There’s only one thing to blame for the Gators’ gridiron woes. And a new kind of Pepsi Challenge could fix them. Late in my seventh grade year, my school welcomed a new student from the state of Indiana. I had just attended the Final Four in Indianapolis, where the Florida Gators had triumphed over the North Carolina Tar Heels and succumbed to the dirty trickery of Tom Izzo and the Michigan State Spartans in the NCAA Tournament final. Much like George Costanza and George Peppard having the sam...
over 2 years ago
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Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images
Predicting the NFL Draft is a fool’s errand. Projecting where players would thrive is more fun. The only thing more prevalent on the Internet right now than NFL mock drafts are jokes about blue checkmarks. There are hundreds — thousands? — of mocks out there. The most prolific NFL draft pundits are on mock draft 7.0 by now, and every top prospect has been projected to just about every NFL team.
That said, I’m joining the party with my own mock draft, ...
over 2 years ago
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Matt Pendleton / USA TODAY NETWORK
Our first look at the 2023 Gators comes on a Thursday night. I really don’t need to do a full-blown preview for this one, do I? I already wrote out a bunch of predictions for Florida’s spring game earlier this afternoon, and while I’m as excited as you are — give or take — to endure enjoy an SEC Network+ broadcast over on ESPN+ , I think we all know the stakes of this Thursday night.
And, additionally: Florida’s gymnastics team living through an all-ti...
over 2 years ago
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Doug Engle / USA TODAY NETWORK
This should be fun — little more, nothing less. With another spring practice cycle successfully put behind us without mention — I’m sure I missed some of the best action that’s ever happened during the series of practices that the players care even less about than the fall camp that they cannot wait to have end because of the sweltering Gainesville heat and humidity — it is, of course, time for a spring game exhibition that will serve as much of the basis fo...
over 2 years ago
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Doug Engle / USA TODAY NETWORK
One last performance in Gainesville for the hometown star... Last week, representatives from all 32 NFL teams were in Gainesville for Florida Pro Day. They pilled into the Heavener Football Training Center and the Condron Family Indoor Practice Facility to get an up close look at 11 former Gators football players — and one track star looking to get back on the gridiron.
Draft season is a long and winding process for prospects hoping to impress scouts, coac...
over 2 years ago
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The best things in life are passed down. Football is the greatest sport. It’s the ultimate team game, and truly takes everyone working in unison to achieve success. And in my opinion, the greatest version of football is played at the college level.
The quality of play in the NFL is obviously superior and the pro game is built to achieve a level of parity that is lacking in college football. However, the college game combines a high-level of play with a lot more variation of scheme than is se...
over 2 years ago
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Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images
Anthony Richardson stole the show. But the Florida contingent in general excelled at the NFL Scouting Combine. I remember buying a suit from Express in the Oaks Mall. It was nice enough, a traditional black two-piece that could pair with a classic white collar and colorful tie. It didn’t break the bank for a soon-to-be college grad who still delivered pizzas to pay the bills, but I couldn’t afford to have it tailored. Putting it on ahead of attending a j...
over 2 years ago
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Steve Roberts-USA TODAY Sports
Florida will look to avoid the black mark of a loss to the Knights. If you have a hard time getting up for Florida hosting UCF in the NIT, you probably have at least some sense of how difficult Wednesday night’s game will be for the Gators.
Before whatever subset of the fan base is coming out for a Wednesday night game against the Knights, Florida will try to avoid the ignominy of a first-round exit from the second-best postseason tournament of men’s colle...
over 2 years ago
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