Coaches, Players, Staff Participate in Inaugural Student Town Hall Meeting
Thursday, August 26, 2010 | Football
On Wednesday evening, University of Florida students had the opportunity to be a part of Florida Football's inaugural Student Town Hall Meeting. Head Coach Urban Meyer, Gator football players, and select members of the Florida Football coaching and support staff, gathered at the Touchdown Terrace with over 600 students in attendance.
Questions ranged from asking Strength and Conditioning Coach Mickey Marotti about the regimen of the football team to egging Director of Player and Community Relations, and former Gator great, Terry Jackson to dance. Jackson, though hesitant, did not disappoint. Meyer told the crowd that Gator Nation is a family and any questions were open.
On stage joining Meyer, Marotti and Jackson were Offensive Coordinator Steve Addazio, Defensive Coordinator Teryl Austin, junior quarterback John Brantley, senior safety Ahmad Black, and junior running back Jeff Demps. Emceeing for the evening was Jackson's teammate on the 1996 National Championship team, All-SEC linebacker and 1996 team captain, James Bates.
Throughout the night, fans were treated to highlight videos from the 2008 National Championship season, as well as the exact video played to recruits as they are shown around The Swamp. On their way into the event, students each received a Florida Football Student Town Hall t-shirt and a 2008 Gator Football National Championship DVD. Following the event, fans were treated to pizza and beverages on their way out of The Swamp.
Some of the topics broached were plans for the team's offensive and defensive strategies, prompting Coach Meyer to explain the spread offense to the crowd and its use in the NFL, elaborating further as to why so many Gator alums in the NFL are the best at the spread… “They learned it here,” Meyer said.
The obvious crowd favorite was senior safety, Ahmad Black. While all the players received ovations as they entered the Touchdown Terrace, Black fielded nearly all of the questions at the beginning before Coach Meyer began to put other members of the panel on the spot.
The evening closed with a dose of Vitamin A, better known as Coach Addazio. With their backs against their chairs and their feet on the ground, Coach Addazio gave the crowd an idea of what his speeches to the team are like. Walking back and forth across the stage, Addazio's main message was how important the fans, their energy, and their presence are to the team. As the crowd and the panel participants got more riled up, Addazio ended with a reminder that Gator Nation is needed at every game with the same intensity as he shows to the team. The students in attendance certainly got the message.
