By the time David Nelson finishes his University of Florida playing career, there is a good chance he will set some sort of eating record. Runaway metabolism makes Nelson a charter member of strength coach Mickey Marotti’s infamous “Breakfast Club” where the goal is to keep eating long past had enough. It’s been that way since the day he arrived on campus four years ago and considering his metabolism hasn’t slowed down much, Nelson figures that by the time his playing days have ended, he will have consumed as much or more food than any wide receiver in Florida history.
“I eat constantly,” said Nelson, who has gone from a spindly 180 to a still skinny but much more solid 215 since he arrived in Gainesville. “Do you ever get sick of eating? I do … but I have to keep on eating. That’s just the way it is.”
Nelson was a US Army All-American when he chose the Gators over Notre Dame in an intense recruiting battle. A record-setting wide receiver out of Wichita Falls, Texas, Nelson was one of the jewels of Urban Meyer’s first recruiting class along with safety Reggie Nelson, cornerback Avery Atkins, linebacker Jon Demps and linebacker Ryan Stamper. Atkins died tragically in the summer of 2007. Demps was injured then ran into off the field problems and never played. Reggie Nelson left after the 2006 season for the NFL where he was a first round draft choice of the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Stamper and David Nelson are among six that remain from that 2005 signing class — Kestahn Moore, Louis Murphy, Dorian Munroe and Jonathan Phillips are the others. Moore and Murphy will use up their eligibility this year. Phillips might petition the NCAA for an extra year and Munroe (injured this year), Stamper and Nelson will be back.
Nelson was sold on the dream of winning championships by Urban Meyer, which is why he came to Florida in the first place.
“You come here to Florida for that reason,” he said Sunday night after the Gators were announced as the team that will play top-ranked Oklahoma in the FedEx BCS National Championship Game in Miami on January 8. “You see the tradition of winning championships and that’s why you come here … to be a part of that history and tradition. You want to win championships to keep it all going.”
Nelson redshirted in 2005 and was part of that 2006 team that won the Southeastern Conference and national championships but he only saw playing time in four games. He was skinny and not very strong but he was a constant contributor on the scout team.
As a third year sophomore in 2007 the time spent at the “Breakfast Club” table began to pay off. He was above 200 pounds and that helped him make solid contributions as a blocker. Nelson graded champion almost every game in the second half of the season as he became one of the most dependable blockers on the team.
Up to 215 pounds this year, Nelson began the season as a blocker and special teams demon but has graduated into a dependable pass receiver. He has 10 catches for 195 yards and four touchdowns. Against Alabama in the SEC Championship Game, Nelson caught three passes for 27 yards including a five-yard touchdown catch and a critical 13-yard reception on a third down on Florida’s game-winning drive in the fourth quarter.
“David Nelson was collecting scholarship checks around here for two and a half years and he should have been writing a check to the University of Florida,” said Coach Urban Meyer Saturday night after the Gators had beaten Alabama, 31-20, for the SEC title. “But, his payback is done. We’ll call it even now. He did a hell of a job. He comes from a great family, very hard worker and made some plays to help us win this game.”
Nelson’s increased playing time and improvement on the field has plenty to do with the added weight and strength. He was pushed around much too easily his first two seasons at Florida but he never gave up, kept eating several times a day and doing whatever Marotti told him to do in the weight room.
At 6-5, his 215 pounds are stretched thin over a wiry body. He says it’s hard to tell that he’s actually gained 35 pounds since he got to Gainesville.
“I look at the scale and it says 215,” he said. “I look in the mirror and I don’t see it all that much. I could probably stand another 15 pounds.”
Nelson’s dilemma is warp speed metabolism. No matter how much he eats, it’s a constant struggle to add weight. He has lost two pounds since the season began even though he’s eating just as much as always.
“You’d think it’s a good thing to be able to eat all the time,” he said. “Some of the guys on the team tell me how lucky I am and how they’d love to trade places with me. They tell me I get to eat whatever I want and however much I want and they think about eating something and they gain. They don’t think it’s fair.”
Perhaps it isn’t fair, but it’s what Nelson has to do to maintain his playing weight. The way the Gators require receivers to block on the perimeter, the weight and strength are a necessity. He has to hold blocks against linebackers that regularly weigh 30-35 pounds more than he does so he can’t afford to lose.
“I have to eat several times a day and I have a schedule for eating,” he said. “Sometimes I really get sick of eating. You eat so much that it all starts to taste the same. I have to eat certain things at certain times of the day and I keep eating the same old things that are supposed to help me put on weight. I eat and eat and eat just to put on one pound.”
Fortunately for the Gators, Nelson goes about his job as a wide receiver with the same consistency as he shows when he’s at the “Breakfast Club” table. He always carries out his assignment by eating till he can eat no more of whatever is put in front of him. Now that he’s getting on the playing field and seeing the ball thrown his way, he’s become a model of consistency there, too.
Nelson simply thinks of it as doing whatever he needs to do to help the team.
“If you’re all about your stats, then you shouldn’t be here,” he said. “At Florida, it’s about the team and doing whatever you can to help make the team better. That’s what you’re measured by here. The stats that count here are did you carry out your assignment? Carry out your assignment and the team wins. That’s the only thing that’s important.”