Florida Gators

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The blueprint for Nick Buchanan to follow when he got to Florida was devised long before he left home and traveled down Interstate 75 in the summer of 2015.

His parents, Sharunda and Marcus Buchanan, emphasized Nick was headed to UF for two primary reasons: 1. Education; 2. Football. That order, no editing allowed.

Sharunda, a microbiologist for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, and Marcus, an account manager for Dr. Pepper and veteran official for college and high school sports, stressed that mantra repeatedly to Nick as he contemplated his college prospects.

"If you don't graduate, it's like you spend years there and it doesn't count,'' Marcus said.

At first, the message easily hit home considering some of the schools showing an interest in Buchanan, the Gators' starting center as a fifth-year senior. Buchanan originally committed to Cal Berkeley following his junior season at Dunwoody (Ga.) High. A good student who also was a skilled lacrosse player in high school, Buchanan garnered interest from Ivy League schools as well as academic heavyweights Stanford, Duke and Georgetown.

When the Gators showed an interest, the Buchanans made a trip to the UF campus and Nick saw the best of both worlds. Soon, other traditional powerhouses like Penn State and Georgia began to recruit him. As Nick's recruiting profile began to increase somewhat humbly – he was ranked the No. 1,475th prospect in his class according to the 247Sports Composite – nothing changed when the Buchanans gathered at home to talk about his future.

If Nick was new to all this, his parents were not. Austin Newton, their godson and a former player at Vanderbilt, grew up around Nick and his older sister, Kayla. They spent countless hours together in the stands at games waiting on Marcus to finish his work as a referee or umpire.

Newton played at Vanderbilt from 2006-09. While he enjoyed modest success on the field as a reserve linebacker, Newton earned his degree from one of the country's top academic institutions.

"I told both of them that once you commit, the only way you leave from your commitment is you finish the drill – you graduate,'' Marcus Buchanan said. "You graduate, you can go anywhere you want to go."

As it turned out, Nick Buchanan would rely heavily on that advice.

In his first three seasons with the Gators, Buchanan played in three games. He redshirted in 2015, played in two games in 2016 and made one appearance in 2017. Unlike the growing number of players who run out of patience and jump into the transfer portal, Buchanan focused on what he could control.

"I wanted to be a Florida Gator. I wanted to be here,'' he said. "If football doesn't work out, how else can I use the Florida Gators to my advantage? That's what I was thinking."

Buchanan earned an undergraduate degree in Spanish in three years. He then enrolled in graduate school and is expected to graduate in December with a master's in business administration.
 
In taking care of business away from the field, Buchanan tried to learn as much as he could from coaches and teammates so that when he got his turn, he would be ready. Of course, he didn't realize a coaching change would deliver his big break.

When Florida hired Dan Mullen following the 2017 season, Mullen brought his longtime offensive line coach at Mississippi State, former Gators assistant John Hevesy, with him. Buchanan shares what happened in the spring of 2018 that turned him from a relative unknown into Florida's most experienced offensive lineman in 2019.

"It really wasn't even a conversation,'' Buchanan said. "One day Coach Hevesy saw me and was like, 'Hey, I want you to take snaps.' That was before we even put on pads. I had never snapped the ball before that. I just tried to work hard and impress the coaching staff."

In search of a starting center who could quickly grasp the team's new offense and communicate effectively with the rest of the offensive line, Hevesy moved Buchanan from guard to center, a position that had been occupied primarily by T.J. McCoy since late in the 2016 season.

Once Buchanan found a comfortable grip on the football as he learned to snap, he never let go of the starting job. He started 12 games a season ago and was in the lineup in Florida's season-opening victory over Miami as the Gators' most experienced lineman on a unit that had just eight other starts combined (seven of those by left guard Brett Heggie). Buchanan will be there again Saturday night when the No. 8 Gators (1-0) take on Tennessee-Martin (1-0) in their 2019 home opener at Spurrier/Florida Field. 

"He's my quarterback,'' Hevesy said. "He's going to direct both sides. He's got to keep both sides on the same page. Nick's a very bright kid and he picked it up extremely well last year. I think that's helping these kids. I think our success has always been based on the center over the years. Nick's got to start it with the communication."

The least surprised of anyone at Buchanan's rise from unknown to starter is his father, who used to hear from other officials working Nick's prep games that he was a talented and savvy player.

Despite his son riding the bench, Marcus attended all of Florida's games Nick's first three years to offer support and to keep him grounded. That was part of the plan, too.

"I've been refereeing sports for 35 years, since before he was born. I've seen some of the good and some of the not-so-good from kids. I just came to the conclusion that if someone gives them a direction to go, they will go. I always told him to never give up. If you believe you want something, you've got to go get it.

"I don't think the [former staff] understood how smart he was. When [this staff] came in they understood how intelligent he was and he could pick their system up. That's when he started to be noticed."

Listed at 6-foot-3, 283 pounds, Buchanan is undersized by Southeastern Conference standards. However, that hasn't stopped him from earning the respect of his teammates as a leader and one of the team's most competitive players.

In last season's win over LSU, Buchanan woke up with a stomach bug and needed two IVs during the game. He finished the day with a snap to quarterback Feleipe Franks to run out the clock.

"He's a tough guy. He competes. Everybody loves him,'' defensive tackle Adam Shuler said. "Quick feet. Quick point. Quick hands. He can get his hands on you. He's got a good grip. He can mirror you almost to what you are doing, which way you are going."

Ask Buchanan to reflect on his unlikely path to where he is now, he talks mostly about how he was going to succeed whether he played or not. That was the plan from the start.

The unexpected turn of events is good by him.

"Once you get here, all that stuff doesn't matter. As soon as you step foot on campus, whether you are a five-star or no-star, you are going to get evaluated. It took me a while,'' he said. "The ultimate goal is to help the team win. Each individual has their different path. I didn't have a problem sitting back and watching and learning from the guys who were playing."