Call him Professor Reese. David Reese has become a proven commodity for the Florida Gators and a beacon of veteran experience. He led the team in tackles his sophomore year and came in second on the team his junior year, despite missing three games. He also joins Brandon Spikes and Antonio Morrison as one of only three Florida linebackers since 2007 to have 100+ tackles in a single season (Spikes in 2007, Morrison in 2014 and 2015, Reese in 2017). The middle linebacker is the quarterback of the defense and heading into his senior season, he’s the guy position coach Christian Robinson most often looks to as a conduit for the rest of the unit. “He’s in the front of the film room coaching us up sometimes,” explains sophomore Amari Burney. “Coach [Robinson] will stop talking and just ask David Reese to tell us what we got and things like that. He’s a big help…he’s like the professor in the film room. Everything he tells us, we know he’s right. We don’t second guess him or anything like that. Whatever he tells you, that’s what we’re playing.” Out on the field, Reese is relied upon as the field general on defense, a position he has grown into naturally. With Vosean Joseph now with the Buffalo Bills after an early departure for the NFL, it’s up to Reese to pull a young, somewhat less experienced unit along with him. “I like that he's vocal like when we playing, being vocal and communication, just makes everybody else's job easier,” explains sophomore Ventrell Miller. “He's one of the guys that we look at for leaders but he's just like us just being in the defense new but he just, on the field he's a better communicator. He's getting everybody else where they need to be and talking and alerting stuff before the play so it makes us play faster." For Reese, who came up under the tutelage of current league players like Jarrad Davis and Alex Anzalone, passing along what they taught him is the least he can do for those that now look to him. “I try to just get them boys everything that I got from different players here and growing up the same as them. So kinda know the system a little bit better so I just wanna get them to think as fast as I do on the field,” says Reese. He’s already seeing improvement in new faces. “I feel like everybody’s got on it; we even bring in young guys like Jesiah [Pierre], [Ty’Ron] Hopper along, they’re getting better. Hopper’s really been standing out. He’s had a great camp. He’s one of those guys, his speed is like Bureny, he’s one of those type of guys.” The senior also knows this is his last year to help shape the future of the Gators so the Michigan native has become fully immersed in different teaching techniques, doing whatever he can (minus the glasses and tweed jacket) to impart wisdom on his charges, as Burney reveals. “He’s watching, even when I go out there and he’s not on the field with me, he’ll pull me to the sideline and just talk to me and tell me what I did wrong, things like that. “He puts us to the test. Sometimes he won’t say anything and I’ll be like ‘David, what do I got?’ and he’ll be like, ‘You should have known’. You just got to know your position and be helpful to him, too.” The latter is an evolving learning technique—something Burney compares to not only a professor but a parent—but one that Reese says has actually been working. "I want them to learn for themselves. I just don’t want it to be easy cause they’re all competing also. So they don’t need cheat codes all the time. If they’re in with one person, they need to talk, get to know each other.” And like a proud parent or teacher, he can stand back and see his protégé carrying on the legacy he’s shaping in them for years to come.

Buddy Martin's Blog/GatorBait 8-8-19

By KASSIDY HILL GatorBait Special Reporter “The strength & conditioning [coordinator] is the most important guy on your staff.” Florida Gators head coach Dan Mullen laid out that declaration more than a year ago. He was holding court at his first SEC Media Days as the Gators head coach but the veteran SEC skipper knew how to spin a phrase and he caught attention with that statement. This was the summer before Florida had played a game under Mullen, before fall camp had started, before anyone really knew what to expect from this new era. But with that proclamation the coach made clear how this program was going to be built; on the backs of the strength and conditioning plan. In the time since, it’s proven to be somewhat prophetic as Nick Savage has transformed the Florida roster. From the quarterback to the punter and everyone in between, the Gators lost body fat, bulked up and found an endurance that had been missing. In a trenches league, perhaps the biggest impact came from the offensive line not losing a starter to injury during the 2018 season. “Coach Savage knows how to take away fat and put on good weight,” explains defensive lineman Zach Carter. It’s more than just putting the team through a different regiment though; Savage has helped transform the Gators mindset. “Don’t let go of the rope” has become a mantra and a rallying cry, stemming from an offseason workout that asks teams of six to run the entire campus while all holding on to the same rope. The practical application is simple. During games, don’t forget about the person in front of you and behind you, the person depending on you to hang on to the rope, to not give up and to keep pushing so as to keep the entire team moving. When dealing with 18-22 year old kids, it takes a certain nuance to relate. And that perhaps more than anything concerning lift numbers or nutrition is what sets Nick Savage apart, with an energy that never seems to cease. “From start to finish, he has the most energy probably in the building,” says wide receiver Trevon Grimes. “He’s a phenomenal coach. He makes sure his players are at their highest point at all times. For example, if I come in a little tired, he’ll make sure I’m up, he’ll wake me up, he’ll scream, he’ll yell until I’m up. So he just demands the best out of you and I feel like players see that and that makes players respect him the most because at the end of the day he just wants the best out of you.” Adds receiver Van Jefferson, “He just can relate to us. I think he comes in, he demands respect so I think we give him that same respect back and he’s all about the grind and when he came in you know, he just gave us what he’s all about and we just followed him. So I think now that we’re under him, and we’ve had a year under him I think now he just elevating the program and he’s just does a good job and everybody respects him.” Savage’s ability to demand the most out of the guys while simultaneously earning that aforementioned respect should be a staple for a S&C coach, but as the college football has all to unfortunately learned in recent years, that isn’t always the case. Before Dan Mullen would hire Nick Savage, he had to make sure the young coach had the right balance. So he made him “try out”. Savage was in his mid-20’s, just on the backside of 25, serving as an assistant strength coach at Mississippi State, when his predecessor moved on to a new job. With a Belk Bowl quickly approaching, then State head coach Dan Mullen told Savage he had the bowl prep to prove himself. And he did. “I kind of gave him an interim position at the beginning of December. ‘You have through the bowl game to prove that you’re ready to be the head strength coach. You have the next month. And then after the bowl game I’ll make my decision on what I’m going to do.’ You know, because he was very young,” recalls Mullen. “I wanted to see that he was going to be — in a condensed version, but you touch on a lot in a bowl game. You have kind of a developmental lifting week and then you kind of have a mini- spring ball development training camp week. Then you have a game week and then a recruiting weekend. In that month of December, there is a lot going on that kind of touches on each little thing. “He had great energy and juice. The players liked him. The players liked him, but he didn’t change. He was demanding. He wasn’t going to give an inch. But he understood. He didn’t push too far. He didn’t try to cross the line to impress me or cross the line to impress the players or anything it. He was just him and that kind of fit.” “Just him” is an infectious personality that doesn’t rely on gimmicks or clichés that don’t feel true to himself. If he sees a guy walking to practice, he’ll race him. If he wants to give a theme to a workout, he’ll hang posters and make it a party. If he thinks it’s going to be hotter than normal, he’ll strap on a water backpack and walk around spraying guys down during an entire practice. And when he thinks they need a little extra inspiration, he’ll pull out Winston Churchill quotes, as evidenced by a recent video put out by Gator Football social media. That last thing is a common occurrence according to STAR Trey Dean. “Savage, he's not going to put nothing on the videos he don't preach. What he says off the camera, he says on the camera." At just the ripe young age of 30, and therefore one of the youngest S&C head coaches in the country, Nick Savage is now a seasoned vet. His three years at the helm so far have helped shape two programs and fuel inspiring seasons. His fourth football season is on the horizon but his work is largely done in the offseason, creating a foundation that can withstand an SEC grind. He proved himself at a young age, in a finite amount of time and has continued to do so since, earning respect from a tough crowd and never taking for granted the reins he’s been handed. Explains Mullen, “Despite being young, I thought here’s a guy, I gave him the opportunity, he took advantage of it. He had juice, had energy, handled whatever got thrown at him in that time period. He knows what my expectations are and what I want, so a great opportunity for him. He hasn’t let me down since.”

By: Franz Beard WILL COX BE ELIGIBLE? DON’T BET AGAINST MULLEN Tom Mars, the attorney who helped several prominent undergraduate transfers gain waivers for immediate eligibility, doesn’t seem to think much of the University of Florida’s petition to gain immediate eligibility for Georgia transfer Brenton Cox. Speaking to Chip Towers of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Tuesday, Mars stated, “Unless there’s some well-kept secret that would qualify him for a waiver, I’d say chances of Brenton Cox getting a waiver are approximately zero.” Zero? That seems odd when you take into consideration some of the prominent waivers granted by the NCAA in the last few months. The NCAA granted a waiver for quarterback Justin Fields to transfer from Georgia to Ohio State essentially because a former Georgia baseball player hurt his feelings using racist slang. That triggered Ohio State quarterback Tate Martell to transfer to Miami all because he was scared to death of a little competition. The NCAA, of course, granted Martell a waiver and there have been many others granted for equally silly reasons. All things considered, getting that waiver from the NCAA might not be all that tough. Florida coach Dan Mullen said at his Monday press conference, “We feel good about it, of having him be able to play. You look at all the previous scenarios that are out there around the country. We feel we have a good opportunity.” Yes, there is an opportunity with the NCAA. The Southeastern Conference? That’s likely the larger obstacle for Mullen and the Gators because even if the Gators get a waiver from the NCAA, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey would have to sign off on it and that would go against rules that are in place regarding transfers from one SEC school to another. League rules stipulate that an intra-conference transfer has to sit a year with two exceptions, none of which apply to Cox, who is a redshirt freshman: (1) The player has an undergraduate degree, and (2) the school that the player is leaving has been hit by NCAA sanctions. Florida was able to get Van Jefferson immediately eligible last year under scenario two since Ole Miss was facing a bowl ban and other restrictions. Conventional wisdom says Cox will have to sit this season but for all we know he may very well have serious legal representation, something Mars knows all too well. When he petitioned for waivers he had the unspoken threat of serious legal action unless a favorable ruling was issued. So, since we don’t know all the reasons Cox has transferred and we aren’t 100% sure what kind of legal help he’s getting, don’t bet against Dan Mullen. MARTELL STILL AT MIAMI … FOR NOW A day after he didn’t attend football practice following HBC Manny Diaz naming Jarren Williams his starting QB, Tate Martell back at practice Tuesday. Whether skipping Monday practice was just Martell needing time away to address his disappointment or a tantrum by someone who’s about to begin his third year of college football and still hasn’t won the starting job, this is the kind of distraction that can’t be good for a team that is less than two weeks away from its season opener. While Miami will try to gloss it over and spin this as the emotional reaction by a fiery competitor, it’s just the latest sign of immaturity on Martell’s part. Remember the stern warning Martell issued when Justin Fields was on the verge of announcing he would be transferring to Ohio State from Georgia? As soon as Fields made the transfer official, Martell blew out of Columbus like a runaway freight train for The U where it was expected he would lap the competition for the starting QB job even before spring practice was over. When that didn’t happen, Cane apologists blamed it on Martell learning a new system. Well, he’s had the spring and summer to learn it and he still can’t beat out a QB who played in one game and threw one pass in 2018. Now Martell might elect to stay at The U and he might eventually become the starting QB and do well. Maybe. But what if he doesn’t? Can Manny Diaz think for one second he’ll have a happy camper on his hands? This has all the makings of a wound that is going to fester. SOME GOOD QUOTES FOR WEDNESDAY From David M. Hale of ESPN, talking about how Georgia fans hope and pray Jake Fromm will lead the Poodles to the Promised Land: “To be a Georgia fan is to smell success like the faint stink of stale beer and cigarettes on your clothes after a long night on Clayton Street. It's a hazy memory of happier times, supplanted by a pounding headache and nausea. And yet, here they are, ready again to embrace a new hero, a guy who's already endured his share of near misses ... It's hard to not to lump Fromm in with the rest of the lingering "what if" moments in recent Georgia lore -- if only D.J. Shockley hadn't gotten hurt before the Florida game in 2005, if only Georgia hadn't flubbed the Tennessee gamein 2007, if only Chris Conley hadn't caught the pass to let time run out in 2012. "If" has defined Georgia, and for all his success through two seasons in Athens, it's still written in big, bold type on Fromm's résumé, too.” From Matt Fortuna of The Athletic, Coach O, who transferred from LSU to Northwestern State back in his playing days, talks about the transfer portal and it’s impact on today’s college football: “I regretted it. I promise you right now. Every day that I was at Northwestern (State) I loved being there, but I regretted leaving LSU. So I think you need to make it tough for the guys, to tough it out. There are going to be experiences that they have to go [through]. You know there’s 400-some guys in the portal right now that don’t have a scholarship. The grass is greener on the other side of the fence. They left a good school, and they have nowhere to go. So I think the guys really need to think twice before doing it.” More from Fortuna, this from South Carolina coach Will Muschamp: “As far as transfer portal, it really doesn’t matter what I think because the rules aren’t going to change. So I think you just have to do a good job as a head coach of managing your roster. If somebody wants to be at South Carolina, great; if they don’t, go somewhere else.” From The Guardian, Atlanta United manager Frank de Boer speaks out about equal pay for women in sports like soccer and tennis: "I think for me, it's ridiculous. It's the same like tennis. If there are watching, for the World Cup final, 500 million people or something like that, and 100 million for a women's final, that's a difference. So it's not the same. And of course they have to be paid what they deserve to [earn] and not less, just what they really deserve. If it's just as popular as the men, they will get it, because the income and the advertising will go into that. But it's not like that, so why do they have to earn the same? I think it's ridiculous. I don't understand that." From Gary Parrish of CBSSports.com on the NCAA and its Commission on College Basketball: “The Commission on College Basketball was formed as a response to the FBI investigation that placed a negative light on the sport – but good luck trying to find anybody who thinks they've accomplished much. Truth is, they've done more harm than good. They've broken more things than they've fixed. They've taken an imperfect system and made it less perfect. And, at some point, and sooner rather than later, the NCAA must move them to the side, let them disappear, and start taking recommendations from people who actually understand the issues within college basketball and possess thoughtful ideas about how to fix them.” SEC FOOTBALL/BASKETBALL STUFF South Carolina tight end Evan Hinson tested for an irregular heartbeat after complaining about difficulty breathing. He will have surgery to correct the issue and will be out for six to eight weeks. Linebacker Joshua McMillon injured his right knee and will require surgery. Al.com reports that McMillon could miss the entire 2019 season ... Freshman O-lineman Pierce Quick is wearing a walking boot and did not practice Tuesday. The Knoxville News-Sentinel reports that Tennessee led the nation in buyout payments in the fiscal year that ended in June 2018. The Vols spent more than $13 million on fired coaches. Nebraska, Florida, Arizona State and UCLA all spent more than $12 million. Tennessee linebacker Jordan Allen is recovering from hip flexor surgery that could keep him out a few weeks of the 2019 season … Meanwhile defensive back Baylen Buchanan, who started all 12 games for the Vols last season, is dealing with a spinal issue that could keep him from playing this season. Andy Burcham takes over as the play-by-play voice of Auburn football and basketball for the late Rod Bramblett, who was killed in an auto accident earlier in the year. Quarterback D’Wan Mathis, who had surgery to deal with a cyst on his brain, is practicing at Georgia but he hasn’t been fully cleared. Missouri tight end Albert Okwuebunam continues to be limited due to injuries. He missed Saturday’s scrimmage and Monday’s practice dealing with a sprained knee. Arkansas has added home-and-home games with Oklahoma State in 2032-33 with Arkansas traveling to Stillwater in 2032 and Okie State returning the favor in 2033. Offensive lineman Calvin Ashley, who transferred from Auburn to Florida Atlantic back in February, has elected to transfer from FAU. The injury bug seems to be hitting LSU hard. On the defensive side of the ball, All-American safety Grant Delpit has missed six consecutive practices while linebacker K’Lavon Chaisson has missed seven in a row. Corner Kristian Fulton, who missed five practices last week with a lingering foot problem, was absent Tuesday. Freshman DB Maurice Hampton has missed two straight practices and has a protective cast on his right wrist. Three O-line starters missed practice Tuesday – LT Saahdiq Charles, LG Chasen Hines and RG Damien Lewis. Wide receiver Derrick Dillon has missed the last two practices and four of the last five. RANDOM THOUGHTS: Even though he was acquitted on sexual assault charges, the University of Wisconsin doesn’t want wide receiver Quintez Cephus to return. Cephus missed the entire 2018 season after he was charged with second and third degree sexual assault … As a high school senior in Linden, California, New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge had 954 yards and 17 touchdowns as a receiver on the football team and 18 points and 13 rebounds per game for the basketball team ... Oakland Raiders’ wide receiver Antonio Brown lost his appeal and will have to wear an NFL approved helmet. Brown had threatened to sit out the season if he couldn’t use his old helmet but has elected to play. Perhaps the guaranteed $30 million of his 3-year $50 million contract had something to do with it …Just a day after a new rule that required an agent to have a bachelor’s degree to maintain good standing with the NCAA, the nitwits who run the organization reversed course and amended the “Rich Paul Rule” so that agents without a bachelor’s degree but are certified and in good standing with NBA Players Association can represent college players ... And since we’re on the subject of what Brian Bosworth once deemed the “National Communists Against Athletes,” the organization has placed Utah basketball on two years probation for multiple recruiting violations deemed major but none of which rise to the heinous level of Dwight Adams buying Dale Dorminey a pack of Juicy Fruit and a Sprite at the Gainesville airport back in the 1980s … Just in case you follow Major League Baseball, the Boston Red Sox are a mere 17-1/2 games behind the New York Yankees in the American League East. The Yankees need to go 20-21 the rest of the way to get to 100 wins. For the Red Sox to get to 100 they would need to go 37-3.

Freddie Swain was shocked, Trevon Grimes was floored and one can only assume defensive coordinator Todd Grantham has been smiling. Linebacker Brenton Cox Jr. has officially been added to the Florida Gators roster after transferring from the University of Georgia just last week, and began practicing with the team on Friday. “He’s phenomenal; he’s good, he’s fast, he’s quick." Cox played in 13 games as a true freshman with the Bulldogs, including a start in the Sugar Bowl. Primarily used as a backup depth player, he totaled 20 tackles, including seven solo, and had a career high six stops in the Sugar Bowl against Texas. After only a handful of practices with the Gators, the second year linebacker has made a quick impression. “He’s phenomenal,” asserts wide receiver Tre Grimes. “He’s good, he’s fast, he’s quick. He actually has some move that I’ve never seen before but he’s phenomenal and I feel like he’ll be a great add-on to our defense.” The “move” in question, according to Grimes, is a reverse spin move. “I don’t even know what to call it cause I’m not on D-line but it was some crazy spin move thing that he did like ‘whoa’ and all the receivers seen it cause they were doing like inside one-on-one pass pro. So it was pretty cool to see him.” It’s a move Grimes admittedly wishes he could mimic but can’t. Yet it’s another skill that has Cox standing out to Swain. “His get off is just—it’s the get off. Gets off the ball so fast and kinda shocks you. Really ain’t expecting it then he comes off spinning,” laughs Swain. "He moves kinda like a receiver…you can kinda tell he’s more seasoned than some guys. So I think he’ll do pretty good.” A quick jump off the block is arguably one of a rushing linebackers greatest assets. Coupled with Grantham’s penchant for blitzing, Cox’s 6’4” frame could easily fit into the aggressive scheme. First though, he’ll have to be allowed to play. Bylaws implemented in both the NCAA and the Southeastern Conference would indicate Cox will have to sit out a year—a residence year as it’s called—while in school at Florida before being allowed to play a snap for the Gators. He can practice and be with the team during this time; he just can’t play. No matter what you think your chances might be though, the first course of action is to always apply for a waiver, asking to be granted immediate eligibility. Head coach Dan Mullen says the Gators will “definitely” be applying in Cox’s case. “We feel good about it, of having him be able to play. I think you look at all the previous scenarios that are out there around the country, we feel we have a good opportunity.” As the transfer portal has become part and parcel with college football, the scenarios Mullen mentions have increased ten-fold. When as recent as three to four years ago, the NCAA was prone to deny any and every request, they have recently loosened the hold. This has come with its fair share of criticism since the governing body has elected to grant waivers for some cases where little hardship or reasoning existed for the player other than seemingly being unhappy with their current team; then turning around and denying waivers like that for Luke Ford, who left Georgia for Illinois in order to play closer to home since his grandparents health is ailing. Or that of Brock Hoffman, who left Coastal Carolina to attend Virginia Tech and be closer to his mother after she had a brain tumor removed. The NCAA denied the latter because the Hoffman home is five miles outside the 100-mile radius that the NCCA (oft hypocritically) says they honor for hardship waivers. Despite the confounding whims of the NCAA, the perpetuity to now grant waivers to most all seeking them, leaves Mullen feeling confident enough to say publicly he feels they will smile favorably on Cox and the Gators. The biggest question though will come with the waiver that must also be filed with the SEC (which is the same waiver, just to a different body). The league has strict guidelines for intra-conference transferring with the main office known to rely on recommendations from the school and/or head coach of the team which a player is leaving. Meaning feasibly, UGA head coach Kirby Smart could block the waiver. In the past Smart could have gone as far as blocking the transfer but the league has loosened up their policies in recent years. Well, loosened up comparatively. The official SEC bylaws state that a waiver for the year in residence is granted for students who are leaving a school that is facing a post season ban and for graduate transfers. Any others must abide by the NCAA exceptions. The latter don’t list a situation that would seem to encompass Cox and therefore could give the league a reasonable explanation for a denial. However if the NCAA, abiding by the same criteria, grants a waiver, it will be more difficult—though not impossible or unheard of—for the SEC to say no. A lot of it will depend on the intricacies of Cox’s argument, of which Mullen isn’t willing to share at this time. “We’re not going to get into that part of it; we’re doing, gonna do it how we do it, do it through the NCAA, it’s not something we’re gonna try to play out publicly to influence anything one way or the other. We’re gonna just go through the channels and do it the right way.” Whether Brenton Cox Jr. will play with the Gators in the 2019 season or if he will have to wait until 2020, the future looks bright for a guy who Mullen sees fitting right in with the roster. "As soon as he went in, they reached out. Some of the players reached out and said he had called some of the players to ask about us…with what he knew of the guys on the team it was a good fit for him talking to guys on our team with how our program is run and what we do and how that would fit him.” Adds Grimes, “At the end of the day business is business and we’re gonna embrace him, love him like a brother and that’s what he is to us now, he’s a brother. At the end of the day he’s on our team now and we look forward to having him and we’re gonna embrace him just like anybody else.”

By: Kassidy Hill Florida Gators head coach Dan Mullen addressed the local media Monday afternoon, less than a week after he last spoke at the podium. It’s been a long week for the coach though if outside perception is to be believed. The coach was asked last Tuesday about the status of defensive back John Huggins who had not to that point practiced with the team during fall camp. Mullen gave the stock answer of a “family issue” but then was asked about an incident involving the then freshman last October choking a female tutor. Mullen revealed that a five game absence last fall was part of the DB’s punishment and his absence now was unrelated. Over the weekend it was reported (first by the Orlando Sentinel) that Huggins had been dismissed from the team. As for that decision, Mullen says it wasn’t a university decision but instead a program call: “That was ours’.” The decision, at the end of the day, came down to one thing. “Not living up to what we expect of the Gator standard…[the decision] was evolving. There were things we were looking at him having to do. It was a constant process.” Huggins was the fifth guy in the program to be accused of violence against a woman during Mullen’s tenure in Gainesville. Only one player, Justin Watkins, was arrested and in each other case the player (and in once case a staff member) was released from the program. Despite this fact, there was an onslaught of criticism about both Mullen and the program, questioning the culture of the program. Last Tuesday Mullen said they try to educated their guys on right from wrong in those situations but also touched on the difficulty of sorting through the complexities of those same situations. “Now we do a lot of education on our team with that stuff. Obviously I’m a big anti-violence against women person. I’m also a person that I really want to have all of the information as I make decisions and what happens in different situations and that’s one of the toughest deals. Because, it’s a jump to conclusion on every detail that happens sometimes. It’s something that obviously, it outs us as coaches sometimes in a really tough decision as you deal with that stuff. Because you want to give people an opportunity to have rights, like everybody else in the United States are supposed to. But everybody wants to see ‘what are we doing’ instantly. And we try to gather the facts. "We spend a lot of time in educating our guys. Obviously we are very anti-violence against women, but as you try to investigate the situations, as you try to educate guys on what happens. The great things is educating on how to make good decisions. On Monday, the head coach remained confident in how he’s handled each situation. “I’m comfortable with me, and I’m comfortable with how we run a program. People outside are going to have their opinion on me I’m sure good or bad. I don’t pay much attention to it.” Now both Mullen and the Gators are ready to move forward, even if it’s with a depleted secondary. Huggins is the third defensive back to leave the program this offseason, along with Chris Steele and Brian Edwards. Corner CJ McWilliams will also be out for the season now with a torn Achilles heel. “Next guy’s got to step up. I’m concerned with the depth on our entire roster,” admits Mullen. "You’re always concerned with the depth on your roster going into the season. I think you see most teams that have great years tend to stay healthy. I think that’s such a huge aspect of it. So for us staying healthy allows you to have a better season. And to me that’s such a huge challenge because you’re trying to control, you’re trying to put guys in good situations to stay healthy.”

By KASSIDY HILL GatorBait Special Reporter In this corner, weighing in at 330 pounds, from Mount Dora, Fla. — Brett Heggie! In this corner, also weighing in at 330 pounds, from Hanover Township, Pa. — Chris Bleich. This matchup hasn’t been kind to Bleich in the past; he’s only 1-30 against the veteran Heggie, but he’s tenacious, something he’s picked up from Feleipe Franks. Speaking of his quarterback, he’s currently waiting on the side with long snapper Brett DioGuardi, tight end Lucas Krull and the rest of the offensive line unit, led by Nick Buchanan. Before getting to tonight’s action, let’s hear from the players in the matchup. We recently sat down with all of the participants to find out how these pool fights came to be, who they least want to face and the ways these smackdowns have begun to affect their lives outside the pool/ ring. It all started with a pool party at offensive line coach John Hevesy’s house. The game — in its original form — was pool basketball. Buchanan is a center on the football field but steps into the point guard role in the pool and fulfills all of his duties as the units leader. “So, I’m out there running the show like Magic Johnson at point guard,” said Buchanan. “I wasn’t trying to get too into the deep end too much because we have some tall guys on the O-line and I’m one of the shorter guys. So I stay in the shallow and dish and pass the ball, throw alley-oops, stuff like that.” The role is a natural fit for Buchanan, who has become the most experienced voice for this rag-tag group. While he may not jump into the fights as much, he helps prepare guys in the water and on game days with his offensive line knowledge. “It’s just when you see a guy struggling to learn something or you see he might not understand what is going on, you just go over there and you try to help him. It’s just I understand it, and if they don’t, I can explain it to them. It’s not anything too special. It’s just as simple as that. I get it, they didn’t, so I try to help them.” Back in the pool though, he sends out orders from the shallow end because it’s the deep end of pool basketball that changed the nature of the game. “I try to stay from the deep end because that’s when they start ... there are no fouls in pool basketball, you know what I mean? So grabbing and dunking ... try to stay away from all of that. I try to stay in the shallow area where I belong.” Down in the deep end, things began to heat up; and when several guys moved in together in a new house that came with a pool, wrestling matches became a nightly occurrence. “Just two big guys ‘sumoing’ it out,” explains the redshirt freshman Bleich. “It’s not a pretty sight to see, but I mean we lose a few pounds in the pool every night.” Determining a winner, says Bleich, is easy. “You’ve got the (shallow) end. Then you know like where it goes right to the deep end. First one to knock them into the deep end, head under, wins.” Bleich has become well known around the waters edge for his Johnny Cash intro music and a busted nose from one of the matches. But it’s quarterback Feleipe Franks who is working his way up the winners list. “Feleipe is just weird, he has leverage, he’s long,” explains Heggie, but not before adding, “I still got him beat. He’s got some work to do to get to my level.” Adds Bleich, “[Feleipe] just wants to win. He doesn’t loose.” The tight end, Krull, gets little credit to his pool wrestling prowess according to Bleich. “I don’t want to put him at the bottom, but he doesn’t pool fight with was that much. He’s usually chilling, making fun of two fat kids wrestling. So, he’s number five of course.” But there’s little debate as to who’s number one: Brett Heggie. In both wrestling and other aquatic acrobatics. “[The cannonball], that’s a work in progress. I’m not giving up on it. I’m a big belly flop guy though. Definitely the leader in the house.” The redshirt junior has battled injuries on the football field the past two years but coaches and teammates all maintain he’s back to 100 percent and ready to go in that regard. As the only one besides Buchanan with significant starting experience, his expertise will be crucial this fall on the field. The attitude that makes him valuable in that regard also makes him the champion in the pool. “Heggie is a tough guy. It doesn’t matter what he’s got going on. He could have three different injuries on his body, but he’s still going to find a way to get it done. Fighting, tussling or arm wrestling, he’s going to find a way,” says Jean Delance. “He’s one of those guys who shows up and’s that one guy in the room you don’t know what he’s going to do. But when does it, you’re like ‘..., okay he’s doing it.’ He comes with it every day.” Due to past Heggie injuries though, pool wrestling matches are generally closed to the public and aren’t widely shared as the man himself explains. “I don’t know if I can put anything on Twitter anymore because people want me in bubble wrap.” Being a valuable commodity at this point, that’s a safe bet. But the guys feel confident that each match in the pool this summer will show itself on the football field this fall. “Anytime you’re going out there, just having fun with the guys, it’s a bonding moment,” postulated Buchanan. “You get to learn more about people. You get to have fun with kids. Switch up the teams and we do older guys versus younger guys, people from South Florida versus everywhere else. It’s just a different way to learn about guys, talk to them and have fun with them.” Heggie agrees; “It is definitely fun. We get close to guys, especially the offensive linemen up front. We get close as a group. It makes you want to go out there on Saturdays and play harder for the guy to the left and the guy to the right. I think it’s really important to grow that bond. And it’s translating to preparations already according to Heggie. “I think we worked really hard this offseason. We did a lot of extra work on our own as a unit. Me, Stone and Nick ran practices basically for us to go through fundamentals and things like that so we can get ahead of the game so we can perform as one unit up front and get comfortable with working with each other. I think that really helped us.” The expectations around college football for this unit are admittedly low, due not too lack of future talent possibly, but just an acknowledgment of the current experience level on a line that lost four starters following the 2018 season. After a summer full of technique work and pool wrestling, Jean Delance has high expectations for what he and his teammates can do this fall. “I see it as a challenge. Live up to the expectations. You’ve got a great ceiling, you’ve got a great team, you’ve got a lot of different positions that got a lot of experience. So, I see it as a challenge. Every day, step up to the plate and get it done. Like, there is no ifs, ands or buts. We have to get it done. You know what I’m saying? You’ve got a great team, you’ve got a great foundation and you can’t just say, ‘Oh, this one position was holding us back.’ That’s not acceptable. We have to get it done. We have good guys, good skill players and good defensive players all across the board. So, we have to get it done, protect Feleipe, give him time and do our jobs.” The time for talk is over though. There’s a heavyweight battle ready to be fought and the participants are pacing in the corners. So gentlemen, let’s get ready to rumble... And then it’s gotta translate on grass or turf.

By FRANZ BEARD GatorBait Senior Columnist The memories come and go. It’s easier, most of the time, to remember what happened 30 years ago than what happened 30 minutes or 30 hours ago. That’s the price Scot Brantley pays for being a tackling machine. There was contact on every play. Shots to the head were simply part of playing the game he feels he was born to play, which is why he doesn’t want anyone feeling sorry for him now. “I’m in a good place,” he says. “I’ve had a really good life. I got to live out my dreams. How many people can ever say they did that?” Living out his dreams is one of the reasons the brain short circuits these days. All those blows to the head from playing football from the time he was a kid through high school, the University of Florida and more than eight years in the National Football League are one of the reasons he is the early stages of Alzheimer’s. He knows there will come a time when even the distant memories will either be distorted or gone completely. While he still has lucid thoughts, he wants everyone to know one thing about his days of being a sideline-to-sideline guy who felt driven to make every single tackle. “I really wouldn’t change much, maybe not anything,” he says. “I think I’d want more time with my wife and with my family. Yeah, I’d change that, but the other stuff? I’m good with it. God’s got a plan and I know God’s in charge. I’ve got peace with where I’m at even though I can’t remember things and I can’t do stuff I’d like to do. I’ve got peace.” * * * It is when Brantley put God in charge that he began to feel he truly had a mission in life. He was already the biggest thing that had ever hit Forest High School in Ocala, probably the best high school linebacker the state of Florida had ever seen and the center fielder on the baseball team. Life was good, he says, but it was a trip to North Carolina for a Fellowship of Christian Athletes camp that changed him both on and off the athletic fields. “We all got on a bus in the summer and we drove up to Black Mountain, North Carolina for an FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) camp up at Blue Ridge Assembly,” Scot recalled. “It changed my life. I started praying for people. During games, I prayed for my teammates that they could play their best and wouldn’t get hurt. I prayed that I could play hard but play the right way.” From the moment he came back from Blue Ridge, Scot Brantley became determined to continue his own path to greatness but to also bring out the best in his teammates. He became more of an encourager, less of a critic. He wasn’t afraid to get on the case of a teammate who maybe didn’t give total effort, but he learned to temper the criticism with encouraging words. The better he became as a teammate, the better he became as a player, which only fed his desire to be great. He played linebacker like nobody had ever seen, leading Forest to back-to-back state championships in 1974-75. He hit .442 while leading the state in home runs while getting Forest to the state baseball semifinals. The New York Mets drafted him in the fifth round, offering him a six- figure bonus but football was where he wanted to be. “I always had this belief that I was born to play football all the way back to when I first started as a kid,” Brantley says. “I didn’t just want to be good. I really wanted to be great. I wanted to make every single tackle. I wanted the contact. It was like I needed the contact. Once I got hit hard – I wouldn’t say dinged or even stunned, just hit hard – I felt like I was ready to play harder and do better.” Against Leesburg his senior season, Brantley made 31 unassisted tackles in the only game Forest lost all season. The Wildcats went on to win the second of their two state championships with Brantley making Parade All-American the second straight year all the while becoming the hottest recruit in the country. Bear Bryant had him first on Alabama’s recruiting list. He was a must get for Woody Hayes at Ohio State. Barry Switzer at Oklahoma, Tom Osborne at Nebraska, Joe Paterno at Penn State, Frank Broyles at Arkansas and Bo Schembechler at Michigan all made their pitch as THE place to be. There was only one place he wanted to be, however, and that was 40 miles up the road in Gainesville at the University of Florida. “I listened to everybody else and I was respectful, but I always thought why go somewhere else when I can take that beautiful drive from Ocala up to Gainesville and play for the Gators?” he says. It helped that older brother John was a freshman quarterback at UF. On the night he said yes to Douglas Adair Dickey to commit to the University of Florida, there was football royalty in the Brantley household. Woody Hayes was in his living room, Bear Bryant was on the phone and Dickey was in his kitchen. He jokes about that night and says, “You try saying no to Bear Bryant and Woody Hayes!” * * * At Florida, Brantley was a starter from day one. He was a first team All-SEC middle linebacker in 1977-78 and would have easily made first team All-American in 1979 except for the season-ending concussion in the second game against Georgia Tech. In his three seasons and two games with the Gators, Brantley made 467 tackles, an average of more than 13 per game. The school record is 475, a phenomenal total, for sure, but that was set in four full seasons. “I might have gotten to 600 tackles if I had played all of my senior year,” Brantley says. The Tampa Bay Bucs drafted him in the third round. He almost certainly would have been a first rounder if not for the concussion. He spent the next eight years playing for the Bucs and carving out an impressive NFL resume but injuries took their toll. He’s lost count of all the surgeries but offers a guesstimate of 12. There will be more to come. He still has a hip and a shoulder to be replaced. “I got enough scars that I kinda look like a road map,” he says. * * * There were too many blows to the head to count. “You play linebacker there’s contact and a lot of it’s to the head,” he says. “The helmet only protects so much.” He was doing radio in Tampa and was an analyst on the University of Florida football radio network when all the blows to the head began to cause the brain to short circuit. “I started losing my chain of thought and I started having problems putting some sentences together,” he says. “That was the sign that something wasn’t working right.” The something turned out to be early onset of Alzheimer’s, not uncommon among former pro football players. Combined with the medication he has to take for the various aches and pains from his many surgeries, there is a regimen of more than 60 pills he has to take every day. Barring some sort of breakthrough in treatment and medication, the Alzheimer’s will eventually rob Brantley of his memory. It’s not a pleasant thought but he’s at peace with his circumstances. “I wish I still had the ability to do some of the stuff I used to do,” he says. “I’d still like to work, but I can’t do that. I spend a lot of time here at the house reading my Bible and praying. Sometimes I read the words and I just don’t know what I’m reading but I keep on anyway. I know that I’m growing. “I’ve got my dog and my cat. I’ve got the pool. Soon we’ll be moving into a new house. I’ve got a great wife (Mary). She’s sent straight from God. I’ve got two daughters, two grandkids and I’ll have a third one soon.” Is it the way he planned it? Not really. Nobody ever wants Alzheimer’s and nobody ever wants a body that’s “all wore out from all that football” but these are mere circumstances that he can live with. Instead of talking about all the negative aspects of a memory that loses a little bit more every day and instead of dwelling on the aches and pains of just rising from a chair and walking, he’s quick to point out all the good things that have happened. He points out that so many people reach a point in life when they are consumed by regrets or feeling unfulfilled because there were so many dreams that went unrealized. It’s easy to sense the joy in his heart when he talks about Mary, who is his soulmate, or the time he gets to spend with his daughters and grandchildren. And, since he believes that God has a plan and a purpose for everything that happens, he feels he is fully prepared for whatever happens next. “If it all ended up today, I’m good with that,” he says. “I’ve had a good life. God gave me plenty of blessings. I don’t know too many people who are as blessed as I’ve been.”

From Chip Towers, AJC Brenton Cox, a Georgia linebacker who entered his name in the NCAA's transfer portal Monday, has landed with the Florida Gators. The move was first reported by Swamp247.com's Blake Alderman, who noticed Cox was added to Florida's roster. At Florida, Cox will play for former Georgia defensive coordinator and outside linebackers coach Todd Grantham. Grantham reportedly contacted Cox soon after his name was entered as a transfer sometime Monday afternoon. He will wear the No. 6 for the Gators after wearing No. 1 for the Bulldogs this past season. It is not yet clear whether Cox will be immediately eligible or have to sit out a season to meet the NCAA's standard transfer requirements. Intra-SEC transfers usually include a year-in-residency requirement. Cox, a sophomore who played in 13 of 14 games last season abruptly left the Bulldogs before the fourth practice of preseason camp Monday. Neither coach Kirby Smart nor anybody from Georgia has made an official comment on his absence from Georgia practices. Cox is from Stockbridge and was one of seven 5-star prospects to sign with the Bulldogs last year. He backed up senior D’Andre Walker at the “Jack” outside linebacker position. Cox made one start, when Walker was out with an injury in the Sugar Bowl. He finished the season with 20 tackles and 1.5 sacks. ——- From Dawg Nation ATHENS - Five days after his departure from UGA, Brenton Cox is now a Florida Gator. Florida announced the move on Friday. The former 5-star outside linebacker will wear No. 6 for the Gators and is listed as a sophomore. It is the latest in an up-and-down off season for Cox who was arrested earlier in the spring on marijuana charges. ——- Tony Barnhart replied to my query about Cox: “Don’t know anything other than what has been published in media. Got into scuffle with another player during game last year. Pot charge. Was going to sit out first game. That’s all I know.” —Buddy Martin The move adds to what appears to be a boiling over of the rivalry between the Gators and Dawgs this off season. Florida coach Dan Mullen, who has been dealing with in several offseason problems of his own regarding violence against women, has taken shots at the Bulldogs early and often in 2019. Those quips have included commentary on players transferring from UGA, and making fun of the Bulldogs for not winning a consensus national title since 1980. Mullen has lost to Kirby Smart and UGA in back-to-back seasons by double digits. He’s 1-4 all time against the Bulldogs as a head coach. Still, the addition of Cox means the Gators are adding one of the most talented players to their roster, and doing so from their biggest rival.

THOUGHTS OF THE DAY, AUGUST 9, 2019 By Franz Beard AN OVER-UNDER FOR EVERY SEC TEAM IN 2019 Alabama: Alabama gave up an unheard of 18.1 points per game last year, largely due to an end-of-the-year collapse that saw the Tide give up 127 points in the last four games including 34 to Oklahoma and 44 to Clemson in the two playoff games. There is a reason why Nick Saban replaced his defensive coordinator. Take the under as in under 15 points and under 300 yards allowed per game. Arkansas: Last year the Hogs went 2-10, the worst record in school history. The four non-conference games this year are Portland State, Colorado State, San Jose State and Western Kentucky, all at home. The Hogs might not win a single SEC game, but they’ll be hard pressed to lose a non-conference game. Take the over as in over three wins. Auburn: Auburn ran the football for only 167.46 yards per game while averaging 4.25 yards per carry. Those are pedestrian numbers and have a lot to do with Auburn’s disappointing 8-5 record that had some alums talking about firing Gus Malzahn. The problem was two-fold. First, Gus wasn’t calling the plays until the bowl game (Auburn lit up Purdon’t for 63 points and 586 yards). Second, quarterback Jarrett Stidham gained one yard rushing. Total. If you’ve followed the Gus then you know his offense is dysfunctional without a running QB which he has this year in redshirt freshman (Joey Gatewood) and true freshman (Bo Nix). Take the over as in Auburn will run for over 220 yards per game. FLORIDA: The Gators got to opposing quarterbacks for 37 sacks in 2018 with Jachai Polite leading the way with 11. Even though Polite is gone, Florida’s pass rush is going to be scary good. Start with grad transfer Jonathan Greenard, who had 7.5 sacks two years ago while playing for Todd Grantham at Louisville. Greenard and Grantham are reunited at UF and now Greenard has that bookend edge rusher (Jabari Zuniga) that he never had at Louisville. Now throw in Jeremiah Moon, Khris Bogle and some other athletic freaks and the Gators are going to terrorize opposing QBs. Take the over as in over 40 sacks. Georgia: Georgia is 24-5 the last two years and would have a national championship and a second SEC title except the Poodles have blown double-digit leads to Alabama (national title game, 2017; SEC title game, 2018). Because of what Georgia fans would call a couple more “near national championships” the Poodles are everybody’s preseason #3. But take a look at a schedule that includes Notre Dame, Florida, (at) Auburn and Texas A&M. Take the under as in under 11 wins and quite possibly under 10. Kentucky: Kentucky parlayed a stacked defense led by a ferocious pass rusher (Josh Allen, 17 sacks) and a ball control offense that could control the clock with Benny Snell Jr. (1,449 yards, 17 TDs) pounding it between the tackles into the first 10-win season since Fran Curci was the coach back in the 1970s. Allen and six other starters are gone from that defense. So are Snell and three O-line starters. Take the under as in under 10 wins for sure, most likely under eight. LSU: The Tigers have a QB they believe can give them a chance to make it to the promised land (Atlanta for the SEC Championship Game) in Joe Burrow, who put up decent numbers (16 TDPs, 7.6 per pass attempt) while learning the offense on the fly last year (arrived as a grad transfer in August). To further Burrow’s development, Coach O hired Joe Brady from the New Orleans Saints to put some electricity in the passing game. The Tigers have incredible speed on the outside and a veteran offensive line to protect Burrow. Take the over as in over 250 passing yards per game. Mississippi State: Mississippi State’s defense gave up 13.2 points and 263.1 yards per game in 2018. That’s impressive stuff but DC Bob Shoop will be missing three first round draft picks (DT Jeffery Simmons, DE/LB Montez Sweat and S Jonathan Abram) and four other starters. Take the over as in over 20 points and 320 yards allowed per game in 2019. Missouri: With Derek Dooley calling the plays, Mizzou’s passing numbers took a serious dip in 2018. Missouri receivers averaged 16.24 yards per reception in 2017 but that dropped to 12.93 in 2018 and that was with a future NFL QB (Drew Lock), whose yards per attempt fell from 9.3 to 8.1. Kelly Bryant is the new QB. He doesn’t have Lock’s arm or ability to make tough throws. Take the under as in under 7.5 yards per pass attempt and under 250 yards per game passing. Ole Miss: This one is easy. There is no way the Ole Miss defense can be as bad as last year when the Rebels gave up 510.5 yards and 36.2 points per game. Take the under as in under 500 yards and under 33 points allowed per game. South Carolina: If there has been a knock on quarterback Jake Bentley it has been that he completes far too many passes (30 in his career) to the other team. He throws one of the best deep balls in the country, but he tries to force too many of the shorter throws into tight coverage. Word is that Bentley finally understands that a 5-yard completion is better than a pick. He has to throw fewer interceptions for South Carolina to break even or better against that brutal schedule. Take the under as in under nine interceptions this season. Tennessee: Last year the Vols averaged a pitiful 129.08 yards per game rushing and just 3.7 yards per carry. The architect of that dismal effort was Tyson Helton, who somehow got himself hired as the HBC at Western Kentucky. The new OC is Jim Chaney, who spent the last three years calling the plays at Georgia. Don’t expect the Vols to set the world on fire in the running game, but it should improve enough to get them to a bowl game. Take the over, as in over 150 rushing yards per game. Texas A&M: Kellen Mond’s improved numbers in 2018 had a lot to do with having Trayveon Williams (1,760 yards, 18 rushing TDs) to run the football behind a huge, veteran O-line. Williams has moved on to the No Fun League and the two best O-linemen have graduated so don’t expect the Aggies to come anywhere close to last year’s 219 rushing yards per game and 5.29 per carry. Take the under as in under 190 rushing yards per game. Vanderbilt: In the second half of 2018, Ke’Shawn Vaughn was the most dangerous running back in the country. He finished the season with 1,244 yards and 12 rushing TDs while averaging 7.92 per carry. If he gets a step he’s as good as gone yet he carried the ball only 13 times per game and had only two games with more than 20 carries. If the Commodores are to get anywhere close to five wins Vaughn’s got to see the ball early and often. Take the over as in over 1,500 rushing yards. SOME GOOD QUOTES FOR FRIDAY Andy Staples of The Athletic on UCF athletic director Danny White and the ongoing football scheduling debate: “The current scheduling debate in the Sunshine State is whether UCF should take a two-for-one with Florida should the Gators agree that the Orlando game would be in Spectrum Stadium on UCF’s campus and not in Camping World Stadium near downtown. White considers that hypothetical to be pure fantasy, though. What’s in that for Florida, a program with an already formidable conference schedule and a traditionally good out-of-conference rival (the aforementioned Seminoles)? There is little upside for the Gators to play the Knights in Gainesville — other than it might excite season-ticket buyers more than currently scheduled games against Towson or New Mexico State. And there certainly isn’t a benefit to the Gators going to the Bounce House. Orlando isn’t an exotic destination for people who already live in Florida, while Boulder and Austin — where the Gators have scheduled future non-conference games — are. Plus, Florida runs a real risk of losing to a team that has gone 14-0 at home during the past two seasons. That wouldn’t be good for a Gators brand that new coach Dan Mullen is working to rebuild.” Jim Bowden of The Athletic on former Gator lefty pitcher A.J. Puk, who is close to being called up to the Oakland Athletics: “Puk was the A’s first-round pick and went No. 6 overall in the 2016 draft, and his first three years in the minors have not disappointed. He has 253 strikeouts in 179 innings pitched. He was sidetracked by Tommy John surgery a year ago, but has returned and is back pitching, and the A’s have put him in the bullpen – both to help his comeback and to maximize his high-90s fastball and work on harnessing his nasty-but-inconsistent slider and developing change-up. His frame has made it difficult for him to repeat his delivery, which in turn has hurt his command and control of his pitches. His move to the bullpen seems to be helping, though, and the A’s view him as a lefty reliever who can help them down the stretch, pitch multiple innings, and get out both lefties and righties.” Sports Illustrated’s Ross Dellenger on one young phenom QB who trains with private coach Ron Veal: “Julian Lewis is only 11 years old, but Nick Saban knows who he is. As Julian’s dad, T.C., tells it, at Alabama’s youth camp in June, the Crimson Tide coach took in the majestic precision of the boy’s quarterbacking, sidled up beside him and said, ‘I want you back. Every summer.’ Julian had been training for that moment since he was eight, that tender age when most boys are preoccupied with searching for boogers, not receivers downfield. That’s when he started working with private QB coach Ron Veal in hopes of one day attracting not just compliments, but also scholarship offers. While the notion of elite instructors like Veal molding lab-grown QBs destined for big-time programs is not new, here’s what is: Never before have so many of their pupils been so ready so fast.” SEC FOOTBALL/BASKETBALL STUFF The Little Rock Touchdown Club has scheduled former Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino as its guest speaker on September 9. Petrino, who was 34-17 in four seasons at Arkansas, was fired before the 2012 season when he and a former Arkansas volleyball player were involved in a motorcycle crash. Redshirt junior offensive lineman Nathan Neihaus is leaving the Tennessee program for medical reasons. One of the reasons quarterback Sawyer Smith left Troy to become a grad transfer at Kentucky is his plan to become a football coach after his career is complete. Meanwhile, Smith is pursuing a master’s degree in sports leadership. One of the reasons LSU defensive end Jarrell Cherry has bulked up from 225 when he signed to his current 270 is he carries bricks in his backpack. The backpack is so heavy that an LSU assistant coach couldn’t lift it. Missouri grad transfer quarterback Kelly Bryant won’t be receiving a national championship ring from Clemson. Bryant left Clemson after four games when Dabo Swinney made Trevor Lawrence the starting QB. “He wasn’t on the team,” Swinney told ESPN’s Chris Low. “You’ve gotta be on the team to get a ring. I love Kelly and appreciate what he did for us, but he decided to move on.” RANDOM THOUGHTS: Baltimore Orioles first baseman had to be restrained in the dugout when he went after manager Brandon Hyde, who apparently said something Davis didn’t like. Davis is hitting a scintillating .182 with 111 strikeouts in 247 at bats to go with eight homers and 30 RBI. For this he is being paid $23 million a year … The Boston Red Sox are a full 16 games behind the New York Yankees in the American League East. Did anyone see this coming? … Heisman Trophy QB Kyler Murray was 6-7 for 44 yards in his pro debut with the Arizona Cardinals Thursday night … Dwayne Haskins made his pro debut with the Washington Redskins, throwing for 117 yards and two interceptions … Charges have been dropped against Georgia Southern QB Shai Werts, who claims the substance on the hood of his car that police tested positive for cocaine was actually bird poop. I don’t have to make this stuff up.

Hello, I’m Buddy Martin, editor and publisher of the new Gator Bait Magazine. And I am beginning to feel like I just walked on the set of Ground Hog Day Starring Bill Murray as part of the new ownership group for the new GatorBait2019 effective July 10, 2019. Hello, I’m Buddy Martin, editor and publisher of the new Gator Bait Magazine. And I am beginning to feel like I just walked on the set of Ground Hog Day Starring Bill Murray as part of the new ownership group for the new GatorBait2019 effective July 10, 2019. Here I come again, boomeranging right back where I started from! Another fork in the road back toward the University of Florida, where I was educated, met my wife, became one of those Boys From Old Florida and wound up in journalism. Maybe it was in my blood. I recently found out that my late grandfather, preacher-writer William Laban Martin, actually owned and operated The Gainesville Elevator newspaper in the early 1900s. Great name, The Gainesville Elevator. As most Gator fans know, it’s an up-and-down world. Right now with Dan Mullen and Mike White & Company, things appear to be going up. Gator Bait TV executive producer/director son Brenden is my co-owner/partner, so this is very much a family deal. We Martin Boys have ridden down this dusty trail before. Brenden likes to say, “We know what NOT to do, because we’ve already failed at it several times.” Brenden was talking about our stint as co-founders of Florida Sports Talk radio, two years of trying to relaunch GatorCountry.com during the depression/recession and, most recently, the accidental innovation of Gator Nation Kingdom/The Buddy Martin Show. That latter is still and going after 19 months. Ask us about Chip Kelly and The Ocala Airport someday. From my meager beginnings as a cub sports writer with the Florida Alligator, Ocala Star-Banner, and Gainesville Sun, I ran through the gauntlet of newspapers, then network TV, websites, then talk radio…whew! I get tired just saying it. And now this gig is back in the print media. Familiar ground. Consider it a reclamation project: Doing our part to help and preserve the written word. Newspapers have already gone the way of the dinosaurs. #JournalismPreservation While everybody else is zigging, we are zagging with this marriage of Old School/New School ideas and technique. You’ll be able to read actual words. We believe words still matter. And you’ll see see photos. And live streaming shows and video. After saying and writing millions of words about the Florida Gators – yes,  I hope to have millions more in this new/old venture. At least that’s what we’re setting out to do on short notice. We’ve certainly made a dent with our first new “transition edition,” a thick, 27-page edition! (Thanks Zach Abolverdi!) It included our tribute to Mr. Two Bits, my favorite interview with Dan Mullen, Franz’s Thoughts of the Week column and our conversation with Paul Finebaum. Stay tuned for more exciting plans with the debut soon of GatorBait Plus and GatorBait Gold, which will soon merge with the #BuddyMartinShow on Facebook Live streaming where all our member/friend loyalists at #GatorNationKingdom hang out. And while I’m at it, I want to thank members of our GatorBait Lighthouse project for stepping up to support this project before it was even completed. Not all our incredibly talented GatorBait team may be our blood, but several of them are just like family. Especially Coordinating Producer/Technical Director Chad Ritch and his brother Executive Director of Operations Darren Ritch with whom we have served with for six months or more. And soon you’ll hear the voice and see the face of my former radio partner, Tom Schmitz, who is teaming up with Brenden. You’ll also recognize other familiar names our recent jammed-packed pre-SEC Media Days edition: Senior Columnist Franz Beard and his Thoughts of the Day — now “Thoughts of the Week.” Franz has been a key member of our team for more than 18 months. We are also blessed and excited to be working with some talented young journalists like special reporter Kassidy Hill, Graham Hall and photographer Alex Shepherd. I’ll stop there. More to come and unveil soon. We jumped right in. Chad, Darren, Kassidy Hill headed right away to Birmingham for coverage of SECMediaDays19. So we are celebrating another connection with yet another version of my seemingly insatiable appetite for everything Gators. And happily doing so. We will be rolling out lots of new things in weeks to come, including our big GatorBait Tailgate in Orlando for Florida-Miami. But we are still very much a work in progress. And our motto is “Underpromise, Overdeliver.” I am honored to be taking the reins of this iconic 40-year-old publication founded by David Stirt and, operated for many years by Landmark Publications, with Marty Cohen and my good friend Zach Abolverdi at the helm. I intend to hang on to the shirttails of Zach, who has a brilliant future and no doubt will soon on to bigger and better things (his decision, not mine). Zach promises to keep us around as a “hobby” for some of his musings There is a tendency on my part to gush here, so I’ll sign off with this commitment: We want to hear from you. If you need to reach me or one of our staff, try this contact information: PS I hope soon you’ll be gushing with me. Let me hear from you: GatorBaitEditor@gmail.com 352-509-6191 Facebook: The Buddy Martin Show