GC VIP: Orange and Blue Musings — 6/4/20 Edition

By Will Miles

Canceling Dabo Swinney

Perhaps the proudest moment of my life came this past year.

My daughter Amelia tends to get along with most people. A few of her friends started picking on an awkward girl in class and doing mean things behind her back. We didn’t find out about this until the targeted girl’s mother called us to let us know that not only did Amelia not participate, but she stood up for her friend and went to the teacher for help.

That’s what I thought of when the accusations of Dabo Swinney tacitly allowing the n-word to be used by a coach towards a black player during a practice were made by former Tiger Kanyon Tuttle. Now, I think it’s important to note that these are just accusations and Swinney deserves to defend himself.

But if true, it indicates that Swinney holds his players accountable for mistakes that they make but does not hold his own coaches to that same standard. Or worse, he didn’t think it was a mistake. 

Swinney is paid $9.3 million per year because of 130-31 record, not his opinions on race relations. That’s why the criticism for his tepid response to questions about his past criticisms of Colin Kaeperneck seemed a little unfair to me. 

I’d love if he had an enlightened response to the topic that included nuance, inclusiveness and care, but he’s just a football coach. I don’t think we should look to him for guidance on racial issues just like I don’t think you should look to me for opinions on how to fix your car.

But we all know that saying the n-word is unacceptable. You can make an argument that the coach who allegedly did it should have potentially been given an opportunity to make amends, but ignoring it just meant that the player – and other players – were left to feel dehumanized.

This situation didn’t require Swinney to be an expert on race. It just required him to act like a decent person.

Normally, I’m against “canceling” people when they make mistakes. We’re all human and do things we regret. But making someone feel less than human isn’t really a mistake.

I don’t know if what Tuttle has alleged is true. But if it is, Swinney has a lot of work to do, none of which has anything to do with football.

I’d say the same thing if this was Dan Mullen.

The 2020 season is a go

Administrators are using as conservative of language as they can so they have an escape if they need it, but here’s the deal: college football is going to be played this fall.

This was always the outcome, as there is just too much money involved for colleges to not aggressively push for the season. Combine that with the decreasing new coronavirus cases even as the number of tests goes up and the environment is ripe for a full college football season in 2020.

The way things are going, there may even be a remote opportunity that fans will get to attend games. That would have been unthinkable just a month ago.

From a football perspective, I’m not sure this could set up any better for Florida. The Gator’s second opponent – Kentucky – has a QB (Terry Wilson) coming off of a serious knee injury and will still likely be getting back into football shape. LSU is replacing almost its entire roster and has to come to Gainesville. And Georgia is breaking in a new offensive coordinator, new quarterback and rebuilt offensive line without any spring practices for installation.

With potentially the best QB in the SEC returning, the Gators aren’t going to have a clearer path to Atlanta anytime soon. It is a huge opportunity for Dan Mullen and the program.

Are precautions enough?

There are obviously going to be logistical issues that will need to be addressed with the return to football. 

What do you do if a player tests positive for the virus? How do you protect older personnel (coaches, trainers, media, etc.) who might be more susceptible to complications? How do you maintain social distancing – still recommended by the CDC at this point – when you have to put your hands on the opposition with every play?

There are also other logistical issues, such as whether the players have enough time to prepare physically for the rigors of an SEC schedule when the normal summer strength programs were canceled. And there is still the liability issue that may come if a school decides to play football even though similar institutions decide to keep normal students away from campus.

But the Gators season starts on September 5, more than three months away. Three months ago (May 3), I was getting prepared to travel to a conference and COVID-19 was still a virus that we thought hadn’t reached the U.S. In that time, we’ve learned a ton about how it is transmitted, who it effects and ways to mitigate exposure.

We’re going to know so much more three months from now that I’m pretty confident that the logistical issues are going to be less of a concern by then, or at least will be able to facilitate playing the game safely.

Regardless, as everyone talks about the “new normal”, boy will it be nice to have something truly normal when we turn on the TV and see the Gators running out of the tunnel.

Lorenzo Lingard Eligible

News came down this week that Florida transfer running back Lorenzo Lingard will be eligible in 2020. This was expected because Lingard had applied for a hardship waiver, but with the NCAA you never know.

Lingard is a former 5-star recruit who originally committed to Miami, after reportedly running a sub-4.3 40-yard dash. He showed that explosiveness early at Miami, averaging 8.0 yards per rush on 17 carries in 2018 before injuring his knee. He then redshirted in 2019 and decided to transfer.

There isn’t any doubt that Lingard had the ability to be a difference maker in 2018. But knee injuries can be finicky. We’ve seen so many players come back from serious knee surgeries that we just assume that they will be as good as new when they come back, but that’s still a question with Lingard.

However, he is now nearly two years removed from the injury, and often that extra year helps players get their explosiveness back, and that is critical to Florida. That’s because the Gators have had a lot of good players who could do their job and even break a big play every once in a while over the past two seasons. But they have not had someone who is a danger to take the ball to the house every time he touches the ball.

If Lingard can be that player for Florida in 2020, the ceiling on the Gators offense just got a lot higher. We know Mullen will have them as a top-30 offense, as that has been his track record, even with very different offenses in 2018 and 2019.

But add someone who makes the defense nervous every time he touches the ball and the offense has a chance to be special.

J.T. Daniels to Georgia

Speaking of 5-star recruits who played well in 2018 and transferred after a knee injury limited them in 2019, QB J.T. Daniels announced that he’s going to transfer to Georgia.

Daniels will apply for a waiver to play immediately, and so it is possible that the Bulldogs’ QB room has a lot more depth than last season. With Wake Forest transfer Jamie Newman and Daniels in the fold, the Bulldogs likely could suffer an injury and still be big-time players in the East, something you couldn’t say last year if they lost Fromm.

But I do think people are overlooking the loss of Fromm a little bit more than they should. There is no doubt that Fromm struggled in 2019, but he was one of the best QBs in the country in 2017 and 2018. So I’m willing to believe that Georgia’s offensive coordinator and having to replace all of its wide receivers was a major cause of the issues Fromm showed last season.

Fromm had a limited ceiling. But he also had a really high floor. With the level of recruit that Kirby Smart has brought in, that was good enough for an SEC Championship and nearly a National Championship. It may be ironic if Daniels gets his waiver and by mid-season after both he and Newman struggle, we’re hearing Bulldog fans wax poetic about the Jake Fromm era.

Jalen Kitna commits

Florida had its own news regarding QB recruits, as 3-star QB Jalen Kitna (son of former NFL QB Jon Kitna) committed to play in Gainesville.

Kitna fills a roster spot previously occupied by Jalon Jones, and assures that Florida will have numbers in the QB room when Trask leaves after this season and even if Emory Jones decides to declare for the NFL or transfer following this season.

Kitna is not the level of recruit that Emory Jones, Anthony Richardson or fellow 2021 commit Carlos Del Rio are. But he doesn’t really need to be. One thing that we’ve seen over the past few years is that stockpiling high-level QBs often leads to them transferring when they can’t get on the field.

That doesn’t mean Mullen shouldn’t recruit high-level QBs. But it does mean that if you’re going to add a second QB, you should add one who doesn’t have expectations of starting right away and someone who has some skills you think you can mold into a good player if injuries do force him into the starting lineup.

From all accounts, Kitna possesses a cannon. Mullen has already proven what he can do with a raw, but talented, QB in Feleipe Franks. The risk of Kitna transferring is limited. 

This is a good pick-up for Florida.

Transfers or recruits

A high-level look at Georgia’s and Florida’s QB room and team is really a contrast in approach.

Kirby Smart has now had two 5-star QBs transfer out of his program (Jacob Eason and Justin Fields), leaving him having to go to the transfer portal to find not just depth, but starting QBs.

On the other hand, Dan Mullen has filled his QB room with recruits that he has signed straight out of high school while developing the guys he had when he came into the program. Without playing any of his guys, he has – to this point – kept them all in the program with the exception of Jalon Jones who transferred for disciplinary reasons.

These two approaches are completely at odds with how each coach has built his program everywhere else.

Smart has dominated in recruiting, bringing in high-level guys all across the board and playing them early and often. Mullen has been good-but-not-great in recruiting, limiting the amount of exposure that his freshmen have had. That means he has had to rely on transfers to play significant roles in winning games the past two years.

I think Mullen’s strategy is much higher variance. Smart has a team that if he can hit on a QB is going to be really tough to beat. Mullen’s team may still not be able to get over the hump even if he gets elite QB play.

But the beauty of the game is you never know. If Newman struggles, Daniels isn’t eligible and Trask takes the next step, the Gators are going to be tough to beat.

Overlooked offseason difference maker (Keon Zipperer)

One player I haven’t heard a lot about from fans this offseason is tight end Keon Zipperer. It’s understandable, as Zipperer only caught three passes for 31 yards in 2019.

But Zipperer could be a huge key to unlocking the potential of this offense.

With Lamical Perine leaving for the NFL, Florida is going to need to replace his production in the passing game (40 receptions) perhaps as much as in the running game. Mullen repeatedly split Perine out wide to put the defense in a compromised situation with a linebacker covering him one-on-one or playing a zone that could be exploited by Trask.

I’m not sure the Gators have that running back on the roster this season, but Zipperer can play that role if he can help Florida play with more two tight end formations. Those formations would make the defense make a choice.

Bring in defensive backs and Zipperer and Pitts should be able to block well enough that Florida can pop some big run plays. Bring in linebackers, and you motion Zipperer and Pitts outside and you have your pick of which guy to throw to against one-on-one coverage. 

I don’t think I can overemphasize this enough. Trask was able to make quick decisions last season because positioning Perine made the defense give away its defense pre-snap. Zipperer has an opportunity to give them the same ability in 2020.

Andrew Nembhard transferring

Former Gators guard Andrew Nembhard announced he is withdrawing from the NBA Draft and is going to transfer.

Nembhard – a former 5-star recruit – was supposed to be a big reason that Florida competed for an SEC crown in 2019. His numbers jumped considerably from 2018, but the Gators struggled throughout the year, enough that many fans were questioning Mike White’s job status.

Nembhard is likely going to have to sit out a year with the transfer. That’s perhaps what makes this a surprising decision, as normally you’d expect a graduate transfer to happen after next season. But first declaring for the draft and now transferring does seem to indicate that Nembhard just didn’t like the fit that he had at Florida.

This should open up the team to be led by Tre Mann and Scottie Lewis, 5-star recruits from the 2019 class. The hope for 2019 was tied into Nembhard developing while adding those two to the fold.

In football, we’d be pretty disappointed if a 5-star recruit transferred. In basketball – where one player can make much more of a difference than football – these are the types of players you can’t afford to lose.

Mike White: Decision 2020

I don’t think there’s any debate at this point: Mike White is on the hot seat in 2020.

Nembhard’s transfer just ratches that up a little bit more. It’s really disappointing that White wasn’t able to adjust his system to fit Nembhard’s skills. The pace of White’s offenses was really, really slow while Nembhard was known for running explosive transition offenses.

It reminds me a little bit of the Will Muschamp offenses while he was at Florida, where there was just enough hope because the defenses were dominant, but we cringed every time the offense had to actually make a play.

But the excuses are over at this point. Lewis and Mann – along with Omar Payne, Keyontae Johnson and Noah Locke – are coming back. And the Gators are adding Cleveland State transfer Tyree Appleby, a player who averaged 14.3 points last season on 39% from three. He is also much more of a slash-and-kick player than Nembhard is.

So White has a player who fits his system. He has his recruits – two of them 5-star guys in their second year – who he should be hard at work developing. 

If the Gators don’t finish the year with single-digit losses, it’s going to be time for Scott Stricklin to make a change.

Raymond Hines
Back when I was a wee one I had to decide if I wanted to live dangerously and become a computer hacker or start a website devoted to the Gators. I chose the Gators instead of the daily thrill of knowing my next meal might be at Leavenworth. No regrets, however. The Gators have been and will continue to be my addiction. What makes this so much fun is that the more addicted I become to the Florida Gators, the more fun I have doing innovative things to help bring all the Gator news that is news (and some that isn’t) to Gator fans around the world. Andy Warhol said we all have our 15 minutes of fame. Thanks to Gator Country, I’m working on a half hour. Thanks to an understanding daughter that can’t decide if she’s going to be the female version of Einstein, Miss Universe, President of the United States or a princess, I get to spend my days doing what I’ve done since Gus Garcia and I founded Gator Country back in 1996. Has it really been over a decade and a half now?