Former Gators quarterback Will Grier has signed a grant-in-aid to transfer to West Virginia. (File photo)
In The (Gator) Zone: Grier to Mountaineers, Kendrick tribute, more tidbits
Wednesday, April 6, 2016 | General, Scott Carter
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By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Former UF quarterback Will Grier has resurfaced.
West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen announced Wednesday that Grier has signed a grant-in-aid and will enroll at the school in May. Grier must sit out the 2016 season due to NCAA transfer rules and will have two years of eligibility remaining.
The announcement ended months of speculation where Grier, who started five games for the Gators last season, would end up after he was suspended midseason for a calendar year by the NCAA because he tested positive for a banned performance-enhancing substance.
Grier threw for 1,204 yards, 10 touchdowns and three interceptions in his brief career at Florida. The Gators were 6-0 at the time of his suspension. Treon Harris regained the starting job as the Gators finished 10-4 and won the SEC East championship.
The 2013 Parade National Player of the Year at Davidson (N.C.) Day High, Grier's career with the Gators is one of the most unusual in school history.
He redshirted as a freshman, eventually won a quarterback battle with Harris as a sophomore, and then led the Gators to two of their most memorable wins this decade: an upset of Ole Miss and a thrilling come-from-behind victory over Tennessee.
Most observers concluded the Gators had their quarterback of the future under first-year head coach Jim McElwain. But just as Grier's star began to shine bright, his violation of the NCAA's drug policy snuffed out the light.
The Gators were forced to quickly move on. Grier is now the one on the move.
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UNIQUE TRIBUTE
The one-year anniversary of the death of former Gators running back and assistant coach Vince Kendrickwas last month. Kendrick, one of UF's first African-American players in the early 1970s, would have turned 64 on March 18.
Brandon Kendrick has a special day planned on Saturday to honor his uncle. A former walk-on running back for the Gators early in Urban Meyer's tenure, Brandon visited his uncle right before he died. B. Kendrick They talked about the past, the future, and discussed a fundraiser Brandon's aunt had planned to help offset some of the family's medical costs. On his drive back to Gainesville from his uncle's home in South Florida, Brandon suffered serious injuries in an automobile accident.
During his recovery, he contemplated ways to honor his uncle. He decided on something unique: to become a licensed skydiver by the U.S. Parachute Association.
"He was never someone that went out of his way to get self-recognition for anything that he'd done,'' Brandon said. "But on his deathbed I think he wanted the world to know who he was and what he'd done with his life."
Brandon plans to make his 25th and qualifying jump to "touch the sky" for Uncle Vin on Saturday at 2 p.m. at Skydive Palatka.
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EX-GATOR WINS BIG
The UConn women's basketball team capped another title run with a victory over Syracuse on Tuesday night, winning the program's fourth consecutive national championship.
The Huskies aren't the only dominant women's team with multiple titles recently. Division III Thomas More College won its second consecutive national title. Like UConn senior Breanna Stewart, Thomas More senior Sydney Moss was the go-to player on an undefeated team.
Sorry, Gator fans. Moss Yes, the same Moss who was an All-SEC Freshman selection at Florida in 2012-13 before opting to transfer close to her home in West Virginia. Thomas More is located in Crestview Hills, Ky.
The three-time Division III National Player of the Year, Moss scored 14 points and grabbed nine rebounds in the Saints' 63-51 win over Tufts on Monday night in Indianapolis.
The win was Thomas More's 66th in a row and Moss usually was the star of the show.
She scored a team-high 39 points in Thomas More's national semifinal win over Amherst. No surprise, Moss was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.
Toward the end of the game, Thomas More fans began chanting "We want UConn." Undoubtedly a memorable finish to Moss' college career.
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EXTRA, EXTRA
SI.com, in its SI50 video analysis, ranks Gators cornerback Vernon Hargreaves III the 13th-best prospect available in the NFL Draft. … Former UF soccer player Tahnai Annishas been named an assistant coach at Averett University in Danville, Va. Annis scored 38 goals for the Gators from 2008-11 and played professionally after college. … Three UF gymnastics signees were recently invited by USA Gymnastics to the Pacific Rim Championships training camp in Texas: Alyssa Baumann, Rachel Gowey and Amelia Hundley. … UF graduate and financial supporter Lance Ringhaver, a minority owner of the Tampa Bay Rays, was killed in an automobile crash on Monday night. The 76-year-old Ringhaver attended the Rays' season opener on Sunday and had been a minority owner of the team since the Tampa Bay area was awarded a franchise in 1995. … Former Florida and U.S. Women's National Team soccer star Abby Wambach has had a difficult week following a DUI arrest Sunday morning. Amidst her personal turmoil, Wambach was at the University of Kentucky on Tuesday night to give a scheduled speech. ... Gators safety Keanu Nealvisited the Steelers on Wednesday according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
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