On3 National News Desk. Former Florida Gators beat reporter, 247Sports ('12-22). NOLA native, long-time Gainesville resident, now in Charlotte.
Charlotte, NC
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Florida's football program is in a dangerous, dangerous place, for reasons you might not expect on the surface.
Going to tweet a bit here. #Gators
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Today is my last day as a beat reporter after more than a decade covering the #Gators for 247Sports.
I'm stepping away from beat reporting to re-evaluate what I want to do in life.
Thank you all for following over the years, it's meant the world to me.
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When Billy Donovan left Florida, I had my doubts the program could ever get back to those heights.
What an absolutely stunning job by Todd Golden and his staff.
And the best part? It looks repeatable given his system and eye for its needs.
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The #Gators football team shattered the SEC record for most players on the SEC Fall Academic Honor Roll, with 55 honorees (27 scholarship) - 247sports.com/college/florid…
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UF president Kent Fuchs to Dan Mullen coming off the field: “Top 7 football team, Top 7 university.
Mullen: “We’re getting there.” #Gators
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Whatever your feelings on Feleipe Franks' ability, way he battled through an incredibly intense and difficult situation and came through better -- both as a player and a person -- deserves some respect.
Hope he balls out. Enjoyed the chance to cover him and his journey.
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Can confirm former 5-star Clemson running back Demarkcus Bowman is transferring to the #Gators. Huge boost in the backfield - 247sports.com/college/florid…
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#Gators had more receivers drafted in the 2020 NFL Draft than any other college. All three of the draft picks made the final 53-man roster.
Development. Recruiting ammunition. 247sports.com/college/florid…
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Interesting to note that NSD battles Florida won over Alabama (Khris Bogle) and Georgia (Kaiir Elam) were both made with those programs hiring away a UF position coach.
Says a lot about those guys' respect for Dan Mullen, what he's building with #Gators.
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Don't care how you feel about Feleipe Franks as a quarterback (and I know it's a relatively small minority), but some of the comments on social media on his injury absolutely despicable.
Have some perspective. Players are people and he just had a horrible injury. Not the time.
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How good is he at counting?
Just days after a season-ending injury, Graham Mertz is looking for news ways to continue to help the Gators this season.
on3.com/teams/florida-gators…
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Dan Mullen said he thinks the #Gators HBO special was better than Penn State's and Arizona State's.
"I think it's helped us in a positive way because we're still cooler than Penn State and Arizona State."
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#Gators still have an obvious O-line issue, but this was the toughest D-line on the schedule.
Clean up the turnovers and this Florida team could be a serious contender.
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Emory Jones spent a couple minutes signing autographs for some young #Gators fans before going into the locker room. Class act.
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Yo, did I hear that right? NFL Network just shouted out @ScooterMagruder? Nice!
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Been a weird year. It's coming up on one year since I spent 12 days in a mental health hospital -- the entirety of the holidays -- after my brain went haywire on me.
The good news is things have been great since I got on medication. No issues whatsoever. I'm incredibly thankful to the family, friends and even strangers who helped get me through. There was so much heavy stuff going on at the time it's little surprise I got overwhelmed, but I never anticipated my brain altering my reality (symptoms of schizophrenia).
So while things are going great currently, there's always that nagging fear at the back of my mind that my brain will turn on me again without me realizing it. It's a hard feeling to describe.
I have relied on, and will continue to rely on, the people who know me best to know when something doesn't look quite right with me. It's a weird, vulnerable place to be, but not sure what else I can do.
Anyway, thanks for the support and I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season.
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And the #Gators just canceled all remaining media availability this week outside of Dan Mullen on the SEC teleconference...
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Donovan Stiner interception seals it.
DBU debate over?
No. 22 #Gators knock off No. 5 LSU with two late fourth-quarter interceptions.
Hail Dan Mullen.
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That’s former #Gators RB Nay’Quan Wright remembering how to SEC. nitter.app/TSV__1/status/17031359…
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Urban Meyer threw a barb at FSU while backing Billy Napier and the revitalized #Gators.
"The one thing they have not done like the team in Tallahassee is quit. They have continued to fight."
Via @3xOptionShow
on3.com/college/florida-gato…
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Hold up, let me just chuck this grenade into the timeline.
Last four years:
UF is 32-18
UCF is 31-19
Aight, I'm out. 😂😂😂
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Imagine being a Florida coach and not being willing to listen to Steve Spurrier offer you an idea on some plays.
Spoiler: It ain't Dan Mullen.
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Kyle Trask, eligible for the NFL Draft this year: "I still have a whole 'nother year here, so I don't plan on leaving." #Gators
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Thanks to all the family, friends and even strangers who have been in my corner over the last several months.
It’s high time I started taking my mental health more seriously.
To anyone else struggling, my DMs are always open if you want to talk. Zero judgment here.
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Dan Mullen had a warning for the #Gators after the Peach Bowl win. On Jan. 7, they better be ready for the "hardest off-season anybody's been through." - 247sports.com/college/florid…
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Hat’s off to Billy Napier. Back against the wall and he has delivered in a big way the last two weeks. #Gators are clearly improving.
Now to the recruiting class and the transfer portal. Need home runs with both.
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Man, College Football Playoff committee giving a lot of respect to the #Gators, dropping them just one spot.
Absolutely did not expect that.
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Todd Grantham said this week he doesn't believe his unit has an issue getting lined up in time or communicating.
Let what happens on your TV screen be the judge.
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No more sling for #Gators wide receiver Kadarius Toney leaving campus after practice today.
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Why Kobe wore No. 24:
“It carried a significance because it was about approaching every day as if it was my last, and I had to have that mentality. ... Every time I look at that number it’s like today is the most important day. Today is the day. There’s one day. That’s it.”
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Man, hard to feel good about losing two studs like Jonathan Greenard and Jabari Zuniga, but the #Gators seriously might not miss a beat.
Brenton Cox, Jeremiah Moon, Zachary Carter, Mohamoud Diabate, Khris Bogle... that's some serious talent returning.
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Every athletics director claims they landed their first choice from the start after the hire is official.
In this case it's actually 100% true.
The Billy Napier era begins.
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I think the fact that Florida is as competitive in this game as it is down so many players is a testament to the improved depth on the roster.
Billy Napier certainly built that in a way his predecessor did not.
This is not some monster rebuild.
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#Gators DE Lloyd Summerall has removed his name from the NCAA transfer portal. Developmental prospect, but at a definite position of need for UF at this point - 247sports.com/college/florid…
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Dan Mullen today admitted #Gators basically rested key guys who weren't 100% against the Vols.
Adding insult to injury, defensive coordinator Todd Grantham just praised Kentucky's offense:
"It's a much more difficult challenge than, say, last week."
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This Justin Fields thing, though... It really puts into perspective how insane what Nick Saban has been able to manage at Alabama is.
No idea how he so flawlessly manages all that talent and all those egos.
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Kentucky LB J.J. Weaver: "Kyle Pitts is most definitely going to see me this week... We’ve just got to be more physical than him... He is a great player. He’s going to get up and jump, but he’s just never had J.J. Weaver on him before."
Good luck, bud.
courier-journal.com/story/sp…
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As mediocre as the actual teams in this timespan have been that's pretty incredible.
Remarkable fanbase that always turns the Swamp into a madhouse and don't let anyone tell you otherwise.
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The more I think about it the cooler it is that Florida's new title team embraces the previous back-to-back squads so fully.
It's been 18 years. 18 years. That connection was not a given at all, but so cool to link UF basketball history together like that.
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#Gators' recent run in recruiting no surprise to me. Billy Napier always been very good recruiter.
He just struggled when on-field results dimmed vision he's selling. Add DJ Lagway and three-game win streak and fuse is lit again.
He ever really wins big, watch the heck out.
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Nick Saban is an evil genius.
Gave his team an extra week's rest and an extra week of preparation by losing to Auburn.
Always two steps ahead.
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Kyle Trask named a Davey O'Brien and Maxwell Award semifinalist.
Kyle Pitts named a Biletnikoff, Mackey and Maxwell Award semifinalist.
Evan McPherson named a Groza Award semifinalist.
Kaiir Elam named a Jim Thorpe Award semifinalist.
#Gators on a lot of prestigious lists.
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Trask on the freaking money on a post to Freddie Swain. Easy touchdown. Man, that was pretty.
#Gators have a quarterback.
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With Auburn’s loss to Georgia tonight, #Gators control their fate in the SEC title race. Win out and Florida is your SEC champ.
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He didn't have a catch last night against Arkansas, but man, Kemore Gamble put in a hell of a night's work blocking in the run game for the #Gators.
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It's actually kind of insane Miami can draw just as big a crowd for a spring game in Orlando as it does for home games.
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The SEC Nation crew believes Dan Mullen has the #Gators on the verge of competing for national titles again.
Tebow: "I think they're very, very close."
Spears: "It's not if. It's when."
247sports.com/college/florid…
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Todd Golden is bringing former #Gators great Taurean Green home, adding him to the staff as director of player development. He'll join the program when the NBA season ends - 247sports.com/college/florid…
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Kyle Trask to Kyle Pitts is a cheat code. #Gators gonna mess around and win the SEC East with those guys.
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Urban Meyer on the @BuddyMartinShow. 👀
"Billy Napier and his staff, is there pressure on him? Hell yeah there is, but that comes with the job. ...
"First of all Florida fans have the right to be upset. They’re fans. Florida is an elite place."
on3.com/college/florida-gato…
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#Gators whooping their biggest rival on Senior Night in the Swamp.
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My favorite nearly forgotten moment from #Gators 2018 season was when Dan Mullen tried to fight Derek Mason.
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But the overall backdrop is pretty bleak, beyond just the on-field results this year.
You've got an admin actively trying to lower the program's standard. That shouldn't happen at a place like Florida. Period. The whole thing is so very frustrating.
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So the team Florida just lost to short-handed for the second time in a row just got rid of its coach. He won a national title in 2019.
That’s the SEC. That’s reality.
Your move(s), Dan Mullen and Scott Stricklin.
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Kyle Trask #Heismanwatch
18-25 for 241 yards, 4 TDs
2 rushes for 4 yards
Still first half.
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Excellent news from Keyontae Johnson's parents. He's breathing on his own now and able to speak with family and doctors. Even got to FaceTime the team today - 247sports.com/college/florid… #Gators
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Say what you will about Feleipe Franks' play -- and it could certainly be better -- but it's hard to complain too much about his TD-INT ratio.
12 TDs, 2 INTs.
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Dan Mullen should have zero problem recruiting skill players going forward.
#Gators put four skill players in this year's draft, should put QB Kyle Trask, TE Kyle Pitts and WR Trevon Grimes in next year.
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Most touchdown passes in season in #Gators history:
1. Wuerffel: 39 (13 games)
2. Wuerffel: 35 (13)
3. Grossman: 34 (12)
4. Tebow: 32 (13)
5. Tebow: 30 (14)
6. Leak: 29 (12)
7. Trask: 28 (6)
7. Matthews: 28 (12)
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I mean, I don't *think* the committee would drop Georgia below Florida, but this is a demolition.
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#Gators ahead of both Alabama and Auburn pretty much locks them into a New Year's Six bowl. And ahead of Penn State means likely Orange as a worst-case scenario.
UF at No. 9. Higher than I thought.
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Looks like #Gators QB Kyle Trask has added another weapon to his already loaded arsenal.
Texas WR transfer Jordan Pouncey posted on his Snapchat account tonight he has been granted an immediate-eligibility waiver by the NCAA - 247sports.com/college/florid…
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Mississippi State honoring Jackie Sherrill as the winningest coach in MSU history while Dan Mullen is on the opposite sideline is exactly the kind of brilliant pettiness that makes the SEC so awesome.
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#Gators have secured six Top 400 commitments (three Top 200) in the last 16 days.
Building.
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That is an all-time dumb penalty by Marco Wilson. Ripped the receiver's shoe off and threw it down the field on a pivotal third-down stop.
How absolutely moronic can you be?
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Kyle Trask: "Nobody expected us to have the kind of year that we had this year when we had all those NFL receivers leave. But this is what we do here at Florida. As soon as we have big-time guys leave and move on, we have more big-time guys step in." #Gators
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Total touchdowns:
Tim Tebow (2009, 14 games): 35
Feleipe Franks (2018, 13 games): 30
#Gators
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Good point by LB David Reese: "It's going to be our first time playing with the same defense two years back-to-back. That's exciting to see. We should know everything going to the spring, going to the fall, so we should be confident in what we do, be able to play fast." #Gators
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Tom Petty's "I Won't Back Down" is blasting in Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Gainesville North today.
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Just the best news.
NEWS: Dick Vitale has announced he is cancer-free after a recent PET Scan🙏
on3.com/news/dick-vitale-ann…
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100 percent confirmed, done deal.
Former Georgia OLB Brenton Cox is enrolled at Florida and will be at Gators practice today per @ThomasGoldkamp 247sports.com/college/florid…
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#Gators lost three games this year by a total of 12 points.
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If Dan Mullen is willing to walk into a situation where large chunk of the fanbase won't be happy with him from Day 1, I'd say he's got serious confidence.
#Gators have been missing that. Just saying.
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Desmond Howard says #Gators still can’t run the ball, which is just wrong.
Florida hasn’t chosen to run the ball much, but when it has it’s been quite efficient.
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Not going to lie, 4-2 Florida against 4-2 LSU has instant classic written all over it.
Both coaches have been going ham on fourth-down attempts, always zaniness in that series, both defenses prone to big plays, etc.
Should be fun. Maybe not great football, but fun nonetheless.
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Y'all acting like that timeout matters as if Billy Napier is capable of running a hurry-up drive that doesn't take 63 minutes.
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This loss to Miami will put Florida way behind the 8-ball in a crucial Year 3 for Billy Napier.
Because no matter what anyone in the administration tells you, you should be fired with three straight losing seasons at UF. And it's now a huge uphill climb in 2024 to avoid that.
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Man, the #Gators have so much talent balling out in the NFL this weekend. Scary part is a good chunk of it is still very young and just getting started.
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