Gators Q&A: O-Lineman O'Cyrus Torrence

during the Gators' game against the South Carolina Gamecocks on Saturday, November 12, 2022 at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, Fla. / UAA Communications photo by Hannah White

Gators head coach Billy Napier hugs offensive lineman O'Cyrus Torrence on Senior Day at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. (Photo: Hannah White/UAA Communications)

Gators Q&A: O-Lineman O'Cyrus Torrence

Thursday, November 17, 2022 | Football, Scott Carter

By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The credentials were there for all to see – no glasses needed.

O'Cyrus Torrence started his first season at Louisiana. He was named first-team All-Sun Belt Conference as a junior. He worked tirelessly to learn his craft and rebuild a Cajun-spiced body that once flirted with 400 pounds.

Still, some questioned how the standout in the Sun Belt would adjust to the Southeastern Conference. The Gators needed warm bodies under first-year coach Billy Napier, and Torrence was that, but they wondered if the rise in class would expose Torrence's weaknesses.

After all, there are no Old Dominions or Texas States in the SEC.

Here's the deal: there aren't many O'Cyrus Torrences either.

Florida's fourth-year junior offensive guard became the first UF offensive lineman to earn back-to-back SEC O-Lineman of the Week honors following Florida's 38-6 win over South Carolina, helping the Gators rush for a season-high 374 yards.

Torrence is ranked as the top guard in the country by Pro Football Focus, with a season grade of 88.6. He has positioned himself to be a high-round pick in next spring's NFL Draft according to the latest projections. ESPN.com draft analyst Todd McShay has Torrence ranked as the 25th-best prospect in the draft.

Offensive linemen don't accumulate glossy stats, but here is one that stands out: Torrence has not allowed a sack since 2019, a stretch of more than 1,000 snaps.

"His power is probably his best attribute,'' teammate Kingsley Eguakun said after Wednesday night's practice. "He's just a massive guy. He's big. He's probably 350 right now, 340, and he's strong. So, you can't really go too bad with that in the SEC as an O-lineman."

As Torrence nears the finish of his college career – he has a COVID-season of eligibility remaining but appears a strong candidate for the draft – here is a Q&A with one of the top transfer players in school history:

O'CYRUS TORRENCE Q&A

Q: What was it like on Senior Day at The Swamp?
A: It was pretty special. Before Senior Night, I wasn't even sure if I was going to do it. But I talk to the coaches and they know I'm graduating in the classroom, so we went off that. The fact that I'm graduating with this class, that's reason enough for me to do the walk. So I talked with them and they said I did enough for them, so it was a special moment to be able to walk and talk with Coach Napier at the middle of the field and then take a picture with my family.

Q: When did you decide to participate?
A: Thursday night. Because on paper I'm still a junior, but throughout the year I had a pretty good season and I'm doing good in my classes, so I'm about to graduate. My coach came and talked to me, and I was going to do it. My mom said, 'You better do it.' So I was like, 'I'm going to do it.' Sadly, she couldn't make it. But my dad was able to do it, so that was good enough.

Q: Who did you have here?
A: My dad, my little brother and my stepsister.

Q: Did you have to rush them in?
A: Oh yeah. I had to hurry up and put all the information in for them Wednesday night so they could have time to get ready Thursday and make the drive up.

Q: What were your emotions like when the day arrived?
A: It didn't really hit until I was running out to the field. It's been a long ride from starting back in 2019 at UL with Coach and then coming all the way here in 2022. Just finishing off a pretty good season with a great win out there just makes it feel more special. I just enjoyed the journey. It's been a long one, even though it went by pretty fast since January. Now it's already November. So, I just enjoyed it.

Q: What does a dominating win do for this team?
A: It's big because it builds up momentum for the next guys coming in. We had a lot of recruits out there, so I'm glad they were able to see The Swamp at max potential. Crowd rocking, us winning. Just seeing the atmosphere and being able to experience that now before they get a chance to come here. And it just leaves the coaches on a good note, just for them to feel good and have more confidence coming into next year.

Q: What's the focus of these last two regular-season games?
A: We're going to be really focused because we want to win out, and that's the main goal. And the away games are the hardest, so we just gotta make sure we stay locked in on the small things that helped us to get to this point and we feel like we're a pretty good team. We played much more team ball, and we're just going to get better from here on out.

Q: How much discussion has there been on winning games with the running game?
A: Yeah, we talk about it every day. Even before the walkthrough, we talk about making sure we're doing the little things right to help us in the run game. And before the game, our O-line coach told us we're going to put the game on your back and at certain times of the game, we need y'all to be ready for that challenge. And so far, we've been coming through like we knew we would.

Q: Do you sleep better after the team runs for 374 yards?
A: Yeah, for sure. For sure. I know Coach ain't gonna be yelling at us too much on film because ran for 300. Not too much he could probably yell at us about.

Q: Has this season served as validation for you and Montrell Johnson Jr. after transferring from Louisiana to Florida?
A: It's fun, and it's reassuring. I'm knowing coming into the season, there's probably been a lot of doubters on me and him, for sure. We just kind of put our heads down and just work. We came here and we worked our way up to starters. Now, just being able to play and then show the fans and even our teammates that we can help out a lot, that we belong, it's a good feeling.