ATLANTA—The No. 7 Florida Gators have been selected to face the No. 6 Oklahoma Sooners in the Cotton Bowl on December 30, the College Football Playoff selection committee announced Sunday afternoon. The selection comes after Florida fell 52-46 to No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide on Saturday night in Atlanta. The Gators stayed the same in the rankings however and earned a third straight New Years Six bowl bid largely due to the close game versus the nation's best team. This will be a rematch of the 2008 National Championship, when Florida won their third National Championship and Tim Tebow defeated the Oklahoma Heisman winner Sam Bradford. Tight end Kyle Pitts will not play in the bowl game and will forego his senior season as he prepares for the NFL Draft. He is projected to be a first round pick. The new record holder for receiving yards by a Florida tight end (1,492 yards) broke the previous record held by Aaron Hernandez (1,382). Pitts’ 12 receiving touchdowns this season are the second-highest total by a tight end in SEC history. Vanderbilt’s Allama Matthews (14 in 1982) holds the SEC record. Pitts released a statement on social media thanking UF, coaches and more when revealing his intentions: "First I would like to thank God for an opportunity to play football and get an education at the University of Florida. I've always wanted to play in the SEC and the University of Florida has allowed me to have the best experience both in the classroom as a Top 10 public institution and on the field. I want to thank Coach Mullen for believing in me and my potential and helping me prepare for the next step in my life. Also, I would like to personally thank Coach Scott and Coach Brewster for molding me into the player I am today. Most importantly, I would like to thank my parents Theresa and Kelly because they sacrificed a lot in order for me to get where I am today. Finally, I would like to thank Greg Garrett, who has been a mentor and someone who has believed in me since day one. "In addition, I would like to thank the support staff of the athletic trainers, equipment managers and everyone in the football facility. The people I interact with every day are what makes coming to the university of Florida to play football so special. I have many great memories during my three years at Florida and I will always be a Gator. I hope to continue to make Gator Nation proud through my career. I will forever miss running out the tunnel on Saturdays with my brothers in front of 90,000 fans. I know it is time for me to move on to the next chapter of my life. “After much prayer and consideration and speaking with my family, I will forego my senior season and enter the 2021 NFL Draft and will not be playing in the bowl game. I am eager to pursue my dreams of playing football in the NFL but I will always be a Gator. 84 out!” Head Coach Dan Mullen said after the game Saturday night that the locker room mood was bittersweet, knowing it would likely be the last time this team played together. He effaced whether or not that mean the Gators would turn down a bowl bid (as many teams have done with COVID cases spiking) and said media would make whatever they wanted of his comment. But as a full team, this would likely be the last time the 2020 Gators played together, seemingly referring to opt-outs. "A little bit somber," he said of the mood. "It's probably the last time this team ever plays together. That's a tough deal. I think there was a lot of guys that really care about each other, have really worked hard to get here to this point. I know there's a great deal of disappointment in the locker room, but there's also a lot of respect for everything that everybody on this team went through and did for this year. There's a lot of love for the guys and the family that this team is. "That was really the last time this team will play together, I imagine. Whatever the future holds, I imagine this team as a whole of how it is will be the last one played here." More opt-outs could follow. Last season, the Gators had only one player opt-out of the bowl game, Top 10 pick corner C.J. Henderson. Whatever roster does travel to Dallas will have a tall task. As Alabama Head Coach Nick Saban said on Thursday—ironically when recalling the 2008 SEC Championship game loss to the Florida Gators—"I think one of the most difficult things that you have to do, or that I've ever had to do, is when you lose the SEC championship game, get your team ready to play the next game. That's always been really, really difficult." The ? Bowl will be an opportunity though, to avoid the worst loss record under Dan Mullen during his time at Florida and a chance to prove the Florida Gators are building a sustainable Top 10 contender.

Each game, I keep extensive notes of nearly every play in the game. sometimes I miss one or two, or am pulled away from my computer for a while. But for the most part, this is every play in the game, from my perspective in the press box. In recapping the No. 7 Florida Gators 52-46 to No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide, I surmised the best way to share a rundown of the SEC Championship would be to share my rundown of the game. As a valued subscriber, I am offering this extensively and for our customers. Florida won the toss and deferred -Offsides on the kicking team, Pierce…5 yard penalty ALABAMA -handoff to Harris…jet sweep right….Diabate huge tackle…2 yard gain -2nd and 8 from 32…RPO…Jones to Smith…19 yard gain -At UF49…Harris handoff up the middle…Stewart tkl…7 yard gain -2nd and 3…TD3 at safety…handoff to Harris…straight up the gut…Bogle tkl…13 yard gain -1st and 10 from UF29…moves Smith…Cox coming with pressure…Jones throws it down (not grounding cause outside the pocket) -2nd and 10 from UF29…Harris backfield…Jones drop back…misses No. 18 Bolden (dropped pass) with Elam on him -3rd and. 10 from UF29…Harris LH…Cox jumped…offsides with contact on Dunlap, 5 yard -3rd and 5 from UF24…Harris LH….Jones swing to Smith…Marco dives and misses tackle…Elam clean up -4th and 1 from UF19…quick snap…Jones push for 1D…but wait, before the snap replay paged officials to review 3rd down -3rd down review…after review, Smith made line to gain, so 1D -reset to 12:48 so get 18 seconds back -1st and 10 from UF19…Smith I…RPO…Jones jump to Forristall…11 yard gain (Diabate had come off him to come to LOS) -Harris rush around right end, 8 YARD TOUCHDOWN…BAMA 7, UF 0 -Toney brings it out…24 yard return…had a wide open left side of the field… FLORIDA -empty set…wheel route to Malik Davis…4 yard gain -2nd and. 6 from UF31…handoff to Pierce…hit and fumbles backwards, Trask receivers -3rd and 6 from 31…Wright backfield…KT motion right…Trask over the middle of the field to Pitts, 15 yard gain THATS WHY YOU NEED HIM -Trask nothing there…keeper…3 yard gain -2nd and 7 from UF49…previous play under review for targeting …no foul -2nd and 7 from UF49…KT backfield RH…Trask looking deep for Pitts…Surtain coverage…too high -3rd and. 7 from UF49…empty set…Cope and KT left…Pitts…Grimes…Pierce….Trask DEEP to KT…beat Moore…strolled in…51 YARD TOUCHDOWN…UF 7, BAMA 7 ALABAMA -some sort of foul on return….will start at UA 9-yard line -1st and 10 from UA9…Harris rush over right, 3 yard gain -2nd and 7 from UA12…Jones moving around in pocket….gets Smith deep down sideline…24 yard gain…beat Stiner and Elam -Jones looking over middle…through Miller’s hands…to No. 19…15 yard gain -1st and 10 from UF49…Harris busing run. Houston tkl, 9 yard gain -2nd and 1-Harris up the middle, 10 yard gain, Burney tkl -1st and. 10 -2nd and 7 from UF26…Smith I…screen to Smith…Marco to his ankles tkl…3 yard gain -3rd and 4 from UF23…Jones moving around pocket…over the middle to TE…Trey Dean rips it away….returning it for the interception…gets hammered by Metchaie and fumbles. Bama (Smith) recovers. Was never even considered for targeting -Next play, Jones rolls out and finds wide open Smith on a coverage bust…31 yard TOUCHDOWN…BAMA 14, UF 7 FLORIDA -17 yard kickoff return by Toney -Starting at UF21…screen to KT…11 yard gain -1st and 10 from UF32…KT motions in…handoff to KT who finds a lane…bounces off people….keeps on his feet…13 yard gain -1st and 10 from UF45…Malik backfield….Trask. deep drop back…goes deep for Malik….too far…Malik not fast enough -2nd and 10 from UF45…Malik and KT both backfield…Malik motions out…Trask on crossing to Pitts…10 yard gain -1st and 10 from UA45…Wright backfield…Trask dancing…looking for deep sideline to Grimes…just over his hands.. -2nd and 10 from UA45…Emory in at QB…around right tackle…makes a good cut…excellent blocking from Kyle Pitts…17 yard gain -1st and 10 from UA28…Kyle at QB…looking for Pitts over the middle…incomplete. No holding flag? -2nd and 10…from UA28…handoff to Wright…Harris tkl…1 yard gain -3rd and 9 from UA27…empty set…Hondo, KT left…Pitts, shorter, Malik right…Trask draw, up the middle…4 yard gain -4th and 5 from UA23…McPherson with 40 yard field goal attempt…GOOD…UF 10, BAMA 14 ALABAMA -From UA27…Harris up the middle, 4 yard gain -2nd and 6, Harris 4 yard gain -3rd and 3 from UA34…Jones looking for someone, Brad Stewart knocks it away…but flag on Zach Carter for hands to the face. A1D -Harris over right guard 8 yard gain -2nd and 2 from UF43…Jones with pocket collapsing…Chatfield sacks him, loss of 5 Second quarter -3rd and 7 from UF48…empty set…drop back…over the middle to Bolden. Stewart coverage. 15 yard gain -From UF33…Jones looking deep for Metchaie…beautiful throw and he’d beat Hill…but too far and OOB -2nd and 10 from UF33…handoff to Harris…4 yard gain -3rd and 6 from UF29…empty set…Harris motion…screen to Harris…Miller tkl OOB…looked short…but they gave it to him… -never mind it’s under review…stands as called -1st and 10 from UF23…swing out to Williams…Marco falls on tackle, Williams stays up -1st from UF11…Harris up the middle then bounces out around right end…5 yard gain…Miller OOB (stepped out of Wilson tkl) -2nd and 5 from UF6…Gators with hands on hips…Harris up the middle…stopped at a wall…Slaton and Diabate tkl for no gain -3rd and 5 from UF6…Jones swing out to Harris…puts a spin move on Jaydon Hill…6 YARD TOUCHDOWN…BAMA 21, UF 10 FLORIDA -From UF32 after good Malik return… -1st and 10 from UF32…attempt wheel route to Malik…No. 4 had it covered -2nd and 10 from UF32…empty set…swing out to Malik…steps out of one tackle…gets block from Cope…11 yard gain -1st and. 10 from UF43…empty set…nothing there…Trask looking to scramble…gets hammered by No. 4…loss of 2 yard -2nd and 12 from UF41…empty set…Pierce right, trips left…moves Pierce in…handoff to Pierce who goes right…1 yard gain -3rd and 11 from UF42…empty…moves KT across…screen out to KT…ball pops out, Pierce picks it up and advances another couple of yards. 3 yards total -punt ALABAMA -Smith returns the punt 20 yards after making Shorter miss on initial tackle on punt return -Starting at UA30…Jones swing to Metchaie, 8 yard gain -2nd and. 2 from UA38…Robinson up the middle, 3 yard gain -1st and 10 from UA41…Jones looking, nothing, staying in pocket…Carter sack…coverage sack with everyone covered up…loss of 5 yards -2nd and 15 from UA37…handoff to Robinson, up the middle with quiet a lane -3rd and 8 from UA43…Jones looking deep for Smith…overthrown…flag cause Florida had 12 men on the field (12th was running off, Campbell) -3rd and 3 from UA48…Robinson backfield…handoff to Robinson…bounces off hit from Bogle…Burney tkl…8 yard gain -1st and 10 from UF44…swing out to Smith…Elam just held on to tackle…5 yard gain -2nd and 5 from UF39…RPO…looking to endzone for Smith…Brad Stewart PBU in the endzone -3rd and 5 from UF39…Bama timeout -3rd and 5 from UF39…Stewart moving around…Jones to Smith on the crossing…Burney tkl…right at line…ruled short cause he came back to make the catch -4th and 1…Bama going quick snap…Florida takes a timeout…Bama had tried that on others but both times, play was reviewed and 3rd down determined a 1st down -4th and 1 (inches) from UF34…Jones looking to sideline…weird trick play…Instead tight end 87. Took direct snap and dove forward. Looked short but gave it to him (Bama trying. Plays UF normally would) -1st and 10 from UF34… -2nd and 5 from UF29…handoff to Harris, dancing all over the place, making cuts…4 yard gain -3rd and 1 from UF25…wing formation…handoff to Robinson…up the middle, 2 yard gain. Slaton looks tired…Robinson ran at Slaton… -1st and 10 from UF23…empty set…Jones pumps fake…finds Harris on a post…got off of Diabate and stuck his hand in Marco’s helmet to keep him off…23 YARD TOUCHDOWN…BAMA 28, UF 10 FLORIDA -KT takes fair catch -1st and 10 from UF25…KT in motion…Trask deep post to KT…40 yard gain -1st and 10 from UA36…Trask to KT in flat…8 yard gain…high points it like a basketball -2nd and 2 from UA28…KT backfield…motions out in flat…turns up field…working through traffic…KT looked down at 1 yard line…bobbled ball out and No. 2 Surtain popped it up…Alabama jumps on it -1st and goal from 1…Alabama rushing to get in position cause Florida is rushing snap…play under review but under review for touchdown…KT was reaching for plane…may be a fumble actually…ruling on the field stands…got a break there -1st and goal from the 1…Trask forces his way up the middle…1 YARD TOUCHDOWN…UF 17, BAMA 28 ALABAMA -Billingsley return 22 yards -From UA22…Cox bats the ball down -2nd and 10 from UA11…Jones dancing….buys time…to Bolden on crossing…25 yard gain -1st from UA47…Jones looking for Harris, dropped…pressure coming -2nd and 10 from UA47…empty set…drop back…Jones to Smith on crossing…Wilson tkl but he beat Marco…21 yard gain -1st from UF32…Jones in fat to Forristall…7 yard gain…pushed OOB bu Bogle -2nd and 3 from UF25…Jones looking for Harris for dump over middle…ball tipped. Bogle tried to get hand on it for pick but too high -3rd and 3 from UF25…empty set…Jones to Metchaie on crossing. Burney tkl…8 yard gain -1st and 10 from UF17…empty set…Jones over the middle to Harris…bounced off 3 people (Stiner/Stewart/and away from Diabate)…17 YARD TOUCHDOWN…BAMA 35, UF 17 FLORIDA -1st and 10 from UF25…Trask left flat to Copeland, turns up field…13 yard gain -1st and 10 from UF38…Trask flat to Grimes…5 yard gain -2nd and 5 from UF43…Emory in at QB…keeper…rush over right guard…7 yard gain -1st from 50…Trask deep sideline to Grimes. Jumped over Surtain…50 YARD TOUCHDOWN…UF 24, BAMA 35 ALABAMA -From UA25…Jones shuttle pass to Smith…4 yard gain -2nd and 6 from UA29…left screen pass to Metchie…26 yard gain -1st and. 10 from UF45…Jones looking…throws towards someone’s feet. Diabate coverage -2nd and 10 from UF45…handoff to Harris…up the middle…Diabate tkl…Stewart injury…5 yard gain -3rd and 5…Harris rush over right, 2 yard gain…Burney tkl -4th and 3 from UF38…Jones to Smith on crossing…Elam chased him down (knew Marco wasn’t making it) and wrapped him up…short FLORIDA -Take over at UF37…Trask drop back…looking for Pitts over middle of the field…too far in front of him -Trask rolls right…looking for Malik left…flag….DPI 32…15 yards -1st…Now at UA48…empty set…QB draw…bottled up…3 yard loss -2nd and 13 from UA49…Malik backfield…KT, cope, Tre right….QB draw again… -3rd and 9 from UA47…Malik backfield…moves right…drop back…arm getting hit as he throws…lame duck, short for Davis -4th and 9 from UA47…gonna punt ALABAMA -From UA9…Jones drops back…all day…waits for stuff to open up…left screen to Harris, 14 yard gain - -2nd and 4 from UA29…Jones post to Smith who was wide open…Elam tkl…27 yard gain -1st from UF44…handoff to Robinson who works towards edge…holding on offense, 10 yards -1st and 20 from UA46…Jones to Smith in the flat…Stewart tkl…10 yard gain -2nd and 10 from UF44…secondary moving around…Diabate and Bogle switch…handoff to Billingsley…Carter chases him down…3 yard loss -3rd and 13 from UF47…Jones wheel out to Tennison…Stewart comes in for tackle FLORIDA -screen to Copeland, tries to do too much, fumbles…recovered by Copeland…Grimes with hands on his head, can’t believe it. Thought Bama had it on the 10. But said Copeland got it -2nd and 17 from UF13…looking for Pitts in double coverage, popped up -3rd and 17 from UF13…empty set…Trask over the middle to Pitts who go past his guy and open…20 yard gain -1st from UF32…KT backfield…Trask looking for Wright…flag, DPI on 32, spot foul, A1D (Wright wouldn’t have caught it anyways probably, cause he. Was breaking) -1st from. UF45…Trask deep over the middle to Grimes…got his guy to fall…45 yard gain -1st from UA30…empty set…KT backfield….handoff to KT, goes left, 2 yard gain -2nd and 8 from UA28…KT off left guard, 5 yard gain -3rd and 2 from UA23…Trask keeper, off left guard…block from Reese, 3 yard gain, 1D -1st from UA19…empty set…Trask dancing, throws it away -2nd and 10 from UA19…empty set…Trask left to Wright…Moses got his ankles. 6 yard gain (Pitts wide open) -3rd and. 4 from UA13…empty set…Grimes in motion…bunch right….Trask keeper up the middle…4 yard gain, 1D -1st and goal from UA8…KT and Wright backfield…all motion out, Pitts right…empty set…linebackers move out, Trask keeper up the middle…5 yard gain -2nd and goal from UA3…Wright backfield behind Pitts…handoff to Wright…TOUCHDOWN…UF 35, BAMA 31 ALABAMA -From UA25…Jones in the flat to Forristall, 2 yard gain, hit hard by Diabate, fumbled and recovers. Fourth quarter -2nd and 8…Jones in the flat to Smith, 7 yard gain -3rd and 1…Jones sneak up the middle…line pushed him for help…got it, 1D -1st from UA35…Jones drop back…wide open Metchaie who got off off Elam…20 yard gain -1st from UF45…Harris rush over left, hurdles Elam…19 yard gain -1st from UF26…Jones over the middle to Billingsley, 14 yard gain, flag and Elam injured -1st from UF12…handoff to Harris…Miller tkl at line -2nd and 10 from UF12…handoff to Harris around right edge…stepped away from Diabate, TD3 tkl…9 yard gain -3rd and 1 from UF3…Harris up the middle…2 yard gain -1st and goal from UF1…Harris around right tackle…Diabate and Lang initial tkl…no gain. Miller injured…Najee Harris getting oxygen -2nd and goal from UF1…after review, determined Harris was able to get ball over goal line initially. 1 YARD TOUCHDOWN…BAMA 42, UF 31 FLORIDA -From UF25…Trask sack fumble. Delance gave it up…Alabama recovers…Trask livid coming off the field, big claps of his hands. Tries to walk past Mullen but Mullen pulls him back, tries to calm him down. Makes him watch the replay to figure out what happened. ALABAMA -got held to a field goal. Impressive FLROIDA -Trask middle to Pitts, -Trask deep middle seam to Pitts, in double coverage, splits safeties. 39 yard gain -1st and 10 from UA38…Trask looking for Copeland in endzone…good coverage knocked it away. Good ball -2nd and 10 from UA38…handoff to Malik…rush over right guard, 1 yard gain…fumbled, recovered by Copeland. -3rd and 8 from UA36…empty set…Trask looking for Pitts on crossing…flag…holding on defense…10 yards, A1D -1st from UA26…tons of motion…empty set…Trask looking for Grimes…pass batted away -2nd and 10 from UA26…KT motions right…Trask looking for Grimes in the endzone. Hand fighting on both sides -3rd and 10 from UA26…(5-8 on 3rd so far)…empty set…Trask on crossing to Pitts…got in front of his safety…brought. Down just short of goal -1st and goal from UA1…Trask trying to barrel roll…rules short, but under review…it stands. Wow. Ball was in. His right hand. Looked to have broken the plane -Trask attempts to jump over the line, fumbles, Bama offsides, HUGE BREAK -2nd and goal from UA1…Trask moves Pierce over, KT in motion…PIERCE TOUCHDOWN…UF 38, BAMA 45 ALABAMA -Start at UA34…Harris off right guard…14 yard gain, bouncing off people. Marco tkl. Injured -1st from UA48…(could use a turnover)…I formation…flag…offsides, defense…5 yards -1st and 5 from UF47…Harris bounces out right…got past Sinter who eventually made tackle…29 yard gain (Miller injured) -1st and 10 from UF18…lots of movement…handoff to Harris, off left guard -2nd and 7 from UF15…Jones to Smith easy off of Marco…Marco was too far off the ball…15 YARD TOUCHDOWN…BAMA 52, UF 38 *Landon Dickerson hurt, has to be carted off. Weird scene. Carter FLORIDA -From UF25…Trask middle to Toney, 9 yards -2nd and 1 from UF34…Trask incomplete for Pitts, PBU Surtain -3rd and 1 from UF34…Trask screen to KT, 5 yards -1st and 10 from UF39…Trask looking for Pitts, DPI -From UA46…Trask to flat for Copeland, broken up by Surtain -2nd and 10 from UA46…KT out right…Trask to Wright in flat…13 yard gain -1st and 10 from UA33…KT lots of motion…wheel route to Wright, lowers his head…8 yard gain -2nd and 2 from UA25…Wright rush over left…1 yard gain -3rd and 1 from UA24…Trask keeper off left guard…4 yard gain -1st and 10 from UA20…empty set…lots of running around…Trask looking, looking…finds Grimes on hitch. Battle tkl, loss of 2 yards -2nd and 12 from UA22…empty set…Trask to corner of the endzone. Kyle Pitts over two people while falling backwards. Defied physics. TOUCHDOWN -Mullen takes timeout before 2-point attempt -looking for Pitts on conversion…tries to bring it down with one hand. Alabama intercepts it…but Bama DPI gives Florida another shot and from the 1-yard line -Trask runs it in for the 2-point conversion…UF 46, BAMA 52 ALABAMA -Florida tries onside kick and Alabama Smith recovers -Harris over right guard, 1 yard gain, Diabate tkl… -2nd and 9…Harris up the middle. Burney tkl. No gain -3rd and 9 from UA48…Florida fans going nuts…Bama lets play clock go down to 1 then calls timeout…Harris carrying on sweep…Brad Stewart tracks him down for the stop -milks clock before punt FLORIDA -From UF12…0:16 to go….Trask tries to run and sacked…trying to clock it…can’t clock it in time. Ball game

ATLANTA—For the second week in a row, No. 7 Florida Gators Head Coach Dan Mullen promised a wishbone offense for the Saturday night game. As the Gators got into an expected dog fight with the LSU Tigers last week, there was little time for gimmick plays or attempts at parts of the playbook that had been covered in cobwebs. But against the No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide, Mullen jokes again he’ll bring out the ancient run heavy offense. “We're going to go back, I'm going back, kind of put in some of the wishbone stuff we did back in 2010,” Mullen laughed on Thursday. The Gators won’t be running the wishbone against the Tide tonight in Atlanta when the two teams fight it out for the SEC Championship. One can’t help but think however that if Mullen and his staff elected to run the two back heavy set, they’d find some success, if for no other reason than they’ve often found success with whatever type of offense they want to run. Florida offense under Mullen has the scheme to possibly defeat the vaulted Tide. We saw the Ole Miss Rebels put up 647 yards against the Tide back in Week 3 of the SEC season, albeit in a Rebs loss. Because to defeat the Tide this year, one has to be able to keep up with them. Ole Miss could, but just didn’t have the ball last. Florida can keep up with this Alabama team offensively. The key will be defeating what has now become a stout Alabama defense in the past four weeks. They’ve accumulated 16 sacks in the last three games and six fumbles in the same span. Working around that front seven will require creativity that Florida can create with their scheme. “I feel like he has some tricks up his sleeve, but at the end of the day, it all comes down to a team as ourself,” said receiver Tre Grimes of Mullen and the team’s game plan. “We’ve practiced all year for this game coming up. Our goal all year was to play in the SEC championship and I know that he’s preparing us for this moment. We’re just going to go out there and do whatever he tells us to do, and like I said, come out victorious.” But for the scheme to work, the players must win battles. That is the toughest part of playing Alabama. Even if you can keep up with them for a quarter or a half, can you run with the best athletes in the nation for a full 60 minutes? With two offenses that can put the pedal to the metal and go, do you have enough in the tank to last? Grimes thinks the Gators garage is stocked and ready to race. “If we’re talking cars, I feel like KT is one of the most elusive cars you could ever think of. I don’t even know how to describe it — he’s the most electric car you can buy on the lot. We have a lot of different cars. I always say I’m a Brinks truck — big-bodied, solid receiver. We just have a lot of weapons everywhere. It’s a very dominant receiving corp. As you saw last game, Copeland had 128 and KT had 182 and I had 98. “So Kyle Trask has a lot of different, great receivers around him. We have younger guys like Shorter, Jamarcus, all of us, and then we have Kyle Pitts, and everybody knows how great he is. So going in there, Kyle Trask is surrounded by a lot of great receivers, and Alabama’s going to have to pick their poison.” Of course this also will require the Gators defense to make at least 50% of their stops against the three headed monster that is quarterback Mac Jones, running back Najee Harris and receiver DeVonta Smith. Said lineman Khris Bogle of Jones, “The key is to get pressure on the quarterback, like, always and just move him off the spot. We got a couple key plays that is going to get him off the spot and things like that.” Added linebacker James Houston, “Well we got some schemes in there to, to kind of stop both those two guys. They're majority of their offense, 22 [Harris] and six [Smith] so we've got a couple of things in place to kind of slow them down a little bit. Being a linebacker I'll probably be taking care of 22 a little bit more. Six, we should be able to handle too as well with all the dudes in the back. But they got other dudes as well on offense that we prepare for and that we're ready to adjust to if they start making plays as well.” As of now, less than an hour until kick-off, the Gators remain a 16-point underdog. Grimes doesn’t care. “We don’t look at it at all like we’re underdogs. At the end of the day, it is what it is. If they think we’re underdogs, then let it so be it. We’re still going to come out there and play like we have to play and come out victorious. There’s no ifs, ands or buts about it, and we’re looking forward to the challenge, and we’re going to come out victorious.” Check back periodically for live updates and observations from Atlanta where GatorBait Magazine is on the ground. Kyle Pitts was announced as a starter at tight end, officially confirming he has returned form injury and will play tonight. Shawn Davis was also announced as starter at safety. It's his first game back after missing Tennessee and LSU games with injury. The following Florida football student-athletes will be unavailable for tonight’s game against Alabama: 4 David Reese 6 Shawn Davis 7 Jeremiah Moon 17 Kahleil Jackson 21 Ethan Pouncey 22 Rashad Torrence II 54 Lamar Goods 66 Jaelin Humphries 95 Lucas Alonso Tre Grimes is PUMPED UP Florida wins the toss and defers. Mullen will attempt another 2-for-1 score, one of the best in the country to do so this season. READ OTHER GATORBAIT MAGAZINE SEC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME PREVIEWS: Dan Mullen and Brian Johnson Forced Nick Saban To Adjust After 2008; Can They Do It Again? If They ‘Give Fate A Chance,’ Trask Can Finish Off His Florida Gators Fairy Tale Legend The Florida Gators Need Marco Wilson In Order To Win, So How Do They Bring Him Back From "The Toss"?

Alabama. Alabama. Alabama. It’s always Ala-Damn-Bama! Lots of football fans down here are tired of seeing The Genghis Khan of Southern Football running roughshod. Is this ever going to cease? Can’t fairy tales exist? Florida began playing Alabama over a century ago. Since then, it’s usually been a case of the “Stars Fell on Alabama” – mainly 5-Star players – when it comes to the Crimson Tide, the SEC and Florida Gators. Although once during the reign of the HBC, he held Genghis in check for a spell. They meet Saturday night for the 41st time overall, the 10th time for an SEC championship. Overall, including regular season, the Crimson Tide has won 24 times, the last six in a row. There have been some spectacular moments for the Gators, like the 2008 SEC Championship Game, No. 1 Florida vs. No. 2 'Bama. Urban Meyer's national champions beat Nick Saban's Crimson Tide without having one of its biggest offensive weapons, Percy Harvin. A fourth quarter sparked by the passing -- yes, passing -- of pinpoint accurate Tim Tebow. Meyer still calls that 31-20 win one of his finest hours, "maybe the best game i've ever been involved in." When they next met in 2009, Saban evened the score and many think that was the impetus that inspired Alabama's incredible run for the next decade. Insiders say the loss was so impactful for Saban that for the next 364 days he practiced against the Florida defense and became almost obsessed with the Gators. Frankly speaking, this is not an ideal season to be scheduling a juggernaut with the alleged greatest coach in college football at the helm. And three world-class offensive players. This would be a good time for Gator fans to tuck and run. Or would it? Dreamers dream of upsets. Question: Is it even possible the Gators will win? This is exactly the kind of ambush that would spawn a legend of mythical proportion. Goliath was favored by 100 million points over David. LSU was only a 23.5-point underdog to the Gators last Saturday night and won. So what’s a mere 17=point margin for Alabama this time? So now we ask, if we believe in Newton's law, when will pendulum swing back in Florida's favor? Who could believe such a fairy tale? A few people do that I talked to this week. Good, smart football minds, some of whom have experienced these cataclysmic events in their favor. A good half dozen players and coaches, all with Gator backgrounds or connections, many of whom embrace this SEC Championship Game an opportunity to make a statement for the program -- instead of necessarily fearing a Saturday night massacre. And a few who even still believe in fairy tales. Among them, Steve Spurrier, who took on the No. 1 Crimson Tide as coach of South Carolina and beat them in 2010. I asked Spurrier if this Gator team could possibly beat Alabama in what looks like the biggest mismatch since – well, since the Nebraska Cornhuskers flattened his Gators at the 1996 Fiesta Bowl, 62-24. “Sure they can,” Spurrier said with a touch of conviction, although certainly not predicting it. “They've got a chance to win the SEC! Give fate a chance.” That’s what he told his South Carolina team in 2010. Coming from a man who won the ACC with a Duke team, you tend to believe it. I thought back to what now seems like century ago when Spurrier was a freshman and not yet eligible at Florida as his coach took a bedraggled Gator squad to Tuscaloosa to face Bear Bryant’s team, which had never lost on home ground. Carrying a paltry 1-1-1 record to Tuscaloosa after almost losing to tiny Richmond at home the week before, Graves’ said “We’ve got no chance against them.” And I was standing there when he said it. The Fairy Tale kicked in as his rag-tag team handed the Bear his first-ever loss at what was then known as only Denny Stadium, 10-6. It was a special moment for a guy named Dick Kirk of Fort Lauderdale who unexpectedly broke loose for the winning touchdown on a 42-yard run. Maybe somebody else in orange and blue will have a special moment Saturday night. All of which brings us around to Kyle Trask, the flesh and blood example of a living, walking, breathing, passing fairy tale. Who by the way, had another important date Saturday, but skippped it -- he was scheduled to receive his Masters in sports management at UF. Would it count as extra credit if he became a Masters in Atlanta instead? Twenty-three games ago, he had not started a game since ninth grade. Before the fourth quarter starts Saturday night he could be putting the final touches on his incredible achievement: Trask needs only 180 more yards to become Florida’s all-time leading passer. Barring an injury or an earthquake, with 3,717 career yards in just two partial seasons, Trask will be passing Rex Grossman at 3,896. Last week he threw his 40th TD pass to eclipse Heisman Trophy winner Danny Wuerffel. This is the stuff legends are made of. And maybe this one is still being made, following in the footsteps of the QB whose TD pass record he just broke. I remember the day in Tallahassee that a bruised and battered Wuerffel stood on a chair in the bowels of Doak Campbell Stadium following a bitter defeat at the hands of hated Florida State, hopes dashed for Florida winning a national championship. Not so fast -- Danny Wuerffel wasn’t conceding anything. He may have been the only person in that locker room who believed the Gators still had a shot. And he assured the press he believed that fairy tale was still possible. We fairly snickered. A few weeks later he finished it off, starting with a win over Alabama for the SEC title. Then on to the Sugar Bowl to settle a score with FSU, 52-20. There was a little bit of Wuerffel’s faith in the voice of Kyle Trask this week -- maybe because Danny had phoned Kyle Saturday after having his touchdown pass record broken by the Gator senior quarterback. Like Wuerffel, he was feeling it. “I think the energy in this building is very, very high,” Trask said. “We earned the right to be in this game from our play all season. We're here now, and we have a chance to win an SEC championship. The rest will take care of itself if we can take care of the business we can.” Nobody in his right mind would pick Florida to win. And yet fate still seems to owe Kyle Trask one for the road. In the perfect happily-ever-after ending, Florida beats Alabama, Trask throws for four more touchdowns, the Gators make the Final Four and advance to the championship game. And the Heisman Trophy goes to Kyle Trask, whose statue would be placed in front of the field named after Steve Spurrier. That just may be a bigger fairy tale than even Walt Disney could conjure up. But go ahead – dream it anyway! Damn that Ala-Damn-Bama!

A few thoughts to jump start your Friday morning: From the movie Dumb and Dumber … Lloyd Christmas: What are my chances? Mary Swanson: Not good. Lloyd Christmas: You mean not good like one out of a hundred? Mary Swanson: I’d say more like one out of a million. Lloyd Christmas: So you’re telling me there’s a chance! Yeah! The 7th-ranked Florida Gators (8-2), champions of the SEC East Division, play top-ranked and unbeaten Alabama (10-0), champions of the SEC West, Saturday night in the Southeastern Conference Championship Game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. The Gators are 17-point underdogs. Most of the national pundits think Las Vegas is low-balling us with that point spread. They think the Gators are going to suffer a beatdown the likes of Florida’s 62-24 national championship loss to Nebraska in the Fiesta Bowl after the 1995 season. If you simply go by the last five games, Alabama has gotten progressively better each outing while Florida has spun its wheels in four of them, crashed and burned in last week’s rather stunning upset at the hands of an LSU team Bama whipped 55-17 only a week before. Bama, to put it bluntly, is sizzling hot on both sides of the football. Florida, on the other hand, is playing like a team that has allowed boredom to catch up with them. The experts seem to think that if Alabama plays like it has in the last five games, not only is it an easy win but it could also secure an unprecedented 1-2-3 finish for the Heisman Trophy between QB Mac Jones (27 touchdown passes), WR Devonta Smith (15 touchdown catches) and RB Najee Harris (21 rushing touchdowns). Kyle Trask? He’s the guy that seemed to need only the engraver to show up to put his name on the Heisman before maybe the worst game of his career last week against LSU. He threw a pick six, threw an interception that killed off a drive that was headed for a TD and then fumbled to give LSU a chance to kick a field goal on the last play of the first half. The Gators lost by three, Trask’s Heisman Trophy chances went on life-support and whatever anyone thought Florida’s chances were to score an upset over Big Bad Bama went the way of Lloyd Christmas. When the Gators take the field Saturday night for their anticipated beatdown, this won’t be the first time folks have under-estimated Kyle Trask. They’ve been doing it since he was in the ninth grade, the last time he started a football game before his career was pulled out of the deep freeze in the fourth quarter of game three against Kentucky in 2019. Florida was down 11 in Lexington that night when Feleipe Franks dislocated and fractured his ankle. Nobody thought Trask could get it done then and all he did was lead the Gators to an improbable 19 straight as the Gators came from behind to win 29-21. The Kentucky game was supposed to be a fluke. It was supposedly a matter of when not if Dan Mullen would re-introduce Trask to his ball cap and clipboard in favor of Emery Jones. The Gators would be lucky to go 6-6. If that. One-by-one Trask kept proving people wrong. He put together the best season for a Florida quarterback since Tim Tebow in 2009 while taking the Gators to an 11-2 record, a second straight New Years Six bowl win and a second straight top ten finish. Along the way, he proved he could bounce back just fine from adversity (see losses to LSU and Georgia). Every time we think Trask has run through all the magic woofie dust that has been keeping his fairytale career plugging along, he does something rather extraordinary to remind us that maybe – just like when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor (if you haven’t figured this one out, rent a copy of Animal House, please) – it won’t be over until he says it’s over. Maybe Trask’s chances are one in a million Saturday night. Maybe this Alabama team is better than the LSU team that a lot of experts say is one of the two or three best teams in the history of college football. Trask, if you recall, lit up LSU for 311 yards and four touchdowns in Baton Rouge. He gave Florida a fighter’s chance to win that game. I remember all too well that night in Baton Rouge last year. I remember all too well how Trask neutered a Georgia defense that was supposed to be the best in the country back on November 7. I know what he can do when he gets it going. I also think this is precisely the kind of game Kyle Trask needs. People are doubting him once again and what he’s shown in going 16-4 in 20 starts is that he thrives on the doubts of others. Is there a better way to dispel the doubts than plunge an 8-inch stiletto through the heart of an Alabama fan base with the whole nation watching on CBS? Before you count the Gators out, remember the words of Lloyd Christmas: “So you’re telling me there’s a chance!” It might not be the greatest chance in the world, but it is a chance. The Sayer Says Sooth: The Gator in me says pick Florida in what will go down as the biggest upset of 2020 and maybe one of the bigger upsets of the last decade or so. My heart says Gators. My head asks are you crazy? I’m compromising. I believe Trask will play lights out, that Kyle Pitts will do some things that make people believe they are watching the greatest tight end in the history of college football and that Kadarius Toney will remind the Crimson Tide that he’s an Alabama boy who knows how to play football. I believe the Gators are going to score enough points to win but I’m not sure the defense can get enough stops. Alabama 42, Florida 38 KEYONTAE IMPROVING; THREE GAMES POSTPONED While Keyontae Johnson continues to show daily improvement at Shands the emotional toll that his hospitalization has taken on the Florida basketball team has forced more cancellations. Games with Florida Atlantic (Saturday), FAMU (Sunday) and James Madison (Tuesday) have been postponed which will allow the Gators to get a grip on emotions plus allow the team to go home for the holidays. In a statement for the media Thursday, UF athletic director Scott Stricklin said, “Keyontae Johnson continues to show encouraging signs of progress as he undergoes tests and further evaluation at UF Health. He and his family have again expressed their gratitude for the outpouring of love, prayers and well-wishes.” With these three games postponed, the Gators (3-1) won’t play again until December 30 when they open SEC play in Nashville against Vanderbilt. THE SEC SOOTHSAYER #5 TEXAS A&M (7-1) at TENNESSEE (3-6): This will become known as the game before the purge, as in the beatdown suffered by the Vols at the hands of the Aggies will lead Jeremy Pruitt to fire just about everybody on his staff. That is what folks are expecting and it is actually one of the dumber things that could be done. Pruitt isn’t going to be fired because Phattus Maximus isn’t going to admit until he absolutely, positively has to that he is absolutely clueless as an athletic director and he is the guy who hired JP. But, it will make for a good show. Pruitt will fire people left and right, tell the Big Orange Nation that he’s he’s head coached good but the fired guys assistant coached bad. Once that happens who in his right mind would want to go work for Jeremy Pruitt? The Sayer Says Sooth: Texas A&M needs a whole lot of positive things to happen to get into the College Football Playoff and it starts by beating Tennessee at Neyland Stadium. Lose and there is no chance whatsoever to get in. Win and it still won’t be easy but there will at least be a chance. If Pruitt had a clue this would be a winnable game for the Vols. He hasn’t a clue. It isn’t winnable. Texas A&M 37, Tennessee 17 OLE MISS (4-4) at LSU (4-5): Just think, if Florida Atlantic hadn’t come calling in 2017, Lane Kiffin would have been Coach O’s offensive coordinator and maybe we wouldn’t have this rather fun Lane Train vs. Coach O matchup on the final weekend of the regular season. The Lane Train can put a whole bunch of points on the scoreboard. LSU isn’t that great offensively, but the Tigers will look rather efficient Saturday when they go against an Ole Miss defense that does a weekly impersonation of Dunkirk (if they haven’t rewritten the history books then you should be able to look that up). Ole Miss will score 40 or more than put up about 600 yards on LSU. LSU will probably do the same. Whoever gets the ball last probably wins and Coach O and Lane will become buddies again. The Sayer Says Sooth: LSU can avoid the embarrassment of a losing season one year removed from an unbeaten national championship by winning Saturday afternoon. Ole Miss can do what was thought to be unthinkable and get to five wins. If Matt Corral can remember he’s supposed to throw to the people wearing the same color shirt he’s wearing Ole Miss could win in a blowout. If he doesn’t LSU has a chance. Ole Miss 44, LSU 41 MISSOURI (5-4) at MISSISSIPPI STATE (2-7): The last thing anybody expected was for Mizzou to win five this year. The next to last thing anybody expected was for Mike Leach and the Air Raid to look like the poster children for “Football for Dummies.” Eli Drinkwitz should be a runaway winner of SEC Coach of the Year for making Mizzou respectable. Strangely, the Tigers are only a 1-point favorite, which tells us that the folks in Vegas are expecting this one to go ugly early in the rain and chilly weather in Starkville. The Sayer Says Sooth: Missouri can run the football, which is why the Tigers should win this one. Larry Rountree III can surpass 1,000 yards with a big game (he needs 149 yards). Mississippi State can’t run the football and for about the eighth straight game the Bulldogs are going to go against a three-man rush, drop eight into coverage defense. Missouri 30, Mississippi State 24 A FEW OTHER THOUGHTS, SOME OF THEM PITHY: Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, where Hawaii plays its home games and bowl games are held, is expected to be condemned. A new stadium has been planned but isn’t scheduled to be finished until 2023. And here you were thinking Vanderbilt Stadium is about as bad as it gets … After the Big Ten (Plus Four) changed its requirements so that Ohio State could play for the league title even though the Buckeyes have only played five games, I think most of America will be happier than any two clams if Northwestern would win the championship game in Indianapolis … Why do I think Tulsa (6-1) is going to make life miserable for unbeaten and 9th-ranked Cincinnati (8-0) in the American Athletic Conference Championship Game? … Auburn can forget about hiring Oregon coach Mario Cristobal, who signed a 6-year extension worth $4.5 million a year … Speaking of Auburn, it seems the new coach will be either Louisiana HBC Billy Napier or AU defensive coordinator Kevin Steele. It it’s Steele, Auburn is going to regret firing Gus Malzahn … The Fun Belt Sun Belt canceled its championship game because of a positive test within the Coastal Carolina (11-0) program. Coastal and Louisiana (9-1) will be recognized as co-champs.

Nine months ago the sports world was left dark. It was like watching the lights turn off at a basketball gym. One after another, leagues and organizations were turned off. And before we knew it, we were left in a dark, sports-less world. Non-sports fans struggled to wrap their heads around the anguish sports enthusiasts were experiencing. The isolating feeling of not having that connection with a team, roster or fanbase left fans feeling lonelier than ever. There’s something special about sports. The unscripted drama, they call it. It’s the not knowing that pulls us all together. The uncertainty of buzzer beaters, walk-off field goals and dare I say, thrown shoes. But sometimes, it’s a different type of not knowing that glues the sports world together. And sometimes that not knowing is terrifying. When Florida basketball’s junior forward Keyontae Johnson suddenly collapsed on the court during Saturday afternoon’s game against the rival Seminoles in Tallahassee, it seemed it was one of those moments. The not knowing of what had happened to the SEC’s preseason player of the year just moments after jamming an alley-oop dunk through the rim had sports fans everywhere reeling for answers. What had just happened? No one knew. We still don’t. But in the moment, we knew considerably less than we do now. In the moment, we had no indication that Johnson would be okay. As he laid across the stretcher, there was no movement. No consciousness. And certainly, no thumbs up. Mike White’s Gators, who were all white knuckling their composure, were asked if they’d like to continue to contest. They agreed. But Florida’s remaining roster members, there wasn’t a soul on this earth who cared to watch the Gators finish that ball game. Even Florida State head coach Leonard Hamilton, who led the Seminoles to their seventh straight win over the Gators – making for the longest FSU win streak in the series’ history, wouldn’t have been bothered had Florida opted to stop playing. "It was totally up to them and whatever they thought was in the best interest of their team, then I would accept it and act accordingly,” Hamilton said following FSU’s 83-71 victory over Florida. “Our administration asked me, I just told them I would be OK with whatever they decided, and it’s my understanding that they wanted to play.” Meanwhile, while the Gators meaninglessly dribbled a basketball up and down the floor, the rest of the nation was captivated by the unknown... by the unscripted drama. Auburn basketball’s Bruce Pearl was filmed urging his team to pray for Johnson following the news of Johnson’s “stable, but critical state.” “You know how we believe in the power of prayer,” Pearl told his team. “I think God has got to hear our voices right now. He’s got to hear our calling right now for his health, his safety, his protection. “Everybody, we bow our heads and lets please talk to God and ask him to be with Keyontae and that Florida program right now.” Former Florida Gators basketball star and current roster member of the Washington Wizards also took to Twitter to send his well wishes to Johnson. Shaquille O’Neal’s son, Shareef, who plays at LSU also tweeted in support for Johnson. “Prayers up to Keyontae Johnson man,” O’Neal tweeted. “Never want to see anything like that happen during a game!! I hope everything goes well bro. I’m praying.” As Florida became able to issue updates on Johnson’s condition, Keyontae’s family, Mike White and UF athletic director Scott Stricklin thanked everyone for the outpouring love and support sent their way. However, some of the words of encouragement that poured into the University of Florida’s athletics office didn’t have to travel far. Second graders at Meadowbrook Elementary in Gainesville, which is just eight miles away from the O’Connell Center, penned letters to the ailing Gators basketball star, Kaitlyn Day, a second-grade teacher at Meadowbrook posted on Twitter. “Dear Keyontae, feel better!,” one student scribbled. “You are the best player I could ever know. Thinking of you lots. Get well soon. I wish I could see you, I heard that you fainted but when I’m sick I like to hear people say nice things about me. So I hope this makes you feel better. XOXO.” Seemingly, both of Johnson’s parents commented on Day’s post. “Love it, tell the kids his dad says thank you so much,” Marrecus Johnson wrote. “This is so sweet! I love it, thank you,” Nika Johnson replied. “I can’t wait until he sees it.” The letters from Day’s class will be sent to Johnson. Despite being left in the dark in regard to Johnson’s condition for what felt like an eternity, the UAA finally started issuing uplifting updates on Monday when it was reported that Johnson had been transferred to UF Health from Tallahassee Memorial. In that same update, it was reported that Johnson was following simple commands. By Tuesday, the UAA announced that according to Johnson’s parents, Keyontae was breathing on his own, speaking and had even FaceTimed the rest of his team. On Wednesday it was announced the remainder of the Gators non-conference schedule had been postponed. Games against Florida Atlantic, Florida A&M and James Madison will all be rescheduled for a different time as Mike White and players wait alongside their teammate Johnson to make progress. Though it is still unclear what caused Johnson’s collapse, some speculate that the episode might stem from a long-term effect of Covid-19. However, there has been no confirmation that Johnson ever tested positive for the virus. As sports enthusiasts, unscripted drama is what makes us tick. But rallying together behind a common cause is what makes sports special. The initial not knowing of Johnson’s condition made it difficult to appreciate the support that poured into Gainesville. However, as Johnson seems to be improving, such appreciation is becoming easier to recognize. It’s hard to feel lonely in the world of sports, isn’t it? If you would like to send cards and/or words of encouragement to Keyontae and his family, they can be sent care of the University Athletic Association: PO BOX 14485 Gainesville, FL 32604

Florida Gators Head Coach Dan Mullen addressed local and national media on Thursday, previewing the coming matchup with Alabama. He gave an update on tight end Kyle Pitts, explained the opportunity to match wits with Nick Saban and what the Gators offense needs to do to find success this weekend. Nick Saban met with the media following Mullen and recalled the 2008 SEC Championship game in which the Gators defeated No. 1 Alabama, what sort of challenge the Gators offense presents and more. As a valued subscriber, we are offering both of these transcripts in full. DAN MULLEN Opening Statement: Our team obviously very excited for this opportunity to play in the championship game. Having been there on several occasions before as a coach, the environment, the stage you're on, competing for a championship in the best conference in college football is a great opportunity. I know we're excited for this chance, this opportunity, and the opportunity to go play a great team in Alabama. Q. Obviously since Nick Saban took over at Alabama, incredibly dominating run in such a tough conference. What is it like to go against him as long as you have? Obviously a lot of coaches haven't survived in this Saban era. What is it like to go against him and what is it going to take to bring him down, make the conference a little more competitive? DAN MULLEN: I mean, he's done a great job of building the program. They do a really good job with a great recruiting base, getting really good players. I mean, everything you know about them, they've built the program around what he believes in. Look, they've put the resources in behind it with the stadium, with their football facilities, with their staffing. It's paid off for them, the university. They do a great job. They run a great football program. I guess I've survived because I'm still here. But to get there, I don't know that it is knock them off or replace them. I don't know that they're going to go anywhere. It's the opportunity to go compete with them, get up to their level, be competitive with them year in and year out is the goal more than trying to say that they're going to disappear. You just want to get up to their level and go compete on the same level as they are, and then go compete with them on a yearly basis. Q. How are you able to get your players to zone back in after a loss and get them to be on the same page? How do you get them to come out and play for you? DAN MULLEN: The competitiveness edge of these guys. We have competitive guys. Each week is a new opportunity, a new challenge in itself. Whatever happens the week before, you can enjoy that on a Saturday night or you can be upset on a Saturday night, one or the other. But on Sunday morning, none of that really matters any more. You're back to work, back on to the next week, back on to the next challenge. I think that's kind of easier. It might sound like coach talk, but there's reality when you're a competitor to that. You're on to the next one. Win or lose, you want to win the next one. I'll be honest with you, Saturday night we're either going to be really celebrating in our locker room, happy, or we'll be sad in our locker room. Sunday morning we're on to the next one. That's how it is. That's what you do as a competitor. Q. How much will this game be a litmus test for where you are as a program? DAN MULLEN: I don't know if one game ever judges. The fact that we're in this game I think this year of going through this season, getting to this game, is a bigger test than one game. I mean, we come here to build a program, you want to consistently compete for championships. The fact we got here shows we can get here. With the program, it's going to be a bigger test of are you there for consecutive years, multiple years, how often you get there. That's kind of the judge in the program. You know what, come out there, whatever the result of the program is I don't think judges, whatever the result of the game is, doesn't have a lot to say completely about the program. We still got a lot of work to do with building a program to the consistent level we want to go do it, do it over a long period of time. A win on Saturday night doesn't mean we've arrived in any way, shape or form. Q. You don't have many holes in your head coaching résumé. Beating Alabama and Nick, 0-9. How much do you relish the opportunity to match wits with him and maybe even get one of those wins? DAN MULLEN: It would be huge. Like you said, at Mississippi State we had a couple times we were right there, had opportunities to win in close games with them. Weren't able to pull it out at the time at Mississippi State. First time playing here at Florida. Yeah, you know what, it would be great. I don't view it in terms of that. I view it it would be great in terms of this year's team for us to go win an SEC championship, it would be really special for all the work that these guys have put in over the course of this year. Q. I know you were in your first year at Mississippi State the year that 'Bama beat Florida in the SEC title game. It sort of launched the 'Bama dynasty under Nick. Looking back at that game, I'm sure you probably watched it, did you ever imagine that game would be such a landscape-changing game not only for Florida but for Alabama as well? DAN MULLEN: No, I mean, who knows. I would have said it was really the year before that, the 2008 championship game. I think they were the No. 1 team, Florida was No. 2 that year. I would say that more started the run for them of being a consistent program, getting there on a consistent basis to go compete for championships. Like I said, I think you could go back even the year before that that they got the opportunity to go play in the game, I know, I was there, Florida won that game. I think that was kind of the launch point of their consistency and their consistent performance of opportunities. I mean, obviously haven't been there every year since. They missed several of them. When you look and you identify programs, like I always say, it's the consistency of doing it. It's not, I was there once, twice, three times. It's the consistency of your opportunity to go compete for championships. Q. If you could, talk about the week of practice, Kyle Pitts in particular. How has the week of practice gone? DAN MULLEN: It's gone pretty good. I think I really like the energy our guys have had this week. I don't want to say probably the -- it's been a long season, a big grind. We've been down so many players at different times during the year. It's been a challenge. But I will say I think the energy level of practice is the highest it's been in quite a while this week. I think that's just the excitement the guys have for the opportunity to go play in this game. Kyle has had a great week of practice. We'll see. Hopefully he's able to play. Hopefully he's able to get cleared to play on Saturday. Q. Jeremiah Moon and Shawn Davis, how are those guys progressing with their injuries? Will they be available Saturday? DAN MULLEN: Yeah, they're working hard to get back out there. We'll know on Saturday who will be available for us. Those guys have been working hard to try to recover and get back. Like I said, we have a lot of guys banged up this year, with it being a long season. But that's a normal thing. I guess this year is probably a little bit different than other years with everything going on. But that's just where you're at. Those guys have been working hard to try to get themselves ready for Saturday. Q. Usually you hear defensive guys say that we want to make the quarterback beat us with his arm. That sounds like something you don't want to do with Mac Jones. Different issues in the secondary, how much more important will it be Saturday night for that front seven to get in there and fluster Jones? DAN MULLEN: I think always. What you don't want to do is let a quarterback basically play seven-on-seven. I mean, you go watch, there's a lot of quarterbacks, makes life a little bit easier when no one is touching you. Up front it's important to kind of try to change up the looks. You got on them on the back end, but you got to get pressure up front to not let them just stand back there, can't just let them stand back there and have all day to just kind of take his time, go through every read, get to fourth, fifth progressions in reads. You have got to get after the quarterback a little bit, get him out of rhythm early in the game. Q. We've talked about you facing Coach Saban-led teams for a number of years. This defense facing a Nick Saban defense, what are some characteristics that you've seen over the years? How does this defense compare to ones you've already played against in the past? DAN MULLEN: We haven't played them in a couple, three years, so... I think last time I played them was 2017. Trying to think of that defense. I think generally when you see them, I think they do a really good job, very sound schematically. I think obviously Nick is an excellent defensive coach. They have a good scheme. Know the scheme inside and out. Does a good job of putting players in position to make plays. Gives you multiple looks. Changes the looks up front with the different fronts for being a three-down and a four-down team. He has several different nickel and dime blitz packages that they put together that cause you great challenges back there. Then obviously they always have a ton of talented guys. They have talent on every level, talent in the front linebacker, the secondary. I mean, every time you're going to play them, I mean, it's always a great challenge when you play them defensively. Q. You were the one that told us early on in the season how much you felt offenses would be ahead of defenses this year in the SEC. When you look at Alabama's defense this year, how different is that defense from what you've seen on tape since September, early October, versus the defense you see now? DAN MULLEN: I mean, I think I was pretty right on early in the season. I think everybody sees that now, that you're pretty right on with it (smiling). You're looking at guys that are more in the football mode, more comfortable with what's going on, they're comfortable with the schemes, all the different pattern reads they do, putting themselves in position. The big one is guys being comfortable tackling, where you probably didn't get as much of that as you normally would. Now you kind of get yourself into game mode. I think they're playing at a much higher level now than they did earlier in the year. Q. Listening to your players this week, it's been pretty clear you have them understanding the importance of this game. Has that been really a big point of emphasis, to get them to refocus and understand even though some things may not be dangling there, this game is absolutely huge in terms of career projection, all that stuff? DAN MULLEN: I think this game is such a big game. Having played in it before, I think you realize that the stage that it's on, the scene that it is in Atlanta for the SEC championship game is such a big deal. I mean, like I said, maybe with the exception of the National Championship game, now the Playoffs, but even before, this was always the biggest game of the year in college football. The opportunity to go out there to play, I think you got to go out there, enjoy the moment, you got to be a guy that wants to play in big games, and be on big stages. I know our guys do. I think that's where the excitement comes from. These guys have worked for this opportunity. They want the opportunity to go play on this stage. Q. With the national signing day in the rearview mirror, getting ready for an SEC championship game no less, how difficult was that to juggle this week? DAN MULLEN: I mean, it was different, I'll tell you that. It was different. Your mind racing, you're not getting a whole lot of sleep, just trying to go through every scenario. I was talking to one of my friends in the NFL, I said, Imagine playing like the NFC Championship game the week of the draft. You got to be kidding me (laughter). It was a unique challenge this year, but this year has brought so many different unique challenges. You've kind of learned to adjust to them, find the best way to adjust, maybe try to create new ways to think. Sometimes just kind of work your tail off. I guess we were able to get a little more sleep when we were shut down last spring than you normally would with missing spring practice. We're making up for that time now of not getting any of it, making sure you're prepared to get everything done. Q. Can you talk about the magnitude of this game. Alabama has been there a bunch. How do you handle your guys? Is it through walk-through on Friday or on Saturday morning, Hey, take it in now, be nervous now, and not get lost in the moment of how big the stage is? DAN MULLEN: We're going to do our regular routine. I mean, these guys came to Florida to play in this game. We've talked about make sure you enjoy it, enjoy the atmosphere, the experience. But understand this is why you came here, not just to play in this game, to go win this game. I mean, that's been our approach all week, regular game week, but make sure you enjoy it but understand that the purpose is we're here to win the game. Q. You had a shuffle on the offensive line last week. Is that something that continues in prep for Alabama this late in the season? DAN MULLEN: Oh, yeah. It happened because we had a bunch of injuries. We had injuries, that hurt our depth. Now that our depth's back a little bit, we're a little bit healthier on the offensive line, it allows us to do that. Q. Were you surprised at all that you only dropped one spot to No. 7 in the Playoff poll or do you think that was a testament to playing all the games? DAN MULLEN: I'm not in the room, so that would be a question for all of them. I think it showed respect for us and for this league, the qualities of the opponents in this league, the grind and the demand of playing, this is our 11th SEC game in a season. I think that's certainly a challenge. Other conferences haven't been through that. That would be my guess. I'm not on the committee, so that would be a question for them. But I think it shows some of their respect for the guys going out there and trying to play. I mean, obviously I'm not knocking other teams or other schools, but a team that has played on game number six or game number seven is going to be fresher, healthier, this late in the season probably have more depth than a team that's on game 11 that is trying to have to walk through early in the week because guys aren't ready, guys are banged up, you're trying to keep everybody healthy. I think everybody that knows the game of football understands that, people that really know the game of football understand that. That would be my guess. I don't know. That would be a question for the committee. Q. Obviously a two-loss team has never made the College Football Playoff. Obviously with your second loss, if you go ahead and win the SEC title, do you feel like there should be any question about whether you should be in the Playoff even though it would be unprecedented? DAN MULLEN: We'll think about that on Saturday night after we win. I think LSU made it when there were only two teams with two losses, if I'm not mistaken. Does that sound about right? It was back in one of those years with the BCS. I thought they had two losses. Maybe I'm off on that one. Let's see. We'll worry about winning on Saturday night because that's all we can control. What happens after that, we'll see what happens next. Q. How will you expect your defense to match up against that offense at Alabama? DAN MULLEN: I mean, you have to be sound, be assignment sound. They got a lot of weapons all over the field, in the pass game, in the run game. You got to be sound, understand your scheme, and then you got to have 11 guys running the ball as hard as they can every single play. They're going to make plays. You can't worry about the play before, you just worry about the next play, being sound on that next play, force them to have to execute for an entire game. Q. You mentioned strength of schedule earlier in the season on being an important factor in a team's ranking. With that being said, does the SEC champion deserve to be in the final four? DAN MULLEN: It would be hard to say that the SEC champion doesn't. I mean, this is our third top-10 game of the year. This is Alabama's third top-10 game of the year off current rankings. I don't know other people that are on game number three of top-10 teams in other leagues. I guess it would be hard to say. Again, I'm not on the committee. That would be a question for them. Q. Your first season, we saw some new looks when you got to that Peach Bowl versus Michigan, the jet sweeps. Without giving away your game plan, is Saturday an opportunity to really sort of open the playbook up, show stuff maybe nobody has seen before on tape? DAN MULLEN: We're going to go back, I'm going back, kind of put in some of the wishbone stuff we did back in 2010. Q. You promised that the other day and didn't deliver. DAN MULLEN: Got to keep you on your toes (laughter). I think sometimes when you have a bowl game, you have a little bit more time to prepare and experiment with some new things. Some of those things are things you're looking at long-term into the future. In a normal year in a bowl game, sometimes you have three, four weeks to prepare. Part of your practice is experimenting with things you want to look at in the future, then you incorporate getting them into a game. This has been much more of a just regular game week. NICK SABAN Opening Statement: First of all, I'd like to congratulate Dan Mullen and his Florida team for winning the East. They've got an outstanding team. They have played really well all year long. We're looking forward to the challenge of playing in the SEC championship game, which we think is one of the best competitive venues our team has ever been a part of. It's also the city of Atlanta, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Southeastern Conference has made this really something special for the teams who participate. We certainly appreciate and thank them for that. Florida is a very challenging team, one of best offensive teams in the country in a lot of different ways in terms of touchdowns, scoring points, pass offense, great quarterback, really good mismatch players on the perimeter. It's going to be a very challenging game for our defense. Defensively they create a lot of issues and problems. Todd does multiple things and pressures, negative plays. They have very good players. They're very good on special teams. This is really a solid team from top to bottom. Going to be a very challenging game for us. We're looking forward to having the opportunity to play in the championship game. Q. A bigger picture question. You're a guy who stays focused on the here and now, but you're the same age as Bear Bryant was when he retired. Have you given any thought to how long you want to do this? What kind of keeps you going at age 69 when a lot of guys can call it a career? NICK SABAN: Well, I'm excited about the opportunity that we have in front of us. Obviously I love doing what I do, and want to continue to do it for as long as I feel like I can contribute in a positive way to the program. That's about the only plan I have for the future. We got a lot of good players here. We try to create a lot of value for our players here so they have a better opportunity to be successful in the future. It's very self-gratifying. If I thought that my presence here was not something that was a positive for the University of Alabama or with the program, with the players, then I'd say it would be time not to do it any more. Q. When you look back to the 2009 SEC championship game, the first of your five National Championships that year, did you anticipate or could even fathom at that point how much of a landscape-changing game that would be as you fast-forward 11 years after that? NICK SABAN: I think the 2008 game probably had somewhat of a significant impact on the program here in the fact that we lost to a very good Florida team. Tim Tebow, they went on to win the National Championship the next year. I think our players learned a lot from that. The next year for us to be able to play a very similar team with Florida, a very similar team for us, and to win the game probably was a significant confidence builder that we could win games like that against good teams. I think it did change the culture of the program in a positive way, which I think it was just another one of those steps that you take when you're trying to build a program to national prominence that you have to take. Our players did a really good job of it. They had a really, really good team. It was a really good game. Q. After that 2008 SEC championship game you went to face Utah in the Sugar Bowl, fell to Utah. Brian Johnson obviously now the offensive coordinator at Florida. What do you remember about him in that game? How much was it a learning curve in defending tempo? NICK SABAN: I think their style of play was a little different than what we anticipated. They were in empty almost the whole game. We had a lot of big guys at that time, didn't have a lot of good pass-rushers, probably didn't have a very good plan to play in the game. I think one of the most difficult things that you have to do, or that I've ever had to do, is when you lose the SEC championship game, get your team ready to play the next game. That's always been really, really difficult. They had a great scheme. They did a great job of executing against us. We didn't play great. They had a really good team. They deserved to beat us and win. They certainly did. Q. I was hoping you could speak to your defensive improvements this season, specifically your front seven, how they've affected the pocket here in the latter portions of the season. Where do you think they've improved the most? NICK SABAN: I think we've improved as an overall unit. I think early in the year we had four out of five new starters in the secondary, a lot of inexperience, made some mistakes. We had some new guys playing up front. I think it took a while for the group to develop confidence that they could play well, they could play together as a unit, get the concept of if everybody does their job, we have a chance to be successful. I just think that the confidence got better with the young players. The confidence got better with the inexperienced players. I think we just made some steady improvement. We're going to get challenged in this game Saturday in a different way than we've been challenged for a long time because of the quarterback, the scheme that they run, the mismatch players that they have. This will probably be the ultimate challenge for this defensive group this week. Q. What is your secret year in, year out, those guys come out to play for you? How are you able to get those guys to go out there and do what they're supposed to do each and every weekend? How do you do it? NICK SABAN: First of all, we have good players. I think we've tried to create a culture here where everybody has to buy into the principles, values of the team and the organization, respect those principles and values, and respect each other, and have confidence that those things are going to help them be successful individually in terms of how they create value for themselves and also collectively how effective and consistent our team can execute. This year's team has done a really good job of that. We haven't had a lot of issues and problems on our team all year long. It's been a very disruptive year from the whole COVID standpoint, what we've all had to go through to improvise and adapt to what we've had to do to play football this fall. But our players have done a good job of handling that, shown a lot of maturity. The intangibles that we instill with that culture, whether it's discipline, mental and physical toughness, people understanding how important it is for them to be responsible for their own self-determination in terms of doing their job, doing what they need to do. The work that it takes to be able to create these opportunities for yourself. I think it's all part of the culture that we try to create. I think when people come here, that's the expectation that they have. That's what they buy into. Q. You talked about it with the front seven. What have you seen from Will Anderson? How has he taken his game to the next level over the last three games? NICK SABAN: Will has played well for us all year long. He's one of the young players that I was talking about that obviously got a lot better through the game experience, knowledge and experience, that he gained throughout the season. He has played extremely well. Again, he's more comfortable and confident in what he's supposed to do, and has the confidence that he can do it well in the game. He has been a really good player for us. But I think he's played well all year long. Q. What is the difference with Will Reichard this year? He's been very successful. You have criteria for all the positions. What is the criteria when you're evaluating a kicker? NICK SABAN: Well, the difference for Will Reichard this year is he was very good last year. People don't remember that after four or five games, he was injured and never was able to come back from that injury. But he was very successful for us prior to that injury. We were excited to get him back. He certainly had a phenomenal year this year in terms of his consistency, accuracy, field goal kicking. That's been a real positive for our team. Q. Where have you seen Christian Harris improve the most since last season? If he's able to play, what sort of qualities does he bring? NICK SABAN: I think last year playing as a freshman was probably difficult in terms of he was playing with another freshman, so there wasn't even anybody for him to sort of lean on to make calls. There wasn't a lot of confidence probably in either guy. They played with a lot of apprehension at times in terms of not having a total feel and understanding for what was required of them. Again, through that same knowledge and experience that he's gained, playing with Dylan this year who has knowledge and experience to make all the calls, plays with a lot more confidence. But he's very athletic. He can run. I think once players get rid of the anxiety of worrying about what I'm supposed to do, really know what they're supposed to do, then they can go play fast, make plays. He's certainly done a good job of that for us all year long. Q. A kid from north Alabama, LaBryan Ray. Is there an update on him? How is he progressing? NICK SABAN: Well, he's struggled a little bit with his elbow injury. It's been kind of on again, off again. He's probably questionable for the game. Q. I know you were asked earlier about coaching, your career. This year alone, given that you had the week with the false positive, you did test positive, has this personally been a more trying year for you compared to other years because of what we've all had to encounter? NICK SABAN: I think it's been that way for everybody in the world. I mean, I told our players early on this season, told all the coaches, everyone, that there was going to be a lot of disruptions in this season, things were not going to be normal, they were probably going to be more abnormal than normal. The team that could handle those disruptions the best would have the best chance to be successful long-term. I think our whole organization was kind of geared up for. We've had a lot of those things happen and it hasn't affected us. Now we have an opportunity to try to finish the season the right way, which is another sort of obstacle. I don't care if you're running track in junior high school or high school, the coaches always say, Run to the finish line. That's the challenge we have right now. Yeah, it was different. It was different. First time in a long time that I couldn't go to practice, first time in a long time I had to sit and do everything Zoom meetings, team meetings, players on the field. It was very different. We all adapted and adjusted, and everybody stayed focused on what they needed to do to be able to contribute in a positive way and made it work. Q. Do you feel, given the way the CFP rankings are at right now, that the SEC would be deserving of having two teams in the College Football Playoff regardless of how Saturday night's outcome shakes out? NICK SABAN: Man, I don't really like to speculate on things like that. The thing that we want to try to do is play our best so that we can determine our fate and our future by how we perform on the field, probably not have to leave it up to other people who have a very, very difficult task, especially in a year like this where everybody didn't play the same number of games, didn't play out-of-conference games in most cases. It's a very difficult task. We understand that. But we also respect the people that have to make it. We're just hopeful we play well enough to get an opportunity to play in the Playoffs. Q. How difficult was the challenge of preparing for an SEC championship game and wrapping up the early signing period in the same week? NICK SABAN: I think there are lots of challenges when it comes to recruiting. But fortunately or unfortunately most of the players that we had the good fortune to sign Wednesday had already committed in the past, and they were very solid in their commitment. We didn't have any sort of last-minute issues to deal with. I think our coaches did a really, really good job of developing relationships in a different way this season. I had to do the same thing through Zooms and basically doing home visits on Zoom rather than being able to go see people. So it was a different kind of recruiting. But it's always challenging in game week when you have a signing day. You're trying to focus on the game, but you're worried about what's going to happen with certain players. It takes some of your time, takes some of your focus. I thought we did a pretty good job this week. We were pleased with the results we got in recruiting. I don't think it's in any way hampered what we're doing to try to get ready for this game. Q. From hearing after the Iron Bowl and missing the Iron Bowl, is it fair to say maybe that kind of reinvigorated you a little bit? At least it sounded that way since the Iron Bowl. NICK SABAN: Well, I didn't know that I was not vigorated [sic]. I guess you have to not be vigorated to get revigorated. I was vigorated before. I was disappointed, then I was happy to get back. I don't know what the speculation there really is about. I hope I've been vigorated all year. I owe that to the players. That's my job. Q. What have you told your players not to get complacent just because you've been there this many times, everybody is behind you, what do you instill in those players to make sure they keep an even keel? NICK SABAN: First of all, I think you have to respect who you're playing. Florida has a really, really good team who is probably capable of beating any team in the country. We're going to have to play very well, focus on what we have to do really well in this game to have a chance to be successful, number one. Number two, I think the opportunity to play for the SEC championship is something that players should be very motivated to try to do. The thing that I talk to the players about is there's not very many teams that go undefeated in college football. There's only a few each year. Do you have to have a loss, since we're using the word 'reinvigorate' yourself, do you have to have a loss to be able to do that as a player or can you stay focused, can you keep the intensity, can you continue to create the right habits in practice, in preparation so that you have an opportunity to go out and play well regardless of the grind of the season, regardless of how many games you won? You got to focus on what's in front of you because at this point in the season it's like the Playoffs, it's like a new season. What you did during the season really doesn't have any influence on the outcome of what you do moving forward. You have to have the maturity to understand that and stay focused on what you need to do to continue to play well and think that the people you're going to play against at this time of the season are going to be the best players you played against all year long

Depending on which recruiting service you consider the most reputable, Dan Mullen’s fourth recruiting class at the University of Florida is either the 7th (by Rivals and ESPN) or 8th (by 247Sports) best in the country. The class is incomplete because the current rankings only reflect the early signing period which began on Wednesday. The usual National Signing Day will be the first Wednesday in February so there is a possibility the Gators could ease a little bit further up the rankings. Mullen signed a very good class that is loaded up with early enrollees (as many as 15) and will include former 5-star running back Demarkcus Bowman from Lakeland, who is transferring in after spending only a portion of his freshman season at Clemson. Bowman gives the Gators 22 signed players with room for at least five more either by Friday morning or when the next signing opportunity rolls around. We say could be because the NCAA announced on Wednesday that the only greater migration than what we are going to see in all college sports including football is the annual passage on the Serengetti. In its latest ruling the NCAA made it possible for any athlete in any sport to transfer without having to sit out a year. Add this on top of the organization’s Covid-19 ruling that 2020 will not count as a year of eligibility and the door has been opened wide for wholesale transience and that changes the recruiting game considerably. As of Saturday night, college football’s regular season concludes and you could safely say the transfer season commences. At his Wednesday press conference when he discussed his early signing class, Mullen made it perfectly clear he’s making a potential transfer list and checking it twice when he said, “I think we have a couple of spots for transfers still on our team,” Mullen said, almost coyly. Just a couple? One reason the Gators are 29-7 in Mullen’s three seasons on the job and playing in the Southeastern Conference Championship Game is because of judicious use of transfers like Van Jefferson, Trevon Grimes, Jonathan Greenard and Brenton Cox Jr. Says Jason Higdon of 1standtenFlorida.com and the final authority on all things Florida recruiting, the Gators will be working the transfer lists hard to find the kind of players to plug and play immediately in positions of need. “I think you will see three to four kids come to Florida from the (NCAA transfer) portal,” Higdon says. Depending on how the NCAA elects to deal with the numbers issues the Gators might be taking even more than three or four. Whereas Florida will be actively in the market for transfers, the Gators will not be immune to players who see more opportunity somewhere else. That’s an issue that really hasn’t been addressed yet. The numbers are going to be skewed everywhere because every senior who played in 2020 has the option to return for another season due to the Covid-19 ruling. At some point – probably before January when the spring semester begins nationwide – the NCAA will deal with the numbers issues so that coaches will know exactly how many openings they have. Meanwhile, the Gators have a very solid recruiting class in the works. Jason evaluates the class like this: “The Gators signed 21 players during the early signing day period, with a great chance to sign a 22nd on Friday when offensive tackle Austin Barber (6-7, 300, Jacksonville, FL Trinity Christian) signs at 11:30 a.m. When Barber picks the Gators, that will bring the total to nine on the offensive side of the ball, 12 on defense, and one on special teams. It's hard to judge the product before its complete, but I like the class where it is today, with a great chance to add a few more pieces prior to the last signing day period in early February.” Here is the early signing class and Jason Higdon’s grades and quick evaluations, position-by-position. JASON GRADES THE GATORS QUARTERBACKS (2): Carlos Del Rio-Wilson (6-2, 215, Cartersville, GA); Jalen Kitna (6-4, 205, Tacoma, WA/Burleson, TX Burleson) Jason Says: “Florida is bringing in a dual-threat QB in Wilson and a Pro-Style QB with Kitna.” Jason’s Grade: B+ RUNNING BACKS (1): Demarkcus Bowman (5-10, 200, Lakeland, FL/Clemson transfer) Jason Says: “Dan got the guy he wanted even if one recruiting class later. He was the number one running back in the country coming out of Lakeland High School.” Jason’s Grade: A+ WIDE RECEIVERS (2): Daejon Reynolds (6-2, 210, Springfield, IL/Loganville, GA Grayson); Marcus Burke (6-3, 180, Jacksonville, FL Trinity Christian) Jason Says: “Daejon Reynolds and Marcus Burke are the only two WR's Dan Mullen, and the Gators signed yesterday, and while I love the quality each brings to the table, the quantity misses the mark by two. Neither Charles Montgomery (5-11, 185, Seffner, FL Armwood) nor Trevonte Rucker (6-0, 160, Ocala, FL Vanguard) signed yesterday. Jason’s Grade: C+ TIGHT ENDS (2): Gage Wilcox (6-4, 225, Tampa, FL Jefferson); Nick Elksnis (6-6, 240, Jacksonville, FL Episcopal) Jason Says: “Nick Elksnis and Gage Wilcox both signed with the Gators on Wednesday. I like each player and think they have potential. Both of these guys are good players.” Jason’s Grade: B- OFFENSIVE LINE (2): Jake Slaughter (6-4, 300, Sparr, FL Trinity Catholic); Yousef Mugharbil (6-5, 300, Murphy, NC) Jason Says: “Jake Slaughter and Yousef Mugharbil are the only two OL that signed with the Gators on Wednesday. I like each of these players! Javonte Gardner (6-5, 295, Orlando, FL Jones) will sign with the Gators in February, bringing this grade up to a C + and not because the talent isn't there from the group, but because they lack in overall numbers. However, UF has a chance to pull another OL in Tristan Leigh (6-5, 300, Fairfax, VA Robinson) – if the Gators land Leigh the grade goes up to a B; even if Leigh opts out, the Gators will be very active in the portal. Neither Adrein Strickland (6-7, 320, Lynn Haven, FL Mosley) nor Deyavie Hammond (6-3, 330, Lakeland, FL/Independence, KS Independence CC) signed with the Gators on Wednesday. Jason’s Grade: Incomplete *The Gators added 3 star offensive tackle Austin Barber late Thursday night DEFENSIVE LINE (5): Tyreak Sapp (6-3, 265, Fort Lauderdale, FL St. Thomas Aquinas); Desmond Watson (6-5, 380, Plant City, FL Armwood); Christopher Thomas Jr. (6-5, 300, Tallahassee, FL/Fort Myers, FL Dunbar); Chief Borders (6-5, 242, Franklin, GA Heard County); Justus Boone (6-4, 270, Sumter, SC) Jason Says: “This number varies depending on your thought process. UF signed two players that could end up at OLB or DE in Chief Borders and Jeremiah Williams. The best bet is to split the difference and call one of them for the OLB position (Williams) and the other DL (Borders); this will still keep the overall DL number in the class at 5. I love the DL class UF brought in with Christopher Thomas JR, Desmond Watson, Justus Boone, and Tyreak Sapp. Thomas is 300, Watson 380, Borders 242, Boone 270, and Sapp 265-pounds. This is a big-time group, and the Gators will be very active in the NCAA transfer portal.” Jason’s Grade: A INSIDE LINEBACKERS (1): Diwun Black (6-4, 225, Kissimmee, FL/Perkinston, MS Gulf Coast CC) “The Gators were shooting for two ILB this cycle, but I am not sure they even needed two inside linebackers for 2021. Miller, Diabate, Hopper, Black, Houston, Burney, and Wingo makes seven ILB on the roster in 2021. I think Black has a chance to be an outstanding player for the Gators, and he gets a B- coming in for me. Jason’s Grade: B- OUTSIDE LINEBACKERS (1): Jeremiah Williams (6-3, 225, Birmingham, AL Ramsey) Jason Says: “I think the Gators have enough OLB types on the roster heading into next season. Still, I do like Jeremiah Williams and think he will be another excellent player, under the radar that many people nationally are not giving enough credit. There is a chance he could end up at ILB, so the Gators will have some options moving forward.” Jason’s Grade: B- SECONDARY (5): Corey Collier Jr. (6-2, 170, Miami, FL Palmetto); Jason Marshall Jr. (6-2, 180, Miami, FL Palmetto); Donovan McMillon (6-2, 195, McMurray, PA Peters Township); Jordan Young (6-0, 185, Tampa, FL Jesuit); Dakota Mitchell (5-11, 175, Winter Park, FL) Jason Says: “I think the Gators killed it at the defensive back position, and they are not done – one more will join this group of Corey Collier, Jason Marshall, Jordan Young, Dakota Mitchell and Donovan McMillon.” Jason’s Grade: A+ LONG SNAPPER (1): Rocco Underwood (6-4, 220, Lake Mary, FL) Jason Says: “I am not even going to pretend like I know what makes a great Long Snapper. All I know is Florida used a ship on Rocco Underwood and they believe he is the best in America at his craft, so that is good enough for me.” Jason’s Grade: A+ BONUS THOUGHTS FROM JASON Three Most Important Early Signing Day Recruits: Jason Marshall, Desmond Watson, Jalen Kitna The Three That Got Away: 4-star DE Tunmise Adeleye (6-3, 245, Katy, TX; Signed with Texas A&M); 5-star OLB Xavian Sorey (6-3, 214, Bradenton, FL IMG Academy; signed with Georgia); 5-star WR Jacorey Brooks (6-3, 185, Bradenton, FL IMG Academy; signed with Alabama) Early Enrollees: Counting Bowman, 15. THE 2021 SCHOLARSHIP ROSTER: AS IT STANDS TODAY Note: This roster DOES NOT include any seniors, all of who have the option to come back to Florida for a second final season. Currently, UF has 81 scholarship players. There will be some attrition. Some on this list might declare for the NFL Draft and some might elect to transfer. Count on it. All veterans’ classifications are the same as 2020. QUARTERBACKS (4): Emory Jones (6-2, 210, RSO); Anthony Richardson (6-4, 234, FR); Carlos Del Rio-Wilson (6-2, 215, FR); Jalen Kitna (6-4, 205, FR) RUNNING BACKS (5): Malik Davis (5-10, 205, RJR); Dameon Pierce (5-10, 215, JR); Lorenzo Lingard (6-0, 203, RSO); Nay’Quan Wright (5-9, 195, RFR); Demarkcus Bowman (5-10, 200, FR) WIDE RECEIVERS (9): Jordan Pouncey (6-1, 212, RJR); Jacob Copeland (6-0, 203, RSO); Justin Shorter (6-5, 225, RSO); Trent Whittemore (6-4, 208, RFR); Ja’Markis Weston (6-3, 215, RFR); Xzavier Henderson (6-4, 191, FR); Ja’Quavian Fraziars (6-3, 211, FR); Daejon Reynolds (6-2, 210, FR); Marcus Burke (6-3, 180, FR) TIGHT ENDS (5): Kemore Gamble (6-4, 248, RJR); Keon Zipperer (6-2, 240, SO); Jonathan Odom (6-5, 238, FR); Gage Wilcox (6-4, 225, FR); Nick Elksnis (6-6, 240, FR) OFFENSIVE LINEMEN (12): Richard Gouraige (6-5, 316, RSO); Griffin McDowell (6-5, 300, RSO); Ethan White (6-5, 335, SO); Riley Simonds (6-3, 303, RFR); Kingsley Eguakun (6-3, 322, RFR); Michael Tarquin (6-5, 312, RFR); Will Harrod (6-5, 330, RFR); Josh Braun (6-6, 340, FR); Richie Leonard (6-2, 347, FR); Gerald Mincey (6-6, 337, FR); Jake Slaughter (6-4, 300, FR); Yousef Mugharbil (6-5, 300, FR) PLACEKICKER (1): Evan McPherson (5-11, 185, JR) PUNTER (1): Jeremy Crawshaw (6-4, 190, FR) LONG SNAPPER (1): Rocco Underwood (6-4, 220, FR) DEFENSIVE LINEMEN (11): Brenton Cox Jr. (6-3, 250, RSO); Dante Lang (6-5, 287, RSO); Jaelin Humphries (6-3, 325, SO); Gervon Dexter (6-6, 308, FR); Princely Umanmielen (6-4, 255, FR); Lamar Goods (6-2, 335, FR); Jalen Lee (6-2, 315, FR); Tyreak Sapp (6-3, 265, FR); Desmond Watson (6-5, 380, FR); Christopher Thomas Jr. (6-5, 300, FR); Chief Borders (6-5, 242, FR); Justus Boone (6-4, 270, FR) LINEBACKERS (15): Ventrell Miller (6-1, 230, RJR); James Houston IV (6-1, 240, RJR); Lacedrick Brunson (6-2, 236, RJR); Amari Burney (6-2, 230, JR); David Reese (6-2, 241, RSO); Andrew Chatfield JR. (6-2, 248, RSO); Khris (Bogle (6-4, 240, SO); Mohamoud Diabate (6-3, 221, SO); Diwun Black (6-4, 225, SO); Jesiah Pierre (6-2, 242, RFR); Ty’Ron Hopper (6-2, 225, RFR); Lloyd Summerall III (6-6, 236, RFR); Derek Wingo (6-1, 233, FR); Antwuan Powell (6-3, 260, FR); Jeremiah Williams (6-3, 225, FR) SECONDARY (17): Marco Wilson (6-1, 191, RJR); Kaiir Elam (6-2, 193, SO); Jaydon Hill (6-0, 185, SO); Chester Kimbrough (5-11, 167, SO); Tre’Vez Johnson (5-11, 196, FR); Rashad Torrence II (6-0, 205, FR); Avery Helm (6-1, 170, FR); Kamar Wilcoxson (6-1, 183, FR); Jahari Rogers (5-11, 185, FR); Mordecia McDaniel (6-1, 207, FR); Fenley Graham (5-9, 174, FR); Ethan Pouncey (6-1, 168, FR); Corey Collier Jr. (6-2, 170, FR); Jason Marshall Jr. (6-2, 180, FR); Donovan McMillon (6-2, 195, FR); Jordan Young (6-0, 185, FR); Dakota Mitchell (5-11, 175, FR)

It’s a rare occurrence for Nick Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide to find themselves on the losing end of a postseason game. It’s an even rarer occurrence for Saban to be defeated by a SEC East team. The last SEC East team to defeat Saban in fact came in 2010, when the South Carolina Gamecocks—coached by Steve Spurrier no less—shocked the world by defeating No. 1 Alabama. Now in his 14th year in Tuscaloosa, Saban has lost only five times in the postseason. Two of those were in the National Championship to the Clemson Tigers. One of those was in the first round of the playoff to Ohio State. One was to Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl following the Kick-Six keeping them out of the SEC Championship game. And the last one? It came following the 2008 season. After the Florida Gators—with Offensive Coordinator Dan Mullen—gave the then undefeated No. 1 Tide their first loss of the season in the SEC Championship game, Saban took his team to the Sugar Bowl. In New Orleans, they faced the Utah Utes, Urban Meyer and Mullen’s former team, still quarterbacked by a guy they had groomed as a freshman. On that early January night, Brian Johnson led the No. 6 Utes to a 31-17 upset win, in which Alabama was favored by 10-points. Johnson went 27-41 for 336 yards and three touchdowns. “They had a great scheme,” Saban recalled of Utah and Johnson this Wednesday. “They did a great job of executing against us. We didn't play great. They had a really good team. They deserved to beat us and win. They certainly did.” The scheme Saban referenced was an up-tempo offense that to that point was largely seen as a gimmick offense, not sustainable in the SEC. Meyer and Mullen implemented it at Utah before bringing it to Florida and proving it could work in the south as well. Along with the bruising style of Tim Tebow, they used it to defeat Saban in Atlanta. And then Johnson—working within the same system still in place at Utah—used it again in New Orleans. “Right at the time when we started we were probably one of the first teams to really go tempo on them and really hurry-up the pace and force the issue and really get them into some simple calls and kind of execute that style of game plan through the air,” said Johnson on Monday, recalling the game that won him the coveted cover on NCAA, the video game. Added Saban, “I think their style of play was a little different than what we anticipated. They were in empty almost the whole game. We had a lot of big guys at that time, didn't have a lot of good pass-rushers, probably didn't have a very good plan to play in the game.” Considered one of if not the greatest defensive mind in football, Saban used those two losses—and more importantly, the way in which he was defeated—to revamp Alabama’s philosophy on defense. Which is why, for as much as the 2009 SEC Championship game and subsequent first National Championship under Saban is seen as the beginning of the current Bama dynasty, the legendary head coach instead looks back to that 2008 season as the building block. “I think the 2008 game probably had somewhat of a significant impact on the program here in the fact that we lost to a very good Florida team. Tim Tebow, they went on to win the National Championship the next year. I think our players learned a lot from that. “The next year for us to be able to play a very similar team with Florida, a very similar team for us, and to win the game probably was a significant confidence builder that we could win games like that against good teams.” Mullen agreed on Wednesday, recalling from first hand experience when the Bama dynasty truly began. “I think you could go back even the year before [to 2008] that that they got the opportunity to go play in the game, I know, I was there, Florida won that game. I think that was kind of the launch point of their consistency and their consistent performance of opportunities. “I mean, obviously haven't been there every year since. They missed several of them. When you look and you identify programs, like I always say, it's the consistency of doing it. It's not, I was there once, twice, three times. It's the consistency of your opportunity to go compete for championships." The Bama defense is retooled now, equipped to face the same tempo offense that Mullen and Johnson have rebuilt at Florida. And those games from the 2008 season have no impact once the ball is kicked off on Saturday night, as Johnson was quick to point out this week. “I think it has absolutely zero bearing on the game this Saturday. That was 11 years ago or whatever, maybe 12 years ago.” Except…no disrespect to Brian Johnson, there might be some bearing on Saturday from those long ago matches. Because while Florida has been rebuilt to run tempo and Saban has adjusted his defense to keep up with the style of play largely used in college football now, much of the foundation doesn’t look much different. “[Saban’s] scheme, the basic principles of it still remain the same,” explained Johnson. “Now, he adjusts and Coach (Pete) Golding or those guys do a great job, they have great players, they're great football coaches. So they've adjusted with the times as we've gotten to more of a RPO-style world where you try to put players in conflict with pass and run responsibilities. The game has evolved so much in the last 10 years in terms of what people are doing and how people are attacking. So defenses changed a little bit, but at the core of it a lot of it is very similar.” And if Saban’s basic principles remain the same, and the style that Mullen and Johnson used 12 years ago is largely the same, it would stand to reason the same outcome could be achieved Saturday night in Atlanta for the Florida Gators. After all, Florida is averaging 513.5 yards per game in total offense (eight in FBS) and 386.4 yards per game through the air, a stat that still leads the nation. According to Johnson, it will require a lot of situational football and winning one-on-one battles. “It’s really going to come down the situations, managing the situations and making contested catches. I feel like we put together a good plan. We’ve got to go out there and execute at a high level and protect the quarterback and make plays when they’re there to be made. Obviously, we’re playing against a really, really talented team and our guys are looking forward to that challenge.” Returning Kyle Pitts, who sat out last week in the loss to LSU, will also be key, with his ability to win those battles Johnson mentioned. On Wednesday, Mullen was vague about Pitts status, saying “hopefully he's able to play.” When GatorBait Magazine asked Pitts on Monday if he’d be 100% for the game, he responded, “yes ma'am, that's the plan.” Now that Alabama is running much the same offense, to near perfection under Mac Jones averaging 537.8 yards per game in total offense, the Gators defense will lean on their stout front seven to make up for some inconsistencies in the secondary. It's often said on defense you want to make the quarterback beat you with his arm. For Jones—who has a 76.4 completion percentage and can easily reach downfield—that's the last thing Florida will want to do Saturday. “What you don't want to do is let a quarterback basically play seven-on-seven,” explained Mullen. “I mean, you go watch, there's a lot of quarterbacks, makes life a little bit easier when no one is touching you. "Up front it's important to kind of try to change up the looks. You got on them on the back end, but you got to get pressure up front to not let them just stand back there, can't just let them stand back there and have all day to just kind of take his time, go through every read, get to fourth, fifth progressions in reads. You have got to get after the quarterback a little bit, get him out of rhythm early in the game.” Saturday will be the 10th meeting between Alabama and Florida in the SEC Championship Game, most in the game's history. It’s a game and postseason rivalry that has come to define the conference. So to have the styles from each team and the answer from the other. These teams, this game, have shaped the evolvement of college football. Every person involved in the 2020 edition will rely on those old lessons to search for another win in the next chapter. As Saban surmised, “I think you have to respect who you're playing. Florida has a really, really good team who is probably capable of beating any team in the country. We're going to have to play very well, focus on what we have to do really well in this game to have a chance to be successful.”

Florida Gators Head Coach Dan Mullen met with local media on Wednesday evening to recap the Early Signing Day for the 2021 recruiting class. He addressed the signing of Diwuan Black, Chief Border and a Tampa pipeline. As a valued subscriber, we are offering this transcript in full. Opener "Alright, hey. Excited, you know, on signing day you get to welcome a whole bunch of new Gators to the family, and for us, probably an exciting day. Obviously an extremely fun day for all of these guys, a memory they'll have with them forever on signing day. The guys that joined the class, as far as the media goes, probably not a lot of crazy, hype, excitement right there. We kind of, the scholarships that we sent out, we got back in. So, pretty excited that way for our guys. Really good balance I think throughout this class and a real solid number, I mean this makes up the really, the solid part of our signing class for this year. Obviously, there's going to be the opportunity for us to add a couple more people into the program a little bit down the road, but the majority of the guys here now, we're good to go." Starting with Diwun Black who was in the class two years ago and had to go the JuCo route. Tell me about that process? "Yeah, well I, you know what, he's such a great kid. We signed him, we knew when he signed a couple of years ago there was an uphill battle for him to get qualified, cause it was something that, his foundation, his early part of his high school, he was behind, so it was going to be a real scramble for him. We kind of thought it would have been a miraculous thing for him to qualify a couple years ago, so we had a thought that he would end up going to junior college. But, we knew we wanted a part of his family. I give him a lot of credit, because I've been around it, you see a lot of these guys as it pertains to junior college, you know, that's not an easy route. He went there, he did junior college, took care of his business, took care of the things he needed to academically. Started fast, which, the opposite of what happened to him in high school, and able to get his work done. And we're excited, because I know he's a phenomenal athlete, a great leader, a great personality, a guy you want around the program and a guy you want around the team. So we're excited that he took care of his business, and obviously, it just shows the character he has. Just sticking with his commitment, and wanting to be a Gator and his excitement to be a Gator, to take care of his business and get back here." Tyreak Sapp, what does it say about a guy in this day and age to stay committed to UF so long? Is there a sigh of relief to get his LOI in? "I think, yeah, teams were recruiting a lot of our guys. We have really, some really good players in this class, so I think a lot of people are trying to recruit those guys. But, part of it shows the character these guys have, you know, when we're talking about making commitments and being committed, and what it shows in their character. And certainly with him, he's a guy that early on committed to us. That I know early on, talked about his dream, his love of being a Gator, always wanted to be a Gator and live out his dream. You know, I'm just pleased. I know guys enjoy the recruiting process, and it's a great deal, it's a great experience. Obviously, this year's one of the most unique, certainly for the players. Different, a little bit different for the coaches, but, you know I think, certainly very, very different for the prospects. But it says a lot about him, I mean, just, obviously playing at a great program. Playing at a big-time high school program, having all the success he's had, you know and now having the opportunity to go live his dream and come be a Florida Gator." Do you like signing day to be drama free? "I don't know if I like one more than the other. I don't know about the flipping and all that stuff all the time. The guys make decisions and what they do, there is some excitement on that. We kind of ask guys to let us know a couple days in advance. I've always kind of been that way. Say, 'Hey, are you coming or you not coming? If you're not coming, that's fine. We're going to go on to somebody else.' But most of these guys have been committed so long and they've stuck with it. You never know, though. There's always the surprises that come with signing day. I can tell you this year's signing day is just very different because you're in the middle of player meetings this morning and then you're into coaches meetings and then you're into recruiting back and forth and you're kind of running around all over the place. So a little bit different this year. Maybe it helped that it was less eventful. It was a very eventful day, but maybe not crazy." Challenges of having two quarterbacks in the same class? "Yeah, well. We got we think two guys that are excellent guys. I know they're competitors, love to come in and see how that ... in today's football, you never know how things shake out and what goes on with it. One guy can play early, one guy can play late. You never know. But we're really excited about both of those two quarterbacks. Going into next year, at this point we're only going to have two quarterbacks on scholarship when we show back up in January. You're a trip getting on the bus and spraining my ankle away from having one quarterback here. So these guys are pretty close to competing for the backup job Day 1 that they get on campus." Nick Saban called Jason Marshall this week, do you tell Nick “nice try” on Saturday? “No. I’m sure, I guarantee you I talked to one or two of his guys too. They were probably like, ‘Holy cow, I got a call from Dan Mullen, but I guess I’m going to stick with Alabama.’ I’m sure the guys were like, ‘that’s Dan Mullen calling me, that’s awesome but I’m going to stick with Alabama, Coach.’ He would probably say the same thing, nice try.” No drama the last three years on signing days? “I think our whole staff, recruiting department, personnel department, our coaches, everybody that’s involved in recruiting, there’s so many people that are involved in recruiting, do such a great job. It says a lot about the character of the guys we recruit. Character is a big part fo what we do and it says a lot about the university as a whole, too. The opportunity to come to the premier academic and athletic school in the country. I mean, when you’re looking at the guys that are looking for the total package here at Florida. You’re a top-10 public university. One of the premier academic schools not just in the south, but one of the premier academic schools in the entire country and an opportunity to go compete for championships on the football field. Those are hard combinations to find. I don’t think there’s any other schools that are like that. A lot of the guys that are coming to Florida, they have the vision of what they want. They are guys that ‘Coach, I want the opportunity to go compete at the highest level and go compete for championships in football. I want to go to a program that develops and puts a lot of guys in the NFL, so I can be a pro football player, but I’m more than an athlete. I want to go get a premier education, get a premier degree, and go to a. University that’s not just going to help me for the next three, four, or five years, but a university that’s going to be a part of my life for the next 30, 40, 50 years, helping me, that quality of the school. I’m really proud of all the staff and everybody involved in recruiting and all the hard work they do. I’m excited about all the guys that we bring into the program and the type of guys we’re bringing in. I’m pretty fortunate to be at an unbelievable university that has the best of everything when it comes to college football.” Chief Borders turning down Stanford to come to UF “I think it just shows about him. Chief’s a guy that we’ve recruited for a long time, known for a long time, exceptional athlete, absolutely great student as well. Really excited to have him part of the program. If you look at him, he’s a guy that wanted that. Academics were a huge part of his recruiting but he also wanted the opportunity to go play big-time football. I think that’s the thing that attracted him. When he was trying to decide, where he was looking at schools, what was going to be best for his future, that’s what Florida brings to the table. When academically you’re recruiting on the same level of Stanford and the same football level as, I mean, a playoff team. It just we’re kind of the only university that’s in that combination.” Defensive flavor to this class, who can come in and help? I think...obviously that’s always.. that's the question I get, ‘Who do you think is going to make an immediate impact?’ And you know… I usually come up with different ones that everybody maybe thinks but, you know, obviously the guys that come in early have that opportunity to go through spring practice and learn the program and accelerate their speed of adjustment to the college game, not just learn our system but the speed of the game and how it gets played. But I do think they will be ready. I do think with this class, front to back, I mean we’re really signed a complete defense. I mean if you look at it it’s kind of a starting 11 on defense that go out there on to the field at each position, so that's something I was really excited about. The defensive guys up front are guys to me that might have the opportunity, especially because we have some older guys, some seniors on the defensive line, so Dez Watson and Chris Thomas, some of those bigger guys might have that opportunity to get in right away and make an immediate impact. But it’s hard to say at this point. If anything when you look at it.. and you kind of want to sign a complete team. If anything.. O-line is one that we probably want to finish the class off with moving forward - it’s where you look…that's probably the biggest one moving forward… but defensively I am pretty excited about kind of having a complete unit come in. Three guys from Tampa, was that a concerted effort? “Yeah, obviously it’ a great area, great for high school football in the Tampa area. Lotta Gators, lotta guys there that you know dream of being Gators. You know and come up in their mindset, hey, that’s what it is. It’s always been a key area for us in recruiting for a long time. A lot of great Gator players have come out of the Tampa area in the past and we hope that they will for a long time in the future.” Odd recruiting season for what reasons, and any kind of long term concerns because of it? “Obviously I think… you probably have less information within your evaluation of them than you normally would. Usually most guys come to camp, they come here and you coach them at a camp. A lot of times you go and sit in their house and sit with them in person. I think we learned a lot of different things and a lot of different ways of to do things. Coming out of this year, you know I think in the world in general, we’re going to come out in a little bit of a different world and maybe that will affect recruiting. You know, does it affect? Maybe coaches are going out recruiting less, because you know we can get a lot done here. You have to say one big thing I think, I’d be honest, I would cut down the amount of time coaches go out recruiting and I would increase the amount of visits that we can have kids come to our campus. Because you know, I think we were still able to get a lot of our job done in going out and doing evaluations of these kids and seeing a lot of things. But I think the one thing that was hard for a lot of these kids was that they didn’t get to come see us. They didn’t get to come see the university and get to experience it. Most of our guys, just about everybody that signed got here before the shutdown, so they had the background and they knew a bunch about the University of Florida. It will be interesting to see, obviously you said, are there concerns? You’d probably have a little bit less information that you’d normally have, but I feel real confident and comfortable with all the guys that we’ve signed? You know and maybe, like I said, as I said, do you come out of it, you realize that there are better ways to utilize resources, there’s better things to do. You know, I mean, heck, is it better for us to be spending all of this money travelling non-stop for 3-4 months a year around the country or do they reallocate that money and have it more to pay in to have more kids to see us here on campus and let their whole families experience and what the university has? I don’t know. Those are going to be interesting discussions for the future.” With NCAA free transfer eligibility rules in place this year, is that something you guys have planned spots around? “I think this, I do. I think there’s so much uncertainty when it comes to the transfer aspect with the NCAA, what’s it going to be moving forward. In every area. I think we have a couple of spots for transfers still on our team. I think if you ask almost every coach around the country, they have a lot of concerns about the direction that’s heading. Let me explain it this way: not concerns of, ‘ok, hey, we can’t let guys transfer.’ I mean, obviously that’s coming. I think coaches understand there’s going to be a lot of little things that go along with that that people don’t understand yet or don’t know yet, and all of a sudden, you’re going to look – and it might be a month from now, might be six months from now, might be two years from now – all of a sudden, ‘hey, we didn’t realize all this would come with it and we better change a lot of different rules to get caught up. Because I do think a lot of the different rules that are in place don’t match the rules that they’re trying … the transfer rules that are coming, the current recruiting rules don’t match, they don’t meld. There’s a lot of concerns from coaches around the country about how that’s all going to work out.” Three players got in early for bowl practices last season, plan to do that again? “Yeah, it’s something obviously, it’s such a different year too. It’s something we would love to do. We’re looking at it. There’s a lot that goes onto it, for it. Number one being, we’re still in kind of the regular season playing the championship game this weekend and then there’s going to be this quick turnaround to a bowl game. But it is something we’re looking at doing. I don’t know how many guys are going to have the opportunity to do it, because the guys, we’ll get them accepted into school and they have to graduate to do that, both of those done and then are accepted into and cleared by the NCAA. And then they can come practice. I will say the fact that whatever bowl game we do go to, we’re going to be doing a lot more on campus. Normally, you go to the bowl site and those guys can’t travel with you, but they can practice while on campus, so there’s going to be a little bit more opportunity for them to come practice with us if we can get all the paperwork signed and everything.” Big Dez? I love big Dez, he is an athlete. He is a 385-pound athlete and that might be generous. I haven’t seen him because of COVID. He has talking about that he lost weight. He slimmed down to 385. White was 400 pounds? Yeah he was about four bills. I am going to tell you what..I don’t want to get big Dez upset but if you had to pick, you put that 400 in the over/under, I know which one I’m taking in the over/under when he shows up here. Nick Saban tougher on the field or trail? I think obviously you look.. they do a great job on both. He has done a great job of establishing the program - been there a long time. He is the most..I guess he is the veteran guy of the league. I don’t get the credit, I guess, because I’m splitting the schools, even though I’m second. I’m second but it’s split. I think when you look at what he has been able to build, the program he has been able to establish, through the years the stability of it, the combination of a very well coached team on the field and they do an unbelievable job of getting great players in as well. I think he has kind of built a program that people want to model themselves after. I don’t know that you copy because everyone’s got to be your own person. You’d never copy anybody else’s program because it wouldn’t fit my personality as to who I am as a person and a coach and all of that stuff. You’ve got to build the program kind off around your own personalities of how you do things. But I do think they’re tough on both ends.” Two receivers, Burke and Reynolds? “One of the things and you’re talking about guys being committed. Both those guys committed early to us, never waved, stuck with us. Daejon, unfortunately, had an injury that he wasn’t able to play. But he was a guy … you go back almost a year ago and you’re putting the board together. You’re advance even beyond that. You’re really kind of sitting there and say, ‘OK, after they’re junior year, let’s go through and re-evaluate evaluate.’ They’re two guys that we had right at the top of the receiver board and to have those two guys come in, we’re really excited. They got great skillsets. They have size. They have speed, ability to make plays after the catch and I think are going to continue the great tradition off wide receivers here at Florida.” Jeremiah Williams? What position? LB? “I view him honestly as a linebacker. That’s kind of our picture, he’s going to be an inside linebacker. But I hate to paint guys into things before we get them here and they work out and we see what they’re going to do. I’ve made plenty of mistakes about that before of guys, like, ‘Hey, we’re going to sign this kid to be a.’ I can’t tell you how many guys I’ve said and said, ‘Hey, this guy, we’re going to sign him to be a corner.’ And he can’t cover anybody, but he’s a big-time wide receiver, you know what I mean? Or, ‘Hey, this guy’s going to be a great receiver,’ and he can’t catch and he ends up being a great safety. We’ve made a lot of those things before. You look at guys kind of as, ‘Hey, I know he’s a great football player. I’ve watched him come off the edge. I’ve watched play inside backer. I think he’s really an inside backer.’ That’s a big, physical guy with a great skillset that can lead our defense.” Backers as a group: Chief, Diwun and Williams? “Yeah, if you look at it, they have size, length and speed. And that’s stuff that we really want at that linebacker position. I do think there’s possible flexibility. Chief’s got that size to go be an outside backer for us. With his size and length, he could go and be an outside backer for us. I’m kind of excited about that. Diwun’s just an athlete. We’ve got to see where he’s best going to fit. He’s a little bit older as a junior college guy and I haven’t gotten to see him in a little while. He’s told me he’s gotten bigger. But I haven’t gotten to see him in a little while. So we’ll see when he gets here how that goes.” Rocco Underwood, used a scholarship on long snapper? "Yeah, I think, one, we did an evaluation: he's a great long snapper. We've had him in camp, a great long snapper. He's got size, athleticism. He actually is an athlete, can play tight end, was a really good tight end on his high school team. Could probably could other things for us while he's here because of his athleticism. When he gets here, we'll see how it goes. But it's a position that you look at a guy that can come in and lock up that spot for a couple of years. We're able to do that with Evan McPherson a couple of years ago at the specialist. I think the specialist positions are one of the hardest ones, cause you sign a guy and they're there for four years. It's hard to sign multiple guys. We try to reward a lot of guys to come. They come as preferred walk-ons and get a scholarship. That's probably when you look at the long snapper, punter, kickers, all the specialists are the guys who get the most scholarships as preferred walk-ons. But I think he was a guy that filled a spot that we were really excited about that, that could come in hold that down for a couple of years." New TEs, Gage, Nick, success of Kyle Pitts has everyone wondering about NexGen? "Yeah these guys they really fit that. The tight end we want, we want guys that are mismatches and have great athletic ability. For us, Nick is a guy, he's got that length, he's got that size, can really run. You flex him out as a receiver. You see that in high school of him making catches and being able to beat people on the perimeter. Plus that size to be able to go block on the inside. So, he's a guy when you just see him the impressiveness of his size you're really excited about that. Gage, the same deal. He's a guy we had in camp when he was young. I loved his athleticism and change of direction, and then you could kind of see it, I remember looking at it, he's one of those guy you know I always kind of look at guys and say, I know what this guy is going to become. You watch his senior film and watch his dynamic ability on the field. He kinda kept growing into this body. And you know what? He's a powerful blocker at the point of attack, he has great quickness in and out of breaks, you can get the ball in his hands and he can make you miss in the open field. They're two guys who are going to allow us to come in and create mismatches, create plans, putting multiple tight ends on the field to create formation issues for defenses and create those matchup problems all over the field." (Philosophy on being the tiebreaker with defensive players?) “I listen to everybody on every player, to be honest with you. In the end, I’m the final say on who comes. But I take in everybody. We’ll watch a lot of film together as a staff, the entire staff — offense, defense, I’ll take in everybody’s opinion. When it gets down to some crunch times, I look at everybody’s write-up on them and what everybody thinks. I take offensive opinions on defensive guys. I want to hear if Billy Gonzales thinks about corners. I want to hear what our DBs coaches think about the receivers, or the O-line, D-line, what they think about the guy they’re seeing and things that they see on tape about why they think that could be a hard guy to block. I take all of that in, and then I’m the final say.” (How many early enrollees?) “A bunch. I haven’t gotten to that point yet. That’s the next step we’re working on. We’ll have a bunch more.” (How do you survive right now? Coffee guy?) “I’m not. I’m not a coffee drinker at all, for whatever reason. You just go. I don’t know. I drink this Ketone energy drink. So that gets you going a little bit. And then I’ll do like a Monster Energy before practice. And then probably I’m more of a Diet Mountain Dew guy at night. By then it’s morning, and you start again. “This has been – yeah. This has been a unique couple of weeks right here, of everything kind of going on. I’d love to tell you this is the most exhausted I’ve been. But it’s up there. It certainly is up there. But I think that it’s up there with trying to do all of this together, go back to what was that, 2008 going into 2009 right there, when I was the head coach at Mississippi State and the offensive coordinator at Florida at the same time for a couple-week period. That was pretty exhausting.” (Get some rest) “I don’t think it’s coming anytime soon. But we’ll see. Hopefully I can get some rest on Jan. 12.” (But then you have to recruit for February…) “Yeah.” (laughs) “Back to work for me. Have a good night.”

A few thoughts to jump start your Thursday morning: College football’s early national signing period, which began at 7 a.m. Wednesday, was already the most bizarre in the history of recruiting when the NCAA dropped a bomb that spread a mushroom cloud of weirdness nationwide. Here we were with recruiting classes being pieced together without so much the benefit of in-home visits by coaches or on-campus visits by players and parents when the NCAA declared a blanket waiver for transfers in any sport. The blanket waiver will be felt immediately for college basketball, but it will have a profound effect on college football. After a season in which some conferences couldn’t get their collective acts together to run some semblance of a full schedule – the SEC will get in 67 of its 70 scheduled games while the Big Ten (Plus Four) and Pac-12 struggled to get in half that amount – you can expect something akin to the wild, wild west on the transfer front. Let’s use Florida as a perfect example here. Despite all the handicaps and obstacles, Mullen and his staff signed a class currently ranked 7th by both ESPN and Rivals, 8th by 247Sports. It’s a class of 21 so far that will grow to 22 when Clemson transfer Demarcus Bowman signs his scholarship papers. Bowman, a former 5-star running back, will be benefit from the new transfer waiver ruling plus thanks to the NCAA earlier relaxing eligibility rules, 2020 won’t count against him (or anyone else) and he will have four seasons remaining. Florida currently has room to add five more players on scholarship in February but with the new transfer rules, it might be a pipe dream to expect the Gators to be immune from transience. At this point we really don’t know how the NCAA will address roster sizes and scholarship counters but accommodations will have to be made because we might be seeing wholesale departures and arrivals throughout Division I. So instead of figuring to sign five high school and/or junior college players in February, Mullen might be looking to bring in a few experienced transfers, particularly if he can find some plug and play types who could step into a position of need immediately. Mullen addressed this at his Wednesday press conference in which he discussed the incoming recruiting class. “I think there’s so much uncertainty when it comes to the transfer aspect with the NCAA, what’s it going to be moving forward,” Mullen said. “In every area. I think we have a couple of spots for transfers still on our team. I think if you ask almost every coach around the country, they have a lot of concerns about the direction that’s heading. “Let me explain it this way: not concerns of, ‘Okay, hey, we can’t let guys transfer.’ I mean, obviously that’s coming. I think coaches understand there’s going to be a lot of little things that go along with that that people don’t understand yet or don’t know yet, and all of a sudden, you’re going to look – and it might be a month from now, might be six months from now, might be two years from now – all of a sudden, ‘Hey, we didn’t realize all this would come with it and we better change a lot of different rules to get caught up.’ Because I do think a lot of the different rules that are in place don’t match the rules that they’re trying … the transfer rules that are coming, the current recruiting rules don’t match, they don’t meld. There’s a lot of concerns from coaches around the country about how that’s all going to work out.” So take a good look at who Florida has signed so far and then take a look at the high school kids that are still on the commitment list. Understand that the only sure thing at this moment is the ones who have already signed are Gators. Some of the ones who didn’t sign early might find their scholarship taken by an experienced transfer who can step right in and play. Nationwide, you can also expect a certain amount of apprehension among the kids who did sign early. When the transfer season heats up and high school kids who expected to play immediately see their position filled by an experienced transfer with two or three remaining years of eligibility, it might create a new wave of transfers, this one of kids who signed scholarships but who will never play a single down at the school they signed with. FLORIDA’S EARLY SIGNING CLASS Of the 21 players signed by the Gators on Wednesday 12 play on the defensive side of the ball, which should let out a collective exhale of relief among Florida fans who have spent much of the 2020 football season in a state of constant dismay over the play of Todd Grantham’s stop troops. Florida signed four D-linemen, three linebackers, two corners and three safeties. The defensive headliner has to be linebacker Diwun Black (6-4, 225, Kissimmee, FL/Perkinston, MS Gulf Coast CC), who originally signed with the Gators in the recruiting class of 2019. When he didn’t qualify out of high school, Black went the juco route and helped Gulf Coast win the 2019 junior college national championship. He is the number one junior college linebacker in the country who will be expected to play immediately at one of Florida’s critical positions of need. In addition to Black, the Gators signed a pair of 4-star linebackers in Jeremiah Williams (6-3, 225, Birmingham, AL Ramsey) and Chief Borders (6-5, 242, Franklin, GA Heard County). Borders could grow into a defensive end while Ramsey is a terror off the edge. Depending on the recruiting service you trust most – Rivals or 247Sports – the Gators signed two 5-star defensive backs, who are ironically both teammates. Rivals lists safety Corey Collier (6-2, 170, Miami, FL Palmetto) as a 5-star while 247Sports lists corner Jason Marshall (6-2, 180, Miami, FL Palmetto) as a 5-star. Marshall is listed by ESPN as the #1 corner in the nation while Collier is listed as the nation’s #3 safety by both 247Sports and ESPN. Collier is a 4-star on 247Sports while Marshall is a 4-star at Rivals. Both are listed as 4-stars by ESPN. The other DBs in the class are 3-star corner Jordan Young (6-0, 185, Tampa, FL Jesuit), 4-star safety Donovan McMillon (6-2, 195, McMurray, PA Peters Township) and 3-star safety Dakota Mitchell (5-1, 185, Winter Park, FL). On the defensive line, the headliner for the Gators is 4-star Tyreak Sapp (6-3, 260, Fort Lauderdale, FL St. Thomas Aquinas), rated the #8 defensive end in the country by 247Sports. The Gators got their version of Mount Cody in the middle in 4-star nose tackle Desmond Watson (6-5, 385, Plant City, FL Armwood), rated the #17 nose tackle in the country by Rivals. The other D-linemen in the class are 4-star rush end Justus Boone (6-4, 250, Sumter, SC) and 4-star tackle Chris Thomas Jr. (6-5, 300, Tallahassee, FL/Fort Myers, FL Dunbar). The Gators signed two quarterbacks, two offensive linemen, two wide receivers and two tight ends. On special teams they signed a long snapper. Quarterback Carlos Del Rio-Wilson (6-2, 215) is rated 4-stars by all three recruiting services. He’s rated the #9 pro style QB in the country by Rivals. The other QB in the class is 3-star Jalen Kitna (6-4, 205, Tacoma, WA/Burleson, TX Burleson), the son of former NFL QB Jon Kitna. The offensive linemen in the class are 3-star Jake Slaughter (Sparr, FL Trinity Catholic), ranked the 10th best center prospect in the country by both ESPN and 247Sports, 4-star guard/tackle Yousef Mugharbil (6-4, 300, Murphy, NC), rated the #4 guard in the country by ESPN and the #40 tackle prospect by Rivals. Wide receivers signed were 4-star Marcus Burke (6-3, 180, Jacksonville, FL Trinity Christian) and 4-star Daejon Reynolds (6-2, 210, Springfield, IL/Loganville, GA Grayson). Rivals ranked Burke the #28 wide receiver in the country and ESPN had Reynolds as the #41. The tight ends signed were 4-star Gage Wilcox (6-4, 225, Tampa, FL Jefferson) ranked by ESPN the #2 tight end in the country, and 4-star Nick Elksnis (6-6, 240, Jacksonville, FL Episcopal), who got the #3 ranking from ESPN. The Gators also signed long snapper Rocco Underwood (6-4, 215, Lake Mary, FL), a 3-star prospect rated the #3 long snapper in the country by ESPN. Florida has commitments from the following: 4-star offensive tackle Javonte Gardner (6-5, 320, Orlando, FL Jones), 3-star offensive tackle Adrein Strickland (6-7, 320, Lynn Haven, FL Mosely), 3-star offensive guard Deyavie Hammond (6-3, 330, Lakeland, FL/Independence, KS Independence CC), 4-star wide receiver Trevonte Rucker (6-0, 160, Ocala, FL Vanguard) and 4-star athlete Charles Montgomery (5-11, 185, Seffner, FL Armwood). OTHER RECRUITING NEWS FROM AROUND THE SEC Here are the class rankings of all 14 SEC teams (national rank first, SEC rank second): ESPN (1-75): 1/1 Alabama; 3/2 Georgia; 4/3 LSU; 7/4 FLORIDA; 12/5 Texas A&M; 14/6 Tennessee; 19/7 Ole Miss; 21/8 Arkansas; 24/9 Auburn; 31/10 Missouri; 38/11 Mississippi State; 40/12 Kentucky; 56/13 Vanderbilt; 74/14 South Carolina 247SPORTS (All Division I): 1/1 Alabama; 3/2 Georgia; 4/3 LSU; 8/4 FLORIDA; 11/5 Texas A&M; 15/6 Tennessee; 18/7 Ole Miss; 19/8 Arkansas; 26/9 Missouri; 36/10 Mississippi State; 38/11 Kentucky; 40/12 Auburn; 48/13 Vanderbilt; 107/14 South Carolina RIVALS (1-100): 1/1 Alabama; 3/2 LSU; 4/3 Georgia; 7/4 FLORIDA; 13/5 Texas A&M; 14/6 Tennessee; 18/7 Ole Miss; 20/8 Missouri; 22/9 Arkansas; 29/10 Vanderbilt; 34/11 Mississippi State; 44/12 Kentucky; 52/13 Auburn; NA/14 South Carolina In the state of Florida, Miami cracked the top 10 by finishing 9th in the ESPN and Rivals rankings with the 10th-ranked class at 247Sports. FSU ranked 28th in the ESPN rankings, 31st at 247Sports and 38th at Rivals. NEWS THAT ISN’T RECRUITING … IMAGINE THAT: Tom Rinaldi, one of ESPN’s most visible and best reporters, is leaving the network for Fox Sports. Rinaldi has been with ESPN since 2002 … Kentucky and North Carolina have scheduled a basketball game on the fly to be played Saturday in Cleveland. Kentucky was scheduled to play UCLA and North Carolina was scheduled to play Ohio State before the change in plans … Kentucky hired Los Angeles Rams assistant Liam Coen as its new offensive coordinator. The Wildcats hired former South Carolina assistant Eric Wolford as the new O-line coach ... Former Wisconsin and Arkansas head coach Bret Bielema has interviewed for the vacant job at Illinois … The San Jose Mercury-News is reporting that Arizona is zeroing in on Navy head coach Ken Niumatalolo as its new HBC … Coastal Carolina has signed HBC Jamey Chadwell to a contract extension through the 2027 season. Chadwell and Coastal are 11-0 this season and ranked 12th in the College Football Playoff Poll … Virginia Tech and Kansas State are opting out of a chance to play in a bowl game … New South Carolina HBC Shane Beamer has a 5-year deal that will pay him $2.75 million, making him the lowest paid coach in the SEC, a necessity since South Carolina is on the hook for $15 million with former head coach Will Muschamp … Tom Herman’s wife reports her husband did not inquire about the South Carolina job. The Post and Courier of Charleston, SC reported the Texas coach was quite interested in the vacancy after Will Muschamp was fired … According to USA Today the University of Florida ranks sixth nationally in assistant coach pay at $6,300,000 per year. Ranking ahead of UF from the SEC are (1) Alabama (2) Auburn; (3) LSU; and (5) Texas A&M. Todd Grantham is Florida’s highest paid assistant at $1,801,500. The report also says UF did not reduce coach salaries due to the pandemic.

Let’s preface this by saying, this column is not in defense of Marco Wilson throwing the shoe. There is no defending an inexcusable act. And no, Dan Mullen didn’t defend the throw. He defended his player. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. Let’s go over a quick recap. On Saturday, the No. 7 (at the time No. 6) Florida Gators were facing the LSU Tigers. It was not the vaulted Top 10 matchup of years past. The Tigers limped in with juuuusst enough scholarship players after giving some walk-ons a promotion and with only two wins to their name at that point. And the Gators got caught looking ahead to Alabama and the SEC Championship. With just over two minutes to play, it looked like Florida would have a chance for a late win. That was thanks to Marco Wilson making a crucial stop on 3rd and short, with the Tigers pinned in their own territory. Then…well everybody knows the story at this point, do we really need to relive the pain again? Let’s just sum it up in one sentence and power through it quickly. Deep breath…ready—In the course of the tackle, the tight ends shoe came off and Wilson picked up said shoe, threw it downfield in celebration, received a flag for unsportsmanlike conduct, giving LSU a fresh set of downs and they drove just far enough downfield for their ace kicker Cade York to make a 57-yarder in fog so dense he couldn’t even see the uprights and instead relied purely on instinct. Oh and, Evan McPherson missed his 50-yarder on the other end to tie it as time expired. Ok moving on. Others have thrown a shoe in those same situations. A video resurfaced on Sunday that ESPN had shared in jest a year ago, when a BYU defensive lineman threw the shoe of Tennessee Volunteers quarterback Jarrett Guarantano. No flag was thrown. When Eli Ricks intercepted Kyle Trask on Saturday night and ran the ball back for a Pick-6 touchdown, he turned and waited for Trask at the pylon, taunting him. After York made the 57-yarder, he Gator chomped around the field. In the past, both of those acts have drawn flags for taunting. But as we said at the beginning, there really is no defending an inexcusable act. There is justifiable frustration that the penalties seemed to be given out at discretion as opposed to with uniformity. Yet none of that excuses the original penalty. This was the mindset Mullen took on Sunday, as he explained to reporters that evening. And since this answer has been parsed and picked over throughout social media and on podcast the past couple of days, we’re going to post it in full here. “I talked to him. We spent some time with him [Saturday] night after the game. Obviously I know he's disappointed. I mean, it's a shame. I went back to watch the play. He made the tackle. I mean, part of the football move, the kid's shoe was in his hand. He kind of threw it, jumped and celebrated with his teammates. It's pretty unfortunate in that situation. I don't think there was any intent to taunt. It wasn't like he was throwing it at their sidelines, doing any of that. It was a huge play, possibly a game-winning play. Threw a shoe, went to celebrate with his teammates. Unfortunately it was a penalty. “I think that stuff, really an unfortunate situation and a mistake instead of somebody really trying to disrespect the game or taunt the opponent or anything of that nature. You know what I mean? “Just really unfortunate it happened. But I know for him, I think he'll look at things and realize, ‘Hey, that's certainly not the reason that we lost the game.’ There's many, many factors that went into that. That's just an unfortunate one in that situation. It was a key moment in the game.” However, as the emotions of Saturday night have settled down to a simmer and attention has turned fully to the SEC Championship on Saturday—and a legitimate chance at the playoff still in play after only dropping to No. 7 in the CFP polls—it’s time to disband the firing squad heading for Marco’s head. “That was last week,” said tight end Kyle Pitts on Monday. "Everyone has been supporting him…that doesn't define your whole career. [Teammates] just uplifting his spirits, despite what the media says and all the fans say. We know how Marco is as a person. To uplift him is what he needed.” Added receiver Tre Grimes, “You know, everybody does some silly stuff in their lifetime. I feel like nobody deserves to be bashed or put down. As teammates, it’s our job to lift him up and help him regardless of if he made a silly mistake or not. Everybody makes a mistake. At the end of the day, we don’t look at that loss because of the silly mistake he made. As a team, we all embrace that loss together offensively and defensively, special teams too. We don’t just pin that loss on him. That’s on the receivers, that’s on everybody. If it was up to us, we could have made more plays as receivers, as running backs we could have made more plays. It’s not just specifically just on him. As teammates, it’s our job to lift him up and to let him know it’s not just on him, it’s on everybody.” There’s something to the argument that Wilson should be punished more than just a stern talking to; he drew flags on two drives Saturday night that gave the Tigers a fresh set of downs on an otherwise third down stop. Both times they scored. And his play has been off compared to his stellar freshman year and solid 2019 season. Mullen and staff are big on seniority and we have to ask if perhaps players know they won’t get benched no matter what happens on the field. But their plan has also worked in the past. One of the primary reasons Feleipe Franks flourished in their tutelage was he no longer feared getting benched any time he made a wrong read, as had been the case with Jim McElwain. Instead Franks was able to settle in, get comfortable and play knowing he’d have an opportunity to make up for any mistake. If that’s going to be the case for Wilson—and just go ahead and prepare yourself, he’ll start on Saturday—then the philosophy used for Franks and others must be the same. Use this week to point out what went wrong and work on rebuilding his confidence to bounce back in a big way. This is the strategy Defense Coordinator Todd Grantham is using this week as he works on not only returning his star corner to his former state, but also prepare for the SEC’s second best total offense (537.8 yards per game; for reference, the Gators are third in the league, eighth in the nation with 513.5 yards per game). “You always try to use everything that happens—good, bad or indifferent—as a learning experience for your players so as they move forward, both in the field of play and society, they can be productive. You never want one play to define you, but what happens is, as you go through the game things can get magnified because you're getting close to the end. One play does not define a player, it doesn't define a person, it doesn't define a game. And there's a lot of plays that can change the outcome of a game, so that doesn't happen. “But what happens is, as you move forward in a situation like that, it casts an image that certainly he's not proud of and he was disappointed in, but knowing the competitor he is and the kind of fire he has and his willingness to be a good player for us, it's basically, 'Come back and let's get back to work. I mean, move on.' That's the thing you've got to understand is we all have the ability to make choices, and when you make those choices, that's it. And we've just got to continue to move on and get ready to play the next play. "He's helped us get to where we are right now, and we've got to have him play his best game to date. That's really the focus of our team and our defense, is continuing to move forward to play your best game come Saturday. And whatever's happened's happened, but you've got to take everything that you've experienced up until now to allow you to play your best game." For years, Marco Wilson was known by his big smile, his variable bouncy attitude that manifested itself in backflips on the field, and a quick quip that exuded confidence. That’s not the case right now. As his dad Chad Wilson has explained on Twitter, he’s sick. As he should be, I can hear people saying, and yes, self reflection is needed right now. And there’s little chance of this act ever being extracted from Wilson’s name and in our memory of him. That shoe toss will likely be remembered for years to come, if for no other reason than LSU won’t let it die. Head Coach Ed Orgeron has made a joking reference to the toss several times, the official LSU Football twitter account has posted pictures of the cleat and the Tigers are holding on the the greatest trophy of their otherwise dismal season. And the Iraqi journalist who threw a shoe at President George W. Bush (the 12 year anniversary of which occurred on Monday, ironically) tweeting his response to the throw certainly put the act on a worldwide stage. Then of course there is the vitriol of the Gator fanbase which we all must admit can be gruesome even during the best of times. But with Alabama and their trio of Heisman worthy offensive players waiting in Atlanta, it’s likely too late to insert someone brand new in the lineup. As Grantham mentioned, Wilson has helped this team get to where they are right now, with his 98 career tackles, 17 pass breakups and three interceptions in 35 games. The only thing they can focus on now is getting him ready for Saturday. That means bringing along the Marco Wilson who had long had the passion to make the big hit, but now possesses the maturity to react appropriately. They’ll need him to win.