Florida Gators relishing underdog status

Jim McElwain walked into his Monday press conference in a good mood. It’s game week,  he’s a ball coach, so this is his favorite time of year. He’s a few short days away from getting back on the field, matching wits with another ball coach and watching his Florida gators do what they love to do.

With all this in mind I proceeded with my question anyway.

“Coach, throughout the offseason you’ve mentioned how poorly you all ended last season. Do you still bring that up as motivation?”

Mac’s smile stopped.

“Pretty miserable, wasn’t it,” a rhetorical question. “You had to sit through it, too. I’m sorry.”

It’s ok Coach. It wasn’t that bad. I’ve seen worse.

“I don’t know. I’m still hurting,” McElwain continued. “That’s all I can say. That was miserable. I’ll leave it at that. And I’m sorry you had to go through it, too.”

Florida’s 6-0 start was all but forgotten by the end of November. The Gators finished the season 0-3 with losses to Florida State and Alabama and then a dismantling at the hands of Michigan in the Citrus Bowl. The final three game stretch left McElwain, an astute football mind and great game planner, at a loss for words and with even less answers. He was embarrassed and he wouldn’t let his team forget that feeling this offseason.

“It definitely was a driving force and spring and summer,” starting quarterback Luke Del Rio said.

“We finished 0-3. Anytime you finish 0-3 it’s the worst taste in your mouth. Some teams might get hot and they lose and bowl game. Ok, we finished 5-1. But 0-3, that’s tough to swallow.”

That finish has played a factor into the Gators coming in under the radar in 2016. The Florida Gators are being picked by most as a distant third in the division that they are the current defending champions of, something Del Rio has taken notice of and displays on his Twitter account with this tweet pinned to the top of his profile.

“I pinned it the first time around SEC media day,” Del Rio explained when asked. “And you know we had high expectations last year, we’re looking forward to it this year, and it was just kind of a reminder, and it will stay up, so people don’t forget.”

Del Rio was left helpless during that final stretch. In his own words, he looked more like a trainer on the sideline than a player, sitting out a year due to NCAA transfer restrictions. That frustration has built up the anticipation of this season for the redshirt sophomore. Del Rio will get a chance to right the wrongs that marred last season. He and the rest of the team are relishing their underdog status.

To a man, every player nods their head with a confident smile when you bring up how Florida is being overlooked. Del Rio was no different on Monday.

I’m definitely excited for this year,” he said.

Nick de la Torre
A South Florida native, Nick developed a passion for all things sports at a very young age. His love for baseball was solidified when he saw Al Leiter’s no-hitter for the Marlins live in May of 1996. He was able to play baseball in college but quickly realized there isn’t much of a market for short, slow outfielders that hit around the Mendoza line. Wanting to continue with sports in some capacity he studied journalism at the University of Central Florida. Nick got his first start in the business as an intern for a website covering all things related to the NFL draft before spending two seasons covering the Florida football team at Bleacher Report. That job led him to GatorCountry. When he isn’t covering Gator sports, Nick enjoys hitting way too many shots on the golf course, attempting to keep up with his favorite t.v. shows and watching the Heat, Dolphins and Marlins. Follow him on twitter @NickdelatorreGC