Gators baseball bobblehead, Zaire, Pepper, More Tidbits

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The collection is as eccentric as it is impressive. All one has to do is browse around the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum website.

There's Harry, Marv and Kevin from "Home Alone." Over there is Al Roker from NBC's "Today" show. Hey, look, that's baseball great Willie Mays and Flo from the Progressive commercials.

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The Bobblehead Hall of Fame has them all. It unveiled a new addition on Friday, releasing a limited edition bobblehead commemorating Florida's 2017 national championship in baseball. The bobblehead features Gators mascot Albert perched atop a logo-shaped base with a replica of the NCAA championship trophy.

Forever Collectibles produced the individually numbered bobbleheads and they are officially licensed.

"Florida baseball fans have been waiting patiently for a title, and we're excited to be able to offer them this bobblehead,'' Phil Sklar, co-founder and CEO of the NBHOF, said in a press release.

The Gators, who have made six trips to the College World Series in the past eight years, broke through to win the program's first title by sweeping LSU in the best-of-three championship series in late June.

Florida, ranked No. 1 in the preseason Collegiate Baseball poll, opens the 2018 season at home Feb. 16 against Sienna.

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ZAIRE EXITS

Malik Zaire arrived at Florida in late June amidst the standard hype anytime an experienced quarterback transfers to another school. In Zaire's case, he opted to leave Notre Dame and test his skills as a graduate transfer with the Gators, who faced uncertainty at quarterback.

It didn't work out for Zaire or the Gators in 2017. Zaire was essentially a nonfactor, head coach Jim McElwain reached a separation agreement with the school midseason, and Florida finished 4-7.

46275 — Gators quarterback Malik Zaire has no plans to apply for a medical hardship waiver and sixth year of eligibility. (Photo: Tim Casey/UAA Communications)

Zaire tweeted on Wednesday: "I would love to go to the Browns!"

That prompted reporters to assume (correctly) Zaire would not be applying for a sixth year of eligibility due to multiple injuries that limited his availability during his college career. That seems a good choice for both sides with new head coach Dan Mullen hired to reboot a program that has now suffered two losing seasons in five years and Zaire's limited playing time at UF.

Imani Zaire, Malik's father, confirmed his son is ready to move on after a disappointing season at Florida that included only 349 yards passing and a season-ending knee injury at South Carolina.

"He's done,'' Imani Zaire told Ryan Young of SECCountry.com.

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ATTRITION COUNT

Zaire is the second quarterback and seventh player overall with potential college eligibility remaining who will not be back with the Gators next season.

Zaire joins quarterback Luke Del Rio (retiring), receiver Kalif Jackson (transferring), receiver James Robinson (not cleared medically), kicker Eddy Pineiro (NFL draft), defensive tackle Taven Bryan (NFL Draft) and receiver Antonio Callaway (NFL Draft) among the departures.

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PEPPER TIME

Former Gators assistant coach Pepper Rodgers and UF icon Steve Spurrier are closely connected.

Rodgers served as Spurrier's first position coach for the Gators in the 1960s and later was his boss for a season when Rodgers, then head coach at Georgia Tech, hired Spurrier as an assistant in 1979 after Spurrier's coaching career started ominously the previous year when he was hired by Doug Dickey at Florida and the staff got fired after the season.

48378 — Pepper Rodgers at Georgia Tech in 1977. (File photo/Atlanta Journal-Constituion)

The 86-year-old Rodgers, who as a junior at Georgia Tech led the Yellow Jackets to a 12-0 record and Sugar Bowl win over Ole Miss in the 1953 game, came back the following season and led Georgia Tech to a Sugar Bowl win over West Virginia to earn MVP honors.

Rodgers is one of 16 inductees in the inaugural Sugar Bowl Hall of Fame. The class will be honored in New Orleans on Monday during Clemson-Alabama game.

Other inductees include the late Arkansas coach Frank Broyles, Sammy Baugh (TCU); Raymond Brown (Ole Miss); Bear Bryant (Alabama); Chuck Dicus (Arkansas); Tony Dorsett (Pittsburgh); Bo Jackson (Auburn); Johnny Majors (Tennessee, Pittsburgh); Archie Manning (Ole Miss); Dan Marino (Pittsburgh); Davey O'Brien (TCU); Major Oglivie (Alabama); Monk Simons (Tulane); Gene Stallings (Alabama) and Herschel Walker (Georgia).

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ROLLING DOWN BROADWAY

Another former Gators assistant coach with ties to Spurrier is in a good place as 2017 ends.

Rod Broadway spent six years on Spurrier's UF staff from 1995-2000. The year the Gators won their first national championship in 1996, Broadway purchased a new Toyota 4Runner. More than 237,000 miles and 21 years later, Broadway still drives it.

.@NCATAGGIES Head Coach Rod Broadway with @TiffanyAGreene

"To be 12-0 - that's special. Special team, special people" pic.twitter.com/iZFZY47t3b
— #CelebrationBowl?? (@CelebrationBowl) December 16, 2017

Broadway recently completed his seventh season as head coach at North Carolina A&T, leading the Aggies to a 12-0 record and a win over Grambling State earlier this month in the Celebration Bowl at Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium, earning N.C. A&T its second black college national championship under his direction.

Broadway is 59-22 at A&T and is uncertain if he will retire or sign a contract extension after the first of the year. He has a meeting scheduled with school officials early in 2018 to decide his future.

"It's in a pretty good place,'' Broadway told the Greensboro (N.C.) News & Record. "We've taken some giant steps forward and still have a lot of room for improvement. That's the goal, and we're going to sit down and talk about all those things in January."

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