Hindsight might be 20/20, but in Stone Forsythe’s case, it’s 20/72. He wore the No. 72 for five seasons with the Gators, and now he looks back at his time at Florida and predicts what is to come.
After redshirting in 2016 and playing minimally in 2017 and 2018, Forsythe emerged late in his career to start all 25 games at left tackle the past two seasons.
Forsythe took some time to reflect on his college career, explain why the program is better off now than it was three years ago, analyze the 2021 Gators and more.
When you look back on your college career, how would you summarize it?
“When I think back on it, I was kind of an underdog a little bit, in my opinion. Just came in, like, a three-star guy, just kind of sat back for a few years, had people in front of me, and, when it was my time called, I feel like I stepped up to the plate and proved myself over the past two years and definitely this last season.”
Did you get frustrated by not playing much your first three years?
“Definitely that redshirt year, I was real frustrated, and then once I kind of got over the fact after a few weeks that I was redshirting and it was kind of the best situation for me to be in, I kind of just put my head down, stuck to myself and started working against one of the best defenses at the time, just those quality practice reps I got against good guys for a solid year. And then redshirt freshman year, that was kind of the first year I could play but didn’t end up playing, just besides the last two games of the season. So, that was a little frustrating because that was definitely time off the clock that I had, once the clock started at that point. And then just kind of got mixed in my redshirt sophomore year a little bit, just kind of trying to prove myself, that I could do it for the next year, and then ultimately, I feel like I did a good enough job to prove myself and earned my role.”
How challenging was it to have three different position coaches during your career at Florida?
“It was challenging at first, just my first two years being there, having just two different coaches with completely different styles. They’re all great coaches. The second guy [Brad Davis], I wouldn’t say we didn’t get along with each other. I thought I should have been playing, and he thought differently. And then toward the end of the year when I did play, he kind of apologized to me with that regards. So, we kind of made up on that end. And then having [John] Hevesy helped out tremendously toward the end of my career. So, it was a learning experience, but I think it’s helped shape me into the person I am today.”
What did you learn most from Hevesy?
“He presented me the saying that I could play at the next level one day, and, if I wanted to, I had to do X, Y and Z. So, definitely kind of learned those things, and it’s kind of helped me in that regard. He had a big emphasis on just knowing the offense and knowing formations and stuff like that and that it would help you out. And then just understanding the other side of the ball, the defensive side. So, he kind of helped me look at the bigger picture and fully understand the game of football.”
Do you have a favorite memory or game?
“Definitely beating Auburn my junior year, and then beating Georgia this year to basically win the East. I wish we would’ve won the SEC Championship. That would’ve been a good memory, but it was a good experience to just get to that game. I mean, yeah, you’re not satisfied, but not too many people get to that game or win the East or win a side of the SEC.”
You seemed to make a pretty big jump in pass protection from 2019 to 2020. Would you agree with that?
“Yeah, I definitely agree with it. I kind of think the things that went into it was I wasn’t necessarily happy with my junior year film. And then kind of just this quarantine, I stayed up in Gainesville and just worked out by myself and stuff like that. And then just, toward the beginning of the season, just watching some NFL film and the early games in the season, and I was like, ‘This can be me one day.’ So, I was like, ‘If I want to get to that level one day, I need to step up and prove that I can play at the next level.’ So, it was just kind of a combination of all those and just trying to picture myself playing at the highest level, and I was like, ‘Yeah, that can be me one day.’”
Where are you training right now, and what are you working on?
“I’m out in Arizona right now training at AMDG Performance with LeCharles Bentley. Just kind of a group of O-Line guys out here, so I’m hanging out here with them until the draft.”
In what ways is the program in better shape now than it was when the current coaching staff first got to UF?
“They’re in better shape just because they all know what to expect. Coach [Jim McElwain] was a great coach. He was a great players’ coach, but I feel like we kind of had too much say in some of the decisions. So, I think with [Dan] Mullen, there’s like a respect. Some of the things we do or that [they] ask of us may be a lot, but there’s a mutual respect there. Those younger guys know what it’s like to win. I kind of wanted to leave those guys with a winning taste in their mouth. They know what to expect, they know what’s asked of them, and they know what to do to win.”
Is the program capable of winning a national championship in the next few years?
“Yeah, definitely. Everyone always looks at recruits and go like, ‘Oh, we didn’t get this dude. We didn’t get that dude.’ Or ‘Bama, Georgia got this dude.’ At the end of the day, I don’t think it comes down to that. I mean, yeah, those are good dudes, but you saw the stats from this past Super Bowl that a majority of the guys were three stars or lower on those teams playing. So, I don’t think that matters, but I think Mullen’s going to put the best guys around him to help him win another national championship. So, the next few years, I think they have a good shot at it.”
What has to happen for the program to make that jump from being a top-10 team every year to being in the playoff?
“Just attention to details and paying attention to the small things. Not to talk bad about it, but I kind of noticed some of the small things would get away throughout the season. Just kind of smaller attention to details, and it’s kind of on the older guys and kind of keep us on track. But yeah, I mean, at that level, from top-10 to winning, a small margin of error. So, just attention to those small, minute things.”
What are your expectations for the 2021 team?
“I haven’t really looked at them. I’ve just been focusing, doing my stuff out here, training, trying to get ready for the next level. But, I mean, they definitely should go back to Atlanta. I think they can win the East again and compete for the SEC Championship, and then, I guess whatever the committee does from there is up in their hands. But I think they can get back to the SEC Championship.”
What has made Florida such an attractive destination for players in the transfer portal?
“On the offensive side at least, I can speak for them, I think they just see what we do with our guys like [Kyle] Pitts, tight ends, the receivers, kind of Van [Jefferson], Josh [Hammond], Tyree [Cleveland], all of them guys. They can see we put up points. We’re a high-scoring offense, and I know, as a recruit, you kind of want to be in one of those offenses that just puts up points. So, you might have made the wrong decision, went somewhere and it didn’t work out, so I feel like you can come back and be one of those big-name dudes and make some money.”
Do you expect the offense to look different next year with a more mobile quarterback and the top three receivers gone?
“Yeah, it’ll look a little different. Losing those receivers I don’t think matters, in my opinion, because those guys that are there now can definitely do it. But yeah, it’ll be different. It’ll kind of look a little bit like when we had Feleipe [Franks], just more kind of run reads and stuff like that because Emory [Jones] and Anthony [Richardson] can definitely run the ball. So, I think it’ll be more balanced this year.”
Is the quarterback job Jones’ to lose, or can Richardson make it a competition?
“I’m not sure. I know Emory’s been there a while. He’s learned the ropes. He knows the offense. Anthony’s a hell of a player, a hell of an athlete. So, I feel like they’ll do something to have both of them on the field at the same time maybe or just have series here and there, kind of how they did with Emory a little bit in his younger years. But I think both of them will play.”
Who are some of the receivers that you expect to step up and take on a bigger role next year?
“Definitely [Jacob] Copeland. He’s been around those dudes. He knows what it takes. He knows what their work ethic is. So, I think he’ll step up big. Xzavier [Henderson], he’s a big body. I think he can get it done. Trent Whittemore, he’s definitely one of the dudes. He’s one of them every-down guys where he’s going to give it his full effort. I think they’ll get it done. Rick Wells, he’s been there a while; he’s from my class. But now his name’s called, kind of what happened to me. So, now is his time to shine. I think they’ll get it done. They just need to get the time in the offseason and get everything dialed in.”
Who are some of the players to watch on the offensive line, which is replacing three starters?
“Definitely Richard Gouraige. I don’t know what they’re going to do with his position either way, but he can play guard or tackle. So, he’ll be a big guy to watch. And then, Ethan [White], he was expected to play this year, but I think he’ll do big things next year.”
Who are some of the younger players up front who could break out next season?
“Michael Tarquin and Gerald Mincey, I think they’ll get some playing time this year and get some quality reps and definitely develop and just get that taste of football back in their mouth and kind of just drive their passion. But I think that group will be solid again.”
Do you expect them to take a jump forward in the running game?
“Yeah, I’m sure there will be an emphasis on it in the offseason. But, I mean, the past two years, we really didn’t have to run the ball. We could score when we wanted to passing the ball, so yeah, there’s a game or two that you’ll need to run the ball, but, I mean, if they can block and they can pass and they can do what we’ve been doing, I think it’ll kind of just play out how it plays out.”
What are some of the behind-the-scenes, intangible things that made Kyle Trask successful?
“Definitely the film studies and just fully understanding the offense. Me and him would go back and forth trying to be the first one to meetings and stuff like that. He’ll stay after, watch film with the coaching staff and just, outside of the building, even on the weekends and stuff, we’d try to hang out and he’s like, ‘Oh, I got to watch the games’ and stuff like that. It’s that time he put in to fully understand it, and we would kind of get on the same page as him toward the end of the week, like regards of defensive looks and certain looks that he wanted and he would check to and stuff like that. So, it was definitely just the time he sacrificed into the film study and understanding everything.”
At what point did you realize that the offense had a chance to be not just good but historically good?
“Probably the Ole Miss game. We knew we’d go in and win that game, but, on the offensive side, I don’t think we knew that we could put up points when we wanted, like I said before. That’s kind of really what it came down to. We can score in one or two plays, or we can kind of put drives together, little short passes here and there, little runs here and there. So, I think that Ole Miss game was definitely, I was like, ‘Damn, we can definitely do something this year.’”
How weird was this season with all of the COVID protocols?
“Yeah, it was definitely weird during the season, even the short offseason we had toward the end of summer. You try to be a team and try to get to know everybody in that program, but you can’t with COVID. So, team meetings were weird. They were all on Zoom. You don’t see everybody’s faces, or you just see their name on a paper, and you don’t really know who that is in-person, and you just can’t really talk to them like that. We all couldn’t be in the locker room at the same time, so you don’t get that same locker room brotherhood, vibe. And, yeah, just being sectioned off, not getting really to be able to bond with everybody and have that full team feeling.”
How big of a loss is Brian Johnson to the offense?
“I’m not sure how involved he was on a game-planning basis; I wasn’t up in the game-planning meetings. Like I said, Mullen’s going to find the best people to help him out and put the people around him, so I don’t think they’ll miss a beat just from who they all know, and that whole staff’s been together since before the ’06, ’08 championships. So, they all know what to expect and what to do. I don’t think it’ll be a big loss.”
How frustrating was it for the offense to put as many points and yards as it did and the defense letting you down in a couple of games?
“I mean, yeah, it’s frustrating just because we’re doing our stuff and they’re doing their stuff. But, I mean, at the end of the day, yeah, you can blame it on them, but there’s also things we did wrong or we could’ve done better. We’re all a team. You can’t point fingers at each other. It’ll just tear everybody down. If after Texas A&M, if we would’ve done that, I don’t think we would’ve ended up where we ended up. And then just kind of even looking at the Georgia game, we were down how many ever in the first quarter, and we knew that they would get a stop and we would score. So, it was a little frustrating, but you can’t do nothing about it. You can just control what you can control.”