Fowler says goodbye to Florida Gators

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Coming off of the field late in the fourth quarter Dante Fowler Jr. felt the emotion of the moment begin to overwhelm him. The ECU Pirates had mounted a comeback and advanced the ball to all the way to the Gators’ five yard line. Down eight points but with momentum on their side, the Pirates looked poised to get in to the end zone and have a chance to tie the game.

Two plays later Vernon Hargreaves intercepted Shane Carden in the end zone, all but salting the game away.

Fowler was slow to jog off the field. He removed his helmet and slowed to a walk as he reached the sideline. Tears welled in his eyes but he wouldn’t let them fall. He embraced teammates and coaches on the sidelines, thanking them and congratulating them.

It didn’t really make sense for Fowler to play in this game. Flashback a few weeks to when Fowler announced on his Twitter page that he was leaving Florida early, “I came in with Champ and I’m leaving with him” the tweet read.

Fowler is most likely a first round pick in the upcoming NFL Draft. He’s put enough of his ability on tape the past three years for scouts to see, he wouldn’t improve his draft stock very much in the Birmingham Bowl. He could, however, hurt his stock. On a cold, wet day in Alabama, playing on an artificial surface that quickly grew slick Gators and Pirates began going down early and often. The game totaled nearly four hours as players had to be tended to on the field for injuries. Junior Antonio Morrison had to be carted off the field and was later seen on crutches, a large brace on his left knee.

Fellow junior Matt Jones had a slight injury and he and the coaching staff decided it would be best for the junior who plans to leave school early to not play, an injury would derail his career, much like it could have derailed Fowler’s immediate plans.

Sixth year senior Andre Debose didn’t even make the trip. Debose, who was a member of the 2009 recruiting class, was granted a special waiver from the NCAA to play a sixth year due to injuries. Debose grew frustrated with his role on the team and decided to part ways with the Gators before they left for Birmingham.

It wouldn’t have been the most popular decision or the most honorable choice for Fowler to stay in Gainesville and not make the trip but you would have understood it. You would have understood his decision and eventually thanked him for his contributions to the University of Florida.

But Fowler never even let the thought cross his mind. He finished the game with a career-high three sacks, two quarterback hurries and a fourth quarter pass deflection.

“Being able to come out here and to have to opportunity to play in another game with my brothers again, I can’t turn that down,” Fowler said. “We had to take advantage of it and that’s what we did.”

Fowler was his normal self throughout the course of the game. He danced as Carden barked instructions to the Pirates offense, getting his hand down on the ground just in time to be the first defensive lineman to fire off the ball. His three sacks on the day gave him the team-lead on the season, narrowly edging his best friend and roommate — teammate Alex McCalister.

Dante Fowler Jr., Joey Ivie, Legion Field, Birmingham, Alabama
Joey Ivie embraces Dante Fowler Jr. as the junior’s career at Florida comes to an end in the Birmingham Bowl. / Gator Country photo by Nick de la Torre

“For a guy in this situation to go out and do what he did and play how he played, I can’t say more about this guy’s character. It’s pretty amazing,” said interim head coach D.J. Durkin. “If you talk about a great teammate, great person and great football player — that’s No. 6.”

Fowler was in the middle of hugging sophomore defensive lineman Joey Ivie, the latter thanking the former for teaching him and helping him grow the past two years, when Jeff Driskel scrambled for a first down that made the ending a formality.

Two kneel downs later the party was on. Fowler jogged over to the stands,

Dante Fowler Jr., Legion Field, Birmingham, Alabama
Dante Fowler Jr. thanks fans following the Birmingham Bowl. / Gator Country photo by Nick de la Torre

locating a young Gator fan sitting on his father’s shoulders, head and hands barely poking over the chain-link fence separating the field from the stands. Fowler walked over, took off his Nike Gator gloves and handed them to the youngster, who won’t soon forget the moment.

On the way to join his teammates, ECU Pirates came over to congratulate him on a win and a great career. He joined his teammates near midfield, cheered loudly for redshirt freshman Adam Lane as he was awarded the MVP trophy.

Then it was all over.

The kid from St. Petersburg who flipped on national signing day, spurning the Florida State Seminoles for the Florida Gators had just played his final game in orange and blue and the reality of that was sinking in. He couldn’t leave the field. Leaving the field meant accepting that reality.

Fowler stayed on the field, hugging anyone who was around, greeting fans and posing for pictures. Finally, it was time to go. He still wasn’t ready. As D.J. Durkin, Marcus Maye, Adam Lane, Dante Fowler and Demarcus Robinson walked into an interview room one thing stood out. Four of the five men had showered and changed into street clothes, ready to board a charter flight back home.

Fowler was still in his jersey. He knew that he would eventually have to take it off.

“Once I take this jersey off it’s coming with me,” he said with a smile.

Fowler was never named a first team all American by one of the five outlets that the University of Florida recognizes when they award bricks outside of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.

Shame on them. It’s a damn shame that Fowler’s name and career won’t be immortalized side-by-side with the named of Tim Tebow, Percy Harvin, Brandon Spikes, Matt Elam, Sharrif Floyd, Lito Sheppard, Jabar Gaffney and others. He deserves it.

He won’t have a brick, but his dance moves, gapped-tooth smile, Chuckie doll, attitude on and off the field won’t leave the memories of Gator Nation any time soon.

Dante Fowler Jr., Ever Bank Field, Jacksonville, Florida
Dante Fowler dances during the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party. / Gator Country photo by David Bowie
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

3 COMMENTS

    • Wrong snowprint. Fowler is a great player on a mediocre/poor team. If we won more games and were in the SEC championship/playoff conversation, he would have received more recognition. If our offense wasn’t so putrid and put up more scores, other teams would have been forced to throw more and his sack totals would have been higher. Fowler unfortunately played on poor teams and didn’t receive the national recognition to earn a brick, which is a shame.