Even in a loss, Gillislee plays well

DELAND– Mike Gillislee’s calm off-the-field demeanor doesn’t translate to the football field. Soft-spoken and well mannered off the field, he plays with intensity and attitude when he straps on his helmet. Defenders better brace themselves because he’s packing a load.

Gillislee is a talented, 6-1, 190-pounder that could be the center of arguments on the Florida coaching staff next year. There is no question he’s athletic enough to play a number of positions. Friday night against DeLand, he played tailback against a Sanford Seminole defense geared to stop him. On those rare occasions when Gillislee got outside the tackle box he was able to show that he’s got what it takes to run the ball at the next level.

Early in the third quarter, Gillislee took a handoff and headed immediately towards the right sideline. As he made his way to the sideline a hole opened and he cut back to his left. A few more precision cuts and he found himself in the end zone with DeLand’s only touchdown of the night.

DeLand’s offense is vastly improved on the heels of an 0-10 2007 season. The problem is that the Bulldogs have played back-to-back games against state powerhouses Mainland and Seminole. The losses indicate there is work to be done, but it’s still quite obvious that DeLand has improved.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do,” Gillislee said. “The offensive line and us running backs have some things to improve on.”

Gillislee doesn’t have to shoulder all the load for the Bulldogs. He gets help from talented, explosive Deonte Saunders, who won’t be ready to make the leap to college football until 2011.

“It takes a lot of pressure of me and most teams can’t just focus on trying to shut me down,” Gillislee said.

Gillislee and his Deland teammates knew beforehand that Florida head coach Urban Meyer would be in attendance for at least the first half of their game. Knowing Meyer would be there made Gillislee more determined to make a good showing for his future mentor.

Gillislee has a good relationship going with Meyer, but he often talks to Florida defensive coordinator Charlie Strong and running backs coach Kenny Carter.

“We talk about both of our games and what it’s going to be like when I get up there,” Gillislee said. “They ask me a lot about my schoolwork too. Coach Carter tells me to keep running hard. He is cool to talk to. He tells me that he wants to get me up there because he can’t wait to make me better.”

Gillislee’s commitment was already solid as a rock but when he got to The Swamp for the Florida-Miami game last Saturday, he knew he was at the right place. The electricity in the air was a real experience.

“It was a great atmosphere, especially since it was at night,” Gillislee said. “That was my first night college game I’ve ever been to.”

The thought of over 90,000 people screaming for him next season was reason enough for Gillislee. The sting of a loss hurt deeply but he has a great future ahead of him in Gainesville. He really doesn’t care where the Gators play him although he knows he will be somewhere on the offensive side of the ball.

“I like that I’m going to have the option to run and catch the football,” Gillislee said.