Defensive tackle Antonio Valentino provides the Gators with girth and considerable personality. (Photo: Isabella Marley/UAA Communications)
The Opening Kickoff (Part I): Gators DT Antonio Valentino, 5 Questions
Tuesday, September 28, 2021 | Football, Scott Carter
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By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Antonio Valentino was in his second season at Penn State and making his first career start when the Nittany Lions faced Kentucky in the Citrus Bowl after the 2018 season. Meanwhile, Kentucky starting quarterback Will Levis was a redshirt freshman and a teammate of Valentino's that season.
Three years later, the former lifting partners will line up across from each other when the No. 11-ranked Gators (3-1, 1-0) play their first conference road game of the season against the undefeated Wildcats (4-0, 2-0).
In his first season with the Gators, the 6-foot-3, 312-pound Valentino has provided his UF teammates with some intel on Levis, a graduate transfer in his first season as Kentucky's starter. Levis has thrown for 902 yards with seven touchdowns and five interceptions to help the Wildcats get off to a 4-0 start for only the second time under head coach Mark Stoops.
Back to that Kentucky-Penn State Citrus Bowl. The Wildcats won 27-24 as Benny Snell Jr. rushed for 144 yards and two touchdowns.
"If you watch the game, they ran all over us, unfortunately,'' Valentino said after Monday night's practice. "They were the better team that day and they earned it."
The Gators and head coach Dan Mullen can relate. Earlier in the 2018 season — Mullen's first as Florida's head coach — Snell rushed for 175 yards as the Wildcats snapped a 31-game losing streak to UF.
Since that night at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Florida has won back-to-back games against Kentucky and will try to make it three in a row on Saturday night at Kroger Field. Snell is long gone, but the Wildcats can still move the ball on the ground with junior tailback Chris Rodriguez Jr. leading the SEC in rushing yards (522) after four games.
Valentino and Levis will have a chance to catch up before the game, but after kickoff, the former teammates will be in the middle of the action with the talkative Valentino giving Levis an earful.
Here is a Q&A with Valentino:
GATORS DT ANTONIO VALENTINO, 5 QUESTIONS
Q: What do you remember about playing Kentucky in the Citrus Bowl? Antonio Valentino
A: I was hoping somebody would bring this up. Yeah, that was my first college start. It's kind of weird how things, how things end if you kind of think about it. Short story, I have an uncle that lives in Orlando, and one time I was driving to his house and I drove past the Citrus Bowl Stadium, which is where we played them, and I just texted my mom. I was like, 'I was kind of crazy how my first start is in the state of Florida and now my last year playing college ball is down here as well.' I think they have an identity that they would like to stick to because when we played them they had Benny Snell running the ball. That's an NFL running back and an SEC offensive line. I think they still have an identity they stick to running the ball. Obviously, they are very good at it. You can still see the mentality because that was really the first offensive line that I played against, they were like real chippy and vocal. I was like, 'I kinda of like this.' You know me, I like to talk a lot, so I think that's kinda how I like to play football. I like to talk. It's just fun. That's just part of the fun of the game to me.
Q: What have you seen from Kentucky on film, and what does their play-action game do for your game plan?
A: Play-action and all of that really only works if you can establish the run. So, obviously, first with football, playing defensive line is stop the run. You've got to earn the right to rush the passer on first down. So, we've just got to be in our gaps, do our job, play sound defense and make our plays when they come to us, and I think we'll be fine.
Q: Has Levis always eaten bananas with the peel on?
A: All right, so look, I never saw that. So, like, I knew Levis was a freak for real because, one winter, we lifted together. Like, he was my lift partner, but, like, I didn't know he was eating bananas like that. When I seen it on Twitter, I was like, 'Bro, what are you doing man?' But I told the guys in meetings today, I told the D-Line in meetings today, just a little bit about what I know about him, and my biggest thing was Will's mentality. He's not very easily shaken. He's very strong-willed, very strong in his mind. He's very physical as a quarterback. If he's running the ball – at least from what I remember – he's running the ball and he has a choice of going around you or going through you, he's going to try to go through you.
Q: What's up with the hot-wing competition you were supposed to have with teammate Desmond Watson?
A: Oh, so I'm glad you said that. Me and Des pulled up to the location, like, I think like 15-20 minutes early. Des gets a call and they're like, 'hey man, they ran out of chicken wings,' Y'all ran out of chicken wings? We had to cancel and it was gonna be this Sunday, but I had another event to do. I'm not really good with like super hot food. Like, I get annoyed at hot food when you stop tasting things and it's just pain involved.
Q: Your thoughts on playing first SEC road game before what is expected to be a big crowd at Kentucky?
A: Every time we had to go to Iowa City at night, I didn't think it was going to be crazy. Like my first time in 2017, I didn't think it was going to be crazy. It doesn't matter how big your stadium is. It matters what your electricity inside the stadium is like. I think 'The Swamp' is a couple thousand seats shy of Beaver Stadium, however, I feel like it's more … Beaver Stadium is more overwhelming because it's like, 'Yo, this stadium it seems like it never ends.' But 'The Swamp' kind of feels like it's one living organism. It's kind of like it's floating above the air. You know what I'm saying? It's floating above the ground or something like that. I love going to hostile environments. I kind of feel like the bad guy walking into somewhere.
