“Coaching is nothing more than eliminating mistakes before you get fired.” – Lou Holtz Billy Donovan didn’t exactly get fired by the Oklahoma City Thunder earlier in the week. What happened is described as a mutual parting of the ways between Thunder ownership and Donovan. As OKC general manager Sam Presti noted, “Sometimes the arc of things just don’t align. It’s no one’s fault.” Presti would have been happy if Donovan had signed a contract extension to remain in Oklahoma City, yet he wasn’t exactly tearful when Billy declined. The NBA is a business that has made it perfectly clear that it’s all about the players. Not about the coaches. Not even a coach whose .608 winning percentage ranks 11thall-time for those who survived five years at the helm. Donovan won a lot of games and made the playoffs every year. He was on the cusp of playing for an NBA title his first year in OKC when he had both Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook on his roster. If he wins that game seven against Golden State, maybe Donovan would have won an NBA title and that would have changed that arc of things Presti talked about at the press conference that announced the Thunder and Donovan had reached a point of no return. Maybe the better way to describe this mutual parting of the ways is that Billy Donovan decided enough was enough. After five years of seeing his best players either leave as free agents or traded away and with ownership committed to a long term rebuild, Billy Donovan fired himself. Durant had no problems with Donovan. None whatsoever. But he thought there was a far better chance to win championships with Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors so he left as a free agent. Serge Ibaka, a defensive force who helped the Toronto Raptures win the 2019 NBA title, was traded to Orlando for Victor Oladipo and the draft rights to Domantis Sabonis. Oladipo and Sabonis were traded to Indiana for Paul George. The Thunder acquired a perennial all-star for two who have become all-stars in their new location. George got traded to the Los Angeles Clippers. Westbrook got traded to the Houston Rockets. Even with all the flux in his roster, Donovan still won but the Thunder never got close to a championship after that first year. In the recently completed season, Donovan did one of the great coaching jobs of the last 15-20 years by taking a young roster with nine new faces to a number five seed for the playoffs. For that he was named co-Coach of the Year for the NBA. If Donovan could have counted on the Thunder adding a couple of necessary pieces to make a deeper playoff run next season, he might have signed a contract extension, but the Thunder are committed to a massive rebuild. Two of Donovan’s best three players – Dino Gallinari and Chris Paul – probably won’t be back. Gallinari is an unrestricted free agent who will be seen as the missing link for several teams that need a proven scorer. Paul has a huge contract with two years remaining but his point guard skills are still at such a level that he can command a nice return on the trade market. It is expected the Thunder will trade both Gallinari and Paul while they are very marketable commodities. Would the Thunder use the trades to bring in experienced players or go for more draft picks to add to the 13 first rounders they have accumulated over the next seven years? That kind of uncertainty left Donovan at the crossroads of a rebuild job or heading off to St. Somewhere Else. Donovan chose the road less traveled and it’s probably the wisest choice he could make. “Glad he’s out of there,” texted a former Donovan assistant who has spent time in the NBA. That same assistant agreed that Donovan essentially has three choices moving forward: (1) Another NBA job; (2) a college job or (3) take a year off and then decide whether he wants to continue in the pros or go back to his college roots. It sounds like a basketball version of Let’s Make a Deal. Behind Door Number One, it would seem the best fit for Donovan would be the Philadelphia 76ers. Blessed with an enormous cache of talent, the Sixers under-performed in 2020 and much of the blame has to do with the dreadful coaching of Brett Brown. This is a team with almost all the ingredients to win championships with the right coach pulling the strings on the bench. Take a look at the starting five. Joel Embiid has established himself as the dominant big man in the league and Ben Simmons is a triple-double looking for a place to happen. Former Gator Al Horford adds maturity and the ability to do at a very high level whatever the team needs to win. With Tobias Harris and Josh Richardson added to the lineup, this is a team that could win it all with the right coach. If Donovan were hired, Horford would probably stay and the Sixers would have that quiet voice of leadership in the locker room that they need to go with a coach on the bench who is a proven winner. Door Number Two will require a little bit of patience. Due to the Covid-19 virus and the NCAA furloughs, there is an immediate shortage of good college jobs but that could change in a hurry, particularly if the infractions committee or the independent arbitrator for NCAA jailable offenses meet soon (as expected) and sentence a number of coaches and programs to serious time in the NCAA penitentiary. Potential jobs that could come open in a hurry are Kansas, Arizona, Southern Cal, Oregon, Louisville, Creighton, LSU, Alabama, Auburn and South Carolina, all of whom are caught up in one way or another in the college basketball corruption trials and a tangled web of evidence. Donovan has a squeaky clean image that would resonate well with school presidents whose basketball programs face the wrath of the NCAA. If and when the NCAA drops the hammer, there will be firings and if Donovan is available, you can bet his name will be linked to every opening. But, there are a lot of ifs involved in that scenario. First of all, the jobs have to come open and secondly, Donovan has to be available. Then comes the third part of the equation. Would Billy want to take on a program under NCAA sanctions that might include scholarship restrictions? That might be too much like trying to navigate the Thunder through the massive rebuild they face over the next few years. Door Number Two and Door Number Three are similar in that both will require Donovan’s patience for what could be several months of uncertainty but likely would give Donovan the option of another NBA job or returning to the collegiate ranks. Rather than plunge headfirst back into the NBA or take a fire sale job as the result of NCAA punitive actions, Donovan might just choose Door Number Three to unwind in the Gainesville home he never sold and where he can explore the best fit for whatever is next. There will always be NBA jobs so Donovan can afford to pass on any current openings if he needs time to sort things out. From the five years he spent with the Thunder, Donovan knows how the NBA works in regards to trades, free agency, salary caps and the draft so it will be a matter of finding a front office that is committed to building the kind of team that can win a championship. If he was willing to pass on the Thunder rebuild it’s unlikely he will take on a build from the ground up job in the NBA. Returning to the collegiate ranks will always seem the safest and best bet for success although that might not be what Donovan sees as the right option. He despises the shadiness of the AAU circuit, how the shoe companies manipulate kids and the amount of money exchanged under the table. Three of the players Donovan will coach (Embiid, Simmons and Harris) if he is offered and takes the job with the Sixers are a grim reminder of how that works. However, if a true collegiate blueblood job were to open up that might be just the thing to lure Donovan back to his coaching roots. Three blueblood jobs come to mind. None of them are currently open but the coaches are no longer spring chickens and might be ready to pull the plug on long, successful careers after another year on the job. Mike Kryzyzewski at Duke is 73 years old. Roy Williams at North Carolina is 70. Jim Boeheim at Syracuse is 76. What these three jobs have in common is they are all in the Atlantic Coast Conference, where college basketball is played at its highest level and their arenas are always packed with some of the most rabid, knowledgeable fans in the country. All three of those schools have great academics, great tradition and in some respects recruit themselves. When he was at Florida, it was a struggle for Donovan to land top recruits, largely due to what was then a dump of an arena (The O-Dome has been renovated since he left) and fans so interested in beating the traffic that the O-Dome was often less than 30 percent full when the final buzzer sounded. Recruits pay attention to those things and that has something to do with why so many of the best recruits went elsewhere even though they loved Donovan. At blueblood schools like Kentucky, Duke, Carolina, Syracuse and Kansas, the fans arrive early and stay late. They also travel very, very well at tournament time which is why they usually get prime landing spots when the NCAA brackets are announced. There is no guarantee that one of these blueblood jobs will come open, but Donovan might roll the dice by taking a year off to see what comes available. He knows the NBA will always be there so he can afford to wait. For years before he took the job with the Thunder, Donovan answered questions about the NBA. He always talked about the lure of basketball only with no recruiting and ultimately, that led him to give the NBA a shot. He didn’t fail as an NBA coach, but his five years in OKC have probably opened his eyes to realities that he probably didn’t see before. One afternoon in July of 2011 at the steamy gym on the Oglethorpe University campus in Atlanta where an AAU event was being played, Donovan was there along with Rick Pitino and several other college coaches watching players like Joel Embiid, Kasey Hill, Alex Poythress and Shabazz Muhammad strut their stuff. Pitino and I talked about the players and then the conversation turned to the NBA and Billy Donovan, who is almost like one of Pitino’s sons. “At some point I think he will try,” Pitino told me. “He needs to find out for himself and maybe he will like it but maybe when he does he will find out that college basketball is where he really belongs. If I had it to do over again, I wouldn’t have left Kentucky for the Celtics but I had to find out for myself.” Pitino recalled the incident that made him realize he needed to be back in the collegiate ranks. He needed to make a substitution but the player he wanted to put in the game made less money than another player, who was a starter but was taking a breather on the bench. “He was a starter and if I didn’t put him back in the game I would hurt his feelings and I’d have to deal with that,” Pitino said. “I told myself that night you need to be back in college basketball.” Dealing with similar issues might be what lures Donovan back into the collegiate ranks but if he takes the plunge it will be at the place of his choosing. He won’t take just any job, only one that best eliminates some of the issues that he despised when he was coaching at Florida. Although he hasn’t been offered the job (that we know of) by the Philadelphia 76ers, that loaded roster in need of a stabilizing coach might provide just enough temptation for Donovan to give the pros one more shot. Until Donovan became available, Tyron Lue, who won an NBA title with LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers, seemed the likely candidate but the Philadelphia Inquirer reports that Donovan has emerged as a candidate. If the Sixers poll their players – a good many of whom Donovan recruited when he was at Florida – he might be the slam dunk choice to take over. So what will Billy Donovan do next? He’s at a career crossroads, is as secure as he can be financially and doesn’t have to work unless he chooses. If he goes the NBA route immediately, the Philadelphia job seems ideal. Indiana is open but the Pacers seem to have narrowed down their search to a couple of candidates already. The other openings might require a bigger rebuild than OKC. Here is a guess what he might do: If he wants a ready-made NBA situation he will take the job in Philadelphia if it’s offered. If Philadelphia doesn’t offer or if the front office situation isn’t to his liking, then Donovan will sit for a year, weigh his options and decide what’s next in the spring of 2021.

A few thoughts to jump start your Thursday morning: It’s two-and-a-half weeks before the Florida Gators open their abbreviated, 10-game, conference-only football schedule at Ole Miss, but already tight ends coach Tim Brewster is salivating over the mismatches that Kyle Pitts is going to create. “A 6-6 245-pound guy like Kyle Pitts matched on a linebacker, matched on a safety?” Brewster said Wednesday night after the Gators finished practice. “You wanna match him with a nickel? You wanna match him with a corner? That’s not gonna be really good for you.” Brewster, who worked for Dan Mullen at Mississippi State in 2012, left Mack Brown and the North Carolina staff to join Mullen on the Florida staff as the tight ends coach after the 2019 season. Brewster already knew that Pitts was very, very good, but what he’s seen since football practice began in August has been an eye-opener. “He's as good a route-runner … I mean I'm talking about the ability to stick his foot in the ground and create immediate separation, his ability to stretch the, take the top off of defenses, run option routes,” Brewster said. “He has a great feel for the game, and he's one of them guys that I can teach him in the meeting room and he takes it right to the field and he doesn't need a walk-through. Football makes sense to Kyle Pitts, and that's the thing you ask as a coach, you ask as these kids, is does football truly make sense to them? And with Kyle it certainly does." A season ago Pitts caught 54 passes for 649 yards and five touchdowns, a real breakout after a 3-catch freshman season in 2018. He was almost like having a brand-new toy for Mullen, who kept finding creative ways to incorporate Pitts into the offense. Pitts ran as many plays flexed out wide, in motion as an H-back or in the slot as he did with his hand on the ground as a traditional tight end. Since there are 13 games of tape from 2019 to dissect, Pitts won’t be able to sneak up on any SEC defensive coordinator this year. That means Mullen will have to find even more ways to disguise how he’s using Pitts in the offense. It is that understanding of mismatches and how to get the ball in the hands of his playmakers that motivates Mullen, whose offense is one of the most difficult to prepare for in all of college football. Brewster is the coach who turned former college basketball standout Antonio Gates into a future Pro Football Hall of Famer while working for Marty Schottenheimer. At Florida State while working for Jimbo Fisher, Brewster was the position coach for Nick O’Leary, who won the Mackey Award as the nation’s top tight end. Here at Florida, Brewster is going to have a chance to bring out the best in Pitts because the offense is so tight end friendly and Mullen has such a mind for finding weaknesses in opposing defenses. “This offense is a dream come true for tight ends,” Brewster said. “We can play with two tight ends. We can play with three tight ends. It's the thing I was so excited about to come to the University of Florida and get back with Dan in this offensive philosophy, in this offensive system.” A FEW OTHER SEC NOTABLES ALABAMA: Juco transfer cornerback Ronald Williams Jr. could wind up as the starter opposite Patrick Surtain II. AUBURN: Caylin Newton, a graduate transfer and younger brother of Auburn Heisman Trophy winner (2011) Cam Newton and a former quarterback at D1AA Howard University, is making the transition to wide receiver. At Howard, Newton threw 41 touchdown passes and ran for 17 … Safety Jamien Sherwood says, "I feel like we can either be just as good or better than any defense that has played at Auburn before." GEORGIA: Georgia will play it’s 2020 season without mascot Uga X on the field. The SEC has ruled only essential personnel on the sidelines and dogs aren’t considered essential. LSU: Redshirt freshman offensive tackle Ray Parker has been suspended after he was arrested on charges of battery of a dating partner and simple criminal damage to property. OLE MISS: Al.com is reporting that the sexual battery charges against lienbacker Sam Williams has been dismissed and that Williams is expected to rejoin the team this week. THE ACC PROPOSES TO LET EVERYONE IN TO THE NCAA TOURNAMENT: Every year in March, 68 Division I basketball teams hear their name called to play in the NCAA Tournament. That isn’t necessarily the 68 best teams that make it to the Big Dance, just the survivors of conference tournaments and at-large teams deemed worthy enough to have a shot at a championship. As flawed as the process is – there are always worthy teams that get left out – the three weeks of tournament play rivet the entire country and almost always, the team that emerges as the national champ is the best team. Now the Atlantic Coast Conference coaches and athletic directors have proposed that every Division I team that is eligible to participate in the post season should be included in the NCAA Tournament. That’s 346 teams at present although that number could be sliced a bit if Kansas, Louisville, North Carolina State, Arizona, LSU, Auburn, South Carolina, Alabama, Creighton, Southern Cal, Oregon and a bunch of others who got caught up in the college basketball corruption scandal get kneecapped. But even if every one of those teams has to sit out the tournament it’s still more than 300 participants. A far better idea would be to expand to 128 teams. The bottom feeders in any league shouldn’t have the chance to play in the tournament but there are deserving teams that get left out every year and this would go a long way toward rectifying that problem. By adding the one more weekend to the tournament caused by expansion to 128 teams, it would pretty much eliminate the belly-aching by barely .500 in conference play from teams from the power leagues and the dismay from really good teams from the small conferences that might not have won their tournaments. I like the idea of giving some of these smaller leagues multiple opportunities to play the role of Cinderella. I always hear that same old excuse “how many Cinderellas have actually won the NCAA Tournament?” The odds of a small school winning the championship are infinitesimally small, but I love it every year when one of those teams seeded 13-16 stuns one of the top four seeds. Expand the tournament and you can bet there will be a lot more opportunities to pull off that stunning game that defines each year’s tournament. While I think expanding the tournament is probably a very good thing, I’m not sure it could happen this year. Due to all the issues from the cancellation of 2020 spring sports and so many leagues deferring fall sports to the spring of 2021an expanded tournament would seem to be a logistical nightmare. I think the extra weekend could help with revenue but I’m not all that certain the NCAA and the networks have the necessary time to pull it off this year. IF IT’S THURSDAY, I MUST BE FEELING PITHY: Recently, Stanford pink-slipped 11 scholarship sports including men’s and women’s fencing, men’s and women’s sailing, squash, synchronized swimming and lightweight rowing. That sent the athletic purists who loathe football but adore Olympic sports into a mild state of apoplexy. Get used to it. More and more schools are whacking their non-revenue sports, all in the name of Covid-19, but is the virus the real culprit or just a convenient excuse? Greg Couch of Outkickthecoverage.com write Wednesday: “Major athletic departments were looking for a way to drop many non-revenue sports anyway. They are using Covid-19 as an excuse to do it. The pandemic isn’t creating the problem so much as revealing it.” Translation: The virus creates an excuse to do now what the schools couldn’t do in past years. I have no idea how I’ll make it through an entire year without a spellbinding collegiate fencing match or watching another water ballet. Ever since watching Caddyshack I’ve been hooked on water ballet. Is there anything more intense than a great sailing matchup? …  Ohio attorney general Dave Yost told the Columbus Dispatch that he’s ordered lawyers to make a case for a lawsuit to go after millions of lost revenue dollars from the Big Ten for cancelling the fall football season. As a conference the Big Ten goes follows the dictates of the 14 school presidents. I doubt they care a hoot in hell if the Ohio attorney general sues them but I bet if Mr. Yost were to find a legal way to withhold state taxpayer money unless football is played that would get Ohio State’s attention and the attention of 12 of the other 13 presidents (Northwestern is private) ... Football is a game of blocking and tackling. No matter how sophisticated the offenses and defenses get, winning and losing still comes down to those two things. Navy did very little blocking and even less tackling last week when the Midshipmen got their doors blown off by BYU, 55-3. Head coach Ken Niumatalolo says the reason the Middies fared so poorly is because he didn’t let them block or tackle much in practice due to concerns about Covid-19. Niumatalolo says the Middies will go back to blocking and tackling in practice this week. What a concept. You practice blocking and you practice tackling and you actually do that better in games. What will he think of next? … Dustin Johnson earned a cool $15 million for winning the Tour Championship at East Lake in Atlanta. He has one major among his 23 PGA Tour wins with $63.9 million in career earnings. Contrast that to Jack Nicklaus, who won 73 tour titles and 18 majors. He made $9.1 million in his career. I’d love to see an economist figure out what Jack’s earnings would be worth inflated to today’s standards. I think most of today’s golfers on the PGA Tour would wilt going against Jack head-to-head.

Florida Gators Head Coach Dan Mullen spoke to local media on Tuesday afternoon. He spent time recapping the Gators Monday night scrimmage, looking at the upcoming schedule and breaking down the progress of individual players. The press conference was over half an hour long, covering the variety of subjects. As part of your exclusive access as a Gator Bait subscriber, you can read the full transcript below: Opening statement: “Scrimmage was good. Seeing some of the football, which I haven’t got a lot to watch. I haven’t been able to watch a lot, I’m sorry. But just little things that I’ve seen. Still some sloppiness that we’ve got to get corrected. You can just see it, the sloppiness on the field of lack of playing football. Those are kind of the things you see: like some errors, some mistakes. I did see some good football, you know, where obviously we’re improving. I’m excited about how we’re improving that way. Obviously, you’d like to be further along a little bit as a whole with some of the sloppy, little mistakes right now. But we’re all pleased with our guys. I really like some of our guys’ effort that we have out there on the field, how our guys are playing hard and trying to figure out how to play the game. Now we’ve just got to start putting it all together at this point right now. That’s your last scrimmage. We’re going to have a little bit lighter of a week to let guys recover this week and then one more stretch of padded practices until we get into game week.” Does the sloppiness change approach the next two weeks? “No, we only have 25 practices we’re allowed anyone and I’ve got to keep the guys healthy and safe. That’s obviously a big priority of mine. So we’re kind of under the limitations that have been given to us, so we’re going to stick to our schedule and keep going. Like I said, physically I’m OK with some things. It’s going to be a big mental grind for our guys over the last couple of weeks to get themselves prepared to play.” Have you reached out to anyone who played over the weekend? “Not yet. We’re going to do that over the next week because you have some more games being played. I want to talk to some NFL people as well. They’re starting up this week and get a feel for every different aspect of it with the stadiums, the lack of crowd noise, how the pumping in music affects, just the overall game-day feeling, the difference of game-day deals. Over the next week we absolutely will. I haven’t done it yet.” Any standout performances in the scrimmage? “Yeah, I don’t know if anybody really jumped out. Obviously, we limit reps of certain guys and play some other guys more. I think the biggest improvement, I thought it was better football played. So I do think we’re headed in the right direction. When guys are flying around, executing and popping pads it looked more like, you know, better football, and probably cleaner football, if you will that way. When I talk about the errors, the critical errors that you see how out there, the little things you can’t do. But overall, the sense of the 22 guys on the field playing at a higher level was much higher than it was in scrimmage one on a more consistent basis. But the mistakes, a lot of little mental things. It was much more consistent, but not consistent of where you want to be to go play an SEC game.” Conditioning of team, are they ready to go four quarters? “Yeah, I think we are. Within the plan, we’re going to do a little bit of that. We kind of planned it out that we’ve been pretty physical up to this point. We’re going to get into a little bit more of lighter, but that’s going to involve a little bit more conditioning, running, lifting and some of the stuff that we’ve missed. With all the limitations put on us, some of the conditioning and lifting is one of the biggest things they eliminated by going to the 20-hour week and all that stuff. When the SEC came out with whatever their rules were, the things that got eliminated were some of the conditioning and lifting. So we’re trying to catch up on some of that over the next two weeks and just make sure we’re ready for four quarters, but a lot of that also too is round depth and make sure we’re creating the proper depth for four quarters. “In a normal training camp you’re probably, you’ve got about half of what you normally would do. You had to really look at where you’re going to cut. I didn’t, one thing, I could go back and do all the research of every little thing that I lost and give you the time but I haven’t done that. I just went to, this is the new rule, I’ve gotta figure out how to do it this way of what we need instead of giving the details of what we’ve lost. You’re looking at a normal day, maybe you practice in the morning and you have a recovery lift in the afternoon while you’re watching some film. All that time, a bunch of walkthrough times gets eliminated. A lot of little teaching and all that stuff. You went from having a training camp to basically have an in-season schedule. In season we’re 20 hours a week. Training camp you’re not. It essentially eliminated training camp altogether. That’s the easiest way to put it.” What was the weirdest thing that happened to you during COVID offseason? “Not working. You know what I mean? Being told to stay home and not go to work. That’s probably the first time since I was 15 years old, maybe younger than that. Stay at home and figure out how to work from home and now you’re not going to work in the morning, staying in your home office. Homeschooling. That was a little different for me. That was really weird. Lack of this whole deal, a lack of personal interaction between human beings. That’s weird. It’s like a sci-fi movie. There’s a couple of them for you.” Thoughts on watching games with no crowd noise? “Well, by the time we finished meeting and watching the film late last night it was long over, so I didn’t really watch much of it. I saw the score that way. But as you said, that’s some of those things –– I think Mark was asking what we’re going to call the other coaches about, is that, is what is that feeling to play like in those stadiums, you know what I mean? And BYU usually plays in front of a pretty big stadium, huge home crowds and all that, so, you know, we’re going to probably give a shot to Kalani (Sitake) and some of these other guys as they keep playing and saying ‘hey, what, did the atmosphere have effect on your team’ you know, and what that’s like feeling like that in the stadium.” Have you talked to your team about finding opportunity amidst chaos this season? “I don’t know about that, I mean we always know what our opportunity is, which is to go win football games. And whoever handles the adversity the best is going to go win, you know what I mean? Our opportunity is we get to go play football games, so hopefully we’ll handle the adversity better than most other people and we go handle the adversity on Saturdays.” Injuries in the scrimmage? “We’ll see, got a couple guys banged up, but we’ll see how that’s going to affect us moving forward here. You know, over the next couple weeks when I get the final reports on some things, you know like I said it’s a lighter week so I want to see at the end of the week where we’re at, who’s ready to go by the end of the week.” Starting center decided or still working through it? “We’re getting there. We’re getting there with it. You know what i mean, you’ve got to have a couple of them, like I said. I love that you guys get so caught up in who the starters are. I really don’t, because I’m one play away from having to play a back-up, I’m two plays away from having to play the third-string guy, and how to move guys all around, so I don’t really get caught up in that stuff. I’m really caught up into what are our combinations of players at every different position for every scenario that’s going to happen during the course of the game. So I’m getting to a point where I have good ideas on all the combinations of who can go into games at different times, but it’s not really based on who starts.” How do you feel Kadarius Toney’s role will be with the team moving forward? “One of the things I’m really pleased with him is that what I’ve seen from him is just a real development as a wide receiver. He’s a guy who was a high school quarterback, started to learn the position. You look, everybody knows he’s a playmaker. He’s a great playmaker with the ball in his hands. He’s taken such a huge step forward in becoming a wide receiver now. Not just kind of a get-it-to guy, which he’ll still continue to be a get-it-to guy for us. But every down being a wide receiver, he’s taken some huge steps forward. I’m really excited about that. That’s what you want from those guys. It’s one thing, this utility athlete, get-it-go guy, but when you can become disciplined and a great technician at your position, that takes you to a whole other level.” You talked about him playing in the slot. Do you see somebody like Jordan Pouncey playing in the slot? “Yeah, he’s missed a little bit with some injuries and is probably a little bit behind that way. He could, we’ll see. I don’t know who’s eligible, so if he is eligible, possibly. If not, I would highly doubt it it would seem.” On Pouncey, how does the NCAA figure these things out? “Call the NCAA. Great question for them. There you go. They don’t consult me on such things. They have their deal. I’m talking about our team right now. I love it. I think it’s a great question. I think you should call. I encourage you to call up there and see what they say.” The Navy coach said they purposely didn’t do any tackling or face-to-face football stuff and they looked like it. Is that what you mean about how each individual team has prepared and how you’re trying to get your team as ready as possible given all the uncertainty? “Well, I saw the score. He’s a great coach. I didn’t see the game, so I don’t know what happened. You would guess what their plan was didn’t work real well. I’m not saying. … you know what I mean. Everybody right now is dealing with different scenarios now trying to figure it out. Maybe BYU is that good of a team. I don’t know. I just saw the score and it was in last night’s game. I don’t know a whole lot about it. We were scrimmaging and watching our film. I didn’t see it really.” How much better will you guys be in week four after a lot of action? "Certainly hope we're always -- not just this year, every year -- you always hope you're better in week four than week one, but we're trying to do this throughout the course of the season. So, you always hope you're better as the year moves on and what the extent of those games from week one to week four, we'll wee, with where we're at. Like I said, I think our guys have had a great attitude, I think our guys have taken care of their business, they've tried to put themselves in a good position to be successful. I think for the most part, we've worked hard. I think probably some guys probably are ahead of others. I'm not gonna say if nothing happened we wouldn't be further along. We would be, that's gonna be quite obvious, but we've also only gone against each other. So, we'll see when we go line it up against somebody else, how it looks and what we do, and we'll find that out here in a couple [of] weeks - about two-and-a-half weeks. I'm not trying to be evasive about it, you know what I mean? It's so uncertain in where we're at with that stuff.” Do you still see the team as a pass-heavy team to start the season? "Well, every year I see us as a 50-50 team, we'll see. Like I said, when you're going against each other you don't always know, you know what I mean? We got into last year, and I thought going into last year we'd run the ball really well coming out of training camp. I thought we'd be a little more run-heavy team than a pass-heavy team. So, that obviously flipped once we got into the season, so you gotta be able to adjust in that way. That's why we like to be 50 - our plan is to be 50-50, and then we'll see how the year plays out. Where we're at health-wise, injury-wise, what goes on, who's playing, who develops, whether we change from one week - how we're growing throughout the course of the year. All of those will become factors." Given the sloppiness you talked about, and that other teams are dealing with the same issues, how does that affect play-calling or give you an advantage as more run-happy or pass-happy team? “No, I think it’ll be an advantage as far as trying to be a good execution team and making sure you put your guys in position to do what they do well — and execute. Execute throwing the ball, execute running the ball, I think whatever you execute better is going to be to your advantage, more than saying … We’re never going to sit there and take a square peg and there’s a round hole there and say we’re just going to slam it in there for an entire season. We’re going to be able to adapt and adjust and put our guys in position to go be successful. If we have to throw it 90 times a game, we’ll throw it 90 times a game. If we have to run it 90 times a game, we’ll do that. If we’re able to stay balanced, we’ll stay balanced. We’ll see how the year goes on how that plays out." Kick returner or punt returner rotation? "Sure, let’s see. I’d have to go get the depth chart. There’s about 15 guys in the rotation. I don’t have my practice schedule with me. About 15 guys. A lot of running backs, receivers, some DBs. … About 15 of them are." Versatility all over the field, is that a product of how the game is evolving and do you target that during recruiting? “When recruiting, we want to go out and get the best players we can, and that fit the profile, obviously. Florida is a pretty unique school, with the academic profile we have here being one of the top-10 academic [public] schools in the country. Highest-ranked [public] SEC academic school. In recruiting terms, right there, you are recruiting and getting players that fit the Gator standard. You’re looking not only for the best players, but also the top students and people who want to get a premier education, as well. And then our job and our flexibility, we run … You talk about matchups and creating matchups on the field, I think that’s why our guys have so much success in the NFL. Look at Van Jefferson. I was reading his quote yesterday. All our receivers … We had four receivers sign NFL contracts off of last year’s team. We run a pro-style offense. I think the ability to adapt and create different matchups out there on the field, of what we do, and by using utility players at different spots, those guys are able to go on to the next level and have so much success. That’s just the style we run. Not everyone runs the same offense. We run an NFL offense, which is why, for our guys, it’s easy to adapt. That’s why we do like to have multiple players who are mismatches; multiple players all over the field, and who can do multiple things.” How is the defensive line coming along and has anyone emerged as a leader? “Yeah, they’re coming nicely. I’m really pleased with the young guys, the young freshmen that are in this class. You just look at some of those guys and their ability level I’m really excited about. Obviously, there’s a learning curve and some of them missed some time. We missed time in everything that we had in missing spring and then a couple of bumps and bruises here or there to miss a practice or two, but when you’re a young guy and your time’s limited, those become bigger issues. But I’m really excited about the future on the defensive line and building a premiere D-line with those guys. You have the two Jalens, Jalen Lee and Jaelin Humphries. He’s back now. I put him in that almost young freshman [group] because he missed almost the whole year with his injury, with his knee coming in here. He’s coming along. Gervon [Dexter] is doing a really good job learning the game, obviously big and physical in there. Antwuan [Powell] and Princely [Umanmielen] are doing a really good job on the edge. Some of those newcomers along the D-line, I’m really excited about how they’re coming along.” What do you feel best overall about your team right now after two scrimmages? “What I’m excited about is that we keep taking steps forward. I’m seeing little improvements. I’m seeing improvement from guys we need to create depth to get through this season. Obviously, this is going to be a unique season, not just dealing with injuries as they come along like a normal season, but you’re also going to have to deal with potentially guys missing games for quarantine or other reasons. What I’m really pleased with that we continue to take steps forward in creating depth across the board. And the next-guy-up mentality. Everything we’re trying to do in practice and scrimmage is r0lling. You guys have watched our practices before, it’s not like, ‘hey, the ones get all the reps and the twos and threes get no reps.’ Everybody gets a lot of reps and a lot of that is for these scenarios, to get as many guys ready to play as possible. And that could be a huge factor this season. I can’t tell you how many guys are going to have to play this year for us. And so, I am pleased after two scrimmages to see that you do see some young guys coming along. We talk a lot about that. Are we making sure we’re continuing to accelerate these guys because you don’t know when we might have to call on their number to get them into a game. Your travel squad for Week 1 and your travel squad for Week 5 could be a completely different roster, so we have to get as many guys ready as possible.” David Turner facing negative recruiting? What kind of job has he done? "I don't know. I don't think we do a whole lot of negative recruiting because we have so much to sell. Only school in America that's both top 10 in football and top 10 in academics. We're the only school to say that. I don't have to put a spin on it or create negative things. We're the Florida Gators. But the thing about David that's so special is, it's not just he's a great football coach and a really good recruiter, but it's the mentor and the man that he is and the effect he's able to have on these guys' lives beyond football I think is really special. And I think that's one of the things. Obviously if you look at his track record and all these NFL superstars that he's been able to coach and develop through the years. I mean, just go look at the guys he's coached in college and add up their contracts and it's a pretty good lump sum of money right there that these guys are getting. But not just that; the relationships that he's been able to build with them, how he's been able to help all of these young guys grow as men. Not just going on to big-time NFL contracts, but grow as men. I think that's the thing that is his best trait." Tre'Vez Johnson? "I'm really excited. I think Tre'Vez is playing STAR for us right now. With some of these young guys, that's one of the hard things. You want them to learn a lot, but you're trying to get them ready because they might have to play. So you try to simplify it and pick a position and leave them there so they can try to learn it and create some depth at positions. And I'll tell you what, watching the scrimmage last night, he plays hard. He's still learning what to do, still learning the techniques and the defense as a whole. But he really showed out to me in his effort, strain and physicality, how he tries to get to the ball running to the football, which is what I want to see as a coach. The rest of it we're going to teach and he's going to learn as he continues, but he has great athleticism and gave great effort and I thought played really hard in the scrimmage last night." What do you look for in recruiting STAR with guys who have to develop a lot of different things? “I think one of the things that makes him unique is that he has great physicality and he plays a very physical game, but he has corner cover skills. You’ve got to be able — that’s the thing that makes it different. You’re really a combination of all of safety and corner and a combination of everything. You’ve got to be able to tackle and be physical as a safety, and then you’ve got to have the cover skills of a corner. So you combine that. I guess that’s why we call it the star position. I think he’s a guy that when you watched him in high school, all the different physical traits he has, he kind of fits that mold with a really physical guy that has the athleticism to be a corner.” Trask – he said he wants to improve footwork, accuracy and in-play progression. Those the three things you’ve seen him grow the most? How’d he do in the scrimmage? “He was OK. I don’t think yesterday was his best day, but I think he has improved a lot at that, of those things. You’re always going to have little off days here and there. I thought he was a little crisper in scrimmage 1. We gave him a little bit more work yesterday than we did in scrimmage 1 as we continue to build up and get ready to go. But I have seen him —his decision making, his leadership, and we’re putting a lot more on him right now, you know? The one thing when you get to this, you’re going to start, which is going to help him… You’re going to start to simplify things. Instead of going from this massive installation of hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of play calls going against every defense known to mankind, you’re going to kind of get into, this is our specific game plan of how we want to attack this team. And that’ll make it even easier on him and allow him even more comfort with a little bit smaller packages going forward with the details of how we want to check it to these plays, what we want to do, where we want to go with the ball. But I think he has really improved the speed of how he decides things and just, obviously, which is a big one, his knowledge of the game.” Does he get any say in picking the plays for the opponent at all? “Well, we’re getting there. One of the things is he comes and spends extra time in game plan meetings. He wants to sit in knowing we’re meeting. He wants to sit around. As a grad student, it helps he has a little more time on his hands. He’s always around the office. He’ll have input just because of his experience and he’s played and he knows he has input on the game plan. On top f that he has a lot of control at the line of scrimmage. He has a lot of freedom to call his own calls, call plays and check in to plays at the line of scrimmage.” Did Kyle Pitts sit out again? “Yeah, you know, he’s had a great training camp. You know and I mean he hadn’t missed a snap in training camp. He gets a lot of reps to him and we have a lot of depth at the tight end position. So you know, I didn’t see a need for him to go play in the scrimmage when I’ve seen what I’ve seen of him and what he’s been able to do so far every day on a consistent basis at practice.” Do you have a day for the release of the media guide? “I didn’t even think we did media guides. I thought they eliminated them in the budget a couple of years ago. “Oh, I have to go do the family picture with my wife. That used to be a big deal for all the families, the family picture in the media guide. I have a bunch of them, I have to release them. I have like the 2006 and 2008 one sitting in my office right now. No, we’ll get everything game week for you. We’ll have the depth chart and roster and all that stuff on game week.” How has Keon Zipperer looked with Pitts out? “Good. He’s working, learning. Him and Gamble, I thought Gamble probably did a really good job for us in the last two scrimmages, Zips doing a really good job. Still learning, you know a lot of the intricacies of the route running and all of that stuff. Really physical guy, really athletic. Both guys are getting tons of reps, you know Kemore and Zip. So those guys you want to see them grow and develop and get ready to go play for us and create that depth at that position. “You know (Jonathan) Odom actually did pretty well last night too. Coming off of an injury last year he’s still trying to get his strength back. You watch and he had a couple of nice catches, he put his face on people blocking. He was not afraid to be physical. He’s just got to get bigger and stronger. He’s got some range catching the ball.”

Florida Gators Tight End Coach Tim Brewster arrived in February to take over one of the country's deepest units at the position. Due to COVID-19, he's been unable to fully introduced himself until now. On Wednesday, he met with local media (virtually) to give insight into his background, detail what he wants out of his unit in the future, and brag on his guys, led by Kyle Pitts. As a subscriber to Gator Bait Magazine, we are offering these full transcripts for reading. Opening Statement: "Hey guys , hope everybody's doing good. Everybody hanging in there with this pandemic? Good, good, I know there's a lot of great writers out there, friends of mine that this pandemic hasn't been good to, and I hope everybody is doing well, hanging in there. It's just, it's been a tough time I know, for a lot of really good writers, a lot of really good people." What led you to come to UF and what do you bring to the program? "Well Edgar, you know I'm thrilled to death, first and foremost I'm thrilled to death to be here. I think it all starts with my admiration for Dan Mullen. I was with him in 2012 at Mississippi State, and I just admire the guy. I admire how he coaches, I admire his work ethic, I admire his aptitude for the game of football. I haven't been around a guy that truly, absolutely loves the game like Dan does. I think that's what I'm about, I'm about positivity and love of the game. But again  I've had the opportunity to work with some great head coaches, I worked with Mike Shanahan, I've worked with Marty Schottenheimer, I've been around some really good guys, and I just think Dan is, I think he's a special guy in our profession, I really do. He's one of the few guys that could call every offensive play, I think he can call every defensive play, and certainly run the kicking game as well. So, and obviously I know a lot about the Gators from my time spent at Florida State. I've always had a little bit of a thing about the University of Florida Gators, I was very fortunate when Dan decided to call me and ask me whether or not I'd be interested in coming to the University of Florida and coaching his tight ends, and it didn't take me long to say yes." What makes you a strong recruiter? [Laughs] “I love people. I love people, I love the relationships that you make throughout the course of recruiting. I love going into different situations, I feel like I can go into any situation and really do a good job of connecting with kids. And I think that's what it's all about, I think it's your ability to build relationships, connect with kids. We have an amazing product to sell here at the University of Florida. I mean, when I call a kid up and I can tell him 'I'm the only coach in American that could tell you that we're top ten in football and top ten in academics.' that's strong stuff man, you know? Beautiful stadium, beautiful campus. Gator Nation. Tremendous leadership here at the University of Florida. I just think that there's so many things that you can sell, and it's not a hard sell, but you know what? You've got to enjoy what you're doing. And I don't enjoy what I do, I love what I do. I'm fired up. Every morning, I wake up at 4:30 in the morning, and I get on my jog and do my thing, and I couldn't be more excited about representing the University of Florida, and going about my job here. And just, you know, you can probably tell I'm excited to be here." Can you evaluate Florida’s talent at tight end position? “I just think we’re blessed. We’re very, very fortunate to have a guy like Kyle Pitts. I coached a bunch of really good tight ends, had the pleasure of helping development Antonio Gates. And the thing about Kyle Pitts that I absolutely love is this guy’s a tough guy. I mean, this guy’s a hard-nosed, physical, tough guy. He has embraced the mentality that I’m bringing to the room, truly trying to be a true three-down tight end, a guy that can block people on first and second down, a guy that can go make big-time, third-down catches. There’s nothing that this guy can’t do now. I’m going to tell you what: there’s talk about him being a big wide receiver, this and that. I’m going to tell you: this guy is a complete guy. He’s had an amazing training camp. Each day he’s working his tail off. Again, like I said, truly embracing being a physical football player. I think if I had one adjective to describe Kyle Pitts right now, this is a tough guy, man. He’s a tough-minded guy, a physical guy. There’s nothing not to like about him. I’ve been thrilled to death with Kemore Gamble. Kemore Gamble has come leaps and bounds. Keon Zipperer’s done a really night job. Jonathan Odom, my true freshman, OK, he’s coming off of a surgery. But I’m going to tell what: this young guy’s going to be a heck of a player. I’m excited every day when I wake up. I got to the tight end room, I’m around great kids and really talented football players. And make no mistake about it, I’m extremely demanding on these guys. I coach them extremely hard on the field. It’s all about the details, OK. It’s all about the details in everything we do, and these guys have all embraced that mentality and it makes my job easy. But I’m going to tell you what guys: I’d be hard-pressed to think that there’s a much better tight end room somewhere in the country than what I’ve got here at the University of Florida with the development Kemore has just … I can’t say enough about him, how he’s coming on. Pitts is Pitts, you know. Zip is, again, he’s making strides. I think we’re going to be in great shape as we move forward here.” How difficult to evaluate and recruit this year when some high school seniors won't have a season? “That’s a great question. It really has made our jobs a little bit harder, but coach Mullen does such great job of staying ahead of the curve in the evaluations. So obviously the 2021 class is fairly far down the road and we’re really in the 2022 kids. We may not get a chance to see them as much. But I think we’ve got a great grasp of who we’re looking at, particularly in the state of Florida. It’s all about us impacting the state of Florida, making sure everybody in the state of Florida knows that this is the University of Florida. This is about the Gators, and I think we got a great opportunity to go out and play some people across the country are not playing, we’re playing. You know, I say this about recruiting, I do it 24-7-365. The minute you stop recruiting, the minute you’re behind somebody, and I don’t like to be behind in recruiting. I like to stay ahead of it. Again, we have a head football coach in all areas has done a great job. He’s a heck of a recruiter. He’s obviously a great football coach, and that’s where it all starts. If your boss, your leader loves those aspects, you got a really good chance. And I’m going to tell you what: the staff that Dan has put together at the University of Florida, I think is an outstanding staff. Veteran guys, guys who have been there and done it, they’ve been in the heat of the SEC recruiting battles, know what it’s all about. And again, I think we have such an amazing product to sell here at the University of Florida I don’t think it’s hard as long as you just get out. And, Demetrius to your point, the evaluation piece to recruiting is absolutely huge because so many guys, so many kids want to come to Florida. You have to make sure we’re getting the right ones. We’re getting the absolutely elite players in the state of Florida first and foremost, and then outside the state where we choose to go.” What do you consider home, you’re a complete mercenary? “Mark, thank you, I mean, hey a lot of people have asked … you know, I’ve been so blessed. I’ve had the opportunity to work in great programs and work for great people. I spent nine years at the University, 10 years, at the University of North Carolina. I had a five-year run at Florida State. And then Jimbo (Fisher) decided to take the Texas A&M job. I went there, and then I went back with Mack (Brown) for a year. So, I’d like to think I’m good at what I do and I told Scott Stricklin I’m going to stay as long as Dan will have me, you know, I’d like to stay at the University of Florida for a good stretch and win some national championships and truly be part of something special here. Like I said, I’ve been, my time in the NFL with Mike Shanahan and Marty Schottenheimer, you know, the opportunity to be a head football coach at the University of Minnesota, I’m a blessed man. I’m thankful for every opportunity that I’ve been given. One thing you’re going to get with me is you’re going to get a hard day’s work. I’m going to give you every ounce of what I got every day, all day. And hey, we’ll let the chips fall where they may after that.” How do you compartmentalize being a FSU guy now that you're coaching at UF? "Hey Mark, it was the same thing when I was at the University of Texas and then I ended up at Texas A&M. My Longhorn friends were wondering what you were doing. But there's a business piece to the job and I loved the people every place I've been. I've built great relationships with the fans every place I've been. I look forward to truly getting to know the Gator Nation here and helping the Gator Nation win another national championship, helping Dan Mullen, helping this staff. That's all I want to do. I haven't thought too much; I appreciate all the places that I've been and all the people that have been good to me. And again, like I said, I hope that when it's all said and done that people say about Tim Brewster, 'He gave everything he had. He gave you every ounce of what he's got.'" What was it like meeting Kyle Pitts after hearing about him; he seems quiet to use off the field. "Sure, Nick. He's a great young man. Obviously he's been raised by a wonderful mother and father. He's got a great family. He's a well-mannered kid and he likes to have fun. I'm sure that with the press, with the media he's somewhat reserved, but we have a great time in the meeting room. He does a great job of mentoring the young guys. Mentoring the other tight ends in the room. My whole thing, OK, about being successful as a player at this level is being a student of the game, is truly being a student of the game. Write it, if you want to learn, write it down. Kyle, again, has really embraced that. He meets with the other tight ends during off times. He's just being a, he's being a team—I mean I'm just so impressed with all facets of this kid, I just think he's poised to have an amazing year. But again, it goes back to he's as good a person as he is player. You love being around the kid, I love having him in my meeting room, I love having him out to my house. I wish we didn't have this pandemic so I could spend more time with the kids out at my house and really building that relationship, that trust. Because coaching, it's all about trust. OK? If players know you genuinely care about them, they're going to give you their heart and soul. If they don't think you genuinely care about them, you're whistling in the wind. It's not going to work. But with Pitts, guys, I could sit here and talk to you for a long time. He's as good a route-runner. … I mean I'm talking about the ability to stick his foot in the ground and create immediate separation, his ability to stretch the, take the top off of defenses, run option routes. He has a great feel for the game, and he's one of them guys that I can teach him, I can teach him in the meeting room and he takes it right to the field and he doesn't need a walk-through. Football makes sense to Kyle Pitts, and that's the thing you ask as a coach, you ask as these kids, is does football truly make sense to them? And with Kyle it certainly does." Is there room for a younger guy in the offense in H-back role or different packages? "Absolutely. This offense is a dream come true for tight ends. It's a dream come true for tight ends. We can play with two tight ends. We can play with three tight ends. It's the thing I was so excited about to come to the University of Florida and get back with Dan in this offensive philosophy, in this offensive system. Absolutely Keon Zipperer is going to have a role in this offense and he's going to grow and develop as a player this season and he's got some older guys like Kemore Gamble and Kyle Pitts that he can really watch. Because I've always said this: The greatest teachers of the game of football are not necessarily coaches, they're players. They're players. I tell Jonathan Odom to stand back and watch every single movement, mannerism, everything Kyle Pitts does, I told him to emulate. You just do what he does. And Zipp is a hard-nosed, physical guy. Can line up in the backfield and go butt you in the mouth. He's got good hands. I'm really pleased with, and there will definitely be a role for a young guy like him." Did anything about Kyle Pitts surprise you? “The biggest thing is, everyone talks about Kyle Pitts’ receiving skills. That he’s a big wide receiver, that he’s, you know? I wanted to check his whole card right out of the gate. I wanted to see when he put his hand in the dirt and run off the football and butt somebody in the mouth. That’s the thing that really to be honest with you, that has got me so excited about Kyle Pitts is how physical he is. I mean he’s a tough, hard-nosed guy, man. He’s embracing what we’re trying to do in the run game. In pass protection, his pass protection technique has improved dramatically. He’s not going to do a whole lot of pass protection, as you all know, but he’ll do some. It’s just his willingness to want to be. We look at Kittle all the time, ok. We look at Kittle from the Niners all the time. We look at Travis Kelce all the time. I’ve got all the NFL library. I’ve got all that tape and I sit down with Kyle and we study these guys and we try to grab things we think can possibly help. It goes back to his willingness to try and develop and be. Kyle’s got a goal of being the best tight end in the country this season. With his work ethic and the blessing that he has as an athlete and a player, he’s got a great opportunity to achieve that.” Pitts lined up at WR at times, is there a chance where he works with that group compared to working with the TE group? How much do you work together? “We’re pretty much a one-stop-shop, the tight end coach. I’ve got 34 years. I think this is my 34th year of doing this and so I feel good about the total development of the players. Billy Gonzales is a great wide receiver coach. He does a great job, but again, what I see, I see we’re obviously going to flex (Pitts) some. He’s going to be detached. He’s going to be a big part of his game is going to be an attached tight end. I think the young guys have proven that he can do all those things that he needs to do and again the challenge is being the most complete guy out there. I really think Kyle’s done a great job of that.” You mentioned watching George Kittle with Kyle. How much does your familiarity with Shanahan’s offense give you insight on what the call was here and what the thinking was in this design? “My experience in the National Football League with Mike Shanahan was just amazing. Coach Mullen incorporates a bunch of different facets of different things. I’ve been exposed to about everything you can be exposed to in offensive football. Dan’s philosophy is great. We’re going to be balanced. We’re going to run the ball. We’re going to throw the ball. We’re going to play-action pass. We’re going to take our shots. We’re going to have deceptive plays. It’s a very diversified offense. I think that my experience coaching in the National Football League has certainly helped me at the college level as well.” You’re clearly a high energy guy. Very positive outlook. How much do you attribute that to your time as a car salesman and being able to get back into coaching? “Man, I’m going to tell you what, that car salesman was not for me. I think I did it for about, I don’t know, three or four months, but I was so excited. This is my calling. I’m doing what I was supposed to do, and that’s coach football and mentor young men. That’s the thing I just love. I loved coaching in the NFL. I loved it, every second, but I missed the relationships that you have with players. And the ability to mentor a young guy and sit with him off the field and help him through some tough times and tough situations. I think I’m where I’m supposed to be, right here, right now. I’m wearing my feet off, for sure.” You can sell a Buick you can sell a kid on a school? “There’s no question, there’s no question. It goes back here to the University of Florida. Golly, I walk in that house and my gun is loaded. There’s no shortage of nothing for me to sell kids on about coming to this school. And first and foremost, it’s about getting a great education. And the education that Florida offers, it’s absolutely a 40 and 50-year decision. It’s not a four or five-year decision. When you totally believe in what you’re trying to sell, it makes selling a whole lot easier, I believe.” What are your impressions of the other Kyle, Kyle Trask? “Well, I’ve been amazingly impressed with Kyle Trask. I think this young guy right here is, again, I think he’s poised to have a great season. You’ve got Dan Mullen, you’ve got Brian Johnson coaching him. Two great quarterback guys and then when you add a work ethic like Kyle’s got. … he’s studying the game, a student of the game. He’s got a year under his belt. He’s got veteran experience now. He’s got a nice swagger about him. I like how he moves. His body language on the field is outstanding. Hey, it’s a bad play, so be it. The only play that’s important in football is the next one, is the next one. Short memories are a great attribute to have for a quarterback. Whether or not it’s good or bad. I think Kyle Trask is going to be outstanding this season. I’m just glad he’s a Gator. I’m glad I’m here with him.” Are you aware Mike Shanahan was the first coordinator to use four WRs? “You know, I did not know that. But you know what? It does not surprise me because Mike Shanahan loves to see that ball in the air. I thought you were going to tell me, for sure, that it was Coach Spurrier.” People are saying a 10-game season is not a true test of football relative to a national championship. What would you say to that? “Well, it depends on the company I was in. I would say this: We play in the toughest football conference in America, bar none. There’s no question about that. I think everybody would agree to that. We’re going to play a 10-game SEC schedule. We’re going to play an extremely challenging and extremely tough schedule. We’re going to come out of that and hopefully represent the SEC East in the SEC Championship Game. I think of these young guys to take this thing to the house and win ‘em all, they no question should be the national champions and be damn proud about it.” Some might say it’s even harder to win it all: “Now, I agree with that. A 10-game SEC schedule! We’ve got no preseason games. I mean, we jump out there on Sept. 26 against Ole Miss and … I mean, it’s going to be like the National Football League, where each week you’re running the gauntlet. OK? You’re playing a well-coached, tough, great roster on every football team in this conference. So, yeah. I would not agree at all with somebody who tried to dismiss the fact that it maybe is somewhat of a shortened season.” Have you worked with everyone on Dan’s staff, including some defensive guys, and if you have how critical is that, especially in a year with COVID? “Yeah, the chemistry of your staff is so vitally important. Guys that have been in the foxhole together, the chemistry and the bond you have is special. I was fortunate enough to work with most of the staff. I didn’t work with Brian Johnson or Billy Gonzales. I worked with the other guys. Worked with Knox, worked with Hevesy, I worked with David Turner on defensive side. Again, it just goes back to this staff that Dan has put together. The minds. Todd Grantham. I think he’s the best in the country. I’ve seen really good defensive coordinators, but this guy right here, he can make your life miserable. And, like I said, we’ve got great chemistry. You’re not supposed to like everybody. You may not like everybody. Zach, do you like everybody you work with? Maybe not, maybe so. The good news is that here we really do enjoy each other’s company and know we’re getting ready to travel a road less traveled. Ten SEC games. We better be together and joined at the hip because adversity is going to strike. And how you handle the tough times really determines your success. There’s nobody trying to figure out how to coach on this staff. I mean this staff is, like I said, extremely impressive and, I like guys, you know I wake up everyday and feel like today is going to be a great day. Why not? You know, why is it not going to be a great day. So when I come in the building, you know I’m smiling and I’m hoping everybody has a good day. I really am, because life’s hard. Life’s really hard, man. This pandemic stuff has been tough, you know you’ve got family issues, you’ve got all different kind of things, but I just believe at the light in the end of the tunnel and good things are going to happen to good people, and I’m, like I said, we’re all blessed I think, that this group of men, led by Dan Mullen, has got the right idea on how to do it.” Traits for evaluating tight ends? “One of the traits and attributes‚ I like long tight ends. I like tall tight ends. I like tight ends that are 6-4, 6-5, 6-6, even a 6-7 guy. But to really excel in this offense at the University of Florida, a guy’s got to be an athlete. I love receiver-trained guys. I love tight ends that were receiver-trained, that have excellent ball skills, that know how to stick their foot in the ground, that know how to high-point a ball. He’s got a really good skill set to begin with, and then I impose my mentality on him to teach him how to succeed in the run game. Fundamentals, footwork, first step, hat placement. But it's all about your mindset. It’s all about creating a mindset. A soft guy is gonna have problems with me, OK? That’s not gonna be a good mesh, you know? If there was one adjective that I wanted to use for my tight ends, it would be ‘one tough sucker’ and let’s build from there. But the athletic ability, the length, the size, creating matchup issues … A 6-6 245-pound guy like Kyle Pitts matched on a linebacker, matched on a safety? You wanna match him with a nickel? You wanna match him with a corner? That’s not gonna be really good for you. By formation, motion and shift in this offense, Coach Mullen is able to create the matchups that are gonna be positive for us. I just love athletic guys. If you can’t vertically stretch the defense, if you can’t take the top end off the defense as a tight end, there’s not a whole lot (pause) — You’ve got to be able to accelerate vertically, and then have the ability to drop your weight and with speed make a break and create separation. And be able to catch a ball in tight windows. That’s what football at tight end is all about, right? Catching the ball in tight windows. Using your body, muscling people, being physical.”

A few thoughts to jump start your Wednesday morning: The Oklahoma City Thunder and former Florida basketball coach Billy Donovan came to a mutual parting of the ways Tuesday. Donovan’s contract expired at the end of the season and rather than sign an extension with a franchise committed to a long term youth movement, Donovan elected to step away. In the five years he’s been piloting the Thunder, he’s proven he’s an outstanding game coach and one who players enjoyed playing for. The problem wasn’t Donovan’s coaching. It was Oklahoma City, not exactly the garden spot of the earth and certainly not the kind of place that lures the kind of free agent talent it takes to supplement good drafts. Take a look at a few of the players Donovan lost either to free agency or trades over the past five years: Kevin Durant (left after the 2016 season for Golden State where he won back-to-back championships); Russell Westbrook (MVP in 2017, traded to Houston after the 2019 season); 6-time all-star Paul George (traded after two seasons in OKC to the Los Angeles Clippers after the 2019 season); Domantas Sabonis (NBA all-star in 2020, traded for George after the 2017 season); Victor Oladipo (2-time all star shooting guard traded along with Sabonis after the 2017 season); and Serge Ibaka (3-time All-Defensive first teamer who helped lead Toronto to the 2019 NBA championship; traded to Orlando after the 2016 season). It’s hard to win championships in the NBA or any pro sport in which there is a constant revolving door of all-star talent so what Donovan did to go 243-157 (60.7%) is a testament to good coaching. So what’s next? There are several NBA openings and there will probably be more before the end of September. The best landing spot would seem to be the Philadelphia 76ers, whose roster includes Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, Tobias Harris, Josh Richardson and Al Horford, who helped Donovan win two NCAA titles at Florida. That’s a team in dire need of good coaching because the talent is already there. Another situation that might intrigue Donovan is Indianapolis, which has a core of Oladipo, Sabonis, TJ Warren and Myles Turner. The Pacers are maybe one or two role players away from being a real contender. Beyond Philadelphia and Indiana, I don’t see a situation that would interest Donovan all that much, at least for next year. If Billy isn’t interested in a wholesale rebuild in OKC where he’s been for five years, it’s highly unlikely a situation like the Chicago Bulls would interest him all that much. New Orleans is open, but that’s another place I just can’t see. As long as LaVar Ball is son Lonzo’s agent, I can’t see Billy willing to deal with that kind of head case on a regular basis. Personally, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Billy take the next season off and then reassess where his priorities are. He will still be in demand for the NBA and there will always be openings. With Billy’s track record of success he can afford to sit and wait for the right opening. A return to college basketball would also be an option although you can almost scratch Donovan for any opening that isn’t at one of the blueblood schools. At bluebloods like Kentucky, Duke and North Carolina, there is tradition and rabid fan bases that travel well. He wouldn’t have to fight for recruits like he had to at Florida. Coach K (Duke, 73 years old), Roy Williams (North Carolina, 70) and Jim Boeheim (Syracuse, 76) are all long in the tooth. They can’t coach forever and those are places where Donovan could take over without the program missing a beat. Kansas could open up due to NCAA sanctions in the aftermath of the college basketball corruption trials. If Kansas gets hammered, as expected, then Bill Self might choose to go on to the NBA but even with the Kansas tradition, Donovan probably wouldn’t think about going someplace that’s on probation. Prediction: If the 76ers offer and Billy doesn’t take it, he will sit out a year and then decide in the spring of 2021 whether he wants to continue as an NBA coach or return to his college basketball roots. WILL THIS BE KADARIUS TONEY’S BREAKOUT YEAR?: We’ve known since he first stepped on campus that when Kadarius Toney has the football in his hands that he can make opponents look very, very silly. After what seemed to be a breakout 2018 when he caught 25 passes for 260 yards and ran 21 times for 240, he seemed poised to have a breakout 2019. Unfortunately, he went down with an injury in game two last year and after missing six straight games, never regained the form he showed on that first offensive series of the Miami game when he turned a bubble screen into a 66-yard touchdown. Toney is healthy again and looking the part in practice so far of a player who knows it’s time to produce and not just as a guy who can turn a bubble screen into a big gain but as a legitimate downfield threat in the passing game. “You look, everybody knows he’s a playmaker,” Florida HBC Dan Mullen said on Tuesday’s teleconference. “He’s a great playmaker with the ball in his hands. He’s taken such a huge step forward in becoming a wide receiver now. Not just kind of a get-it-to guy, which he’ll still continue to be a get-it-to guy for us, but every down being a wide receiver. He’s taken some huge steps forward. I’m really excited about that. That’s what you want from those guys. It’s one thing, this utility athlete, get-it-go guy, but when you can become disciplined and a great technician at your position, that takes you to a whole other level.” ELSEWHERE IN THE SEC ALABAMA: Redshirt junior Mac Jones continues to hold down the #1 quarterback spot after two scrimmages. Freshman Bryce Young has been impressive but it’s Jones’ job to lose … Nick Saban on political endorsements: “I’ve never endorsed a candidate, nor will I ever endorse a candidate or get involved in politics in any way, shape or form. I don’t think that’s my place.” ARKANSAS: The Hogs haven’t won an SEC game since they beat Ole Miss, 38-37, back on October 28, 2017. That’s 18 straight SEC losses and a 1-23 record in SEC play the last three seasons. Since Vanderbilt is not on the schedule, it’s entirely possible Arkansas will do a reverse run of the table and add 10 games to that impressive losing streak. AUBURN: Backup punter Crimmins Hankinson has placed his name in the NCAA transfer portal. GEORGIA: Tight end Tre McKitty, a grad transfer from Florida State, has undergone a knee procedure after he was banged up in Saturday’s scrimmage. KENTUCKY: With the uncertainty of Joey Gatewood’s transfer waiver and Sawyer Smith’s less than spectacular play last year, true freshman Beau Allen could emerge as the backup quarterback to Terry Wilson. LSU: All-Southland Conference (D1AA) corner Darren Evans is transferring to LSU. Evans has started 32 games in three years at Nicholls where he broke up 15 passes last season. Since the NCAA has given anyone who plays this season a free year, Evans could play two seasons for LSU. MISSISSIPPI STATE: Although it seems a foregone conclusion that the starting QB will be Stanford grad transfer KJ Costello, HBC Mike Leach says he won’t name a starter until game week before the Bulldogs open their season with LSU in Baton Rouge. MISSOURI: Mizzou has four players out with the Covid-19 virus and 10 others behind held out due to contact tracing. OLE MISS: Lane Kiffin reports that 27 players missed Saturday’s scrimmage either due to Covid-19 or injury. Missing from the scrimmage was quarterback John Rhys Plumlee, who has some hamstring issues he’s dealing with. SOUTH CAROLINA: Transfer wide receiver Jalen Brooks, who caught 35 passes for 751 yards and six touchdowns at DII Wingate last year, has applied for a waiver to play immediately. A transfer from a lower division shouldn’t have to sit out this season but South Carolina is Brooks’ second school this offseason. TENNESSEE: The strength of the Vols defense will be corners Alontae Taylor and Bryce Thompson, who have a combined 35 college starts between them. TEXAS A&M: ESPN analyst Andre Ware, a former Heisman Trophy winner, calls Texas A&M his darkhorse team to win the national championship. The Aggies will know by week three if they’re national title caliber since they play at Alabama week two and then host the Gators week three. VANDERBILT: Derek Mason won’t be the first coach to make the Endangered Species List on Countdown to Firing Day – Southern Miss axed Jay Hopson Monday – but he could be the second. This is Mason’s seventh year on the job and he has yet to produce a winning record. Odds are that Vandy does an oh-fer 2020. A COUPLE OF PITHY THOUGHTS: Politicians from six states where Big Ten football is played have sent a letter to commissioner Kevin Warren urging him to get football going again as soon as possible. The Big Ten presidents knew how their coaches and athletic directors felt when they voted no football this fall. A bunch of politicians begging them to reconsider will only make them dig in their heels. If the politicians seriously want football played, then they’ll threaten to de-fund the 13 public universities in the Big Ten. It’s my experience that nothing gets the attention of a university president quite like the threat of his financial rug being pulled out from under him … Running back Kareem Hunt, who was released by the Kansas City Chiefs in 2018 after video surfaced of him kicking a woman, got a three-year contract with the Cleveland Browns on Tuesday. NFL owners will basically give a contract to an axe-murderer if they think it will get them to the playoffs, which brings us to the subject of Colin Kaepernick and the fact he’s not on an NFL roster this fall. In fact, he hasn’t even had a nibble from an NFL team. If an NFL owner thought for even a second that Kap could get them to the playoffs, he would have been in camp and would be on a roster.

A few thoughts to jump start your Tuesday morning: Here are five reasons why the Florida Gators should be favored to win the SEC East Division and why they could very well win their first SEC championship since 2008: (1) Mississippi State grad transfer Stewart Reese (6-5, 345) will be the missing link on the offensive line. Not only does he provide 34 games of starting experience, but he knows the basics of the Florida system, having started for Dan Mullen and O-line coach John Hevesy at right guard in 2017. Reese brings maturity and flexibility to the line as he has played and started at both guard and both tackle positions in his career. Hevesy could elect to play Reese at right tackle where Jean Delance (6-5, 313, RSR) struggled last year or go with three wide bodies in the middle with Reese and Brett Heggie (6-4, 330, RSR) at the guards and Ethan White (6-5, 360, SO) at center. If Reese goes inside Richard Gouraige (6-4, 300, RSO) could be the starter at right tackle. (2) Despite losing three receivers to the NFL, Florida won’t miss a beat in the passing game thanks to an elite corps of receivers coached up by Billy Gonzales, who Van Jefferson says is “the best WR coach in the country.” Kyle Pitts (6-5, 245, JR) is the nation’s best hybrid tight end/wide receiver and Trevon Grimes (6-5, 215, SR) is due for a breakout season. If Kadarius Toney (5-11, 190, SR) can stay healthy in the slot the Gators will have the best make-you-miss guy since Percy Harvin. It’s time for Jacob Copeland (6-0, 200, RSO) to live up to his potential. If his attitude is right, he’ll waste some SEC corners. And those are just the starters. Penn State transfer Justin Shorter (6-4, 230, JR) should get his NCAA waiver as should Texas transfer Jordan Pouncey (6-3, 190, SR) and Trent Whittemore (6-3, 200, RFR) and Ja’Markis Weston (6-3, 220, RFR) are going to play a lot. True freshmen Xzavier Henderson (6-3, 180) and Ja’Quavion Fraziers (5-4, 200) didn’t come here to sit. X-factor will be tight end Keon Zipperer (6-2, 240, SO). (3) The offense will be more balanced thanks to the improved offensive line and that will led to more explosive plays. The four-headed combo of Dameon Pierce (5-10, 207, JR), Malik Davis (5-11, 200, RJR), Miami transfer Lorenzo Lingard (6-0, 200, RSO) and Nay’Quan Wright (5-9, 195) give Mullen the right combination of speed and power. Having a running game that has to be respected will also create more one-on-one matchups on the outside for Kyle Trask (6-5, 228(6-. The 14-to-17 yard staple of the Mullen passing game will come back into play. (4) Trask and Emory Jones (6-3, 200, RSO) are the best and most experienced 1-2 quarterback combo in the SEC, bar none. Trask is shrewd and accurate. Jones is an explosive runner who continues to improve as a passer. Mullen won’t hesitate to use both of them in any situation. Having two quarterbacks that can add such different dimensions to the offense will make for a lot of late nights sleeping on the sofa in the offices of SEC defensive coordinators. (5) The defense will go from really good (last year ranked 7th in scoring defense, 8th in rushing defense, 9th in total defense nationally) to elite. Brenton Cox Jr. (6-4, 247, RSO) has the potential to make us forget how good Jonathan Greenard was. The linebackers will be far better than expected with Mohamoud Diabate (6-2, 220, SO) creating havoc by moving all over the place to create mismatches. Forget what those preseason mags had to say. Florida’s secondary will be the best in the SEC and quite possibly the best in the country. And lest we forget many of those preseason mags that projected Florida’s secondary as the third best in the league are the same ones that predicted Jamie Newman as a Heisman Trophy candidate. Elsewhere in the Southeastern Conference: ALABAMA: Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne is projecting a $75 million shortfall this year, a 44 percent decrease in revenue from the four-year average of $169.9 million. Alabama has instituted a number of cost-cutting measures including a freeze on non-coaching hiring and limiting purchases to essential items only. ARKANSAS: Former Arkansas coach Bret Bielema has sued Arkansas for $7 million in buyout money after Arkansas stopped making payments because Bielema was working for the New England Patriots. Now the Arkansas Foundation has counter-sued, claiming the Patriots intentionally paid Bielema too little money to make Arkansas pay close to the full amount of the buyout. This is stupidity on the part of Arkansas. If they don’t want to pay big buyout bucks then they should have had their lawyers write a better contract. I’m pulling for Bielema to get every buck owed to him. AUBURN: The highlights of Auburn’s second scrimmage were an 80-yard run by junior scatback Shaun Shivers and three takeaways by the defense. Auburn emphasized the running game at the first scrimmage but ran nearly 50-50 run/pass in the second scrimmage. GEORGIA: Scott Cochran, who was the strength and conditioning coordinator at Alabama for 12 years is now the special teams coordinator at Georgia even though he’s never held an on-the-field coaching job in his entire career. Cochran says, “I always wanted to coach and I found the best opportunity.” Now, if you think Cochran was hired to actually coach, then you’ve been smoking something. He was hired to recruit. Period. If Georgia’s special teams aren’t extraordinary and Alabama kneecaps the Poodles on the recruiting trail this will look like one of the dumber moves in quite awhile. KENTUCKY: HBC Mark Stoops keeps hoping the NCAA will rule on the eligibility of Auburn quarterback transfer Joey Gatewood. Gatewood applied for a waiver back in January. One reason Stoops needs the NCAA to rule is because that’s just the step that has to be taken before applying for a waiver from the SEC. Even if the NCAA says Gatewood can play, Greg Sankey will have to give a waiver since Gatewood is transferring from one SEC school to another. Under normal circumstances I would bet on Sankey saying no, but since Gatewood won’t lose a season of eligibility due to the NCAA ruling on August 21, my bet is that Sankey approves. Of course, the NCAA has to approve first. LSU: When ESPN’s Gameday crew made their Heisman Trophy predictions for 2020, Kirk Herbstreit went with LSU sophomore cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. Stingley picked off six passes and broke up 15 more as a true freshman last year. MISSISSIPPI STATE: Although Mike Leach is happy with Stanford grad transfer QB KJ Costello has picked up the nuances of the Air Raid offense, Leach thinks Costello is too often trying to make the big throw instead of taking something off the ball to make it more catchable. Leach called it “big arm disease” and noted “there’s a difference you had an extra 10 miles an hour on that sucker and then the guy is hanging on for his life to catch it.” MISSOURI: Since the NCAA has ruled that 2020 will not count against anyone’s eligibility, HBC Eli Drinkwitz plans to play all 17 of his freshmen … In the first scrimmage of the fall, Mizzou’s defense dominated against an offense that had too many negative plays on first and second downs. OLE MISS: HBC Lane Kiffin is struggling to figure out who’s going to be ready to play and who isn’t due to the Covid-19 virus. “It’s hard to even figure out who our first and second units are because it is changing so much,” Kiffin said … Georgia transfer linebacker Otis Reese is taking to social media to make his case for an NCAA waiver to play immediately. Reese was the #5 outside linebacker in the country out of high school back in 2018. SOUTH CAROLINA: Colorado State grad transfer Collin Hill was the best quarterback at the Gamecocks’ Saturday scrimmage but HBC Will Muschamp says he isn’t ready to declare a #1 between Hill and incumbent starter Ryan Hilinski … The Saturday scrimmage featured 140 live snaps plus 10 special teams snaps and 10 punts. TENNESSEE: Although the scrimmage was called off Saturday with 44 players missing, some for testing positive for Covid-19 and others due to contact tracing, the Vols were able to return to practice Monday. TEXAS A&M: The Aggies don’t open their season until a September 26 matchup with Vanderbilt but HBC Jimbo Fisher says “we’re ready to play.” Texas A&M’s second game of the season is at Alabama. VANDERBILT: Everybody’s favorite SEC homecoming opponent has had four offensive linemen opt out, the latest of which is Michigan grad transfer Stephen Spanellis. Returning starters Jonathan Stewart, Cole Clemens and Bryce Bailey have already opted out. Additionally, running back JR Tran-Reno has put his name in the NCAA transfer portal. Vandy has a legitimate chance to do a reverse run of the table. Maybe the virus is the only thing that will save Derek Mason’s job. COUNTDOWN TO FIRING DAY, ABBREVIATED VERSION: Jay Hopson became the first member of the Extinct Species List when Southern Miss fired him just four days after the Golden Eagles lost their season opener to South Alabama, 32-21. Assistant coach Scotty Walden will take over as the interim head coach. TUESDAY PITHINESS: For finishing dead last among the 30 participants in the final leg of the Fed Ex Tour Championship, former Gator Bill Horschel got a check for $395,000. It pales compared to the $15 million Dustin Johnson got for winning, but $395,000 for four days is still nice work if you can get it … I can’t tell you how fans relate to Patrick Reed, who finished tied for 8th at the Tour Championship and carted home $960,000, but he is the single-most despised player on the entire PGA Tour. He makes Brooks Koepka seem like the kind of guy you’d love to have over for Sunday dinner … Despite all the rumors the Big Ten will not do a Friday revote on playing football prior to the spring. They would much rather see how much money they can lose rather than salvage something out of a bad situation … Here is a prediction for you: Numerous players committed to Big Ten and Pac-12 schools will flip to the SEC, All-Clemson Conference or Big 12 this fall and they’ll seal the deal in December, setting back football in the Big Ten and Pac-12 by at least a couple of years.

A few thoughts to jump start your Labor Day Monday morning: It’s Labor Day Monday and in two weeks the Florida Gators begin game-week preparation for their season opener at Ole Miss. We don’t know whether wide receivers Justin Shorter or Jordan Pouncey will be eligible to play yet because Mark Emmert, whose very existence disproves Darwin’s theory that only the strong survive, has furloughed 600 of his 720-person NCAA staff, perhaps leaving Shorter, Pouncey and no telling how many others in college football dangling in the wind. We shouldn’t be shocked that the NCAA has to impose some cost-cutting measures since the basketball tournament was cancelled back in March. Losing those hundreds of millions of dollars in television revenue had to hurt, but it does call into question why Emmert and his bureaucratic minions haven’t salted away enough money from past tournaments to cover an unforeseen disaster such as the one we’re living in right now. But even with the loss of all that tournament money and the need to conserve, why the necessity to furlough now? Couldn’t the furloughs wait until however many hundred transfer waivers are approved? Considering JT Daniels announced he was transferring out of Southern Cal in May and was approved to play immediately at Georgia in mid-July, how tough can granting waivers be? Notre Dame transfer QB Phil Jurkovic transferred out in January and got approved back on August 4. Florida basketball transfer Collin Castleton announced he was leaving Michigan back in April. His waiver was approved a couple of weeks ago so Mike White will have him available whenever the basketball season begins. There are dozens of others who transferred out and got a quick decision from the NCAA. So why haven’t waivers been approved for Shorter and Pouncey, who both applied in January? Why are Auburn transfer Joey Gatewood, who also applied back in January, and so many others still waiting? The NCAA is supposed to be for the athletes but the decision to go on furlough makes one understand that Brian Bosworth had it right when he wore the T-shirt that read “National Communists Against Athletes.” Not only are there so many transfer waivers unsettled, the NCAA still hasn’t taken decisive measures regarding scholarship numbers. A decision was made back on August 21 to grant every athlete who participates in an NCAA sport this year an extra year of eligibility. That sounds good except they did that without addressing scholarship numbers for 2021 football. Do the numbers stay at 85? What happens if 20 seniors elect to come back for 2021? Does that wipe out a recruiting class? Or does the NCAA expand the scholarship numbers to include returning seniors and opt outs? These things have to be decided pronto because football starts in the SEC in three weeks and that means kids are going to be making recruiting decisions? For example, if 10 Florida seniors elect to come back for another year would Dan Mullen have to adjust recruiting numbers accordingly to stay at the 85 limit? If it stays at 85 Mullen would either have to tell 10 recruits they can’t sign or else tell the 10 seniors they can’t come back. All these unanswered questions further exacerbate the timing of the NCAA shutdown. If this is simply a money-saving issue then someone with a functioning brain should have stomped his foot to get Emmert’s attention long enough to convince him there are far better ways to do it than furloughing everyone. Since it’s a 720-employee organization, maybe stagger the furloughs so the NCAA stays open for critical business. Or, perhaps the NCAA is in really bad shape financially? Either way, fingers still point to Emmert for a colossal lack of leadership. At a time when decisive action is necessary, Mark Emmert has done an organizational imitation of Jamie Newman and opted out. He’s about four cents short of a nickel. ANOTHER THEORY FROM THE GRASSY KNOLL: This new theory has to do with the timing of the NCAA to announce it’s giving a no-expenses paid vacation to 85 percent to its 720-person staff for the foreseeable future. It is a plot that involves Mark Emmert and takes great liberties in assuming Emmert could actually think of something like this without a tremendous amount of help but here goes: Emmert made the decision with the sole intention of creating chaos. With so many questions that are going unanswered due to the NCAA furloughs, there will be rampant indecision regarding rules, scholarship limitations, etc. Further, there will be a greater need than ever before for the revenue distribution from the NCAA Basketball Tournament. In Emmert-think, everyone will come crawling back to the NCAA. GRASSY KNOLL THEORY PART DEUX: This is in response to the first Grassy Knoll Theory of the Day. The Southeastern, Atlantic Coast and Big 12 conferences along with Conference USA, AAC and Sun Belt will emerge from the fall stronger than ever before and it will show in recruiting on the December early signing date. Rather than do a wait and see for the Big Ten, Pac-12, Mountain West and MAC, kids will go with the sure thing. Additionally, the commissioners of the fall football conferences will be in position to dictate to both the NCAA and the leagues that opted out how things will be done in the future. The biggest loser of all will be the Big Ten and its rookie commissioner Kevin Warren. If he remains gainfully employed past the spring it will go down as the greatest upset since the Jets beat the Colts in 1968. THE COST OF NOT DOING BUSINESS: At the University of Florida, which has set aside money for disasters like the pandemic, it is estimated something like $40-50 million will be lost playing an abbreviated conference-only 10-game schedule before a stadium that is at 20 percent capacity this fall. Fortunately, there will be SEC Network money coming in since the network will have sports to broadcast and there is a surplus from which funds can be drawn down. Not every school in the SEC has been as fiscally prudent as UF, but all will survive. There might be some serious belt tightening but all 14 schools will get through the year. That can’t be said for everyone in the ACC, Big 12 or the three Group of Five leagues playing this fall although they will all have a far better shot at surviving than the conferences that whacked fall sports. Now take a moment to ponder what’s going on at Nebraska where it is estimated the losses will total somewhere between $80 and $120 million. At Iowa five sports have been eliminated. Stanford has cut 11 sports. There will be more sports eliminated and you shouldn’t be the least bit shocked if some of the bottom feeders in Division I announce football has been eliminated altogether. How Division IAA and Division II survive is anybody’s guess. Now before anyone thinks that the schools that are moving ahead with football in the fall are being stupid or greedy, consider this: Football is the engine that drives Division I sports. That’s sports with an S on the end. Take away football and thousands of young men and young women lose their scholarship. Sure, it’s all about the money, but it’s not about greed. SAVED BY THE OPT OUT: Since there will be no Pac-12 football in the fall it might take an oh-fer season for Clay Helton (Southern Cal), Chip Kelly (UCLA) and Kevin Sumlin (Arizona) to get canned. The Pac-12 is planning to play in the spring and firing a coach in April could set these schools back even further than keeping them on another season. Helton and Southern Cal might go 10-0 against a schedule that doesn’t include Alabama in game one and Notre Dame in the season-ender. UCLA was in bad financial shape even before the pandemic and it will be in even worse shape playing in the spring. Under normal circumstances firing Kelly might have seemed a pretty good idea if the Bruins lose more than they win. Thanks to the pandemic and losses that could exceed $100 million, Kelly will be coaching in 2021 unless he does an oh-fer. After an 0-7 finish to 2019, Sumlin figured to be as good as gone with a losing season but Zona’s finances aren’t all that much better than UCLA’s. THE OPT OUT BY THE BIG TEN MIGHT SEND HARBAUGH BACK TO THE NO FUN LEAGUE: When last seen, Jim Harbaugh was busy protesting the Big Ten’s decision to cancel the fall football season along with parents of Michigan players. This is particularly interesting since Michigan president Mark Schlissel is said to have been one of the leaders in the vote by the league presidents to just say no to fall football. Harbaugh wants to play. Schlissel does not. Asked if he’s had any discussions with Schlissel, Harbaugh said, “I’ve had none. I’ve texted and Warde Manuel (Michigan AD) has done all the conversations with President Schlissel. You think I maybe got some inside information or something but I don’t.” That doesn’t sound like someone who’s particularly happy. Rather than deal with a school president, recruiting and stupid NCAA rules, Harbaugh might very well assess his situation at Michigan and decide he’s better off in the NFL. FEELING PITHY: I got asked this weekend why the Big Ten expanded to include Rutgers and Maryland? The answer is simple: Homecoming opponents are hard to come by. Why do you think the SEC has never asked Vanderbilt to find a new place to play? It’s all about homecoming and because Vandy helps raise the league GPA … The College Football Playoff will go on as scheduled minus the Big Ten or Pac-12. In that it’s been since 2014 that a Big Ten team (Ohio State) won the national title and 2004 since the Pac-12 (Southern Cal) won one, I don’t think anyone will miss them. Wouldn’t it be a hoot if by sitting out the fall that a school like UCF got into the playoff and actually won a game? … Lou Brock died Sunday. He was 81years old. One of the dumber trades of all time in Major League Baseball occurred in 1964 when the Chicago Cubs traded Brock to the St. Louis Cardinals for sore-armed Ernie Broglio. In 103 games with the Cardinals, Brock hit .348, 12 homers and stole 33 bases to help the Cardinals to the World Series where they beat the New York Yankees in seven games. Brock made it to the Hall of Fame and finished his career with 938 stolen bases. Broglio went 3-12 with the Cubs.

“…We find ways to make the quarterback play bad, we have a chance to be in the game.” – Todd Grantham If Todd Grantham were an NFL player he’d be Jack Lambert, frothing at the mouth while staring at the opposing quarterback from across the line. Remember the ferocious Steelers middle linebacker who said all quarterbacks should wear dresses? If Grantham were ever invited to a Halloween party for quarterbacks, he’d go as Darth Vader. And if his Florida defense was also invited to that Halloween party, he’d have them all dressed all the same numbered jersey just to confuse them. Todd Grantham, Master of Disguise. Dan Mullen’s defensive coordinator has a message for Kellen Mond, Myles Brennan and J.T. Daniels (or whoever Georgia picks to replace Jamie Newman) and all opposing quarterbacks: We want to make you look as bad as possible. When you come to the line of scrimmage for your pre-snap read, the Florida Gators are going to mess with your mind. I’ll take Grantham Blitz Packages for $200, Alex. A little hide-and-seek from Grantham’s D? What you’re going to see is 11 guys who can attack you from various angles on various calls at various times. You’re not going to know who’s coming on the blitz, or when, or how. Grantham’s even got his own names for positions of specialty players. What’s a STAR and what does he do? Where does BUCK line up? Will that guy with his hand on the ground be dropping into pass coverage? Is this guy a nickelback or a dime? (see Kassidy Hill’s glossary below) By the way, Kellen or Myles or J.T., you’ve got maybe eight seconds to figure that out. Those disguised blitzes even confuse color analysts like the astute Lee McGriff, former college star, NFL player and Gator assistant coach. Sometimes he’ll see a Florida defender blitzing and sacking or harassing the quarterback and say: “Holy mackerel, where did THAT guy come from?” And he wonders if the blitzer came from the sideline, or maybe the concession stand. That certainly was the case last season when Grantham dialed up the Donovan Steiner “Walkoff Safety Blitz Win” vs. Mississippi State. You don’t see many “Walkoff Blitzes.” I ask him how he dialed up those big plays. “You work hard at it. You get a feel,” Grantham told me. “You really try to get a feel for the coordinator, and you try to get a feel for what he’s doing, how he’s calling the game. You kinda look at things maybe he’s done in the past from a situational standpoint. There’s probably a lot more preparation that goes into it than people realize. Meaning, you might go back one to two years to find something from a fourth quarter standpoint. Meaning the first three quarters, a lot of times can be the philosophy or their attitude as a coordinator. "But then in the fourth quarter, the score kinda dictates what they’ve gotta do. When that situation comes up, kinda maybe knowing by formation what they’re going to be in or maybe the concept from a passing game standpoint that they’re going to run, I think that can help you. So there’s preparation that goes into it, and there is a feel. Like I always talk about, we’re looking to execute and attack people and find ways to get after the quarterback and make him play bad.” The bad news for opposing QBs and OCs is that Grantham is back and fired up in this pandemic year, loaded with good players from the DBU cupboard. He’s got a whole arsenal to pick from, including talented veteran players like Marco Wilson, the “most versatile back” he ever coached -- plus bright, shiny new things like Georgia transfer Brenton Cox, who has yet to play a down at Buck or linebacker and has already earned the No. 1 jersey. BTW, how does that work? How would you say Brenton got No. 1 jersey without playing a snap? "Well, there's a lot of things you do within our program,” said Grantham. “It's not always about on the field, it's about how you handle yourself off the field, it's about your grades. You know I've been really pleased with the guy's attitude in the classroom he takes care of his business has a really high GPA and, and has worked his tail off to be in the position he is now. And, you know, you really pull for guys like that when, when they put that much into it. And generally speaking, you know, the all in investment—and what I mean by all in is from an academic, from an athletic, from a social standpoint, those are the kind of things that allow you to get that kind of number, and he's done a really good job.” Nobody is more crucial to Grantham’s defense that his Swiss Army Knife; appropriately named Marco, because he’s as well-traveled as Marco Polo. Wilson is a like a band member who plays drums, sax, bass and lead guitar. Literally he could play any position on defense where he hand was not on the ground. He’ll start at cover corner, but by the fourth quarter, Wilson may have checked in as a STAR, Nickel and bass fiddle. "I think that Marco's an interesting guy,” Grantham told media in a Zoom presser. “Probably the most versatile player I've had from the standpoint of being able to play the corner/STAR position and that really creates value for our team, for himself, because, he's an excellent STAR. When you talk about a guy that can be instinctive, that guy can cover you know he's got physicality. "I remember in the Missouri game, a couple tackles he had in that game and the interception but, from a physicality standpoint, he really showed up there. So, I've been fortunate to have some good players at corner. I would say he's probably the most versatile guy that I've had from a standpoint of, you can match him up on a premier guy whether he's in the slot or outside, and those are the kind of things we can do with him and we'll work those in.” Another reason you root for guys like Marco: It never even crossed his mind to opt out this season when he’s almost a surefire first-round pick for the upcoming NFL draft. Nothing against those players who did, but that’s not the stuff Marco Wilson is made of. Maybe the most talked-about Gator before he ever took a snap since Tim Tebow is Brenton Cox. You can sense the excitement from Grantham and those around him who see Cox’s size, speed, how hard he goes, how his natural leadership inspires others and his superb conduct off the field and excellence in the classroom. Does Brenton Cox remind Grantham of anyone he’s coached? "You know, Brenton’s kind of his own man. He has ability, obviously. I'm really excited to watch him play. It's still early as far as, you know, it's early in the sense of, 'hey let's go play the game.' I kind of knew Jon (Greenard) … knew the kind of player that that he could be. I've been very pleased with his work ethic. He's really worked hard to develop some of the fundamentals that he needed to be the kind of player that you guys are thinking, or you're asking about. And I think the biggest thing that I see with him is his desire to be a good player. And if you'll continue to work hard and develop that skill set, you know I'm excited to watch him play.” And then Grantham stopped short of nominating Cox for the Hall of Fame before he’s played a snap for the Gators. “I'm really excited to watch him play but I'd like to get through a few games before we start ranking him with anybody else. The thing I like about the guy is he likes to play ball. He’s a really had worker in practice. He’s done a good job and working to develop some fundamentals that I think we needed to work on for him to be successful moving forward. I think as he’s developed those things it will allow him to be the kind of player he wants to be.” We don’t need to go through the three-deep to convince you but if the young defensive linemen come through as expected (see Gervon Dexter) and the more experienced veterans like Stiner, Jeremiah Moon, James Houston, Amari Burney, Shawn Davis, Ventrell Miller and Kyree Campbell and rising stars Kaiir Elam, Mohamoud Diabate and Trey Dean keep improving, this defense could become championship caliber. Certainly the depth appears to be developing and in a Covid-19 year that’s huge. So we get it – as Cox and other newcomers begin to impact the defense in this SEC-only schedule and with an onslaught of head-bangers every week from A&M to LSU to Georgia to Tennessee and in between, talent may be critical, but durability is even more important. Grantham’s full cupboard speaks well to that. While we’re not ready to anoint Cox as the next Brandon Spikes, we must also admit that Grantham needs to continue to grow as DC. You have to love the kind of versatility and grit he’s brought to Dan Mullen’s team – see the Georgia goal-line stand inside the 2 – but there is a certain risk with Grantham’s ramblin,’ gamblin’ style which can bite you in the Gator Tail. And, finally, while he has apparently turned down chances to coach in the NFL and become head coach of another smaller college, he and Mullen should have a blood oath to finish the job first. This is a program that needs to leap over some obstacles like Georgia and claim a championship. All signs point to this being the year when that could happen. The Master of Disguise needs to show up big. Kassidy Hill’s Football Glossary: Here’s what the terms ‘BUCK’ and ‘STAR‘ mean at Florida STAR—this is the nickel, which is a fifth defensive back. The Gators call it the STAR because you have to be a “star player” to play here. At UF, the STAR/nickel is a combination of a defensive back and a linebacker. They must be able to cover like the former, and stop the run like the latter. They play on the line of scrimmage, the closest skill player to the ball. The STAR has the freedom to move around once at the line, based on what he’s seeing from the offense. They are affectionally known by Dan Mullen as “Unicorns.” BUCK—This position was created in response to the spread offense. A hybrid linebacker/defensive end, they typically are rushing from a two point stance but have the skills to drop to a hand in the ground if needed. The BUCK can drop back to defend the run or rush the passer. They are the position the quarterback reads on any option play. Will Muschamp really fine-tuned the BUCK in Gainesville and introduced it not only to the Florida Gators but also college football. Like the STAR, the BUCK has freedom to change his assignment based on any offensive shifts. Both positions are hybrid enough that they can change the entire look of a defense. It limits an offense’s options and allows defensive coordinators to hide looks. --KASSIDY HILL, GatorBait

A few thoughts to jump start your Friday morning: Even before the opt out of the century by Georgia’s Jamie Newman, Kyle Trask was going to be the best quarterback in the Southeastern Conference and Florida was going to have the league’s best quarterback situation. Here are my rankings of the projected starting quarterbacks in the SEC top to bottom, followed by the ranking of the quarterback situations in the league. THE STARTING QBs: 1. KYLE TRASK, FLORIDA: He is the top returning passer in the SEC. All signs point to Trask building on what he accomplished last year when he put up the best Florida QB numbers since Tim Tebow and that was after taking over in the fourth quarter of game three. With a more experienced offensive line and a better running game, Trask should have an all-star type of season. 2. K.J. COSTELLO, MISSISSIPPI STATE: Mike Leach’s Air Raid offense is a match made in heaven for Costello, who is a grad transfer from Stanford. Costello didn’t get a spring practice but he’s smart enough to learn the Air Raid without it and there is no question he has an NFL arm. He might lead the nation in passing. 3. KELLEN MOND, TEXAS A&M: It’s not that Mond has been bad in his two years starting for Jimbo Fisher. Quite the opposite, but so much more has been expected. He’s got the size, the arm, the feet and the experience. So why hasn’t he been better and why haven’t the Aggies been more dynamic offensively? He needs to be dynamic for the Aggies to challenge for the SEC West title. 4. MAC JONES, ALABAMA: He’s got an arm made for throwing deep, seriously fast receivers who run the fly route better than any in the country and an offensive coordinator in Steve Sarkisian who has a lot of Steve Spurrier in him. Jones is far better than anyone thought he would be when he was signed out of Bolles. 5. BO NIX, AUBURN: He’s got the arm and he’s got the feet, plus he proved last year he’s exceptional in the fourth quarter at bringing the Tigers from behind in big games (see Oregon, see Alabama). What he has to find is consistency in quarters one through three. If he does that he’ll be dynamic. 6. TERRY WILSON, KENTUCKY: He was on the verge of a really good season in 2019 when he went down in game two with a season-ending injury. Word is that he’s healed well and hasn’t lost any elusiveness. If he has improved his accuracy he could make Kentucky’s offense two-dimensional after basically reverting to single-wing in the last half of 2019. 7. JOHN RHYS PLUMLEE, OLE MISS: Given the talent Ole Miss has at running back combined with Plumlee’s ability to break a long run any time he has the ball in his hands, would anybody be surprised if Lane Kiffin runs some version of the veer to maximize what Plumlee does best? 8. JARRETT GUARANTANO, TENNESSEE: Does a year older make you a year better? Gurantano was good against bad teams, terrible against good ones. He’s got talent but he does a lot of bonehead things that probably make offensive coordinator Jim Chaney wonder if he could make more money with an Amway distributorship. 9. J.T. DANIELS, GEORGIA: Let’s get real here. Maybe he was a 5-star recruit coming out of high school but he wasn’t all that good as a freshman at Southern Cal and if he had remained healthy last season, you can bet the farm Clay Helton would be collecting fat unemployment checks from a humongous buyout. The reason Daniels transferred from USC and why Helton remains gainfully employed has everything to do with the fact he didn’t want to spend the next couple of years backing up Kedon Slovis, a former off the radar recruit who is infinitely better. 10. RYAN HILINSKI, SOUTH CAROLINA: Hilinksi was the master of the two-inch pass last year. Mr. Dink and Dunk has a throw it down the field arm but he needs (a) time to throw and (b) better play calls. If he can’t learn Mike Bobo’s offense in a hurry he won’t start. 11. FELEIPE FRANKS, ARKANSAS: If he’s not still gimpy from that brutal ankle dislocation suffered against Kentucky in game three last season at Florida, Feleipe is going to surprise some people with how well he plays. He’s got a nice system to run and Kendal Briles will tailor it to the things Feleipe does best. It won’t be too complicated and he will be able to take off and run. If he stays within himself instead of trying to be a hero, he’ll put up rather good numbers. 12. MYLES BRENNAN, LSU: Brennan is a fourth-year junior who has grown from a skinny 170-pounder into a solid 210. He has a big league arm but he’ll be operating behind a raw O-line and he won’t have Ja’Marr Chase to throw to. Brennan will have to be much better than expected for LSU to be a factor in the SEC West. 13. SHAWN ROBINSON, MISSOURI: In two seasons at TCU he couldn’t stay healthy. It’s been a year and a half since he last played. He learned an offense coordinated by Derek Dooley last year when he sat out but Dooley and that offense are long since departed replaced by Eli Drinkwitz’s version of the Boise State offense. Robinson does have experience, but when he was at TCU he ran it a whole lot better than he threw it. 14. WHOEVER IS THE QB AT VANDERBILT: It’s anybody’s guess who will start at QB but Vandy’s best bets are probably juco transfers Jeremy Moussa and Danny Clark. Clark started out at Kentucky before leaving for junior college. RANKING THE QUARTERBACK UNITS IN THE SEC 1. FLORIDA: Not only do the Gators have the top starting quarterback in the SEC but they have a backup in Emory Jones who got to play in a lot of critical situations last year as a redshirt freshman. Dan Mullen won’t go with a two-quarterback system, but he will find a way to use both Trask and Jones effectively. True freshman Anthony Richardson is a future star who will be Captain Clipboard this year unless it’s a blowout. 2. MISSISSIPPI STATE: Maybe it’s a brand new offense but Costello is bright enough to pick it up without the benefit of spring practice. Backup Garrett Shrader was a part-time starter last year and the future of the program. Leach will figure out a way to get him on the field. 3. TEXAS A&M: The Aggies don’t have an experienced backup but Kellen Mond is in his third year playing for Jimbo Fisher and redshirt freshman backup Zach Calzada is in his second year in the offense. Calzada might be relegated to third string if true freshman Haynes King is anywhere as good as the hype. 4. ALABAMA: There isn’t an experienced backup but Mac Jones is his second year working with offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian and expected true freshman backup Bryce Young reminds a lot of people of former Oklahoma Heisman Trophy winner Kyler Murray. 5. OLE MISS: If Ole Miss doesn’t go with an option attack then Lane Kiffin will run a two QB system to take advantage of Plumlee’s feet and Matt Corral’s arm. Corral throws the ball well enough that he could start at half the SEC schools right now. Redshirt freshman Grant Tisdale has a lot of ability. He entered the transfer portal but decided to come back. 6. AUBURN: Bo Nix is an Auburn legend in the making but if he goes down the Tigers have problems. There isn’t any experience among the backups. Don’t be surprised if true freshman Chayil Garnett moves past Cord Sandberg as the backup. 7. TENNESSEE: Guarantano and backup Brian Maurer have the benefit of a full year working with OC Jim Chaney. Guarantano has to find a measure of consistency and Maurer has to stay healthy. If Maurer isn’t healthy, then the backup role should be taken by true freshman Harrison Bailey. 8. GEORGIA: J.T. Daniels has zero in the way of mobility and he will operate behind an inexperienced O-line. Stetson Bennett IV got mop-up duty last year but if he has to play starter’s minutes Georgia is in trouble. The other options are D’Wan Mathis, who had brain surgery last year, and true freshman Carson Beck. 9. KENTUCKY: Terry Wilson is coming off an ACL injury and Joey Gatewood doesn’t have his NCAA waiver yet. Sawyer Smith is the backup if Gatewood can’t go. Wilson better stay healthy. 10. SOUTH CAROLINA: Hilinski has to learn it’s legal to throw it downfield and Colorado State grad transfer Collin Hill has to stay healthy. Smart money is on Hilinski to hold down the starting job and improve dramatically under Mike Bobo. 11. LSU: Brennan has been around four years and he’s worked with Steve Ensminger the entire time so that counts for something. Behind him are a bunch of kids who have never taken a college football snap. Max Johnson, son of former FSU and Tampa Bay Bucs QB Brad Johnson, will probably be the backup. 12. ARKANSAS: If Feleipe Franks goes down, the Hogs are in serious trouble. None of the three backups who played last year completed 50% of their passes and that was in a quarterback friendly offense. Expect true freshman Malik Hornsby to settle in as Franks’ backup. 13. MISSOURI: Robinson should be the starter simply because he’s played two seasons of Division I football. He might surprise people if he can figure out he’s supposed to throw to the people wearing the same color shirt he has on. If he can’t get the job done, Drinkwitz might turn to true freshman Brady Cook. 14. VANDERBILT: There isn’t a quarterback on the roster who has ever taken a Division I snap. Whoever is the QB will be operating behind the worst O-line in the SEC. The operating phrase will be “Feets don’t fail me now!” AARON MURRAY SPEAKS OUT ON THE JAMIE NEWMAN OPT OUT: Aaron Murray, the former Georgia quarterback who led the Poodles to one of their recent Near National Titles (NNTs) spoke out about the opt out of Jamie Newman, who he thinks could have been a Near Heisman Trophy winner (NHT): “I don’t know if it was an agent telling him he needs to stay, I don’t know who it was, but I think he lost out on an opportunity to be a better quarterback. To win possibly an SEC, to make it in the playoffs, to be a Heisman contender and I think he pissed away millions of dollars in my opinion.” Heisman contender? Pissed away millions of dollars? Oh please. A FEW PITHY THOUGHTS: Instead of furloughing the entire NCAA staff for the next few weeks, why didn’t Mark Emmert offer up about $3 million or so of his bloated $3.9 million salary to keep a few folks working? I’m convinced that if Emmert had a brain he would take it out and play with it … Other than make a lot of the low level employees sweat out the rent and groceries for the next few weeks, about the only thing accomplished by the furloughs are to delay transfer waiver decisions for both football and basketball … The way the Jacksonville Jaguars are either trading or cutting anyone with talent it seems the front office has decided to make the short list of the worst teams in NFL history and in doing so earn the right to draft either Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence or Ohio State’s Justin Fields. If I’m Fields or Lawrence I’m not amused. Both of them need to do an Eli Manning and tell the Jags that if they’re drafted by Jacksonville they refuse to sign … The Seattle Seahawks signed wide receiver Josh Gordon Thursday. He’s been suspended six times since 2013, five times for substance abuse. Like, we’re supposed to believe he’s learned his lesson and he’ll go straight? There are two chances he makes it through the season without being suspended for drugs: no way and no how.

Kyle Pitts saw other high profile players around the country opting out. He saw the projections that he will be a high pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. And the tight end knew the concerns surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. But he also knew how he felt about the season. “[Opting out is] something I never really thought of. I only was thinking about this season and how I can get better from last year to this year.” Pitts had a pretty good 2019 season, to the tune of 649 yards (second on the team) on 54 receptions (first on the team) and five touchdowns. He averaged 49.9 yards per game, only 0.6 behind Van Jefferson’s team-leading average. He was shamelessly left off the Mackey Award Watch List because he had the nerve to catch as many passes as he blocked for. But just to be safe, Pitts wants to work on that latter aspect of his game. “I’d say that, just blocking and knowing the game from the defensive side, knowing how they’re gonna play and how I can maneuver in certain situations. “Just to get heavier and hands inside, like stepping on my in-step, like you know, the my balls my feet, just things like, small details of my hand placement and hat placement is something that helps at the line of scrimmage.” The desire to do that is of course born in even the most docile of competitors. Pitts though has the advantage of preparing through his last season of college for the NFL with a new appreciation for the position in the National Football League. San Francisco 49er’s tight end George Kittle, signed a five-year, $75 million contract with the 49ers with an $18 million signing bonus, making him the highest-paid tight end in the league. The 49ers Super Bowl opponents—and eventual SB Champs—took care of their star tight end as well, signing Travis Kelce to a four-year, $57 million contract extension through the 2025 season. Tight ends evolved as a hodgepodge of roles; a fullback, an offensive lineman and a receiver. As such they have largely been utilized as lithe blockers who had decent enough hands to catch short passes if needed. But Kittle and Kelce have changed the game, proving that a tight end can be an effective blocker but also become a wildcard in the passing game. The duo has proven a tight end can be elite at all three of the original positions it was molded after. Pitts knows that as teams shift to add more guys like Kittle and Kelce, his skill set will be at a premium. So as he’s preparing for the upcoming college season, he’s doing so by studying—and hopefully emulating—that duo. “I watch those guys a lot. Those guys, I sit up in the office and watch with the coaches and try and critique their game and add certain pieces that they do in the game to add to my game because I see we kind of do a lot of things similar. But, those guys obviously - they've been in the league, and they know how to do certain things. But, seeing those contracts really just opened my eyes because years ago tight ends weren't getting those type[s] of contracts so, now that they're changing the game it's really interesting. "Being a student of the game. They know in certain coverages, do certain things. In the run game, they put their face on people and every ball that's thrown to them, they catch it.” If Kyle Pitts has the sort of year for UF that is expected, he could be well on his way to a future like Kittle’s and Kelce’s. For the time being though, he can be a game changer for the Florida Gators.

“Any quarterback that understands what the offense is really about is going to succeed” – Joe Montana There isn’t a quarterback in the Southeastern Conference that better understands what the offense is all about than Florida’s Kyle Trask (6-5, 228, RSR), whose three years in Dan Mullen’s offense have him operating at what Mullen calls a grad school level but is slimmed down 10-12 pounds for added mobility and quickness. Behind him is uber-talented Emory Jones (6-2, 205, RSO), who is also in his third year in the offense and now has the experience of playing at critical moments of big games. When you add what Trask and Jones bring to the Florida offense to what has happened at Georgia (Jamie Newman opted out, claiming Covid-19 as the reason) and you have what might be the perfect storm for the Gators to win the SEC East and perhaps even more. Florida already had the best quarterback situation in the SEC with Trask returning as the SEC’s leading passer from 2019 and Jones having proven he is an explosive change of pace ready to add another dimension to the UF offense but with Georgia’s situation suddenly in turmoil, Florida’s advantage has grown. While there is an element of truth to that old saying defense wins championships, you also don’t win them without a quarterback who can put a team on his shoulders due to his understanding and ability to execute the offense. Florida has that guy in Trask and in Jones a star in waiting. Trask’s story – the football equivalent of rags-to-riches – is well documented but it bears repeating. He went from a QB who hadn’t started a game since 9th grade to one who put up the best numbers – 2,941 passing yards, 66.9% accuracy, 8.3 per attempt, 25 touchdown passes – since Tim Tebow’s senior season in 2009. As good as those numbers are, they would have been even better except Trask didn’t take over as Florida’s QB until the fourth quarter of game three with Kentucky. What we saw of Trask in 2019 was week-by-week improvement, enough so that most of the preseason magazines had him as the All-SEC quarterback. But, what we saw of 2019 might be the tip of the proverbial quarterback iceberg. If you don’t believe it, then consider what Mullen had to say recently: “You know one of the great things is that we’re on kind of graduate level stuff with Kyle right now. I mean he understands the offense and the reads and all of that. It’s how fast he’s getting to everything, the ability to check and change plays. The ability to extend the game plan where he has automatics that he can get us to, ‘hey, we like this play against this look’. I don’t love to get into three-way or four-way, or automatic checks and all of that stuff, it’s real graduate level stuff in playing the position and now he’s managing and leading everybody on the field. That’s a lot of the stuff we’re working on right now with him because I think with him understanding the offense he knows where we want to go with the ball, what we’re trying to do on each play, and why we’re trying to do it. Now we’re just trying to put it all together and let him be that field general out there and let him go.” Graduate level. That is a thinking man’s QB Mullen is talking about, the kind of leader on the field that knows what it takes to play under pressure and win games. Trask has it. He knows how to get the Gators into good plays and out of bad ones. He showed last year that he’s rather oblivious to pressure, another quality you want in your starter. It’s also a quality that Mullen has in his backup. Jones has earned Mullen’s trust enough that he got inserted into important games like Auburn, LSU, Georgia and Virginia at moments when the game was on the line. Jones – 25-38 passing for 267 yards and 3 TDs; 42-256 rushing for 4 TDs – showed that when given the chance he can produce at a high level. As a true freshman it was thought Jones was all-run and no-throw but he proved that isn’t the case in 2019 when he displayed a very strong arm to along with a burst of speed to go with those dancing feet. Adding Jones to the equation along with Trask gives the Gators a 1-2 punch that will keep opposing defensive coordinators up late at night. They have to prepare for both because Mullen will use both. Every game. Whereas Trask is more of a thrower, he has shown he’s a willing runner who can be effective. Jones is a dynamic runner who has shown he can make all the throws. Nobody else in the SEC has two quarterbacks whose skills and experience are as elevated. QB coach Brian Johnson knows what he has in Trask and he sees how Jones is growing into his role: “Emory is a very special talent. In terms of his overall knowledge, we can run our base with both quarterbacks. The thing that becomes different is they both have a different skillset. We can run the same play and get two different outcomes just because of the skillset of the quarterback. He’s done a great job of improving on a day-to-day basis of just his consistency of performance. Emory, every time he’s gotten into games he’s played really, really well. My challenge to him has always been be consistent in everything that you do. He’s really continued to do that and improve. I love coaching Emory. I think he’s a fantastic player, a fantastic talent, and I can’t wait to watch him play.” Even before Jamie Newman elected to opt out, Florida had the advantage in the SEC East because of Trask and Jones. Despite the hype, Newman was pretty much a question mark since his numbers at Wake Forest were inflated by great games against bad teams while his numbers against good defenses ranged from below average to downright rotten. Neither Trask nor Jones had bad games last year and the Gators played six teams whose defenses ranked among the nation’s top 31. Newman opting out puts Georgia in a precarious position and that only solidifies Florida’s chances to climb that next rung on the ladder to elite status that Mullen installed the day he took the Florida job. This is year three of his plan to win. It’s also year three for Trask and Jones, a huge part of the year three plan. Of course, championships are won on the field and not on paper. If they were won on paper, Georgia would have at least 10 national titles since the last one in 1980. Florida hasn’t won an SEC or national title since 2008, but Mullen has the Gators on track to move another step closer to where they were from 2006-08 or during the 12 years of Steve Spurrier. The Gators have the defense to do it, but they also have the best situation at quarterback. Advantage Florida. Here is the quarterback situation at every SEC school: ALABAMA: Mac Jones (6-3, 214, RJR) seems like the reincarnation of AJ McCarron. He isn’t flashy, doesn’t make a lot of mistakes and gets the job done. It helps that he can throw to receivers like DeVonta Smith and Jaylen Waddle. After taking over as the starter when Tua Tagovailoa went down with a brutal ankle injury last year, Jones completed 52-66 of his passes for 937 yards and 10 touchdowns and finished the season with 1,503 yards (10.7 per attempt) and 14 TDPs. Jones will be pushed by stud freshman Bryce Young (6-0, 194, FR) who dazzles with his feet but has already shown he’s got a Kyler Murray-like arm. Jones will be the starter, at least for the foreseeable future, but OC Steve Sarkisian will find ways to get Young onto the field, particularly since it will count as a redshirt year for Young no matter how many games he plays in 2020. Situation: It could be excellent but only if Nick Saban and Sarkisian can keep both Jones and Young happy. A QB controversy could be disastrous for a team expected to be in the national championship hunt. ARKANSAS: New HBC Sam Pittman and offensive coordinator Kendal Briles really needed the spring to install a brand new offense. Missing the spring really didn’t hurt grad transfer Feleipe Franks, who would have been seriously limited on an ankle that was still healing, but it was problematic for the backups. Franks (6-6, 228), who started 24 games at Florida before dislocating his ankle in game three last year against Kentucky, threw for 4,593 yards (7.4 per attempt) and 38 touchdowns at Florida, but he also heaved 17 passes that the other team caught. He can be brilliant as he showed in Florida’s win over Michigan in the 2018 Peach Bowl, but he can also do things that leave you scratching your head. Backups K.J. Jefferson (6-3, 240, RFR), Jack Lindsey (6-2, 214, RSR) and John Stephen Jones (5-11,187, RSO) combined to complete 45.9% of their passes for 324 yards and 5 touchdowns last year. The likely backup will be true freshman Malik Hornsby (6-2, 180), a US Army All-American. Situation: Really grim if Franks struggles or can’t go physically. AUBURN: With those fourth quarter rallies that led to wins over Oregon and Alabama, Bo Nix (6-2, 213, SO) sealed his status as an Auburn legend. Tiger fans think that if Nix can make that kind of magic as a true freshman (2,542 passing yards, 6.7 per attempt, 16 TDPs; 313 rushing yards, 3.23 per attempt, 7 TDs), just think what he will be able to do when he’s old enough to shave. Auburn has a new offensive coordinator in former SMU/Arkansas HBC Chad Morris, but the transition will be very smooth and the offense won’t change, only the way plays are called. Morris and Auburn HBC Gus Malzahn share a common brain, enough so that Malzahn turned the play calling over to Morris, who has been running a form of the Malzahn offense his entire career. It’s the offense Morris designed for Clemson when he the coordinator for Dabo Swinney. The backup is former minor league baseball player Cord Sandberg (6-3, 222, RSO) who was a stud back in his high school days in Florida, but whose college experience is 10 rushing attempts for 70 yards and 6-8 passing for 106 yards and 2 TDs. As long as Nix stays healthy Auburn should be in the SEC West championship hunt. Situation: Nix is a winner whose game should grow with Morris calling the plays and coaching up the QBs. If Nix goes down, Auburn’s chances to win the West will sink faster than the Titanic. GEORGIA: The 2020 season will probably go down as one of those Near National Championships Georgia fans are so fond of talking about (the last time they won one was 1980), only this one will have an asterisk beside it. The asterisk will represent all those wins the Poodles believe they would have had it Jamie Newman had only decided to play instead of opting out. Newman says it’s because of the Covid-19 virus. If you’re buying that theory then you probably believe the magician when he says he’s sprinkling magic woofie dust on his hand before he pulls out the red hanky. With Newman gone, all hope is on Southern Cal transfer JT Daniels (6-3, 210, RSO) getting a medical clearance to play again. Daniels, who threw for 2,672 yards and 14 TDPs in 2018, tore an ACL in last year’s season opener. Whereas Newman offered a measure of mobility, good since Georgia will start four newbies on the O-line, Daniels can’t run a lick. If it isn’t Daniels, there is D’Wan Mathis (6-6, 205, RFR), who missed last year after brain surgery; Stetson Bennett IV (5-11, 190, RJR), a juco transfer who threw 27 passes last year; and true freshman Carson Beck (6-4, 225, FR), who has a strong arm but who regressed as a high school senior. Then there is that matter of a new offensive coordinator (Todd Monken) and an offense that nobody got to rep during the spring. Teensy little detail there. Situation: Georgia fans are already saying that if the Gators win the SEC this year it’s only because of the Covid-19 turmoil. It’s a spin job. The fact is Georgia’s offense is looking like a very weak link right about now. KENTUCKY: Everything depends on the health of Terry Wilson (6-3, 205, RJR) since (a) there is no telling what is going to happen with the transfer waiver request of Joey Gatewood (6-4, 242, RSO) and (b) Sawyer Smith (6-3, 215, GR) didn’t exactly light the world on fire during the eight games he played for the Wildcats last year. Wilson went down with a knee injury in game two last year but in 2018 he was the UK starter, throwing for 1,889 yards (11 TDPs) and rushing for 547 (4 TDs) while leading the Wildcats to a 10-3 season. If he’s healthy, the Wildcats have an experienced QB who has a 12-3 record as a starter. If he’s not healthy and Gatewood doesn’t get his waiver (transferring from Auburn; even if the NCAA says yes the SEC has to sign off and that might be tricky), then it could be a long, long year for UK. Situation: Since you can’t count on Gatewood getting a waiver, Wilson needs to be healthy and play better than he did in 2018 for the Wildcats to be a factor in the SEC East. LSU: Everybody knows Myles Brennan has an absolute cannon of an arm, but he’s sat the bench three seasons, the last two as Joe Burrow’s understudy. He’s grown from a skinny 6-3, 170 pounds to a solid 6-4, 210, during which time he has thrown for 600 yards (8.6 per attempt) and 2 touchdown passes. When he had Ja’Marr Chase to throw to, everyone thought Brennan might do just fine and dandy in 2020, but with Chase opting out of the season and a bazillion guys already drafted from last year’s national championship team, the situation isn’t bleak but it’s not exactly rosy either. Don’t be shocked if true freshman Max Johnson, son of former FSU and Tampa Bay Bucs QB Brad Johnson, emerges as the backup. Situation: It’s not bleak, but it would look a lot better if Chase were still with the team. MISSISSIPPI STATE: This is a very interesting situation because the Bulldogs are installing Mike Leach’s Air Raid offense and the QB is grad transfer K.J. Costello, who threw for 6,151 yards (7.8 per attempt) and 49 touchdowns at Stanford, including 3,540 yards and 29 touchdowns in 2018 when he was injury-free. Costello is smart enough and experienced enough that missing spring practice shouldn’t be a big deal. Costello could lead the nation in passing yards and TDs if the Bulldogs can find enough sure-handed receivers to catch the ball. The backup is Garrett Shrader, who showed he can be a dangerous runner (587 yards, 6 TDs) as a part-time starter last year as a true freshman. Situation: Maybe a lot better than anyone could anticipate. MISSOURI: Here is the situation at Mizzou. There is a brand new coach in Eli Drinkwitz. There is a brand new offense that resembles Boise State and Appalachian State that didn’t get installed in the spring. The only experienced QB is Shawn Robinson (6-2, 220, RJR), who hasn’t played in a year and a half since transferring in from TCU. In two years at TCU, Robinson threw for 1,518 yards (below average 6.27 per attempt) with 12 TDPs and 8 INTs. He ran (389 yards, 5.4 per carry, 3 TDs) better than he threw. The backup will be either Taylor Powell (6-2, 210, RJR) or Connor Bazelak (6-3, 220, RFR). Powell isn’t very accurate (46% on 7 6 career attempts) while Bazelak only has some mop-up duty to his credit. With three new starters on the O-line, Robinson probably gives Mizzou and Drinkwitz its best chances to win and if he goes down, a long season could be even longer. Situation: Whatever is just north of grim unless Robinson improved substantially over the last year and a half. OLE MISS: If Lane Kiffin could somehow combine the running ability of John Rhys Plumlee (6-0, 192, SO) with the big arm of Matt Corral (6-1, 206, RSO) he might have an All-SEC quarterback. Plumlee can run like a deer (1,105 yards and 12 TDs last year as a true freshman) while Corral (1,362 yards, 7.7 per attempt, 6 TDPs) can make all the throws. Since there was no spring practice to enable one to separate from the other, expect Kiffin to run a two QB system. It could work quite well if Plumlee can improve his accuracy (52.9% last year) and Corral (135 rushing yards) can improve his mobility. Jeff Lebby has the title of offensive coordinator after working at UCF the last two years, but this is Kiffin’s offense and he has one of the more creative minds in the business. Situation: If Corral and Plumlee can handle a two-QB system, it could work out well. If not, trouble. SOUTH CAROLINA: Ryan Hilinski (6-3, 225, SO) became the starter in game two after Jake Bentley went down with a season-ending injury. Hilinski became the king of the dink and dunk (2,357 yards, 5.8 per attempt, 11 TDPs), which had everything to do with Will Muschamp bringing on a new offensive coordinator (Mike Bobo) whose offenses are predicated on throwing the ball down the field. Hilinski has way too good an arm to waste throwing 5-yard passes. He’s being pushed by grad transfer Collin Hill (6-4, 222), who played for Bobo at Colorado State. Hill has a live arm but has had problems staying healthy. Then there is true freshman Luke Doty (6-1, 210). He’s a dual threat who just wants to play and is a good enough athlete that Muschamp and Bobo are looking for ways to get him on the field, most likely as a slot receiver. Situation: The problem is keeping opponents from jamming up the box so it will be imperative for either Hilinski or Hill to take shots and complete them down the field. If the Gamecocks can’t stretch the defense it’s going to be a long, long year. TENNESSEE: This will be Jarrett Guarantano’s fifth year in the Tennessee program and the first time he’s had the same offensive coordinator two consecutive years. Last year, Guarantano (6-4, 215) looked really good in the games against the bad teams, but he struggled against the good ones. The task for OC Jim Chaney is to get Guarantano playing at a consistent level no matter the opponent. Last year Guarantano threw for 2,158 yards (8.4 per attempt) and 16 touchdowns with 8 interceptions. He didn’t throw a TDP against Florida, Georgia and Alabama, completed less than 50% of his passes in those games and averaged less than 6 yards per pass attempt. With a schedule that includes Georgia, Auburn, Alabama, Texas A&M and Florida, if Guarantano can’t play at a high level then the Vols will be lucky to break even. The backup is Brian Maurer (6-3, 196, SO) who struggled with injuries and a concussion last year. Situation: It’s going to take Jim Chaney channeling his inner Annie Sullivan (see Helen Keller) to elevate Guarantano’s play and keep the Vols in the thick of the SEC East race. TEXAS A&M: Kellen Mond is the most experienced quarterback in the SEC, having started 34 of the 37 games he’s played in. This is his third year in Jimbo Fisher’s offense. He’s thrown for 7,379 yards (a very average 7.0 per attempt) and 52 touchdowns (24 interceptions) in his career while rushing for 1,315 yards (3.5 per attempt) and 18 touchdowns. So where is the love? Why isn’t everyone talking up Mond as the top returning quarterback in the SEC? Maybe it has something to do with the fact everyone has expected so much more and he has yet to deliver. Is it a case that he’s played well and the expectations are way too high? The backup is Zach Calzada, who threw for 133 yards and two touchdowns on 12 completions in a redshirt freshman year. Situation: Great if Mond ever (a) plays up to his potential or (b) plays with more consistency in games against ranked opponents. Both are possible. Both are also humongous ifs. VANDERBILT: The last thing a coach whose seat is blowtorch hot needs is to go into a season already filled with so much uncertainty without a quarterback who has ever taken a Division I snap. Derek Mason was already staring down another losing season even before Covid-19, but without spring football and breaking in a new offense under a new coordinator (Todd Fitch) there is a distinct possibility the Commodores do an oh-fer 2020. The four choices are juco transfers Jeremy Moussa (6-3, 219, JR) and Danny Clark (6-4, 232, JR) and true freshmen Kenny Seals (6-3, 218) and Mike Wright (6-3, 187). Moussa led his team to a conference title in the California juco league last year. Clark is a former Kentucky signee who transferred to Copiah-Lincoln Community College in Mississippi. Seals has a big arm. Wright is an outstanding runner. Situation: Grimmer than grim.

The Florida Gators have kicked practice into high gear as the 2020 season approaches, and with it a rush of news and updates. Here are the most notable pieces of informations and quotable moments from around college football and within the Gators this week. The University of Florida has announced the official capacity for the 2020 football season will be at 20% of the normal amount, which puts it right at 17,000. There will also be no tailgating, Gator Walk or Gator Walk Village. No spirit squads (cheerleaders, etc.) will be allowed on the sidelines. In a release, the Athletic Association also announced plans for fans wearing masks. “In accordance with campus guidelines, face coverings (over the nose and mouth) will be required for all fans throughout the entire game. This includes when fans are entering and exiting the stadium. Fans may only remove face coverings while eating or drinking. Failure to comply with this important health guideline could result in loss of ticket privileges. … “As with everything related to the COVID-19 pandemic, this situation remains fluid. The aforementioned and following announcements are subject to change as recommendations from local, state, and federal officials evolve in relation to public health developments.” Plans have not been finalized for the Florida-Georgia game at this time. Gators quarterback Kyle Trask was named to the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose award watch list, the Tyler Area Chamber of Commerce and SPORTyler announced Wednesday. The nod is Trask’s fifth ahead of the 2020 season. Dan Mullen is one of 13 college football coaches to be named for the Dodd Trophy Preseason Watch List. The Dodd Trophy, college football’s most coveted national coaching award, celebrates the head coach of a team who enjoys success on the gridiron, while also stressing the importance of scholarship, leadership and integrity – the three pillars of legendary coach Bobby Dodd’s coaching philosophy. The Gators have released updated results (as of August 31) for their numbers as it relates to COVID-19 testing. Since Student-Athletes Returned to Campus on May 26 All Student-Athletes Total Tests for August: 687 All Student-Athletes Total Positives for August: 1 All Student-Athletes Total Tests on Campus: 1017 All Student-Athletes Total Positives on Campus: 35 Since Football Student-Athletes Returned to Campus on May 26 Total Tests for August: 298 Total Positives for August: 0 Total Tests on Campus: 459 Total Positives on Campus: 21 Central Arkansas—who played in the first college football game of the season last week against Austin Peay—announced all of their athletes and coaches had returned two negative test following that game, allowing for their second game (and the second of the CFB season) on Thursday night against UAB. The National Football Foundation announced a variety of rule changes for the upcoming season. The majority are permanent and not related to COVID-19. The only pandemic related rule change will be the requirement of mask for coaches on the sidelines and the extending of the team area to allow for distancing. Of note though for the Gators, is a rule change around pregame on-field walk-throughs. Typically, Dan Mullen has his teams warm-up in plain t-shirts and jogging shorts. They wear their helmets but nothing with their name or number. It originally began when he was at Mississippi State during a rain storm and players didn’t want their jersey’s to be soaked. Mullen said he realized that day that it was also a competitive advantage. Opposing players and coaches couldn’t see who was on the field, who might be held out and what they were doing in drills. In a move that is seen as a way to cut down on pre-game fights, players must now wear their jersey or have their number visible beginning 90 minutes before the game. In a release from the NFF, the rule is explained as follows: “The Rules Committee address issues of Unsportsmanlike behavior in the pregame and took steps to clean this action up. The officials’ jurisdiction will now begin at 90 minutes before kickoff (previously 60 minutes). Additionally, when any Squad Member enters the playing enclosure prior to the game, the head coach or an assistant coach from that team must be present on the field. Furthermore, when any Squad Member is present within the playing enclosure after the officials’ jurisdiction, they must be wearing their jersey or have their numeral readily visible. Players without their numeral readily visible must leave the playing enclosure.” Florida will head into the season with two game-time experienced quarterbacks; Kyle Trask and Emory Jones. Trask will be the starter but quarterback coach Brian Johnson has referenced using two quarterbacks much like he and Mullen did in 2019 with Trask and Jones. Freshman passer Anthony Richardson though has been the most to suffer from the upturned offseason. The Gainesville native was able to enroll early but missed out of spring practice and player organized workouts during the summer due to the shutdown surrounding COVID-19. Still, Johnson has been impressed with what he’s seen so far. “He’s obviously got a ton of God-given ability. He’s a really fast learner. With him missing spring ball, you know, I was a little concerned in terms of him not being able to get those reps and miss those really, really valuable reps in the spring. Like I said, he was really engaged in our Zooms over the Summer. "He’s a great note taker. He’s a great listener. He really gives you everything in terms of his energy and effort to become a really great player. He’s got a fantastic skill set, you know, we just got to keep developing him at a rapid rate and he’s got to continue to just keep pushing, keep developing. But I’ve liked what I’ve seen so far out of him.” Other freshmen that also missed time have been using fall camp to make up for lost practices. The young receivers in particular have been utilizing snaps to fight for playing time. Kadarius Toney and Tre Grimes should be at the top of the pecking order but Mullen and position coach Billy Gonzales like to implement upwards of 10 receivers into a game plan, so others will be needed. “I would say Xzavier Henderson [has stood out], he’s a young receiver, CJ’s younger brother,” explained tight end Kyle Pitts. "He been showing a whole lot of talent. Him and Trent Whittmore, all those guys, the receiver, all those receivers and Jacob Copeland, all those guys who just been waiting for their turn so this year I think they’ll be able to showcase their talent.” While there have been road bumps and bottleneck turns at every point of this offseason, Defensive Coordinator Todd Grantham feels that each team will find their own ways of preparing for the season. And at the end of the day, fighting that adversity will be what creates a winner. “Everybody’s got the same amount of time. Some guys had spring practice, some didn’t. That is what it is. I don’t think that’s a big deal. I think the biggest thing is you can gain knowledge and know what to do when you’re seeing it, but you’ve got to physically go do things. You’ve got to be able to talk to the guy with you. You’ve got to be able to be under some kind of duress, whether it’s a coach yelling at you or whether you’re tired from the last five plays or it’s a hot day. You’ve got to be able to handle those things and still go execute the call. I think those are probably the biggest factors that you try to push guys right now to execute so we can do those things in an environment that is challenging sometimes.”