Sunday, October 10, 2010 | Football
By Kyle Niblett, UF Communications
Hall of Fame football coach Vince Lombardi once said, “Leaders aren't born, they are made; and they're made just like anything else – through hard work.”
In January of 2007, Mike Pouncey stepped foot on the campus of the University of Florida for the first time and immediately went to work.
Being a leader on a high school team that won 45-consecutive games and three-consecutive state championships put tremendous pressure on Pouncey to take that next step and become a leader on the collegiate level. It wasn't until the ninth game of his freshman season against Vanderbilt that Pouncey officially announced to The Gator Nation that a leader had emerged. Stuck behind Drew Miller at center on the depth chart and the Gators severely lacking depth at defensive line, Pouncey volunteered his services the Tuesday before the game and switched to defensive tackle. The Lakeland, Fla., native immediately made an impact on the line, registering two tackles (one for loss) and a pass breakup versus the Commodores. Head coach Urban Meyer took notice of Pouncey's early leadership skills.
“Mike Pouncey certainly took care of that (lack of depth at defensive tackle),” Meyer said after the Vanderbilt game. “(He's a) true freshman, backup center who at Tuesday's practice moved to a starting inside player. That's just courage. That tells you a lot about the kind of people the Pouncey's are, specifically Michael, and how unselfish he is to go over there and play in the four. He brings energy to our defense.”
Pouncey finished his freshman campaign in Gainesville with eight tackles, while recording his only career interception in the Capital One Bowl versus Michigan. Pouncey became just the fourth defensive lineman under Meyer at UF to record an interception.
The ability to lead is not something Pouncey learned in high school or on that fateful day in November of 2007. It's something he learned from his dad growing up in Lakeland.
"My father was always my coach growing up as a young player,” Pouncey said. “He taught me all the things I needed to know about football. We come from a great family. We pride ourselves on being great people, having a family-type organization as far as our family goes.”
Along with his father, Pouncey has had a twin brother, Maurkice, share every step of the journey with him. From birth to April of this year, the two were inseparable, often seen traveling around campus on their way to class on a mini scooter. On April 22, 2010, dominating the offensive line and scooter rides together ended, because Maurkice was drafted 18th overall by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the NFL Draft after becoming the first Gator ever to win the Rimington Trophy. That left Mike as the lone Pouncey twin on campus.
"We talk a lot, but we kind of understand we've got to go our own paths," Maurkice Pouncey said.
For the first time in Mike's life, he entered the upcoming football season without his identical twin by his side. As a senior though, Pouncey's experience aided the transition into his final season.
“You're talking about a guy who has the respect of the team and coaching staff,” offensive coordinator and offensive line coach Steve Addazio said during two-a-days in August. “He approaches every day like it's the SEC Championship. He knows how to practice and loves football. You put that in front of a football team, and it's hard not to follow that. On those hard days, guys are looking around and he's going harder than anybody. His experience is critical.”
Forty-six games and 37 starts later, Pouncey has gained even more critical experience by undergoing his second positional change, moving from right guard in 2009 to center this season. Despite the change, Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin has already hinted about the possibility of taking another Pouncey in the first round of next year's NFL Draft. Clearly, Pouncey is the unquestioned leader of the 2010 Florida football team.
"I think Mike Pouncey is our head-and-shoulders leader this year," Florida offensive lineman Carl Johnson said. "He has that will. He can't begin to think of losing. We feed off that."
One thing that his teammates are feeding off of is Pouncey's ability to make them better on a day-by-day basis.
“Mike (Pouncey) makes me better” Florida defensive tackle Omar Hunter said. “He pushes me. He doesn't take a play off. He doesn't let me take a play off. He always says 'Come on, O(mar), give me everything you've got, give me everything you've got.'”
Pouncey, who says it was an honor and an amazing feeling to be named a captain and leader his senior season, isn't just a great leader. The 6-4, 310-pound center can also play football pretty well. To some football fans, moving from right guard to center might prove to be a thankless task and an impossible transition. Yet with Pouncey's talent, the development at center has increased with each game this season. The 2009 AP second-team All-America selection has already been named to the Lombardi Award, Rimington Trophy and Outland Trophy watch lists. In the preseason, the three-year letterwinner was named a preseason All-American by five publications and a preseason All-SEC selection by four media outlets. Not only are football experts taking notice, but so are his coaches.
"I see a guy that's really wants to lead,” Addazio said. "He's really into being a true leader. I love watching it, really enjoying that side of him. It's kind of his own leadership personality coming out now. He's the best lineman in the toughest defensive conference in college football. He's physical, he's tough, he's skilled, he's smart and he's multi-positional. I don't know what's left.”
As of Sept. 30, 2010, Pouncey had been named a Champion on offense for the USF, Tennessee and Kentucky games. Against USF on Sept. 11, Pouncey graded out at 95 percent, a season-high for any Gator player. For his efforts, the 2009 first-team All-SEC selection was named SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week. Some might think 95 percent is a little high, but for Pouncey, who graded out as high as 98 percent (vs. Charleston Southern in 2008), it was just another day at the office for Mr. Leadership.
“You can't be a better leader than Mike Pouncey is for our team,” Meyer said, three years after he witnessed the birth of a team leader.
From eight tackles as a freshman in 2007 to a plethora of pancakes in 2010, Pouncey has made his legacy through hard work and will continue to be a player who leaves everything out on the field.
"I want people to remember that I bleed Orange and Blue,” Pouncey said.”I love being a part of this program. I wouldn't take it back for anything in the world. I love all my teammates. It's just a blessing to be in the situation I am right now. It's a lot of responsibility. … And me being an offensive leader, we have to lead this team back to Atlanta (for the SEC title game); that's our biggest goal."
