By FRANZ BEARD GatorBait Senior Columnist To paraphrase Gator great Chris Rainey, “It’s good to be Dan Mullen these days.” You could say Mullen has been living a charmed life since he became Florida’s football coach in December of 2017, proof being seasons of 10 and 11 wins, back-to-back New Years Six bowl games (Peach in 2018, Orange in 2019), guaranteed consecutive top ten finishes for the first time since 2008-09 and the establishment of something called “The Gator Standard,” which encompasses far more than winning football games. As if Mullen needed anything to top that, he had what can only be called “The Week That Was,” which started with Florida’s 36-28 Orange Bowl win over Virginia at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens. The Orange Bowl win was just the beginning, too. There was extraordinary news on the recruiting front and then there was the announcement that corner Marco Wilson will return for 2020 rather than declare for the NFL. The subtle announcement that Mullen had turned down overtures by the Dallas Cowboys to remain at the University of Florida only added to a week where the good news just kept on coming. So, yes, indeed, it is good to be Dan Mullen. The Orange Bowl was special for numerous reasons. Florida is on the short list of teams that have played in and won New Years Six Bowl games the past two seasons. By knocking off Virginia, it ensured a top ten finish. The Associated Press had Florida at #6 in its final poll before the national championship game so it’s highly probable the Gators will top their #8 finish in the 2018 poll. That was followed by the announcement that former 5-star running back Lorenzo Lingard (6-0, 205) had gotten word from UF admissions that he was clear to transfer in from the University of Miami. Lingard is a redshirt sophomore who sat out all of 2019 while recovering from an ACL tear. He is a slasher of a runner who can cut on a dime and then put serious distance between his back side and the nearest pursuer. Since he took a redshirt in 2019 and his father’s health (dialysis three times weekly) made it impossible for him to attend games at Miami, it is expected that Lingard will be granted a waiver from the NCAA that will make him immediately eligible. Put Lingard in a running backs room with Dameon Pierce, Malik Davis and Iverson Clement, and Mullen has an exceptional combination of power and speed for 2020. Next came the commitment of 4-star wide receiver Xzavier Henderson (6-4, 180, Miami, FL Christopher Columbus), CJ’s younger brother, on national television from the US Army All-American Bowl in San Antonio. Henderson is a gamebreaker who scored three touchdowns in the state championship game. He runs fluid routes, can make the tough catches and has the speed to go deep. Henderson has documented 4.54 time in the 40-yard dash and is the Florida Class 4A state champion in 400 meters (46.77 seconds). He has also run an 11.06 100 meters and a 21.53 200 meters. Henderson and signed 4-star wide receiver Ja’quavion Fraziars (6-4, 195, Dunnellon, FL) are part of a trend toward taller, stronger wide receivers recruited to Florida by Mullen. Four-star Marc Britt (6-2, 190, Miami, FL Miami Christian) is committed to UF and expected to sign with UF in February. The Gators also have a commitment from four-star Leonard Manuel (6-4, 200, Fort Lauderdale Stranahan). At his Early National Signing Day press conference back in December, Mullen talked about how the recruiting landscape had changed. Graduate transfers, the NCAA transfer portal, waivers that grant non-graduate transfers immediate eligibility give coaches like Mullen more options to build their roster than high school recruits. Given his success in landing transfers Van Jefferson, Trevon Grimes, Jon Greenard, Jordan Pouncey and Brent Cox – and now Lingard – it’s clear that Mullen knows exactly what he’s doing when it comes to putting a roster together. Unquestionably, Florida’s 2020 roster will be the deepest and have the fewest holes since 2010. Now, add to the good recruiting news the decision by Marco Wilson to return for 2020. Based on what NFL scouts saw of Wilson in his freshman year of 2017, there is no doubt Wilson would have gotten drafted if he had declared for the NFL, but it was evident in 2019 that he was still shaking off the rust of missing the entire 2018 season due to an ACL tear. Wilson had a very good 2019, but with another year to get stronger under Nick Savage he should elevate his NFL Draft status next season. If the Dallas Cowboys did make a bid or float a trial balloon to land Mullen, it went absolutely nowhere. Mullen’s agent Jimmy Sexton listened, relayed the info to Mullen and Dan politely said “thanks, but no thanks.” He knows what he has at the University of Florida. The Gators are one gigantic leap closer to the perpetual reload mode Mullen is building toward. That means championships and a program that will rejoin college football’s bluebloods after a 10-year absence. The Week That Was only got better Tuesday and Wednesday when there was a major power shift in the Southeastern Conference East Division. It all started Tuesday when Georgia starting left guard Solomon Kindley became the third Bulldog O-lineman to declare for the NFL. On that same day, Georgia released five-star running back Zach Evans, considered the best in the nation, from his letter of intent and former four-star corner Otis Reese put his name in the NCAA transfer portal. That was just the start. Wednesday brought the decision Georgia fans had been dreading since the Bulldogs were poleaxed by LSU in the SEC Championship Game. Quarterback Jake Fromm, who took Georgia to an SEC title and the national championship game as a freshman and two subsequent SEC East championships, declared for the National Football League. As if that news wasn’t bad enough for Georgia, starting right guard Cade Mays announced he’s transferring out, meaning Georgia will be without Fromm, four starting offensive linemen, and running backs D’Andre Swift and Brian Herrien next season. Perhaps every bit as important, offensive line coach Sam Pittman, Georgia’s best recruiter and maybe as good a position coach as there is in the country, left to become the head coach at Arkansas, taking with him Georgia special teams coordinator Scott Fountain and two strength coaches with him. With so much chaos at Georgia, the balance of power in the SEC East shifts dramatically to the Florida Gators, who have filled nearly every hole in the roster with another outstanding recruiting class, added five-star running back transfer Lorenzo Lingard (from Miami) and are expecting to land one or two high end transfers. Without question, Florida will be the favorite to win the SEC East for 2020. The way Mullen is building the team, the power shift could favor the Gators for years to come. So, if you’ve seen Mullen in the past few days wearing a grin that absolutely can’t be erased, you know the reason why. “The Week That Was” will do that for you.

I had to wait a while to write about the death of Whit Palmer. He passed away at 90 on Jan. 1, 2020 after a long, full life lived almost exclusively in his beloved Ocala. Now there’s the tough reality that this community must go forward without his leadership, vision and his constant encouragement. For those who have lived around Whit, it feels a little bit like we lost our starting quarterback and head coach all at once. Had I been writing a book on Whitfield McCrory Palmer Jr. it would be entitled “Whit Palmer: A Life Well Lived.” Or, “Hold My Beer While I Fix Everything.” You could have tuned Whit Palmer in on a variety of life’s channels -- from business to education to healthcare to politics to charity to faith to Gator football. So many people knew him, admired him, counted on him and called him their friend. The biggest commonality was his kindness. We all felt like he was our personal guardian. And his loyalty was epic. Committed in service, financial backing and spirit to the University of Florida, Mr. Palmer is still the only Florida grad to have served as president of the UF Alumni Association and UF Foundation at the same time. Typically, he always did more than his share. Whit would not like somebody canonizing him because he was a man of all people, regardless of station, race or class. He helped us all. For me it was the introduction and acceptance into his circle of prominent Gators, including introduction to them and a chance to make a few road trips together. That he would actually give credence to the thoughts, opinions and writings of this small town, twenty-something sportswriter was high privilege. Nothing was more profound than his loyalty and love of the Florida Gators, as was noted in costume during his final services. After stripping his priest attire to display his all orange-and-blue, Father Don Curran of Christ The King Anglican Church asked some 200 attendees at the funeral to “please stand if Whit Palmer ever did anything to affect your life in a positive way.” I swear, I think every last one of us rose to our feet. One of them who stood was Steve Spurrier, who had called me two days prior to get details on services because he wanted to drive over from Crescent Beach. Often Whit roadtripped to see the Gators play. Once in 1965 he called me at the last minute to say he had a seat on a private plane for Florida-Ole Miss in Oxford, Miss. Our taxi driver in Oxford was a disgruntled Rebel fan who was still angry about Ole Miss losing by a point to Alabama. This was in the aftermath of Coach Johnny Vaught’s incredible run of six SEC titles a year or two prior. “Well you only got beat by a point and to Alabama (No. 4 in the country),” Whit said, hoping to placate the Rebel fan. Instead, it riled him up. “It don’t matter! A BEAT’S A BEAT!” he proclaimed. That afternoon Florida administered a 17-0 beat. That battle cry lived forever with Whit and -- we often exchanged it with a laugh. Whit knew about “beats,” having remembered the hapless, winless Golden Era team of the late 1940s. And when it came to Auburn-Florida, he watched or read about 34 straight “beats” at Auburn which was like the plague. Back in the summer of 1973, Whit visited the Vatican and got the pope to bless a special medal, which he presented to Coach Doug Dickey as a hopeful antidote to the Auburn jinx. The Gators beat the Tigers 12-8 that year to snap the losing streak. Once again, Whit always had the right connections. And his favorite tool was the phone. “I think Alexander Graham Bell had him in mind when he invented the telephone,” said Randy Klein, Whit’s son-in-law. The connectivity with Whit is only a small part of it. Once he had you dialed in, you were on his Rolodex for Life, with people usually calling him to ask for help or advice or information. He always seemed to come through, or suggest a better way. Or he was calling you with an idea – like the day he called to offer Spurrier a job at Dixie Lime & Stone. “When Coach (Doug) Dickey was fired I lost my job as quarterback coach, he was the only Gator to call me and offer a job. And that’s the reason I came here (to the funeral) today.” Steve told Whit that day he wanted to continue seeking work as a coach, “but if I don’t get hired I might take you up on it,” said Spurrier. Oddly enough, Whit Palmer almost deterred Spurrier from eventually wining Florida’s first national championship. Reflecting on his time as Gator quarterback coach, Steve said: “I was out of work for a month with three kids and a wife. If Coach Pepper Rodgers hadn’t hired me at Georgia Tech, I might have wound up working for Whit Palmer.” Sitting across the room in the sanctuary sat Doug Dickey himself, who at age 85 had driven 100 miles from Jacksonville to also pay his respect. Ever since he graduated from UF in 1952, Whit stayed connected to his alma mater as a contributor and a passionate football fan. Two key members of his staff were former Gator players in the winless “Golden Era” years under Bear Wolf and later Bob Woodruff – punter Fred Montesdeoca and tackle Red Mitchum, who became prominent Ocalans. Among Whit Palmer’s other wonderful traits was his appreciation for good story and a sense of humor. For that he always had Mitchum on a tether and the tall redhead from Etowah County Alabama soon became a much-in-demand after-dinner speaker with his down-home, home spun material. I wrote a column on Red’s antics and won my first state writing award. Red’s popularity grew and he eventually became the only three-time emcee of the Gator Growl. Montsdeoca, from Avon Park, was the serious one who could often be found behind a barbecue grill chomping on a stogey, all business, just like he was as an All-SEC punter for Woodruff’s team. “Red and Fred were like brothers to me,” Whit once said. Red died in 2003. Fred about eight years later. I shed no tears for Whit, whose 90 years were, as I said, well lived. But I am sad for Diane and his family – and for all of his friends whose lives were enriched by Whitfield McCrory Palmer Jr.’s kindness, sense of humor, pride in his community, integrity and bolstering of the human spirit. He was one our better angels, and we will miss him terribly.

SUSTAINING THE MOMENTUM What we’ve learned in the last two games is that Mike White has the Gators (10-4, 2-0 SEC) ready to turn the corner from the November-December roller coaster ride to a team that can get the job done on a night in-night out basis. The win over Alabama showed they can come back from major adversity. In the win over South Carolina they showed they’ve taken major steps in closing teams out. Their play in the final seven minutes of the South Carolina game was extraordinary at both ends of the court. White has to be concerned that in the first two games the zebras have been calling touch fouls on Kerry Blackshear Jr. yet at the same time it’s often no body bag, no foul when he is surrounded by two or three defenders. Blackshear has a knack for getting fouled and when he gets to the line, he is money, but he definitely should be shooting more free throws. In the second half of the South Carolina game even the announcers were miffed that Blackshear was getting mugged and no whistle. We’ve also seen a coming of age for both Andrew Nembhard and Scottie Lewis. Both of them have played their best games in the two SEC games. What has impressed me most about Nembhard has been his better understanding of when to shoot and when to keep the ball moving. When he takes good shots, he scores and in the past two games, he’s taken a lot of good shots. As for Lewis, he has 30 points and 19 rebounds in the last two games while playing lock down defense. Both Alabama’s Kira Lewis Jr. and South Carolina’s K.J. Lawson were clearly irritated that Scottie forced them into bad passes and bad shots. The Gators will go on the road Saturday to face a Missouri (8-6, 0-2 SEC) team that has struggled in two SEC losses without 6-11 Jeremiah Tilmon, who is out indefinitely with a stress fracture in his foot. Florida will have to deal with Missouri’s efforts to slow the game down by milking the clock every possession then playing very physical defense at the other end. The best way to deal with a team like that is to get an early lead and force them to play at your tempo. If the Gators can do that, they’ll keep the momentum going and move to 3-0 in the SEC. MORE THOUGHTS ON UF FOOTBALL, 2020 One of the reasons Florida is poised to overtake Georgia as THE team in the SEC East in 2020 has to do with adaptability – as in Dan Mullen’s willingness and ability to adapt; Kirby Smart’s rigid stick with the game plan and don’t deviate approach. Mullen always has a plan but as he’s proven both seasons here at Florida, he’s capable of changing on the fly. Take a look at what he did in 2019 when he had to adjust the entire offense to what Kyle Trask does best – throw the ball accurately – after a true dual threat in Feleipe Franks went down in game three. Dating all the way back to 2006 when he adapted the offense and made it a hybrid to take advantage of the skill sets of Chris Leak and Tim Tebow, Mullen has always been able to make the offense fit the personnel, not the other way around. The knock on Kirby Smart is that he isn’t very flexible. His last three teams at Georgia have pretty much been a carbon copy of Alabama 2011-12 when the Crimson Tide bludgeoned teams with the running game, threw over the top when defenses packed the box to stop the run and then played stifling, straight up defense. Georgia’s embarrassing loss to LSU in the SEC Championship Game was the perfect example of same old, same old meeting up with a team that is in a state of constant adjustment. Kirby tends to make the players adapt to the system rather than adapt the system to the players. Mullen will likely adjust the offense again in 2020 when he has four returning starters on the offensive line that will allow him to be more creative and successful in the running game. Having a more reliable running game should also allow him to open the passing game up a bit more so that Trask can take deeper shots downfield. Florida is likely to be more of a 50-50 run/pass team in 2020 but the bread and butter of the offense is still going to be the passing game. We’ll also see more integration of Emory Jones into the offense, too. Mullen has a wicked enough sense of humor to revel in the idea that opposing defensive coordinators are going to have to defend two talented quarterbacks with different and effective skill sets. In Athens, Smart hasn’t shown any inclination to changing his offensive philosophy, which might have something to do with Mike Bobo electing to coach for Will Muschamp at South Carolina (see below). Bobo knows how inflexible Smart is and chose to coach for Muschamp, who has been changing his own rigid philosophies to change with the times. The window of opportunity has swung open for the Gators to re-take the SEC East after a three-year hiatus. If and win the Gators win the SEC East it will have plenty to do with Mullen’s willingness to adapt what he does to the personnel on hand. THE PIRATE HAS LANDED AND OTHER SOMEWHAT INSIGHTFUL THINGS (1) Just when it looked like Mississippi State was about to become the next Tennessee – you know how that goes: 7 to 10 coaches say no before UT settles for a very bad fit – athletic director John Cohen made the home run hire that Tennessee has failed to make in its four coach searches since firing Phil Fulmer after the 2008 season. Make no mistake about it, landing Mike Leach is a huge deal. For one thing, Tennessee (2017), Arkansas (2017, 2019), Missouri (2019) and OIe Miss (2019) all made at least serious overtures to hire The Pirate only to strike out for one reason or another. By landing Leach, Mississippi State has already energized the fan base, made the Bulldogs instantly competitive in the SEC West thanks to his Air Raid offense and poured water on the Lane Kiffin buzz from Ole Miss. Leach won at Texas Tech and Washington State. At Texas Tech, Leach was 84-43. In the 10 years since, Texas Tech is 60-65. In the three years prior to Leach taking the Washington State job, the Cougars were 7-29. Leach went 55-47 with 43 of those wins in the last five years. He will find recruiting much easier in Starkville than it ever was in Pullman, Washington. He has more talent within a 100-mile radius of Starkville than he could find in a 500-mile radius of Pullman. (2) A friend who knows both Kirby Smart and Will Muschamp well, tells me that Kirby put the full court press on Mike Bobo to return as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Georgia, but Bobo elected to work for Muschamp at South Carolina instead. That’s a serious upgrade for South Carolina and it represents a great opportunity for Ryan Hilinski to get coached up. Hilinski has an NFL arm but definitely needs some refinement in the decision-making areas of the game. I was also told that Kirby’s inability to land Bobo – or any other decent offensive coordinator – had plenty to do with Jake Fromm deciding to go to the NFL rather than stick around one more year to be coached down by James Coley. I’ll be very interested to see how Carson Beck handles Kirby going all out to land a graduate transfer QB. Beck was counting on Fromm being gone and being the QB as a true freshman, just as Jacob Eason and Fromm were before him. (3) All is not well with our fine friends in South Florida. This will be a serious winter of discontent down at the University of New Jersey at Coral Gables. A 6-7 season against ACC competition has folks thinking Manny Diaz just doesn’t have the right stuff to be the HBC of the Canes. It was thought that the addition of Alonzo Highsmith to the staff could smooth over fractured relations with local high school coaches, but Thursday Highsmith told the Miami Herald that it’s a “no go.” Highsmith is the exec VP for player personnel with the Cleveland Browns. Apparently, Miami offered him a position with a much lower salary than it would take to lure him from the pros. Also, Highsmith didn’t want Diaz micromanaging his every move. All told, there is serious trouble brewing in Coral Gables. If Diaz can’t right the ship in a hurry against a schedule that includes D1AA Wagner, he’ll be unemployed before November next year. (4) It only seems like a month since Clemson and LSU won their semifinal games in the College Football Playoff. They face off Monday night in New Orleans with LSU favored by six points. While I think Clemson is probably the only team in the country capable of beating LSU, I think LSU is going to win its first national championship since 2007 and the fourth in school history. While I expect an epic battle of the two best quarterbacks in the country – Heisman winner Joe Burrow and Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence – I give LSU the edge because I don’t think the Clemson secondary can deal with the LSU wide receivers. And, on those plays when Clemson manages to cover the LSU wide receivers, Clyde Edwards-Helaire coming out of the backfield and tight end Thaddeus Moss are extraordinary targets (92 catches for 933 yards and three touchdowns). GOOD QUOTES FOR FRIDAY From Jayson Jenks of The Athletic, one of Steve Spurrier’s more memorable quotes: “How is it when Georgia signs people, they get the best players, but when the two teams play, we have the best players? Something just happens to them when they get to Georgia, I guess.” Another brilliant Spurrier zinger, this one about Jadaveon Clowney getting a speeding ticket: “I didn’t know Jadaveon’s car could go that fast. He doesn’t have a pretty car like those FSU guys used to drive.” A Lou Holtz quote about coaching pro football: “Professional football is just like coaching. You get fired an awful lot. They tell you the story about the first day God created the earth. The second day he created the sun and the stars. And on the third day, the 49ers fired him.” RANDOM THOUGHTS: Some interesting bowl attendance stats courtesy of the Associated Press. The Birmingham Bowl had an announced attendance of 27,193 but only 9,679 actually had their tickets punched. The New Mexico Bowl had an announced attendance of 18,823 but some estimates had the crowd at more like 6,000. The Cotton Bowl crowd of 54,828 was the smallest since 1948 and the Sugar Bowl drew only 55,211, the third sub-60,000 crowd since 2013. Twenty-three of the 33 second and third tier bowl games were played before crowds of less than 75% of capacity … Saturday’s AFC playoff game between the Tennessee Titans and Baltimore Ravens will be the first in NFL history to feature five former Heisman Trophy winners – Marcus Mariota and Derrick Henry for Tennessee; Lamar Jackson, Mark Ingram and Robert Griffin III for Baltimore … Former Arkansas head coach Bret Bielema could be named defensive coordinator on Joe Judge’s staff with the New York Giants … Atlanta Falcons tight ends coach and former University of Florida tight end Mike Mularkey has decided to retire … Former Gator Kadeem Telfort, who was at the heart of the credit card scandal that helped derail the tenure of former Florida coach Jim McElwain, has committed to UAB. Telfort plead guilty to a reduced third-degree felony charge for his part in the scandal. He’s played at Garden City (KS) Community College since then.

WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY FOR A POWER SHIFT IN THE SEC EAST The announcement that Jake Fromm is leaving Georgia to enter the NFL Draft Wednesday was significant, but not the only sign that a window of opportunity is opening for a power shift in the Southeastern Conference East Division that highly favors the Florida Gators. Fromm’s departure means Georgia will have to either bring in a graduate transfer and hope he can instigate a seamless takeover of the offense or else go with a completely untested newbie. Whoever the QB is, however, will have to play behind an offensive line that has lost four undergraduates either to the NFL or transfer and he won’t have electric D’Andre Swift or dependable piledriver Brian Herrien to hand the ball off to. Now throw in the fact that Sam Pittman, probably the best O-line coach in the country and Georgia’s best recruiter, is now the head coach at Arkansas. His loss is monumental but he’s complicated matters by taking with him special teams coordinator Scott Fountain – maybe the second best recruiter on the UGa staff behind Pittman – and two off the strength and conditioning staff. Losing tackles Andrew Thomas and Issaiah Wynn and left guard Solomon Kindley to the NFL was a bad enough blow but Wednesday starting right guard Cade Mays announced he’s transferring with the expected destination Tennessee, where his dad was the team captain in 1994 and his younger brother has signed an LOI for 2020. Additionally, former four-star corner Otis Reese put his name in the transfer portal and Zach Evans, considered the top running back recruit in the country, was released from his letter of intent and is free to go anywhere in the country. Those aren’t the only cracks in the Georgia football foundation but they are cause for alarm – among Georgia fans – that the three-year reign at the top of the SEC East could be coming to an end. Georgia will still be formidable because there are enough moving parts returning from a defense that was very good despite getting caught with its drawers down by LSU. The defense will be fine. It’s the offense that is questionable. No Fromm, no Swift or Herrien, four O-linemen gone and the offensive coordinator is still James Coley. Lest we forget, Mark Richt had it all going his first four years (42-13 record and a “near national title”) just like Kirby Smart. Smart is 44-12 with a loss in the 2017 national championship game. That brings us to Florida. The Gators went 11-2 and both losses (to #1 LSU and #5 Georgia) were winnable games. Not only does Dan Mullen return quarterback Kyle Trask, who should be considered the top returning quarterback in the SEC now that Fromm is gone, but plenty of speed at the skill positions, four starters on an O-line that played its best game in the Orange Bowl, and an experienced defense whose pass rush will benefit greatly from Georgia transfer Brenton Cox Jr., who would have started at UGa in 2019 had he not departed for Gainesville, and the return of Jeremiah Moon from injury. In winning 21 games in two years after taking over a team that went 4-7 in 2017, Mullen has created serious momentum for the Florida program. He’s filled in the gaps so that Florida 2020 will have the fewest holes in the roster of any team the Gators have fielded since 2009. The Gators are deep enough, talented enough and the head coach is more than capable of taking UF to the next level and beyond. They would have been good enough to challenge Georgia even if Fromm had returned, but Fromm’s departure simply opens the door for Florida a little bit wider. THINKING OUT LOUD ON A THURSDAY (1) Just when you think Mississippi State has finally made a decision about hiring a new football coach, along comes a report that athletic director John Cohen spent part of his weekend in Key West interviewing Washington State coach Mike Leach. Wednesday morning it seemed that a deal was about to be struck with Alabama offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian, formerly the head coach at Washington and Southern Cal, but then came the report that Cohen and The Pirate had a little get together down in Key West. Of the two – Sarkisian and Leach – Leach makes the most sense. He’s a proven winner in places almost as remote as Starkville. If you can win Lubbock, Texas and Pullman, Washington, you darn sure should be able to lure good enough talent to Starkville to win. At least in Starkville, Leach wouldn’t have to worry about being eaten by a bear when walking across the campus at night. (2) Rocky Long stepped down as the head coach at San Diego State after a nine-year run that included three Mountain West Conference championships and an 81-38 record. The Aztecs went 10-3 in 2019 and won the New Mexico Bowl. Long is 69 years old and was under no pressure to leave. He will be succeeded by Brady Hoke, who was the head coach at San Diego State in 2008-09 before leaving for Michigan. It’s a sad day for college football when a coach like Rocky Long hangs up his whistle. He is indeed one of the good guys. (3) The transfer market for quarterbacks is about to heat up considerably in the next week to 10 days. Right now the top five grad transfers are KJ Costello (Stanford), Feleipe Franks (Florida), Jamie Newman (Wake Forest), Jett Duffey (Texas Tech) and Anthony Brown (Boston College). Costello is thought to be looking seriously at Florida State, Georgia and LSU. Georgia and LSU will both need a quarterback next year. FSU has returning starter James Blackman, but he could be on his way out. Smart money is on LSU. Most folks seem to think Franks will wind up at Kansas, playing for Les Miles, who recruited him at LSU four years ago. Georgia is heavily involved with Newman and Brown. Newman seems to be leaning to either Oregon or Georgia. Brown is being heavily pursued by Miami as well as Georgia but may choose to stay at BC now that Frank Cignetti has been hired as the offensive coordinator. Duffey has had plenty of interest from Miami, but there are reports he will transfer to Tulane. (4) On Instagram Wednesday, Tom Brady announced he still has the drive and fire to continue playing in the National Football League. Stating “I know I still have more to prove,” Brady let it be known he intends to play in 2020 and perhaps beyond. It’s difficult to imagine Brady playing for anyone but the New England Patriots, but at this point the Patriots don’t seem 100% committed to doing whatever it takes to bring him back for another season. At some point, the Patriots are going to have another starting QB not named Tom Brady, but do they cut the cord now or bring him back for another season. The Patriots have already let two NFL starters go – Jimmy Garoppolo (49ers) and Jacoby Brissett (Colts) – because Brady was still in his prime, but they don’t have a serious talent waiting in the wings anymore. That means either they bring back Brady and draft someone that Brady can mentor, or let Brady go and bring in someone via the free agent route. I can’t imagine Patriots’ fans reacting calmly if they let Brady go. I also think the Patriots are in good position to draft Georgia’s Jake Fromm, who would need a season or two before taking over as a starter and who has the football intellect that translates well to what New England does best. (5) I keep waiting for the NCAA hammer to drop on the basketball programs involved in the corruption scandal. In particular, I’m eager to see if the NCAA will actually go after Kansas, Arizona and LSU since there is wiretap evidence of Bill Self, Sean Miller and Will Wade discussing payments for players. The NCAA has already smacked North Carolina State with probation. I’ll be very interested to see if they go after Mark Gottfried, now the coach at Cal State-Northridge but the coach at NC State when Dennis Smith Jr. was bought and paid for. TCU received its notice of allegations from the NCAA Wednesday. SEC BASKETBALL Thursday’s scores Alabama (8-6, 1-1 SEC) 90, Mississippi State (9-5, 0-2 SEC) 69 #5 Auburn (14-0, 2-0 SEC) 83, Vanderbilt (8-6, 0-1 SEC) 79 LSU (10-4, 2-0 SEC) 79, Arkansas (12-2, 1-1 SEC) 77 Saturday’s games FLORIDA (11-4, 2-0 SEC) at Missouri (8-6, 0-2 SEC), SEC Network South Carolina (8-6, 0-1 SEC) at Tennessee (9-5, 1-1 SEC), SEC Network Alabama (8-6, 1-1 SEC) at #4 Kentucky (11-3, 2-0 SEC), ESPN Mississippi State (9-5, 0-2 SEC) at LSU (10-4, 2-0 SEC), ESPN Texas A&M (7-6, 1-1 SEC) at Vanderbilt (8-6, 0-1 SEC), SEC Network Georgia (10-4, 0-1 SEC) at #5 Auburn (14-0, 2-0 SEC), ESPN Arkansas (12-2, 1-1 SEC) at Ole Miss (9-5, 0-1), SEC Network, SEC Network GOOD QUOTES FOR THURSDAY From ESPN’s David M. Hale, LSU center Lloyd Cushenberry on one particular team meeting in which Coach O got the team fired up: “Coach O comes in to try to get us fired up. He’s carrying two Red Bulls. He rips his shirt off and shotguns both Red Bulls. Everybody was fired up after that.” Seth Emerson of The Athletic on Jake Fromm’s decision to declare for the NFL rather than return for his senior season at Georgia: “Part of it is Fromm betting on himself. He’s betting that when he meets with NFL teams he will wow them with his knowledge and intangibles. That seems a good bet. He’s also betting that he will impress in workouts. Fromm’s arm strength has been questioned, he’s only 6-foot-2, and his accuracy certainly depends more on good timing than pure zip. He’s not going to scare any defenses with his running ability. All true. But the NFL game has changed to where more teams will be receptive to a quarterback whose intangibles are beyond question, at least enough to overlook the perceived warts.” Jeff Schultz of The Athletic on what’s next for Georgia following Jake Fromm declaring for the NFL: “Fromm’s decision to leave was a little bit surprising but not stunning. Those things happen in great programs. If Georgia takes a significant step back because of it, (Kirby) Smart hasn’t built nearly the program he thought he had.” RANDOM THOUGHTS: Former Michigan State coach George Perles died Tuesday night at the age of 85. During his 11 years coaching the Spartans, he won the 1987 Big Ten championship and shared the Big Ten title in 1990. When he retired from coaching after the 1995 season, he was succeeded by Nick Saban, who was his defensive coordinator from 1983-87 … Nearly half the roster for #1 Gonzaga is made up of foreign-born players. File away the names of Filip Pretrusev (Serbia) and Killian Tille (France). You’ll probably hear their names called in the first round of the NBA Draft in June … Nike’s suit against attorney Michael Avenatti, accused of trying to extort $25 million from the shoe giant, will move forward and go to trial on January 21 after a ruling in US District Court in New York Wednesday.

ANOTHER STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION The kids are starting to figure things out. Playing on the road in Columbia Tuesday night, the Gators (11-4, 2-0 SEC) got Mike White his 200th career victory when they took down South Carolina (8-6, 0-1 SEC) 81-68 despite Kerry Blackshear Jr. playing only 20 minutes due to foul trouble. Blackshear picked up two fouls in only two minutes on the floor in the first half which forced Florida’s youngsters to compensate with a very strong performance. With Blackshear out of the game in the first half, freshman center Omar Payne picked up the rebounding and defensive slack with eight boards and a blocked shot. Freshman Scottie Lewis played 16 minutes in the first half, delivering nine points, three rebounds and a steal while forcing Gamecocks star K.J. Lawson into a poor shooting night. Sophomores Keyontae Johnson (10 points, three rebounds) and Andrew Nembhard (nine points, six assists, one blocked shot and two steals) also stepped it up as the Gators surged to a 40-37 lead at the half. Blackshear was able to contribute 11 points and five rebounds in the second half but his contributions were overshadowed by Nembhard, who finished with 21 points, three rebounds, 10 assists, one block and three steals; Johnson, who finished with 19 points, eight rebounds and two steals; and Lewis, who had 15 points, nine rebounds, one assist, one block and one steal. The Gators showed plenty of toughness in the final 6:45 when the Gamecocks tried to press without much success. Leading 64-60, the Gators went on a 17-8 tear with Nembhard scoring seven including a dagger of a three-pointer with 2:04 remaining that stretched Florida’s lead to 77-68. The Gators put together a solid shooting night, hitting 28-60 from the field overall (46.7%) and 6-16 (37.5%) from the three-point line. The Gators were a very solid 19-25 from the foul line and they commanded the backboards with a 42-30 margin. Florida held South Carolina to 38.3% from the field overall (23-60) and just 4-15 (28.57%) from the 3-point line. This was an excellent win for the Gators, who proved they can win even when Blackshear has to sit long stretches because of foul trouble. White did a good job of keeping the Gamecocks off balance by constantly switching defenses and Nembhard was in total control of running the offense. This was probably Nembhard’s best game for understanding when he needs to score while still keeping his teammates involved offensively. Johnson continues to be the glue that holds the team together and the offense is starting to catch up to his lock down defense for Scottie Lewis. Next up for the Gators is a road trip to Missouri (8-6, 0-2 SEC), which dropped a 69-59 decision to Tennessee FOOTBALL PERSONNEL MATTERS Jovens Janvier (6-3, 350, Miami, FL Miami Christian), a longtime offensive line commitment for the Gators, announced he is de-committing on Tuesday. A three-star recruit, Janvier didn’t fax in an LOI during the early signing period. With his de-commitment, the Gators now have 24 in the 2020 recruiting class (21 signed, three hard commits) which leaves six slots available (25 that count toward 2020, five that count back on the 2019 class). SEC BASKETBALL Tuesday’s scores FLORIDA (11-4. 2-0 SEC) 81, South Carolina (8-6, 0-1 SEC) 68 Tennessee (9-5, 1-1 SEC) 69, Missouri (8-6, 0-2 SEC) 59 Texas A&M (7-6, 1-1 SEC) 57, Ole Miss (9-5, 0-1 SEC) 47 #14 Kentucky (11-3, 2-0 SEC) 78, Georgia (10-4, 0-1 SEC) 69 Wednesday’s games Vanderbilt (8-5, 0-0 SEC) at #5 Auburn (13-0, 1-0 SEC), SEC Network Mississippi State (9-4, 0-1 SEC) at Alabama (7-6, 0-1 SEC), SEC Network Arkansas (12-1, 1-0 SEC) at LSU (9-4, 1-0 SEC), ESPNU A WANDERING MIND FOR WEDNESDAY (1) Is Mississippi State heading for a panic hire? Billy Napier has said no and Joe Judge has elected to become head coach of the New York Giants rather than take the job in Starkville. Having gone at least 0-2 in finding a new head coach – who knows if they offered anyone else – they’re in danger of a Tennessee-like situation. The Vols panicked in 2009 and hired Lane Kiffin after more qualified coaches had turned them down. In 2010, at least seven coaches turned them down before Derek Dooley got the job. Three years later, Butch Jones was at best the sixth choice. Before current UT coach Jeremy Pruitt got the job, the Vols tried to hire at least four others and the athletic director was fired. It’s worth mentioning what happened at Tennessee because it seems that when one or two coaches say no, a negative momentum begins to grow like a tidal wave. (2) So who does Mississippi State go after? Louisiana Tech coach Skip Holtz says he’s not interested, but it seems highly unlikely that Mississippi State was all that interested in him. It’s nice posturing on Holtz’s part but Mississippi State can do much better. Gene Chizik was interviewed but he removed his name from consideration, perhaps because he knew he wouldn’t be offered. Bill Clark (UAB) is still available. He’s gone to back-to-back bowl games at UAB, which is nothing short of a hem of the garment miracle. Mark Hudspeth (Austin Peay) has Mississippi State ties, but he let things spiral out of control at Louisiana-Lafayette and was the guy who was fired before Napier was hired. One of the hot rumors as of late Tuesday night was Alabama offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian agreeing to be the new HBC. If true, that would mean seven of the 12 head coaches are from the Nick Saban coaching tree. (3) There was a whole lot of activity at Georgia Tuesday but none of it involved Jake Fromm (State Farm) announcing whether he will return in 2020 or declare for the NFL. Left guard Solomon Kindley became the third starter on the O-line to announce he’ll enter the draft, a move that could certainly contribute to Fromm electing to bolt. Also, former four-star defensive back Otis Reese entered his name in the NCAA transfer portal. He was rated the #87 player in the 2018 recruiting class. Finally, running back Zach Evans, the top-ranked running back in the 2020 recruiting class, has been released from his LOI and his financial aid agreement so he can sign a scholarship with any SEC school and won’t have to sit out a year. (4) Now that Matt Rhule has departed Baylor for the NFL (Carolina Panthers), here are three names that are likely on AD Mack Rhoades’ short list: Billy Napier (Louisiana-Lafayette), Blake Anderson (Arkansas State) and Larry Fedora (formerly of Southern Miss and North Carolina). Napier is coming off an 11-win season and Louisiana-Lafayette while Anderson is a Baylor alum who has taken Arkansas State to six consecutive bowl games. Fedora is a former Baylor assistant who grew up in Texas. He might offer stability and an easiest transition. Whoever gets the Baylor job will inherit a team poised to make a run at the Big 12 championship next year. Money won’t be an object since the Panthers are paying Rhule’s $6 million buyout. (5) West Virginia basketball coach Bob Huggins was fined $10,000 by the Big 12 for calling zebras Doug Sirmons, Keith Kimble and Chance Moore “three blind mice” after the Mountaineers lost to Kansas, 60-53, in Lawrence. WVU shot eight fewer free throws in the game. I didn’t see the game, but Huggy probably has a point. I haven’t seen many games in person or on TV this year where I thought the officiating was high quality. (6) Gus Malzahn’s remake of his offensive staff continues as offensive line coach J.B. Grimes “stepped down” to pursue other coaching opportunities. That seems like a nice way of saying he was asked to leave. Whoever Malzahn hires will have his work cut out for him because Auburn loses four senior starters. Grimes wasn’t the only one departing Auburn. Punter Arryn Sipos, an Australian who averaged 43.8 per kick in 2019, is departing for the NFL. Sipos came to Auburn from ProKick Australia, the same organization that sent Florida freshman punter Jeremy Crashaw. (7) SEC football transfers: Tennessee punter Joe Doyle, a Ray Guy Award finalist, has entered his name in the NCAA transfer portal … Devin Cochran, Vanderbilt’s starting left tackle who has 32 career starts on the O-line, is departing as a graduate transfer … Arkansas backup quarterback Daulton Hyatt is transferring to DII West Alabama. He has two seasons of eligibility remaining … South Carolina backup QB Dakereon Joyner ended speculation that he’ll transfer out. GOOD QUOTES FOR WEDNESDAY: From Grace Raynor of The Athletic on Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence, who has never lost a college football game and hasn’t lost since the state semifinal his senior year at Cartersville, Georgia: “Losses have been rarities for Lawrence, the big-armed star and talent-blessed future pro prospect who showed off his mobility in the national semifinal win against the Buckeyes. Since he was 14 years old and in the ninth grade, he has suffered three defeats overall and just the two as a starter, including the fateful finish against Blessed Trinity.” From Clemson’s media day, Trevor Lawrence discussing his distaste for losing football games: “When I came to [Clemson], it was something where I was like, ‘I don’t want to lose anymore.’ Me and Coach (Dabo) Swinney have had talks: It’s not in the rulebook that you have to lose.” RANDOM THOUGHTS: Former Gator quarterback Luke Del Rio has taken a job as a quality control coach for the Washington Redskins. Del Rio’s dad, former Jacksonville Jaguars HBC Jack Del Rio, will be the Redskins defensive coordinator for new head coach Ron Rivera … Anthony Davis rejected a four-year, $146 million contract to remain with the Los Angeles Lakers. He will be eligible for a max contract of five years, $202 million ... UNC basketball coach Roy Williams says the 2019-20 version of the Tar Heels is the “least gifted” team he’s coached. Carolina is 8-6 so far with five losses in the last seven games ... Oakland Raiders running back Josh Jacobs, who probably wins the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, bought his dad a house. As a child growing up in Tulsa, Jacobs and his siblings sometimes lived with their dad in a car … The Carolina Panthers signed Matt Rhule to a seven-year deal worth $60 million. Who is the last former college head coach who succeeded in the NFL?

According to the stat sheet, it was a marquee night for Lamical Perine. The Florida Gators running back capped his career in the orange and blue as the Orange Bowl MVP. He put on a performance that will surely increase his NFL Draft stock and he set several records. Just consider a few of the notes sent out by the University Athletic Association on Perine’s game. He rushed for a career-high 138 yards, 7th highest in Florida bowl history, plus five receptions for 43 yards for a total of three touchdowns. He almost had a fourth but replay determined he’d stepped out on the 1-yard line. He became the first UF running back since Fred Taylor to win bowl game MVP honors and the first player in school history to nab a receiving and rushing touchdown in multiple bowl games, having done the same in last season’s Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. This particular nugget of history allowed Perine to by-pass Percy Harvin in the record books, who had achieved the feat as well but in one bowl as opposed to two. As a running back, he is one of six in FBS this season to post five or more touchdown receptions, an adaptation he made to improve his NFL Draft stock and still be an impact when the Gators offense shifted to the air. His fifth receiving touchdown, that came on Monday night, is the most by a Gators back since James Jones caught five in 1982. And with his 2,485 career yards and seven games of 100+ yards, seventh all-time in Florida history. So yea, it was a marquee night for Lamical Perine. But it was what he’s been doing his entire career for the Gators. Whenever Florida needed a play, Perine was there. Whenever a game became one dimensional, Perine adapted. Whatever Florida needed to win, it seemed more often than not to be Perine that delivered. Quietly, not always getting the recognition, even when the running game was nonexistent, Perine became the bell cow in whatever capacity necessary. For these reasons and more, Lamical Perine leaves Gainesville as the most vital player to the Gators offensive resurgence and the foundation on whom they can build this next decade. “Lamical comes back for his senior year and everyone is like, OK, he's one of the top running backs in the SEC. He is. I think you saw that [Monday night],” commented head coach Dan Mullen. “Everyone gets caught—well, his stats say this or just what the stats say. But you know what, you look at every time we needed a big run during the season, he came up with a lot of big runs during the season. “He also showed he's probably one of the top receiving backs in the country coming out of the backfield. You know what—instead of worrying about, hey, where are my rushing stats, he worried about am I doing what I need to do to help the team win and to be the great player on the team when the game is on the line that they can go to me, run or throw or protect the quarterback, and I'm going to be ready to make a play.” Consider, Florida doesn’t defeat No. 7 Auburn without Perine’s 88-yard touchdown run for the go-ahead score. It was the longest run by a Florida back since Emmitt Smith in 1988 and enable the Gators to defeat at Top 10 team at home. He did the same against Florida State in 2018, breaking off a 74-yard touchdown run that opened the flood gates, allowing the Gators to defeat their bitter rivals for the first time in five years. Against Virginia on Monday, on the third play of the game, he showed off the speed that Auburn didn’t think was enough as a recruit, to beat everyone on the field for a 61-yard house call to kick off the game. But it’s more than the long runs that have made Perine so valuable. It’s the consistent production and willingness to always be where his team might need him, just in case, that has helped the Gators put together back-to-back 10 win seasons. On a 4th and 1 play against Virginia, Dan Mullen unsurprisingly elected to go for it. He called a play but Kyle Trask checked into a different one at the line. Trask checked into a play that had never let he or former quarterback Feleipe Franks down, purely because it relied on Perine. After taking the snap, Trask ran let to draw the defender on the QB keeper. At the edge, he pitched it to Perine who did the rest. The chains moved and Florida scored two plays later (thanks again to Perine who picked up 23-yards and got the offense to the 1-yard line). “Good check on the play,” applauded Mullen. “Went up to the line of scrimmage, they were pound—they had everybody pinned inside, he checked to the pitch to the outside because they had everybody lined up inside. It was a great check by Kyle, great job by Lamical, obviously a veteran player knowing what he needed to do to get the 1st down and all those things.” On senior night in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Lamical Perine didn’t have a touchdown. But he still did his part when needed, picking up blitzes and blocking when needed. Yet when the clock hit 0:00, he didn’t hang his head but instead walked to the stands with fans screaming his name and took one last victory lap in the place that had shaped him. For the Alabama kid who scraped together money for a bus ticket just to get to Florida camp and be noticed, it was a humbling moment, leaving as one of the most beloved Gators in a long time. “My sophomore year we was 4-7, not making a bowl game, having a month off, so that kind of hurt me. But just these past two years, man, have just been an amazing feeling, just having a guy [like Coach Mullen] who knows how to win at Florida and has already won championships. Me being able to believe in that and just trusting the process that he had for us, it was just an amazing feeling.” As a thank you in return, the Gators had their best rushing performance of the season, putting together an offensive line and game plan that highlighted the humble hero who has stepped up time and time again. The Florida Gators head into 2020 as a program poised to be elite. They can thank Lamical Perine for that.

What’s next? That was the sense as the No. 9 Florida Gators celebrated following their 36-28 win over No. 24 Virginia. There was general jubilation and merriment. Defensive lineman T.J. Slaton tore into the oranges on hand for the victors. Standing on the trophy stage, safety Shawn Davis realized he could throw the oranges far enough to get them to fans in the stands. Before long, most of the team was doing the same. Wide receiver Tyrie Cleveland fell off the stage trying to reach his own orange, his teammates immediately laughing at his expense. Running back Lamical Perine was greeted by teammates after winning Orange Bowl MVP following his 181 yards, three touchdown performance. And seniors signed teammates jerseys in the locker room as they began to make their goodbyes. There was all the requisite celebration that follows a New Years Six bowl win to cap an 11-2 season. But for those that had walked through the confetti and tears of the Peach Bowl celebration a year before, there was a palpable difference. That celebration was the culmination of three years of drudgery and arduous rebuilding. That celebration was an explosion of emotions, feelings and worries that had been internalized, now lifted with the knowledge that the Gators in 2018 had gone farther than even they themselves believed was possible. That wasn’t the case in Miami Gardens on Monday night. And that might be the best indicator of how far this program has come and where it can go. “We come, we came here to win no matter, like Coach Mullen said, it’s expected,” remarked defensive back Trey Dean, because now, “ to get into the National Championship—it’s expected you know.” “[I] think we can be real good. You know, we’ll just continue to get better, like I said, this training only gonna get better so like in the weight room, in the offseason, continue to get bigger, have a better bond. It’s year two of the offense and the defense so we can add more to it so it ain’t like a brand new, like gonna be a new offense, we’re just gonna keep adding to it. “I think it’s gonna be a great—I think we’re gonna win the National Championship.” That was the standard given by more than one player following the Orange Bowl win. Simply a New Year’s Six bowl is no longer the goal. It’s an accepted standard and not a bad compensatory prize for missing the four-team playoff. But there’s more to work towards moving forward. Added receiver Tre Grimes, “this year we came out coming off last year, and we knew we had to pick up where we left off, so next year coming in, we have 11 wins, so next year we have to try to strive for 12 wins and so forth and go for the National Championship. I feel like it gives us a lot of momentum going into next year.” Wide receiver Kadarius Toney agreed. “I feel like next year’s team might be better than this one.” But is it? Senior BUCK Jon Greenard will be in the NFL next season, taking with him one of the best season long defensive performances the Gators have seen from an individual player in a decade. But he maintains that he likes what he’s leaving behind. “I'm looking at what they've got coming back, they can do more. And the guys coming in. I'm excited. I mean, this is only just the beginning of it, honestly. Last year was a little taste of it. We keep building, we got 11 wins, which is really difficult. “A couple plays this year and we would've been right where we wanted. Next year, they are just going to capitalize off of that, understand where we were this past year, and National Championship in my eyes, so we've got that in our eyes now.” Before examining what the Gators have coming back, we have to acknowledge what they’re losing. Florida said goodbye to 22 seniors this season. Of those, there were 14 starters and/or consistent contributors. Greenard as mentioned, will also leave with linebacker David Reese II, defensive end Jabari Zuniga, linebacker Adam Shuler, safety Jeawon Taylor and end Luke Ancrum on defense. On special teams, the Townsend era is over as punter Tommy Townsend and long snapper Jacob Tilghman graduate. And on offense, Florida loses center Nick Buchanan, running back Lamical Perine and receivers Josh Hammond, Freddie Swain, Tyrie Cleveland and Van Jefferson all bid adieu. If you’re keeping track at home, that’s the two of the top three tacklers (Reese and Greenard), the sacks leader (Greenard) and 54% of the Gators offensive production this season (receiving, rushing, kickoff and punt returns). For whatever is still in the locker room, that is a significant amount of production in all three phases of the game to lose. And that’s without taking into consideration how much more could be lost with early NFL departures. To this point, only corner C.J. Henderson has announced a decision to depart early, but there are around five more players to keep an eye on for that decision. To reference Will Sammon of The Athletic from a piece this week, the biggest plays on Monday night to defeat Virginia came courtesy of those senior leaders more often than not. The pitch to Lamical Perine on 4th and 1 that kept the drive moving towards a breather touchdown. The other three touchdowns that were products of Perine’s tenacious style and sneaky speed. The second converted 4th down that came with a shot to Freddie Swain in the middle of the field, one of the Gators most reliable options there. Two huge plays by Van Jefferson of 36-yards and 53-yards respectively helped Florida gain field position in crucial moments. David Reese stopped Bryce Perkins on a 3rd and 1 early in the game that stalled the Cavaliers momentum and allowed Florida to build a lead that would prove the difference. It came from Reese’s knowledge after years of experience. The Gators held the Cavs to 5-13 on 3rd downs, thanks to Reese on those short situations and guys like Adam Shuler and Jon Greenard both coming down with sacks to force long situations. Are the pieces there to replace those guys? Those that are tasked with the job say yes. Perhaps the greatest example lies in corner Kaiir Elam. There has been a history of freshman DB’s at Florida using the bowl game as a coming out party. Vernon Hargreaves III, Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, C.J. Henderson, Trey Dean—they all used their freshmen bowl games to cap jump start seasons and establish themselves in the defense. On a night when C.J. Henderson was not on the field, Elam came in and made arguably the play of the game. Virginia was driving late with just over five minutes to play. The Hoos were down 12 and needed to score there if they had hopes of taking the lead on their next possession. T.J. Slaton and David Reese II had pushed the line of scrimmage back four yards on the previous play so from the 17-yard line, Bryce Perkins—who confounded the defense most of the night—targeted his receiver towards the front corner of the endzone. Elam jumped the route and picked him off for the Cavs only turnover of the night. Elam, who said in the post game locker room that he wanted to win the Jim Thorpe Award his freshman season and felt he didn’t do near enough, is ready to push his team towards much more in 2020. “Next year I don't expect anything less than a National Championship. That's just me. I feel like we just need to keep improving, don't take any steps back, and we'll be there.” In the front seven, Mohamoud Diabate can replace a variety of guys depending on how the linebackers are shuffled to fill the middle linebacker spot left vacant by Reese II. For Diabate though, he has his eyes on reigns Greenard will leave for the BUCK position. “I just been doing it my whole life, I’ve always been on the edge. Since I started playing football I’ve been on the edge so I feel like that’s where I’m comfortable but I feel like I’m a versatile player, I’m athlete, I can play anything. So whatever position the coaches put me at, I’m gonna do my best to master that position and be a great player.” Related: Should I stay or should I go? Examining past Gator early NFL departures to determine the future On offense, what Grimes and Toney do will shape the perception of the Gators this offseason. Dameon Pierce will be tasked with replacing Perine and while there will be some differences, it’s an area he can handle. But Grimes and Toney can bring back experience and leadership from a group that will suddenly have none. It’s a factor they’re both considering when making their decision. “There’s the decision to come back and make my team better, be a captain. Just like Coach Mullen said, I [can] come back and be a captain and lead my team so that’s something I’ve always wanted to do,” admits Grimes. Adds Toney, “it wouldn’t hurt me to stay another year but I mean I haven’t determined a decision yet.” Returning Kyle Trask at quarterback along with Emory Jones as a redshirt sophomore will greatly help bring along younger receivers. Second leading receiver, tight end Kyle Pitts, will look to have a star junior season after a breakout sophomore season. The Gators also signed 10 offensive players on Early Signing Day and are rumored to be adding another one in the next week to the current No. 8 recruiting class (24/7). No matter who leaves, stays or steps up on the roster though, former quarterback Feleipe Franks said after the game that the coaches are in place to help make a championship happen. “Coach Mullen’s one of the best coaches in the game. There’s no doubt. Coach Mullen’s one of the best at what he does. For me personally in the QB room I think Coach Johnson’s also one of the best at what he does.” Related: The Florida Gators secret guru, Brian Johnson Florida's schedule next season is the most forgiving it has been in recent years especially with LSU losing Heisman quarterback Joe Burrow to the NFL. Alabama, a likely SEC Championship opponent, will most likely be without quarterback Tua Tagovailoa as he also weighs the NFL. The margin of error still lies with Georgia though, as Trey Dean aptly explains. "10 [wins] to 11 [wins] is a drastic width. So playoffs is more, the margin of error’s so small. If they say go five inches right you go five and a half cause that’s how small it is...you’re gonna have to put in some real work. Them games come down to your training. Who put the most work in the offseason. The type of games, what team put the most work on and off the field. Them type of games, we go to the playoff. So it’s going, them games really intense. "If you can’t win the East you’re not gonna be in it, that’s just how it is so lets start off with that, so Georgia. Really every SEC school in the East, you gotta win all those games cause if you’re gonna look to the SEC Championship, it’s gonna be hard for you to get in." As the Florida Gators walked off the field on Monday night, early Tuesday morning, the smiles were there, the orange peels littered the field and each proudly donned championship hats. But they looked around the stadium less with an intent to celebrate but instead with an eye on the future. The National Championship for next season will be played in Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. So what’s next? If you ask the Florida Gators, like defensive end Zachary Carter, a return trip to South Florida. “This is a stepping-stone going into next year. We're in the Orange Bowl next year, and I feel like we'll be back in Miami next year for the championship.”

NO BULLET DODGED; MULLEN WAS NEVER LEAVING At some point if and when he’s bored with winning college football championships, Dan Mullen might succumb to the temptation of the National Football League. It could happen, but it won’t be any time soon because Mullen is far too busy building the Florida Gators into a sustainable championship-level program. It’s fairly amazing what he’s done in just two years but as much progress as Mullen has made, there is still a way to go before he has the Gators in that perpetual reload mode. Until that happens, there is no need to sweat Mullen leaving although with success you can bet the farm he will be on the short list any time there is a big time opening, whether it’s college or pro. For all the talk about the Dallas Cowboys, there was never any serious interest on Mullen’s part. I’m told that all the contact with the Cowboys was filtered through Mullen’s agent Jimmy Sexton, who gets paid to listen to any and all callers by Mullen and his long, impressive list of coach-clients. If the interest in the Cowboys had been mutual, Sexton would have arranged for direct negotiations but that didn’t happen. In this particular case, Mullen said thanks but no thanks and that was the end of it. No bullet was dodged because Dan Mullen was never leaving. He’s got too much he wants to accomplish at Florida before the NFL ever crosses his mind. ON THE PERSONNEL FRONT Redshirt sophomore cornerback Marco Wilson announced Monday that he will return to Florida instead of declaring for the NFL. That’s a smart move on Wilson’s part. He has the cover skills the NFL likes, but he had too much of a roller coaster season in 2019. If he has a consistent 2020, he will seriously enhance his draft status. There has been no official word, but there were Justin Shorter sightings at the Florida football complex Monday. From what I was told he’s gotten his academic clearance to enroll at UF and as soon as he’s official, there will be an announcement. GATORS NEED TO SUSTAIN THE MOMENTUM IN COLUMBIA TONIGHT South Carolina’s record doesn’t fool Mike White in the least. Sure, the Gamecocks (8-5, 0-0 SEC) lost a home game to Stetson. That was a shocker, but they also have beaten Clemson and last year’s national champion Virginia on the road. “With these guys, they’ve proven they can play with anybody in the country,” White said Monday afternoon before the Gators (9-4, 1-0 SEC) departed for Columbia, where they will face South Carolina tonight (7 p.m., ESPNU) at Colonial Life Arena. The Gators have also proven they can play with anybody in the country. Their problem has been consistency, which makes tonight’s game a real concern for White. The Gators played 18 minutes of the worst basketball they could possibly play Saturday night against Alabama when they fell behind, 46-25. Then they staged Florida’s biggest come-from-behind rally since the 2003-04 season for a 104-98 double-overtime win in the SEC opener. That’s the kind of win that gives the Gators momentum that they’ll need to beat a typical Frank Martin-coached team, which is to say physically very tough and defensively very good. “South Carolina has a very unique approach in how they defend,” White said. “They’re very, very disruptive and one of the more unique defenses we’ll play all season, and they’re really, really good at it, of course.” Lewis SEC Freshman of the Week: Scottie Lewis was named SEC Freshman of the Week after putting up 15 points and grabbing 10 rebounds in the win over Alabama. Lewis also contributed three blocked shots, a steal and an assist. SEC BASKETBALL Tuesday’s games FLORIDA (9-4, 1-0 SEC) at South Carolina (8-5, 0-0 SEC), ESPNU Tennessee (8-5, 0-1 SEC) at Missouri (8-5, 0-1 SEC), SEC Network #14 Kentucky (10-3, 1-0 SEC) at Georgia (10-3, 0-0 SEC), ESPN Ole Miss (9-4, 0-0 SEC) at Texas A&M (6-6, 0-1 SEC), SEC Network Wednesday’s games Mississippi State (9-4, 0-1 SEC) at Alabama (7-6, 0-1 SEC), SEC Network Vanderbilt (8-5, 0-0 SEC) at #5 Auburn (13-0, 1-0 SEC), SEC Network Arkansas (12-1, 1-0 SEC) at LSU (9-4, 1-0 SEC), ESPNU TALL TALES FOR TUESDAY AND OTHER AIMLESS MEANDERING (1) Tua Tagovailoa has elected to enter the 2020 NFL Draft, which tells us the NFL people – doctors and officials alike – he met with in New York over the weekend told him he’s a lock to be one of the first 10-15 picks in May. CBS Sports draft guru Ryan Wilson has Tua going #5 to the Miami Dolphins while Mel Kiper of ESPN has Tua listed as the #3 overall prospect in the draft and the second-ranked quarterback behind LSU Heisman Trophy winner Joe Burrow. Tua is likely to sit out the entire 2020 NFL season to strengthen and rehab his fractured/dislocated hip no matter who drafts him. There was plenty of sentiment that Tua really and truly wanted to return to Alabama but made the business decision that is best for his family. If he elected to come back to Alabama and then either couldn’t play in 2020 or got hurt again, he could lose millions and perhaps never play again. By leaving now, some team will take the gamble that he’ll be able to play and stay healthy in the future and give him a contract that will be worth in excess of $25 million if he’s drafted in the top ten, even more if he goes top five. Whether he ever plays again, Tua Tagovailoa will be set for life financially. (2) Louisiana-Lafayette coach Billy Napier could still change his mind and say yes to Mississippi State, but folks who know him say he’s holding out for something bigger and better. Napier got his 11th win last night at the LendingTree Bowl in Mobile. He loses only eight players off his two-deep so the Ragin Cajuns figure to be loaded enough to win the Sun Belt Conference next year and at least match the 11 wins from the 2019 season. That would make Napier more of a hot ticket item, able to pick and choose a job somewhere other than the most difficult place to win in the SEC West. (3) As for Mississippi State, the new conventional wisdom is that New England Patriots special teams coordinator and wide receivers coach Joe Judge will take the job. Judge and his wife are Mississippi State grads so they are familiar with the territory and know what it takes to recruit players to Starkville. The negative on Judge is that he’s never been a head coach, which was said to be a priority for the MSU higher ups. The fact that he’s worked for Nick Saban at Alabama and for Bill Belichik at New England will probably help the people who do the hiring to overlook the lack of head coaching experience. (4) Here are some of the SEC players who announced they’ll return for 2020: Joshua McMillon, LB (Alabama); Devonta Smith, WR (Alabama); Malik Herring, DL (Georgia); Big Kat Bryant, DE (Auburn); KJ Britt, LB (Auburn); Eric Stokes, CB (Georgia); Quinton Bohana, DT (Kentucky); Landon Young, LT (Kentucky). Leaving for the NFL: Henry Ruggs II, WR (Alabama); Shyheim Carter, S (Alabama); Willie Gay, LB (Mississippi State); Quartney Davis, WR (Texas A&M). (5) Following Tennessee’s Gator Bowl win over Indiana, HBC Jeremy Pruitt announced that “This decade is going to be the decade of the Vols.” Excuse me if I beg to differ. Seems to me we were hearing similar things from Butch Jones after the Vols went 9-4 in back-to-back seasons in 2015-16. How’d that work out? I’m not at all convinced that Pruitt is a better football coach than Butch Jones. GOOD QUOTES FOR TUESDAY Jay Bilas of ESPN on how the lower quality of play and lack of outstanding teams so far in the college basketball season will translate into a strong NCAA Tournament: “Coupled with this cyclical talent drain has been a drop in the quality of play in the early season. The level of play to this point in the season has been lower than in the past three seasons, and there are several reasons for that, which will be explained below. The bottom line? By the time March arrives, the top tier of the best teams will have separated themselves not by being overpowering, but by being the most consistent. The NCAA Tournament will be as it always is, a wild ride that is full of upsets but also full of Power 5 teams left standing. The only question will be the number of party crashers from non-Power 5 conferences, and just how far a few of them can go.” Will Brinson of CBSSports.com on the possibility that Tom Brady will be playing somewhere other than New England next season: “Here’s the reality: Brady is a free agent and will have a life-altering decision to make. It’s a decision not entirely up to him either – even if he wants to return to New England, the Patriots don’t have to re-sign him, obviously. There are reports Brady isn’t willing to give the Pats a hometown discount next year and the way things were phrased in the wake of the loss to the Titans certainly makes you think change could be in the air.” From Jon Machota of The Athletic, Hall of Fame QB Troy Aikman states how miserably Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones handled the firing of head coach Jason Garrett: “He committed everything he had to the organization and to doing the best job that he could. He made it a priority and he committed himself. Breakups are always hard – we understand that – at whatever level they occur, but I don’t know that after all that he gave and committed to this organization that he received the same in return. When the organization was unwilling, for whatever reasons and I don’t know the back stories to it all, but when the organization was unwilling to come out publicly and say, ‘We are seeking a new coach,’ and yet at the same time reports are coming out that they’re interviewing potential candidates for the head coaching position – that’s disappointing. I think in a lot of ways it shines a light on some of the dysfunction, if you will, within the organization and kind of how they got to the point that they’re in now.” RANDOM THOUGHTS: The Dallas Cowboys made a mess of the Jason Garrett firing but came away with a new head coach in Mike McCarthy, who led the Green Bay Packers to the 2010 Super Bowl Championship with Aaron Rodgers at QB. McCarthy’s first hire was New Orleans Saints linebackers coach Mike Nolan to be his defensive coordinator … Buster Olney of ESPN ranks former Gator Pete Alonso as the #2 first baseman in all of Major League Baseball with only Freddie Freeman of the Atlanta Braves ranked higher. Alonso, the National League Rookie of the Year, hit 53 homers with 120 RBI last season. That’s not too bad for a guy who wasn’t expected to make the roster back in the spring … Speaking of baseball, Florida’s season opens on February 14 against Marshall. Kevin O’Sullivan’s roster will be bolstered by the #1 rated freshman class according to D1Baseball.com.

KEYONTAE JOHNSON IS FLORIDA’S GLUE GUY A game turned Saturday night at the O-Dome on a play that most will overlook. Trailing Alabama, 46-25, with two minutes to go in the first half, Florida’s Scottie Lewis launched a jump shot that caromed off the rim toward the foul line. Keyontae Johnson, who had delivered the pass to Lewis, cut between two defenders for a hustle rebound that he kicked out to Andrew Nembhard. Nembhard saw Noah Locke cutting toward the basket and delivered a chest high pass. A couple of dribbles into the lane with Kira Lewis Jr. on his hip, Locke came to a jump stop then faded away from Lewis and three taller Alabama defenders. His jumper bounced softly on the rim twice before dropping through the net with 1:52 to go. A rally began on that hustle play. If Johnson doesn’t sprint to the ball, it’s an Alabama rebound and the Crimson Tide could have built the lead to 23 or 24 points down at the other end of the floor. Instead, however, the final two minutes belonged to the Gators, who got a couple of free throws from Kerry Blackshear Jr. and a three-pointer at the horn by Andrew Nembhard to go with a couple of defensive stops. The 21-point Alabama lead was trimmed to 14, still a lot of points, but psychologically far more manageable than trailing by 20 or more. It wasn’t lost on Alabama coach Nate Oates. “With two minutes to go we were up 21 and they go in only down 14,” Oates said after the Gators (9-4, 1-0 SEC) opened the SEC portion of their season with a 104-98 double-overtime win over Alabama (7-6, 0-1 SEC). “That was big. We go in up 20-25 that changes the entire game.” The momentum from that seven-point mini-rally at the end of the half carried over to the second half when the Gators hit back-to-back three-pointers by Locke and Kerry Blackshear Jr. to bring what had once seemed insurmountable down to eight points. Alabama would build back leads of 13 and 12 points but the Gators wouldn’t go away. In the final 7:44 of regulation, it seemed the Johnson was all over the floor helping to bring the Gators back. In the game’s final 17:44 (7:44 of regulation and two five-minute overtimes), Johnson scored all 10 of his points, grabbed five of his 12 rebounds, picked up a steal and assisted on the three-pointer that Blackshear hit with 17 seconds to go in regulation that brought UF back to within two points, setting the stage for Locke’s steal and layup that tied the game at 83-83 and sent it to overtime. This was a win that required a maximum effort from all nine Gators who saw the floor but once again Johnson did all the little things it takes to create a win. He goes about his business quietly but with great intensity at both ends of the floor. So much of what he does for this team doesn’t get noticed in the box score, things like making the extra pass, setting screens, blocking out so well on the backboards that it creates a rebound for a teammate or playing lock down defense, often against someone three or more inches taller. He doesn’t get the headlines as often as some of his better-publicized teammates, but I’m not at all convinced he would be happy with all the attention. He just seems quite content doing whatever it takes for the Gators to win. THE 2020 FOOTBALL RECRUITING CLASS CONTINUES TO BUILD Is it my imagination or does Dan Mullen actually have a clue what he’s doing when it comes to recruiting? Since the Orange Bowl win over Virginia, Mullen has added to his 2020 recruiting class former five-star running back Lorenzo Lingard as a transfer from Miami and four-star wide receiver Xzavier Henderson (6-4, 180, Miami, FL Christopher Columbus), CJ’s younger brother. That bumps Florida to 7th in the 247Sports class rankings. If Penn State transfer Justin Shorter, a former five-star wide receiver, gets word that he’s been accepted academically at Florida, there is every good chance he will enroll this week. As this class continues to build, we’re seeing how Mullen and his staff are filling the holes in the roster with quality players. Florida’s 2020 roster will be the deepest it has been since 2010 at every position. SOME OTHER MONDAY MEANDERINGS (1) This is decision day for Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. Cecil Hurt, the highly respected sports editor of the Tuscaloosa News told me Saturday night that even though it makes business sense for Tua to declare for the NFL he might return to Alabama for his senior season. “I really think he wants to come back,” Cecil told me, citing Tua’s desire to go out with a national championship. My conclusion after this conversation and reading as much as I can regarding the pending decision is that if Tua has received quality information that he will be selected top five or top ten in the NFL Draft he will declare. If it’s not top ten, then I think he will return. We will know at noon when Tua and Nick Saban hold a press conference in Tuscaloosa. (2) Despite reports that Mississippi State and Billy Napier’s agent have been conducting talks while Napier preps Louisiana-Lafayette for tonight’s LendingTree Bowl game with Miami (Ohio), Napier said Sunday that he “is not” a candidate for the HBC job in Starkville. Now, all that could change Tuesday morning when Napier’s season is finished but if what he is saying is the gospel truth, then all eyes will turn to these coaches: Bill Clark (UAB), Mark Hudspeth (Austin Peay), Blake Anderson (Arkansas State) and Joe Judge (New England Patriots special teams coordinator and former MSU safety). Clark or Anderson would be perfect fits for the job. They both have proven records of winning while getting the most out of the available talent and neither one would have to make an adjustment when it comes to understanding the culture in rural Mississippi. (3) Former Florida assistant and Alabama head basketball coach Anthony Grant has Dayton 13-2 and ranked #20 in the latest Associated Press poll. The Flyers rank #7 in the kenpom.com ratings. Dayton might have the best basketball player you haven’t heard about this year in Obi Toppin, a 6-9 sophomore who is averaging 19.8 points, 7.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game. He’s shooting 62.7% overall from the field and 36.8% from the 3-point line. (4) There are only two remaining unbeaten teams in college basketball – 8th-ranked Auburn (13-0) and 13th-ranked San Diego State (15-0). I think both Auburn and San Diego State are very good basketball teams, but wouldn’t classify either one as a particularly great team. I think there are about 25 or 30 teams right now that are capable of making a deep run in the NCAA Tournament. I think there are a lot of really good teams, just not one that I would classify as great – at least not yet. That could change in February when two or three teams put it all together and get hot at just the right time, but for now, I don’t think there is a single team out there that we can say has an exceptional chance to make the Final Four. (5) There are a growing number of people calling for the NCAA to tweak the targeting rules once more, this time giving the zebras the option of a targeting one or targeting two, similar to college basketball’s flagrant one and flagrant two. If amended, a targeting one would result in a 15-yard penalty but the player could remain in the game, but a targeting two would result in expulsion from the game plus the 15-yard penalty. Currently targeting – if the call on the field is confirmed by the replay booth or if the replay booth reviews a play and calls targeting even if the zebras on the field do not – results in a 15-yard penalty and ejection from the game. The rules state that a player whose targeting call is upheld, will have to miss the rest of the game but be eligible to play in the next if the targeting was called in the first half; miss the rest of the game and the first half of the next game if the call happens in the second half. GOOD QUOTES FOR MONDAY Theo Lawson of the Spokane (WA) Spokesman-Review on a potential landing spot for former Florida quarterback Feleipe Franks: “According to a Spokeman-Review source, Florida coach Dan Mullen recommended that former Gators quarterback Feleipe Franks take a serious look at the Cougars and consider spending his final college season in Pullman in order to ‘get developed by Leach.’” From Will Sammon of The Athletic, Miami Christopher Columbus coach Dave Dunn on the little things that make his player – and Florida commitment Xzavier Henderson – stand out: “We would use our media center during lunch because we didn’t have a period where all the kids in this class had the exact same time off, but they all ate lunch together. So we would grab their lunch and we’d go to the media center. And so I was talking to one of our assistant coaches and I looked over and Xzavier, by himself, without anyone even telling him to do it, he was walking up and down the aisles picking up anything that was there. You know, it’s like a college classroom setting where the little desks could kind of fold up and you could push them back down. He put every desk back down and put every seat chair up – without anybody telling him. He would do things like that. You would say something to him once that was important, and he just has a maturity about him.” RANDOM THOUGHTS: When the NFL season began back in September would any of you have put money on the New England Patriots and Tom Brady ending their season with a loss in the Wild Card game? … Quarterback Carson Wentz of the Philadelphia Eagles left Sunday’s playoff loss to the Seattle Seahawks with a head injury after he took a hit to the head by Jadeveon Clowney. The NFL deemed the hit “incidental contact” and Clowney was neither flagged for a personal foul penalty nor ejected for targeting … Not that anyone was holding his breath, but the Dallas Cowboys announced Sunday that they would not seek a contract extension with head coach Jason Garrett. Garrett’s contract officially expires January 14. The announcement is a kind way of saying Garrett was fired. Garrett was still technically the head coach over the past weekend when the Cowboys interviewed former NFL head coaches Marvin Lewis and Mike McCarthy … The New Orleans Saints lost in the NFC Championship Game on a blown pass interference call. They lost in the NFC Wild Card game with the Minnesota Vikings Sunday when the zebras ignored a blatant offense pass interference call in the end zone against Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph … Since the introduction of the McDonald’s All-America team for high school basketball back in 1977, UCLA has had at least one McDonald’s AA on its basketball roster. Well, until this year, that is. The Bruins are now 8-7 under first year coach Mick Cronin.

A MIND IS A TERRIBLE THING TO BASTE: FRIDAY AFTER NEW YEAR EDITION (1) Which Florida (8-4) team will show up Saturday night at the O-Dome when Alabama (7-5) comes to town: The one that couldn’t throw it in the ocean from the end of the pier against Utah State or the one that played like a championship caliber team in the final game of 2019 vs. Long Beach State? The Gators that lost to Utah State can lose to anyone in the country. When you can’t even make a layup you lose even the most winnable games. The Gators that moved the ball unselfishly, made shots both in the paint and on the perimeter and played very aggressive defenses. That team is capable of beating anyone in the country. One reason for the peaks and valleys we’ve seen so far has everything to do with youth and inexperience. There are 351 teams in Division I. Only 11 are younger than the Gators. Because they’re so young, it’s important for UF to get off to a good start Saturday night and that means establishing Kerry Blackshear Jr. When Blackshear gets going in the paint, it makes it easy to get open shots on the perimeter for Noah Locke, who has hit 9-19 from the three-point line in the last three games, improving to a respectable 37% for the season. Defensively, the Gators have to put the clamps on hot shooting John Petty Jr., who is 17-24 from the three-point line in his last three games and 51.2% on the deep ball this season. It’s a very winnable game for the Gators if the team that kneecapped Long Beach State shows up. (2) Pete Thamel of Yahoo Sports, whose sources are rarely off, and Ross Dellenger of Sports Illustrated, are reporting that Mississippi State is seriously considering firing Joe Moorhead for a number of issues, not the least of which is the Bulldogs’ blowout loss to Louisville in the Music City Bowl. Moorhead is 14-12 in his two seasons since taking over after Dan Mullen left to take the Florida job. It’s not lost on MSU fans, boosters and alums that Mullen is 21-5 with two New Years Six bowl wins at UF while the Bulldogs are heading in just the opposite direction even though Mullen left a fairly loaded roster. When Moorhead beat Ole Miss in the final regular season game to get Mississippi State bowl eligible for the tenth straight year, he was given a one-year extension through 2023 on his contract so serious buyout money will be involved if Moorhead is pink-slipped. If Moorhead gets the axe, who would Mississippi State hire on such short notice? A lot of attention will turn to a pair of Florida assistants – defensive coordinator Todd Grantham and offensive line coach John Hevesy, both of whom know the culture and the state of Mississippi quite well. However, neither has ever been a head coach so that could work against them. The two names I’m told to watch are Louisiana-Lafayette coach Billy Napier (10-3 this season with a chance at #11 in the Lending Tree Bowl on Monday night) and Arkansas State coach Blake Anderson (47-30 in six years with six straight bowl appearances). Both would be good fits in Starkville. (3) Here is why Tua Tagovailoa might very well come back for his senior season at Alabama. While going out with a national championship certainly has an appeal to Tua and may very well wind up being the driving factor if he does return, there is that matter of dollars and cents. Prior to dislocating his hip, Tua was certain to be a top three draft pick. Mel Kiper and Todd McShay both have Tua going in the top five of the 2020 NFL Draft even with the injury, but they (a) aren’t NFL GMs and owners and (b) haven’t seen the medical evaluations that will indicate his healing progress. If Tua has gotten info from the NFL that would indicate his draft stock has dropped into the middle of the first round, he might be very smart to return. As a top three pick, the first contract would be in excess of $35 million with a $20 million plus signing bonus so bolting for the NFL would be a no-brainer. If its mid-first round, then he’s looking at $14-15 million with a signing bonus of perhaps $7-8 million. By returning to Alabama and staying healthy in 2020, Tua would move back into the top five, therefore doubling the money he would make as a mid-first rounder. We might have gotten a hint that Tua is coming back Thursday when All-SEC left tackle Alex Leatherwood elected to come back. Leatherwood is the #3 ranked offensive tackle by Kiper and, at worst, a second rounder. If you see more of the draft-eligible Alabama juniors announcing they’ll be back, that’s almost a guarantee that Tua will announce he’s returning on Monday. (4) D.J. Durkin, 1-0 as Florida’s head coach (interim for the 2014 Birmingham Bowl), has been hired by Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin as a defensive assistant. This is Durkin’s first coaching job since he was dismissed at Maryland in 2018 after allegations he had a toxic football culture that contributed to the death of a player. Durkin was the D-line coach at Florida from 2010-12 under Urban Meyer (2010) and Will Muschamp. Muschamp elevated Durkin to defensive coordinator in 2013. When Muschamp stepped down following the 2014 regular season, Durkin coached the Gators to a 28-20 win over East Carolina in the Birmingham Bowl. He spent one year as Jim Harbaugh’s defensive coordinator at Michigan in 2015 before landing the head coaching job at Maryland. (5) It’s time for Baylor quarterback Charlie Brewer to call it a career after he was knocked out of the Sugar Bowl on a vicious late hit out of bounds by Georgia’s Travon Walker (should have had a targeting call added to the penalty). Brewer has had three concussions in his career including one in the Big 12 Championship Game that required him to stay in a dark room for about a week. To continue playing football after all these head and neck injuries is pure insanity. Life is way too short as it is to continue risking it this way. (6) I have no idea who is advising Georgia quarterback Jake Fromm, but if he (or they) have a functioning brain, they’ll tell him it’s time to move on to the NFL. He played very well in the Sugar Bowl to remind pro scouts just how good he was as a freshman and sophomore, but if he returns to Georgia for his senior season he risks another full year of regression like the one he just had. He will be drafted in the first round in May if he bolts for the NFL. There is no guarantee whatsoever that he’ll be a first rounder if he returns to Georgia and spends another year being coached by James Coley. (7) Pete Thamel is reporting that Oregon might land Wake Forest grad transfer QB Jamie Newman. Newman is 6-4, 230 with a big arm and can run like a deer. This past season he threw for 2,868 yards and 26 touchdowns while running for 547 and six more. Oregon runs an offense that requires a dual-threat QB and Newman would be a nice fit to take over now that four-year starter Justin Herbert has exhausted his eligibility. I wouldn’t be surprised if Newman inquires about making LSU his landing spot. Seeing how Joe Burrow went from a late round NFL prospect to the likely first pick in the draft running that offense, I would think Newman might at least reach out to Coach O to see if his there is mutual interest. (8) The death of Georgia Tech wide receiver signee Bryce Gowdy, who was hit by an oncoming train, has been ruled a suicide. Gowdy, his mother and two siblings were homeless and had been living in hotels or in their car. The family financial problems and the mental health issues of his mother were just burdens that weighed heavily on Gowdy, who felt responsibility for the family. What a tragedy. This just breaks my heart. GOOD QUOTES FOR FRIDAY From Paul Finebaum of the SEC Network on WNSP-FM talking about Nick Saban electing to score another TD rather than take a knee at the end of Alabama’s 35-16 Citrust Bowl win over Michigan: “I think Saban was showing some of the frustration of the season and showing some of the past frustration of Jim Harbaugh calling him a cheater. He decided, you know what? I’m just going to kick him one more time. I felt like the college football world cheered Saban yesterday in doing that. I know I did. Leave it to Nick Saban in a game against a middle-of-the-pack Big Ten team with an additional score at the end to make a statement to end a season with more Alabama fans feeling good about themselves.” From Steve Deace of Wolverine Digest, on the quarterbacks in the Citrus Bowl, Michigan’s Shea Patterson, who was decisively outplayed by Alabama’s Mac Jones: “Patterson was dramatically out-played by Alabama’s backup quarterback, Mac Jones, who was pressured more often but still played far superior. Patterson was the No. 4 overall prospect in the 247 Composite coming out of high school, Jones, just No. 399. So either the 247 Composite really sucks, or something else does.” CONFERENCE BOWL STANDINGS SEC 7-2 Mountain West 4-2 Pac-12 4-3 Big Ten 4-5 ACC 4-6 American Athletic 3-3 Conference USA 3-4 Independents 2-1 Sun Belt 2-2 MAC 2-3 Big 12 1-5 RANDOM THOUGHTS: Don Larsen died Wednesday at age 90 after a bout with esophageal cancer. In 14 years in the Major Leagues, Larsen won 85 games and lost 93. He’s best remembered for his 1956 perfect game in the World Series against the Brooklyn Dodgers. He needed only 97 pitches that day, striking out seven. The photo of Yogi Berra leaping into Larsen’s arms after the final out is one of baseball’s most iconic photos … Sam Wyche, who coached the Cincinnati Bengals to the Super Bowl in 1988 and Tampa Bay Bucs from 1992-95, died after a bout with cancer Thursday … It is being reported that Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones pink-slipped Jason Garrett Thursday, which was largely expected. It is also largely expected that Jones will try to make some sort of splash hire like Urban Meyer or Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley. The coach that makes the most sense is New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniel. Good sense and Jones, however, are often two ships that pass in the night.

THE DAY AFTER NEW YEAR RAMBLING (1) Back in September, Kentucky linebacker Kash Daniel vehemently denied he deliberately tried to hurt Florida quarterback Kyle Trask in the fourth quarter of the Gators’ 29-21 comeback win over the Wildcats at Kroger Field in Lexington. Apparently, the denial wasn’t the truth because on the Paul Finebaum Show New Year’s Eve, Daniel issued an on-the-air apology to Trask. “I apologize to Kyle Trask for real,” Daniel said. “I apologize to Kyle Trask; I apologize to the University of Florida; I apologize to the University of Florida fan base. That was out of my league. I’m not about that. So, I’m sorry from the bottom of my heart. I allowed the outside noise to affect my play. I can’t do that.” (2) Trevon Grimes (33 catches, 491 yards, three touchdowns) announced he will return for his senior season at the University of Florida, a wise move on his part. At 6-5, 214 with exceptional speed, Grimes is good enough right now to get drafted but he should help his draft stock next season with increased productivity. With the graduation of Van Jefferson, Tyrie Cleveland, Freddie Swain and Josh Hammond, Grimes and tight end Kyle Pitts should be Kyle Trask’s top targets next season. (3) I doubt Lamical Perine will get drafted before the third or fourth round because it’s a deep running back board but I do believe he will have a productive NFL career. As he showed with that 61-yard touchdown run against Virginia in the Orange Bowl (and the 88-yard TD run against Auburn earlier in the year), he’s got good enough speed that once he gets in the secondary he’s hard to run down but he’s excellent in pass protection and can catch the ball, too. (4) Paybacks are hell. That’s what Alabama scoring a touchdown in the final minute of the Crimson Tide’s 35-16 Citrus Bowl win over Michigan was all about. Jim Harbaugh has done his best to get under Nick Saban’s skin in a variety of ways but I think what really got Nick’s blood boiling were the satellite camps he held deep in the heart of SEC country (NCAA has since ruled against them). Nick got mad and while it took until yesterday afternoon, he got even. Harbaugh was, is and will always be a jerk. Saban can be a jerk at times, too, but he’s in the SEC so he’s our jerk. (5) There is a lot of speculation that Tua Tagovailoa is going to return to Alabama for his senior season and further speculation that if Tua comes back, so will a whole bunch of draft-eligible juniors. If there is that domino effect with a Tua decision to return, Alabama will probably start the 2020 season as the odds-on favorite to win the national championship. If he elects to leave for the NFL Draft, he will be a top 15 pick even with the question marks about his health. If he comes back for his senior season, it’s unlikely Tua will be the top quarterback taken in the 2021 draft since Trevor Lawrence of Clemson will almost certainly be leaving early but if Tua could make it through the 2020 season healthy, he would easily be top five. We won’t have to wait long for Tua’s decision. He will announce on Monday if he’s staying or going. (6) Auburn fans are already stacking the wood for the bonfire they plan to light under Gus Malzahn’s butt. The warm and fuzzy feelings he gave Auburn fans when Gus beat Alabama gave way to angry alums who think he needs to find gainful employment somewhere else after the Outback Bowl loss to Minnesota. Auburn’s vaunted defense stunk it up and the offense was an absolute disaster. That’s being kind. (7) LSU linebacker Michael Divinity, who has been away from the team since before the Alabama game in November, is back with the team, just in time for the national championship game with Clemson. Divinity left the team because of what was described as a personal matter, but returned later on to begin practicing again. He didn’t play in either the SEC Championship Game or LSU’s College Football Playoff semifinal game with Oklahoma. (8) Another thought about Jim Harbaugh. He’s lost four straight bowl games and has never beaten arch-rival Ohio State, nor does it look like he’ll beat the Buckeyes any time soon. Harbaugh was hired by Michigan to do two things: Beat the Buckeyes and make it to the College Football Playoff. He’s been at Michigan five years now and the Wolverines are no closer to beating Ohio State and making the playoff than they were when they fired Brady Hoke. At least with Brady Hoke they weren’t paying him more than $8 million a year. THE SEC SOOTHSAYER Indiana (8-4) 33, Tennessee (7-5) 28: The Vols benefitted from a very soft schedule on the back end to win their last five games. Indiana doesn’t play a whole lot of defense, but the Hoosiers have a dynamic passing game and they’ll score enough points to knock off the Vols in the Gator Bowl. GOOD QUOTES FOR THURSDAY From Michael Cassagrande of Al.com, Alabama wide receiver Jerry Jeudy, who could go in the top four of the NFL Draft, on why he refused to sit out the bowl game: “First of all, you know, I played football all my life, so I couldn’t just sit out there and watch my team play and my brothers be out there. So I just wanted to go to war with my brothers like I’ve been doing the whole season. I love playing football so I just wanted to come out there and compete with my brothers.” From Andrea Adelson of ESPN, Nick Saban on Alabama’s need to make a statement in the Citrus Bowl against Michigan: “We have a culture of how we play football at Alabama, with great effort, great toughness, but also discipline to execute and accountability for everybody to do their job. That’s always been the trademark of what we do. Maybe in a couple games that we played, you know, half of the LSU game and maybe at Auburn, we didn’t really do that to the standard that I would like and to our expectation and I think our players realized that. They wanted to prove that this is the culture that was established for a number of years here by a lot of good players, and I think they have a lot of pride in that and I think they wanted to come out today and prove that this is what Alabama football, the culture of Alabama football is really all about.” CONFERENCE BOWL STANDINGS SEC 6-2 Mountain West 4-2 Pac-12 4-3 Big Ten 4-4 ACC 4-5 Conference USA 3-4 Independents 2-1 Sun Belt 2-2 American Athletic 2-3 MAC 2-3 Big 12 1-5 RANDOM THOUGHTS: The Dr. Pepper “Fansville” commercials are horrible. I miss the heck out of Larry Culpepper … David Stern died yesterday, three weeks after suffering a brain hemorrhage. I can’t imagine he would have ever approved of the PC culture embraced by his successor Adam Silver. I can’t decide who is a worse commissioner: Silver or Major League Baseball’s Rob Manfred … Former Texas A&M running back Jashaun Corbin will transfer to Florida State. The Cocoa native played in two games, suffering a season-ending injury in game #2 against Clemson … Former Florida wide receivers coach (under Will Muschamp) and Washington offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan has joined the Missouri staff as an offensive assistant … Jason Garrett will meet with Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones today. Speculation is he’ll get a handshake, a pink slip and a check to buy out his contract … I still haven’t watched an NBA game this year. I’m not anticipating watching one any time soon.

ABBREVIATED EDITION FROM FORT LAUDERDALE (1) Two years ago, the Gators were a broken team with a 4-7 record and needing a head coach. For awhile, it seemed as if UF athletic director Scott Stricklin was headed for another Tennessee coaching search after Chip Kelly (apparently) and Scott Frost (perhaps) said no, but was the interest in Kelly and Frost a smokescreen all along? Did Stricklin appease the masses by appearing to go after Kelly and Frost when all along the man he wanted was Dan Mullen? Had Stricklin made Mullen his very visible target from day one, the screaming would have been heard all the way to Bora Bora from Gator fans convinced the AD had lost his ever loving mind. I’m of the opinion that Mullen was THE MAN all along and Stricklin simply played the perception game before formally offering and landing his guy. The perception was Kelly and Frost didn’t want to be Gators. The perception was, is and will be that Mullen has the job he wants and will be a Gator for a long, long time. After two seasons, 21 wins and two New Year’s Six bowl games, there is no question Mullen has the Gators on track to win championships. It’s not a question of if he will do it, simply a matter of when. (2) The clock never struck midnight for the Cinderella Story that is Kyle Trask. He started the season the same place he’s started every season since he was a sophomore in high school, on the sideline carrying a clipboard and wondering what a football game looks like when viewed through the ear hole of a helmet. He finished the season with an 8-2 record as a starter with a save thrown in at Kentucky. He threw for 2,941 yards and 25 touchdowns in ten games and change. A year ago, Feleipe Franks threw for 2,457 yards and 24 touchdowns in 13 games. For more perspective consider this: In his senior season in 2009, Tim Tebow threw for 2,895 yards and 21 touchdowns. What makes this season even more remarkable for Trask is the fact he stepped in when Franks went down and seamlessly took over as the team leader. He didn’t do it with bravado and he ruffled no feathers, but he rather quickly earned the respect of his teammates. You want to know why the Gators finished 11-1? That’s a pretty good reason right there. (3) There are no happy campers in StarkVegas this morning. Not only did Mississippi State get hosed by Louisville, but the Bulldogs finished with a 6-7 record. It’s not lost on Bulldog fans that HBC Joe Moorhead told everyone after the Egg Bowl “You’ll have to drag my Yankee ass out of here.” It’s rumored a tractorcade is forming at the Starkvegas city limits to do just that. Moorhead is an absolutely rotten fit at MSU and in the SEC, not to mention the fact folks are about to be convinced he can’t coach a lick. (4) Florida State (6-6) is playing Arizona State in the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl today, named after Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes, a sugar bomb waiting to explode in your veins to spike your A1C to unfathomable levels. Besides, the Frosted Flakes go soggy in milk in a hurry. That actually sounds like Florida State’s 2019 football season. It went soggy quickly. The good news for Seminole fans is today is the final day of 2019 and the curtain closes on a rotten season. Tomorrow they can collectively say “Out with the old and in with the new.” They seem to think Mike Norvell will have them in a New Year’s Six bowl before you know it. I don’t think they realize just how much damage Willie Taggart did to the program. (5) Alabama linebacker Dylan Moses, who had to sit the 2019 season after an ACL tear, has chosen to return for his senior season rather than take the NFL money and run. Moses would have been one of the best, if not the best linebacker in college football had he been healthy in 2019. Bet the farm that he’ll make every preseason All-America team when the first magazines hit the news stands in May. Consider this also: Moses and Tua Tagovailoa are best buds. With Moses returning, will Tua decide to come back as well? There is an awful lot of speculation today that this will be the case. (6) Baylor coach Matt Rhule declined to interview with the Cleveland Browns. The New York Giants are ready to talk to him, as well, but will Rhule be ready to talk to the Giants? My guess is he’s happy being a college football coach. I could see him maybe leaving Baylor for another college job somewhere but I don’t see him going to the pros. (7) Here’s my last prediction of 2019: Jake Fromm will declare for the NFL right after Georgia loses to Baylor in the Sugar Bowl. Fromm regressed this season with James Coley as his offensive coordinator and he can’t take the chance that Kirby Smart will bring in the right guy to coach him up next year. It’s the perfect time for Fromm to go. He’s being projected in the lower third of the first round of the NFL Draft, which means he will get drafted by teams that (a) win game and (b) make the playoffs, which seriously beats the alternative of being stuck someplace like Detroit for the next few years. I could see Bill Bellichik drafting him and then grooming him to take over when Tom Brady retires, perhaps in another year or two. Give Fromm a couple of years learning the ropes from Brady and he would be set for a nice NFL career. THE SEC SOOTHSAYER Kentucky (7-5) 24, Virginia Tech (8-4) 21: Kentucky will play defense with its offense, which is to say the Mildcats will line up in their single wing and dare you to get them off the field. Everybody knows Lynn Bowden Jr. is going to run the football but nobody seems to be able to stop him. He will make his final game as a collegiate quarterback (he’ll play wideout in the NFL) memorable. It’s the last game VaTech defensive coordinator Bud Foster will coach (he’s retiring) so the Hokies will be motivated, but they will need more than motivation to stop Kentucky from running the ball and winning the Belk Bowl. By the way, this will be the last Belk Bowl. Belk has pulled the plug on its sponsorship. Fear not, however. Some sucker will sponsor a game in Charlotte next year so ESPN can fill four hours of holiday programming. PARTING SHOT: A friend of mine spent the last two days listening to his Buckeye neighbor blame the zebras for Ohio State’s loss to Clemson in the College Football Playoff semifinal. Yesterday he took a platter from the Publix Deli to his neighbor’s house. The neighbor said thank you and then asked, “Why the cheese platter?” My friend said, “To go with your whine.”