The Florida Gators will begin their preparation for the Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl against the Michigan Wolverines on Friday. The 15 bowl practices are crucial for bowl eligible teams as they close the book on one season and begin looking forward to the future. Jim McElwain is taking that approach, looking to the future, a step further.
Florida’s seniors and draft-eligible underclassmen that have decided to turn pro will not practice with the rest of the team for the first several practices, rather working out with strength and conditioning coach Mike Kent separately.
“What we’re going to do is the senior for those first three days, first two or three practices, will not be in there, and any of those guys that have obviously already declared,” McElwain said. “They’ll hold out and be working with Coach Kent during that time. Then when we get into actual game prep, which will be that following week, they’ll jump back in.”
The decision is not meant as a punishment for the older players, rather a reward for the older guys. They’ll get some time to rest aching bodies and spend their final days in Gainesville with the players they came into school with. Additionally, players like Vernon Hargreaves that have already decided to leave school early will join the seniors.
This will allow the coaching staff, for a couple of days, to focus in on the players that will be counted on next year. They can take stock of what they have moving forward and see which players have progressed throughout the season, specifically players who have spent the year redshirting.
“That’s what’s exciting about this. You’re preparing for a game and you’re getting spring-ball-type work, which I think is great,” McElwain said. “And there’s a lot of competition at some of those spots. This will only help you as you head into the offseason.”