(This is fourth in a series of position-by-position analysis of the 2020 Florida Gators) “When fate hands you lemons, you make lemonade.” – Dale Carnegie When Feleipe Franks went down with a season-ending ankle injury against Kentucky in game three in 2019, John Hevesy had lemons on his hand. The mobility that Franks gave the Gators at quarterback was expected to neutralize some of the issues with inexperience up and down Hevesy’s offensive line, so when he went down, Florida lost an important element to its running game because Franks’ replacement was career backup Kyle Trask, a pure pocket passer with very average wheels. Instead of going in the tank, which many so-called experts predicted, the Florida offense flourished with Trask at QB. The running game took a hit – 129.8 yards per game in 2019, a dip from the previous season’s 213.2 – but the Gators threw the ball more and despite 103 more pass attempts, there was only a marginal difference in the pass protection. The Gators gave up 18 sacks in 13 games in 2018 (4.9% sacks in 364 attempts), but in 2019 they gave up only 25 sacks in 467 attempts (5.3% sacks). The Gators averaged 213.54 passing yards per game in 2018 (7.63 per attempt) but in 2019 the passing game was good for 300.8 yards and 8.37 per attempt. What the numbers tell us is that Hevesy took his lemons and made lemonade. Sure, Dan Mullen would have preferred more balance in his offense but as he has shown through the years, he’s all about adapting the offense to the strengths of his personnel. Without a consistent run threat at QB after Franks went down, Mullen did what the personnel dictated and shifted Florida on the fly to a pass first offense. The pressure was on Hevesy and his O-line to keep Kyle Trask upright with enough time to find open receivers and they didn’t let Mullen down. The Gators went 11-2, won a second straight New Year’s Six bowl game by whacking Virginia in the Orange Bowl in Miami and finished with their second straight top 10 finish in the final polls. In retrospect, this might have been one of Hevesy’s best coaching jobs in a career in which he’s more than once turned a rather motley looking crew at the start of the year into one that became highly productive by season’s end. By no means were the Gators a dominant O-line but they were good enough that Mullen was able to put together an offense that had the fourth-best numbers in the Southeastern Conference. When the 2019 season began, Hevesy had only one returning starter on his offensive line – center Nick Buchanan – and just 24 career starts among his troops, which ranked 127th nationally in terms of experience. Buchanan has graduated but this season the Gators return four starters along with what could be the key to maybe the best offense seen at UF since the Tim Tebow years in Mississippi State grad transfer Stewart Reese (6-5, 350). There will be no adjustments necessary to accommodate Reese, who Mullen and Hevesy recruited to Mississippi State out of Fort Pierce Central in 2016. Reese took a redshirt that first year and started for Hevesy as a redshirt freshman in 2017. In his three years on the field at Mississippi State, Reese started 34 games at both tackle and guard. Reese is already familiar with most of the Florida playbook and he already knows what Hevesy expects of his linemen. Reese already knows how to bulldoze defensive linemen in the SEC so this will be an easy transition. In addition to experience and comfort with the offense, Reese gives Hevesy several options he didn’t have last season. More than likely, the big guy will start at left guard, teaming on that side of the line with Stone Forsythe (6-7, 329, RSR), who started all 13 games last year at left tackle. Forsythe constantly improved throughout the 2019 season and by year’s end was quite dependable both in the run game and in pass protection. At Mississippi State, Reese also started 26 straight games at right tackle in 2017-18 where he showed quick feet in pass protection. In 2019, he started six games at guard and one at tackle in a season marred by injuries. His ability to pass protect gives Hevesy the option of playing him at right tackle if last year’s starter Jean Delance (6-4, 314, RSR) doesn’t show marked improvement. Delance, who began his collegiate career at Texas before transferring to UF, started all 13 games at right tackle last year but it wasn’t pretty at times. He was an inconsistent run blocker and he had issues with speed rushers off the edge. Delance will have a chance to prove he’s considerably better than last year in August, but the pressure will be on. The expected option at right tackle is Richard Gouraige (6-4, 300, RSO), who played mostly on the inside last year when he saw action in 12 games with five starts at right guard. Gouraige was a highly recruited 4-star tackle from Tampa when he came out of high school and right tackle seems to be his natural position. He played guard last season out of necessity. He’s still growing into his frame but has long arms and the strong hands it takes to get under the pads of defensive ends. However, if Delance has shown the necessary improvement, Gouraige could remain inside where he could battle it out with Ethan White (6-5, 360, SO) at right guard or he could even move to the left side to challenge Forsythe. White has enormous potential. He came to Florida with plenty of question marks, mostly because he tipped the scales at 400 pounds. By midseason White had lost 30 pounds and was given a place in the regular rotation. White played in Florida’s final six games and got a start at right guard against Vanderbilt. He showed particular promise as run blocker where his size and surprising quickness made him formidable. Brett Heggie (6-4, 330, RSR) will move from left guard to his natural position at center. He was expected to take over in the middle in 2018 but his slow recovery from an injury in 2017 mandated that Buchanan would get the starting job. The key for Heggie will be to stay injury-free as he did in 2019 when he started 12 games at left guard. When he’s healthy, Heggie is that wide body Hevesy loves in the middle. Two years in the Mullen system means he knows the offense inside out so he should have few, if any, problems making the line calls. There are experienced backups in T.J. Moore (6-5, 305, RSO), Griffin McDowell (6-3, 300, RSO) and Tanner Rowell (6-2, 290, RSR), who have combined to see action in 56 games, mostly on special teams. Behind them is an infusion of young talent that gives Hevesy the most depth he’s had at UF. He has redshirt freshmen Kingsley Eguakin (6-4, 300), Will Harrod (6-5, 334), Riley Simonds (6-4, 305) and Michael Tarquin (6-5, 290) along with incoming freshmen Josh Braun (6-6, 335), Richie Leonard (6-2, 320) and Gerald Mincey (6-5, 320). Braun, a 4-star recruit out of Live Oak Suwannee County, was originally committed to Georgia but was flipped to Florida just prior to the early signing date. It wouldn’t be a shock if he gets into the regular rotation at one of the tackles or even earns a start. If everybody stays healthy, Hevesy should be able to redshirt at least two of the three true freshmen while breaking in the redshirt freshmen on the field goal and extra point teams. Ideally, Hevesy would like to have 18 scholarship O-linemen, but 16 is a good number if the Gators can avoid the injury bug. SCHOLARSHIP OFFENSIVE LINEMEN (16) Stewart Reese (6-5, 350, GR/TR) Stone Forsythe (6-7, 329, RSR) Brett Heggie (6-4, 330, RSR) Jean Delance (6-4, 314, RSR) Tanner Rowell (6-2, 285, RSR) T.J. Moore (6-5, 305, RJR) Richard Gouraige (6-4, 300, RSO) Griffin McDowell (6-3, 300, RSO) Ethan White (6-5, 360, SO) Michael Tarquin (6-5, 290, RFR) Riley Simonds (6-4, 305, RFR) Kingsley Eguakun (6-4, 300, RFR) Will Harrod (6-5, 334, RFR) Josh Braun (6-6, 335, FR) Richie Leonard (6-2, 320, FR) Gerald Mincey (6-5, 320, FR) ASSESSING THE POSITION: Year three was always the target year from the time Dan Mullen took the Florida job in December of 2017. Two years and 21 wins later, Mullen has the Gators ready to climb the next rung on the ladder to greatness. To reach the championship level, which means going from 11 wins to 12 or more, Mullen needs an offensive line capable of grinding down opponents in the running game while reducing the sacks from last year’s 25 to 20 or fewer. Through the years, Hevesy’s best offensive lines are always strongest in the middle. He likes three huge, mobile guys in the middle. Hevesy’s 2008 UF offensive line that featured the Pouncey Twins (both 6-5, 315) and Carl Johnson (6-6, 330) in the middle had the ability to punish opponents in the run game and their wide bodies made it next to impossible to get any kind of pass rush up the gut. A 2020 O-line featuring Reese and White at the guards and Heggie in the middle is monstrous – as big or bigger than any center-guard combos in the SEC – and they have the good feet to get out in front on sweeps. The key figures to be Heggie. If he can handle nose tackles without needing help from one of the guards, the Gators should be vastly improved in the running game and far less vulnerable to pressure up the middle. Reese could be called anything from the wild card to the missing link. He is the wild card in the sense that he could start at either of the guard positions or at right tackle. He could be termed the missing link because he brings size, experience and maturity. Team him with White, who showed surprising mobility even when he was still trying to drop some tonnage, and the Gators should have the kind of guard tandem that dominates in the middle. The question marks will once again be at the tackles. Forsythe has to continue on the path of improvement that he showed last season. If he flatlines and has trouble protecting Kyle Trask’s blindside, Hevesy might be tempted to flop Forsythe to the right tackle and play Gouraige on the left side. Delance was the weakest link last season so he heads into August with the most to prove. More than any of the returning O-line veterans, Delance needed spring football so without those 15 additional practices, he enters 2020 as Florida’s biggest question mark. The wild card at the tackles could turn out to be Braun, who signed in December and early enrolled so he could get in most of the Orange Bowl practices. He has impressive size and strength, comes from a football family (his dad was an O-lineman at Army) and is the kind of high football IQ type that Hevesy loves. Don’t be surprised if Braun finds himself in the regular rotation by midseason at the latest. If you only go by experience, Florida’s offensive line has the makings of a better unit than last season. It’s true that a year older doesn’t necessarily make you a year better, but as a group, the entire unit improved in 2019 almost on a game-by-game basis. Can they continue to improve in 2020? Even though the Covid-19 virus interrupted the offseason strength and conditioning program, 13 of the scholarship linemen did participate in the mat drills and pre-spring workouts so the Gators should be physically more imposing than they were last season. The combination of size, strength, experience and depth is a reasonably good indicator that the Gators will be improved. Good enough to help lift the Gators to the SEC East Division championship and perhaps to a win in Atlanta? The potential is certainly there and history says when Hevesy has experienced offensive lines with plenty of bulk in the middle, they excel. The Gators have no shortage of speed and talent at the skill positions so it is critical for Hevesy to put together an offensive line capable of getting the job done whether in the running or passing game. Mullen is one of the more brilliant play callers in the entire country. Give him an offensive line that can dominate and he can deliver a championship-caliber offense. He might have exactly what he’s looking for in 2020.

Like a fourth-round sucker punch after three flawless rounds, Florida baseball was down—but far from out. After winning 16 straight contests, the No. 1-ranked Gators hosted the No. 15-ranked Florida State Seminoles on March 10 in the much-anticipated Sunshine Showdown. Despite sharp performances on the mound from Nick Pogue and Tyler Nesbitt, Florida couldn’t find its bearings inside the batter’s box. Meanwhile, the Seminoles capitalized on the Gators’ lack of offense and secured a 2-0 upset in Gainesville. The sting of a shiner intensifies when it comes off of the hand of a rival. But for the Gators, the swelling had yet to rob them of their sight. Florida baseball had a lot to look forward to. And then, they went from No. 1… to done. It was a Thursday. Just two days after Mike Martin Jr. and the ‘Noles delivered Florida its blackeye in front of the last home crowd to ever shuffle into Alfred A. McKethan Stadium. In wake of the Coronavirus, the NCAAscrapped the remainder of the athletic season for both winter and spring sports. That was four months ago. And since then, whether it be unemployment or foggy glasses thanks to masked breathing, Covid-19 has continued to disrupt our daily lives in some fashion. It’s hard to remember what life was like before the pandemic took hold. And it’s certainly been tough to find the silver lining in all of this. But for Florida athletics, as Steve Spurrier would say, God was smiling on the Gators. It’s easy to look at the baseball program and fall in love with what could’ve been. But if you paid attention, that same potential sprawled across campus. Across the street from baseball’s future home, Florida softball was coming to terms with living life without Kelly Barnhill and Amanda Lorenz. And it quickly proved that the loss of two All-Americans doesn’t define a program. Turning away from past schemes, Tim Walton and the Gators were no longer heavily reliant on stingy performances from the circle. Instead, learning to generate offense became Florida’s forte. From top to bottom, from the one hole to the nine hole, the Gators were about as well rounded as any college softball lineup in America. As a complete roster, the Gators were hitting .316 on the season and boasted one of the most electric 1, 2 and 3 hitters in the country. Hannah Adams (.375), Kendyl Lindaman (.410) and Charla Echols (.417) were about as consistent in their performances as anyone would like to see. The three sluggers combined for a total of 97 hits -- 66 of which plated a run. Walton attributed the uptick in hitting to a change in batting practice. Instead of relying on sweat equity and exhausting the arms of one of the pitchers on staff or practicing with unrealistic soft tosses, the Gators began to use pitching machines to sharpen their craft. Also changing for Florida softball, was its defensive approach. When you field a pitcher like Kelly Barnhill, you don’t need to be as reliant on the defense behind the circle. But in the shortened 2020 season, the Gators began pitching for contact. Aces Rylee Trlicek and Natalie Lugo applied the pressure to its defense, which proved to be as hard nosed as they come. Through 27 games, the Gators had found success in 23 of them. The mere four losses on the season came at the hands of three-ranked opponents. The No. 7-ranked Gators were preparing for the No. 24-ranked Baylor Bears to visit Gainesville before the NCAA scrapped the season. But looking ahead, there wasn’t much standing in the way of Florida softball’s chances to run the table in the SEC and make a deep postseason run. Meanwhile, the O’Connell Center housed three programs that were ready to pounce on any opportunity to make waves. On the gymnastics front, Jenny Rowland had the Gators rolling, per usual. Trinity Thomas was quickly ascending from her status of “rising star” to “phenom”. After notching three perfect 10s and picking up eight SEC gymnast of the week honors, it’s no surprise that the UF sophomore picked up the maximum of five All-American honors in 2020 and was named SEC’s Gymnast of the Year. Rowland and the Gators were set to roll into their final regular season meet at Texas Woman’s University with a perfect 10-0 record on March 13. They’d never make it. Like their baseball-playing counterparts, the No. 2-ranked Florida Gators gymnastics team was pacing towards a national championship it would never have an opportunity to compete in. As for Mike White and Florida basketball, well, the program certainly left plenty to be desired after an underwhelming 2019-2020 regular-season campaign. However, there was still basketball to be played. Meeting in Nashville, the Gators and the rest of the SEC’s men’s hoops squads were awaiting the start of the SEC tournament. But before the first game could get underway, the tournament came to a screeching halt -- citing coronavirus precautions. And while Florida was far from the tournament favorite, it was college basketball in March, afterall. Cinderella stories happen every March. And while the Gators will never be called a “Cinderella story”, no matter how improbable a Gator run might be, this doesn’t rob them from the possibility of upsetting teams. Heading into the conference tournament, some viewed the Gators as a “bubble team” in the NCAA tournament. And with a couple of wins in the SEC tournament, it could have been enough to nudge Mike White’s team into the field of 64. And every year we witness proof that getting in is all a team needs to make magic happen. But above the hardwood in the O’Dome, there were less questions and more answers. On the pool deck, the Gators had a number of swimmers slated for excellence -- both at the collegiate level and in the then-scheduled 2020 Olympics. After winning the 2020 SEC championship, Florida’s men’s swimming and diving team was continuing on its path of dominance -- one that saw the Gators nab 14 All-American honors. Sophomore Kieran Smith broke the American record in the 500 freestyle after touching the wall in just 4:06.32. With an American record in tow, Smith was awarded with the SEC’s Male Swimmer of the Year recognition. Smith was one of 13 Gators to earn invites to the 2020 NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships. In addition to championship hopes, these same Gator swimmers also had legitimate hopes to make splashes in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. That’s where we were. Crazy to think we went from all of that to where we are now—in this painfully abnormal sports hiatus. And now we are forced to live in this strange, isolated world wondering what would have happened had this never come about? But we also wonder, what if it’s far from over? The thought of Covid-19 bleeding into the fall sports season is enough to make me shudder. But in the same breath, it’s a thought all of us are having. And truth be told, it already has. When the NCAA cancelled the remainder of the winter and spring sports seasons, it took spring football with it. In a typical year, one where there isn’t a pandemic wreaking havoc across the globe, college football teams across the country look forward to spring camp. It plays a major part in prepping for the upcoming season. Early enrollees, who typically are some of the higher-rated prospects, get an opportunity to get their feet wet. And coaches gain more insight on exactly what type of roster they’re working with. Offensively, Florida is dealing with a wide receiver corps overhaul, looking for a new “face of the backfield” after the departure of Lamical Perine, in addition to piecing together an offensive line. Defensively, the Gators are looking to replace two field generals in David Reese III and Jonathan Greenard. Todd Grantham and Co. are also looking to pin down a defensive backfield depth chart—something we began to see take shape towards the end of last season. And while the lack of opportunity to address these things in the spring time could hinder the Gators’ readiness, it’s important to recognize two things: It could be worse. Everyone is going through it. Florida football’s quarterback situation is as good looking as it’s been since the departure of the 2007 Heisman Trophy winner. When looking at the general status of the SEC’s signal callers, it is, uncharacteristically, trending downward. Joe Burrow is gone. Jake Fromm is gone. Tua Tagovailoa is gone. Not to mention the many other changes around the league… such as Feleipe Franks competing for Arkansas’ starting position with a first-year head coach. In addition to coaches like Mike Leach and Lane Kiffin looking to reconstruct a program’s entire offense. Doing all of that in one offseason is hard enough. But doing that in one offseason without spring ball seems like mission impossible. Right now, a lot looks like mission impossible. Sometimes getting out of bed is mission impossible. For me, remembering my mask is mission impossible. But we can learn a lot from Florida’s athletic programs. Baseball teaches us to roll with the punches. Softball reminds us that change can be good. Underclassman Trinity Thomas proves that anyone can be great. Men’s basketball would tell us that anything can happen if you put your foot in the door. All of those swimmers share the belief that good things come to those who wait. And the football team shares two important messages with everyone: It could be worse. Everyone is going through it.

With so much despair and bad news in sports–and for that matter the world—lately, Kassidy Hill wanted to take some time this week to look back on one of her favorite sports memories, with a favorite Florida Gator. BY: KASSIDY HILL GATORBAIT COLUMNIST They say to never meet your heroes. It can only go badly and ruin the illusion. As a sports reporter, we’re taught to be unbiased; to not be affected by meeting celebrities and athletes and never—under any circumstances—act like a fan. I broke both of these rules simultaneously the first night I met Tim Tebow. I had been in Gainesville for a little over a month and was already frustrated it had taken so long to meet the guy who had captured the hearts of a nation, mine included. I didn’t grow up a Florida Gators fan. I hail from an Auburn Tigers household. But in high school, Tebow caught my attention like he did so many others. I already had Florida on my short list of dream schools and couldn’t wait for the day to move to Gainesville and begin covering this exciting player and team. Of course by the time I finally made it to the Sunshine State (thanks to an internship with WCJB TV20 Sports), Tebow was in the NFL. But when checking the New York Jets schedule and realizing he would be playing in his hometown of Jacksonville the first weekend of December, I convinced our sports director that we needed to go cover Timmy’s homecoming. It wasn’t a hard sell. Tebow could go through a drive-thru for lunch and it’d be the most popular story of the day for any Florida outlet. Another sports reporter at the station—a recent UF graduate—asked to come with me, so the two of us hit the road early one Sunday. We had not really gotten to know each other before that day, but the adrenaline of meeting one of both of our heroes would prove to be a bonding moment that made us best friends still to this day. Local TV can’t film regular season NFL matchups, so Zach and I had to spend the entire game in the press box. As the clock ticked by, the crowd called for Tebow. Residents who had never attended a Jaguars game before packed into the stadium to watch their favorite son. Tebow didn’t play a single snap. Yet still no one cared, because he was simply there. That was the mood in the press box as well. This group of hardened, weathered and often cynical sports reporters were on edge. They were trying to stay professional and focused…but so many of them had covered Tebow in high school or college. Some covered him in both. And for as many times they might grumble about players, they can’t help but speak with awe when talking about Tebow. The game concluded (I honestly don’t even remember who won; that wasn’t why we were there) and the press corps raced to the locker rooms. A few nobly went to the Jaguars locker room to, you know, do their job. But most went to the Jets doors. Knowing that there was about to be a mad dash when the doors opened, Zach and I worked our way to the front. We stood in the way of the door. There was no way they could be opened all the way without us first stepping through. He shouldered the massive camera, I took the mic and we prepared ourselves…and waited. And waited. And waited. Finally the doors swung open and we raced inside. If you’ve never been in a locker room after a game, there are certain rules, especially for female reporters. Eyes up, head straight to where you need to go without lingering and, most importantly, ignore the smell. Lockers are typically arranged by position group, so adhering to the eyes up rule, I quickly worked my way through, weaving in and out players in various state of postgame rituals, dragging Zach along behind my, tethered together by the mic cord. Finally, at the very back of the locker room, we spotted him. He was at the other end of the room so after jumping around some offensive linemen and tripping over their bags more than once, Zach and I arrived at Tebow’s locker with all the panache of a drunk giraffe. But we were smiling and excited and Tebow couldn’t help but laugh as we announced ourselves. In retrospect, our exuberance caused us to barrel into the locker room too early. After composing his shock at this bumbling TV duo falling into his locker area, he politely excused himself to go shower. So again we waited. But again, we stayed at the front. When the man of the hour without a single stat to his name for the day came back, the gaggle had exploded into a crowd typically only reserved for quarterbacks after winning a National Championship…which technically Tebow was, just four years removed. For the next twenty minutes, he held court, thoughtfully answering each question that circled around the one topic of being back home. Being the closest to him, I was able to get the most questions in and when the corps began to disperse, I turned to follow Zach out before Tebow stopped us to thank us for the “good questions.” It was nothing more than a rope, a way for the guy who we idolized to pay us a compliment he sensed would matter. And he was right. The comment led to a short conversation in which we introduced ourselves and he asked about our lives. Zach, in a moment I still tease him about to this day, was nervous enough that the only conversation topic he could land on was the lunch fare both had eaten in one of the UF food courts. But Tebow rolled with it, laughing along. If you remember from above, you’re not supposed to act like a fan. In that moment though, I didn’t care. I asked for a picture and a Jets PR rep came flying in, his eagle PR ears tuned to an improper request. “You can’t do that in the locker room mam. You know that.” “Ok,” I replied dejected, playing up the puppy dog look. “It’s ok,” interjected Tebow. “Come back, it’s ok.” The PR staff member tried again to say no. But Tebow took the phone out of my hand, gave it to Zach and said take the picture. I’m not proposing you break the rules or overstep boundaries that are in place for a reason. But sometimes—to quote one of my favorite movies—you’ve gotta risk it to get the biscuit. I can look back at that picture now and remember a night I met a hero. I can see how far I’ve come as a reporter. And I can laugh at how far we’ve both come. The next time I saw Tebow was a few weeks later at Florida’s Sugar Bowl appearance in New Orleans. He remembered me and our brief, honestly insignificant conversation from the locker room which at the time seemed like the greatest compliment in the world. I would come to realize over the next few years, that’s just who he is…which doesn’t negate the weightiness of his actions. If anything, it speaks to what sets Tim Tebow apart from other Florida legends, other athletes and for that matter, other people. My father says if you’re on fire, people will come just to watch you burn. Tebow has always been on fire. As a result, others just want to be around him, looking to see what has him inspired and hoping to soak up his warmth. And each time, he manages to make that person feel special. He can remember names like no one I’ve ever seen, and each time I run into him now, it’s like running into an old friend. And I know that he makes every single person feel that way. When Tebow was at Florida, he enraptured a fan base and a college football nation. As he went on to the NFL, baseball, SEC Nation, the Tim Tebow Foundation and life outside of this Gators bubble, he did the same with entire swaths of the population. His inherent goodness has led some to question it; no one can really be that good of a person can they? And meeting him—meeting your hero—would surely ruin the illusion, wouldn’t it? Tim Tebow is that good of a person. He’s genuine, filled with the love of Christ he hopes to impart to others and truly enjoys the company of others. There are many great Florida Gator representatives. Countless men and women who have come through the program and gone on to become a beacon for Gators in the outside world. In my eight years covering the Florida Gators program, I’ve gotten to meet many of them. I’m highly blessed and grateful. But for my vote, none will ever be more impressive than Tim Tebow. He’s the bar by which all other Gators will be and should be measured. And he’s the earned the title as the Gator’s most beloved alum. He could easily one day take on the title currently held by Steve Spurrier, Ambassador to UF. The school and program would be lucky to have him in such a role. Over the years, I’ve gotten to know Tim Tebow him a lot better. I consider him a friend. I don’t trip over offensive lineman’s bags any longer to talk with him or his delightful wife Demi. But I do still think fondly about that night in Jacksonville. As Zach and I left, we practically skipped through the parking lot. In fact, I think we did in actuality, skip. It was a high we rode for weeks. Because we had met our hero. And he surpassed all expectations.

As long as we must change, let’s do it right. And make some of the changes permanent. We’ll never have a better opportunity. This pandemic has taught us some valuable lessons about listening to each other and about using this downtime to fix stuff while we’re in the holding pattern. Some of those fixes ar badly needed now! And we are seeing it play out now with news of the week. Out of this despair will come some things we’ll want to keep. Change is an easy thing to say, often a hard thing to do. These days, with all the upheaval in the world, we get smacked in the face by a medical, political and social whirlwind daily. Some days we just want to be left alone to our own lives, circumstances and devices. But we can’t. Nothing is going to bring back football or school or our jobs without the Coronavirus detour/termination. To Florida Gator football fans, Coronavirus is the Georgia Bulldogs and FSU Seminoles wrapped into one. Enemy with a capital E. Hate isn’t a strong enough word. “The Virus,” as some of my infected friends call it, is the 1,000-pound gorilla that does as it pleases and cannot be stopped – so far. We wait, hope and pray for a vaccine. We have finally learned that we must live with that change and adapt to it. At the moment it feels like we are losing ground. But colleges and universities must move forward with “What If” contingency plans. The worst thing sometimes is when we are offered advice not wanted or needed. Most of us don’t care about your view on wearing or not wearing masks, which party we should belong to or why we should or shouldn’t go to the grocery store. For that matter, we’ve reached a point where we don’t talk much to each other anymore, thanks to a lack of strong leadership and hyper-polarization. In fact, I talked to a top psychiatrist recently who says many of us are constrained with infighting and that her own family seems to be divided over political issues, even at the dinner table. Whatever happened to the human species’ ability to communicate? Yet this pandemic has taught us some valuable lessons about listening to each other and about using this downtime to fix stuff while we’re in this holding pattern. Some of that is badly needed now! Out of this despair will come some things we’ll want to keep. It’s only a bucket list for now. As we know, the drastic measures are increasing. This week we had Stanford dropping 11 sports, the Ivy League cancelling its football season and Ohio State shutting down voluntary football workouts. It was reported that the Big Ten would pass a “conference games only” mandate. Can the SEC and others be far behind? I have supported that idea for weeks. These are serious measures with possible long-term implications. Now we must sit back, wait and pray for some kind of football season that does not in way compromise anybody’s health concerns. Maybe we just play “what if there were a football season.” Dealing with only football, I have my own private list of “Things We Needed To Do Anyway.” See if you can add to it: COLLEGE FOOTBALL: · Separate FBC and FBS, each with their own playoff system. · Ramp up the TV product as our living rooms are about to become our “stadiums.” · Increase playoff games to 8-12 teams. · This year, reduce the number of games played in the regular SEC football season and lop off some of FBC games. No cupcake games. · Nine-game conference only schedule with one possible non-league rival (i.e. Florida-Florida State). · Reduced coaching staff by eliminating consultants, trim roster size, shrink travel and skinny up recruiting budgets. · FBS schools could play one non-Power Five opponent in the spring. · Bowl games would be played by rest of Top 25 and FBS championship round. · Fortify leadership, adjust or dump the NCAA. · Non-revenue sports must be reduced to club competition. · Shrink these oversized, gluttoness stadiums, build more skyboxes, widen the seats, increase the tailgating, add more RV camping lots and improve the WiFi. · Improve concessions and clean up pubic bathrooms. · More diligence in player injury protection and health concerns, with a large medical staff on hand for the players AND the fans. · Don’t even start the season until mid-September or later. NFL · Get rid of pre-season games. · Cut back to 12-14 games and maybe add another round of playoffs. · Each team would pay a “tax” to help college football, even if it means having to cut salaries. · Play the national anthems before players take the field. · Again -- more diligence in player injury protection and health concerns, with a large medical staff on hand for the players AND the fans. · Forget playing until mid-September or later. Almost every day or nights on The Buddy Martin Show I get asked: What are the odds of us having a football season. And I usually answer: I have no earthly idea. I’ve always said yes, with the caveat that there would be SOME KIND of season unless the Covid-19 prevents it. Whether there are people in the stands or the schedule is bobtailed at 6-10 games, there is too much at stake. Especially in the cash-rich SEC. Play on. Or not. Right now it’s 50-50 with the odds shrinking more each day with another boxscore on the Covid-19 breakouts.

As colleges around the country prepare to return to school, and by proxy college sports, the continued spread of the novel coronavirus COVID-19 continues to drive decisions. The Ivy League has officially canceled all fall sports, prohibiting any athletic events before the conclusion of the fall semester. For most schools, that is the first week of December. While the Ivy League isn't the the decision maker for college football—Harvard isn't changing the minds of Athletic Directors on the transfer portal protocol—it should be noted that the Ivy League was the first to cancel spring sports. At the time, it seemed like an overreaction, jumping the gun. But in retrospect, they were simply the first to do what everyone else was scared to do. Therefore, this decision and its possible impact on college football nation wide, can't simply be ignored. Student athletes in the Ivy League will not lose a year of eligibility. They will be allowed to continue to practice and workout with their teams as long as they are abiding by state and local guidelines for social distancing, gathering, etc. In a statement released by the league, the decision was explained this way: "Amidst continuing health and safety concerns due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, the Ivy League Council of Presidents has set in place plans for intercollegiate athletics activity in the upcoming fall semester. With the safety and well-being of students as their highest priority, Ivy League institutions are implementing campus-wide policies including restrictions on student and staff travel, requirements for social distancing, limits on group gatherings, and regulations for visitors to campus. As athletics is expected to operate consistent with campus policies, it will not be possible for Ivy League teams to participate in intercollegiate athletics competition prior to the end of the fall semester." In the Power Five, the Big Ten has taken a less drastic but still massively important step. The league will only allow their football teams to play within the conference, first reported by Nicole Auerbach of "The Athletic." Said the Big Ten in a statement: "We are facing uncertain and unprecedented times, and the health, safety and wellness of our student-athletes, coaches, game officials, and others associated with our sports programs and campuses remain our number one priority. To that end, the Big Ten Conference announced today that if the Conference is able to participate in fall sports (men’s and women’s cross country, field hockey, football, men’s and women’s soccer, and women’s volleyball) based on medical advice, it will move to Conference-only schedules in those sports. Details for these sports will be released at a later date, while decisions on sports not listed above will continue to be evaluated. By limiting competition to other Big Ten institutions, the Conference will have the greatest flexibility to adjust its own operations throughout the season and make quick decisions in real-time based on the most current evolving medical advice and the fluid nature of the pandemic." So what does all of this mean for the rest of the sport and particularly the Florida Gators? That's a good question and one which no one has an answer, including those in charge. If the SEC follows the Big Ten model, the teams would be playing only eight league games. however, there is a large outspoken argument for the SEC to go to nine league games. This could be the kick the league office needs to make the change for which coaches and fans have been asking. The ACC also plays eight league games, leading Seth Emerson to propagate an idea the two leagues could strike a deal to keep a nine game schedule while also keeping rivalries. It's an ever changing situation in an ever changing world. Stay with GatorBait Magazine for the latest updates and analysis. Wear a mask.

(Third in a series of position-by-position analysis of the 2020 Florida Gators) Three receivers from Florida’s 11-2 2019 team were drafted and a fourth got a free agent contract. Combined they accounted for 139 catches, 1,771 receiving yards and 16 touchdowns. The foursome of Van Jefferson, Freddie Swain, Tyrie Cleveland and Josh Hammond were fearless blockers and special teams demons so their value goes far beyond catching the football. Losing four quality players like this would be reason to panic at most schools but while they will be missed, it’s next man up for Dan Mullen, who has four quality receivers with experience ready to step up in 2020 and a slew of talented kids waiting in the wings, ready to make their mark. The four that step into the limelight this season are tight end Kyle Pitts (6-6, 240, JR), a legitimate candidate for All-America and Mackey Award honors; and wide receivers Trevon Grimes (6-5, 220, SR), Jacob Copeland (6-0, 195, RSO) and Kadarius Toney (5-11, 195, SR). They combined to catch 118 passes for 1,607 yards and 11 touchdowns in 2019. They present such diversity in their skill sets that they will be a nightmare for opposing defensive coordinators. Pitts emerged as the best receiving tight end in the SEC as a sophomore last season when he caught a team high 54 passes for 649 yards and five touchdowns. He has tight end size and wide receiver speed so he’s too big for corners and safeties and too fast for your typical linebacker. This season he will be coached by Tim Brewster, who turned former college basketball star Antonio Gates into a tight ends legend in the NFL and helped Nick O’Leary win the Mackey Award at FSU so as good as he was last year, Pitts should be even better this season. Pitts and UF quarterback Kyle Trask should be one of the best pitch and catch duos in the country. What makes Pitts so valuable is that he’s at his best running routes in the middle of the field, which opens the outside for the wide receivers and the under routes for a make-you-miss type like Toney. If there is a question with Pitts, it is can he become a more effective blocker when he has to fill the role of the traditional tight end with his hand on the ground? In most offenses, Grimes would be assured of 60-70 catches, but Mullen’s offense spreads the ball around so the numbers are deceiving. Last season Grimes had 33 catches for 491 yards and three touchdowns, stats that only figure to improve this year as he is likely to be the Gators’ top threat to stretch the field. In two seasons as a Gator, Grimes has caught 59 passes for 855 yards and five touchdowns. With his size and strength, he’s also an exceptional blocker in the screen game that is so prominent in this offense. We’ve seen glimpses of Grimes’ ability to turn on the jets and blow by people (see Tennessee 2019), so if there is a question it is can he become such a consistent deep threat that he forces over-the-top coverage by one of the safeties, thus opening up the rest of the field? It has never been a question of potential with Copeland, just a matter of when it all comes together. He began to emerge as a real threat starting in the South Carolina game last year to finish strong with 21 catches for 273 yards and two touchdowns. A hard worker in the weight room this warrior who has transformed his body into one that gives him the look of a body builder, Copeland has the physical strength to work the middle of the field plus the speed to blow by corners. He was one of the top wide receivers in the nation in the 2018 recruiting class so it is time for him to emerge as a go-to guy. Consistency will be the issue. Copeland struggled with the drops early in his career so can he be the guy who is money when the ball comes his way? The X-factor in this group is Toney, who figured to have a breakout junior year until injured in game two last season. He missed six full games and really didn’t get back into football shape until game 10 against Vanderbilt so his season numbers (12-59 rushing, 10-194 receiving for one touchdown) are only a fraction of what they figured to be after he scored that dazzling touchdown on Florida’s first series in the 2019 season opener against Miami. Toney’s career stats are more indicative of what he’s capable of doing – 50 catches for 606 yards and two touchdowns; 47-419 and one TD rushing. A healthy Toney who could be good for 30-plus receptions and at least that many carries per game could force opposing defensive coordinators to burn the midnight oil trying to figure out how to defend an already multi-faceted offense that has a receiver capable of turning a two-yard pass into a 30-yard gain, one who can line up outside, in the slot or in the backfield. And lest we forget, Toney is a former high school quarterback who can throw the ball. Toney missed three games as a true freshman in 2017 and then had the shoulder injury last year that more or less torpedoed his season. Can he stay healthy for 12 full games plus the post season? A healthy Toney adds a unique dimension to the Florida offense and expands the play calling for Mullen so his contributions will be vital to a healthy and dynamic Florida attack. Just those four give the Gators one of the best receiving units in the Southeastern Conference but behind them Mullen has better depth and talent than he’s had in his two previous seasons starting with a pair of transfers. Texas grad transfer Jordan Pouncey (6-2, 205) has two years of eligibility remaining and Penn State transfer Justin Shorter (6-4, 226) is a former 5-star recruit, also with two years of eligibility. Shorter has applied for an NCAA waiver that would grant immediate eligibility. Pouncey was a 4-star recruit coming out of Winter Park High School who simply got lost in the shuffle at Texas. He’s a big body with good hands and very good, although not blazing speed. Shorter was under-used at Penn State (15 catches, 157 yards in two seasons) but he has sub-4.5 speed and the kind of size that will make him a truly difficult matchup for both corners and safeties. Will this be the year Rick Wells (6-0, 205) finally puts it all together? Somehow, he’s never been able to translate great springs into productive falls. Mullen constantly speaks in praiseworthy terms, but so far Wells’ UF career is three catches for 33 yards. Grimes, Copeland, Toney, Pouncey, Shorter and Wells are the only wide receivers with real playing time but there is an enormous amount of young talent behind them in the form of redshirt freshmen Ja’Markis Weston (6-3, 217), Trent Whittemore (6-3, 195) and Dionte Marks (6-2, 180) and incoming freshmen Xzavier Henderson (6-4, 180) and Ja’Quavian Fraziars (6-4, 200), both 4-star recruits who have outstanding speed and dazzling high school highlight reels. Behind Pitts at tight end, the one to watch is sophomore Keon Zipperer (6-2, 235), who showed enormous potential as a true freshman when he caught three passes for 35 yards and a TD. He figures to be more of a hybrid who will be an H-back or line up in the slot. Kemore Gamble (6-3, 241) caught seven passes in 2018 but didn’t register a reception in 2019. Lange played in all 13 games, mostly on special teams and as a blocker when the Gators had the football. Freshman Jonathan Odom (6-5, 250) is the son of former UF All-American left tackle Jason Odom. He will likely redshirt. THE SCHOLARSHIP RECEIVERS Wide Receivers Jordan Pouncey (6-3, 205, GR/Transfer from Texas) Rick Wells (6-0, 205, RSR) Kadarius Toney (5-11, 195, SR) Trevon Grimes (6-5, 220, SR) Justin Shorter (6-4, 226, JR/Transfer from Penn State) Jacob Copeland (6-0, 195, RSO) Ja’Markis Weston (6-3, 217, RFR) Trent Whittemore (6-3, 195, RFR) Dionte Marks (6-2, 180, RFR) Ja’Quvian Fraziars 6-4, 200, FR) Xzavier Henderson (6-4, 180, FR) Tight Ends Kemore Gamble (6-3, 241, RJR) Kyle Pitts (6-6, 245, JR) Dante Lange (6-5, 252, RSO) Keon Zipperer (6-2. 235, SO) Jonathan Odom (6-5, 250, FR) ASSESSING THE POSITION: Mullen has to feel like the proverbial kid in the candy store when he sees his receivers room. He’s got size, speed, experience and depth, more in one single place than he’s had since arriving at UF in 2018. The key word here is potential. The potential is enormous, but can the combination of a Mullen offense and exceptional coaching by Billy Gonzales (wide receivers) and Tim Brewster (tight ends) help turn potential into on-the-field productivity? It helps that the Gators have four experienced receivers to replace the four they lost to the NFL. Pitts and Grimes are proven commodities while Copeland can be a stud if he can overcome a penchant for drops that he’s shown in the two previous seasons. There is no question that Toney is the X-factor in the offense but he has to stay healthy. If he’s healthy, it will open up every aspect of Florida’s passing game as well as add a dimension to the running game that will loosen up defenses. But it’s rare that you can get through an SEC season with only four receivers so Mullen needs productivity from his transfers as well as contributions from the kids. If Shorter gets the waiver from the NCAA, he should see the field immediately and contribute, potentially in a very big way. Kids like Weston, Fraziars and Henderson are likely to get a shot at playing time. At tight end, Mullen needs Zipperer to be ready to take on an expanded role. All of Florida’s scholarship receivers are in Gainesville because they have the potential to play at a high level, but they have to take that next step and turn potential into productivity. Mullen has all the pieces to the puzzle to provide Kyle Trask with an outstanding set of targets. If these guys realize their potential then Florida’s passing game could easily match 2019 when the Gators threw for 300.8 yards per game and 33 touchdown passes, the best per game yardage totals since Steve Spurrier’s last season as head coach in 2001 and the most touchdown passes since the national championship season of 2008. Should Florida come close to matching last year’s yardage and TD totals, this should provide the Gators with the most dynamic offense they’ve had since the last national championship.

Florida Gators Head Coach Dan Mullen has always maintained that every position is open. The first shoe-in starter, incumbent quarterback since Tim Tebow? That position is still open. A guaranteed first round pick at corner? That spot is still up for grabs. The most productive rusher in a decade who returned specifically to help the team his senior year? He’s going to have to work to earn his snaps. It’s an understandable and effective mindset to impart on the entire team. It forces each guy to put in their best effort and doesn’t allow for anyone to slack off, thinking their spot is assured. Yet with an offseason that has required extreme social distancing and a training camp that is set to begin August 7 but could tentatively be changed, the position group battles are currently in name only. “That’s one of the challenges this year,” admits Mullen, and while it’s one of many, it’s also one of the bigger ones. Take the linebacker corps for example. The unit really lost only David Reese II, the senior leader who had held the middle linebacker role for years. There is an abundance of talent still in the room for position coach Christian Robinson. Yet few of them have much if any real experience with significant playing time. It’s the sheer number of them that have made it impossible to have any one see more time than another. It’s a good problem to have…yet still somewhat of a problem, because now Ventrell Miller is the lone primary starter (he started 11 games next to Reese II last season). “It’s interesting because there are some younger players we’re excited to go get in there,” Mullen says of the group. The linebacker corps is merely one example and doesn’t serve as a microscope for the entire team. The unit relies on Grantham’s ever shifting over and under fronts and as mentioned, boast a deep rotation that to this point was held hostage as some points by the sheer fact that you couldn’t take David Reese II off the field. At other positions, things are a bit more settled. Quarterback has a hierarchy, offensive line could have one make an educated guess, same for running back and wide receiver. Corner is relatively set, the defensive line is anyone’s guess and safety will most likely remain the same rotation. And this staff has always been adamant that the position battles are not about who starts but who sees snaps. Related: Franz Beard's Position by Position Break Down for the 2020 Florida Gators “We talk about it with our guys, finding ways to get better. Worry about what we can control and worrying about getting better and the best ways to learn in meetings. Whether we’re taking notes, whether actually you’re standing up and stepping while you’re watching the film during a meeting while you’re doing it virtually, wherever you are watching, whether it’s on your phone or your iPad or on your computer, that you stand, step up and take a step to do things. Hopefully all of that translates into guys being ready to go play this fall. “I think if you look, though, I think guys get caught up a lot in starts. We try to look a lot more at playing time. For us, it’s about the playing time. We’ve had guys, even though we don’t have a lot of returning starters back, we have guys that have playing time and experience in games. Hopefully they’re able to adjust, and their role’s just going to increase in the fall.” But within the issue that Mullen pointed out, we do see a unique situation that will possibly plague the coaching staff in whatever version of the 2020 season takes the field…those vaulted position battles. And those position battles—in turn—help shape the personality and mindset of a team. That is going to take a while to become defined admits Mullen. “One of the big challenges every year is understanding the personality of your team. For us, when you talk about the evaluation, not just the players who are ready to play but the personality of the entire team, and across the board. We're just going to have to do that in a restricted window in camp, and it might actually even take a couple weeks into the season until we really find the personality of this team.”

Take the poll. Help us do the right thing. "They" is really you, and us. Click here to take the Survey “Are you changing the name of ‘GatorBait’?” I am asked that question daily. In fact, this week a former player and ex-media guy said: “Are they going to make you change the name of your magazine.” To which I replied: “They? Who’s ‘they?,’“ although I knew who he meant. “They” is really you, and us. Let me be clear: If the name GatorBait is changed, it won’t be because we were ordered by somebody to do it. It’ll be because we mostly agree it was the “right thing to do.” Understanding each other is an act of willful intent which requires desire and patience. Conflict resolution is an art form. We cannot achieve even a mere morsel of it without listening and learning. Somehow we must bridge the communication gap in our country, our county and our communities. You in? We’re in! Starting with the conundrum of what to do about Gator Bait, which is the 40-year-old name we purchased with this publication one year ago this month and rebranded as GatorBait. What to do? Start by taking starting this anonymous, independent survey. We promise to pay close attention. We’ll factor in your sentiments and make a determination of whether to keep the name of our magazine GatorBait, or change it to something else at a later date. Gator Bait, the cheer, has been removed from the University of Florida Band and Cheerleaders playlist. UF president Kent Fuchs would like to distance Florida from presumed racist implications by those who point to an unproven and unvalidated historical reference about black children allegedly being used by white alligator hunters to lure prey. You may not agree with him and feel that President Fuchs has jumped the gun without validation of facts, but given the so-called “optics” of the scenario and sensitivity of the issue in the current landscape, he should be given points for not ducking the issue. Here at GatorBait, the magazine and website, we stand by our guidelines as laid down in this space last week. And we won’t duck it, either. Rule #1 Do we know? Rule #2 Do the best you can until you know better. Rule #3 When you know better, do better. (Maya Angelou) Rule #4 Head Ball Coach Steve Spurrier: “If it offends people, change it.” We also renew our commitment to “do the right thing.” After further study and more polling and placing the data in the hands of a “jury” made up of other media and experts that will include a group of African American athletes, we will “do the right thing.” The popular chant, “Gator Bait!,” sanctioned or not, isn’t going away. It has been around since before the late Tom Petty was born and will continue to be screamed by fans as the opposing teams come out of their locker room –in fact, it may be louder than ever. If and when the first game is played at The Swamp, it may break the sound barrier when the visiting team runs on Steve Spurrier-Florida Field. A sure way to publish a best-selling book is to ban it.

“I also think they’ve got the best defensive coordinator (Todd Grantham) in the league.” – Anonymous quote from an SEC coach in Lindy’s preseason SEC magazine. It’s true that Todd Grantham is the SEC’s best defensive coordinator and easily one of the top four or five coordinators in the entire country. The numbers don’t lie. Take a look at what they tell us about 2019. Even with less talent and depth than rivals such as Georgia, the Gators still finished the year ranked 7th nationally in scoring defense (15.5 points per game), 8th in rushing defense (102.77 yards per game), 5th in sacks (49 for -318 yards), 9th in interceptions (16) and 9th in total defense (304.8 yards per game). Statistically, what the Gators did in 2019 was solid improvement from the year before, Grantham’s first year on the job. The 2018 defense was really good. The 2019 defense was even better and that should only whet the appetite of Florida fans for 2020. Florida fans know that if the Gators are to surpass Georgia as the king of the Southeastern Conference Eastern Division, the defense will have to come through in a big way and Grantham has the horses to do it. Without question, this should be the best Florida defense since the 2012 team that went 11-2 thanks to a hard hitting outfit that rarely made mistakes and was coordinated by Dan Quinn, now the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons. That 2012 unit, which featured 18 players who spent at least one year in the NFL, gave up only 14.5 points and 286.7 yards per game, terrific numbers that the 2020 Gators have the ability to equal or exceed. The Gators lost some outstanding players from 2019 in cornerback and NFL first round draft pick C.J. Henderson, bookend pass rushers Jonathan Greenard and Jabari Zuniga, and middle linebacker and tackling machine David Reese II, but Grantham has more talent, depth and experience to work with this year. It’s never easy replacing players who will make a living playing on Sunday, but Grantham has replacements capable of getting the job done. Like any new season, improvement will have everything to do with staying healthy, but if the Gators can avoid the injury bug, then this could become a defense that will be remembered. In nearly every preseason publication, the national media sees a very solid Florida defense but points to two areas as questionable – pass rush and inside linebacker – that will have to be addressed for UF to take the next step in Dan Mullen’s overall rebuild of the program. Close examination indicates Grantham has the players who can more than eliminate any doubts. The pass rush should pick up right where it left off last season. Returning are the players who registered 28.5 of Florida’s 49 sacks last year including rush end Zachary Carter, who got to the quarterback 4.5 times playing mostly in place of Zuniga, who saw action in just six games due to a severe high ankle sprain. Carter (6-4, 263, RJR) is expected to compete for All-SEC honors. As freshmen, Mohamoud Diabate (6-2, 215, SO; 4.5 sacks) and Kris Bogle (6-6, 220, SO; 2.5 sacks) showed enormous quickness off the edge although both played almost exclusively in passing situations. Added strength combined with last year’s experience should put both on the field in every down situations. A healthy Jeremiah Moon (6-6, 230, RSR; 3.0 sacks) strikes fear into every offensive tackle in the SEC, but he’s got to prove he can stay healthy enough to play every game. If there is an X-factor in the pass rush it’s Georgia transfer Brenton Cox Jr. (6-4, 250, RSO), who sat out last year due to NCAA rules. Cox was a 5-star recruit who was expected to be a starter at UGa in 2019 after a standout freshman year in 2018. Reese (322 career tackles, 94 in 2019) rarely made mistakes and was the unquestioned leader of the Florida defense. The Gators have the athletes to replace his productivity, but can someone emerge as a leader? The guys in the middle who will be expected to step up their games are Ventrell Miller (6-0, 225, JR) and James Houston IV (6-1, 233, RJR). Miller was in on 55 tackles in 2019 with 3.0 sacks and 5.5 tackles for loss, while Houston had 38 tackles, 3.5 sacks and 6.0 tackles for loss. Florida’s interior defensive line should be the best since 2012, led by the big guys in the middle. Kyree Campbell (6-3, 304, SR) flirted with the NFL before making the decision to return for what should be an outstanding final season. Last year he was in on 39 tackles (4.0 for loss, 1.0 sacks), which is phenomenal for a nose tackle. He will be flanked by gigantic Tedarrell Slaton (6-5, 358, SR), who showed up in a big way toward the end of 2019, finishing with 29 tackles including 4.0 for loss and 2.0 sacks. Expected in the D-line rotation are Marlon Dunlap Jr. (6-3, 295, SR) and young stud Gervon Dexter (6-7, 295, FR), a 5-star recruit that may have more impact in the interior D-line than any true freshman in the country. There is a reason Florida competes for the claim of DBU and this year will be no exception. The Gators return four starters in corner Marco Wilson (6-0, 190, RJR) and safeties Donovan Stiner (6-1, 203, SR) and Shawn Davis (5-11, 185, SR) plus hybrid LB/S Amari Burney (6-2, 224, JR) and promising sophomore Kaiir Elam (6-2, 190, SO), who saw more action as the 2019 season progressed. Wilson (36 tackles, 3 interceptions) spent much of the season shaking off the rust from an injury-caused redshirt in 2018 but by season’s end he was showing the form he showed as a freshman in 2017. Wilson will team with Elam (3 interceptions) to form what should be one of the SEC’s best corner duos. Stiner (30 tackles, 4 interceptions) and Davis (51 tackles, 3 interceptions) figure to be one of the nation’s top safety tandems while Burney (37 tackles, 1 interception) is big enough to give strong run support and quick enough to cover tight ends. Grantham doesn’t lack for experienced starting talent, but he’s got more good athletes than he’s had in the two previous seasons. For the first time since he arrived, Grantham can go top-to-bottom and see a true SEC roster on defense. Recruiting has brought in size, talent and speed at all three levels so there will be plenty of talented bodies to rotate in and out. History tells us Grantham subs early and often in the first half so that he has fresh legs on the field in the final two quarters. He’s got enough talent that there should be little if any dropoff when he sends in new faces. One of the reasons Grantham stuck around rather than bolt to the NFL when it came calling after the 2018 season is because he sees a roster that can compete at the highest levels. The injury bug is always a concern, but this edition of the Gators is better equipped to deal with injuries than any Florida team in recent memory. It’s a nice combination of experienced veterans to go with talented youngsters. Offense is great but the teams that win championships in the Southeastern Conference have depth to go with outstanding talent at every level. The 2020 Gators have everything it takes to be the best defensive unit in the SEC and that could very well translate into an SEC Eastern Division championship. An SEC East title puts the Gators in Atlanta where the winner is assured of one of the four College Football Playoff slots. Todd Grantham has everything he needs to do his part to bring the Gators their first SEC East title since 2016. If the defense comes through, the sky is the limit for Florida in 2020.

There’s a lot Dan Mullen admittedly doesn’t know right now. So instead he’s operating within what he does know. “As of right now, we’re planning a training camp as normal. We’re planning a normal regular season because that’s what we can know at this point.” While the spread of the novel coronavirus COVID-19 continues to keep the entire country—and subsequently college sports—in flux, Mullen and the Florida Gators are keeping their focus on the things they can control. “I think it’s a waste of energy sometime to speculate on all the different things that can happen. What we have to do is be prepared to adjust to whatever does happen. As we get knowledge and as we get information and some solid fact, we’ll adjust accordingly at that point.” It’s advice that really can be applied to a number of areas of our lives currently and as Mullen said it while on a call with local media, I couldn’t help but think of something my dad has said my whole life; “When you don’t know what to do, do what you know to do.” When you don’t know what tomorrow holds, focus on today. When you don’t know how others around you are going to react, just do what you know is right. When you don’t know how you’re going to possibly cross the chasm in front of you, just take one step at time where you know you can. No matter what Las Vegas or the experts or your neighbors cousin who is a psychic says, no one really knows what is going to happen in the world the next few months, let alone with college football. That’s a scary thought for sect of the population—coaches and athletes—that depend largely on routine. So when that is ripped out from underneath them, what do they do? What they know to do. Related: Florida Gators Notebook, Latest News and Updates “I’m trying to focus on with all our guys - which is really hard to do with everything going on with the pandemic right now - is worrying about what we can control … what we know and what we can control. "I think one thing that is difficult as you brought up is routine. I think it’s difficult not having a routine for the coaches and it’s not having a great routine with the players right now. I think that is tricky.” Training camp for the Gators is scheduled to begin August 7 and Mullen is treating that as a given right now, because it’s the only solid date he has. As for anything after that? Well before he can answer that question, his phone rings. “Hold on one second for me because we are in the middle of several different recruiting visits, so hold on.” In a way, that five minutes that Mullen left the Zoom call with local reporters to take a call from a recruit, was the most normal part of everything. Because when you don’t know what to do, do what you know to do…and in the SEC, that means recruit every day or die. That’s the routine that Dan Mullen can keep up with right now. And it’s the model by which he’ll lead his players as they continue to return to campus. "Our coaches’ life right now, we tried to create as much of a positive routine for our players as we can. A positive routine for the coaching staff. And continue to be productive on the things we can worry about and the things that we can control. And that’s the one thing that is. One of the hardest things that we have probably had to deal with, to me, is not being around our players. I love the personal interaction of our players. When you get on a team meeting and you get on the Zoom call and you’re looking at ever how many boxes and can fit on per screen, and then I try to scroll through the screen just to even see everyone’s face. I think one of the hardest ones is not dealing with the personal face-to-face, the personal interaction with our players on a regular basis. “I think you can talk to a lot of our players, if there’s one thing they’re hungry for is to get back to somewhat of a routine. Even though it’s still kind of a very limited routine, but to have as much of a little bit of routine they can fall back on as possible. I think that’s been one of the trickier parts of things. But, you know, as you keep hearing me say, it’s obviously much easier to say than do, which is to try and worry about what you can control.”

After watching his cousin rise to football success, only to find himself in prison later, Carlos Del Rio knew what he wanted to do and how he wanted to do it. He wanted to play football. But he wanted to make it. Del Rio was six years old when he first started playing football. Like most football players his age, Del Rio bounced from position to position. Lineman, running back, wide receiver and running back were all tested by the Georgia native. However, by the age of eight, Del Rio’s coaches started to realize that maybe he belonged elsewhere on the field. “I used to play receiver, I used to run down the field and catch the ball and the coaches would always say to throw the ball back to the quarterback. And every time I did it, it would hit the quarterback right in his hands and it was a perfect spiral.” From then on out, Del Rio settled into his new position under center. Through three high school seasons, Del Rio has tallied 4,655 yards and 40 touchdowns. The four-star prospect added an additional 666 yards and eight touchdowns with his legs. In 2019, Del Rio helped the McEachern Indians to a 12-1 season record, which was enough for the Indians to be ranked as the ninth-best football team in the State of Georgia. With such success, it’s no wonder multiple college football programs have offered the Peach-State prospect. In his recruitment, Del Rio fielded offers from Michigan, Florida State, Louisville, Georgia Tech, Miami, Tennessee and Florida, among others. With the help of quarterback coach Brian Johnson and Dan Mullen’s resume of successful quarterbacks, the Gators ultimately won over Del Rio, leading to his commitment on July 26, 2019. “What helped me make that decision was the coaching staff,” Del Rio told GatorBait. “I spoke with the coaches before I committed. I actually got a one-on-one personal talk with Dan Mullen and a one-on-one personal talk with Brian Johnson. And the conversation was that I’m ready to commit and they told me once I get up there, the spot’s not guaranteed.” And while most high school recruits would love to be guaranteed time off of the bench, that wasn’t the case for Del Rio. “I'm going to have to work for the position and compete to get the starting spot. And me being a competitor, that’s what I want to hear. That’s what I want in a college. I don’t just want a college to tell me that once I get there the spot is mine, the spot is guaranteed, you don’t have to compete for it. So every other school I went to, they told me the spot would be given to me. I didn’t like that.” And while Del Rio’s competitive nature is sure to pay off upon his tentative arrival to Gainesville, he also put it to the test this last week as he competed in the Elite 11 Finals. Since 1999, the Elite 11 has been the nation’s premiere quarterback competition. It’s the high-school-quarterback’s Olympics, if you will. This past week, Del Rio joined 19 other Elite 11 finalists for three day’s worth of competition in Nashville, Tennessee. Heading into the competition, Del Rio told GatorBait that he had three goals: “Some of my goals are to definitely make everyone out here better. Also, I want to nitpick and take back some of the coaching points from the coaches. Most importantly, I want to win it all.” The finals finished up on Wednesday. And though Del Rio didn’t win the competition, he certainly turned heads. According to those in attendance, Del Rio definitely seemed to settle in over the three-day stretch. SI All-American placed Del Rio in the middle of the pack on day one, before really tipping its hat to the Florida commit on the second day. Day two’s action resembled a pro-day workout and ranked throws on a scale of 1-3, with a 1 being an uncatchable pass and a 3 being a “money throw” -- meaning it was thrown and timed accurately. Of his allotted 18-20 throws, Del Rio threw 12 “money throws”, which led the field. His 2.47 average rating earned him the top spot in day two. In day three’s “accuracy gauntlet”, the future Florida Gator put on the ninth-best performance of the day. When all was said and done, Caleb Williams, an uncommitted prospect out of Washington D.C. took home MVP honors. Surprisingly (and cause for much debate on Twitter), Del Rio was not listed as one of the “Elite 11”. According to the Elite 11’s official Twitter page, 50% of a competitor’s assessment comes from high school film, while the other 50% of a competitor’s assessment comes from a player’s actual performance at the Elite 11. GatorsTerritory’s Zach Abolverdi tweeted, “A #Gators QB hasn’t been snubbed this bad since Rex Grossman in NYC.” Meanwhile, in Carlos Del Rio fashion, the 2021 commit took to Twitter to give his take on the week. And Gators fans should be comforted by his attitude:

The cheer "Gator Bait" has been deemed racist by the UF administration. What shall we do? This version was edited on Saturday, June 27 to include Steve Spurrier's statement and update the flag story out of Columbia, S.C. When I was a boy typist trying to learn the trade of my father, he taught me to type: Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country. It meant nothing – just a practice exercise proposed by an instructor. In fact, there is a debate over the correct noun, because some say the word should be “party” and not “country.” Still, it’s good for practicing my typing. Although later I learned “The Quick Brown Fox jumped over the lazy hound dog” as a better one requiring more keys. These days, I’m NOT going with the word “party” due to all the polarization in politics. What we need is healing—more “aid” for our country and our colleges, if you will—and not misguided party loyalty on either side. Especially if your alma mater happens to be the University of Florida. By now all Gators know of the imperiled traditions of their school, changes being made at UF over previous injustices, the civil unrest which at time looks and feels like a race war—racism, overt or implied—and some of the reparations being considered. Most of you want to just get through the Covid-19 crisis and bring on football. Many feel heritage and tradition are being burned at the stake. You’re sick of all the commotion, conflict and consternation. You’d like to get on with life and all the talking and writing about negative subjects. Many of you tell me that while we’re streaming “The Buddy Martin Show.” This one time, however, I need to explain our official position. So let me get to the issue at hand. The cheer “Gator Bait” has been deemed racist by the UF administration. According to the student newspaper, "The Florida Alligator", “President Kent Fuchs announced in an email to students that the cheer will no longer be performed by the Gator Band at UF sporting events, due to the ‘horrific historical racist imagery associated with the phrase.’” My first response, like most others, was one of incredulity. In no way, shape or form did I ever consider the term even the slightest bit racial. But was I naïve to the gravity of the term’s usage? Maybe I needed to listen and be better educated. Like all changes, however, sometimes it’s painful, but self-introspection is necessary. This is going to have damaging repercussions either way it goes. So I hope Dr. Fuchs is prepared for the storm. I didn’t take an official poll yet, but many people were blindsided by what they considered a premature action by President Fuchs, and said they objected to what felt like a “knee jerk reaction.” Had Fuchs been more familiar with the tradition, its origin and intent—most of them said—he could have perhaps determined a better course action on how to separate fact from mythology and folklore. Some brought up the misguided good intentions of NASCAR over the incident of a noose being found in the garage of African-American driver Bubba Wallace at Talladega which required the services of 15 FBI agents to determine the so-called “noose,” which turned out to be a garage door pull placed there six months ago. Accuracy is hard to come by these days, whether it’s about Covid-19, politics or race. That’s why we’re so divided in America—because we all brandish our own version of the truth proudly as a badge of honor. Which brings me to this conclusion: When did it become unacceptable to say, “I don’t know”? That’s what I call “Rule #1 for Buddy Martin.” Rule #2 is to find out and then do the right thing. On my office door are the words of Maya Angelou, which I had read before but copied off the Facebook Page former Gator football star Terrence Barber as a reminder and now my Rule #3: “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” In case you haven’t noticed, the name of this publication which I currently own with my family and (hopefully one day) loyal employees, is- GATORBAIT The day Fuchs made his announcement, my phone began buzzing with texts and calls. “What are you going to do about the name of your publication?” I was asked numerous times. And so I invoked Rule #1 and said: “I don’t know.” GatorBait founder David Stirt had told Graham Hall of the Gainesville Sun that when he adopted the name from the cheer, he might have not used it had he known its origin. The problem is we still don’t know, except stories have been written about the alleged custom of alligator hunters using black children back at the turn of the century to lure alligators so they could be shot and skinned. It’s a vague reference but the stories today refer back to the Jim Crowe Museum and several cartoon-like postcards depicting young black children about to be used as alligator bait. According to an internet link, UCLA folklorist and African American studies professor Patricia Turner wrote that “the artifacts depict more than just the presence of a negative stereotype; they implicitly represent a form of aggression in eradicating an unwanted people.” But even Turner writes that there is no evidence that this ever happened. The troubling part of it was that the postcards presented some gruesome optics which apparently prompted the UF to distance itself from any suggestion that the cheer was derived from those savage-like practices, if indeed they ever happened. So what do we do? It’s not my purpose to adjudicate the school’s choice. Each of us has to decide for ourselves what our response will be. So here at GatorBait we invoke: Rule #2: To find out the facts and then do the right thing. Rule #3: "Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” We are willing to change based on research being done by a Gainesville agency and further study. Today I am announcing that we have retained the services Make It Happen agency for an independent survey of our readers and to poll our fan base on how they feel about the issue of the use or banning of “GatorBait” so that we may consider changing our 40-year-old trademarked name. Here is the statement from owner Freddie Wehbe: “We will begin the research and provide you with an accurate sentiment via a consumer survey. A sample with a minimum of 2000 individual consumers will provide as a guideline for your final decision. We will keep the survey anonymous and limit it to one entry per IP address to avoid skewing the results.” Spurrier wanted flag down in S.C From there, I have chosen Rule #4 from The Steve Spurrier School of Reasoning. When asked about the matter of a Confederate flag flying over the Capital in Columbia in 2015, Spurrier said: "I don't really know anybody that wants it there, but I guess there are a lot of South Carolinians that do." Later he told ESPN, "I realize I'm not supposed to get in the political arena as a football coach, but if anybody were ever to ask me about that damn Confederate flag, I would say we need to get rid of it." In July 2015, it was removed. Gov.Nikki Haley signed the bill. So what's ahead for GatorBait? I promise you that we will follow the wisdom of Rule #1 and Maya. And proceed with diligence and expediency on No. 2 and No. 3. Spurrier has reaffirmed his position. "I think we need to follow the lead of the president and the athletic director," Spurrier told me. Confederate flags, of course, are a different matter, but racism comes in many shapes and sizes and forms. Sometimes they just keep popping back up. EPILOGUE: From the Columbia State: "Three years after South Carolina removed the Confederate flag with pomp and circumstance from the grounds of the S.C. State House, the flag's shadow fell across the north lawn of the state capitol again Tuesday. In what has become an annual ritual, about 30 flag supporters stood in the warm morning sun to honor what they consider their heritage, placing the flag back in the place where it stood for 15 years as "Dixie" blared over loudspeakers. Organized by the S.C. Secessionist Party, the 10 a.m. ceremony marked the third anniversary of the flag's removal from the State House grounds. But, with the passage of time and the anniversary falling on a Tuesday this year, the crowd was smaller than it has been in past years. Read more here: https://www.thestate.com/news/politics-government/article214555950.html#storylink=cpy