Jorge Powell has attempted just two kickoffs (both onside attempts) during the last two seasons.
Five Questions with ... Jorge Powell
Wednesday, August 22, 2018 | Football, Chris Harry
And then he wasn't.
A lot of things went south that day for the Gators. Powell, included.
UF, though unbeaten and having rocketed up the rankings in the first season under then-Coach Jim McElwain, was playing its first game minus suspended quarterback Will Grier. The Gators would lose that night, 35-28, and they'd also lose Powell to a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee on a kickoff in the first quarter. A freak collision with teammate Teez Tabor redirected everything Powell had worked for to that point.
Powell, who was 2-for-3 on field goals and 10-for-11 on extra points to that point of the season, underwent surgery and returned to the field in the spring — just in time to confront newly arrived Eddy Pinerio, who over the next two seasons became a big-legged UF fan favorite. Powell, meanwhile, watched from the sidelines, summoned for two onside kick attempts over 24 games.
Now, Powell is a fifth-year senior who has a leg up on the competition as the 2018 season opener, set for Sept. 1 at home against Charleston Southern, inches ever closer. He sat for a conversation this week about his rehab, his time with Pineiro (now with the Oakland Raiders, alongside former UF punter and placement holder Johnny Townsend) and expectations with the looming kickoff to the Dan Mullen era.
Q: What's the transition from McElwain to Mullen, and the run-up to the start of the season, been like?
A: "It's definitely a lot different. This is my third head coach. The atmosphere, it definitely is a lot different. The strength staff is, also. They're incredible — and it's not a facade. They're in your face 24/7, but a it's a good in-your-face. No hazing or anything like that. There's respect, but they mean business. The tempo is good. After the first few weeks, I really thought, 'Well, this will die down eventually. They'll ease up on us.' It hasn't happened. It's going good. I think the way practice is going, with the music playing and all, it's more active. It's a different, better vibe. Guys bought in a long time ago. They've seen their bodies changing. The stuff on the field is getting easier."
[Note: It's actually, Powell's fifth head coach, if you count interims D.J. Durkin and Randy Shannon, but who's counting?]
Q: You ever look back on that day in Baton Rouge and the injury against LSU?
A: "We were on a roll. I was the kicker. It was tough. After it happened, for about month, I was down and depressed. Our trainer, Paul Silvestri, and his staff really helped me to understand that, 'Look, this happens to a lot of guys, a lot great athletes have come back from serious injuries." They told me to trust the process. I was back running on the field in five months and kicking in five and a half. When they brought in Eddy, it caught me off guard a little, but we became friends and I love him to death now. I hope to finish my career on high note."
Q: You're a different kind of kicker than Eddy. Probably a different kind of person, as well. But you guys got along. Now, he's kicking for Jon Gruden and the Raiders. He went 3-for-3 on field goals with a 48-yarder in his first preseason game. Did you guys learn from each other?
A: "I was very proud of what Eddy did here. Not a lot of guys could barely play in high school and then come to a place like the University of Florida and have an unreal two years. I think we learned a lot from each other. There would be times where Eddy would come to me and ask different strategies. I'd ask him things, too. His first year, when he got here, he didn't have a progression in his stretching leading up to how he kicked. He didn't know because he hadn't really played. So I helped him with that. Sometimes, we played this game — P-I-G — it's like H-O-R-S-E in hoops, with [field goal] makes. It got to the point where we only played 'P' because we were making all our kicks and after like 40 kicks it was too many. That sort of competition? You need that. You need it at all positions to make yourself better."
Q: What about your competition and relationship with Evan McPherson, the freshman from Alabama who kicked a 60-yard field goal in high school and was one of the nation's top kicker prospects?
A: "He has a lot of talent. He kind of reminds me of myself. He's very accurate. Not a lot of guys come in as freshman who are that accurate. He had a couple jitters the first week, but the competition is going well and I see potential in him."
Q: Your reputation was as more of an accurate kicker versus a big-legged guy like Eddy. Can you kick the long ones?
A: "Yes sir. You'd be surprised how much adrenaline comes into play in a game. I can't wait to get this started."
Players Mentioned
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