Florida Gators
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UF President Bernie Machen and Iraq war veteran Greg Gadson offer Gators perspective in fall camp
Thursday, August 18, 2011 | Men's Basketball, Football, Scott Carter
As Will Muschamp prepares the Gators for his first season as UF's head coach, he has asked others to stop by practice to help.
Muschamp and his staff have the coaching part down, but he wants to make sure the Gators get a dose of perspective as well.
To help the cause, he has invited a series of guest speakers to address the team throughout camp leading up to the Sept. 3 season opener against Florida Atlantic.
One of those speakers was Lieutenant Colonel Greg Gadson, a former teammate of Muschamp's older brother, Pat, at Army. Gadson lost both legs to a roadside bomb in Iraq in 2007 as he returned from a memorial service for two soldiers from his brigade.
SEC Director of Officials Steve Shaw and former Gators defensive back Lawrence Wright also stopped by to talk to the team.
UF President Bernie Machen usually addresses academic panels and business leaders during speeches, not the football team. However, Machen came by recently to talk to the Gators.
Muschamp wanted the players to hear another side of what it means to play at UF.
“[Dr. Machen] talked about what it means to be a student-athlete at Florida, to understand the importance of a degree,'' Muschamp said. “But more than anything the window and opportunity on Saturday afternoon and what we do for the university. I appreciate him doing that.''
The guest speakers are another part of Muschamp's master plan as he places his stamp on the program.
“As I told our team, no great corporation or business or program is good without great leadership,'' Muschamp said. “Certainly you know how I feel about Jeremy [Foley] and Dr. Machen.''
