Florida Gators talked the talk, now must walk the walk

Through three games in 2016 the Florida Gators have cashed all the checks they wrote talking during the offseason, with interest.

The offseason hype surrounding Tennessee drew most of Florida’s ire, who began going after the Vols on social media, carried it into SEC Media Days and, really, any time they’re asked about Tennessee, which intensified when the Vols popped up on the schedule this week.

Most teams avoid creating headlines during a game week but fueled by a three-game stretch unpatrolled in school history, the Gators continued firing verbal bombs at Tennessee.

Quincy Wilson’s “ducks don’t pull trucks” metaphor exploded on social media, despite an ambiguous meaning.

“Somebody told me about that. That’s a classic right there,” McElwain said of Wilson’s comment on the SEC Teleconference. “I’ve got to find out what the heck that means. I guess I have watched an AFLAC commercial, but I’ve never seen that duck do it.”

Well, now you’ve seen it. Thanks, Oregon.

McElwain, who has been asked repeatedly about his team’s usage of social media, insists he won’t censor players. Not even during a game week. Defensive backs coach Torrian Gray doesn’t seem to find issue with it either. Florida’s defense is fresh off of a game where they allowed a program record low 53 yards. They’re walking the walk and if they keep it up they can keep telling you about it too.

“I haven’t had a group that’s playing with the confidence that this group is playing with right now,” Gray said of his secondary. “They’re really executing and it’s how those guys are really playing in practice. I’ve been very impressed with the way we’re handling our business, going about our business and it’s showing up on Saturdays.”

It would be one thing if the defense was getting beat, if the team was eeking out wins over Ohio at home but Florida’s defense is the only unit in the country that has held all of its opponents to under 200 total yards this season. They lead the nation in total defense and scoring defense. They’re second in the country in rushing and passing defense, the only school in the country ranked inside the top ten in those categories.

Have the Gators played the toughest schedule? Far from it, but they’re doing what good teams are supposed to do when they face lower competition: dominate.

They’re talking a big game, but behind closed doors they’re not satisfied with their performance.

“We still have something to work on, it doesn’t matter if we have a good game, bad game, we are always working to improve as a defense,” defensive lineman Khairi Clark said Tuesday. “I feel like everybody is doing that as long as they know what they are doing and perform as hard as they can in practice.”

The first real test of the season will come with a national audience on CBS. Joshua Dobbs, who burned Florida for 136 rushing yards in 2015, Jalen Hurd and 100,000 bloodthirsty Volunteer faithful await the Gators.

“They’re focused on what they have to do and there’s no doubt when you come out and that first play, that first series the place is going crazy,” McElwain said. “You can’t hear, guys are just firing off the ball, all cylinders. Does it get any better than that?”

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