Wide receiver Trey Burton and guard/tackle Max Garcia met with the media to talk about Florida’s upcoming matchup with the Georgia Bulldogs. The Gators have struggled offensively during head coach Will Muschamp’s tenure in Gainesville, especially against the Bulldogs. They are -4 in the turnover margin in the last two matchups with Georgia, including last year’s six turnover performance.
On the magnitude of the rivalry
- Burton says he’s excited and it’s his favorite game every year. He loves the atmosphere, particularly the way the stadium looks with the fan bases split half and half.
- Garcia, a Georgia native, is also looking forward to the game, which is the first time he will face off against the University of Georgia.
“I don’t really think about that; I just really want to beat Georgia … that’s what I want to do,” Garcia said. “This is the first time I get to play against them, against the home team. That’s all I want to do. I just wanna beat Georgia.”
On what this game will do for Florida’s confidence
- Garcia says this is a huge game for the offensive line. The team has a chance to either be 5-3 or 4-4. This game is about this team’s identity, which he feels they have gotten away from in the last two weeks.
- Burton says winning this game would do wonders for this team’s confidence, especially because it keeps them in the hunt to win the SEC East.
On how much the offensive line is to blame for the LSU loss
- Burton doesn’t blame the line. He says the whole team must shoulder the blame, adding that everyone can do a better job, and everyone shares responsibility when they fail.
“We definitely call ourselves out for those losses,” Garcia said. “So we had a lot to do with those losses, keeping the defenses on the field and us going three and out too many times. We do feel like it’s a majority of our fault.”
On what the line worked on in the bye week
- Garcia said they got back to fundamentals and fixed communication issues. He reiterated that Florida is returning to its identity of running the ball.
- Burton said they worked hard and they always grind. He has confidence that they will fix what is broken.
On running back Kelvin Taylor
- Burton calls him extremely gifted, and he’s excited to see him play.
- Garcia believes that Taylor can give the Gators an added spark to the offense, something that has been missing.
“I think he’s a great spark to the offense,” Garcia said. “You know we saw that the last game against Missouri … he went in there and did a great job for us.”