Grimes And Toney Announce Departures, Copeland Out, Wilson To Draft, All-Americans, More Gators Tidbits
Monday, December 28, 2020 | Football, Scott Carter
In only the second meeting between the programs, seventh-ranked Florida (8-3) is making its first appearance in the Cotton Bowl while the No. 6-ranked Sooners (8-2) are making their fourth appearance in the game.
We'll have much more on the matchup prior to kickoff, but for now, if you took a much-needed Christmas break like the guy typing these words, you might need a quick review of news and notes that perhaps flew under your personal radar as you sipped egg nog and opened gifts.
When the Gators arrived in Dallas on Monday night, head coach Dan Mullen held a brief arrival press conference discussing the team's Cotton Bowl trip:
Meanwhile, here are some notable items for your perusal on what turned into a busy Monday:
Gators fourth-year junior receiver Trevon Grimes announced Monday afternoon that he is skipping the Cotton Bowl and his final season of eligibility to enter the NFL Draft. Here is what Grimes posted on social media:
Gator Nation, Thank You !🧡💙 #Grimetime pic.twitter.com/na5NrmnCA4
— GrimeTime (@Trevongrimes8) December 28, 2020
About an hour after Grimes announced his departure, fellow receiver Kadarius Toney announced that he was skipping the Cotton Bowl to prepare for the NFL Draft. Toney blossomed in his senior season and missed by 16 yards becoming Florida's first 1,000-yard receiver in a season since 2002. Here is Toney's announcement posted on social media:
Much Appreciated GatorNation! 🙏🏽💙🐊 Foreva In My heart🤞🏽 pic.twitter.com/1Sv3cXS8tn
— Joka 🃏® (@0fficialC2N) December 28, 2020
Florida's receiving corps took another hit on Monday when junior Jacob Copeland posted on social media that he would not be making the trip to the Cotton Bowl due to testing positive for COVID-19. That means Florida's top four receivers in the regular season won't be playing Wednesday night.
Due to testing Covid-19 positive multiple times I will not be playing in New Year's 6 bowl game. 🙏🏽
— Jacob Copeland (@JCope1era) December 28, 2020
The UF defense, already without senior safety Shawn Davis for the bowl game due to an injury that sidelined him late in the regular season, will be without fourth-year junior cornerback Marco Wilson against Oklahoma. According to multiple reports Wednesday, Wilson has decided to opt-out and enter the NFL Draft:
From @delatorre:#Gators cornerback Marco Wilson opts out of Cotton Bowl, will enter the 2021 NFL Draft.
— Corey Bender (@Corey_Bender) December 28, 2020
STORY: https://t.co/KxYbinI1e6 pic.twitter.com/YXWRNjwNOw
The Associated Press released its All-America Team on Monday and three Gators were selected: tight end Kyle Pitts (first team), quarterback Kyle Trask (second team) and receiver Kadarius Toney (second team). You can check out the entire teams here:
AP All-America teamhttps://t.co/90lbFbqn8h
— Ralph D. Russo (@ralphDrussoAP) December 28, 2020
It's that time of year when the door to the NCAA transfer portal starts flying open. This year is expected to be busier than usual because of the transfer rules in place due to COVID-19. Two Gators have entered their names in the portal over the past week, joining defensive back Quincy Lenton and running back Iverson Clement earlier this season:
Florida CB Chester Kimbrough is in the portal, per @chris_hummer. The sophomore has played in 17 career games. https://t.co/CdXZAU117a.
— 247Sports Transfer Portal (@247SportsPortal) December 22, 2020
#Gators redshirt freshman linebacker Jesiah Pierre has entered the NCAA transfer portal, Swamp247 has learned - https://t.co/f6vfNdIepM pic.twitter.com/Q5kmSw2CLM
— Thomas Goldkamp (@ThomasGoldkamp) December 21, 2020
The coaching carousel, like the transfer portal, is ablaze this time of year. As usual, former Gators coach Urban Meyer is the subject of speculation. Meyer is one of those coaches that NFL executives could see make the jump from college to the pros. Florida's Dan Mullen and Oklahoma's Lincoln Riley are two others according to this analysis from Pete Thamel of Yahoo Sports:
Is Urban Meyer headed to the NFL? A column on why he'd prefer the NFL to coaching again in college, which is a sign of the dynamic changes in the college football space. With college football offering less control to coaches, expect more to eye the NFL. https://t.co/CoHSWBjh18
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) December 28, 2020
These days, anything passes for trash talk. Gators linebacker James Houston IV made headlines when asked how the Gators stack up with the Sooners. Must have been a slow news day:
Florida LB James Houston IV believes the Gators will be fine against the Sooners in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic. pic.twitter.com/bgxebsWw2N
— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) December 25, 2020
There is a lot of speculation whether senior receiver Toney might follow the lead of Pitts and opt-out of the bowl game. Toney has not made his choice public as of this writing, but should he decide to play, he has a chance to join select company writes Zach Abolverdi of The Gainesville Sun:
Kadarius Toney can make school history in his final game.
— Zach Abolverdi (@ZachAbolverdi) December 27, 2020
He's 16 yards away from becoming #UF's first 1,000-yard WR since 2002.
Toney also no longer gets compared to Percy Harvin.
"Both outstanding playmakers," Dan Mullen said, "But, KT is KT."
STORY: https://t.co/iEKpXmPFnV pic.twitter.com/Pgy08ptebH
The Keyontae Johnson recovery is nothing short of amazing and head coach Mike White discussed Johnson's outlook on a call with reporters Monday. Neil Blackmon wrote this perspective piece about Johnson over the holidays. It's worth checking out:
Wrote about kindness and Keyontae Johnson, whose continued recovery is the best Christmas gift a college sports fan could ask for. https://t.co/VxgcZs04bJ
— Neil W. Blackmon (@nwblackmon) December 25, 2020
