators of a first round bye in the SEC Tournament in Hoover, Alabama. Given the lack of depth on this year’s pitching staff, the bye has never been more important. Depth on the pitching staff wasn’t an issue back in January when everyone in the country had the Gators pegged as the team most likely to win a national championship. That changed just days before the Miami series when Nick Pogue and Tyler Nesbitt were lost for the season due to Tommy John surgery. That forced O’Sullivan to start shuffling his pitching staff, which has proven to be a never-ending battle. Pogue, a big (6-5, 233) righty with fast ball velocity up to the mid-90s, and Nesbitt, another righty capable of heating it up in or near the mid-90s, were going to be midweek starters or long relievers on weekends. Had they been healthy, it would given O’Sullivan options with Christian Scott (4-2, 2.72 ERA, 2 saves) and Franco Aleman (1-2, 5.17 ERA, 4 saves). Scott began the season as the setup man out of the bullpen with Aleman as the closer. When Leftwich (6-3, 3.51 ERA, 4 saves) began struggling as the No. 2 weekend starter, O’Sullivan rolled the dice, kept Scott as his setup guy, inserted Aleman into the weekend rotation and turned Leftwich into the closer. Leftwich has thrived as the closer but Aleman’s effectiveness is determined by his control. When Aleman is throwing strikes, O’Sullivan can typically get five innings out of him, but when he throws a lot of pitches he loses effectiveness. Aleman can throw in the high 90s and is best suited for a closer’s role when he can come in, face 3-4 hitters and give them constant gas. Sully chose to leave Scott in the setup role since he can go anywhere from 3-6 innings in relief. Leftwich has been a revelation as a closer. After South Carolina and Ole Miss roughed him up on consecutive starts, O’Sullivan pulled him out of the weekend rotation. He walked two batters on eight pitches in a loss at Kentucky but came back midweek with four brilliant shutout innings (0 hits, 1 walk, 7 strikeouts) to get the win in relief against Florida State and followed that up with another 4-inning gem (0 runs, 0 hits) to win in relief against Missouri. He got a save against Vandy and two saves against Kentucky. It’s as if Jack Leftwich was born to be a closer. When the Major League Draft is held in June, he can expect to get a reasonably early call to work his way through the minors as a closer. Tommy Mace (5-0, 4.43 ERA) has had five consecutive starts in which he has allowed at least three earned runs, but he doesn’t walk anyone and if he can get past the first couple of innings, he usually settles down and is tough to hit afterward. Lefty Hunter Barco (8-2, 4.26 ERA) began the season as the Sunday starter but he will move to Saturday when Georgia comes to town this weekend. He has strung four quality starts in a row (all wins) and has 76 strikeouts in 63-1/3 innings. It’s pretty much a smoke and mirrors approach beyond Mace, Barco, Aleman, Scott and Leftwich. The weekend pitching is fragile and that has to be a concern as the Gators get ready to go into full tournament mode when they probably will need a fourth starter and another long reliever. Lefty Trey Van Der Weide (2-2, 3.58 ERA, 2 saves) can be effective in short stretches and particularly good against lefthanded dominant lineups. Brandon Sproat (2-0, 3.31 ERA) had a quality start against Stetson in which he allowed only one hit over four innings, easily his best outing of the season. After two straight injury-plagued seasons, O’Sullivan is cautious in hos he uses Garrett Milchin (2-1, 4.98 ERA), who had a quality start against FSU (6 innings, 3 hits, 5 strikeouts) the last time he pitched a month ago. Until a bad night against Stetson earlier in the week, the offense was looking dangerous with at least 10 hits in 11 of the previous 14 games, a stretch in which the Gators have hit 17 of their 59 home runs. The power surge has been led by Jud Fabian (.268, 18 HR, 44 RBI), who has cut down on strikeouts significantly. Fabian is tied for third in the country and second in the SEC in home runs. He has put together a pair of 2-homer games in the last month, one against Vanderbilt’s Jack Leiter, expected to be the No. 1 overall pick in the June Major League Baseball Draft. Fabian benefits from Jacob Young (.317, 3 HR, 31 RBI) and Nathan Hickey (.331, 8 HR, 47 RBI) at the top of the order getting on base consistently. Another reason for Fabian’s power groove has been the emergence of Kris Armstrong (.291, 7 HR, 25 RBI) hitting cleanup. Sandwiched between Hickey and Armstrong, pitchers can no longer afford to try to make Fabian chase bad pitches. If they walk him now, they have to take their chances with Armstrong, who has been on a roll since the Vanderbilt series when he hit two homers and drove in five. Armstrong has benefitted from the presence of Kirby McMullen (.280, 9 HR, 36 RBI), enjoying his best season as a power hitter. O’Sullivan is ecstatic about true freshmen Sterlin Thompson (.295, 3 HR, 19 RBI) and Colby Halter (.301., 3 HR, 32 RBI). Josh Rivera (.262, 4 HR, 20 RBI) has cut down on strikeouts and is putting the ball in play. Kendrick Calilao (.257, 2 HR, 13 RBI) is forcing O’Sullivan to find a place in the lineup after game-winning homers against FSU and Kentucky. Pitching depth is a concern but if O’Sullivan can get five innings or more out of his starters, it’s adequate. The Gators are dangerous offensively and capable of putting big innings together. Defense? That’s another story altogether. O’Sullivan teams in the past consistently ranked among the better defensive teams in the country, but not this one, which can turn routine plays into an adventure. The Gators have committed 56 errors in 48 games, which ranks dead last in the SEC. Errors are directly responsible for seven of Florida’s 15 losses, six of which are by two or fewer runs. Florida’s .968 fielding percentage is 138th nationally. Contrast that to the 2017 team that won the NCAA championship. Those Gators committed only 53 errors in 71 games and fielded at a .981 percentage. A .981 percentage would rank seventh nationally right now. Additionally, Florida catchers have been credited with 12 passed balls and opponents have stolen 45 bases in 50 attempts. The glaring inconsistencies in the field combined with the lack of depth and uncertainty with the pitching staff and the early season struggles at the plate would have doomed most teams to a rather mediocre season. If you simply go by the expectations that were in place when the season began, then this is a mediocre season but the Gators are still ranked in the top ten in all four of the major polls and they’re still in the hunt for the SEC East championship. Winning the East might seem like a longshot but if the Gators can find a way to go 5-1 or 6-0 over the final two regular season weekends, that’s not inconceivable. Because the expectations were so high to begin with, it disguises the fact that this is actually one of the better coaching jobs O’Sullivan has done in his 14 years on the job at the University of Florida. He’s had teams with more pitching depth, better hitting top to bottom of the lineup and certainly, better defensively. Still, even with all the difficulties the Gators are playing their best baseball at the end of the year. That bodes well for the postseason even though there is a major concern about enough pitching and the ability to avoid critical errors in close games. When they lost the first two games of the Tennessee series in Knoxville, the Gators seemed on the verge of taking, but they have turned things around since, going 14-4. The signature series was against Vanderbilt, who the Gators beat two out of three. They could have very well pulled off a sweep. Since they lost two of three to Tennessee, Florida has won its last four SEC series, going 9-3 in those weekend games. This team could very well be sitting on 40 wins right now and be in the discussion for one of the top four seeds in the NCAA Tournament. As up and down as this season has been, the Gators really aren’t that far off from being in the conversation of the favorites to make it to Omaha and win the College World Series. Should they continue to play as well as they have the last 14 games, they will have a legitimate shot to wind up where everyone thought they would back in February. The Gators will certainly host a regional this year and there is a good possibility they will be selected to host a super regional as well. The Gators are 26-6 at home so if they can play both regional and super regional at Florida Ballpark, they will have be in the hunt to advance to Omaha. Kevin O’Sullivan will be the first to tell you it’s not where you start the season but where you end it. The Gators may have started the season No. 1 and endured some rough patches, but here they are 48 games later and they are capable of a serious postseason run. The season has indeed been a roller coaster ride, but there is a reason the longest lines at amusement parks are for the roller coasters. All the ups and downs, twists and turns leave you breathless at the end, wanting even more. If the pitching holds up, the hitting delivers and the defense turns things around, it could leave even the heartiest Gator fans breathless and wanting even more.

Why does the saying, “don’t call it a comeback,” exist? And at what point does the Florida Gators softball equipment staff remove the word “Gators” from the team’s jerseys and replace it with “Comeback Kids”? And last question: Can the Gators sign Tim Walton to a lifetime contract? If so, it should’ve been signed, sealed and delivered on Sunday afternoon following the Gators’ sweep of Texas A&M to secure their share of the SEC regular season crown. During his appearance on Shane Matthews’ daily podcast “PodUp with Matthews in the Morning” on Wednesday, Walton revealed that he told UF athletic director Scott Stricklin that if he won the SEC title by sweeping the Aggies over the weekend, it would be his greatest SEC accomplishment in his career. But due to the sheer improbability and difficulty that the 2021 college softball campaign brought, Walton seemingly puts more weight behind his team’s accomplishments this season. “In my mind, we’ve exceeded expectations,” Walton told Matthews. “Not necessarily because we didn’t think we were going to be a winning team, but this is going to be a really, really, really difficult year to win a championship.” And last weekend’s series was a testament to that. Florida was 16-5 in conference play when it welcomed Texas A&M, which was 8-14 in the SEC, to Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium. The Gators were widely expected to take care of the Aggies handedly and waltz away with a conference title. But that was far from how the weekend played out. While the Gators did finish the weekend with a championship, they had to scratch and claw to finish the mission. Florida fell behind Texas A&M 3-0 through the first three innings of play on Friday before the Gators could scratch across a pair of runs in the bottom of the third frame. The Gators and Aggies traded three straight scoreless innings before Walton’s squad found itself down a run with three outs to survive. Florida’s nine-hole hitter Cheyenne Lindsey drew a lead-off walk, followed by Hannah Adams taking a free base of her own before Charla Echols finally knocked a “hit that mattered”. Walton revealed during his post-game interview that he had overheard Echols in the dugout telling a teammate that her father had asked her when she was going to make a hit that mattered? Well, if Echols could predict the future, she would have told him, “Dad, I’m going to make a hit that matters in the biggest game of the regular season.” With the tying run in scoring position, Echols ripped a 2-2 offering over the center field wall, good for a three-run, walkoff home run to maintain Florida’s hopes of sweeping the Aggies and claiming half of the SEC title, which it would share with the Arkansas Razorbacks. “She’s unbelieveable,” Walton told Matthews of Echols. “I think Amanda Lorenz is probably the best hitter I’ve ever coached in all ways. Charla is learning and growing to be one of the best.” In Saturday’s contest, the Gators had a stronger handle on the Aggies, much like many anticipated the entire series to go. Natalie Lugo tossed a complete-game shutout, while receiving the help of a trio of home runs on offense. Echols, Lindsey and Adam’s each went yard on Saturday, helping the Gators to a 4-0 win to secure the series. However, it was a well-known fact that Florida needed to sweep the series to walk away from the weekend satisfied. During Sunday afternoon’s series finale, it was Florida’s game to lose. While the Gators were playing for a SEC title, the Aggies were playing for the opportunity to head back to College Station bragging about how they kept Florida from winning a league-leading ninth SEC regular season title. And through the first four innings, it appeared as though Texas A&M was going to have the satisfaction of doing just that as the Aggies maintained a 4-0 lead. “We’re down 4-0 and this team... we’re averaging maybe four to six runs a game... somewhere and that range,” Walton told Matthews. “But we haven’t come back from that many runs this year. It’s been really tough because when we have a lead, we usually put the pedal to the metal and get out and go crazy. “Our team played it like we were going to the world series.” Florida began posting its second comeback bid of the series in the fifth inning as Hannah Adams knocked a two-run home run to cut the lead in half. Fifth-year senior Jaimie Hoover followed with a two-RBI double later in the inning to knot the game up at four runs apiece. But the Aggies quickly broke the stalemate in the top of the sixth inning as TAMU’s Rylen Wiggins whacked a solo home run to give her team a one-run advantage. While the Gators failed to answer the call in the bottom of the sixth frame, Katie Chronister and the Gators’ field kept the Aggies from increasing their lead in the top of the seventh, giving Florida’s lineup the go-ahead opportunity in the bottom of the seventh frame. After Echols notched a double (another hit that she can brag to her dad about) to put the tying run in scoring position, sophomore Julia Cottrill came to the plate during the next at-bat as the winning run. Earlier in the game, during the Gators’ fifth inning rally, Cottrill slid headfirst into home in an astounding effort that claimed a piece of her front tooth. “I had to go in that moment,” Walton told Matthews. “She was the tying run, two outs... everything lined up perfectly in that situation. But I think the biggest key for me is that she was able to competitively contort her body and put herself in position to get her hand... go from left hand to right hand... it was unbelievable.” And when it was time for Cottrill to return to the batter’s box, it was evident that the game had her taxed. But there was still a little fuel left in the reserves. With Echols itching to be driven home, Cottrill nailed a pitch, sending it bouncing off the bullpen roof in left field for the two-run walkoff home run, Cottrill’s fourth time this season sending a pitch out of the park. “She’s never had a walkoff hit, let alone a walkoff home run,” Walton told Matthews. “What she did on Sunday is kinda what I expect out of her long-term in her career.” After Cottrill rounded the bases and leapt onto home plate, an emotional dogpile took her down to the clay surround home plate. “You could tell by our emotions by the end of that weekend, it was really a great accomplishment,” Walton said. Florida’s sweep of Texas A&M not only helped the Gators capture a conference crown, but it also blessed them with the distinction of being the No. 1 seed in the SEC tournament, giving them a favorable opening-round bye Florida opened conference tournament play on Thursday with a noon start against the Mississippi State Bulldogs from Rhoads Stadium in Tuscaloosa. And while the Gators swept the Bulldogs in the regular season with three straight shutouts, Mississippi State came to play on Thursday. The Bulldogs posted a two-run second inning and maintained the two-run lead through 4.5 innings. But the Gators, with the experience of two walkoff wins last weekend, knew that there were 21 outs in a game and as long as they still had an out to give, they still had a chance to win. In the bottom of the fifth inning, fifth-year senior Kendyl Lindman lifted a three-run home run to take a one-run lead over Mississippi State, adding to the Gators trend of late-game heroics. Echols went on to add a three-run long ball of her own in the sixth inning to add some insurance runs to the board for Florida. The Gators advanced to the tournament semifinals behind a come-from-behind 6-2 win over the Bulldogs and will battle the Missouri Tigers on Friday at 4 p.m.

A few thoughts to jump start your Thursday morning: REACTIONS TO THE TEBOW SIGNING “In all my career of covering sports, I have never, ever seen anything like the Tim Tebow Effect. He is simply the most polarizing player we’ve ever seen in any sport.” – Skip Bayless Typically, I’m about 50-50 with Skip Bayless, as in 50 percent of the time I think he’s onto something and 50 percent of the time I couldn’t disagree with him more, but when it comes to Tim Tebow and how the media, professional athletes and the entertainment industry react, I am with him 100 percent. Tim Tebow is indeed polarizing. He’s either loved or despised and it seems there is no middle ground. Bayless happens to be a big Tebow supporter. Always has been and I presume always will be. Bayless was quick to use his “Undisputed” Fox Sports radio show that he does with Shannon Sharpe to praise Urban Meyer for giving Tebow a shot to make the team as a tight end. As if there weren’t enough critics taking their shots at Meyer and Tebow, someone named Liam McKeone chimed in, trashing both Tebow and Bayless for supporting him. If you’ve never heard of McKeone, don’t feel like you’re the only one. He writes for something called “The Big Lead,” which is a sports blog for which McKeone is an editor and columnist and not to be confused with truly great sports writers of the past such as Dan Jenkins or Furman Bisher or present day great ones like Wright Thompson or Pat Forde. Here are some of McKeone’s comments about Tebow and Bayless: “There really aren’t many athletes like Tim Tebow who can rile up every sector of the sports crowd through his sheer presence. However, to act like we don’t know why is ridiculous. Tebow makes everyone’s blood boil because he stinks at football. And kept getting jobs based on name recognition and name recognition only! “People do not hate Tim Tebow because of who he is. I don’t even think many people hate Tim Tebow at all. What people hate is the media circus that comes attached to his name and the fact that apparently every football coach in the country is enamored with him for reasons nobody can understand. “They also hate analysts like Bayless going to bat for him. Yes, Tebow won a lot in college. That was over a decade ago! If all he did was win, he wouldn’t have washed out in the NFL in less than four years. To hear Bayless tell it, the Broncos should have won the Super Bowl in 2011 with Tebow’s all-time intangibles instead of getting obliterated on national TV by the Patriots. The last time he won anything of note, Bayless was still chopping it up with Stephen A. Smith on ESPN.” Normally, I wouldn’t respond to anything said by a nobody like McKeone, but this just irked me to the point that I will do a quick point-by-point breakdown: 1. That Mr. McKeone thinks he knows why is ridiculous. The people who so strongly dislike Tebow didn’t like him when he was at Florida, liked him less when he was in the NFL and let that dislike carry over to his years playing professional baseball. They are absolutely losing their minds now. I have a theory about The Tim Tebow Effect. Tim makes people uncomfortable because he’s willing to stand up for something and seems oblivious to the slings and arrows the haters fire at him. The more they fire away, the more Tim turns the other cheek. It really has nothing at all to do with football. It is the fact that by not giving them an angry response it makes them feel quite inadequate. Tim may not have been a great NFL quarterback, but he was 7-4 as a starter in 2011 and he did lead six comeback wins including one in the playoffs. He made it to Triple A in baseball and while he wasn’t great, he made the All-Star Game in Double A. If he had played college baseball, he might have made it all the way to the majors. That he made it as far as he did is remarkable. 2. The media circus. From 2006-09 I probably wrote more about Tim Tebow than anyone on the planet. I don’t recall a single time that Tebow invited the media to stick all those microphones in his face. I don’t recall him ever asking for all the attention. I also don’t recall Tim inviting websites and so-called journalists intent on trashing him to send naked women to his door in an attempt to prove he was a hypocrite but they did and the women never got past the front door. Tim didn’t ask for the attention but he got it because he was one of the greatest college football players of all time. He won a Heisman Trophy and finished top five in the Heisman voting two other times. The Gators went 48-7 with two national championships and three 13-1 seasons in his four years. I was there to see the crowds of people who lined the street leading to the practice facility every day just to get a glimpse of him up close and personal and maybe, just maybe, get a nod, a smile, or even a high five from him. Tim never asked for that. Some in the media marveled at the phenomenon. Others were angered. I think the ones that got angry had the problem, not Tim. Oh, and the media is indeed losing its mind because Tim Tebow held to his convictions and got to marry Miss Universe. 3. We will never know if Tim Tebow could have had a successful NFL career as a quarterback. Former Gator and Jacksonville Jaguars great Fred Taylor thinks given a chance in a system that played to Tebow’s strengths that he could have done well, but that’s something we won’t ever know. What we do know is that he’s a good enough athlete that Urban Meyer is willing to give him a chance to make it with the Jaguars, not as a quarterback but as a tight end. Meyer isn’t guaranteeing Tebow anything but a chance to prove he’s capable of contributing to the Jaguars. It’s up to Tim to make it. Urban isn’t going to waste a roster spot on Tebow if he can’t cut it. There are other critics out there who say the only reason Tebow is getting this chance is because he is white. They point out that Colin Kaepernick, who also hasn’t played in the NFL in awhile, is jobless while Tebow is being given a shot. White privilege they say. Actor Steve Pasquale – have you ever heard of him? Is he famous? – went on Twitter with this: “Tim Tebow finding a team and Colin Kaepernick can’t. White privilege NFL style. He can’t throw, never could, never played TE, and hasn’t played in … what … 8 years?” Former Michigan and now Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Devin Bush Jr., son of former FSU safety and NFL veteran Devin Bush, tweeted out this: “Tebow got a job before Kaepernick. Wait til we play Jacksonville. And if you a fan talking about that (censored). Go get a helmet and some pads I’ll do you dirty @ yo local park.” Those weren’t the only ones who claimed that it’s unfair for Tebow to get a chance to play when Kaepernick hasn’t played in the NFL since 2016. Matt Walsh of The Daily Wire, got fed up with the race-baiters who are comparing Tebow’s return with Kaepernick. Writes Walsh: “Tim Tebow will be attending training camp to try out for a different position, where he will no doubt be a backup and get paid the minimum salary or close to it. He just wants to play the game and he’s willing to do whatever it takes for a shot at playing the game. In contrast, Colin Kaepernick has shown no interest in playing at any position, let alone a less glamorous one as a backup for comparatively little money. “In fact, two years ago the NFL held a workout in the middle of the 2019 season in which 25 scours attended. The NFL doesn’t usually hold personal workouts for aging backup players in the middle of the season, or at any other time of the year. They did it for Kaepernick because he’d call them racist if they didn’t, but as it turns out, he’ll call them racist even if they do. That’s how it goes with guys like Kaepernick. Kaepernick then bailed on the workout to instead hold his own media even where he wore a shirt comparing himself to a slave, making him the highest-paid slave in history we must say.” Paul Finebaum, who observed Tebow as a college football player before working with him for seven years on the SEC Network, pointed out that the Jacksonville Jaguars were the worst team in the NFL last year, so even if there are five tight ends currently on the roster, it’s not as if these guys are perennial Pro Bowl candidates: “Tim wants to help. He understands his career as a quarterback is over but he has an effect on the locker room and you have to understand that and you have to understand one more thing – this is the worst team in the NFL and we’re talking about a tight end position. We’re not talking about the Bucs here at quarterback. We’re talking about the Jaguars at tight end. “He (Urban Meyer) knows what he’s doing here. He knows that the end game is and the end game is to get Tim Tebow into that franchise and into that coaching locker room in some way, shape or form.” The Jacksonville franchise is the worst in the NFL which is why owner Shahid Khan was willing to shell out a huge amount of money to Urban Meyer, giving him carte blanche to do whatever it takes to turn the Jaguars into a contender. Urban does indeed know what he’s doing. He’s evaluates talent better than any coach I’ve been around in more than 50 years of writing about football. He also knows what it takes in the locker room and on the field to transform a team to a championship level. Here is what Urban knows he’s getting with Tim Tebow. He’s getting a guy whose effort will be unquestioned, someone who doesn’t take a snap off whether in a game or in practice. Tebow will be Urban’s measuring stick for effort and attitude. Can you imagine some guy with a big contract who’s been in the league five years getting outhustled and outworked by a 33-year old on a make good contract? If he sees Tebow outworking him and isn’t willing to give the effort, he will be looking for gainful employment elsewhere. If Tebow makes it, he will have served a dual purpose. UF SOFTBALL: GATORS FACE MISSISSIPPI STATE IN SEC TOURNAMENT Having already won the SEC regular season championship, Tim Walton and the 3rd-ranked Gators (40-8) will be looking to add an SEC Tournament title to their resume starting at noon today when they face Mississippi State (33-22), a 3-1 winner over Ole Miss, in the second round. Mississippi State, which lost three games to the Gators in shutout fashion in Starkville back in March, has won seven consecutive games. The Gators have won four in a row including the last three over Texas A&M to get a share of the SEC regular season championship with Arkansas. A FEW SEC THOUGHTS: The Florida women’s golf team missed advancing past the NCAA regionals by a single stroke … Akeem Odusipe (6-9, 230, FR) became the seventh Vanderbilt basketball player to transfer out Wednesday … Arkansas hired former Indiana All-American Keith Smart as a basketball assistant. He’s been an NBA head coach with Cleveland, Golden State and Sacramento … The SEC Track and Field Championships begin today in College Station … Former Auburn D-lineman Jaren Handy is transferring to Indiana. ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: Apparently, things are getting chippy between Nike and the University of Alabama. Alabama gets $5.25 million per year in cash and apparel from Nike, as part of a contract signed in secret by former AD Bill Battle back in 2018. Alabama wants to renegotiate the deal, particularly since Ohio State and Texas both have deals worth in excess of $16 million annually. The Ohio State deal, finalized in 2018-19, runs through 2033 and has a net worth of $252 million when royalties are added in. Nike says it won’t renegotiate the Alabama deal even though Alabama football is the most successful and visible Nike brand out there. Do you wonder how much Adidas would pony up to steal Alabama and Nick Saban away from Nike? Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne ought to get run out of Tuscaloosa on a rail if he isn’t already negotiating with Adidas.

A few thoughts to jump start your Wednesday morning: WHY FLORIDA’S DEFENSE WILL BE VASTLY IMPROVED IN 2021 Is it possible Florida’s football defense can be as bad or worse it was in 2020? Anything is possible, but if Todd Grantham intends to be gainfully employed beyond 2021 at the University of Florida or a highly paid coordinator anywhere – college or pro – then he better have figured out what went wrong and know how to plug those massive leaks that caused last year’s troops to ring up the worst defensive stats in school history. Because Grantham had strung together three consecutive top 20 defenses – Mississippi State 2017; Florida 2018-19 – and the 2018 unit he left behind at MSU led the nation in total defense (263.1 yards per game) while finishing second in keeping teams off the scoreboard (13.2 points per game), it doesn’t seem likely that he forgot how to coach. But something went very, very wrong and not just at Florida. Defenses throughout the country were, for the most part, subpar in 2020 but most of the bad defenses didn’t have near the talent Grantham had at his disposal. COVID-19 bears some of the responsibility for defenses nationwide playing at uninspiring levels. Head coaches and coordinators alike were overly cautious about too much contact in practice for fear that injuries and missing a couple players due to the virus could leave them shorthanded on Saturday. The lack of contact in practice reared its ugly head particularly when it came to tackling. When it came to the Gators, just when you thought they had set a new record for missed tackles in a game, there was always next week. Also factoring in was the cancellation of spring practice and no organized offseason activities whether in the weight room or in position groups. Still, it’s not like the Gators were the only team handicapped by the lack of contact or offseason preparation. We could continue to nitpick away at all the reasons why Florida’s defense was so bad last year, but that won’t change anything. They were bad. Time to move on. That brings us to the most important offseason in Todd Grantham’s coaching career. This year there was a spring practice to implement concepts, figure out who needs to play where and find out which combinations of players work best together. There will also be an offseason strength and conditioning program that will allow Nick Savage to get the Gators into much better physical shape than they were in last year when they tended to give out of gas in the fourth quarter. Position groups will be out on the practice fields several times a week so team chemistry – pretty much absent last year – should be vastly improved. When the Gators reconvene in August to begin preparation for the upcoming season, Grantham needs to greet a group that is ready to atone for the football sins of 2020, a season in which the difference in three pre-bowl game losses and the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff was a couple of defensive stops per game. As good as Florida’s offense was last year, that’s all it would have taken to go into the playoff 11-0 as the Southeastern Conference champions. The overall level of talent is more than adequate. Florida has three of the top 50 players in the country for 2021 as ranked by Sporting News and all three are from the defense – 15. CB Kaiir Elam; 17. LB Ventrell Miller; and 21. LB Brenton Cox Jr. Alabama is the only other team in the country with three top 50 players on the defensive side. I have always been of the opinion that great defense begins with stuffing the run and making the other team one-dimensional. The Gators got worn out in the run game last year (see Isaiah Spiller, Texas A&M; see Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl) but there should be significant improvement with the addition of transfer tackles Antonio Shelton (Penn State) and Daquan Newkirk, plus the maturation of former 5-star Gervon Dexter. If UF can stop the run at 2019 levels (102 yards per game) Florida’s defense will take huge steps toward becoming an elite unit once again. Add Diwun Black to a mix that includes Miller and Cox and Florida’s linebackers will be one of the best groups in the SEC. Elam and Jaydon Hill are going to be exceptional corners. Freshman Jason Marshall Jr. didn’t come to sit. He will play early and often. The only question mark position is safety but there is more than enough talent although experience is lacking. That brings us back to coaching. Grantham knows what is at stake this season and knows all the excuses from last year won’t work this year. I think he coaches like his hair is on fire in 2021, knowing fully well that Dan Mullen will ensure the offense scores more than enough points to win games. Understand this. If Todd Grantham gets the Florida defense playing anywhere close to the 2019 level the Gators will be in the SEC East Championship hunt. If he has the Gators playing better than they did in 2019, Georgia will have to settle for another one of those infamous Near National Championships because the Gators will win the SEC East. GATORS LOSE UGLY AT STETSON, 6-1 How is it that Florida can wear out a pitcher like Vanderbilt’s Jack Leiter and yet can only muster three hits and one measly run against a mediocre Stetson team? Kevin O’Sullivan must be asking himself that question after the 9th-ranked Gators dropped a 6-1 decision to the Hatters (25-20) in DeLand Tuesday night. For six innings, the Gators got good enough pitching to win, but they couldn’t put any kind of offense together. The Gators held Stetson scoreless through six innings, largely on the strength of Brandon Sproat’s best start of the season – 4 innings, 1 hit – and good relief work by David Leuthje, but UF allowed Stetson to tie the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the seventh before the wheels came off in the eighth when Stetson scored five runs to put the game away. This was a bad loss, the kind that could impact Florida’s ability to host all the way through the NCAA Super Regionals. It puts enormous pressure on the Gators to sweep Georgia in Gainesville this weekend and then find a way to win the series on the road with No. 1 Arkansas the following weekend when the regular season concludes. Women’s golf: The Gators were 3-over par Tuesday but that moved them up three spots to sixth in the NCAA Regionals at Stanford. Stanford remains in first place at -25, a full 22-shot lead over second place Virginia Tech. Clara Manzalini and Maisie Fuller are both tied for 15th in the individual standings at even par 142. The final round will be played today with the top six teams advancing to the NCAA Championships. OVER, UNDER, AROUND AND THROUGH THE SEC Alabama: Ronald Williams, who was the 4th-ranked junior college corner in the country in 2020 is transferring to Michigan State where he will play for former Alabama assistant Mel Tucker. Williams played in three games in 2020. Arkansas: Former Texas A&M small forward Jaxon Robinson (6-7, 200, FR) has transferred to Arkansas. He is a former 4-star recruit who averaged 2.1 points and 1.1 rebounds per game last year ... Defensive lineman Nicholas Fulwider, who hasn’t played in a game the last two seasons, has decided to transfer out. Auburn: Auburn AD Allen Greene says the plan is to lift all attendance restrictions for football this fall, operating at full capacity for Jordan-Hare Stadium … Calvin Jackson, who returned an interception of a Danny Wuerffel pass 96 yards for a touchdown to help Auburn to a 38-35 victory over the Gators in 1993, has passed away. He was 48 years old. Georgia: The basketball exodus at Georgia continues as two more are transferring out. Leaving are Andrew Garcia (6-6, 225, RSR) and former 4-star recruit K.D. Johnson (6-1, 190, FR). Johnson was Georgia’s second leading scorer last year at 13.5 points per game. He shot 38.7 percent from the 3-point line. Garcia came off the bench to average 8.7 points and 4.0 rebounds per game. Garcia and Johnson are the eighth and ninth players to transfer out. Kentucky: UK secondary coach Steve Clinkscale is leaving to coach the secondary at Michigan. LSU: Coach O had only praise for quarterback TJ Finley, who has decided to transfer out. Speaking on ESPN radio in Baton Rouge, Coach O said, “I think he’s a great quarterback but he felt that there was something that he needed to do, but I got to say, he did everything right. He did it first class, and we wish him the very best wherever he goes. Someone’s gonna get a great young man, a great quarterback.” Mississippi State: Mississippi State’s midweek game with UT-Martin was cancelled because of weather. Ole Miss: Center Shon Robinson (6-11, 220, SO), a former 4-star recruit, is transferring to San Jose State. Robinson played in six games last season, averaging 1.1 points per game. Tennessee: Corner Shawn Shamburger’s saga continues. First he was going to transfer out in January, then he changed his mind and decided to stay. Now he’s transferring out again. He made 86 tackles and intercepted a pass during his UT career ... Tennessee has moved its season opener with Bowling Green up two days, starting the season on Thursday, September 2. The game will be televised on the SEC Network. Texas A&M: Graduate assistant Nick Williams is leaving Georgia to become a defensive analyst for the Aggies. Vanderbilt: Former Vanderbilt safety Donovan Kaufman has narrowed his transfer choices down to Texas and Auburn. FOOTBALL, BASKETBALL, BASEBALL AND OTHER STUFF Colt Brennan, the University of Hawaii quarterback who was on the Heisman podium in New York when Tim Tebow won in 2007, has passed away. He was 37 years old. No cause of death has been reported. Brennan passed for 14,193 yards and 131 touchdowns in his Hawaii career including 58 in 2006. He was on his way to becoming the starting quarterback for the Washington Redskins when he suffered a serious hip injury that required surgery. He never threw an NFL pass in a real game. He suffered a serious brain injury in a car accident in 2010 and was never the same again. This is a sad ending to someone who once seemed to have all the potential in the world. ESPN, which is bleeding subscribers left and right, has parted ways with Kenny Mayne. Mayne took to Twitter to say it was “salary cap” issues. I can think of several ESPN anchors and reporters who should be shown the door, but Kenny Mayne was not one of them. One of the few ESPN had that actually has a personality and a sense of humor. Now that talks to build a new baseball stadium in Oakland have stalled out for the umpteenth time, Major League Baseball has given the Athletics permission to pursue relocation. With the NFL Raiders relocated to Las Vegas that seems like the obvious choice. Other cities that will likely make a play for the Raiders are Nashville, Charlotte, Portland and Vancouver. Portland has a stadium with a retractable roof that will seat 35,000 scheduled to open in 2022. I will be interested to see if Omaha tries to land the Athletics. TD Ameritrade Park, where the College World Series is held, seats 24,000 and has a stadium that was built to expand to 35,000. With 28 points, 21 assists and 13 rebounds Monday night, Russell Westbrook of the Washington Wizards recorded his 182nd career triple-double, breaking the record held for 47 years by Oscar Robertson. ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: The NCAA’s basketball oversight committee is proposing technical fouls for players who flop, which isn’t a bad idea but I have to wonder how it’s going to be enforced without going to replay. Sure, some calls will be obvious, but those that aren’t will result in games being delayed as officials huddle around a monitor to look at a play from several different angles. Unless, of course, they give a one-minute time limit to make a decision. If they add a time limit like that, then I think we’ll see fewer flops and a better game. Now, if they would only start calling walking again and take that silly Euro-step out of the game.

A few thoughts to jump start your Tuesday morning: GIVING BACK: CJ HENDERSON GIVES $250,000 TO HIS HIGH SCHOOL Mike DiRocco, ESPN’s Jacksonville Jaguars beat writer who spent a few years on the Gator beat for the Times-Union, reports that former Gator corner CJ Henderson has donated $250,000 to Christopher Columbus High School in Miami. The money is to renovate the school’s training room and will provide massage chairs and training tables. In a statement released by Henderson: “This gift is a way for me to give back to the school who helped me so much. It feels good to know that I will play a part in helping future student-athletes at Columbus.” I’m always happy when I see an athlete give back to the people who helped get him/her where they are today. Whether it’s to their former high school or university, I would like to see more athletes say, “Thanks, because without you, I couldn’t have had this incredible opportunity, so I want to do what I can to help pave the way for someone else.” I have to admit I’m a bit perplexed at the lack of giving back by former Florida athletes. I’ll use golf as a perfect example. Florida’s facilities are easily in the lower half of the Southeastern Conference, which is one of the reasons the Gators struggle to win the SEC and compete among the elite teams in the country. Georgia, on the other hand, has outstanding facilities, which contributes mightily to recruiting better golfers. I know for a fact that Georgia alums on the PGA Tour readily contribute a percentage of their earnings to the golf program. I’ve always admired Steve Spurrier for his generosity to all Florida sports and not just football. He’s never forgotten that Florida gave him a place to play college football and a place to come coach where he won a national championship and six SEC titles. I wish more former Florida athletes and coaches were willing to show a bit more love. JAGUARS WILL GIVE TEBOW A CHANCE AS A TIGHT END Tim Tebow signed a 1-year contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars Monday, something that was expected ever since the news leaked that he had worked out for Urban Meyer a few weeks ago. Whatever money is in the contract is dependent upon Tebow making the team, but this isn’t about money. It’s about Meyer believing in Tebow enough to give him one last chance. If he makes the team, it’s a great story. If he doesn’t, then at least Urban gave Tebow that one final opportunity. Once the news broke that Tebow was getting a shot to play, the skeptics were quick to point out that the only reason it’s happening is because Tebow and Meyer have remained close throughout the years. Of course, that’s the reason this is happening, but so what? Every single year in every professional sport, players ask a former coach or a friend on a team to lobby for one more opportunity to prove they belong. And, every single year wishes are granted. Occasionally, they pan out but more often they don’t. Tebow’s situation may be a bit out of the ordinary since it’s been so long since he played football, but it’s not the first nor will it be the last time a favor was granted to see if an athlete who’s a bit past his prime still can cut it. DiRocco points out the odds are long that Tebow will make the team. He writes, “He has not been asked to block linebackers or defensive ends snap after snap. He has never caught a pass in college or the NFL. Tebow is a very good athlete and he’s going to put in the work – and the extra work – but he’s starting from ground zero.” Should Tebow defy the odds and make the Jaguars roster he still will have to prove he belongs. Unlike college football where there is an 85-scholarship roster, redshirt seasons and a developmental process that might take five years, the NFL operates with 53 players, all of whom have to contribute from day one. Even if he isn’t catching passes, Tebow will have to play on and contribute to the special teams. That’s something else he’s never played. From a personal standpoint, I would love to see Tebow make a comeback that shocks the world. I will be pulling for him to exceed everyone’s expectations. That being said, I think trying to play tight end in the NFL is something Tebow should have thought about back in 2013. GATORS BACK IN THE TOP 10 IN ALL BASEBALL POLLS Okay, maybe the Gators aren’t carrying the No. 1 torch as the regular season winds down to its final two weeks, but this is one of the hotter teams in the country. Since dropping the first two games of their series in Knoxville to a Tennessee team that is in everybody’s top six, the Gators have gone 13-3 and have won all four of their SEC series. After falling all the way back to 19th in some of the weekly polls, Florida (33-14, 15-9 SEC East) has climbed back into the top ten in all four of the major polls, holding down the No. 7 ranking in both the Collegiate Baseball and USA Today Coaches polls. The Gators are a mortal lock to make the NCAA Tournament field and if they can pull off a sweep this weekend when Georgia (28-18, 11-13 SEC East) comes to Gainesville for the next-to-last SEC series of the regular season, they could nail down a host site for a Regional. Tonight the Gators will face Stetson (24-20) in DeLand for the final non-conference game of the regular season. Collegiate Baseball poll: 1. Arkansas 36-9; 2. Vanderbilt 34-10; 3. Mississippi State 35-11; 4. Texas 38-12; 5. TCU 34-12; 6. Tennessee 37-11; 7. FLORIDA 33-14; 8. Louisville 26-15; 9. Texas Tech 31-11; 10. Stanford 26-10; 11. Arizona 32-13; 12. Oregon 30-11; 13. East Carolina 33-10; 14. Ole Miss 33-14; 15. Notre Dame 25-10; 16. South Carolina 28-17; 17. UCLA 27-15; 18. UC-Irvine 29-15; 19. Pittsburgh 22-13; 20. Louisiana Tech 33-12; 21. Oklahoma State 27-15-1; 22. Arizona State 27-15; 23. Michigan 23-12; 24. Charlotte 35-14; 25. Georgia Tech 24-18; 26. Gonzaga 27-13; 27. Fairfield 33-1; 28. Dallas Baptist 29-11; 29. Southern Miss 33-15; 30. Florida State 25-17. USA Today Coaches poll: 1. Arkansas 36-9; 2. Vanderbilt 34-10; 3. Mississippi State 35-11; 4. Texas 38-12; 5. Tennessee 37-11; 6. TCU 34-12; 7. FLORIDA 33-14; 8. Texas Tech 31-11; 9. Oregon 30-11; 10. Notre Dame 25-10; 11. East Carolina 33-10; 12. Arizona 32-13; 13. Stanford 26-10; 14. Ole Miss 33-14; 15. Louisville 26-15; 16. Louisiana Tech 33-12; 17. Southern Miss 33-15; 18. Pittsburgh 22-13; 19. Florida State 25-17; 20. Charlotte 35-14; 21. South Carolina 28-17; 22. UCLA 27-15; 23. Indiana 23-10; 24. Old Dominion 33-13; 25. UC-Irvine 29-15. D1Baseball.com poll: 1. Arkansas 36-9; 2. Vanderbilt 34-10; 3. Mississippi State 35-11; 4. Tennessee 37-11; 5. Texas 38-12; 6. TCU 34-12; 7. Texas Tech 31-11; 8. Notre Dame 25-10; 9. FLORIDA 33-14; 10. Oregon 30-11; 11. East Carolina 33-10; 12. Stanford 26-10; 13. Arizona 32-13; 14. Louisiana Tech 33-12; 15. Louisville 26-15; 16. Pittsburgh 22-13; 17. Florida State 25-17; 18. Ole Miss 33-14; 19. Southern Miss 33-15; 20. Charlotte 35-14; 21. Indiana 23-10; 22. Gonzaga 27-13; 23. UCLA 27-15; 24. UC-Irvine 29-15; 25. South Carolina 28-17. Baseball America poll: 1. Arkansas 36-9; 2. Vanderbilt 34-10; 3. Mississippi State 35-11; 4. Notre Dame 25-10; 5. Tennessee 37-11; 6. TCU 34-12; 7. Texas 38-12; 8. Texas Tech 31-11; 9. FLORIDA 33-14; 10. Arizona 32-13; 11. Louisville 26-15; 12. East Carolina 33-10; 13. Florida State 25-17; 14. Stanford 26-10; 15. Oregon 30-11; 16. Pittsburgh 22-13; 17. Ole Miss 33-14; 18. Louisiana Tech 33-12; 19. Charlotte 35-14; 20. Southern Miss 33-15; 21. Indiana 23-10; 22. UC-Irvine 29-15; 23. Old Dominion 33-13; 24. South Carolina 28-17; 25. Fairfield 33-1. ECHOLS SEC SOFTBALL PLAYER OF THE WEEK After doing her part to help the Cardiac Gators (40-8) win a share of the Southeastern Conference championship, Florida’s Charla Echols was named SEC Player of the Week. Echols, who leads the Gators with 13 homers and 49 RBI, hit a 3-run homer in the bottom of the seventh on Friday night to lead the Gators to a 5-3 come-from-behind win over Texas A&M. Sunday afternoon, with the Gators trailing the Aggies, 5-4, Echols delivered an opposite field double that set the stage for Julia Cottrill’s walk-off 2-run home run to give Tim Walton the eighth SEC championship in his 16 years on the job at UF. The sweep of the Aggies moved the Gators up to No. 3 nationally in the D1Softball.com poll. The Gators are the No. 1 seed in the SEC Tournament in Tuscaloosa where they will face the winner of Wednesday’s matchup between No. 8 seed Ole Miss (34-19) and No. 9 Mississippi State (32-22) at noon on Thursday. D1Softball.com poll: 1. Oklahoma 42-2; 2. UCLA 38-3; 3. FLORIDA 40-8; 4. Alabama 42-7; 5. Washington 39-9; 6. Oklahoma State 40-8; 7. Arkansas 40-8; 8. Florida State 38-9-1; 9. LSU 31-18; 10. Arizona 35-10; 11. Arizona State 32-14; 12. Missouri 37-14; 13. Oregon 33-15; 14. Louisiana 40-10; 15. Kentucky 38-12; 16. Clemson 40-5; 17. Texas 38-9; 18. Michigan 32-6; 19. Minnesota 26-10; 20. Virginia Tech 32-12; 21. Duke 39-10; 22. Tennessee 39-12; 23. Ole Miss 34-19; 24. Notre Dame 31-12; 25. James Madison 31-1. Other UF spring sports: Track and field: Florida’s men’s and women’s teams head to College Station for the SEC Outdoor Championships. The Florida men are ranked eighth nationally while the women are ranked tenth. Women’s golf: After the first day of competition in NCAA Regional play at Stanford, California, the Gators are tied for eighth place with Northwestern. The Gators are 6-over par, a full 18 shots behind host and leader Stanford, which shot 12-under par Monday. Florida’s top scorer was Clara Manzalini, who shot a 2-under par 69, good for a tie for seventh. OVER, UNDER, AROUND AND THROUGH THE SEC Alabama: On ESPN’s First Take show, Stephen A. Smith responded to comments by Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher that he’s going to beat Nick Saban’s ass. Said Stephen A., “They’re (A&M) going to get a beat down. A massacre is coming. An annihilation is coming to College Station.” Arkansas: The Razorbacks hold down the No. 1 ranking in all four major collegiate baseball polls. Auburn: So far, 16 Auburn football players have transferred out. Auburn also lost five players who left early for the NFL Draft. Kentucky: One of Kentucky’s major targets in the basketball transfer portal was former Minnesota point guard Marcus Carr, who officially declared for the NBA Monday. He will hire an agent. Kentucky is also in hot pursuit of former Georgia point guard Sahvir Wheeler. Missouri: HBC Eli Drinkwitz speaking to Matt Hayes on SEC quarterbacks: “Quarterbacks are the erasers. Their athletic ability gives them a chance to extend plays to make plays. When you’re talking about a QB-driven league, it’s do you have one who can extend plays, or is smart enough in your system to get you in the right play.” Tennessee: With No. 1 Arkansas (36-9, 17-7 SEC West) coming to Knoxville this weekend to face the 5th-ranked Vols (37-11, 17-7 SEC East), the UT athletic department announced Lindsey Nelson Stadium will be at full capacity. Texas A&M: Matt Hayes on the Aggies in 2021: “The Aggies will have a top-3 SEC defense in 2021, and an offensive line that – despite being rebuilt – could be just as physical and defining as last year’s Maroon Goons. The X-factor is projected starting QB Haynes King, who will have 5 winnable games to find a rhythm before Alabama comes to College Station.” ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: Not that anything he has to say is relevant, but up hearing that Tim Tebow was signing with the Jacksonville Jaguars, Fox Sports radio host Colin Cowherd chimed in with this: “This feels like a college coach that doesn’t quite understand the Tebow disruptiveness that could happen if Trevor Lawrence struggles. Tebow’s not a franchise quarterback. He’s a third-string guy.” Maybe Colin hasn’t read the news that Tebow is getting a shot as a TIGHT END, not as a quarterback. Trevor Lawrence has millions in guaranteed money. He makes the team no matter what. Tebow is on a make-good contract to play TIGHT END. If Trevor Lawrence struggles, Urban Meyer will replace him with a quarterback who’s been playing in the NFL. Maybe Colin ought to call up his old college roomie Jim McElwain and have Old Yeller himself tell him the difference in a QB with a big, guaranteed contract, and a 33-year-old TIGHT END who hasn’t been in the league since 2012 trying to learn a new position.

A few thoughts to jump start your Monday morning: CARDIAC-AC-AC-AC: COTTRILL GIVES GATORS EARN SHARE OF SEC TITLE Like most coaches, if you gave Tim Walton a choice, he would prefer to win in blowout fashion, but that doesn’t seem to be in the DNA of this 2021 edition of the Florida Gators. Ten of their 40 wins have been in come-from-behind fashion and six times they’ve gone truly dramatic and won in walk-off fashion. Proof that lightning does strike twice in the same place was Sunday afternoon when, for the second time in three games against Texas A&M, the Gators got a walk-off home run to beat the Aggies. Friday evening it was Charla Echols’ 3-run homer in the bottom of the seventh that gave the Gators a 5-3 win. Sunday, it was Julia Cottrill’s turn. Her 2-run homer off the bullpen roof in left field not only gave the Gators a rather miraculous 6-5 win over the Aggies but secured a share of the Southeastern Conference championship with Arkansas. The Gators (40-8, 19-5 SEC) didn’t have a hit until the bottom of the fifth inning when Hannah Adams launched a 2-run homer to dead center to cut the Aggies’ lead to 4-2. Later in the inning Jaimie Hoover hit a 2-out, 2-run single to tie the game. The Aggies retook the lead in the sixth, setting up the game-ending dramatics. In the seventh, Echols hit a one-out opposite field double to left and Cottrill, after fouling off three straight pitches hit her fourth homer of the season, her first walk-off hit as a Gator. Friday night, the Gators trailed the Aggies 3-2 in the bottom of the seventh when Cheyenne Lindsey and Adams walked. One out later, Echols hit her 13th home run of the season over the center field fence to win it for UF. Katie Chronister (9-2, 1.86 ERA) got the Friday and Sunday wins in relief. Friday night she pitched four hitless innings in relief of Elizabeth Hightower to get the win. When she entered the game in the fourth inning Sunday, the Gators trailed 4-0. Lugo (14-2, 1.69 ERA) got the win Saturday with a complete game, 4-hit shutout as UF took a 4-0 win. This was the eighth SEC championship in Walton’s 16 years as Florida’s head coach. The Gators will try to add an SEC Tournament title next week in Tuscaloosa where they are the No. 1 seed. BARCO’S BEST OUTING GIVES UF SERIES WIN OVER KENTUCKY The Gators (33-14, 15-9 SEC East) rebounded from their disappointing Thursday night loss to Kentucky (27-17, 11-13 SEC East) to take the final two games of the series, clinching with a 9-2 Saturday afternoon win behind the best performance of Hunter Barco’s career. Barco (8-2, 4.26 ERA) went 6-2/3 innings, allowing two singles and striking out 10. Friday night, the Gators knocked off the Wildcats 8-5, rallying for four runs in the top of the ninth, tying the game on a 2-out RBI single by Corey Acton then winning on a 3-run homer by Kendrick Calilao. Earlier in the game Jud Fabian hit his 17th and 18th homers of the season, moving him into a tie for the SEC lead. Jack Leftwich picked up the save in relief of Christian Scott (4-2, 2.78 ERA). Saturday, the Gators pecked away at the UK pitching, scoring single runs in four different innings to stake Barco to a comfortable 4-0 lead. Kentucky scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the eighth, but the Gators put the game away with a 4-run ninth. Jacob Young led Florida’s 11-hit attack by driving in four runs on a 4-5 night at the plate. Leftwich (6-3, 3.51 ERA), who came on in the eighth to put out the Kentucky rally, earned his fourth save of the season. The Gators travel to DeLand Tuesday night for a non-conference matchup with Stetson. They will be home next weekend to face Georgia (28-18, 11-13 SEC East). NO. 1 GATORS ADVANCE TO NCAA TENNIS QUARTER-FINALS The top-seeded and No. 1 ranked Gators won two matches in dominant fashion over the weekend to advance to the quarter-finals of the NCAA Championships where they will face 16th-seeded Illinois next Monday night in Lake Nona. The Gators advanced to the quarter-finals with two dominant wins over the weekend, shutting out South Alabama 4-0 Saturday then coming back Sunday to take down South Florida 4-1. FLORIDA WINS AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE LACROSSE TOURNAMENT Six goals each by Brianna Harris and Shannon Kavanaugh led the 8th-ranked Gators (16-2) to a 19-4 win over Temple in the championship game of the American Athletic Conference at Donald Dizney Stadium. Named to the All-AAC Tournament team were Kavanaugh, Kaitlyn Dabkowski, Grace Haus, Sara Reznick, Cara Trombetta and Emma Wightman. Brianna Harris was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. In addition to her six goals, she had four assists in the championship game. The Gators were selected as the No. 6 seed for the NCAA Tournament which begins next weekend. The Gators will face Mercer next Friday afternoon (4 p.m.) at Donald Dizney Stadium followed by a matchup between Jacksonville and Vanderbilt at 6:30. The winners will face off Sunday at 12 noon. Florida, which has played in the NCAA Tournament 10 consecutive years, has won 13 consecutive games. Other UF spring sports Women’s tennis: The season ended Saturday for the 16th-ranked Gators (13-8) when they lost to Southern Cal, 4-1, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at the Ring Tennis Center. The Gators advanced to the second round by beating Siena 4-0. Women’s golf: The Gators begin play in the NCAA Tournament at the Stanford Regional today. NICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET IT … Kyle Pitts is going to have to squeeze by the next four years on $32,910,493 as part of his salary and bonus package with the Atlanta Falcons. Pitts, who gets a signing bonus of $21,292,904, will count $5,983,726 against the Falcons cap space. Kadarius Toney’s signing bonus will be $7,338,000 or thereabouts with a total contract value of $13,720,000. Top overall pick Trevor Lawrence will get a signing bonus of $24,118,900 and a four-year deal worth $36,794,486. That’s nice work if you can get it. OVER, UNDER, AROUND AND THROUGH THE SEC Alabama: Linebacker Henry To’o To’o (6-2, 225, SO), who was Tennessee’s leading tackler last season, will be transferring to Alabama. To’o To’o was in on 76 tackles including 10 for loss and returned an interception 32 yards for a touchdown. Arkansas: Last week Arkansas released juco transfer Akol Mawein (6-10, 210, Navarro College) from his national letter of intent. Mawein was rated the No. 5 juco talent in the country. Auburn: Head football coach Bryan Harsin, who spent the last few years at Boise State, believes expansion of the College Football Playoff will happen, which will open the door for Group of Five teams. “I’ve always felt like any team that has won all their games should have a chance to play for it all,” Harsin told Paul Finebaum. Georgia: Now that the state of Georgia has enacted name, likeness, image legislation that will allow athletes to get paid for among other things, advertising, former University of Georgia coach Mark Richt commented, “When I was playing college football, my priorities were girls, football, then school. Now, it’s going to be money, girls, football, school.” Kentucky: Wide receivers coach Jovon Bouknight was arrested in Kenton County and charged with DUI, an open container with alcohol in a motor vehicle and driving 26 mph or more over the speed limit. LSU: Five-star center Efton Reid (7-0, 245, Richmond, Virginia/Bradenton, FL IMG Academy) pulled off a minor surprise when he committed to LSU Sunday, saying no to home state teams Virginia and Virginia Tech, which were recruiting him heavily. Mississippi State: Former Washington State wide receiver Jamire Calvin is transferring to Mississippi State. In two years playing for Mike Leach at Washington State, Calvin caught 75 passes for 797 yards and four touchdowns. Missouri: By taking its weekend series with 15th-ranked Tennessee, 16th-ranked Missouri (37-14, 15-9 SEC) clinched the No. 4 seed in this week’s SEC Softball Tournament. Ole Miss: Former Ole Miss and now Seattle Seahawks wide receiver didn’t qualify for the Olympic Trials but he ran a most respectable 10.36 100 meters at the USATF Golden Games. Metcalf checks in at 6-3 and 230 pounds, which makes the time even more impressive. South Carolina: South Carolina (28-17, 12-12 SEC East) avoided getting swept by 4th-ranked Mississippi State (35-11, 16-8 SEC West) Sunday with a dramatic 4-3 win on an RBI walk-off double by David Mendham in the bottom of the 11th inning. Tennessee: The Vols (37-11, 17-7 SEC East) swept Missouri (5-19, 12-32 SEC East) over the weekend to take over sole possession of first place in the SEC East. Texas A&M: In defense of Jimbo Fisher’s comment about beating Nick Saban’s ass, Paul Finebaum of the SEC Network chimed in with this: “You don’t go to the podium in Houston, Texas with your head down and your tail tucked and say, ‘No, we can’t beat old coach Nick Saban. No, you say exactly what he said.” Vanderbilt: The No. 2 Commodores (34-10, 16-7 SEC East) had their Sunday game with Alabama canceled due to weather. That drops Vanderbilt a half game behind SEC East leader Tennessee. ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: Just a few days after the news broke that former Florida and NFL QB Tim Tebow worked out for Urban Meyer and the Jacksonville Jaguars as a tight end, former Gator running back and Jaguars great Fred Taylor weighed in about Tebow’s all too brief career as an NFL quarterback. “I don’t think Tim got a complete fair shot in the NFL because most coaches were saying, ‘We need the prototypical NFL quarterback’ and he’s not that. That was just before the zone reads and the offenses changed up. And I think if Tim had been able to hold on long enough to have those offenses come to fruition and develop them as they have been the last couple years, I think you would have saw a better quarterback.” I covered every college football game Tebow played and I watched him struggle in the NFL. As much as I loved him as a college football player, I remain unconvinced that he would have had a great or even better than average NFL career even with the way offenses have evolved over the past 10 years. I am convinced, however, that Tim would have been a rather brilliant tight end had he been willing to make the change years ago. In my heart, I hope this chance Urban is giving him with the Jaguars somehow pans out. I hate to use the word shocked with anything regarding Tim Tebow because in all the things that are important in life, he’s exceeded even the loftiest of expectations. I’m just not certain that playing tight end in the NFL is one of the important things in life. If he makes it, then Tim will prove to kids who dream big dreams that if you don’t give up anything is possible. If he doesn’t succeed it won’t change my opinion of him as a person, but it will convince me that he could have been a great tight end if he had been willing to switch positions years ago.

The No. 10 Florida Gators (33-14, 15-9 SEC) claimed (27-17, 11-13 SEC) their second consecutive road series win after beating the Kentucky Wildcats in games two and three. *Catch a full video recap below Series Summary Game One: 7-5 Wildcats Florida came back from a 5-0 deficit and tied the game in the seventh inning, but a two-run eighth inning for Kentucky allowed the Wildcats to get a game one win. Notes: Gators’ starter Franco Aleman threw a career-high six innings. Three strikeouts Gave up five runs Florida's Hitting: Kris Armstrong, Jud Fabian and Kirby McMullen each accounted for a run Josh Rivera accounted for two runs. Trey Van Der Weide and Jack Leftwich each gave up a run following Aleman. Game Two: 8-5 Gators The Gators evened the series in a game that came down to the last strike. Trailing by a run, Cory Action’s pinch hit RBI single tied the game, and Kendrick Calilao followed up with a three-run home run to get the Gators’ a win. Notes: Four-run ninth inning for Florida All four runs came with two outs Jud Fabian hit two home runs His 17th and 18th of the season, now leads the SEC Second straight weekend with a multi-homer game Calilao’s four RBI’s marked his personal best in conference play Kirby McMullen extended his hitting streak to 13 games, the longest by a Gator in 2021 Pitcher Tommy Mace struck out nine in 7 innings before Trey Van Der Weide and Christian Scott took over to share an inning Jack Leftwich earned his third save of the season shutting down the Wildcats in the ninth. Game Three: 9-2 Gators LHP Hunter Barco threw 6.2 scoreless innings matching his career-high in strikeouts, 10, as the Gators’ clinched the series Saturday afternoon. Notes: Barco allowed no runs and two hits in 6.2 innings. Jacob Young led the Gators 4-for-5 day Second career four-hit game Kendrick Calilao had a weekend Reached base on his first five plate appearances this weekend Accounted for 2 runs Saturday What’s Next? The Gators will travel to Deland, Fl, to face Stetson on Tuesday in the team’s final midweek game of the 2021 campaign. Florida will be seeking their fourth win over the Hatters this season. Florida will host rival Georgia in their final home series of the season next weekend. Game one is set for 6:30 p.m. Friday, game two 6:30 p.m. Saturday and game three 12 p.m. Sunday.

By ending spring practice in mid-March, Dan Mullen probably avoided much of the transfer plague that makes headlines throughout the SEC and college football on a daily basis. Following spring practice, only a couple of players announced they are leaving so Mullen has a good idea what his roster will look like when the preseason camp opens in August. There is no shortage of talent although experience may be an issue at some critical positions. The Gators have 85 on scholarship already, but Mullen has the flexibility to add a couple of transfers due to NCAA rules regarding roster size for 2021. Eight Gators were taken in the most recent NFL Draft so there are some rather large holes that have to be filled, particularly on the offensive side. Mullen lost a record-setting quarterback, a first round wide receiver, maybe the best tight end in collegiate history and a left tackle to the NFL. Depending on your perspective, it’s one of those good news/bad news scenarios over on the defensive side of the ball. The good news is the Gators return nearly everyone. That’s also the bad news when you consider the 2020 Florida defense was the worst in school history. Because Mullen is one of the brighter offensive minds in the college game, expectations are that he will come up with a scheme that not only fits the personnel but is highly productive. With the transition to a quarterback who can make big plays with his feet, the Florida offense should be more run-oriented and that could end up helping the defense with longer time of possession. Defense. Things can’t be as bad as they were last year can they? Coordinator Todd Grantham has never had a year like 2020, but he has talent to work with and the addition of a pair of grad transfer tackles to shore up the middle of the line. Improvement will come down to a few tweaks of the scheme and finding the right personnel to get the Gators back on the defensive track. Due to the players the Gators lost, overall expectations for the 2021 season will be lower but UF still makes the top 15-20 teams in every all-too-early poll. Mullen will do everything he can to turn the lowered expectations into a chip on the shoulder of this football team. Here is a look at Florida’s scholarship football roster as of May 6, 2021. Expected starters in bold face. QUARTERBACKS (4): Emory Jones (6-2, 210, RJR); Anthony Richardson (6-4, 232, RFR); Carlos Del Rio-Wilson (6-2, 238, FR); Jalen Kitna (6-5, 198, FR) Looking ahead to the fall: This is the moment that Emory Jones has been waiting for. He has waited patiently for three years and no one knows the offense better. We know what he can do as a runner and how he brings the run-pass option into play, but now we’ll see if he can make all the necessary throws to keep teams from loading up the box. Jones will be the starter when camp opens in August and it would be a shock if he isn’t the game one starter, but if he falters in any way, Richardson is ready to step in. He’s got prototypical size, a rocket launcher for an arm and while not as elusive as Jones, a very dangerous runner. Of the two freshmen, Kitna is the son of a former NFL QB who is poised, has a big time arm and grasps concepts quickly. Needs this year to redshirt and let his body fill out. The expectation: Mullen isn’t oblivious to playing two quarterbacks so even if Jones is the starter, there will be at least a couple of packages for Richardson. RUNNING BACKS (5): Malik Davis (5-10, 198, RSR); Dameon Pierce (5-10, 212, SR); Lorenzo Lingard (6-0, 206, RJR); Nay’Quan Wright (5-9, 197, RSO); Demarkcus Bowman (5-10, 187, RFR) Looking ahead to the fall: Mullen has never had a running back room with more talent and versatility and it’s going to bring out the best in his creative offensive mind. We’re probably going to see a lot of creative two-back sets for a look that bears strong resemblance to how Mullen used Percy Harvin, which is a nightmare scenario for defensive coordinators. Pierce is the between the tackles hammer who should have an outstanding season. Wright and Davis are outstanding receivers out of the backfield so they probably will line up in the slot a lot where they can be either receivers or runners. Lingard and Bowman are both former 5-star running backs. If they’re healthy, they give the Gators the home run threat on every play that has been missing the past three years. Bowman nursed a bad ankle during the spring but Lingard broke off big runs nearly every practice. The expectation: There isn’t much doubt what Pierce (1,232 career rushing yards, 10 touchdowns) is going to do, but the other four will line up all over the place. All five backs are going to see the football, but Davis, Wright, Lingard and Bowman will be used a good bit in the passing game. WIDE RECEIVERS (10): Rick Wells (6-1, 204, RSR); Jordan Pouncey (6-1, 212, RSR); Justin Shorter (6-5, 227, RJR); Jacob Copeland (6-0, 204, RJR); Trent Whittemore (6-4, 213, RSO); Ja’Markis Weston (6-3, 212, RSO); Xzavier Henderson (6-3, 196, SO); Ja’Quavian Fraziars (6-3, 215, SO); Daejon Reynolds (6-2, 201, FR); Marcus Burke (6-3, 180, FR) Looking ahead to the fall: It’s next man up at wide receiver where there will be no dropoff in terms of productivity. Justin Shorter graduates from drag routes and bubble screens to a downfield receiver whose size and speed combo make him a matchup nightmare. Copeland seemed to put it all together in the spring. He has deep threat potential. Trent Whittemore probably has the best hands and he’s versatile enough to be effective either outside or in the slot. Henderson spent a year learning how to play the position. He should have a breakout season. Keep a close eye on Ja’Markis Weston and Ja’Quavian Fraziars. If their improvement carries over from the spring they will both see the field a lot. Everybody else is going to have to earn playing time by standing out on special teams. The expectation: Because the Gators will have more flexibility in the running game, they should have more downfield opportunities in the passing game. UF won’t be throwing on every down like they did last year, but the wide receivers should make more big plays against single coverage. TIGHT ENDS (5): Kemore Gamble (6-4, 252, RSR); Keon Zipperer (6-3, 240, JR); Jonathan Odom (6-6, 240, RFR); Nick Elksnis (6-6, 237, FR); Gage Wilcox (6-4, 228, FR) Looking ahead to the fall: Mullen isn’t going to be able to do the same things with this group that he did with Kyle Pitts, but the position is in very capable hands. Gamble is the best blocker among the group and the likely starter since UF figures to run the football more in the fall. Zipperer has great hands and is somewhat of a mismatch. Elksnis surprised everyone in the spring. He’s a long strider who is faster than he looks and is quite capable of making the tough catches. Odom and Wilcox have their work cut out for them but both of them have talent. The expectation: When Pitts was injured, the tight ends still saw the football. Nothing is going to change in 2021 except there probably won’t be as many explosive plays. Elksnis has star potential even as a freshman. OFFENSIVE LINEMEN (14): Stewart Reese (6-6, 354, GR); Jean Delance (6-5, 307, RSR); Richard Gouraige (6-5, 313, RJR); Griffin McDowell (6-4, 303, RJR); Ethan White (6-5, 346, JR); Riley Simonds (6-3, 305, RSO); Kingsley Eguakun (6-4, 315, RSO); Michael Tarquin (6-5, 306, RSO); Will Harrod (6-5, 333, RSO); Josh Braun (6-6, 352, SO); Richie Leonard (6-2, 335, RFR); Yousef Mugharbil (6-5, 330, FR); Austin Barber (6-7, 300, FR); Jake Slaughter (6-4, 300, FR) Looking ahead to the fall: The success of this team offensively will be determined by the improvement of the offensive line. If John Hevesy can find five guys he trusts who can get the job done both in pass protection and running the ball, the Gators should be one of the more explosive offenses in the SEC. The way things ended in the spring, Stewart Reese was at center with Ethan White and Josh Braun at the guards, Richard Gouraige and Jean Delance at the tackles. The real question mark is Delance, who has struggled in pass protection the last two years. If he can’t get the job done, Hevesy might feel the need to move Reese outside. Reese has started at both guards and right tackle in his college career. Another option might be Josh Braun, who got some starts at right guard last year. Things are far more settled on the left side where Richard Gouraige moves outside and Ethan White takes over at left guard. Hevesy likes his three inside guys to be maulers, so his ideal setup would have Reese at center with White and Braun at the guards. The Gators could still add a couple of transfers. If an experienced right tackle enters the transfer portal it wouldn’t be a shock to see the Gators make a big play for him. The expectation: It’s all about what happens at right tackle. If Delance can finally put it together at right tackle, then UF can start five experienced players. Run blocking should be much improved. All the questions about this line revolve around pass protection, particularly on the right side. DEFENSIVE LINEMEN (14): Daquan Newkirk (6-3, 318, GR); Antonio Shelton (6-3, 318, RSR); Zachary Carter (6-4, 277, RSR); Dante Lang (6-5, 291, RJR); Jaelin Humphries (6-3, 325, RSO); Gervon Dexter (6-6, 308, SO); Princely Umanmielen (6-4, 245, SO); Jalen Lee (6-2, 313, SO); Lamar Goods (6-2, 335, RFR); Desmond Watson (6-5, 432, FR); Chris Thomas Jr. (6-5, 314, FR); Justus Boone (6-4 ,265, FR); Jeremiah Williams 6-3, 224, FR); Tyreak Sapp (6-3, 255, FR) Looking ahead to the fall: The Gators gave up an unheard of 170.5 yards per game on the ground and 4.56 per carry last year, quite a contrast from 2019 when opponents managed 102.77 yards and 3.19 per carry. The 2020 Gators were so soft in the middle, something that is expected to change in the fall when grad transfer tackles Daquan Newkirk and Antonio Shelton take over. Both are stout against the run and capable of collapsing a pocket straight up the gut. Zachary Carter, one of the few D-line bright spots in 2020 when he had five sacks and 12 quarterback hurries, elected to come back to boost his draft stock. Behind those three is the best depth defensive coordinator Todd Grantham has had since he arrived with Mullen in 2018. Gervon Dexter, a former 5-star recruit, needs to find consistency but the physical tools are there. A name to watch is Desmond Watson, who tipped the scales a biscuit less than 435 in the spring. Even at his size he has great mobility to go with incredible strength. A surprise could be Dante Lang, who spent his first two years at UF as a tight end but has grown to 291. He could be the heir apparent to Carter. This unit should be one of the more improved defensive lines in the entire country. The expectation: If there is to be a defensive revival it will start with the play on the line. The value of the additions of Newkirk and Shelton cannot be understated. If they get the job done consistently, Carter could have an All-America season. LINEBACKERS (15): Ventrell Miller (6-1, 225, RSR); Jeremiah Moon (6-5, 245, RSR); Lacedrick Brunson (6-2, 234, RSR); Amari Burney (6-2, 235, SR); David Reese (6-2, 234, RJR); Brenton Cox Jr. (6-4, 252, RJR); Andrew Chatfield Jr. (6-2, 251, RJR); Khris Bogle (6-4, 234, JR); Mohamoud Diabate (6-3, 221, JR);Diwun Black (6-4, 226, JR); Lloyd Sumerall III (6-5, 240, RSO); Ty’Ron Hopper (6-2, 221, RSO); Derek Wingo (6-1, 221, SO); Antwaun Powell (6-2, 245, RFR); Chief Borders (6-4, 240, FR) Looking ahead to the fall: There is a buzz about this unit and much of it centers around Diwun Black, the best juco linebacker in the country. He’s big, fast and arrives at the football in a very bad mood. Adding Black to a unit that returns Ventrell Miller, Jeremiah Moon, Brenton Cox Jr., Amari Burney, Mohamoud Diabate and Khris Bogle should equate to a group that can stop the run, get to the passer and play in space against the passing game. Miller had 86 tackles last year and that included 3.5 sacks. Cox scares the bejabbers out of offensive coordinators. Although doubled on every snap last year he still had four sacks and 18 quarterback hurries. Moon has to stay healthy. Diabate moved inside last year and got better as the season progressed, finishing with 68 tackles. Keep an eye on Bogle, who should played well in the last half of the season and should play somewhere around 240 in the fall. A freshman to keep an eye on is Chief Borders, who may shift to D-line if he keeps growing. The expectation: A year older doesn’t necessarily make you a year better but add Black to the experienced returnees and this unit has a highly productive look. There is enough talent this year that opponents are going to have a difficult time doubling up on Cox. If he gets enough one-on-one attention, he could have a huge year. SECONDARY (15): Trey Dean III (6-3, 205, SR); Kaiir Elam (6-2, 195, JR); Jaydon Hill (6-0, 190, JR); Tre’Vez Johnson (5-11, 188, SO); Mordecai McDaniel (6-1, 192, SO); Rashan Torrence II (6-0, 197, SO); Fenley Graham (5-9, 167, RFR); Kamar Wilcoxson (6-1, 186, RFR); Avery Helm (6-1, 174, RFR); Ethan Pouncey (6-1, 165, RFR); Corey Collier Jr. (6-1, 172, FR); Donovan McMillon (6-1, 197, FR); Jason Marshall Jr. (6-0, 191, FR); Jordan Young (6-0, 189, FR); Dakota Mitchell (6-0, 185, FR) Looking ahead to the fall: The Gators gave up 28 touchdown passes last year, double what they gave up in 2019. Some of that can be attributed to an inconsistent pass rush that left the secondary vulnerable but no matter how you analyze it, the Gators were really bad. That has to change this year. The Gators should be solid on the corners with potential first rounder Kaiir Elam teaming with Jaydon Hill. Five-freshman Jason Marshall Jr. did not come to Gainesville to sit. He will be on the field early and often. Ethan Pouncey was expected to play a lot as a true freshman but he tore up his knee last August. He’s healthy and should be a contributor. Most of the questions for the Florida secondary are at safety. Trey Dean III has been tried at nickel and corner but he’s best suited for safety. True freshman Donovan McMillon was the talk of spring practice. Four-star freshman Corey Collier Jr., a high school teammate of Marshall, is another one who didn’t come to Gainesville to sit. The expectation: Can the Gators find answers at safety? If they can, they should be improved in the secondary. The corners could be as good as you will find in the SEC. Elam will probably show up on most preseason All-America lists and Hill is nearly as good. The secondary will get a real lift if the Gators are able to get consistent pressure on opposing quarterbacks. Nothing makes a secondary look as good as a great pass rush. SPECIAL TEAMS (3): Jace Christmann (6-0, 195, GR); Jeremy Crashaw (6-4, 196, RFR); Rocco Underwood (6-4, 220, FR) Looking ahead to the fall: Fortunately when Evan McPherson left early for the NFL, Jace Christmann transferred in from Mississippi State, where he is the leading scorer in school history. He hit 12-14 field goals for Mullen back in 2017. Crashaw is a big-legged Australian who averaged 49 yards in his two punts last year. He’s good enough that Jacob Finn, who averaged 46 yards a punt, transferred. Mullen thought Rocco Underwood was the best long snapper in the country. The expectation: Christmann doesn’t have the range McPherson did but he’s very accurate. Crashaw should average 45-48 yards per punt.

College athletics—particularly the Florida Gators and other big three Sunshine State schools—have been at the forefront of the legal world in recent weeks, as lawmakers and judicial courts determine the future of amateur sports in relation to the Name, Image and Likeness law. NIL, as it’s colloquially known, will be the death of amateurism according to critics; it will be what saves college athletics according to others. But regardless, there’s no debate it will change college athletics. Whether that’s for the better or worse is yet to be seen. As NIL laws took over courts the past couple of months, it also placed football coaches and players in a position to which they’ve typically been averse—the midst of a political battle. Everyone from Mackenzie Milton, the FSU Seminoles quarterback, to Gators coach Dan Mullen has taken a stand in public on NIL and its current legal battle. So what are the NIL laws? What are the pro’s, con’s? What was the June 1 debacle that put all of the Florida football teams on a soapbox? And perhaps most importantly, how will this help and/or hurt the Gators? We examine all of that and more. What is NIL NIL, as explained above, stands for “Name, Image and Likeness.” The short, non-legalese explanation is that it concerns anything dealing with an athlete’s name, image or—you guessed it—likeness. If you were a fan of the popular video game, NCAA Football, and have been depressed at the lack of a new game in years, then the NIL is what you have to thank for it’s eventual return (EA Sports hasn’t yet announced an official date, just that the game would be returning). College athletes often see their name, picture or something that technically is ambiguous but not specifically them show up in the marketplace. As amateur athletes, until now, they’ve been unable to capitalize on that exposure. For example, since 2007, No. 15 jersey’s have been prominent at Florida Gators football games. One’s sold off campus would even say the name “Tebow” on the back. Tim Tebow had nothing to do with those jersey’s and received no monetary return for their sales. There is a restaurant on University Avenue in Gainesville that has a carved wooden statue out front. A big bodied football player, toting a ball, in a No. 15 jersey, with facial characteristics that greatly resemble a famous Gators football player. It’s not hard to figure out who it is. As a student, Tim Tebow had no say over those sort of instances of likenesses. The NIL looks to allow athletes from all sports profit off such instances, have a say in where and how their name/picture/likeness is used and become product endorsers. The school’s themselves will have nothing to do with how a player uses NIL. It will be purely between the player and any outside businesses that want the player to act as an endorser and/or any promotion the player wants to take part in while in school. “I'm pretty excited because you know, college kid, we can't have a job or anything,” explained Gators receiver Justin Shorter back in February. “So, I feel like that's just a really great thing that the NCAA is doing for the players just because how much time we put into football. And I'm just really thankful, and I'm just hoping that next year maybe I could have a little bit more money and play with myself in Madden, or NCAA Football, but we'll see. But, I'm just very very grateful." Pro’s of NIL The pro’s for NIL is it allows athletes to have more control on their own name and image. Someone else isn’t using it for products they don’t believe in, and others aren’t profiting off of the player’s popularity without said athlete receiving some of that profit as well. The argument exist—and understandably so—that a scholarship covers an education, room and board and provides the opportunity to prepare themselves to play professionally and subsequently make millions. The average student athlete spends an inordinate amount of time on school and athletics, meaning there is little to no time to have a job, so NIL hopes to make up for some of that, by letting the sport be the job. See, until now athletes weren’t allowed to use their status as an athlete to promote themselves in anyway to make money. A few years ago, there was a UCF football player—kicker Donald De La Haye—who had a lifestyle YouTube channel. He talked about fitness and schoolwork and music and movies, and you get the point. He also had some athletic related videos. His videos were popular, to the point he was able to make advertising money on them through YouTube’s monetization feature. The NCAA ruled that since a portion of his videos dealt with football topics, he was using his status as a football player to promote himself and therefore couldn’t make money off of his YouTube videos. His choices were to take down his videos or lose his scholarship. NIL looks to change those instances and allow those players to benefit if they’d like. Con’s of NIL The con’s of course, are this will inevitably change college athletics. It could be for the better, or it could be for the worse, and that’s really not known yet. The uncertainty is what scares coaches, like Dan Mullen, who like to have every minute of every day planned out, and be prepared for any scenario in a game. It’s why college coaches are seriously considering the NFL (although endorsement deals are prevalent there too, but more on that in a minute) so as to not have to deal with NIL and the new transfer rules which allow essentially for free agency. NIL will change college athletics for starters in recruiting. A new apartment complex in Gainesville could offer a recruit $5,000 to appear in a commercial asking students to live where the athletes do…then, just before signing day, an amusement park in Miami could offer the same recruit $10,000 to appear on advertising if they commit to the Hurricanes. It essentially takes everything that was happening below the table and brings it above board. Then, where do you draw the line? Are there certain businesses and company types that players should avoid? Who tells them to avoid those certain businesses? What sort of reaction would there be if a player promoted a shady bar? Or company with questionable business tactics? Can you allow a player to promote the college ministry at a local church without also opening the door to a fringe group labeling themselves as a religion that wants a player to promote a “gathering?” The "Locker Room Division" Argument One of the more recent arguments/narratives currently circulating around NIL is that it will cause locker room division. That a back-up linebacker won’t have as many opportunities as the starting quarterback and therefore will become bitter and jealous. This never seems to be a problem in professional sports (albeit they are receiving a paycheck regardless) and one has to ask why we aren’t giving college athletes the benefit of the doubt to be mature enough to handle this as well. It’s also very likely we’re underestimating how many opportunities there will be for athletes of all sports. Any one with a decent social media following will be able to benefit. The power of social media and the advent of businesses using influencers will sync perfectly with the NIL plan. As such, athletes are provided some stability and protection for those who may not make it to the professional league or don’t have the option to play professional at all. Take Keyontae Johnson for the example. The Florida Gators forward was predicted to be a draft pick in the upcoming 2021 NBA Draft. But after a scary medical episode last season, he’s planning to return to Florida…but only if he’s medically cleared to play basketball at all. His playing career could effectively be over. If he’d been able to use his his Instagram account, with over 50,000 followers, as an influencer the past year, he’d have a nest egg to supplement his lost income as a NBA player. And for those in sports that don’t have a professional league—or one that’s incredibly small or primarily an Olympic sport—the NIL laws allow the athletes to benefit off of their current athletic standing. Now a Florida women’s lacrosse player can promote lacrosse products on her Instagram and Twitter page and be paid for the advertisement. Anyone that’s in the public eye or outgoing or business savvy—or all of the above—can find a way to make their niche with the NIL laws. The July 1 Debacle Florida and California were at the forefront of NIL laws, as the first states to take charge and promise the opportunity to their athletes. Florida’s law has been set to go into affect July 1, 2021, just over two months from now. Governor Ron De Santis has been a huge proponent since the beginning, pushing for his state to be able to promise recruits something other states couldn’t. “I viewed it as something that was a matter of fairness, and just understand what we’re not talking about,” DeSantis has said on NIL. “We’re not talking about, you get a scholarship to Florida State or Miami and the universities are gonna pay you. That’s not what we’re talking about. You’re an amateur … But in a situation where you have some great athletes, especially in a sport like football and basketball whose likeness is being used to make millions and millions of dollars and they don’t even have an opportunity to get any of that, there’s something fundamentally unfair.” Then, in typical political fashion, pork barreling held up the bill and wanted to push the policy change to 2022. “We did not want our student athletes, if this law went into effect, to start profiting off NIL and potentially lose scholarships from the NCAA,” state Sen. Travis Hutson, the St. Augustine Republican behind the delay language, told Sports Illustrated on Thursday. “We decided to do a one-year hold," he added. "It was an abundance of caution. We want our kids to profit from the NIL and that’s something we’re passionate about, but not at the chance they could lose the right to play.” To this point, there has been no indication of an issue with the NCAA in relation to players benefitting from NIL. College coaches from around the state—Manny Diaz at Miami, Gus Malzhan at UCF, Mike Norvell at FSU and Dan Mullen as well—expressed their frustration at the change. Tweets from FSU quarterback McKenzie Milton were even read on the Florida Congress floor. "Are we serious right now??? Milton posted on Twitter. "That little black line in a bill with more than 70 pages to continue to screw all these athletes?? Make it make sense." "The state of Florida needs to enact NIL legislation in 2021, as was originally planned," Mullen tweeted. "We need to do what’s best for our student-athletes." After a few days of whipping, lawmakers put through a motion to reset the date to July 1. But in the meantime, Alabama and Georgia signed laws that set their state in motion, with athletes allowed to take part in NIL benefits beginning July 1. How It Affects Florida (Good and Bad) For so long, schools in the state of Florida were able to sell recruits on coming to school here and being able to benefit from NIL while other states were lagging behind. Of course Nick Saban didn’t let that last long, but Florida and schools within were ahead of the curve. Plus, it was easy to go into South Florida and now sell to recruits, “stay home, win a championship in your home state, and it will work out for from a business standpoint as well.” Georgia and Alabama jumping up to claim the July 1 date while Florida legislature drugs its feet hurt the state’s argument about being on the forefront. But the Gators and other schools did catch a break, when it was revealed the state of Georgia and Governor Brian Kemp had snuck a provision in their legislation. It states the school’s have the description to garner 75% of an athlete’s NIL earnings and place them in a holding account to be distribute to other athletes (which is basically a scholarship and opposite of the capitalist themes on which the law is founded). It was only discussed after a journalist read the entire bill and discovered the line. Within mere hours of signing the bill in the Georgia Bulldogs recruiting lounge, the narrative shifted to highlight schools in the state of Florida once again, where schools have nothing to do with the NIL process and therefore an athlete will be able to keep their entire earnings. The Florida Gators athletic program has been preparing for the change, enacting the "Gators Made" Program which builds on the existing program that helps with career advising, financial planning, and professional sports counseling, and adds enhancements with brand and social media assessments and education on name, image and likeness opportunities. "The comprehensive and continued education of our student-athletes remains a priority in the Gators athletic program," said Athletic Director Scott Stricklin. "A staple of those programs over the years has been financial literacy, along with career and personal skills development. GatorsMade adds personal brand and social media development to better position student-athletes for current and long-term success." So what are the NIL laws? They’re the next step in the changing landscape of college athletics. Will they be the savior? Or the death? That’s yet to be determined. The only thing for certain? Gainesville car dealership commercials are about to get an entirely new look.

Hannah Adams committed just two errors in her high school career – one of which never should have happened. As Paul Pierce, Adams’ high school coach, recalls, a ball was hit to the wall and Adams was out for the cut. The ball was thrown to Adams, who then turned to make the throw to home. It was a routine throw for the second baseman. But this one got away from her. “I definitely remember that. It was embarrassing,” Adams said when asked to reminisce about the throw home. “I was trying to throw a girl out at home, and I got my (hand) caught in my ponytail and I threw it almost to the dugout that my team was in. It wasn’t even close to home at all. And then the run scored. “It was against our biggest rival, and it was so embarrassing. It never happened to me before in practice or anything. I was so embarrassed; I didn’t even know what to do.” But Pierce would argue that Adams knew exactly what to do. She always did. Pierce coached high school softball for nearly 20 years at Collins Hill, another local school in Georgia, before making the jump to Mill Creek. The veteran manager also coached Jaimie Hoover, who is in her fifth year at Florida while at Collins Hill. Pierce had seen a lot of softball – a lot of good softball, at that. “We play a pretty good brand of softball,” Pierce said. “And we play against a lot of people that Hannah is still playing against at Florida... our county, our region... a lot of people are bound to the SEC, the ACC... a lot of D1 athletes in our county.” Pierce was still at Collins Hill during Adams’ freshman season but knew of the stout second baseman playing for the other school. As a freshman, Adams was recognized as the defensive player of the year. That’s when Pierce realized the talents of Hannah Adams. “When you play against them and you’re defensive player of the year, you know that’s special,” Pierce said. Pierce began coaching Mill Creek during Adams’ junior season. The Mill Creek standout had already committed to the Gators, but you’d never know it. “I guess she committed to go to Florida early in her high school career, but you would have never known that from talking to her,” Pierce said. “It isn’t like that’s one of the first things she’s going to tell you... With a lot of people it is and could be and probably should be. “You’re proud of those things that come into your life and you’re proud for her... But she’s not gonna stick her chest out and say look at me.” However, whether she wants it or not, Adams’ senior season in Gainesville has garnered her national attention. Adams has started each of the Gators’ 45 games at second base in 2021 and boasts a near-flawless fielding percentage of .976 with 70 putouts. For Katie Chronister, Florida’s fifth year pitcher on the staff, having Adams behind her is a luxury. “Especially for me since I want ground balls, I feel a sense of comfort,” Chronister said. “I know that she’ll be able to make plays whenever I need it or be able to assist in some plays. She’s just gonna be somebody that’s like a wall. That’s how I think of Hannah. If the ball goes to her, I feel pretty confident that an out is going to be made.” The same confidence Chronister has in Adams now, Pierce had years ago. According to Pierce, he and his coaches would often joke about simply getting the ball to Hannah Adams. When Pierce and his assistants would consider what kind of pitch to throw to a batter, the consensus was always, “Just have them hit the ball to Hannah and we’ll be okay.” The same “get it to Hannah” advice was offered when a ball was sent into play. “When you’re in doubt, just throw the ball to Hannah,” Pierce laughed. “You throw the ball to Hannah, we’ll be okay. That’s kinda when you realize how special Hannah is. “When the ball gets hot in your hand and you don’t know what to do, just throw it to Hannah and we’ll be fine.” Often, Adams’ trips to the batter’s box come with the same consistency as her time spent in the field. Adams, who generally hits in the leadoff spot for the Gators, sat in the two spot in high school. According to Pierce, Adams struck out just two times during her four years of high school. This season, Florida’s leadoff is batting .401, with an on-base percentage of .486. And though she’s striking out more than she did in her high school years, it’s still incredibly rare. Hannah Adams has visited the plate 142 times this season. She has just 12 strikeouts registered against her. The senior has recorded 57 hits on the year, 33 RBIs and eight home runs. But perhaps most impressively is Adams’ ability to answer the call when the game is in the balance. “When you bring Hannah to the plate, you’ve always got a chance,” Pierce said. Adams has generated three walk-off hits in 2021, with the first dating back to the Gators 1-0 victory over Jacksonville on Feb. 17. Most recently, Adams put her late-game heroics on display in a pivotal SEC series against Missouri over the weekend. After splitting the first two games of the series in Colombia, Missouri, and being neck-in-neck with Arkansas for the SEC regular season title, the Gators needed to win the series finale. While the Tigers scratched across runs in the first and third innings, Missouri starting pitcher Jordan Weber kept the Gators off of the scoreboard through the opening six innings. After Florida’s Sarah Longley produced a one-out double, followed by a free base taken by Baylee Goddard, Adams came to the plate as the winning run. And in that moment, all that mattered was right in front of her. Adams worked herself into a full count before sending the offering over the left centerfield wall for a three-run home run to help the Gators to a 3-2 lead in the top of the seventh inning. “She’s always been in the moment,” Pierce said. “And just clutch. But I think clutch, sometimes, is just people being able to be who they are and stay within themselves in big moments and not try to do too much. It’s kinda what we preach. When the moment gets big, you just gotta be you.” And Hannah Adams has always been Hannah Adams. “Hannah is very reserved,” Pierce says. “Don’t get me wrong, there’s a fire inside there. She just doesn’t show it much... Never too down, never too crazy. Just even-kill Hannah.” When Adams was at Mill Creek, the team used the acronym W.I.N., which posed the question, “What’s important now?” And it seems as though Hannah Adams always knows the answer to that question. “She stays in the moment,” Pierce reiterated. “It doesn’t matter what you did last at-bat... It’s what’s important right now.” And as the Gators’ regular season begins to wind down, the postseason buzz starts to swirl through the college softball world. But that’s not what important now. That’s not W.I.N. “Even though we’ve had a really successful season, nothing before really matters at this point and we just need to focus on this week at practice and focus on our first game on Friday.” The Gators host the Texas A&M Aggies this weekend in a Friday (6 p.m.), Saturday (4 p.m.) and Sunday (1 p.m.) series. Florida can claim half of the SEC regular season title with a series sweep.

A few thoughts to jump start your Friday morning: GIVEAWAY: GATORS DROP OPENER AT KENTUCKY Call this one The Great Giveaway. That’s the only way you can possibly describe what the 10th-ranked Gators (31-14, 13-9 SEC East) did Thursday night in Lexington when they lost 7-5 to Kentucky (27-15, 11-11 SEC East). The damage report reads like this: 1. The Gators committed three errors that led to three unearned runs by the Wildcats. 2. Florida threw three wild pitches, committed a passed ball and allowed four Kentucky stolen bases. 3. After the Gators had rallied from a 5-1 deficit to tie the score with four runs in the top of the seventh, there was a critical base running error when Jud Fabian was held up at third on a single to right field by Sterlin Thompson. Instead of sending Fabian home against a fairly average arm in right field, the Gators played it safe. With the bases now full of Gators and just one out, Jordan Butler struck out swinging and Josh Rivera took a called third strike on a full count to end the threat. 4. In the bottom half of the inning, a throwing error by third baseman Kirby McMullen on what should have been the second out turned into the biggest mistake of the night because T.J. Collett went down swinging. John Rhodes then delivered a two-run single to provide the winning margin. Florida should have never lost this baseball game, but the loss played out in all-too familiar fashion. Too many Florida losses have been due to self-inflicted wounds, whether in the field where they turn routine plays into inning-extending errors or critical strikeouts with runners in scoring position. Starting pitcher Franco Aleman gave up 10 hits and five runs in six innings. He contributed to his own demise in the fourth when he gave up four runs. He couldn’t field his position which created an infield hit, hit a batter and wild pitched in the final run of the inning. His committed an error on a bunt in the fifth when Kentucky increased the lead to 5-0 but that one didn’t send a runner home. The Gators got on the scoreboard in the sixth on a double by Rivera, a ground out and a sacrifice fly by Jacob Young. In the seventh, Fabian doubled followed by a Kris Armstrong single. McMullen singled home Fabian but two outs later back-to-back walks scored Armstrong. After a pitching change, Young singled to right field to drive home Rivera and McMullen. This was a critical loss for the Gators since they entered the game just one game behind SEC East co-leaders Vanderbilt and Tennessee. UF faces Kentucky tonight with Tommy Mace (5-0) getting the start. AN SEC TITLE ON THE LINE FOR UF SOFTBALL The pressure is on Tim Walton and his 4th-ranked Florida (37-8, 16-5 SEC) softball team this weekend at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium. A sweep of Texas A&M (31-17, 8-13 SEC) earns a share of the Southeastern Conference championship with Arkansas (40-8, 19-5 SEC), which has already concluded its season. Lose even one of the three games with the Aggies and Arkansas wins the title outright, marking the first time since 2007 that an SEC team not named Florida or Alabama has won the softball title. There is no magic formula for the Gators, who are a middle of the pack offensive team that hits only .282 with only 41 homers. The Gators get just enough offense and back it up with solid pitching (team ERA 1.68, second in the SEC; 11th nationally) and exceptional defense (sixth nationally at .982, only 23 errors in 45 games). Florida does not have dominant pitching in that there isn’t a single pitcher on the staff that can simply blow the ball by opposing hitters. The Gators rank near the bottom of the SEC in strikeouts with 228 in 299-2/3 innings but they do a good job of making the other team put the ball in play so the defense can get the job done. Walton certainly hopes the Gators do better at the plate than they did in winning two of three last weekend in Missouri. In their game one win, the Gators were held scoreless until the top of the sixth when they exploded for five runs, winning it on a 3-run homer by Jaimie Hoover. Sunday, UF was shutout until the top of the seventh when Hannah Adams hit a 3-run homer to win that one 3-2. Key players: Adams leads the Gators in hitting at .401. She has hit eight homers with 33 RBI. Charla Echols (.352) leads in home runs (11) and RBI (44) … Katie Chronister (7-2, 1.98 ERA) has been invaluable out of the bullpen where she leads the team in saves with six. RIVALS GIVES KOWACIE REEVES HIS FIFTH STAR Rivals.com published its final top 150 basketball rankings Thursday with Florida signee Kowacie Reeves (6-6, 180, Macon, GA Westside) moving up six spots and gaining a fifth star. Reeves is a more of a scorer than he is a shooter. He scores easily off the bounce and is a good garbage guy who picks up two or three stickbacks per game. He has a good, consistent midrange jumper and actually improved as a 3-point shooter during his high school season, but that’s an area where he will need to improve. Reeves also moved up two spots in the final rankings by 247Sports, but at No. 27 he just missed getting his fifth star. Travis Branham, a 247Sports basketball recruiting analyst, listed Reeves as one of the 10 impact freshmen for 2021-22. Writes Branham, “Mike White and the Florida Gators are losing some key pieces from the 2020-21 season in Tre Mann and Scottie Lewis to the NBA Draft as well as Noah Locke to transfer. Colin Castleton also declared but is retaining his eligibility while Keyontae Johnson is gearing back up for a big comeback season – and a very welcome return to the floor. “Johnson, Tyree Appleby and Castleton (if he returns) form a solid core for the Gators and have one very talented high school prospect headed to campus in Kowacie Reeves. Reeves exits high school ranked as the No. 27 overall prosect in the class. “He’s got size, length and more than enough athleticism to compete in the SEC. He’s a confident and aggressive scorer who can put point on the board in a hurry with his jumper. “Reeves can provide a big spark for the Gators on both sides of the ball and will be needed to make a return to their first Sweet 16 since 2017.” GATORS ADVANCE TO AAC LACROSSE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME Florida (15-2) won its 12th straight game Thursday, hammering Cincinnati 19-6 in the semifinals of the American Athletic Conference lacrosse tournament at Donald Dizney Stadium. The Gators will face Temple (12-4) Saturday in the AAC championship game. Temple advanced with a 16-11 win over Vanderbilt. Paisley Eagan and Grace Haus led the Gators with four goals apiece. ELAM GOES 10TH IN MCSHAY 2022 MOCK NFL DRAFT In his first mock draft for the 2022 NFL Draft, ESPN’s Todd McShay sends Florida cornerback Kaiir Elam to the Las Vegas Raiders with the 10th pick. Nearly every 2022 draft evaluation so far has Elam ranked with LSU’s Derek Stingley Jr. as the top two corners in the draft. McShay’s draft features five first round quarterbacks: Kedon Slovis, Southern Cal (No. 2, Detroit); Sam Howell, North Carolina (No. 7, Philadelphia); Spencer Rattler, Oklahoma (No. 11, Denver); Malik Willis, Liberty (No. 15, Washington) and Desmond Ridder, Cincinnati (No. 16, Pittsburgh). In a 2022 mock draft by Sporting News, Elam goes 20th to Philadelphia and UF linebacker Brenton Cox Jr. goes 32nd to Tampa Bay. That same draft lists the following first round quarterbacks: Rattler (No. 1, Houston); Slovis (No. 2, Detroit); Howell (No. 5, Denver); and Ridder (No. 10, Washington). Not to be outdone, CBSSports has Elam going 15th to Pittsburgh in its mock. The CBS first round QBs are: Howell (No. 2, Detroit); Rattler (No. 8, Washington); Slovis (No. 9, Las Vegas); Willis (No. 10, Carolina); and Ridder (No. 26, Denver). OVER, UNDER, AROUND AND THROUGH THE SEC Alabama: Wednesday, Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher was asked how long until Nick Saban retires so that the Aggies can beat Alabama, to which Fisher (Saban’s offensive coordinator at LSU), said, “We’re going to beat his ass when he’s there.” At a speaking engagement in Mobile, Saban was asked Fisher’s statement, to which he responded, “In golf?” … Redshirt freshman defensive back Brandon Turnage has put his name in the NCAA transfer portal. Auburn: Five Auburn football players have put their name in the transfer portal this week – D-linemen Jaren Handy and Jay Hardy; quarterback Chayil Garnett; defensive back Chris Thompson; and the most recent, defensive back Kamal Hadden, a 2021 signee who transferred in from Independence Community College. Georgia: Georgia governor Brian Kemp signed a Name, Image Likeness (NLI) bill into effect Thursday in the recruiting lounge at Sanford Stadium. The Georgia law allows the school to take up to 75 percent of the money earned by an individual player from NLI to redistribute to other players, making this a controversial bill that almost certainly will receive a court challenge. Kentucky: Former South Florida head coach Orlando Antigua is leaving the Illinois staff to join John Calipari’s staff at UK. Antigua worked for Calipari one year at Memphis and then five at UK … Offensive tackle Nick Lewis (6-9, 320), a Jacksonville native and former 3-star prospect, has placed his name in the NCAA transfer portal. Missouri: The Missouri at BYU football game that was supposed to be played in 2020 has been reschedule … for 2035. Missouri has also rescheduled its postponed game with Louisiana to 2025. Tennessee: As of Thursday night, Tennessee’s football attrition totals 24 players who have transferred out and four who have asked for and received a release from their national letters of intent. Texas A&M: A day after saying he plans to beat Nick Saban’s ass, Jimbo Fisher told the Capital City A&M Club, “We’ve got the Aggie ring but we need a national championship ring, too. I’m gonna change that tradition a bit and make us a two-ring school.” Nick Saban is probably quaking in his Nikes about now … Offensive lineman Chris Morris, formerly a 4-star prospect in 2020, is expected to transfer out. Morris did not participate in Texas A&M’s spring football practice. ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: The Board of Regents at the University of Hartford, whose basketball team won the American East Conference Tournament to qualify for the NCAA Tournament for the first time in history back in March, has voted to drop its intercollegiate athletics program (eight men’s, nine women’s teams) down to Division III no later than September 1, 2025. This comes after a school-sanctioned study says the athletic department would save more than $9 million a year with the move. Economist Andy Schwarz, whose studies helped UAB save its football program from the ash heap, reports the savings would be significantly less. This won’t be the first school to either drop down a division or two or eliminate entire athletic departments. The combination of COVID-19 on university economies and a lack of television revenue except for the power conferences in Division I is going to take its toll, especially on smaller schools. Like it or not, we’re about to enter an era when there will be a declining number of opportunities for athletes in sports across the board. Think back to last summer when Stanford eliminated 10 non-revenue sports and think of that as the first shot across the bow. That was just the first drips from the faucet. A flood could be following soon.

A few thoughts to jump start your Thursday morning: HUGE SERIES FOR GATOR BASEBALL BEGINS TONIGHT IN LEXINGTON With three SEC series to go and the Gators (31-13, 13-8 SEC East) trailing East Division co-leaders Vanderbilt (32-9, 14-7 SEC East) and Tennessee (34-11, 14-7 SEC East) by a single game, there is no room for error. The Gators hit the road tonight for game one of a 3-game set with Kentucky (26-15, 10-11 SEC East) needing a sweep because both Vandy and the Vols probably won’t lose even one game in their matchups. Vanderbilt will be home against Alabama (28-15, 11-10 SEC West) while Tennessee will be at Missouri (12-29, 5-16 SEC East). As of Wednesday night Kevin O’Sullivan had not announced his pitching rotation for the weekend but his options for starters are limited. He’s been going with Franco Aleman (1-2, 5.05 ERA) as his Friday night starter but Aleman was rocked for nine runs and 10 hits in five innings against Vanderbilt but the previous Friday against Auburn he held the Tigers to six hits in five shutout innings. It will be critical for O’Sullivan to get a good start out of Aleman to keep his bullpen options intact. Christian Scott (3-2, 2.47 ERA) has established himself as the long reliever and Jack Leftwich, who got saves both Saturday and Sunday against Vanderbilt, is the new closer. Tommy Mace (5-0, 4.15 ERA) likely gets the Friday night call with Hunter Barco (7-2, 4.76 ERA) wrapping things up. The Gators have won 11 of their last 13 games, going 8-2 in SEC play during that same stretch. While the pitching hasn’t been dominant, Florida’s bats have awakened during the hot streak. The Gators have launched 56 home runs with Jud Fabian tied for the SEC lead with 16. First baseman Kris Armstrong has homered in three of his last four games. Nathan Hickey leads the Gators with a .354 batting average and eight homers to go with a team-leading 45 RBI. The first game will be telecast on the SEC Network (7 p.m.) with games two and three on SEC Network+. NEW CBS MOCK DRAFT HAS TRE MANN GOING NO. 11 TO NEW ORLEANS Gary Parrish of CBSSports.com, the nation’s best basketball writer and the most well connected with coaches both in the college and pro games, came out with his latest NBA mock draft Wednesday that confirms the upward mobility of Florida All-SEC guard Tre Mann. Considered a late first or early second round choice back in November, Mann continually elevated his draft stock by showing improvement almost on a game-to-game basis. In the final month of the season Mann showed almost unlimited range on his jumper and the ability to get into the lane off the bounce, which is why he’s now considered a lottery pick. Parrish has Mann going 11th to the New Orleans Pelicans. Kyle Boone of CBSSports.com also did a mock draft that has Mann going 13th to the Golden State Warriors. In the Parrish mock draft, seven players from the SEC are chosen: Moses Moody, Arkansas (9), Keon Johnson, Tennessee (10), MANN, FLORIDA (11); Isaiah Jackson, Kentucky (12), Jaden Springer, Tennessee (13), Cameron Thomas, LSU (14) and Sharife Cooper, Auburn (15). In the Boone draft, eight SEC players are chosen: Johnson, Tennessee (9), Moody, Arkansas (11), Springer, Tennessee (12), MANN, FLORIDA (13), Thomas, LSU (14), Jackson, Kentucky (18), Cooper, Auburn (26) and Brandon Boston Jr. (Kentucky) 30. In both these mock drafts, the SEC has more players chosen than any other conference. Wait a second, isn’t the SEC supposed to be so obsessed with football that everything else pales by comparison? ONE OF THE GREATEST MYSTERIES OF THE 21ST CENTURY What will go down as one of the greatest mysteries of the 21st century is the case of Jamie Newman, quarterback, formerly of Wake Forest Gump and Georgia, who went undrafted last weekend. How is it that last August Mel Kiper Jr. had this guy ranked as the No. 4 quarterback, trailing only Trevor Lawrence, Justin Fields and Trey Lance? How is it that CBS Sports had Newman ranked third, trailing only Lawrence and Fields? David Pollack of ESPN called Newman a No. 1 draft pick. Athlon’s preseason football magazine had Newman as its SEC quarterback. Connor O’Gara of Saturday Down South points out that back on August 20 Sports Betting AG posted these 2020 Heisman Trophy odds: Trevor Lawrence 2/1; Spencer Rattler 9/1; Myles Brennan 14/1; D'Eriq King 14/1; Sam Ehlinger 14/1; Jamie Newman 16/1; Mac Jones 16/1; Chuba Hubbard 20/1; Ian Book 20/1; Sam Howell 20/1; Bo Nix 25/1; Kyle Trask 25/1; Travis Etienne 25/1. You probably noticed two prominent names missing on that list. No Devonta Smith, who won the Heisman while leading Alabama to the national championship, and no Justin Fields, who finished seventh in the voting while leading Ohio State to the national championship. Trevor Lawrence didn’t win it but at least was a finalist. Spencer Rattler spent half the season awful before the lights went on. Myles Brennan had a season-ending injury in game three but wouldn’t have won even healthy. D’Eriq King was good but not good enough. Sam Ehlinger lost too many important games. Jamie Newman didn’t play. Mac Jones was first team All-America and a Heisman finalist. Chuba Hubbard had a brilliant 2019, an average 2020. Ian Book was good not great. Sam Howell will have a shot at winning it this year. Bo Nix? Surely you jest. Kyle Trask was a second-team All-America and a Heisman finalist. Travis Etienne was outstanding but Najee Harris was better and fifth in the Heisman voting. That Newman wasn’t sitting on the podium as a Heisman finalist is understandable since he didn’t play in 2020, opting out in August before ever playing a game for Georgia. The excuse was COVID-19, but folks who saw Georgia practices seem to think Newman’s big adios had something to do with getting shown up regularly by household names Stetson Bennett IV and D’Wan Mathis. Opting out didn’t help Newman with the NFL Draft since NFL scouts never had a chance to see him going against the better competition of the SEC after his transfer from Wake Forest Gump. But that does not explain why through seven full rounds that included supplemental picks nobody was willing to choose him. Ja’Marr Chase of LSU opted out. He was picked in the first round. So were Penn State linebacker Micah Parsons and Oregon tackle Penei Sewell. There were other players who opted out of 2020 who were selected although not in the first round. So why not Newman? A friend of mine suggested character issues might be the case. I’m not buying that because NFL teams will find a way to get an axe murderer who saw an apparition of Jesus on the wall of his death row cell on the field if they think he can help them win a game. Low Wunderlich scores was his next suggestion. Vince Young, lest we forget, made a six (50 is perfect) and not only was he the third player taken overall in the 2006 Draft but he ended up making the Pro Bowl twice. Maybe, just maybe, Jamie Newman is really an over-hyped marginal talent that so-called “experts” were duped into believing he was the greatest thing since Jim McElwain had white teeth. I’m of the theory that there is a faction in the media that desperately wants some quarterback to validate Kirby Smart as a great coach by ending Georgia’s 40-year national championship vacuum. Last year when Newman transferred in from Wake Forest Gump it was assumed he would be the missing link. This year, many of those same experts are claiming JT Daniels is the answer. He’s only played four games but he’s being declared the best QB in the Southeastern Conference. If he leads the Poodles to a national championship, they will, for once, be right and they’ll be telling Nick Saban to move over, Kirby is the new sheriff in town. Do you see that happening? For the life of me, I can’t. OVER, UNDER, AROUND AND THROUGH THE SEC Alabama: Jaden Shackleford and Josh Primo have until June 19 to withdraw their names from the NBA Draft. Both are testing the waters and neither one is anywhere close to first round material. Nate Oates believes both will be back next season. Arkansas: Basketball coach Eric Musselman is losing assistant David Patrick to Porter Moser and Oklahoma. Musselman wasted no time in finding a replacement for Patrick, hiring Gus Argenal from Cal State-Fullerton. Argenal worked for Musselman previously at Nevada. Auburn: Speaking on the Paul Finebaum Show, Auburn football coach Bryan Harsin said quarterback Bo Nix has “battled through, now three different offenses and he’s willing to learn.” Yes, but can he remember not to fumble and to throw the ball to his own teammates? Georgia: Georgia basketball got a commitment from juco All-American Dalen Ridgnal (6-6, 180, Kansas City, MO/Arkansas City, KS Cowley College). Ridgnal averaged 21.1 points and 12.8 rebounds last season. Kentucky: John Calipari came up big in the transfer portal Wednesday when former Iowa shooting guard C.J. Fredrick signed with Kentucky. Fredrick (6-3, 195), who played high school basketball at Covington Catholic, hit 46.6 percent of his 3-pointers in two seasons at Iowa. He is the third transfer for UK, joining Grady, a 2,000-point scorer at Davidson, and Oscar Tschiebwe, a rebounding rim protector from West Virginia. Cal still has four open scholarships to fill. LSU: The LSU quarterback room is minus one after TJ Finley (6-6, 240, FR) announced he’s transferring Wednesday. Finley started five games, throwing five TDPs and five INTs … Another LSU basketball player has gone the transfer route. Josh Gray (6-11, 255) is leaving after spending one year in Baton Rouge. It’s a rather big loss for the Tigers, who will be vertically challenged next season if they can’t add some size in the transfer portal. Mississippi State: John Janovsky, who was on the staff in 2019 as the director of scouting and analytics, has returned to Mississippi State, this time as director of basketball operations. He was the director of basketball ops for South Florida last season. Missouri: Small forward Ronnie DeGray III (6-7, 220, FR) transferred in from UMass. DeGray averaged 8.7 points and 4.6 rebounds per game last season. Ole Miss: Defensive back Deane Leonard, a native of Alberta, Canada, was selected in the second round of the Canadian Football League draft. Leonard has one year of eligibility remaining at Ole Miss. South Carolina: Keyshawn Bryant and Jermaine Couisnard have been testing the NBA waters but both are telling HBC Frank Martin they are planning to return to school. Tennessee: Former Mississippi State wide receiver JaVonta Payton is transferring to Tennessee. In two seasons at MSU, Payton caught 28 passes for 372 yards and one touchdown. Texas A&M: At the Houston Touchdown Club, Aggie HBC Jimbo Fisher answered a question about when Nick Saban retires: “We’re going to beat his ass when he’s there. Don’t worry.” You shouldn’t make Nick mad, Jimbo. Vanderbilt: Vanderbilt will allow full capacity for its final four baseball games of the season. ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: In case you missed it last week, Cal State Northridge put its entire basketball coaching staff on administrative paid leave while it investigates “potential rules violations.” Potential? The head coach is Mark Gottfried, a notorious cheater who learned the nuances of rules breaking from Jim Harrick, the same guy who was fired at UCLA and Georgia for inventing new ways to circumvent the rulebook. After years of rumors that he was cheating at Alabama, Gottfried “resigned” in midseason 2009, allegedly one step ahead of the jailer. North Carolina State, where Gottfried coached from 2011-17, is waiting to go to trial before the independent committee that hears NCAA violations cases. Forget all this innocent until proven guilty rhetoric. There is plenty enough evidence from the Federal basketball corruption case to prove Gottfried okayed payment of $40,000 to guard Dennis Smith. The guy is as dirty as they come. The folks at Northridge should be ashamed of themselves for hiring him in the first place. They’re going to get lit up by the NCAA and for what? A coach who brought them three consecutive losing seasons.