Florida Gators: Senior Spotlight Chaz Green

By Jenna Ladd

Chaz Green, No. 75, has become a vital role model and team leader for the Gators in his time playing for Florida as an offensive lineman.

Green chose Florida over Georgia, Ohio State, Tennessee and USC when he graduated from Tampa Catholic. When he was at Catholic he helped lead their team to 2009 Florida 2B Runner-Up finish and a record of 11-2. Not only did he help win titles for his team, but he also was a crucial blocker for his team that rushed over 3,000 yards in 2009 alone. With such a successful high school record, it was no surprise that Rivals.com rated Green the No. 6 offensive lineman in the nation and that he was named a four-star prospect.

In his first season for the Gators in 2010, Green dressed for each of the games but did not see any action and was redshirted. However, in his 2011 season he began to see some action when he started and appeared in nine games. From his performance in these games he was named a 2011 Freshman All-American and named to the SEC All-Freshman team. Sadly, Green missed matchups against Georgia, Vanderbilt, South Carolina and Furman due to an injury.

Coming off an injury is rough for any athlete, but Green came back in his 2012 season where he played in 11 games, with 10 of those games being starts. He did miss the Tennessee and Kentucky games due to a slight injury, but did bounce back and finish out the season including the Sugar Bowl. In Green’s final four games of the regular 2012 season he graded out 80 percent or higher.

The success of 2012 came to a halt for Green when he became injured during August camp and had to miss all games of the Gators 2013 season. Head coach Will Muschamp was disappointed to lose Green for the 2013 season saying, “Chaz was playing his best football, he was playing extremely well.  He certainly solidified himself at the right tackle spot, so disappointing news as far as that’s concerned…”

However, even with an injury-riddled resume, Green has always held a place of leadership for the team. The 6’5’ 310-pound lineman has been consistently identified by Offensive Coordinator Kurt Roper as a leader on the offense that’s putting his best work in every day. This work ethic may have been why Green was named to the third-team offensive line for the All-SEC Team in 2014, despite sitting out all of the 2013 season.

In Green’s 2014 senior season, he was sad to be informed that Coach Muschamp would be leaving the Gators as well. “It was very saddening,” senior right tackle Green said. “We feel like we lost somewhat of a father figure, a good mentor. He’s taught us a lot about life in general and the game of football. I think it’s a tough time for all of us as players.” However, Green, along with the rest of the Florida Gators football team will continue to fight and finish out this season’s final two games against Eastern Kentucky and Florida State.