Graphic: Scott MacCord/UAA Communications
Horschel's Pledge, Powell & Goolsby, More Gators Tidbits
Wednesday, January 17, 2018 | General, Scott Carter
Former Gators golfer Billy Horschel will have more on the line than usual at The Players Championship in early May.
Horschel, in conjunction with The Players Championship, announced Tuesday that he will donate $1,000 for every birdie and $5,000 for each eagle he makes in the tournament to Feeding Northeast Florida. Horschel received a huge assist from The Players Championship, which announced a $500,000 donation to kickstart the campaign.
"As a player on the PGA Tour, we get to see firsthand how our tournaments benefit the communities where we play,'' Horschel said. "As a resident here in the Jacksonville area, I'm proud of the work The Players does for organizations like Feeding Northeast Florida."
The tournament is scheduled May 10-13 at the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass. A former standout for the Gators, Horschel's most recent outing was an 11th-place finish at Sentry Tournament of Champions earlier this month, where he finished 10-under par.
Prior to helping @THEPLAYERSChamp make the big announcement Tuesday that they're gifting us $500,000, pro golfer and Feeding Northeast Florida spokesman @BillyHo_Golf volunteered with THE PLAYERS team in our warehouse. Thank you to THE PLAYERS and Billy for making such an impact! pic.twitter.com/QVnaJzsgb2
— Feeding Northeast FL (@FeedingNEFL) January 18, 2018
SHOWCASE EVENT
If history holds on Saturday, Gators receiver Brandon Powell and tight end DeAndre Goolsby are assigned to the right team in the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl at the Rose Bowl.
Powell and Goolsby are on the National Team, which is led by former NFL head coach Mike Martz. The National Team has defeated the American Team every year since the inaugural game in 2012. More importantly, the event provides Powell and Goolsby an opportunity to showcase their skills in front of NFL scouts.
Versatility is his middle name. Congratulations to @_Powellbp4 for accepting his #NFLPABowl invite! pic.twitter.com/SDR557mpm3
— The Collegiate Bowl (@NFLPABowl) December 18, 2017
Powell started his career with the Gators at running back but moved to receiver after his freshman season. He caught a team-high 42 passes last season for 406 yards and three touchdowns. Goolsby finished with 13 catches for 105 yards and one touchdowns.
With neither player gaining much attention in the mock drafts, both will likely have to go the undrafted free-agent route to latch on with an NFL team, so a good performance Saturday would help their cause. Arkansas' Austin Allen and Toledo's Logan Woodside are the quarterbacks for the National Team.
WEIS JR. ON MOVE
In the fall of 2011, Charlie Weis spent his only season as Florida's offensive coordinator. Charlie Weis Jr. was an 18-year-old UF freshman who served as a student assistant around the football offices.
When his dad left after the season to take over at Kansas, Charlie Jr. transferred and resumed his quest to become a full-time coach by working as the Jayhawks' manager for three seasons. He graduated from Kansas in 2015 with a psychology degree and took a position as an offensive analyst at Alabama helping then-Crimson Tide offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin.
Kiffin and Weis Jr. are back together. Kiffin, who just finished his first season as head coach at Florida Atlantic, announced this week that the 24-year-old Weis is the Owls' new offensive coordinator. Weis is the youngest coordinator in the country, the same age as Gators quarterbacks coach Brian Johnson was when he was named Utah's offensive coordinator in 2012.
Several I trust in football tell me @WeisJr_FAU is one of the brightest young (really young -- he's only 24) offensive minds in the game, and @Lane_Kiffin has hired him as FAU's new offensive coordinator. https://t.co/5Fe3gQYXI2
— Chris Low (@ClowESPN) January 17, 2018
REMEMBER ME?
Justin Vogel never had a chance at Florida, not with punters Kyle Christy and Johnny Townsend ahead of him on the depth chart. Vogel transferred to Miami in 2014 and was the Hurricanes' starting punter for three consecutive seasons.
An undrafted free agent, Vogel signed with Green Bay and put together a strong rookie season with the Packers in 2017, breaking the franchise record with a 41.6-yard net average. He averaged 44.4 yards on 71 punts, including 19 inside the 20-yard line.
Vogel was named an alternate for the NFC Pro Bowl team. Another member of the Packers with Florida connections, special teams coordinator Ron Zook, sees the 24-year-old Vogel getting better with more experience.
"He's still got to become more and more consistent, and he will," Zook told Packers.com. "That's the great thing. The things we've done with our gunners have really helped him, too. When he's had to come through, he's come through, and I'm really proud of him."
EXTRA POINTS
Drew Hughes, who served as Florida's director of player personnel for the past four seasons, recently left for the same role at Tennessee ... With Alabama head coach Nick Saban in the market for a new offensive coordinator, it was inevitable that Jim McElwain would surface as a potential candidate. However, talk has cooled the last 48 hours as former Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze and current Crimson Tide assistant Mike Locksley appear the front-runners according to the Tuscaloosa News ... CBS News is promoting a one-hour "48 Hours" special on former UF and New England Patriots star Aaron Hernandez heavily. The show airs on Saturday night at 10 ET and is hosted by best-selling author James Patterson, who interviewed former Gators head coach Urban Meyer and others close to the late Hernandez ... Tim Skipper, Florida's linebackers coach last season, is reportedly set to become defensive coordinator at UNLV according to the Las Vegas Sun ... Ex-Gators receivers coach Kerry Dixon II has been linked to a possible position on Penn State coach James Franklin's staff ... Former Gators quarterback Terry LeCount now works as a fan ambassador at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta. LeCount moved to receiver in the NFL, where his career with the Minnesota Vikings was cut short due to a cocaine addiction. Fortunately, LeCount turned his life around and surprised former Vikings coach Les Steckel in this story from Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul (Minn.) Pioneer Press ... Ex-Gator defensive lineman Gerald Willis, who inspired one of Will Muschamp's best quotes as UF head coach when Willis was sent to the locker room for pushing Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston in the face on the sideline in Muschamp's final game -- "If I was still the head coach, he'd be kicked off the team" -- is returning to Miami for his fifth-year senior season. Willis was on the scout team last season while taking a leave of absence for personal reasons.
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