Florida Gators

HOOVER, Ala. – With only 40 days remaining until he leads the Gators onto the field at Camping World Stadium in Orlando for the season opener against Miami, UF head coach Dan Mullen returned to in-season mode Monday at SEC Football Media Days.

Mullen appeared refreshed and tan after some time away from the office recently. However, his mood is about to change drastically when the Gators report to camp July 26. The same must be true of his team.

"They've got to now start transitioning back into football,'' Mullen said.

The Gators closed Mullen's first season with a 41-15 victory over Michigan in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl in Atlanta, capping a 10-3 turnaround season. The Gators improved by six wins in 2018 in the second-largest one-season turnaround in program history.

The next step won't come as easily.

"I don't think people expected a whole lot out of the team last year,'' Mullen said. "To go from being down to having a pretty good year is big, but to go from 10 wins to 11 shows consistency in wining and getting ready to compete for championships at a consistent level. That's a lot harder than having one great season. It's critical that they understand how hard they have to work."



Florida is projected by most pundits to finish second in the SEC East behind Georgia. However, the Gators are out to prove them wrong.

Defensive end Jabari Zuniga sees a confident team after the Gators won their final four games last season and snapped a five-game losing streak against Florida State and then beating the Wolverines for the first time to finish strong.

"We definitely have high expectations coming off that big win against Michigan,'' Zuniga said. "We definitely hold ourselves to high expectations. It gives you that confidence that you can beat really any team in the nation. That was a good team we beat."

Despite some off-season turbulence, Mullen downplayed any overriding concerns heading into the season. He said the team's attitude has been positive this summer based on reports from the strength and conditioning staff.

Still, until the Gators get back on the field and get to work, it's difficult to determine exactly where they are physically and mentally. That is what he is eager to discover starting soon.

"They're so young. This year's team only has a one-year shelf life. This year's team only has 15 practices,'' he said. "We have nearly twice that many before we play a game. We've got to see all that translate into performance on the field."
  ROSTER READINGS
 
Mullen spent a good chunk of his media session with UF beat reporters Monday discussing a perceived lack of roster stability.

Fans and media appear more concerned over recent departures than Mullen.

"I think it's kind of the new era of college football," Mullen said. "Unless the NCAA does something to change the rules to let you sign over with guys that are transferring out, it's going to be hard to have a full roster. We were under last year a little bit. I'm sure we'll have a walk-on or two that's earned a scholarship."
 

as Florida waits on the possibility of a couple more signees enrolling, thought it was worth asking Dan Mullen about the thought process behind taking academic risks and the factors weighed https://t.co/B1SDSqWrHx

— Will Sammon (@WillSammon) July 16, 2019

Departures from the 25-member signing class followed the transfers of cornerback Chris Steele (USC) and quarterback Jalon Jones (Jackson State). Three more freshmen – offensive lineman Wardrick Wilson and receivers Arjei Henderson and Dionte Marks – have yet to enroll.

"We have one or two guys still working on paperwork stuff to get here," Mullen said. "We've got to finish the paperwork through the NCAA. It hasn't been filed, so I don't want to confirm it until they put the stamp on it, but it's July so I'm sure they do some summer vacations up there, too."

With four players from the 2019 signing class no longer part of the program and the future of three more unsettled, it's natural for fans and media to gauge Mullen's concern. However, Mullen shared Monday how taking risks on young players who may have had academic concerns early in their high school careers has always been part of his recruiting philosophy.

"It didn't really shock us, the qualification ones," Mullen said. "Some of the guys we knew were really [long shots]; we weren't expecting them to make it and there was a chance they might. There's a reason they wanted to come to play for you in the first place and be part of the program. It's like a speed bump for them in their careers. They go somewhere else, get the grades and then come have successful careers."
  FRANK ASSESSMENT
 
Three days after signing with the Red Sox for $40,000 as a 31st-round draft pick, Gators quarterback Feleipe Franks reiterated how his focus is on playing in the NFL rather than Fenway Park.

"I'm fully committed to football. There is not any wavering from that,'' he said. "I play at the University of Florida and I obviously want to go to the next level and be the best I can be. But if that doesn't work out, I think I'll have a backup plan or plans that I could lean my shoulder on."

More than anything, Franks' surprise signing provided a dose of humor at SEC Football Media Days. A New Englander and lifelong Red Sox fan, Mullen admitted the Red Sox could use some bullpen help.



But on a more serious tone, he understood the unique position Franks finds himself.

"Whenever you get an opportunity to be a pro athlete, it's a pretty special deal," Mullen said. "I'm happy for him. I've never seen him pitch before, but he said he can throw really fast. I've seen his accuracy though, so I don't know if I'd want to stand in that batter's box. That's a pretty small window right there.

"Ten years later, you never know. Maybe after an NFL career Feleipe will end up pitching for the Red Sox one day."

For now, Franks has more immediate concerns. He can use some of his signing bonus to repair his beat-up Buick LaCrosse.

"I need to get my car fixed,'' he said. "I got hit in the side two months ago. I'm a broke college student."
  QUOTE OF NOTE
 
"Honestly, Florida probably has the most bipolar fans ever. When we're winning games, everybody is happy but when we lose games, nobody's happy. Everybody gets bashed, from the coaches to the equipment guys to the just the kickers. It can be anybody on the team getting bashed when we lose a game. Our goal is to try to win as many games as we can to help fans out, to entertain them." – Gators running back Lamical Perine when asked if he is ever surprised by how much fans care about team-centric issues such as a locker room redesign or game jerseys
  EXTRA POINTS
 
An Alabama native, Perine was recruited by Alabama and but was not offered by Auburn, which visits the Swamp for the first time in 12 years this season. "They said I was too slow," Perine said. "That's going to be a nice game. I plan to have a great game." As for the Crimson Tide, head coach Nick Saban called Perine personally to offer him a scholarship. It was too late. Perine had already committed to Florida. "It was kind of surreal but I had to come back to reality and realize I'm a Gator." … When told the Gators have had two quarterbacks drafted in the MLB amateur draft (Jeff Driskel is the other) since Tim Tebow was drafted by the NFL, Franks took that as a challenge. "That's weird. I do plan on breaking that trend."