BY KASSIDY HILL GATORBAIT COLUMNIST After months of little to no sports, things are starting to pick back up, open back up and look back up in terms of live Florida Gators events. As such, three months of no news has suddenly exploded into a litany of news. To help catch you up and keep you up to date, here are all the things of note that have happened with the Florida Gators in recent days. First up, something guaranteed to bring a smile to your face. While on a Zoom call with CBS Sports this week, former coach Urban Meyer and current coach Dan Mullen called Tim Tebow the one player they'd want to have with the ball in his hands with the game on the line. Tebow was on the call as well. The Gators football team returned to campus and began off-season training on Monday, June 8. Speaking back in April on the fall season in relation to COVID-19, Head Coach Dan Mullen said he’d need a minimum of six weeks with guys on campus to get everyone in shape for camp and then run camp for the season. The Gators are slated to kick-off on September 5 and if they are allowed to continue offseason work without any other interruption, then Mullen and staff will have 12 weeks with the team. Speaking of kicking-off on September 5, Athletic Director Scott Stricklin told Edgar Thompson of the “Orlando Sentinel” that as of now he hopes to have fans in the stands for that game against Eastern Washington. Any final plans concerning fans will not be made until early or mid August. Said Stricklin, “Time is on our side for now.” As for now, no Gator football players on campus have tested positive for the novel coronavirus COVID-19. The return to workouts was voluntary and 87 guys returned. At last update, 80 tests had been returned, all negative. One player tested positive back in April and one has tested positive more recently but he is not on campus according to UF trainer Stacey Higgins. While some programs like the Alabama Crimson Tide have had five players test positive thus far, Higgins acknowledges that could just as easily—and may eventually be—Florida as well. The key will be preparing ahead of time and acting quickly. To help ease the possible spread of COVID, Florida has taken extra precautions with offseason workouts. All workout equipment has been moved from the inside gym to the indoor practice facility. Each machine has been spread out with ample space in between and the doors will remain open to keep air flow moving. But all machines are all under the cover to protect from the inevitable Gainesville summer storms. One thing that won’t be inside regardless is SEC Media Days. The annual media blitz with coaches and players from all 14 SEC teams is a four day marathon of questions, press conferences and digging for feature stories with a lobby full of fans who get an up close look at the their favorite players and coaches. This year the event—which was scheduled to take place in Atlanta—will be virtual. This won’t make a huge difference for you the fan, at least initially, other than being unable to get up close pictures and autographs. But as the season progresses, the lack of face-to-face time will be noticeable in significantly less feature stories. Reporters and voters don’t have to see much more though to know tight end Kyle Pitts is poised to have a huge season this fall. The junior was named a preseason All-American by Walter Camp. Pitts was first on the team in 2019 in receptions with 54 and second on the team with 649 yards. He averaged 12.02 yards per reception and finished with five touchdowns. Pitts won’t be the only star on the field for the Gators this fall if Las Vegas is to be believed. SportsBettingDime.com has moved Kyle Trask into their Top 10 Heisman favorites and have labeled the Gators schedule second easiest in the SEC giving Dan Mullen’s squad good College Football Playoff chances. And finally, the Gators lost a former star last week when former receiver Reche Caldwell passed away after being shot in his home in Tampa. Caldwell went on to play seven years in the NFL. Following news of Caldwell’s death, several former Gator players offered their condolences.

Wide receiver is a position of honor and respect at Florida thanks to the legacy of so many skilled, dedicated and talented players over the past 60 years. BY BUDDY MARTIN GATORBAIT EDITOR Throwing and catching the ball is an art form, and not just for baseball. We here in Florida don’t shovel snow or resort to brute force to propel our football teams. We’d rather throw it to one of the ballet dancers in the sunshine and watch him twist and shout. Since the 1960s, college football in this state has often traveled by air successfully. First at Florida State under Coach Bill Peterson. Then at Florida and Miami. Gator fans have Ray Graves and Steve Spurrier to thank for rescuing them from the deadly dull dungeon of Bob Woodruff’s smashmouth, Tennessee football. I was around when Woodruff’s give-it-up offense frequently punted on third down and once even ran out the clock against Rice to preserve a tie! So when it finally came to pass, so to speak, as Gator football updated its offense from the stone age, indelible new images of those receivers running free were created that still dance in our minds. Who could forget Charles Casey’s precise patterns and soft hands hauling in the gentle tosses of Steve Spurrier? … Richard Trapp tripping the Fred Astaire light fantastic through Georgia defenders like he was running routes-on-air around cones? … Carlos Alvarez splitting double coverage, stretching full out and then fingernail-catching a John Reaves bomb?... Chris Doering’s “got a touchdown!” from Danny Wuerffel – and then he got 29 more in setting career SEC and school records with 31… Ike Hilliard, one of the terrific “triplets” along with Reidel Anthony and Quezzie Green, stopping on a dime and making a million-dollar catch-and-touchdown run in a national championship game win over FSU… So many of them. Percy Harvin, Wes Chandler, Travis McGriff, Jabar Gaffney, Jack Jackson, both Willie Jacksons, Chris Collinsworth, Riley Cooper, David Nelson, Louis Murphy, Taylor Jacobs, Ricky Nattiel, both of the Caldwells, etc. And I’ll stop there, knowing there were many others memorable ones I am bound to leave out. The point is made. Wide receiver is a position of honor and respect at Florida thanks to the legacy of so many skilled, dedicated and talented players over the past 60 years. Somewhere around 17 players called “wide receiver, end or flanker” were named to one All-American team or another, not including tight ends. After quarterbacks, wide receiver ranks as my second favorite position because of their dogged individualism, high-spirited nature and raw courage to go over the middle and get blown up while hanging on to a ball in mid-air. They are usually fast, crafty and smart. Often, those characteristics are also reflected in their personal lives. The other day I researched the list of every Gator who caught a pass in the post-war era and I counted 411 since the 1950s. Actually it was a mixture of backs and tight ends and a few quarterbacks thrown in. Much to my surprise I had seen almost every one of them play. Among them was Alvarez, who remarkably still owns the school record for receiving yards, without having been eligible a freshman. After becoming a consensus All-American on the 1969 SuperSophs, he suffered a serious knee injury. Aside from that, Carlos was deprived of the opportunity to ring up big numbers by a conservative Doug Dickey offense. But there was a lot more to Carlos Alvarez and his story. And he certainly deserves to be considered for the coveted Ring of Honor. First, though, we need to pay respects to the family of Reche Caldwell, who in shocking news was fatally struck down at his home over the weekend by an assassin’s bullets in what still appears to be an unsolved crime in Tampa. He was a popular Gator player who ranked 8th in career catches and 12th all-time in receiving yards, a No. 2 draft pick of the San Diego Chargers in 2002 who also led the New England Patriots in receiving in 2006. “Reche was a wonderful person and one of the best players to ever play at Florida,” said the HBC. “Gosh, so many good ones! I’d put him in the top 10 or 15 of those great ones. He and Jabar Gaffney and Taylor Jacobs between 2000 and 2001 statistically were right there with Ike and Quezzie and Reidel. He was a good guy and absolutely had no issues at Florida that I know of.” Spurrier lamented the problems Caldwell ran into after Florida and his post-football life, saying, “We try to prepare them for life after football – and sometimes we don’t do a very good job.” On the flip side, there are others who went the extra mile during their time at Florida and after they graduated. Such was the case of Alvarez. Hard as it may be to fathom, Gator football had no black players until 1970. During Carlos’s time at UF, the team became integrated and two young black men, Willie Jackson of Sarasota and Leonard George of Tampa, showed up in 1970 without a lot of fanfare or any friends. It was Carlos, also a minority, who stepped in to befriend and shepherd them. Alvarez shared this personal story on Facebook: “My sophomore year at Florida was the last all-white Gator football team. Leonard George and Willie Jackson, the first African-Americans to be recruited at Florida a year after I was recruited, were freshman and freshman were not allowed to play in the varsity team back then. “To show you what incredible injustice that African-Americans have had to face over and over again, let the following personal experience kick in. Carlos Alvarez, a non-US citizen at the time was playing for the Gators and getting all the benefits of that role, while African-Americans were at the same time dying in Vietnam and could not play for the Gators. The Civil War had been over for over a century and the bathrooms in Ocala still had white/colored signs. “I learned a lot from Willie and Leonard and anyone that thinks their time at Florida was easy should go talk to them or read the history of that era. They are heroes in my book, always will be, and a statute of them should be outside of Florida Field.” Once again this year, wide receivers are surfacing as key contributors in Gator football off and on the field, thanks to Dan Mullen’s offensive acumen and the extraordinary teaching at the position by Billy Gonzalez – easily one of the most underrated assistant coaches in CFB. Last year alone, Gonzalez’ “wide receiver room” contributed mightily to leadership. Seniors Josh Hammond, Tyrie Cleveland, Freddie Swain and Van Jefferson were so unselfish they were literally almost interchangeable and they even cheered for each other. The footprints of their legacy will be seen and felt by returnees Kadarius Toney, Trevon Grimes, Jacob Copeland, newcomers and others. There also appears to be a wealth of talent in the red-shirt freshman class like Dionte Marks, Trent Whittemore and Ja’Markis Weston. Mullen is blessed with the best receiving TE in the conference, Kyle Pitts, and a pair of quarterbacks who can distribute like point guards in Kyle Trask and Emory Jones. Which is to say once again the forward pass is alive and well and will be critical to the success of Gator football. We are not likely going back to the Woodruff offense or Woody Hayes’ genre of “three yards and a cloud of dust.” Former Texas Coach Darrell Royal once espoused the creed that when you pass the football “Only three things can happen – and two of them are bad.” He was partially right, except I would amend that to “… and the other one of them is GREAT!” Long live the pass and catch.

“I can’t breathe!” gasped George Perry Floyd Jr. as he lay face down on a Minneapolis street on May 25. He was handcuffed and unable to resist arrest or fight to save his life as police officer Derek Chauvin applied pressure with his knee to Floyd’s windpipe while three fellow officers watched and refused to lend a hand that could have saved the life of a 46-year-old African-American man. Lomas Brown has seen the video. He has heard the words. Forgive him if he hears more than just one voice begging for mercy but instead hears 400 years of African-American voices crying out for help while onlookers refuse to help. Forgive him if he shakes his head when he sees the statistics that show only 10 unarmed African-American men were killed by police in the United States last year. “Think 400 years,” Lomas says, pain so abundant in the tone of his voice. He is a giant of a man with a smile that can light up a room and a voice that can sound like the one Moses heard on Mount Sinai when he was told to remove his sandals because he was standing on Holy Ground. Only his voice softens when he speaks about George Perry Floyd Jr. and the aftermath of his death that has resulted in protests that have turned violent while striking fear that America is going to burn down in the hot summer months ahead. “This is not about just one year when 10 black men were killed by police officers. It’s not just about one man getting murdered in Minneapolis. It’s generation after generation after generation where this kind of thing has happened. People are angry. People are frustrated. They want their voices to be heard.” George Floyd’s voice was certainly heard by the three fellow officers yet no one really listened. If they had, it stands to reason they would have done the right thing. But they stood and watched. They did nothing. One more African-American man died. The video of Floyd’s death went viral. Shocked, angry people took to the streets. Minneapolis was just one of many major American cities where angry protestors took out their frustrations by turning entire communities into war zones. Two weeks later, the protests still go on. America burned and more burning and looting is possible in the future. Are you paying more attention to the burning and the looting or are you listening carefully to what is being said? Lomas Brown condemns the violence and the looting but he wonders out loud if anyone is bothering to get to the heart of the matter. The burning and looting is only a symptom. The problems go deeper. Much, much deeper. “I don’t agree with looting and burning down communities where people live and work – that’s not the right way to get it done and the cost of rebuilding homes, businesses and lives is just too great – but this kind of thing has gone on for so long,” he says. “How long do you have to cry out and say, ‘Listen to us!’ before anyone actually listens? How long before we sit down and actually start talking to each other? There are some serious issues that nobody really wants to talk about but if we don’t sit down to start talking and we don’t listen and then start doing something about it, the future is going to be scary. It’s time to listen. It’s time to start understanding each other. If we don’t start talking and listening, then we’re in trouble. This can’t keep going on.” Before proceeding, please understand this. Lomas Brown loves the United States of America. He appreciates that his athletic skills have taken him from inner city Miami to a college degree and an All-America football career at the University of Florida, He appreciates that the lessons learned at UF under Charley Pell prepared him not only for a brilliant 18-year career in the National Football League where he made All-Pro and earned a Super Bowl ring but to become an exemplary husband and father. Lomas Brown is the first one to tell you that he’s been blessed to live in a country that offers opportunities like this but he is also quick to tell you that the United States isn’t perfect and needs to have some serious conversations about race. “We’re past the time when we need to be talking,” Lomas says. “We have to start now.” * * * The death of George Floyd was like pouring salt into open wounds for Lomas Brown. He is reminded of 1980 when four Miami police officers were acquitted in the death of African-American insurance agent Arthur McDuffie, a former Marine. The officers were charged with manslaughter and there seems to be ample credible evidence that evidence was tampered with, yet a jury gave the four a pass. Liberty City and Overtown burned when the verdict was read. Three years later there were similar riots on those same streets when another Miami police officer shot and killed 20-year-old Nevell Johnson Jr. Then, as now with the case of George Floyd, it wasn’t just a single death that was the can of gasoline tossed on smoldering coals of resentment and injustice. In each case, one death was simply the latest in a long list of grievances and injustices that date back to the days of slavery. We keep waiting for things to change. With each generation comes the promise that change is coming, but does anything really ever change? “This isn’t so much about one man being killed,” Brown said, referring to the death of George Perry Floyd Jr. “It’s that he’s one more man. We ask when does it stop? When does the knee come off the neck? When do we get to breathe? When do people take the time to listen? When do people begin to understand that there are people who are grieving and it didn’t start yesterday. It’s been going on long before any of us alive today were born.” Long before Lomas Brown was born, his dad was growing up in North Florida. Like most southern states, Florida had Jim Crow laws designed to keep blacks and whites separated but it wasn’t until July 2, 1964 that the Civil Rights Act was signed that guaranteed equal rights in all 50 states of the union. It was the memory of what it was like in those days in North Florida that kept Lomas Brown’s dad from co-signing scholarship papers when he elected to attend and play football at the University of Florida “If you were to check my scholarship papers there is one signature missing,” Lomas recalls. “My mom signed. My dad refused. He was born and raised in Tallahassee when racism was all he knew. It wasn’t just Tallahassee but it was all over North Florida, all over the south and probably pretty much all over America. His experiences growing up weren’t good experiences and he didn’t want me to have to go through the same things he went through. He wanted me to stay here in Miami, close to home. It wasn’t perfect here, by no means, but he knew Miami and thought I would get a fair break here that I wouldn’t get in Gainesville.” He might have stayed in Miami to play for Howard Schnellenberger if not for Charley Pell, the second influential white man in his life. The first was Frank Battaglia, a driver’s education teacher and the JV basketball coach at Miami Springs High School. “He (Battaglia) saw something in me that maybe nobody else did,” Lomas recalls. “He took me under his wing and introduced me to a world I didn’t know existed. Where I was from it was all soul food. For us, we couldn’t afford to go out to a nice restaurant so Friday night at McDonald’s was a family dinner out and a real treat. He taught me about Italian food and the kind of restaurants I never had gone to. There were so many things I didn’t know about. Little things – you might think this is funny – like where does your silverware go and which fork to eat with, how to read the menu. And there was so much more than that. Lessons about all kind of life outside my little world in Miami. He expanded my horizons. He took the time to talk to me and to listen to me and I listened to him. Besides my dad, he’s the second most influential male ever in my life.” Battaglia’s influence of opening up an unknown world opened the door for Pell. To this day, Brown wishes more coaches were like Charley Pell for a variety of reasons but the two most prominent are seeing people without first seeing skin color and taking responsibility even when things are at their worst. “Coach Pell, I can tell you, never saw race, not once,” Lomas says. “I’ve never met a coach like Coach Pell. We all knew his background about how he played and coached under Bear Bryant. We knew how Alabama was one of the last schools to have black football players and we knew about the history of race and injustices in Alabama. There was this perceived notion that everyone from Alabama can be like that but in four years with him it was always about doing what is right. He didn’t care whether you were black or white, but he did care if you were doing what is right and don’t do right and you were going to catch the wrath of Coach Pell. He was tough as anybody I ever met but it was about fairness and about doing what he told our parents he would do which is help us grow into men.” It was the NCAA that showed a side of Pell that created another lasting lesson in the young mind of Lomas Brown. When the NCAA came calling on the Florida football program there was no shortage of accusations of wrongdoing. Players accused of accepting improper benefits were grilled by NCAA investigators. Threats were made in an attempt to force cooperation. Pell brought each player in for a private conversation and Brown learned about being a stand-up guy who doesn’t point fingers. “Guys were afraid of losing their scholarships and we were scared,” Brown said. “Coach Pell told us that all we had to do was tell the truth. He was calm as he could be. It was humbling to hear him tell us that we shouldn’t worry, that he was the leader and everything that happened on his watch was his responsibility. He didn’t blame anyone else. He took the bullet for all of us. That is what a great leader does. It makes me sad that doing that was the death of Coach Pell’s coaching career. He was a great football coach but he was a great man.” * * * Brown was the All-America left tackle on the 1984 Florida offensive line known as “The Great Wall,” still considered by many experts the best O-line in the history of the Southeastern Conference. He won the Jacobs Blocking Trophy that year as the best blocking lineman in the SEC. He is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame. A first round draft pick of the Detroit Lions in 1985 (sixth overall pick), Brown made the Pro Bowl seven times. Three times he was a first team All-Pro selection and three times made the second team. He capped his NFL career with a Super Bowl ring for the 2002 Tampa Bay Bucs. It’s only a matter of time before he is inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton. He now lives in the Detroit suburbs where he is a successful businessman and moonlights as a color commentator for Detroit Lions radio broadcasts and ESPN. His most important job, he will tell you, is being a good husband and father. That means doing things that a white father doesn’t ever have to do. There are far too many stories about black men being pulled over by police for “suspicious activity” that was nothing more than driving in the wrong neighborhood or perhaps driving a nice car. There are too many stories through the years of African-American men going to prison for crimes they didn’t commit only to be exonerated by DNA evidence or the actual perpetrator being exposed. As a father, Brown feels the need to constantly remind his kids that their skin color is often the basis for being stopped by the police and how they have to be careful not to be perceived as doing anything to provoke a violent reaction by the cop. “I have to have conversations with my 19- and 22-year-old that you wouldn’t have to have as a white man,” Brown says. “We have to do things differently than your son would … things like if you are stopped by the police to constantly keep your hands on the steering wheel and at all times talk in a very normal tone showing respect. Tell him everything you are doing. If you need to reach for your wallet to get out your license or reach to the glove box to get your registration and insurance papers, tell him what you are doing before you do it. Things like telling them don’t do anything nervous if you see a police car pull up behind you and follow you a few blocks. “These are things you wouldn’t think you have to do but as a black man, you have to if you want your kids to be safe,” Brown said. “You have to equip your kids. Not every policeman is a bad policeman. I’d say more than 99 percent of them are good people who are here to protect us, but that less than one percent … those are the ones you have to be careful about. You probably don’t ever think about those things, but as a black man, you’ll be at the top of the endangered species list if you aren’t prepared. This is the kind of thing we have to go through every single day.” This, he says, is the reason the protests have been so loud and so demonstrative in the two weeks since the death of George Perry Floyd Jr. Floyd wasn’t the first African-American man to die senselessly because of a white policeman but he needs to be the last. The protests and demonstrations have raised awareness that something is wrong but if nothing is done to bridge the gaps of misunderstanding and attempt to heal the long-festering wounds, the only thing the demonstrations will accomplish is more ill will and resentment on both sides. Yes, both sides. This is a two-way street and Brown knows it. White people can’t begin to understand what an African-American man has to go through – “It’s like starting a football game 14 or 21 points behind to be a black man in America,” Brown says – and black people have to understand that not all white people think like the cop whose knee collapsed the windpipe of George Perry Floyd Jr. or the three who stood around and watched. There are far too many misconceptions that need to be addressed. So how does change come about? What can be done to create a more caring, thoughtful and understanding society where the color of one’s skin isn’t important? What can be done to erase the fears that exist? “It starts with conversation,” Brown says. “We have to have meaningful conversations with each other. We can’t keep going on the way we’re going and expect anything to be different in the future. If we don’t talk, then nothing will change at all and the time to talk is now. We may not ever have a better time to talk than right now. As much as I hate the riots and the looting, maybe it will get the attention of black people and white people alike to bring us to the table to talk about making meaningful changes.” Talk alone, however, won’t cut it. For decades we’ve heard one politician after another talk about healing our society and making it so that every kid has a chance to grow up educated and ready to live as an adult in a society where you’re given a fair opportunity to find success. So where has all the talk gotten us? We live in a country that spends more money per student than any country on the planet yet we have failing schools that send kids into the world almost doomed to a life of failure and underachievement because they weren’t properly educated. Too many of these schools are in predominately African-American communities. We live in a society where wealthy people who can afford powerful lawyers skate for serious crimes while poor people who don’t have access to the same representation get the book thrown at them for crimes for which a wealthy white would get probation. It goes on and on and on. The answer, Brown says, isn’t simply about talking but actually listening. “All my life I’ve heard people talk – Democrats, Republicans, you name it – but for all the talk what’s actually happened?” he asks. “Unless the people doing all the talking take the time to listen, nothing is going to change. Nothing at all.” So before you point a finger at someone about the eruption of violence in our streets and communities these last couple of weeks, take a moment and think about these three words then try your best to put your feet in the shoes of someone who doesn’t look like you. “I can’t breathe!”

BY AINSLEE LEE GATORBAIT COLUMNIST As we enter the halfway point of 2020, most of us have learned great lessons through the trials and tribulations that have come with this year. Many of us have brushed up our handwashing skills. Others have learned how to prosper in solitude. But a common lesson? Tom Petty told us, Covid-19 reminded us: The waiting is the hardest part. But for Florida softball’s Cheyenne Lindsey, this lesson was learned over a year ago. In just 72 hours, Cheyenne Lindsey had gone from knocking a ball into play in South Carolina, to sitting in the waiting room of a doctor’s office in her home state of Tennessee. It was then that the four-time high school state champion had learned that the waiting is the hardest part. Though she had already committed to continue her softball career at the University of Florida, Lindsey decided to play one final summer of softball with her travel ball team. And a trip to South Carolina for nationals was on the docket. The recent high school grad had just pushed a ball into play when a collision with the first baseman left her in the clay, waiting to be helped to safety. “All I knew was that I couldn’t walk,” Lindsey told GatorBait. “I was like, something is really wrong. It wasn’t swollen or anything, but I couldn’t put any kind of weight on my knee without falling.” The possibility of tearing an ACL haunts the dreams of athletes. And for Lindsey, who now studies applied physiology and kinesiology at UF, every athlete’s nightmare was becoming her reality. Three days post-injury, Lindsey bawled as her doctor excused himself from the room. She had torn her ACL less than a month before her move-in date in Gainesville. “How am I going to break the news to Coach Walton?,” she asked herself. “How is he going to react? How is this going to affect my career and being able to play at the University of Florida?” The recovery process was a long, winding road. After Walton gave his signee time to digest her diagnosis, he immediately connected Lindsey with the athletic training staff on campus. From there, she began her road to recovery – a road with a number of pot holes. Just days before her scheduled surgery, Lindsey and her team of doctors discovered that she had also torn a part of her hamstring. This meant that after surgery she would be in a straight-leg brace for six weeks. This is compared to the mere days that most ACL surgery patients spend in the brace. As the weeks went by, they took Lindsey’s muscle mass with them. “I lost a lot of muscle in my quad,” the Gators’ centerfielder explained. “I had to relearn how to walk and run again.” Paired with the unthinkable task of learning how to walk, Lindsey was also navigating a new place, hundreds of miles away from her home state of Tennessee. “It really took a toll on me mentally,” the Tennessean admitted. “But I had a really big support system to help me get through the whole entire process.” Helping her cope was Jaimie Hoover, a Florida softball veteran. As Lindsey recalls, Hoover constantly reminded her throughout the rehab process to always find the bright side. And come the 2020 softball season, Lindsey and Florida softball alike both found the bright side. Defensively, Cheyenne Lindsey was found right in the middle of the action in centerfield. Yet when the Gators were at bat, Lindsey was forced to wait. But she didn’t mind. Batting in the nine hole comes with a stigma: You’re one of the weaker hitters on the team. But that wasn’t the case for Tim Walton and the Gators’ red hot lineup. And Lindsey couldn’t wait to prove that. Her “coming out party” came during the opening weekend of SEC play. As Florida hosted Auburn at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium, the Tigers’ could have never imagined the firestorm of a nine-hole hitter that was coming at them. Through the three-game weekend series, Lindsey went 8-for-11 from the batter’s box. Of those eight hits, five pushed a run across the plate for the Gators, two went for two bags and one was a triple. Florida went on to sweep Auburn in a showing that showed just why Walton plucked Lindsey out of Volunteer territory. “The knee really impacted her confidence more than it did her athleticism,” Walton said after the Auburn series. “That time off was not good for her and she’s just now starting to get back to playing a lot more like you think she can play.” However, just as Lindsey was getting back in the rhythm of playing softball, like she had for years, the coronavirus continued to sweep the globe. Just three days after her breakout, Lindsey would find herself in a familiar place: the waiting room. After winning a midday matinee against Penn on Tuesday, and a big win over then-No. 12 Florida State, the Gators were looking forward to a weekend homestand against then No. 24 Baylor. Except the Bears never made it to Gainesville. Instead, the season was halted in response to Covid-19. Days later, the entire season had been scrapped. Cheyenne Lindsey was forced to wait… again. “I think my initial reaction was the seniors. I didn’t even worry about myself,” Lindsey told GatorBait. “I know this is a terrible situation, but at least I still have a year to try and showcase my athletic ability. But here we are, we have these seniors, and this was supposed to be their last year.” Lindsey’s selflessness was at the forefront of the situation. But eventually, as reality began to set in, the sophomore was forced to think about what it meant for her. “What’s going to happen?,” Lindsey asked herself. “I’ve already missed one year. Is this another year I’m going to have missed?” Fortunately, the NCAA issued spring athletes an additional year of eligibility. Not only will Lindsey not have missed another season, but Florida will return a majority of its seniors. And now, Lindsey has more hope than ever. She’s confident that all of the waiting will pay off. “I’m just ready to see people accomplish goals that they’ve set for themselves… even myself” Lindsey says. “The possibility of being able to play again (also keeps me going). Just knowing that we might have another chance to be on that field… it may not be now, but it will be soon.” And the truth is, we hope so. Because as Covid-19 has reminded us, the waiting is the hardest part.

BY FRANZ BEARD GATORBAIT COLUMNIST Three very significant things happened to the Florida basketball team last week. First came the announcement – not unexpected – that Andrew Nembhard was withdrawing from the NBA Draft but putting his name in the NCAA Transfer Portal. Then came word from several sources that Tre Mann would also be withdrawing from the NBA Draft but would be returning to the Gators. Had Nembhard elected to stay at Florida for his junior year, Mann would have been the one transferring out. Mann, for his part has said he has not yet made a final decision. The third, and most significant event, was the ever so quiet transfer of team leadership. Make no mistake about it, this is Keyontae Johnson’s team now. It’s not exactly a role he’s lobbied for, but two consecutive seasons of steady improvement to the point that he returns for his junior season as an All-SEC performer have thrust him into a role that he is immensely qualified to handle. When the 2019-20 season ended abruptly for all of college basketball because of the spread of the coronavirus COVID-19, Johnson was playing the best basketball of his Florida career. He was the Gators’ leading scorer (14.0 points per game), capable of taking games over as a jump shooter (38% from the three-point line) or as a lethal straight line driver to the rack, and the second leading rebounder (7.1 per game), perhaps the best Florida had when a game was on the line. During the month of February, he made steady progress up the prospect lists for NBA scouts and was thought to be a mid-second round or possibly slightly higher choice if he elected to throw his name into the NBA Draft hat. But instead of declaring for the draft, Johnson made a quick, bold decision within days of season’s end that he was coming back to the University of Florida. With that declaration, the 2020-21 Gators became Keyontae Johnson’s team. Leaders lead and that was a statement of leadership made more powerful by Nembhard’s decision to declare for the draft, which was made shortly after Johnson said he was staying. In defense of Nembhard, he’s a great kid and an outstanding basketball player but as his sophomore season unfurled it became more and more apparent that he wasn’t the perfect fit Mike White needed as a point guard. Nembhard is a fine passer in a half court offense and he’s a streaky enough shooter that if he heats up at the right time he can take over a game. What he is not is a consistent outside shooter or an effective point guard in an open court offense that is predicated by full court pressure defense, which is precisely the kind of game that White intends to play. Nembhard (11.2 points, 3.0 rebounds, 5.6 assists per game) tested the NBA waters after his freshman year as well but had he stayed in, wouldn’t have been taken in either the first or second rounds. During his sophomore season, he didn’t make significant progress as a prospect. Some of the blame could be that Nembhard simply wasn’t the right fit in White’s offense but it also has something to do with his inability to consistently hit open three-pointers – 30.8% as a sophomore, a significant drop from the 34.7% he hit as a freshman. From midseason onward, opponents sagged in the paint to try to snuff out Kerry Blackshear Jr., almost daring Nembhard to knock down threes and make them pay. So, now Nembhard is leaving for what he perceives to be greener pastures. Gonzaga, which has a long history of Canadians (Nembhard is from Toronto) is being mentioned as a possible landing spot but there will be no shortage of suitors. To make the transfer work in his favor, Nembhard needs to do his homework and find the coach who runs an offense that best fits his skill set. He will almost certainly apply for a waiver from the NCAA to play immediately. Mann declared for the NBA Draft shortly after Nembhard and it wasn’t exactly a state secret that if Nembhard elected to stay, Mann would be searching for a new place to play. That is nothing personal, just that Mann’s future is as a combo guard who plays on the wing and gets minutes at the point. Had Nembhard returned, the Gators would have had three point guards – Nembhard, Ques Glover (4.4 points coming off the bench as a freshman) and Tyree Appleby, who sat out 2019-20 after transferring in from Cleveland State where he averaged 17.2 points and 5.6 assists per game as a sophomore. Three point guards wouldn’t have been conducive to Mann seeing minutes at the point but that situation clears up measurably with Nembhard leaving. As a freshman, Mann got off to a rather good start but he suffered a concussion in the Charleston Classic and it took all of December and January for him to regain his confidence and the playing time he lost. Once into February, Mann played with more consistency and had his best game of the season on the road at Kentucky where he scored 34 points while knocking down 3-4 from the three-point line. What was abundantly evident during Mann’s last season was his need to add some muscle. A skinny 172 pounds stretched over a 6-4 frame, he was consistently pushed around in SEC play. Mann needs to play at or near 190 pounds to be able to handle the physical nature of the Southeastern Conference where games with teams like Tennessee seem to play with a no autopsy, no foul demeanor. He’s a gifted scorer and a far better three-point shooter than the final 5.3 points and 27.5% he posted as a freshman. That brings us back to Keyontae Johnson and his decision to return for his junior year. In his two seasons in a UF uniform, Johnson has been the poster child for hard work. Perhaps no player in the Southeastern Conference has made more improvement from first game in November 2018 to final game in 2020. When he came to Florida, Johnson had a well-earned reputation as a high flyer who could deliver astonishing power dunks. He still dunks with regularity and offers up highlight reel throw downs on breakaways, but his game has expanded in every single aspect. He’s no longer just a straight line driver who is quick enough to get to the rack but a consistent jump shooter who rarely launches a bad shot. He’s become a reliable passer (third on the team with 49 assists) and a tough defender (led the team in steals with 38) capable of locking down quick guys on the perimeter or playing head up against taller players in the paint. The improvement has been easy to follow to even the untrained eye and it has been done without a lot of fanfare. Although you can see how fiery he is on the court, he’s rather soft spoken off in the media room and is never going to make controversial statements. Ask a question and the answer is usually well thought out, words carefully selected. Obviously, whether it’s during a game or at a press conference, is the enormous respect he has earned from teammates and Head Coach Mike White. Johnson has been more of a lead by example type but this is his team now and he’ll need to assume more of a vocal role next season. That shouldn’t be too difficult a transition and quite possibly one of the reasons he returned to UF. He will continue to set the tone in practice by outworking everyone and when he speaks, teammates will listen. That’s the kind of thing that happens when you’ve spent two seasons rarely missing an opportunity to get better, whether it’s at practice or in a game. * * * With Nembhard’s departure and Mann [likely] returning, the Gators are at the NCAA maximum 13 scholarships. If Michigan transfer Colin Castleton applies for and receives a waiver to play immediately, White will have a full bench to work with for the first time in four years. Here is a breakdown of the 2020-21 roster: JUNIORS (6): Keyontae Johnson (6-5, 235); Noah Locke (6-3, 205); Anthony Duruji (6-8, 215, RS/TR); Tyree Appleby (6-1, 165, RS/TR); Osayi Osifo (6-8, 210, JC/TR); Colin Castleton (6-11, 235, TR) SOPHOMORES (5): Scottie Lewis (6-5, 180); Tre Mann (6-4, 172); Omar Payne (6-10, 225); Ques Glover (5-11, 175); Jason Jitoboh (6-11, 280) FRESHMEN (2): Samson Ruzhentsev (6-8, 210); Niels Lane (6-5, 195)

BY KASSIDY HILL GATORBAIT COLUMNIST Talking about sports right now, honestly, seems futile. How I can look out the window and the crying and wailing in the streets, hear the pain and suffering from brothers and sisters and then simply put it away to talk about the Florida Gators chances of beating the Georgia Bulldogs this year and making it to the College Football Playoff? I can’t, so I won’t. Doing so would be—at least in my heart—tone deaf and disingenuous. But I do still believe there is so much sports can teach us. The competitive fire and camaraderie of a team and fanbase has been stitched into the fabric of our country just as much as the prejudices and inequitable division of opportunity that is currently tearing it apart. I believe the former can do it’s part to help heal the latter. This is how. A locker room—and for this instance we will be using football as an example—is comprised of 85-100 guys. They come from all different backgrounds, parts of the country, races, religions, socio-economic households, families and so much more that differentiate and define us. In a locker room, those differences are set aside in order to come together and all work towards a common goal. It almost forces a sense of respect. While having it come by naturally would be ideal, it’s hard to be upset at anything good for us being fostered, like mom forcing us to eat our vegetables growing as a kid. On Wednesday, Head Coach Dan Mullen joined the Pat McAfee Show to talk about a number of topics, one being how he hopes his team reacts to the murder of George Floyd and subsequent conversations and protest that have emerged as a result. "I think when you're in that locker room, when you're around all the different guys, it is different,” said Mullen. “I wish some of that, more of that, would get out into society, that feeling, that togetherness, that teamness. You can't put yourselves in other people's shoes and know how they feel, know how they think, and know how it is. But I think it's important to respect other people in that way. It's important to respect what it must be like to go through that.” As much as sports can clearly teach us, their absence right now due to the spread of the coronavirus COVID-19 is almost serendipitous. There are no distractions, there is nothing to pull our attention away from the conversation we currently need to have. And it's a conversation that looks to be building steam. Athletic Director Scott Stricklin and all Florida Gators coaches released a statement on Wednesday stating the following: "Respect. What does that mean to us? Respect is a core value of the Florida Gators. Respect: We treat each other with fairness, honesty, kindness, and civility. Sometimes honesty is hard. Sometimes it means taking a look in the mirror and asking ourselves if we're upholding our values. Right now, we're doing that, as should all Americans. Racism, brutality, violence, oppression, injustice and indifference are not manifestations of respect. When we look around and see these things occurring, we have no choice but to stand together shoulder to shoulder, committed to doing more and demanding more. This will require continuous action. This will require honest, tough, often uncomfortable conversations. For many of us, that means taking the initiative in educating ourselves, listening to and believing in experiences that are different from our own. It means hearing the voices of our Black teammates, colleagues, neighbors and friends, for whom the best ideals of our nation often remain a promise unfulfilled. And the bottom line is everyone can do more. So, from this moment forward, we recommit ourselves to accountability and living out our values, to respecting each other by seeing each person's full humanity, to better understanding experiences, pain, struggles, challenges and realities that are different from our own. And to being the change we want to see in our community, our nation and our world." When linebacker Mohamoud Diabate joined the Gators football team last year, he brought a new perspective to his team. Diabate, an Auburn, Alabama native, is Muslim. It’s not a far stretch to realize that’s an anomaly in the locker room of a Southeastern Conference football team. But as the stoic and soft spoken linebacker—who finished his freshman season with 18 tackles, 4.5 sacks and three quarterback hurries—got to know his team, he taught them things as well. While speaking with media before the 2019 Orange Bowl against Virginia, Gators corner Marco Wilson reflected on the differences that make up a team saying, “I think everybody would just respect everybody whether it’s religion or their backgrounds.” Then he paused, weighing his next admittance before reflectively continuing, “I mean, I did see a difference when Mohamoud came in this year. “He’s not the same religion as most people and he may do his own prayers and we respect it. That’s how he grew up and we grew up how we grew up and so I wouldn’t want somebody disrespecting how I grew up. So when we see him doing his own thing, we respect it. “It gives you a different perspective, lets you know that everybody’s not the same and you need to respect people know matter where they’re from or what they do.” It seems so simple, simply listening to someone else and respecting their experiences that led to the position. Then again, shouldn’t it be that simple? When an athlete says something we agree with, we commend them for “being bold, unashamed and speaking up.” When they say something we don’t agree with, they’re told to “stick to sports.” Athletes are in a unique position, with a very large public persona that is too often forced into a small box. But in a world that is straining against itself and begging to learn from the past, amplifying different voices will be what helps us figure out where we’re fractured and how to put it back together in a better way. With so many eyes on athletes, the worst thing we can do—not only for ourselves but for the betterment of society—is to tell them to be quiet. And maybe, just maybe, we can learn something as well.

“Man can live without hope … but not for long.” In more than a half-century of writing a column about sports, this has happened only a few times. I am a man of many words – perhaps millions written for newspapers, books and online. Yet today I am feeling inadequate, impotent and incapable of finding the right ones to express what I feel, think, hope or fear. So please cut me a little slack. Perhaps what I would say would be considered impertinent, anyway. Because I write about fun and games. These days current world events are anything but fun and games. Every day, it seems, we are pummeled by more bad news. As a matter of fact, there is even a warped, somewhat dark sense of humor pervading out there sometimes expressing our gloomy expectations. Like the tweet the other day about a huge asteroid “taller than the Empire State Building and the London Eye” allegedly hurtling its way towards earth according to English newspapers. Which inspired these two fatalistic responses: “Hurry up and get here.” And, “Finally! Some good news!” One of my friends added: “Could they at least let us get through football season?!” Of course, never let the facts get in the way of a good, gloomy story, that the asteroid will miss us by a mere three million miles. Fears are real and anxiety plays tricks on our mind, but very sane people are also reading much more into the Pandemic and violence stemming from political, civil and cultural discord over racism. I have a very level-headed pastor friend who is not an alarmist, now telling me he believes the End Times are here and that Jesus will be coming soon. And so it goes. What do we do? I am fresh out of answers – not that a lowly, insignificant sportswriter would have sufficient words anyway. I am from the Silent Generation. Speak up, they say today – because staying silent when so many terrible things are happening is improper anymore, if not immoral. The character of good people on both sides is getting harpooned and impugned. Never mind what your mother told you about not talking about someone if you can’t say something nice – those days are over, if they ever existed in the first place. "Speak up!" they demand of us. I don’t hate people, I hate hatred. And I hate times like these which are robbing of us health, happiness, civility, joy, laughter, peace, production and provision—things I literally pray for on my hands and knees every morning. How I deal with it in my little world is knowing they can never take all of my Faith, Hope and Love. Although somedays if feels like my fuel tank of Hope is running on fumes. I always remember the line from a book written by the late, great Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings that I often invoke, which was uttered by someone in her novel “Golden Apples” about the Great Freeze of the 1880s which destroyed citrus in North Central Florida as well as the lives of several English growers/investors who committed suicide: "Man can live without hope ... but not for long." That’s worse than cautious optimism. It’s fractured optimism. But it’s how I feel today about the horrible events of recent times—especially the evil of racism…rioting, looting, burning down buildings…and the divided country caused by a broken political system. A few days ago I had this column all planned out. It felt like we all needed a boost, something to make us proud of our country – something to cheer about. Since we don’t have sports to divert our attention from the biblical-like plagues, why not focus on the space program’s first big launch from American soil with American astronauts in 11 years? So I stationed myself in front of the TV with a notebook for the 3:22 p.m. Saturday launch of the SpaceX rocket which would carry NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley to the space station, barring any setbacks. This, I said, would be just the antidote the doctor ordered for national pride. And this would also be perfect symmetry for me. Just shy of fifty-one years ago I covered an event for my Brevard County newspaper, "TODAY", from the same location, looking toward Pad 39 when Apollo 11 went to the moon with Neil A. Armstrong, Michael Collins and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin. My job was to chronicle the crowd reaction. I will never forget that day on July 16, 1969 when the huge rocket, spewing staccato thunder, shook the earth. It was boosted by the will of several hundred grandstanded, awestruck spectators who cheered and prayed and cried, impelling the Saturn V rocket toward the azure sky. It made the hair on your neck stand up. Watching live on TV Saturday, May 30, 2020 in person, it felt similar when I heard the smattering of cheers from a small group as SpaceX went airborne. Too much was a stake. SpaceX COULD NOT FAIL! More than anything, I felt relieved to see the separation downrange as the booster hurling Behnken and Hurley into orbit spit out a puff of smoke. While a five-year resident of Cocoa during the height of the Apollo program, the windows of my house off Fiske Boulevard rattled on every launch. As a veteran space launch observer, I knew the Dragon was successfully on its way. And then came the feeling of pride over the accomplishment. There was a moment of patriotic pride which buzzed my soul. And it seemed to create a prism of optimism. Hey, my small, simple sportswriting mind responded: Maybe now we could bridge this moment to the talk of a college football season again! But that buzz quickly began to subside with the ensuing news of the night. After dinner, my son, wife and I watched hell unleash on our streets. It got worse by each day and night. They hijacked our hope – at least for the moment. We need to find a pathway back pretty soon, because as MKR said, we can’t live without it for long. Phew! The huge asteroid only missed us by 3 million miles!

EDITOR'S NOTE: This story was written in December of 2018 by Robyn Clarke, a journalism student at the University of Florida. A native of Georgia, Robyn has always claimed loyalty to the Florida Gators. Graduating in 2022, Robyn continues to blaze a path of her own as she works towards her degree with an emphasis on sports and human interest stories. Visit Robyn's personal blog here. BY ROBYN CLARKE GATORBAIT CONTRIBUTOR Absentmindedly, I opened Twitter the morning of December 4th, 2018 and began scrolling. One piece of news caught my eye: “Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer is retiring from coaching following their Rose Bowl matchup against Washington January 1st.” I was shocked. I’d read reports which speculated that would happen, but after Ohio State finished sixth in the final College Football Playoff Rankings, I thought for sure he would give it one more go, coaching one final season with the Buckeyes in 2019 in an attempt to win it all, one more time. Urban Meyer has been a part of college football ever since I’ve been watching it. He was the first coach I watched lead my beloved Florida Gators, and the teams he put on the field helped create my dream of coming to school here. Year in and year out, we were successful, winning countless games and consistently performing at the highest level. Our players were constantly winning awards and achieving other prestigious accolades. Even as an eight year old, I knew I wanted to be that way, too. “Well, how do you think he does it?” my dad asked. “He’s successful because he works hard and he pushes the team to be the best they can be, every day.” Knowing I looked up to him, my dad began using Coach Meyer as a source of motivation as I went through physical therapy and the other daily challenges cerebral palsy brings. “Robyn, if one of Florida’s players put in that kind of effort, do you think Coach Meyer would put him on the field?” he would ask. If the answer was no, then I knew I needed to work harder. The first season without him as our head coach was just… weird to me. Urban Meyer as head coach of the Florida Gators was all I’d ever known, and it took me a while to grasp the idea of someone else being in charge. Growing up, I thought winning national championships every other year was just a thing teams did. I soon learned that was not the case, and I realized that what he had done in Gainesville was special. When I met him a couple years later, I found out that Urban Meyer himself is beyond special. He’s one of those people you meet and never forget about, no matter how many others’ paths you cross. For my fifteenth birthday, one of my friends surprised me with tickets to the Tim Tebow Foundation’s Celebrity Golf Classic. Held annually, it’s a fundraiser where Tim and his friends take on the course of TPC Sawgrass, and all of the funds raised go towards supporting the foundation’s outreach initiatives. Most of the celebrities I met that day took a picture and kept going, but not Coach Meyer. No, he walked up and wrapped me in a bear hug, going on to compliment the Gator stickers I wore on my leg braces and taking time out of his day to talk with us. It was evident to me within moments that he is a father before anything else, and I believe his success can in part be attributed to that. In believing in his players and treating them like they’re his own, Coach Meyer enables them to believe in themselves, which in turn allows them to reach heights they never thought they could. I’ve gone to the golf tournament every year since, and one of the highlights every year is seeing Coach Meyer. He’s so much more than a lot of people think he is. He’s funny, for one thing. “Haven’t you ever heard of sunscreen?” he asked one year, when I was burnt to a crisp. And I learned the hard way not to say the name of Ohio State’s rival. After hearing me say it twice, he had had enough. “You say that word again, you’re doing push ups,” he said, serious as could be. “They are the Team Up North.” To this day, I call the team that shall not be named The Team Up North, and correct anyone who does otherwise. He’s also extremely kind and caring. I had surgery in November of 2017 and spent three weeks in the hospital. When Coach Meyer found out where I was, he picked up the phone and called me, just to find out what was going on and make sure I was alright. I was so excited that my heart rate sky rocketed, topping off at 167 and making the nurses think something was wrong. On the contrary, that phone call gave me more joy than I’d had since my hospital stay began six days earlier. It was classic Coach Meyer. He cracked a few jokes– according to him, my dad is nuts and my mom is the “more normal” of the two of my parents– but most of all, he showed me love. When I answered his call, the first thing I noticed was how concerned he sounded– like a worried father checking on his child. But what stuck with me the most was what he said at the very end: “Send me a text every couple of days and keep me updated. I love you. I’ll be thinking about you.” So I did. Once a week, I’d send him a quick text and let him know how I was feeling and what was happening in my world. And he texted me back, every single time. Always, he encouraged me. “You’re awesome! Keep swinging and you will prove her wrong!” he said, when I told him a therapist had said I would be confined to a wheelchair for a few months. And sometimes, he teased me. “Send me your address- need to get you some Buckeye gear! See the Gator stuff!” he responded, after I was wearing a Florida shirt in a video I sent him. I texted him my address, and sure enough, a package showed up on my porch not long after that. It was filled with Ohio State gear and a copy of his book, Above the Line, written about the principles behind how he motivates his players. What is Urban Meyer’s legacy? A lot will be made of that question in the coming months, but to me, the answer is simple: love. His legacy is one of love. Love of college football, love of his players, love of his family, and love for our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Through that love, he made a difference and cemented himself in the history books, as a man who pushed himself to the limit and changed the lives of thousands in the process.

Following the murder of George Floyd at the hands of police brutality in Minneapolis, Minnesota, protests and riots have broken out around the country. For six straight days, spreading farther and wider each day, cities across America have become a literal representation of the deep hurt caused by the racial divide and chasm in the United States. Athletes have become a face for many, leading marches and peaceful protest and in Tampa, even cleaning up after a night of looting and rioting destroyed a shopping center. While much attention has been given to the week of mayhem across the map, this has also become a moment to stop and consider the decades of systematic racism and unseen prejudices that led to the death of George Floyd and also Ahmad Aubrey, among others. Although it seems like a lifetime ago, we are currently still in a pandemic meaning that for the most part, things are relatively shut down. There are no live events or sports to distract our attention, meaning—perhaps for the better—the entire country’s attention is on the subject of racism and what can be done to move forward to a better reality. This is the case for many Florida Gators coaches and players as well, who have taken to social media to express their mind during this time. Here’s what they’ve had to say... University of Florida President Kent Fuchs: “Friends and colleagues, our hearts and spirits are heavy as we grieve the needless police killing of George Floyd and other killing around the country due to racism, ignorance and hate. I condemn these acts of violence and share in the anger, the frustration and the sorrow felt by so many. The killing in Minneapolis brings to the fire the racims, injustice and violence that so often are direct at, and experienced by Africa Americans. For me there has never been a more urgent need to come together against racism and hate and in support of justice. “Always, and particularly now as we live with COVID-19, we each need to be seen for our full humanity, to be welcomed and know that we are valued. And so, I ask everyone at UF and throughout the Gator Nation to consider their actions, sphere of influence and how they can personally be part of positive change. Take time to listen to those affected and engage in self-reflection and education. I also ask that we work to question our own biases and judgments. As individuals, and by joining together, we can and must work each day to ensure that every human being is nurtured, cherished and respected.” Florida football Head Coach Dan Mullen: “I stand in unison with President Fuchs, my current and former players, coaches, and all others that have used their voice to condemn racism and oppression. "During these difficult times, we need unity, compassion and a love for each other more than ever. As we slowly return to the freedoms our daily lives from this global pandemic, my hope is that we can work together towards a society with freedom, opportunity and social justice for ALL.” Defensive line coach David Turner: “I’ve tried not to discuss politics or religion but we are at a critical time in our country! In my opinion we are way past Democrats and Republicans and should be discussing what’s right and what’s wrong! Every single day I wake up and say a prayer for me, my family and my players! Whether we are Black/African AMERICANS or White AMERICANS we need to realize we just want to be treated fair and Just! Every Black Man is not a Thug!” The next day, Turner went on to share, “If this doesn’t move you, something is ‘bad’ wrong! “Let me make something clear, I’m not condoning violence or the riots and looting! I don’t think ALL POLICEMEN ARE BAD! If my posts offend you, unfollow me!” Gators wide receiver Jacob Copeland: “Can’t lie I woke up in my feelings how life is right now for the culture. I know it’s good in some people, and hatred in others. I think like “d*mn I’m really out here gotta fear for my life.” God protect me from all evil. “Some people think because we play division 1 football it is just ok. I’m human just like anyone else and have to protect myself at all cost. It’s some sick people [for real]!” Gators wide receiver Trevon Grimes: “Crazy world we live in .. Count your blessings and remain faithful to the man above as he has the Final say.” Gators linebackers coach Christian Robinson: "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. - John 13:34" Former Gator defensive lineman Titus O'Neil (Thaddeus Bullard): "Dear Friends, I know you want to help, It starts with acceptance of TRUTH. OUR KIDS, Grandkids, Brothers, Sisters, Mother’s and Fathers are NOT TELLING AND HAVE NOT BEEN TELLING YOU LIES. Our Truths need to be addressed, Your Truths need to be Addressed and once you hear our truths and work towards changing them, It is THEN THAT “WE” can change the World. When “Me” becomes “WE” Amazing things can and Will happen. I don’t Condone the Violence, yet I understand. I don’t Condone the Looting, And I’ll Never Understand. I just want to LIVE...In a World where Lives Matter that Historically Haven’t and Voices are heard by people who seemingly have been Deaf for Far too Long."

It wasn’t just the trophies and the wins. It was an Emancipation. The confidence of an earned swagger, the fun-poking taunts and the slight arrogance of achievement -- all liberating to a culture where joy had been quarantined for generations. There’s almost nothing I don’t know about Steve Spurrier. That’s why when the editor of GatorBait was assigning stories about various decades of Gator football history I happily volunteered to write the one about the head coach of Florida from 1990 to 2001. An assignment from me to me, by me. Who else should write this story but the guy who has covered everything Spurrier has done since he set foot on campus as a wet-behind-the-ears freshman in 1963? Check that: I doubt Spurrier was ever “wet behind the ears.” He seemed already savvy from day I met him as a non-playing freshman at the old Gator Bowl in 1963 when he was being introduced around prior to the Florida-Georgia game. You knew he was going to be somebody special. He was wearing a spiffy suit and a carrying a black umbrella with a broad grin and big curious eyes that were drinking it all in. Freshmen were not eligible to play, but he was sizing up the joint. And he was poised. For over a half century it has been my honor and pleasure to have somebody so interesting to write about and talk about, which is why I’ve written hundreds of thousands of words about him as a player and coach – plus parts or all of several books. Steve Spurrier is God’s gift to a writer. I know a thousand Spurrier stories -- at least 50 good ones, maybe 5-6 great ones -- but I was on a radio show in Arkansas last week when they asked me my favorite story about him and I gagged. So I told them a lame tale of how I thought I’d lost all his personal photos while writing his autobiography Head Ball Coach but it turns out he had put them back in his file. Duh. Who really cares about that but me? I said to myself, “Maybe I don’t know him as well as I thought,” so just in case, I phoned Spurrier the other day and asked him: “What’s the thing you’re proudest of your 12 years at Florida (aside from the obvious)?” “Consistency,” he shot back right away. “We were able to win championships and even some years when we didn’t win the title we still finished high up in the Top Ten or Top Five. I was talking to Bobby Stoops the other day and he only got one SEC title when he was here (1996-98), but two other two seasons he finished fourth and fifth in the nation.” And therein lies the gift: Steve Spurrier’s teams were almost always in the hunt. And he set the gold standard in Florida Football. Until he arrived, Florida had never won 10 games in a season. During his 12 years in Gainesville the Gators AVERAGED 10 wins. Spurrier didn’t want to just beat them, he wanted to vanquish them, Atilla The Hun and Tsung Tzu style. That’s why when I began reflecting on all his huge accomplishments I decided that the Spurrier Era needed a new nickname: The Golden Age. Not the Golden Era – that one is taken by the Gator teams under Coach Bear Wolf that lost 13 straight games in the 1940s. Spurrier not only won, he made it honorable and legit to be a Gator fan and everybody was invited to take part in the fun. There was probably a lot more Fun than Gun in it during 1990 to 2001, because nobody loved beating the bejabbers out of his rivals more than the Head Ball Coach. Fortunate were those of us who were around for most of those 12 years to relish the fun of dominating the SEC for six titles and a national championship. It wasn’t just the trophies and the wins. It was an Emancipation. The confidence of an earned swagger, the fun-poking taunts and the slight arrogance of achievement -- all liberating to a culture where joy had been quarantined for generations. Also wanting drill down on a couple of other things and not assuming I knew them, I asked Spurrier to elaborate on his visor-tossing sideline demeanor which became his trademark move. He semi-denies that he made a habit of slamming his hat on the ground regularly, but did acknowledge doing it here and there – remembering the first time he did it and why. “It was 1990 and we were playing Furman,” he said, “and I was mad about a receiver running the wrong route.” So it wasn’t a grandstand play or all feigned anger. Perhaps the flung visor was also a teaching tool? Well, maybe, and maybe not. Frankly most Gator fans loved it. Conversely, Spurrier brought up his headwear for the 1989 Duke upset over Clemson, the win which he said vaulted him into the front-running position as Gator coach and which was recently replayed on the ACC YouTube channel. “I wore a baseball cap and probably I never took it off,” Spurrier said of his demeanor as he proudly recalled Duke’s 21-17 shocker over No. 7 Clemson in Durham. He certainly had cap-tossing opportunities, Blue Devils quarterback Billy Ray had five interceptions against Danny Ford’s Tigers on that rainy day. One could make a case for that win over Clemson being almost as big as any in his career because without it “I probably don’t get the Florida job.” Duke was 1-3 at the time and the UF brass started calling and asking for some assurance that Spurrier wasn’t going to lay an egg. “I finally told them, ‘I can’t worry about that right now – I’m trying to coach my team.’” And coach it he did – Duke got its first win over Clemson since they began pumping air into footballs and then won a share of the Atlantic Coast Conference by hammering North Carolina for the third straight season, 41-0, before being chosen to play Texas Tech in the All-American Bowl. A few days later he was Florida’s head ball coach. To this day I contend that AD Bill Arnsparger did everything in his power NOT to hire Spurrier to succeed Galen Hall in 1990. Steve might dispute that. Sometimes I wonder if he really knows what other people saw and heard about some of Arnsparger’s arbitrary antics. But living in Jacksonville at the time and having various interludes with the Florida AD, plus knowing some of the key Gator alumni quite well, I contend that is true. There is a reason when the plane flew to Durham, N.C. and closed the deal with Spurrier as coach that there were three other people with Arnsparger on that flight. And one of them was interim president Bob Bryan, who sealed deal. However, those kind of images painted Spurrier as a beach boy-golf playing-fun loving-wisecracking coach which hurt his coaching advancement and delayed his ascension to head coach of a Power Five school. Wanna play “What If”? What if Arnsparger had been successful in finding and hiring some “bright young assistant coach” that he kept talking about in his search – and he told me about just a month over lunch before Spurrier was offered? That’s why when I began reflecting on all his huge accomplishments I decided that the Spurrier Era needed a new nickname: The Golden Age As long as we were on the subject in our casual conversation – not an interview – Spurrier pointed out two other misconceptions: 1) Just about all those controversial quotes of his (“Free Shoes,” “UT in Citrus,” etc.) were done in the offseason as part of poking fun at boosters club meetings. 2) And would people like Paul Finebaum please quit saying he played golf year round. “I only played in the off season, not during the season,” he said with a bit of contentious. 3) And yes it’s true he’s always loved the beach and lives on it when he’s not in Gainesville. However, those kind of images painted Spurrier as a beach boy-golf playing-fun loving-wisecracking coach which hurt his coaching advancement and delayed his ascension to head coach of a Power Five school. In April this year Spurrier turned 75 and I considered writing a column about him on his birthday. I didn’t because there didn’t seem to be anything new or fresh. And besides, I could hear my critics saying, “What? ANOTHER column about Steve Spurrier?” I felt like I know Steve as well as anybody in the media, and yet when I read Pat Dooley’s fine tribute to Spurrier in the Gainesville Sun on “75 Reasons Fans and the Media Love the Head Ball Coach,” I winced and said under my breath: “Damn! Why didn’t I think of that?” I took my hat off to Dooley. In particular, of the “75 reasons,” I liked these: 11. Finding Shane Matthews way down on the depth chart. 31. The swagger everyone in Gainesville adopted. 40. How he stood up for Wuerffel after the FSU game. 59. How he won’t let anyone forget the 1990 team. 58. Half-a-hundred at Georgia. I can’t really top those. However mine are more personal as I reflect back on my experiences. l remember the night in 1987 just after the USFL folded. By chance I met Spurrier in the lobby of a Mobile, Ala. hotel where unemployed coaches always hung out during the Senior Bowl – he was one of them. We knocked back a few beers and I wound up driving him back to his hotel, but before he got out of the car we talked about his future. The Gators hadn’t won more than seven games since 1982, but Galen Hall had stacked up the talent and was good to go in Gainesville for seasons to come. Spurrier said something about as to how he just wasn’t meant to coach the Gators and “maybe it’s best.” …Having no idea that less than three years he’d be in Gainesville. And in less than 10 years he’d be in Gainesville standing in the middle of a field (that would someday bear his name) … choking back tears as he watched his 1996 national championship team take a victory lap … and as Heisman Trophy winner Danny Wuerffel uncharacteristically did his version of the Lambeau Leap … Spurrier choking back tears as he said to me, “There goes Danny, up in the stands …There he goes!” It was especially great to be a Florida Gator during The Golden Age. If they were never going to win another title, on that day, at that moment, everything was right in the Gator fans’ universe. Somehow, those days of enjoying all that fun has gotten diminished or lost over the decades. It reminded me that The Golden Age should be cherished forever by The Gator Nation. For a moment it returned me to a happier time. .... But he was also a thinker and his brillance came through. Nobody had more fun, won more or left a bigger footprint than the man they call "The Head Ball Coach." (File photo UAA)

Kyle Trask: No Heisman Hype? No Problem! When Lindy’s picked its preseason All-SEC team for 2019, the top three quarterbacks in the league were Tua Tagovailoa (Alabama), Jake Fromm (Georgia) and Kelly Bryant (Missouri). Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence was the first team All-America QB with Tua making the second team. Over at Athlon, the top four were Tua, Fromm, Kellen Mond (Texas A&M) and Feleipe Franks (Florida). The Athlon preseason All-America team had Tua on the first team with Lawrence the second teamer and Sam Ehlinger (Texas) on third team. Joe Burrow was nowhere to be found, not on preseason All-SEC, preseason All-America or preseason Heisman Trophy candidate lists. Yet when the season ended, Burrow was acclaimed as the best player in the country and had elbowed his way onto many lists as one of the all-time best quarterbacks in the history of college football. In one respect, Burrow’s rise from lightly regarded Ohio State transfer to a record setting Heisman Trophy quarterback who led LSU to a 15-0 national championship season shouldn’t be that much of a shock. The previous two Heisman winners were also transfers (2017 winner Baker Mayfield from Texas Tech to Oklahoma; 2018 winner Kyler Murray from Texas A&M to Oklahoma) who believed the grass was greener somewhere else. Mayfield walked on at Texas Tech where he became a freshman starter and after he transferred had to pay his way for a year at Oklahoma before he got a scholarship. Murray was thought to be a far superior baseball prospect (drafted in the first round by the Oakland Athletics after spending 2017 as Mayfield’s backup QB at Oklahoma). Nobody ever thought he would one day be the number one pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, but then again nobody thought Mayfield would be the first player chosen when the NFL drafted in 2018. Burrow made it three straight transfer quarterbacks to win the Heisman and then be selected first in the NFL Draft. Nobody ever dreamed Burrow would win the Heisman although he had a fairly decent transfer year in 2018. The Heisman was supposed to go to either Lawrence or Tagovailoa. Both of them had exceptional seasons and in any other year, one of them might have won the trophy but Burrow was off the charts good. He threw for an incredible 5,671 yards and 60 touchdowns while leading LSU to an unbeaten season. The Heisman vote was a Burrow tsunami. Mayfield wasn’t supposed to win in 2017, either. Lamar Jackson was the incumbent Heisman winner and far more attention was paid to Washington’s Jake Browning than Mayfield. When the 2018 season began, Fromm, Tua, UCF’s McKenzie Milton and Wisconsin running back Jonathan Taylor were thought to be the preseason front-runners for the Heisman but Murray went into a QB coma in November and did everything right to surge to a trip to New York where he took home the big trophy. The experiences of Mayfield, Murray and Burrow remind us that it’s rare when a preseason Heisman Trophy favorite hears his name called as the winner in New York the Saturday night after the conferences play their championship games. If you go back to 2005, the only preseason favorite to win the Heisman was Oregon’s Marcus Mariota in 2014. Most of the winners were longshots if you went by preseason hype. Florida’s Tim Tebow won it as a sophomore in 2007 when he threw for 32 touchdowns and ran for 23, but 2006 Heisman runner-up Darren McFadden of Arkansas was thought to be the odds-on favorite when the season began. Tebow made the Heisman podium in 2008 when he finished third in the voting (Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford won) and in 2009 (Alabama’s Mark Ingram won) when he finished fifth. Statistically, Tebow was at his best in 2007 but he was a far better QB in both 2008 and 2009 and yet he didn’t win. Why past preseason expectations are relevant is because the football magazines and websites are making their Heiman favorites lists and checking them twice. On most lists you will have to search long and hard to find the name Kyle Trask even though the Florida redshirt senior quarterback is the top returning passer in the Southeastern Conference (2,941 passing yards, 25 TDPs) and the Gators are not only a lock to make everybody’s top 10 but considered a dark horse to make the College Football Playoff. The William Hill Sports Book out of Las Vegas gives Trask 50-1 odds to win the Heisman. Justin Fields of Ohio State gets 7-2 odds and Lawrence gets 4-1. Now get this. The William Hill Sports Book lists Georgia’s Jamie Newman as the preseason third best bet to win at 10-1 odds. Newman, who is a grad transfer from Wake Forest, looked great against ACC bottom feeders and non-conference likes of Rice and Elon. He threw for all of 41 yards against Clemson, the only decent defense he saw all year. Newman didn’t get spring football at Georgia, will be learning a new offense from a new offensive coordinator and Georgia will be breaking in three new offensive linemen. Among the others who are more highly regarded by the Hill Book than Trask are Oklahoma’s Spencer Rattler (redshirted last year, 25-1 odds), LSU’s Myles Brennan (two TDPs in three years, also 25-1) and Auburn’s Bo Nix (lost to Trask head-to-head, 30-1). Forget the odds. Just count the players listed ahead of Trask, 18 in all. And the William Hill Book isn’t the only one giving Trask the Rodney Dangerfield (no respect!) treatment. Someone named Chance Linton of 247Sports lists 16 players ahead of Trask including Alabama freshman Bryce Young (15th), who has never thrown a collegiate pass and didn’t get a spring football practice; Adrian Martinez (tie 11th), who has piloted Nebraska to consecutive losing seasons; Nix (7th), Brennan (6th), Rattler (5th) and Newman (3rd). Linton even gives odds. I’m sure they’re warming up a seat for him in Vegas right now. He’s got Trask at 40-1. Sports Illustrated says the odds are 30-1 Trask will win it. Newman (10-1), Rattler (12-1) and Brennan (28-1) are among those who rank higher than Trask. Perhaps the folks making these “astute” calculations are dwelling on the fact Trask was nobody’s 5-star recruit, didn’t start a football game at any level past the ninth grade and was Feleipe Franks’ caddy until Franks went down with a broken ankle in the Kentucky game last year. Trask was a fourth-year guy and career backup before he got a chance to show what he could do. In that Kentucky game, Trask got the football equivalent of a save by leading the Gators to 19 straight points in the fourth quarter to stun the raucous sellout crowd in Lexington. As a starter Trask went 8-2 while facing five Southeastern Conference defenses that ranked among the nation’s top 31. It also seems a bit strange that no one seems to be considering this is Trask’s third year in Dan Mullen’s quarterback-friendly offense. Trask is somewhat of a film junkie anyway so he already knows what he’s supposed to do and where the ball is supposed to go in an offense that is going to be absolutely loaded in 2020. Trask will also be operating behind an experienced offensive line (four returning starters plus a grad transfer that started 34 games at Mississippi State) that should allow Florida to run the ball with some consistency as opposed to a season ago when UF had four new starters and often struggled to mount a rushing attack. Trask will benefit from television exposure. More folks tune in to that 3:30 CBS game than any other and the 7 p.m. SEC matchup is usually at the top if not ahead in the ratings. Realistically, Trask’s chances to make the Heisman podium will come down to two basic factors: (1) Putting up consistent numbers all season but particularly against Tennessee (in Knoxville), LSU (in Gainesville) and Georgia (in Jacksonville); and (2) getting the Gators to Atlanta as SEC East Champs. If the Gators live up to their preseason billing and go 3-0 in those games with Trask throwing for 300 yards or more, then they should make the SEC Championship Game in Atlanta. Now, if he gets the Gators to Atlanta and then leads Florida to its first SEC title since 2008, Trask just might defy all those preseason Heisman odds. While you would think Trask would be held in higher regard heading into the 2020 season, the guy who made the Heisman Trophy acceptance speech 14 of the past 15 years was quite often someone who wasn’t much more than a blip on the radar prior to game one. If anything, the pressure is on the guys with all the preseason hype who will have far more media attention and higher expectations. So, flying off the radar isn’t necessarily a bad thing. If you don’t believe that’s true, then just think back a year ago when Tua and Lawrence were all the rage and Joe Burrow was an afterthought. How did that turn out?

“McElwain was a 'players’ coach,'" he said, and he missed his position coaches. But in the end it worked out splendidly as he openly welcomed Todd Grantham and Dan Mullen. How many times have we heard Coach Steve Spurrier say, “God smiled on The Gators”? He sure smiled on the Gators the day the University of Michigan told David Reese II that he couldn’t enroll early. That was after Reese did everything he could to graduate high school midyear so that he could get into the school of his choice for both spring practice, summer workouts, and of course, to get a jump start on academics. Was he disappointed? Yup, he sure was. Before I talk about that, let’s recall some facts. For four years David Reese II was The Gator’s Linebackers' Linebacker. The Leader’s, Leader. He was the heart and soul of The Gators defense. He was every coach’s dream. He worked very hard in both the classroom and on the playing field. Reese gave everything he had to give, every day in all that he did. He did it in the weight room, at practice, and certainly on the field. And when he missed a couple of games due to an ankle injury, the defense sure looked different without him – he was the glue that made it work the way it’s supposed to work. As David told me, that injury was one of his greatest challenges that he had to overcome during his four years on the team. David enrolled at 6-2, 220 pounds. He leaves for the Charlotte Panthers, at 6-2 239 pounds. While the Gators were very fortunate to bring him on board, the Panthers are more than fortunate to have him. My bet is that their choice was a very good one. The other day, I had a chance to spend some phone time with David -- polite, articulate, dedicated, and an especially good guy. And when he said, “It’s a blessing, and I was blessed,” they were not clichés. He meant it. You could hear the sincerity in his voice. David Reese II is a special young man. Which reminds me of something I recently said to a fellow Gator: “I never remember there being a nicer group of kids on any Gator football team than the 2019 team.” Anyone could see that they were a “team” in the strongest sense by everything they said and did. They hung together and they encouraged one another to get better. They celebrated when others – even in their position groups succeeded . They were competitive with one another, but rooted hard for each other’s success. You could feel their joy when one of the guys did something well. I am sure coaching played a big part, but you can’t get to that place without a bunch of good guys to work with. And it sure seems as if they were good guys. David Reese II, thrived as a result of this environment. When David said “They were/are family,” he meant it. He said that “all the athletes, no matter their sport, stick together.” Respect and camaraderie were the driving force. I can tell you that back in the 1960s – when I was in school -- that was not always the case. Today, it seems to be one large and talented fraternity. They respect each other. Respect what others do. And relish their success. My guess? Good kids, and good leadership. Needless to say, David was disappointed when Michigan told him he couldn’t enroll early. The Michigan offer was a big one. Academically, it’s a top school with a storied football tradition. He thought he could play early. It was very close to home. He had family close by. But when the shoe dropped he then had to think about other offers from schools like Texas, Nebraska, and UF. At the time, Coach Randy Shannon was doing the recruiting for Florida. Shannon made an impression. Academics, current depth chart, tradition, and the SEC helped David decide to accept Florida’s offer. His parents influenced him by helping him through it and as he told me, he “always wanted to be a Gator.” He accepted the Panthers’ free agency offer for similar reasons: Depth chart, coaches, organization, and location. And he’s eagerly awaiting, diligently working toward the opening of camp. One thing he knows is that there is a life after football. Reese graduated with a degree in sports management and a minor in business. From what I gathered from watching him, and reading about him for four years, he was always prepared. Not doing well is not an option for this guy. It is also apparent that David has a very close relationship with his parents. He did learn some football from his dad who played defensive end for Eastern Michigan and then Michigan State. I asked him -- other than football -- about his initial impressions upon arrival at Florida. He was quick to say, “The campus was beautiful, and getting to know people − to include my teammates.” He roomed with, and was close to Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, Jachai Polite and Josh Hammond. “I also was close to a lot of people that didn’t play a sport.” The college experience was important to him, and happily for all concerned, he got the experience – which included “best friends, and great connections.” He went through a coaching transition, which he said he was sad because he had relationships that he valued. “McElwain was a “players’ coach,’” he said, and he missed his position coaches, But in the end it worked out splendidly as he openly welcomed Todd Grantham and Dan Mullen. What does it mean to be a Gator? “Means everything,” he said. “I understand what the logo means. Prestige. Tradition, There to make you a winner in life. Big.” When asked what he would miss the most -- like most young people would say after four years of loving college -- he said, “Relationships, teammates, and a wide variety of friends.” Someone close to me who played sports and lives in Gainesville thinks Reese was underrated and maybe unappreciated for four years. He said, “if David was bigger and a more prototypical middle linebacker, the media would have been talking about him as a potential All-American from the time he was in his sophomore year,” said my friend. “But he wasn’t 6-4. He didn’t weigh 250. He didn’t make that kind of visible splash. He didn’t seem to get the media that he deserved.” So I asked David if it bothered him. His response was typical Reese II. “Definitely − but, I am not a real media guy. I was playing the game that I love. I did what was asked of me. I did play with a chip on my shoulder from the time Michigan didn’t allow me to enroll early. But, I knew that I was blessed.” He meant it when he said he was “blessed.” He is blessed. And so were the Florida Gators. Phillip Huber is a freelance writer and former GatorBait contributor based in Florida.