Our championship week coverage continues as our Gator Country podcast is joined by Marq Burnett from the Anniston Star to preview the Florida Gators vs. Alabama Crimson Tide in Atlanta on Saturday afternoon.
Andrew Spivey and Nick de la Torre ask Burnett the tough questions about the game this coming week, plus ask him what match-ups he’s most interested in this weekend.
Andrew and Nick break down the game a little more in-depth, plus they talk about the quarterback recruiting of Feleipe Franks, Jacob Eason, Dwayne Haskins and Kyle Trask.
TRANSCRIPT:
Andrew: What’s up, Gator Country? This is your man, Andrew Spivey, and of course I’ve got to be joined by my minion, Nicholas de la Torre. Nicholas, say hello to the people, since you’re back.
Nick: What is going on everybody? Glad to be back. Three days in a row for me, since I joined the ‘cruiting podcast, and I have a feeling I’ll be on that ‘cruiting podcast more often too.
Andrew: Gross. It’s always bothering me. Always up in my business. I feel like you’re all up in my feelings and everything else, Nicholas.
Nick: I feel like your words hurt, and you don’t know how much they hurt.
Andrew: They do? All right, Dan Thompson. I’m talking about Dan. Dan and I made up last night.
Nick: Finally. I felt like mom and dad were fighting at the dinner table. Sitting there all kinds of awkward. Shovel food around my plate until the argument was over.
Andrew: There you go. You were hiding in the closet waiting on it to be over with. It’s all good. We’re good. This week is dad and son kind of going at it a little bit. Nick Saban, Jim McElwain. That brings me to our guest today. We’re going to be joined by a good guest of ours, Marq Burnett. He’s the Alabama beat writer for the Anniston Star. He’s going to join us in just a second. He’s going to break down this game. I think from talking to him a little bit off air he thinks this game’s going to be a little closer than most of us think. He likes that Gators defense.
Nick: I think when you look at it nobody’s saying Alabama’s going to run up on Florida, and their offense is going to score 60 points. Nobody thinks Derrick Henry is going to run for 300 yards, and Coker’s going to throw for 300 yards. It’s just how does Florida score any points? Is there a one point play that maybe we can work out for this weekend? How does Florida score? It’s kind of like if Alabama’s defense can get a safety they might win 2-0.
Andrew: It’s possible.
Nick: I don’t think anyone’s really looking down on Florida’s defense against Alabama’s offense. I think it’s Florida’s offense. What can they do against that defense?
Andrew: Before we go to Marq, I have this question for you. What does the Gators need to score on offense to win this game?
Nick: If I’m Florida, best case scenario I would say 17.
Andrew: You think they need 17?
Nick: 15, maybe you can hold Alabama to 14 points. Maybe you can get 15 points somehow.
Andrew: I was going to say if Florida can find a way, well 17 is about right. I think if Florida got 17 this defense would be like, what the hell? Where did this come from? It could be. Who knows? It could be. This defense gets 17 points. If this offense could score on the first drive and get Florida 7-0, you could see a good football game.
Nick: Tennessee somehow held Alabama to 19 points, but other than that Alabama, their next lowest total would be 27 in a 27-14 win over Arkansas. I don’t know if, this will be the best defense that Alabama faces, but we talked to Joey Ivie on Tuesday, and he said, “I think our defense at some point in the FSU game kind of started to look up, see the scoreboard, and lost hope a little bit.” Unless Florida can get ahead of Alabama early, and we said it all year long, Florida’s defense can play, pin their ears back and really play, when the offense is able to give them a lead. The offense hasn’t been able to give them a lead for a while now.
Andrew: That’s what I’m saying. What happens if the first play of the game, Florida’s going to take the ball. Florida’s getting the ball first. It doesn’t matter what happens. If Saban wins the toss he’s kicking. If Florida wins the toss, they’re receiving. I say that, does Mac change his plan now?
Nick: No. I think it’s not so much a plan as what he is.
Andrew: That’s true.
Nick: That’s who he is. He will always, doesn’t matter who’s his quarterback, he will always elect to receive if he wins the toss.
Andrew: We’ll see. Let’s go to Marq real quick and hear Marq’s thoughts. Then we can carry on with our thoughts. Let’s hear from somebody on that Alabama beat real quick, Nicholas.
Welcome back, Gator Country. We have Marq Burnett, the Alabama beat writer for the Anniston Star. Marq gets to cover the Crimson Tide every week. Marq, how are you doing? Thank you so much for joining us.
S3 Thanks for having me.
Andrew: I guess, this game kind of doesn’t have the hype that a lot of games do, because Florida’s offensive struggles. What is your take on this game? Do you sense it’s a big game for Alabama? Are they taking this game lightly?
S3 I definitely think they’re taking this game seriously. Obviously you don’t know what can happen in that championship type environment. Florida’s a solid team, especially on the defensive side of the ball. I think Florida’s going to make it tough for Alabama’s offense. Like you mentioned, Florida’s offense is struggling so much I think that’s where this game is probably going to be decided. I don’t know how Florida’s going to be able to consistently move the ball. In terms of the team and Nick Saban, I think they’re taking the game seriously.
Andrew: Right. Florida is a team that’s really good against the rushing attack and has faced some good backs this year, Leonard Fournette, Dalvin Cook, and Jalen Hurd, those guys. What happens to Alabama if Florida is able to shut the running game down? Does Alabama have enough confidence in Coker to win the game with his arm, or does Alabama struggle if the running game’s shut down?
S3 I think they have enough confidence in Coker to play well and move the ball through the air. I think the biggest key for Alabama is going to be Coker loosening up Florida’s run defense. He’s going to have to make a few plays down the field, so that Florida’s secondary has to be honest, and they can’t consistently put eight or nine in the box. I think if Coker can make a few long balls to Ridley, to Calvin Ridley or ArDarius Stewart, then I think that’s going to loosen up Florida’s defense and create a few holes for Henry.
Andrew: Henry hasn’t been stopped all year. I guess, you’ve been able to see him. Is there a way to stop Derrick Henry? Is it simply just a don’t let him run for 80, maybe stop him for 5? Is that kind of the approach you would take if you were going up against Derrick Henry?
S3 The only real way to stop him is if you can hit him in the back field. I know that sounds easy enough, but he’s one of those guys, he’s a long strider. Once he gets going more than likely he’s going to follow it forward for 5 yards a carry, just ‘cause he’s so big. If you hit him in the back field it kind of throws off that long stride, and you can kind of hold him in check a little bit. That’s what Arkansas was able to do for much of the game, just kept beating Alabama’s offensive line and getting hits on Henry in the back field. I think they probably had the most success of anyone this season in terms of holding him somewhat in check. Still, once he gets to that second level, he’s a big guy, but he’s really fast and defensive backs consistently underestimate his speed. He’s able to run past some of those guys. If Florida can get some hits on him in the back field, they could probably contain him, but he’s got such a big capability I think he’ll be fine on Saturday.
Andrew: Arkansas kind of had the most success I would say against this Alabama offense. Correct me if I’m wrong, but that was the lowest amount of points they scored all year in 27. Excuse me, I think they had 19 against Tennessee, but what was it that Arkansas did? Did they do anything differently, or was it simply they just made more plays in the back field?
S3 I thought they did a good job of refusing Alabama’s offensive line for the most part up front, and that allowed them to make some hits in the back field on Henry. Like I said, if you can get him in the back field before he gets to going, then you can have some success on him. The key is consistently doing that, because he’s one of those guys who sort of gets stronger as the game goes on, where most of the time defenses are wearing down. If they can get some hits on him in the back field consistently then maybe they can have some success against him.
Andrew: Defensively Alabama has one of the best front sevens in the country. I think it would be one or two between Alabama and Florida. Ole Miss has success throwing the ball. Is that what you have to do against this Alabama defense is throw the ball? Are they still suspect to the quarterback getting out on the perimeter a little bit? Is that still a suspect? Is there something this Alabama defense struggles with?
S3 The one thing I would say, pretty much every team struggles with the dual threat quarterback. That’s kind of the point of having one is that when everything breaks down that guy has that element to be able to make something happen out of nothing. I think Alabama’s done well for the most part. They kept Josh Dobbs contained for the most part in that game against Tennessee. Also did a good job of sacking Dak Prescott, who’s one of the best quarterbacks in the country. I think they’ll be fine in terms of keeping Harris in the pocket and keeping him contained.
One thing, if you were going to attack this Alabama defense I’d say you have to put the ball in the air. Try to get a receiver or two matched up on one of their safeties. Simply because I don’t think you’re going to be able to run it straight at them, but if you want to have some success their safeties early in the season gave up a couple plays in the passing game. I think they’ve improved in that area so far.
Andrew: Special teams seems to be a little better for Alabama this year as well. Is that something that you see as an improvement? Griffin has done better this year. What is Alabama as far as return game wise? Are they allowing a lot of returns, and then vice versa, are they getting a lot of returns? Is that weakness for Alabama this year?
S3 I’m pretty sure Christian Kirk has the only return touchdown against Alabama this season. He has one when they played Texas A&M, but for the most part they’ve been pretty good in the return game. They got a lot of speed guys on that side of the ball. They’ve been able to keep the kick returns contained. Cyrus Jones had a big couple weeks there against Mississippi State and then against, I think it was Charleston Southern. He had three punt returns in two games. I think they’re getting better in that area. They lost Kenyan Drake in the kick return game, but freshman Damien Harris has been doing a solid job. I think they’re fine in that area.
Andrew: We talked about that. What in your opinion is the key matchups for this weekend’s game? If you were asking me it would probably be how well Florida’s offensive line locks that front seven, but vice versa, how well do you think that offensive line will hold up against Florida’s defensive line? Is that a matchup you’re watching for?
S3 I think the biggest matchup for me is going to be Alabama’s offensive line and blocking schemes against Florida’s defensive front. I think that’s probably going to be the matchup that decides the game. I think if you’re looking at it from an objective standpoint I think Alabama has the advantage in a lot of areas, but I think Florida could make things interesting if they can consistently beat out Alabama’s offensive line and get pressure on Coker and also gets Derrick Henry in the back field.
Andrew: Last thing. What do you see this game being? Do you see this game turning into a blowout for Alabama? Do you think this game stays close for the majority of the game? What is your thinking on that line?
S3 If Alabama comes out and plays to their potential I think this one could turn into a 10-14 game, simply because I just don’t know how Florida’s going to be able to consistently move the ball on offense and also put the ball in the end zone. I think as long as Alabama doesn’t give the ball away with turnovers I think they should be able to win this one by 10 or 14 points.
Andrew: Right. Last question I have is you’ve been around Coach Mac a little bit. What’s the impression of Coach McElwain? How respected is he really at Alabama? Do you have any thoughts on him as well from your time when he was at Alabama?
S3 He’s definitely respected. I think of lot of people around the community and around the program really liked him because of how he went about his business. He just was one of those guys who was really good at playing to the strength of his team. Looking back at those Alabama teams during the years he was here, and he also helped with two national championships. He helped Mark Ingram to a Heisman. I think a lot of people still respect him. I think a lot of people wouldn’t have been upset had he became the coach once Nick Saban left. I think he’s definitely a guy that’s high on Alabama’s radar. I remember being around him a little bit. He’s sort of funny guy, got a really good sense of humor. I think he’s going to be a great one for Florida going forward.
Andrew: Definitely. Marq, we appreciate it so much. Tell everyone where they can follow you for Alabama coverage this week and for national championship if they make it that way.
S3 Read all my work at the AnnistonStar.com. You can follow me on Twitter @Marq_Burnett.
Andrew: Marq, we really appreciate you joining us at the last second. We’ll hope to see you in Atlanta this week.
S3 Thanks, man.
Andrew: Nick, we just got through talking with Marq. Marq had some good stuff. I guess, what do you think when he says that this is going to be the best defensive line that Alabama goes against this weekend?
Nick: I think so. Alabama did go up against Ole Miss, but when healthy you probably stack Florida right up there with Alabama as top defensive lines in the entire country. I think we said it in the intro, this will be Alabama’s biggest test as far as what their offense is going up against facing Florida’s defense. To me it’s not how does Coker handle it, sure. Alabama’s got road graders, and we talked about that yesterday. Alabama’s got road graders all over the field on the offensive line. Those are guys that there’s not really any defensive lineman that enjoys going up against them. Guys that can wear you down, and then Derrick Henry’s a guy that wears you down. That’s what Alabama’s built to do. Alabama’s offense is built to wear down defenses, where in the 3rd quarter, in the 4th quarter you start thinking do I really want to do this? I’m tired of going up against this 330 pound hog at right guard, and then the linebackers are thinking, I’m still sore from the last time Derrick Henry hit me.
Andrew: Right, but doesn’t that go back to the factor of if Florida’s in this ballgame in the 3rd quarter, they come out of half time, and let’s say it’s 10-3. Don’t ask me how Florida kicks a field goal. Don’t ask me. Let’s say it’s 10-3 coming out of the half.
Nick: We’re already in a fantasy world of a place where Gainesville…
Andrew: Let’s say it’s 10-0 at half time. Florida come out. Are you telling me, I think the defense plays harder if it’s that. If it goes into half time, and it’s 27-0.
Nick: I don’t see Florida giving up 27 in the first half, but 10-0 can mean a lot of different things. At this point even if it looks like the offense is moving the ball, that means they’ve probably gotten down into the red zone, maybe missed a field goal, maybe not gotten something on 4th down. Then you’re starting to think it’s 10-0, but it gets into one of those games where last week the score was close, and it didn’t feel like it was close.
Andrew: No, but the defense played hard all the way to the point where it was the 4th quarter, and basically it was like, you’re down three scores, and you may get two possessions. Then that’s when the defense kind of slouched down a little bit. That’s why I don’t expect that to be going on. The one interesting thing though that Marq talked about, and that’s what I wanted to ask you about as well. He was talking about the struggle against the moving quarterback, the mobile quarterback. He said it’s something Alabama’s gotten better at, but he said it’s something that Saban’s teams usually struggle with. Coach Mac on Monday made it seem very much like he had a plan together. He went on to say that basically he’s let Treon down by putting too much on his plate. I will say that does kind of sound cliché of what Will Muschamp used to say, but do you think that it’s something that maybe comes out Saturday, and you do see Treon run a ball a little bit, maybe go to a little bit of zone read?
Nick: Yeah. McElwain really talked about, kind of went in depth about you can’t do what you’ve been doing against Alabama. They’re ready for that. You have to do something that they haven’t seen on film. The problem is Alabama has so much support staff that they’ve got guys watching Treon Harris’ sophomore Booker T highlights. They’ve seen him run. They’ve seen him do a read option. They haven’t seen him do it at Florida that much, but you bet they’ll be ready for it if it comes.
Andrew: Yeah. You would think they would be. My thing is it’s a couple things. Even if they are ready for, Treon Harris, as bad as he is at quarterback, he’s a pretty good runner. We’ll see. I don’t know. I really have mixed emotions about it. Fee Bartley and I were talking about this this afternoon. It is what it is. You don’t want nobody to get hurt, but Treon, let’s just say Treon sprains his ankle in the 1st quarter by running the ball. If that’s the opportunity that gives you the best chance to win, you have to take it. Florida’s not playing for another month. Maybe not a month, maybe three weeks if they go to Atlanta and play in the Peach Bowl. They’re still not playing for three weeks. Even if it is the bowl game, if you have to go with Josh Grady in the bowl game, so be it. It’s not the national championship. This is the SEC championship. If you can find a way to win a game, win the game.
Nick: This is Florida’s championship. Losing to FSU last week eliminated them from the college football playoffs. This is their championship. This is not Alabama’s championship. This is another game on the road. Alabama is still in a national title hunt, so this is not Alabama’s championship. This is not their end goal. Florida will play in a bowl game, but they’re not playing for a national championship this year, because they didn’t get the job done last week. This is their national championship. You don’t hold anything back. I wrote about it, a story went out on Tuesday. McElwain admitted, we probably haven’t used him how we should or how we could. That’s because you had something to play for. Now this is what you’ve built up towards. You’re not going to get to the ultimate goal of the national championship this year. This is your championship game. You don’t hold anything back. If you can do it, you do it.
Andrew: That’s my thing as well. If the best opportunity for the Florida Gators to win a football game on Saturday is them running Treon Harris, which I think it is, then go for it. I’m at the point where if it means running that 2 minute offense with absolutely no game plan whatsoever, the offense looking like a Pop Warner football team, if that’s what makes you move the football, you got to do that. As sad as it is to say, if that’s what you have to do, if you have to dink and dunk your way down the field to score, you’re going to have to do it.
Marq hit on this a second ago. The way to beat Alabama is to go against their safeties and their corners who are weaker than normal. That’s the way it’s going to have to be. You’re going to have to get a Kelvin Taylor or a Brandon Powell on their safeties and go for it. Marlin Humphrey’s a young guy at corner. You’re going to have to go with those guys and see what’s up with it. That’s going to be the way it’s going to be done. Florida’s not going to pound the football against this team. Kelvin Taylor’s going to get his yards, because Kelvin Taylor is going to fight for them, but he’s not getting 100 yards against this defense unless the offense is able to pass the ball a little bit.
Nick: Can they do that? That’s really the big question. I don’t see it.
Andrew: Treon Harris against FSU cannot. Treon Harris that played last year some, or played, and I know it’s New Mexico State, but the Treon Harris that played earlier in the season, Treon Harris that played last year, was a better quarterback than the last three games of Treon Harris. Whatever Treon’s doing or whatever he needs to get lost with that crap.
Nick: Alabama’s given up 100 yards rushing twice. They gave up 193 to Georgia back in October.
Andrew: 85 of those was on one play.
Nick: Yeah. They gave up 132 to Tennessee. The Tennessee was by sheer force. That was almost 40 carries for those 132 yards.
Andrew: A lot of that was Josh Dobbs, if I remember correctly.
Nick: Yeah. That 3.38 yard per carry is not very impressive. They’ve only given up six rushing touchdowns on the year as well. It’s very tough to run on Alabama, especially if you’re not going to be getting a contribution, at least something from the passing game that makes Alabama stay sort of honest. I don’t think you’ll get that.
Andrew: We’ll see. I’ll say this. If this was Will Muschamp coaching this team I’d say no. This is a guy that actually understands offense, so we’ll see. Big news on Monday night was Jacob Eason. #1 quarterback in the country by a lot of people is going to Gainesville for an official visit. We’re taping this on Tuesday night. He hadn’t arrived as of this moment, but he’s heading that way. Interesting, because they get Feleipe Franks’ commitment, then they’re still looking. Nick, I’m at the opinion of this, Feleipe Franks hasn’t signed. You can I both believe Feleipe Franks is not playing as a true freshman. He needs to redshirt. If Jacob Eason wants to be a Florida Gator, you tell Trask, you tell Franks, you tell whoever he’s coming, and you can compete with him.
Nick: Get with the program or get out. That’s what you tell them. When it comes to these quarterbacks a lot of times you’re splitting hairs, and I’m talking not about Franks or Trask. I’m talking about Shay Patterson, who’s committed to Ole Miss, or is it Alabama?
Andrew: Ole Miss.
Nick: Shay Patterson, who’s committed to Ole Miss, and Jacob Eason those are the #1, #2 quarterbacks in the country this class. If one of the top two quarterbacks calls you and says, “Coach, I’d like to come visit your school.” Come on down, bud. Absolutely. I don’t care if I have seven quarterbacks signed up in this class. Come on down.
Andrew: This is my thing. Let’s just say Treon Harris goes to a spread team. I think you and I pretty much agree that we think it’s a possibility he leaves. Grier’s MIA for the next six games. So next year you have Luke del Rio. That’s it.
Nick: That’s it. Luke del Rio, Jacob Guy.
Andrew: Jacob Guy is not even in the discussion. You have Luke del Rio.
Nick: He would be your backup at that point.
Andrew: No. Your backup is whoever comes in this class.
Nick: Not Franks.
Andrew: If it comes down to Feleipe Franks or Jacob Guy playing I think Feleipe Franks is playing. That’s just me. I believe in nothing Jacob Guy does that makes me believe that, no. My thing is this. Let’s say Florida gets a guy like Trask. He’s coming in. He’s an early enrollee. Doug Nussmeyer loves Kyle Trask. He may not be starting for his high school team. He could be starting pretty much any other high school, but he is a guy from that community in Texas. He’s 6’6”, got all the mechanics. He’s worked out for Nussmeyer and McElwain twice, and they loved him both times. I think he’s going to be a player in a year or two, but if you get a guy like Eason, Eason can compete with del Rio for the starting job next year. Whoever loses is your backup, and you’re okay. Either one of those guys next year you’re okay with them playing. Right now you’re not okay with Treon playing. To me it’s okay to take both of those guys. If Feleipe Franks wants to stay, tell him to stay. Who cares?
Nick: Listen, if you’ve been in this class, I don’t know if Florida has accepted the commitment. He tweeted it, but none of the normal, typical confirmation. You’ve maybe been in this class for 48 hours, and now you’re going to tell a reporter that it’s not good that Florida’s bringing somebody else in. Find somewhere else. If you don’t want to compete, and you want it handed to you, then find somewhere else to play. I think that’s kind of the mentality the coaching staff would take too. Listen, when you have a chance to make your football team better, Jacob Eason makes your football team better. You don’t pass that up.
Andrew: Right. This is my thing. Feleipe Franks is a good kid. Let me not make this a personal deal. He’s hosting Les Miles on Tuesday night at his house. Les Miles is a damn good football coach, and he’s a good recruiter for a reason. Who’s to say he doesn’t get in Feleipe’s mind to come back to LSU. I don’t think it’s possible. Then Florida’s sitting with just one quarterback. As much as I think Kyle Trask is going to be a good football player, Florida has to have two for depth purposes in this class. My way of looking at it is, you look, we look. Florida’s looking. Feleipe’s looking. So be it. We’ll see what happens at the end of the day. If Jacob Eason doesn’t go, and Feleipe Franks still wants in the class, fine. If Eason comes and Feleipe still wants in the class, fine. It is what it is. You look, we look. That’s the mode everyone should take, and Jim McElwain sure as hell is taking that approach.
Nick: I can’t remember who said it to us. I think it was Randy Shannon. Randy Shannon said, “If you’re committed, and you’re still going on visits and still talking to other people, that’s like being in a relationship and talking to other girls.” Coach Shannon said, “If you’re committed to us, and you’re talking to other schools, just know that we will also be talking to other players at your position.”
Andrew: The only thing I’ll say about this is I’ve heard that statement a lot, but every one of Randy Shannon’s commits are doing exactly that.
Nick: It’s still recruiting.
Andrew: It is. It’s still recruiting.
Nick: Here’s the thing. You’re looking at this. You’re looking at I got to get this kid on campus. I’m all for it. Recruits, flex those muscles, because as soon as you sign that scholarship you have no power. Zero power. While you can, exploit the power that you have.
Andrew: Here’s the thing. I’ll say this. I know I am the biggest opponent of if you’re visiting a campus there’s a good shot, a very good shot at it, but some of these kids just really want to go on visits. Honestly, they’re kids that have either grown up in a household that can’t afford these visits, or are simply kids that haven’t left the state and just want to go on visits. Some of that’s fine. Some of it’s not fine.
In the case of these quarterbacks though a quarterback is the most important piece, and usually there’s only one or two of them in the class. If Florida waits around on Feleipe Franks to decide he’s going to flip back to LSU at the last minute, they tell Jacob Eason to stick it, he’s going to go play for your rival, and you’re facing him for four years, three years. No thank you. Mac’s not stupid. He knows he needs a quarterback, and that’s exactly what he’s doing.
Nick: That’s where it is. I don’t think there’s room for three quarterbacks in this class.
Andrew: I don’t think so either.
Nick: Florida has so many. They can take a huge class this year. I think we’ve both talked about upwards of 32, that’s probably the max. That’s a gigantic recruiting class of a bunch of kids that I won’t be able to talk to next year. That’s a huge recruiting class. There’s a lot of needs to fill, and you need two quarterbacks. I don’t think you can make room for three.
Andrew: No. I don’t think you can. I don’t think it happens. I’m just saying that you deal with that situation after. If a guy like Jacob Eason wants in the class, you take him. You hear this term all the time, and it’s only for a select few kids, but there’s a few kids that no matter if they want in or not you find room for them. In this class there’s a couple guys. Nate Craig-Myers, Benjamin Victor, Jacob Eason, Dexter Lawrence, Shavar Manuel, a couple guys that are like that that are difference makers in your program. When I say that it means once those guys step on foot your program is better today than it was yesterday. I think we both can agree if Jacob Eason steps on the Gainesville campus on January 3rd, the Florida Gators are a better football team than they were January 2nd.
Nick: Yeah. Of the three quarterbacks that we’re talking about, Jacob Eason’s the only one that has a chance to help you out during that time where Will Grier would be suspended.
Andrew: That’s exactly right.
Nick: That’s it. Trask is a redshirt. Feleipe’s a redshirt. Eason is the only one that would be abel to come in and play during those six games.
Andrew: Yeah. That’s exactly right. Like I said, it is what it is. It’ll figure its way out. It’s interesting. I don’t know. I think that if you’re Mac you go for it. You have to. I had this conversation today, and I had it with a couple of former players. I said, “When is the last time the Florida Gators had a quarterback that was feared?” We both said Tim Tebow. The Florida Gators should not have that many years go by. Tim Tebow graduated 2010?
Nick: Yeah. He graduated 2009. He played in the 2010 Sugar Bowl.
Andrew: Right. So Florida hasn’t had a quarterback that has been feared in six years now. That’s too long. It’s time to get feared again. That goes with that. We’ll see. One thing positive news out of Florida.
Nick: Real quick, I think Will Grier was on his way to that with the way he was moving the offense in the 4 minute, in the 2 minute, and the way he was handling pressure situations late. I think he was moving towards that before the suspension.
Andrew: I do too, but that’s another what if.
Nick: It’s still early. He was still young. Only a redshirt freshman. He played six games. Still a lot to consider there.
Andrew: Right. I thought he was going to be a guy that was going to end up being really good, and here’s the thing. I don’t think it’s over with at all for Will. I think it’s going to be very tough for him to earn his spot back, but you never know. If a guy like Luke del Rio wins the job, and let’s just say they don’t get Eason. It’s Luke del Rio and Feleipe Franks in the class as quarterbacks, who’s to say that a guy like del Rio doesn’t stink it up, and Grier shows all year that he’s better in practice, and he gets the job. It’s a lot of what ifs, but it’s a what if for a reason.
Nick: Yeah. To me, I don’t think if Florida sticks a no next year, and that’s a big if. I know LSU is in that mix there. It’s hey, Will, sorry. You’re going to ride the bench. I think it’s an open competition when he comes back, no matter what Florida’s record is.
Andrew: It depends. If a guy like del Rio, what happens if del Rio’s putting up Heisman Trophy numbers?
Nick: We’re talking about a kid who’s at his third school, because he wasn’t starting at the first two.
Andrew: What I’m saying is we can’t realistically say that it’s going to be an open competition and know that. Real quick to my next point, good news Florida is UCF has officially got their coach, not the one that other people reported, but Scott Frost from Oregon. That means Geoff Collins and Randy Shannon are likely staying around. That’s great news for Florida to have some continuity in their coaching staff.
Nick: Yeah. Despite reports, a reporter who covers Oregon wrote a column on Tuesday saying that today was a bad day for Oregon. That’s my school, UCF. That’s where I went. Good for them. I know my buddy, who is a manager at the Basement, is looking forward to a win. Their tired of giving away beer for free. Maybe coach Frost will help the Knights get a win.
Andrew: Let me ask you this. I have a point that I want to make, but I want to get your take first. What do you make of the hire?
Nick: Honestly, I don’t know a ton about Coach Frost. I’m a little busy this week. I just read one story, and that was the writer in Oregon who covers the Ducks talking about how it was a big loss for them, a big loss for Oregon. I don’t really know how he’ll do as a head coach. If he wants to run that kind of Oregon spread that’s predicated on speed there’s plenty of speed that Florida, Florida State, and Miami can’t take. Frankly, there’s speed that might rather go to UCF right now than go to Miami. If that’s what he’s looking for, then yeah.
Andrew: That’s what I was going to say. You’re going to get those second tier guys that maybe just aren’t good enough to be Florida caliber, and there’s a lot of talent there that I think could go to UCF and run that spread offense and be a really good team there with that. That’s kind of what the Bulls are doing at South Florida right now at USF. They won eight ballgames this year and were up for the American Conference title game, but lost out to Temple on that. They did well.
Nick: Yeah. That’s probably, a lot of these kids end up going to Louisville or going to Michigan State, going to smaller schools outside. If UCF can just shut down the state and say, “Stay home. Stay close to home. I know you probably wanted to go to one of the big three schools, but we’re building something here. We have a Fiesta Bowl win. We have a big time bowl win. Come here, and help us get back to that. Help us make UCF the next Florida or Florida State or Miami.” Maybe take one of their spots. Florida seems to be on the up and up. I think Florida State will continue to be a good team, as long as Jimbo Fisher is there. Who knows who Miami’s going to hire? It’s becoming increasingly harder and harder to sell Miami to recruits, because the facilities are trash.
Andrew: They have one fan.
Nick: He’s a very loyal fan who shows up.
Andrew: If they get Mark Richt it’s going to even be a bigger joke.
Nick: It’s really just tough to sell. Everyone talks about going to the arms race with facilities and stuff. Miami’s facilities, people complain about Florida’s. I don’t know what Florida fans, if they were Miami fans, I don’t know what they would say about Miami’s facilities. They are awful. I remember a couple years ago going down to get my credential on campus, and watching them pack up busses full of football gear, because they have to bus to their home game. It’s a 35 minute bus ride for Miami to get to their home game to play in front of that fan.
Andrew: Exactly. That’s what I was going to say. It’s a think where I don’t know. It’s tough. We’ll see.
Nick: UCF’s in a great area. Orlando’s a great area, right in the middle of the state. You can get kids to stay at home. It’s I think right up there with Arizona State as either the biggest school undergrad wise or the second biggest school in the entire country. Those are kids who grew up Florida fans, Florida State fans, but there’s a lot of pride. I think if you put a good football team out at UCF there would be a lot of pride school wise. I can maybe even see them taking over Miami. I’ll go there. Maybe Chad Wilson might yell at me. That’s his alma mater.
Andrew: I think you’re a moron. I think you’re stupid. One thing is for sure. I won’t be a Miami fan if they hire Mark Richt.
Nick: You won’t be throwing up the U then.
Andrew: I won’t be throwing up no U. We’ll see. Real quick, Nick, a couple big things. Going to have a lot more championship coverage this week. FSU and all the other schools around the country for the majority are just dealing with recruiting. We get to deal with both. One quick note, big thanks to everybody for listening to the podcast. Nick and I hit a big milestone, over 40,000 downloads last month for our podcast. That was the best we’ve had. Big thanks to you guys. Nick and I definitely appreciate that.
Nick: Yeah. Maybe we’ll even open up. You want to do some advertising? Maybe Andrew. You don’t want me to read it, but you want Andrew to read it in his Alabama twang. You can hit us up.
Andrew: As long as it says the goat.
Nick: Maybe a goat farmer will want to advertise on the Gator Country podcast.
Andrew: Texas forever, Nick.
Nick: Let’s touch God tonight.
Andrew: That’s right. For real, a couple real things real quick. If you haven’t taken advantage of our Black Friday special on GatorCountry.com make sure to do that. Really a lot of people are joining. Recruiting news is bumping. Football news is bumping. Baseball and softball are right around the corner. If you don’t know, there ain’t no place to find that news but on Gator Country. Basketball will be bumping again, and recruiting will be going all the way through February. Take advantage of that deal and come hang out with Nick and I for a long time.
Nick: Florida, Perfect Game just came out with their baseball, their top 150 prospects, and Florida had AJ Puckett #1, Buddy Reid at #3, Logan Shore at #8. Baseball America came out with their rankings on Tuesday, and it was Puck, 1, Reid, 2, and Shore, 6. Florida is stacked. They’re going to preseason #1. I really think getting to Omaha is already done. I think that’s in the bag. They’re that talented. Maybe this is the year they get their first championship. I know I’m going to have a lot of fun covering that football, baseball team. It’s been a long week already. That baseball team this spring.
Andrew: Yeah.
Nick: Looking forward to that.
Andrew: You know about my softball girls. It’s dynasty going for three-peat, Nicholas.
Nick: Man, you give me so much crap about them.
Andrew: Are they good or what?
Nick: They’re great.
Andrew: That’s right. Nicholas, tell everybody where they can find us, and let’s get out of here and keep moving along to Atlanta.
Nick: Let’s do it. You know it. It’s NickdelaTorreGC on Twitter, GatorCountry on Twitter, AndrewSpiveyGC on Twitter. As always, TheGatorCountry on Instagram. Www.GatorCountry.com. Take advantage of that Black Friday special. Maybe gift it. Gift a membership to mom or to dad, to sister, brother. Be a good son, be a good daughter. That’s all I got. We will be back on Friday with previews, predictions, maybe Andrew will shock the world and pick Florida. Maybe not.
Andrew: You never know. The goat will let you know on Friday. Nick and I will be in Hotlanta. A lot of good things. Got open practice. We get to see a little bit of practice, first 15 minutes of Bama and the Gators. Also get Saban and Coach Mac there. I think Nick and I are also planning to check out a little SEC Fanfare and know a couple people in chat said they wanted to eat dinner on Friday. Hit us up. Nick and I, we’re pretty down for whatever, as long as it involves having a little fun and relaxing. We’re pretty much down for that.
Nick: I love it. We’ll be downtown, but we can move around. We’ve got a little thread going up on the site. If you’re on the site shout in there where you want to go. We look forward to seeing you guys in Hotlanta. Go Marlins. As always, you stay classy, Gator Country.
Andrew: That’s right. Go Braves. Chomp, chomp.