It’s been a few years since the last time Todd Grantham and Christian Robinson were a part of the Florida-Georgia game, except last time they were on the opposite sideline.
This will be the first time Florida’s defensive coordinator and linebackers coach will make the trip to Jacksonville dressed in orange and blue rather than red and black.
As a former player for the Bulldogs from 2009-12 and a Georgia native, this game holds a special place for Robinson. Right now, his allegiance to his alma mater is in the rearview, and his only concern is preparing his players for a dogfight on Saturday.
“One day in meetings, he gathered us around and he was like this is a big game for him and like bragging rights for his family,” said redshirt junior linebacker Rayshad Jackson. “His family lives I think probably five miles away from the Georgia stadium, so they’re always bragging about Georgia. This is a big one for him.”
While Florida’s coaches typically encourage the players to block out any distractions such as coaches facing their former schools, it can be hard not to use it as motivation.
The Gators couldn’t help but play with a little extra emotion at Mississippi State a few weeks ago, and while these ties aren’t quite as meaningful as a nine-year head coaching stint, they still feel a sense of pride in getting a win for their coaches.
“It means a lot to him,” junior linebacker David Reese said of Robinson. “It means a lot to all these guys out here. But you know, he wants us to do it for ourselves. On the back end, we kind of want to do it for them, too. We want to leave him where he can come back home in Georgia and know that we whipped their butts.”
Grantham did not play there, but he did coach Robinson during his four years as Georgia’s defensive coordinator from 2010-13. The Bulldogs defeated the Gators three of those four years with help from Grantham-led defenses.
His approach to this game, and probably every game, is a bit more business-like than that of Robinson, but both are working toward the same outcome.
Grantham returns to the rivalry half a decade later with a clear memory of how important this game is on both sides and what it takes to come out on top of it. That could serve him and the Gators well come Saturday afternoon.
“You obviously understand the importance to the university, to the players, to the fan base,” he said. “It’s a rivalry game. It’s big. But on top of that is we’re still in the hunt to achieve all the goals that we got ahead of us. And to do that we’ve got to continue to prepare, because we’re going to play the way we prepare the rest of the week. So, we just got to continue to understand that our preparation is key. It’s obviously a big game, but it’s going to come down to doing the little things right.”