The annual Orange & Blue Debut spring game goes under the lights on April 8. (Photo: Jim Burgess/UAA)
In The (Gator) Zone: Foley on Revamped Spring Game, Poole Shines Before Injury, More Tidbits
Sunday, January 24, 2016 | General, Scott Carter
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By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- The Gators' announcement Friday that they are moving the Orange & Blue Debut spring football game this year from Saturday afternoon to Friday night was met with mostly enthusiastic responses on social media.
The game has seen a drop-off in attendance in recent years as the Gators failed to contend for the SEC Championship, and coming off their first SEC East title in six years, moving the game to night is another dose of change under head coach Jim McElwain. While spring games traditionally are played on Saturdays, the move to Friday night shines a spotlight on the Gators.
The game is scheduled for 7 p.m. on April 8 and is free. More details -- including whether the game will be shown live on TV -- will be announced when finalized.
Florida Athletic Director Jeremy Foley is hopeful the change benefits the Gators in several areas.
"It's different. I've been here for 40 years and the spring game has always been at 1 o'clock or at noon,'' Foley said. "I think our fans will like it. I think it will be huge for recruiting because kids can get here when school is over. It obviously has a chance hopefully to be on television. Will it work? I don't know. Let's see.
"But I like the fact the University of Florida prides itself on trying to do things a little different. We can't be just satisfied with the status quo, 'that's the way we've always done it so let's keep doing it that way.' Change is the nature of the beast and I think it could be very exciting. Let's see how it works."
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BEST OF BEST IN SEC
The writers who cover the Southeastern Conference on a daily basis for ESPN.com released their top 25 players in the conference during the 2015 season. The Gators had three players make the cut, starting with defensive lineman Jonathan Bullard at No. 17.
Bullard was joined by junior cornerback Vernon Hargreaves, No. 13, and sophomore cornerback Jalen Tabor, who ranked ahead of Hargreaves at No. 10. The top honor went to Alabama running back Derrick Henry.
If you go according to ESPN's writers, Tabor was Florida's MVP in 2015. While he is certainly in the running, my vote would go to freshman receiver Antonio Callaway. He added a dimension to the offense and special teams the Gators have lacked for too long.
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HEY BILLY D
More than 50 members of the Rocky Mountain Gator Club showed up at Denver's Pepsi Center on Tuesday night when the Oklahoma City Thunder stopped in town.
Guess who they came to see.
The group parked in courtside seats prior to the game to show their appreciation for former Gators coach Billy Donovan, in his first season in the NBA as Oklahoma City's head coach.
"We just decided, 'hey, it's Billy's first game here, so we'll all show up,' " club member Tim Gonzaleztold NewsOK.com.
Gators cornerback Brian Poole and linebacker Anthony Harrell showed up to play in Saturday's East-West Shrine Game at Tropicana Field. Brian Poole Playing for the East Team, Harrell picked off a pass early in the game that set up a field goal. Later in the first quarter Poole intercepted a pass by Western Kentucky quarterback Brandon Doughty and returned it 98 yards for a touchdown. However, led by Oregon quarterback Vernon Adams' three touchdown passes in the second quarter, the West Team won 29-9.
Poole left the game later with a collarbone injury and said it was a four-week injury according to the Tampa Bay Times. Harrell finished with a game-high six tackles, three more than he had in his only season at Florida after joining the Gators last summer as a fifth-year graduated student from Georgia Tech.
Meanwhile, Gators offensive lineman Trip Thurman, who was scheduled to play in Saturday's NFLPA Collegiate Bowl in Carson, Calif., missed the game due to an ankle injury.
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JOHNSON RECALLS DANGEROUS ENCOUNTER
Former Gators two-way player Brian Johnson is hoping 2016 is the year he makes the big leagues and stays there with the Boston Red Sox. Johnson, who was shut down late in 2015 with a tender elbow, told the Boston Globe he has a clean bill of health with spring training around the corner and wants to build on his brief stay in the majors last season. Brian Johnson Johnson, who helped the Gators advance to the College World Series in 2011 and '12, has a new perspective following a scare in late October while back home in Cocoa Beach, Fla. Johnson recalled a car-jacking incident in an interview with the Globe that involved his brother and a good friend.
They were at a gas station when a man with a gun approached the car.
"A guy pulled up behind us, started screaming belligerent things,'' Johnson told the newspaper. "I had no idea what he was talking about."
The man later fired the gun into the ground and took the car, which he wrecked while traveling 100 mph prior to being arrested.
"Never had anything like that happen in my life,'' Johnson said. "It's crazy. I was right in my hometown."
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ECKSTEIN AS PASSWORD?
Speaking of former UF baseball players, 2006 World Series MVP David Eckstein surfaced in the news on Saturday in an unusual way.
The Houston Chronicle obtained court transcripts of former St. Louis Cardinals scouting director Chris Correa, who pleaded guilty this month to five counts of unauthorized computer information access in a hacking scandal of Houston's player database.
What was the password Correa used? It was the name of a player "who was scrawny and who would not have been thought of to succeed in the major leagues, but through effort and determination he succeeded anyway," according to the transcript.
That revelation immediately led to speculation that the password Correa used illegally to obtain Astros' information was the name of the 5-foot-7, 170-pound Eckstein, one of the great overachievers in major league history. Correa worked in St. Louis with Jeff Luhnow, who became Houston's general manager in 2011.
Eckstein, who played for the Angels, Cardinals, Diamondbacks, Blue Jays and Padres over a 10-year career from 2001-10, had fun with the situation Saturday via his Twitter account:
Former Gators quarterback Kerwin Bell has a new job. Bell, who did not have his contract renewed by Jacksonville (Fla.) University despite a 66-35 record in nine seasons, is taking over at Valdosta State. Bell played at UF from 1984-87 and ranks sixth in school history with 7,585 career passing yards ... Junior lefty A.J. Puk is one of the reasons the Gators baseball team is ranked No. 1 heading into the season by multiple media outlets. Puk is also ranked No. 1. D1Baseball.com has Puk as the top college prospect in the nation for next summer's MLB Draft. ... The last time we saw former Gators receiver Jabar Gaffney was in October when he was inducted into the Florida-Georgia Hall of Fame. Gaffney's latest appearance in the 24/7 news cycle is not as flattering according to this story from The Florida Times-Union. ... The No. 22-ranked UF women's basketball team lost at Missouri on Sunday, but the Gators have been a feel-good story during their 16-4 start after missing the postseason a year ago. Another feel-good story on the team is Brooke Copeland and her relationship with a special fan she visits regularly. Ethan Bauer of The Independent Florida Alligator captured the story nicely this week.
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