Junior OL Martez Ivey has started 20 games over the past two seasons
Dawson, Harris and Ivey to Join McElwain at SEC Media Days
Wednesday, July 5, 2017 | Football
Florida's contingent appears at the event on Tuesday in Hoover, Ala.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The 2017 SEC Football Media Days start next week and Gators head coach Jim McElwain will be joined by cornerback Duke Dawson, safety Marcell Harris and offensive lineman Martez Ivey.
The SEC office announced the full list of players attending the four-day media festival on Wednesday, which runs Monday through Thursday in Hoover, Ala. The Gators will attend the event Tuesday, July 11, along with Georgia, Vanderbilt and Mississippi State.
This will be the first year since 2009 that Florida has not appeared on opening day at SEC Media Days.
The Gators return to Media Days as the defending two-time SEC East champions. Since Jim McElwain arrived at Florida prior to the 2015 season, only Alabama (28) has more total wins than UF's 19 in the SEC. In addition, McElwain's 13 conference wins ranks second to Alabama (15) since the start of 2015.
Overall, the Gators are 19-8 under McElwain, which ties Steve Spurrier for the second-most by a UF head coach through his first two seasons.
As McElwain enters his third season, Florida's most experienced starter on the offensive line is the 6-foot-5, 305-pound Ivey, who started 20 games over the last two years and is projected to start at left tackle this fall.
"He's a guy that has a lot of pride," McElwain said of Ivey last fall. "[Martez] doesn't allow some of the negative stuff to sink in. He works hard, it's important to him. He cares. He's a guy that when he does talk, people listen."
Meanwhile, a pair of veteran defensive stalwarts will join Ivey.
Harris had his best season as a collegian in 2016, leading the team with 73 tackles, including four tackles-for-loss and one sack. He added two interceptions, one pass breakup, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery.
Dawson started seven of the 12 games he played last season and has appeared in 37 games the past three seasons. Dawson spent his junior season as the starting nickel when healthy, finishing with 24 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and one interception.
With the departures of Teez Tabor and Quincy Wilson, the Cross City, Fla. product will play more outside this fall.
SEC Media Days Information
The SEC Network and ESPN will once again be on site to bring SEC Media Days to a national audience.
Six times since 1992 has the SEC Media Days predicted champion proceeded to win the SEC Championship, including two of the last three seasons.
2017 SEC FOOTBALL MEDIA DAYS SCHEDULE
MONDAY, July 10
TUESDAY, July 11
WEDNESDAY, July 12
THURSDAY, July 13
The SEC office announced the full list of players attending the four-day media festival on Wednesday, which runs Monday through Thursday in Hoover, Ala. The Gators will attend the event Tuesday, July 11, along with Georgia, Vanderbilt and Mississippi State.
This will be the first year since 2009 that Florida has not appeared on opening day at SEC Media Days.
The Gators return to Media Days as the defending two-time SEC East champions. Since Jim McElwain arrived at Florida prior to the 2015 season, only Alabama (28) has more total wins than UF's 19 in the SEC. In addition, McElwain's 13 conference wins ranks second to Alabama (15) since the start of 2015.
Overall, the Gators are 19-8 under McElwain, which ties Steve Spurrier for the second-most by a UF head coach through his first two seasons.
As McElwain enters his third season, Florida's most experienced starter on the offensive line is the 6-foot-5, 305-pound Ivey, who started 20 games over the last two years and is projected to start at left tackle this fall.
"He's a guy that has a lot of pride," McElwain said of Ivey last fall. "[Martez] doesn't allow some of the negative stuff to sink in. He works hard, it's important to him. He cares. He's a guy that when he does talk, people listen."
Meanwhile, a pair of veteran defensive stalwarts will join Ivey.
Harris had his best season as a collegian in 2016, leading the team with 73 tackles, including four tackles-for-loss and one sack. He added two interceptions, one pass breakup, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery.
Dawson started seven of the 12 games he played last season and has appeared in 37 games the past three seasons. Dawson spent his junior season as the starting nickel when healthy, finishing with 24 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and one interception.
With the departures of Teez Tabor and Quincy Wilson, the Cross City, Fla. product will play more outside this fall.
SEC Media Days Information
The SEC Network and ESPN will once again be on site to bring SEC Media Days to a national audience.
Six times since 1992 has the SEC Media Days predicted champion proceeded to win the SEC Championship, including two of the last three seasons.
2017 SEC FOOTBALL MEDIA DAYS SCHEDULE
MONDAY, July 10
- Arkansas – Bret Bielema (11:35 a.m. - 2:25 p.m. CT)
- LSU – Ed Orgeron (2:30 - 5:30 p.m. CT)
- Tennessee – Butch Jones (2:30 - 5:30 p.m. CT)
TUESDAY, July 11
- Georgia – Kirby Smart (9:05 a.m. - 12:25 p.m. CT)
- Vanderbilt – Derek Mason (9:05 a.m. - 12:25 p.m. CT)
- Florida – Jim McElwain (1 - 4 p.m. CT)
- Mississippi State – Dan Mullen (1 - 4 p.m. CT)
WEDNESDAY, July 12
- Alabama – Nick Saban (9:05 a.m. - 12:05 p.m. CT)
- Missouri – Barry Odom (9:05 a.m. - 12:05 p.m. CT)
- Kentucky – Mark Stoops (1 - 4 p.m. CT)
- Texas A&M – Kevin Sumlin (1 - 4 p.m. CT)
THURSDAY, July 13
- Auburn – Gus Malzahn (9:05 a.m. - 1:35 p.m. CT)
- Ole Miss – Hugh Freeze (9:05 a.m. - 1:35 p.m. CT)
- South Carolina – Will Muschamp (9:05 a.m. - 1:35 p.m. CT)
Players Mentioned
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