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GAINESVILLE, Fla. – In the history of dogpiles at "The Swamp," receiver
Tyrie Cleveland was buried at the bottom of perhaps the biggest one ever.
Not that anyone needs a reminder, but if so, the last time Tennessee and Florida tangled at Florida Field, Cleveland caught a 63-yard Hail Mary from quarterback
Feleipe Franks on the game's final play.
Final: Florida 26, Tennessee 20.
Cleveland had not seen the play in a while until this week.
"IÂ didn't watch it until they put it up on Twitter and stuff,'' he said. "I try not to watch it. I mean, it's the past now. It's a new year. That's the past. But when it came up this week, I did watch it a couple of times. It still gives me chills."
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Two years later, the play stands as the most famous of Cleveland's career and likely won't be topped. It's one of the most famous in the history of Gators football. Of course, Cleveland has made others. Remember his 98-yard touchdown catch at LSU?
The Tennessee catch is in the past, but Cleveland will never be able to outrun it, and that's fine by him.
"It feels great just to be able to make a play like that. Growing up as a kid, you always dream of making a game-winning touchdown,'' he said this week after practice. "To be able to make that play, I feel like that's one of the greatest plays since I've been playing football. I'm thankful, honored, to be able to make that play for my teammates to win the game."
Now a senior, Cleveland enters Saturday's game against the Vols with four catches for 65 yards, one a 35-yard touchdown from Franks in Florida's home-opening win over UT Martin two weeks ago. Cleveland returned for his final season of eligibility after he suffered a broken collarbone in the win at Florida State to end his junior season.
He continues to excel on special teams and is eager to get more involved in the passing game should that be in the plans. He didn't catch one of
Kyle Trask's nine completions in last week's comeback win at Kentucky, but Cleveland is fine with that, too.
The Gators won and Trask did what his teammates knew he could do all along.
"Every day you can get better at something,'' Cleveland said. "That's what I'm doing. It's been going slow for me, but overall as a team, I'm happy we're winning games, I'm happy we're finding ways to win close games. That's all that matters. I'm a team player. When plays gotta be made and they come to me, I make them.
"When something like this happens, it's next man up. The chemistry is there. All the quarterbacks work hard. I feel like [Kyle] took advantage of his opportunity. I feel like he is ready for the opportunity and is ready to take over."
For more on the Florida-Tennessee game, here is this week's edition of
The Opening Kickoff:
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THREE QUESTIONS WITH … GATORS D-LINEMAN JONATHAN GREENARD
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Gators defensive lineman Jonathan Greenard has 10 tackles and 2.5 sacks in his first three games at Florida. (Photo: Mark Mahan/UAA Communications)
Q:Â
What's up with that sack celebration you do, is that from WWE wrestler Titus O'Neil?
A: Me and Titus are obviously with the same fraternity, Omega Psi Phi. That's pretty much what our symbol is. A lot of guys in our fraternity will do that. I don't know if you've seen guys like Jabril Peppers, Ray Lewis, a lot of pretty much predominant figures who were in the fraternity. It's just there to show and celebrate for us.
Q:Â
You suffered a season-ending injury early last season at Louisville and can relate to what Feleipe Franks is going through. Any advice for him?
A: As soon as it happened I knew how serious it was. I took a flashback, honestly. My words to him were, 'just keep your head up, always. It's going to hurt mentally and physically, but you're going to be fine.' He just has to get his mind right. It's not a hole, it's not a deny, it's just a delay. It's going to make him better mentally. Physically, it's going to make him stronger.
Q:Â
With some players injured, including Jabari Zuniga, is there a sense you guys need to turn it up a notch against Tennessee?
A:Â Just because they had a rough couple of weeks, they're still Tennessee. They're still in the SEC, still guys that can come in and make plays and beat us. We're going to play to the best of our ability on our home field. We're going to treat them as if they're a No. 1 team. We need to pick it up.
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THREE STORYLINES
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Quarterback
Kyle Trask is set to make his first career start following an impressive relief outing in overcoming an 11-point fourth-quarter deficit to lead the Gators to a win at Kentucky. A fourth-year junior, Trask completed 9 of 13 passes for 126 yards and added the go-ahead score on a 4-yard run. How will Trask respond with a week to prepare against a Tennessee defense that is ranked second in the SEC in defended the pass (149.0 yards per game) and 11th against the run (217.3 ypg)?
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The Florida-Tennessee rivalry has become lopsided in recent years with the Gators winning 13 of 14 in the series. The Vols opened the season with a devastating loss to Georgia State and then fell in overtime at home to BYU. They shut out UT Chattanooga last week for their first win, but they step on Florida Field on Saturday as a heavy underdog. Are they good enough to hang with the ninth-ranked Gators? Stay tuned.
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Florida has lost four of its best players to injuries the past two games: quarterback
Feleipe Franks, receiver
Kadarius Toney, cornerback
CJ Henderson and defensive end
Jabari Zuniga. While Franks is out for the year and Toney is expected to remain sidelined for this one, Henderson and Zuniga are questionable. The Gators can't afford to continue losing key players, so staying healthy and developing young players is at a premium right now.
THREE PLAYERS TO WATCHÂ
THREE DIGITS
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222 – Yards for Florida's offense in the fourth quarter of the win at Kentucky when quarterback
Kyle Trask replaced injured starter
Feleipe Franks.
4 – Plays from scrimmage of 60-plus yards for the Gators this season after receiver
Josh Hammond's 76-yard TD run at Kentucky.
15 – FBS-record streak of consecutive games with at least one TD pass and one TD run for Houston quarterback D
'Eriq King, which broke former Gators quarterback
Tim Tebow's record on Thursday night when King, a high school teammate of Trask, set the record in a loss at Tulane.
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INJURY REPORT
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OUT: WR
Kadarius Toney (shoulder); QB
Feleipe Franks (ankle, out for season); DLÂ
Elijah Conliffe (leg); DBÂ
C.J. McWilliams (Achilles, out for season); LB/DBÂ
David Reese (Achilles, out for season).
QUESTIONABLE: CB
CJ Henderson (ankle), DE
Jabari Zuniga (ankle);
PROBABLE: DB/LB
Amari Burney (undisclosed).
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NEWS, NOTES & NUGGETS
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* This is the 20th all-time meeting between the Gators and Volunteers at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Florida owns a 15-4 advantage.
* The Gators have won seven in a row against Tennessee at home, last losing 24-10 in 2003.
* Florida leads the all-time series 28-20 and is 23-6 against Tennessee since the two programs started playing annually in 1990.
* Gators tight end
Kyle Pitts had nine catches for 99 yards through three games, already tripling his reception total as a freshman.
* Senior UF receiver
Josh Hammond is averaging 20.5 yards per touch from scrimmage with nine catches for 129 yards and one run for 76 yards.
* Vols linebacker J
eremy Banks had two interceptions against UT Chattanooga, becoming the first UT linebacker with two picks in a single game since
Mark Burns against Ole Miss in 1981.
* Tennessee defensive back
Bryce Thompson, suspended indefinitely following a threat against his girlfriend on campus in August, will reportedly travel with the Vols and be available to play.
* UF senior running back
Lamical Perine needs 71 yards to reach 2,000 career rushing yards.
* Gators head coach
Dan Mullen is 13-3 in his second season; Tennessee coach
Jeremy Pruitt is 6-9 over the same span.
* Receiver
Van Jefferson has two 90-plus yard receiving games this season, the first UF player to accomplish that feat since fellow senior
Tyrie Cleveland in 2017.
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THE OTHER SIDE
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Dan Mullen did some pro bono public relations work for Tennessee football on Wednesday. -- Lede to a story in the
Knoxville (Tenn.) News-Sentinel on Thursday.
With the Volunteers the butt of jokes on social media and in the national media following their 0-2 start, which included a loss to a Georgia State team in the season opener that later lost to Western Michigan by 47 points, Mullen stuck up for Tennessee during the SEC coaches conference call with the media this week.
While few are giving Tennessee much of a chance Saturday at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium against the ninth-ranked Gators, Mullen refused to dismiss the Vols so quickly.
"I think maybe some of the criticism they've got early in this year might not be as justified as people think with the young players and the talent they have," Mullen said. "As they continue to grow, they're going to have a pretty good year."
If Mullen's assessment is genuine, he hopes that "pretty good year" doesn't start until the Vols leave Gainesville. Meanwhile, on Rocky Top, Vols fans are taking their usual pokes at the Gators via their culinary choices -- at least those who are still paying attention.
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BOTTOM LINE
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One of college football's top rivalry games in the 1990s has become an afterthought on the national scene. The big story in Tennessee is how far will the Vols sink. At Florida, the topic of the moment is quarterback
Kyle Trask. While not many are giving Tennessee much of a chance in this one, don't be surprised if it's closer than expected. Maybe the Gators will blow the Vols out as so many predict. Maybe not. The Gators definitely got a boost of confidence when Trask took over at Kentucky and led the fourth-quarter comeback. But Tennessee should be up for this one despite their horrid start. The Gators prevail, but if the Vols keep it closer than expected, no one should be shocked. And if I'm wrong, Gators fans will gladly take it.
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