On a walk through the Florida football complex during one of his first days on campus, T.J. Pridemore got a quick lesson in expectations. Behind him, he heard someone call out, “Billy! Billy!” It was an ever so subtle reminder that Billy Latsko set the standard for the fullback position and it’s up to Pridemore to live up to that legacy.
Latsko was 5-10 and 235 very tough pounds, a concrete block in human form. Pridemore is obviously taller (6-3) and his 245 pounds aren’t stretched over a fireplug build but that doesn’t stop folks from saying he bears resemblance to the fullback whose contributions were vital to the 2006 national championship team.
“A lot of the guys say that I look like him,” Pridemore said with a laugh at Friday’s Media Day. “People on campus still think I’m him.”
It’s not an insult. If anything, Pridemore takes it as a sign of respect for all that Latsko accomplished. He also knows that anyone that plays Billy Latsko’s position will be measured by a different standard.
When he came to Florida, Urban Meyer had rarely used a fullback. The combination of Southeastern Conference defenses and the fact that Latsko kept proving he was one one of the best players on the team and deserving of playing time drove Meyer to change the offense to accommodate a fullback. Meyer says Latsko was a guy he had to have on the field. With Latsko in the lineup, the offense was efficient and the rest, as they say, is history.
“One time in the previous five or six years did we ever have a fullback in the offense … ever,” Meyer said Friday. “All of a sudden Billy Latsko was one of our best players. He played in the national championship game and played 65 plays.”
Latsko and Pridemore share a few other things in common. Both have a nasty streak, almost a necessity if you’re going to play fullback. They also have a real desire to excel on every single play. That makes Pridemore a natural to carry on the Latsko legacy.
“I’ve heard a lot about him [Latsko],” Pridemore said. “They are big shoes to fill. Every time one of the coaches talks about him, they always say some great things. He was a tough kid, he was accountable and he always did everything right. He’s a good guy to look up to.”
There are contingency plans if Pridemore and Steven Wilks can’t function efficiently at the fullback position. If they can’t get the job done, the Gators will find a way to change the offense and compensate. It is a complex offense with plenty of weapons. Pridemore knows he has to learn what to do to play the position and he understands what happens if he does not.
“That’s how this offense works,” Pridemore said. “If a guy doesn’t prove himself to be consistent, he won’t be used. If the fullback does what he needs to do, it can be a big position for us. If not, we can run other formations and do it with two tight ends or put a bigger running back in there.”
Pridemore dreams of playing every day and he has high expectations of himself. Wednesday, expectations and dreams met reality head-on. Pridemore’s helmet wasn’t fitting tightly enough and it didn’t take but one hard hit to open up a cut over his right eye. He tried to keep on practicing but he went down with severe cramps. He left the practice field looking like a warrior — a noticeable limp and a bloody, gauze bandage over his right eye.
“It was just one thing after another,” Pridemore said. “Freshman year you try to prove stuff and everything is just coming at you nonstop. You’re the little guy on the pole with coaches and upperclassmen on you. It just seems like everything builds up.”
The first few days of practice have been quite a change from what he was used to in high school in Buford, Georgia. From the moment he stepped on the field in Gainesville, it has been one intense experience after another.
“I just had to catch myself and say that I had to calm down,” Pridemore said. “I can’t worry about getting yelled at or doing the wrong thing because everybody is going to mess up during their first few practices. That’s what I didn’t understand. I’ve just got to relax and play.”
Back in Buford, Pridemore was a linebacker that got some work in at tight end. He was all-state at linebacker and originally, he committed to Georgia Tech to play that position. It’s still not out of the question that he will move to linebacker at Florida.
“I like it at fullback,” Pridemore said. “I’ve played linebacker most of my life. The differences are that at linebacker you don’t really know where you’re going. That comes down to making reads and your instincts. Fullback you know where you’re going before the snap. Linebacker you’re trying to roll your hips and explode, but fullback you’re trying to keep them down and controlled. Going from one position to the other is a lot more different than most people think.”
There is one similarity of linebacker and fullback that Pridemore likes: he gets to punish people.
“I try to look at it like that, whether it is or not!” Pridemore laughed.
With Cornelius Ingram going down with a torn ACL, there could be a ripple of changes with Florida’s offensive sets and personnel. The Gators were hoping to run more two-tight end sets to better accommodate the running game, but with Ingram gone for the year, it might mean that Pridemore will be asked to play some tight end or H-back.
“We’ll see what happens,” Pridemore said. “We’re still in the process of installing a bunch of plays. I’m basically still starting from scratch in drills and everything. I would like to get in there more, but I’m just working as hard as I can.”
If he has to play some tight end or H-back, he knows he can learn plenty from his “big brother” on the team, Aaron Hernandez. The two started building a friendship back in the spring when Pridemore was in Gainesville on a regular basis. Once Pridemore started school during Summer A, the friendship prospered.
“Aaron and I have always been close and I’ve always looked up to him,” Pridemore said. “I was coming down here a lot during the spring and he was always saying that if I ever needed help to go to him.”
There is one place where Pridemore and Hernandez differ and it could actually open a door for Pridemore to see the playing field.
“Aaron loves to have the ball in his hands,” Pridemore laughed. “Anything he can do to not play fullback. He really wants the ball in his hands. He’s a playmaker. That’s probably one of the reasons he wants to help me so much so he can play more tight end!”
From where Pridemore sits, Hernandez has been the kind of role model he has needed at Florida. It’s a good friendship off the field. On the field, it is a mentor-student relationship.
“He’s a good guy to look up to,” Pridemore said. “He always has a positive attitude and a smile on his face. During practice he goes hard and gets after it. I could learn from that.”