Netflix’s four-episode documentary titled ‘Swamp Kings’ released on August 22nd and highlighted Urban Meyer’s Florida teams from 2005-2009, which included two National Championships and a Heisman winner. The documentary dove into the intense program that Meyer ran, in which he claimed was the “hardest program in the country.”
Wide receiver Ricky Pearsall and linebacker Teradja Mitchell spoke to the media on Friday afternoon to give their thoughts on the documentary.
“I think the whole team has watched it,” Mitchell said. “It’s a very exciting documentary, just to see the history of Florida and all that’s been done here in this program, it’s important for us to restore the order and get back to that standard.”
‘Swamp Kings’ featured former Gator linebackers Brandon Spikes and Brandon Siler, who displayed greatness, leadership, and grit during their time at Florida.
“It’s just inspirational,” Mitchell said. “That’s what it comes down to at the end of the day. It’s all inspirational, just seeing the Florida greats, seeing a linebacker great like that, seeing what he does and knowing that you have an opportunity to one day do the same things he’s done. It’s all been inspirational for us.”
Mitchell claims that ‘Swamp Kings’ was motivating for the 2023 Gators.
“The documentary has really just been motivating to the whole team,” Mitchell said. “It’s like, we can go harder, we can go even harder. There’s another step to this thing. It’s really been motivating for the guys.”
“It means everything to us,” Mitchell added. “Just watching the documentary the ‘Swamp Kings,’ it’s a pride to putting on the uniform. We’re just going to go out there and give it our all, and that’s one thing you’re going to see from this defense: We’re going to give it our all.”
Billy Napier’s Gators are looking to get back to Gator standard.
“That’s a standard that’s been set, and it’s important to us as current players to make sure we live up to that standard day in and day out,” Mitchell said.
“It just made me sit back and really think, it’s a blessing to be here at the University of Florida, all the history that comes with it and all the success that they had before. They set that standard,” Pearsall said. “We’re trying to live up to that standard each and every day.”
Pearsall paid close attention to the documentary, watching how Meyer’s teams found their success and taking notes on the process.
“I think the entire time I was watching it I had goosebumps, just watching that show and just seeing how they did it and the success they had with the ways they was doing it,” Pearsall said. “We just want to build off of that. We can use that as motivation. They won the championship, so we want to do that, too, as well. Just take as much notes as possible.”
Florida is looking to improve on their 2022 season where the Gators finished 6-7 after a loss to Oregon State in the Las Vegas Bowl game.