GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The keynote speaker at the 2018 University of Florida student-athlete graduation brunch was 22-time All-America gymnast Alex McMurtry, merely one of the greatest, most accomplished Gators ever to wear orange and blue. McMurtry's remarks last April didn't last very long, as she dished thank-yous to athletic department staff members and academic advisors. Her presence and command of the room, however, thoroughly impressed one person in the audience.
Dan Mullen sought McMurtry out afterward.
"I would love you to speak to my football team," the UF football coach said.
McMurtry agreed and four months later, as the Gators neared their season opener and debut game under Mullen, she was standing in the south endzone team meeting room packed with testosterone.
"I was afraid they weren't going to take me seriously," McMurtry recalled. "I'm a 5-foot-3 blonde girl and they're all four times my size."
Mullen, however, didn't just toss his guest to the wolves without context. He showed his players a video that briefed them not just on McMurtry's star-studded career — including that riveting and clutch 9.95 she popped as a freshman on the uneven bars at the 2015 NCAA Championships to clinch the Gators' third straight national crown — but how she came back from a severe back injury and ascended to excellence.
Seeing highlights of McMurtry executing a triple twist that scored a perfect "10" on floor got their attention, as well.
The young lady did not disappoint.
"She was unbelievable," Mullen said this week. "One of the best speakers we've ever had."
McMurtry realized as much later that day when she noticed Instagram followers increased, thanks to a bunch of football players, coaches and support staff.
"I wore my [championships] rings to get their attention, too," she said. "They made eye contact, they listened and I think I got through to them. Some of the players came up and thanked me at the end."
Former UF All-America gymnast Alex McMurtry took her turn addressing the football team about the "Gator Standard" last summer and, according to Coach Dan Mullen, was one of the best speakers they'd ever had.
Mullen calls it the "Gator Standard." He knew what it was and what it looked like long before coaching his first game last September due to his four-year stint as UF offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach (2005-08) where he lived it to the tune of two national championships, two SEC titles and a Heisman Trophy. Along the way, he it saw its championship roots on display in faces with far less name recognition than Tim Tebow.
From the time the first whistle blew at Mullen's inaugural spring football practice a little more than 13 months ago, the "Gator Standard" has been an ongoing theme, with conga lines of past players — Tebow, Danny Wuerffel, Mike Mularkey, Louis Murphy, Major Wright, Trent Brown, to name a few — taking turns in front of the team. With the
Orange & Blue Game set for Saturday, more former Gators are due in town this weekend, which probably means more chances to spread the Gator gospel.
Mullen, in turn, is all too glad to impart his version of the standard. He was invited by gymnastics coach
Jenny Rowland to speak to her team earlier this season. He talked about competitive excellence and having the trust, belief and confidence to perform at the highest level in the most pressure-packed moments.
"He was amazing," Rowland said. "He did his homework and spoke from the heart."
That's usually where the best and most sincere words come from.
"Everyone has a different message, a little different perspective," Mullen said. "There's not one exact blueprint on how to be successful. There's an outline for it, but when you have speakers come, they might not hit everybody on the team, or everyone on the team may not be able to relate to that individual — but a couple are going listen and take with them an idea they can carry with them to improve themselves."
Last year, former UF defensive end Kevin Carter was back in town. Carter, now 45, played for
Steve Spurrier on two conference championship teams and was the No. 6 overall pick in the NFL Draft. He led the league in sacks and won a Super Bowl with the St. Louis Rams. By virtually every metric, Carter reached the pinnacle of his profession.
But standing before a team of young players — as Emmitt Smith once did when Carter was in a UF uniform — is still an opportunity he not only cherishes but also takes very seriously.
"To be able to impart wisdom and experience and relay it to the time I was their age, it's a joy for me and allows me the chance to give a powerful reminder of who they are. They're student-athletes, they're Gators, and they're special. That has to matter," Carter said. "I tell them, 'These are the best days of your life and you don't know that until they're over, so go out and make memories and make them count.' These are the formidable years for these guys and will have a lot to say in what they do in life. It's a launching point, with the friends you make, the relationships you develop, and world view you create."
Sometimes the talks work two ways. Just two weeks ago, former wide receiver Dallas Baker, who caught 151 passes and 21 touchdowns from 2003-06, ended his team talk in tears. Baker recounted the national championship he helped win in 2006, but broke down crying when discussing his relationship with Mullen and receivers coach
Billy Gonzales.
Dallas Baker and Dan Mullen
Mullen, then Gonzales, embraced him.
The "Gator Standard" is a remarkable and infinite resource. It also comes in many packages.
Back to McMurtry.
Before stepping to the football podium last summer, she stood in the back of the meeting room while Mullen reviewed some practice tape with his players. She was fascinated with not just the detail, but with the candor (and, yes, the color) with which his constructive criticism was delivered. This football culture thing, she thought to herself, was a little different than across the street in the gymnastic studio.
With that, McMurtry took note of her audience and filed away a thought.
"I hit on three major points, all backed with stories," she said.
First, McMurtry talked about training smarter versus harder. Yes, there's a difference.
With her injury history (three neck fractures since she was 14), she understood about physical limitations and catered workouts to better prepare for the biggest competitions. Obviously, it worked. McMurtry won NCAA individual titles in all-around, vault and bars and was the 2017 Honda Award winner as the nation's top gymnast.
Her second point was about facing adversity. For that, McMurtry relived her freshman year when she fell off the beam at the SEC Championships and cost her team the title. One month later, at NCAAs, Utah was celebrating on the other side of the Fort Worth Convention Center Arena, when McMurtry, her team in need of a near-flawless performance, flung herself onto the bars and executed a stunning 9.95 routine that flipped Florida to the top of the scoreboard and sealed a third straight national crown.
The third and final point focused on the championship mindset. Train like you're nothing, she said, but compete like you're everything, imploring they be humble in preparation with the notion their opponents were training as hard as they were.
Then came her mic-drop moment.
"Do what I did for four years. Compete like SEC champions. Compete like national championships. And compete like [expletive] Gators!"
The room cheered.
"Maybe it wasn't very lady like, but you have to speak to your audience," McMurtry said. "If
Dan Mullen can talk to Gators like that, I figured I could, too."
Real talk.
The "Gator Standard" demands it.
