Florida Gators
The Heisman Race
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Normally this time of year means the college football regular season is almost over.
Due to the pandemic, the season was delayed for several conferences like the Big Ten and Pac 12. I’m going to take a look at the top five Heisman Trophy candidates.
Kyle Trask/ Florida: I feel like he should be the hands down favorite at this point. It’s hard to believe this guy was sitting on the bench behind Feleipe Franks.
Earlier in the season I said he’s this year’s Joe Burrow. I don’t think anybody can match Burrow’s video game like stats from 2019 but I’m talking about the drastic improvement he made. Also, both of them were not expected to play at that level going into their final season.
They have had the LSU game postponed due to several players on the team having COVID. I hope that game can get played in December so Trask can play the maximum amount of games.
He led the Gators to a win over No. 5 Georgia that they desperately needed. The defense is not very good, so they basically have to outscore their opponents. Trask is basically good for at least four passing TD’s every game.
Trevor Lawrence/ Clemson: He’s the clear consensus as the best quarterback and number one pick in the upcoming NFL Draft.
Unfortunately, he had COVID and had to miss two games.
One of them was at No. 4 Notre Dame and that could have been his Heisman moment.
The Tigers like to run the ball with All-American running back Travis Etienne so that takes away from Lawrence’s stats.
If he plays well against Notre Dame in the ACC Championship that could catapult him to the top of the Heisman list.
Travis Etienne/ Clemson: I know this has become a quarterback award but he really deserves consideration.
He’s a true dual threat running back and his number are very good.
Mac Jones/ Alabama: He has the Crimson Tide undefeated (6-0) and he’s playing very well. Jones has thrown for 2,196 yards (8th), 16 TD’s (tied-13th), 2 interceptions with a 95.6 QBR (2nd).
He’s on the best team and I think Bama will finish undefeated. His stats are impressive because Alabama is another team that likes to run the ball. Najee Harris has over 700 yards rushing.
The LSU game has been postponed due to a Coronavirus outbreak in the program. We don’t know if that game will actually get played but that would be an easy win for Bama.
The only challenge should be against Florida in the SEC Championship.
Justin Fields/ Ohio State: The Buckeyes have only played three games because the Big Ten started the season late and the Maryland game was canceled.
Fields only has 7 games to make a case as the best player.
I Have The Power
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Thanksgiving is almost upon us in the pandemic-stricken football season of 2020.
Just this weekend alone you have four games in the SEC that have been postponed and scheduled for a later date due to the Coronavirus. Will we make it through the regular season?
Who knows that answer, but here are my SEC Power Rankings at this point of the season:
Alabama: The Crimson Tide hung 52 points on Texas A&M. Alabama hung 41 on Georgia before Georgia’s defense was officially exposed as a fraud.
Mac Jones and Najee Harris are Heisman candidates.
This defense is starting to come around, and there is no team in the conference that will stand in their way on a cruise to the SEC Championship.
Florida could pose some problems, but that defense can’t stop a faucet drip.
Nick Saban is still the best in the business. Alabama’s offense might be better than a couple of NFL teams that are in the Trevor Lawrence sweepstakes. SEC Champion and College Football playoff team.
Texas A&M: By virtue of beating Florida the Aggies land here.
The Aggies played awful against Alabama, but doesn’t everyone not named Auburn and LSU once every 8 years?
Jimbo Fisher is in position to get a College Football playoff bid without winning a conference championship if his team can run the table and finish 9-1 in this pandemic season. This team is improving weekly.
Florida: The Gators got over the UGA hurdle last week, but UGA left three TD’s on the field with awful QB play.
Kyle Trask may be the Heisman front-runner at the moment.
Dan Mullen needs to get something out of this season because Trask will not be back next year.
This defense can’t stop an elite team like Alabama. I see Florida finishing the season with a 10-2 record with a nice NY6 Bowl win over someone to be determined.
This offense is really good, and they just completed another 40-yard wheel route to a running back on Georgia.
Mullen still has a month to fix this defense before the Alabama SEC title game.
Georgia: UGA lands here by default.
The QB room is a mess and the defense can’t stop a good college passing offense.
UGA may finish 8-2 who knows, but last weekend in Jacksonville left a bitter taste in the mouth of the Bulldog Nation.
Carson Beck needs to get his shot Kirby.
Auburn: With the win over a bad LSU team Gus may have survived once again.
Perception is reality you know.
This is a team that did not score a TD against UGA.
Arkansas: The Razorbacks are the most improved team in the SEC.
“The Pit Boss” Sam Pittman is the SEC coach of the year. Arkansas is the SEC feel good story of the year. The Hogs are 3-3 currently and are a pretty decent football team.
Ole Miss: The Rebels have the third best offense in the SEC.
Once Lane Kiffin can shore up that defense with a couple of recruiting cycles look out SEC.
This is an exciting team to watch.
LSU: Yeah, we know the Tigers lost 14 players to the NFL draft, but damn this is LSU.
Covid-19 delayed a monumental beating from Alabama this weekend, but don’t worry LSU its coming in December.
Tennessee: You can shake 9-14 up in a bag.
Tennessee should be better than this.
Missouri: The Tigers are rebuilding and show signs of life.
South Carolina: Hugh Freeze is sitting by the phone Carolina fans.
Kentucky: Watching this offense is like staring at paint drying.
Mississippi State: The Air Raid is a dud in the SEC. The LSU game was fool’s gold against an awful defense.
Vanderbilt: Baseball season will start soon Vandy fans.
Power Rankings in Coastal Georgia seem to be a hot topic these days.
The Quarterback Room
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The eighth ranked Florida Gators topped the #5 ranked Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday in the World’s Largest Cocktail Party, taking control of the SEC East at the midway point in the 2020 season.
Florida was led by Senior quarterback Kyle Trask. Trask completed 30 of 43 passes for 474 yards, 4 touchdowns and an interception. Trask became the first quarterback in SEC history to throw for 4 plus touchdowns in 5 consecutive games.
Trask was a low three-star quarterback coming out of Manvel, Texas, where he played behind D’Eriq King. Trask’s composite score was 0.7984 and ranked the 2123rd player in the country.
Georgia’s starting quarterback Stetson Bennett was a high three star with a composite score of 0.8304. Bennett was replaced by four-star quarterback D’Wan Mathis, whose composite score was 0.8992.
After the game on Saturday, whining Bulldog fans were making excuses for the loss.
Some were saying ‘we would have won but we have five players out with injuries and a walk on quarterback’.
Another said I really miss Jake Fromm. I also heard Bennett could not start for Valdosta State University. Injuries are part of the game, but the quarterback position at Georgia is another issue.
Georgia’s quarterback issues started when Justin Fields transferred to Ohio State. The Georgia coaching staff selected Fromm over Fields and the rest is history. Fields is currently the front runner for the Heisman Trophy.
In January, Jamie Newman, the Wake Forest graduate transfer, announced he was transferring to Georgia. On September 2, Georgia’s projected starting quarterback opted out of the 2020 season.
Many speculated that five-star transfer from USC J.T. Daniels would assume the starting job. Daniels has yet to see the field due to medical clearance on his knee. Daniels was the 18th overall in the 2018 class and threw for 2,672 yards as a true freshman in 2018.
D’Wan Mathis started the opening game against Arkansas but was benched in the second half for former walk-on, Stetson Bennett. Bennett has done a very serviceable job for the Bulldogs leading them to victories over Arkansas, Auburn and Kentucky. Bennett gives UGA the best chance to win.
Georgia’s quarterback problems can be traced to a couple factors: coaching, development and offensive systems.
Georgia’s offensive coordinators/quarterback coach under Kirby Smart have been Jim Chaney 2016-18, James Coley 2019 and Todd Monken 2020. Three coordinators in three years, how can a player be developed?
The product on the field in big games prove that UGA quarterbacks are not being developed or coached up to their true strengths.
Kirby Smart has brought in three different coordinators to run a spread offense in Athens, but Smart’s football DNA is to run the ball and play stout defense. The strength of this team is its defense and running the football.
However, it appears offenses have finally caught up to Georgia’s defense. LSU sliced and diced the Dawgs in last season’s SEC Championship Game and Alabama did the same three weeks ago.
Florida handed Georgia their second loss of the season by a score of 44-28.
The defeat also makes it very unlikely for the Bulldogs to claim its fourth straight SEC East title.
It also created questions at the quarterback position moving forward. Who should start at quarterback: Bennett, Daniels, Mathis or Carson Beck (true freshman for Jacksonville)?
Wait until next year when another five star comes to Athens in Brock Vandagriff.
Bulldog fans, accept your loss to the better team last week and stop making excuses! It is embarrassing!
Jason Bishop Show w Kipp Branch November 7
The Matchup
By: Teddy Bishop
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Even though the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party is being severely curtailed due to Covid-19, the game that accompanies The Party still has significant meaning.
The winner of the Georgia-Florida shootout will likely win the Southeastern Conference East title and take on Alabama in the SEC Championship Game.
The winner of the match-up against Alabama will win the SEC title and secure a spot in the College Playoffs for an opportunity to win a National Championship.
Florida had two games postponed because of a Covid outbreak, including head coach Dan Mullen testing positive, and couldn’t even take the practice field for twenty-one days. But all of that seems to be in the rearview mirror, at least for now.
Mullen has returned Florida to national prominence, going 21-5 in his first two seasons, but has not found to way to beat Georgia. Mullen’s Gators lost to the Bulldogs 37-26 in 2018, and 24-17 last year.
In Athens, Kirby Smart took over as Head Dawg in 2016 and had compiled a 44-12 record going into this Covid-plagued year, including three feasts on Gator tail with only one loss.
Florida opened the season with convincing wins over Mississippi 51-35 and South Carolina 38-24, before falling to Texas A&M 38-41.
Georgia rolled to three consecutive wins to start the 2020 season, beating Arkansas 37-10, Auburn 27-6, and Tennessee 44-21, before running into an Alabama buzzsaw 24-41.
The debacle in Tuscaloosa notwithstanding, Georgia’s defense has looked good for the most part. On the other hand, the Gator D has been porous at times.
The high-powered Gator offense is forcing maintenance crews to change a lot of light bulbs on scoreboards, averaging over 42 points per game, but the Bulldogs offense hasn’t done too shabbily either, putting up 33 points per contest.
A huge key to any game, of course, is the play of the quarterback, and it says here that Kyle Trask gives Florida the advantage over Stetson Bennett and the Dogs in the QB Dept.
Through three games, Trask has thrown 14 touchdown passes with only one interception, averaging well over 300 yards passing per game.
In four outings, Bennett has 7 TD passes and 3 interceptions, while averaging about 240 yards passing per game.
Having quoted all those stats, I don’t believe Florida has faced a defense as good as Georgia’s. If you take away the Alabama game, which you can’t, of course, the Dawgs are surrendering fewer than 13 points per game.
Trask’s task is to avoid pressure from the Georgia defense, and I just don’t see that happening.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention two local players now wearing the Red and Black for Georgia: former Brunswick High offensive lineman Warren McClendon and former Glynn Academy kicker Jack Podlesny.
Podlesny is having a sterling season for the Dawgs, converting 14 of 14 extra points and eight of 10 field goals, including a 51-yarder.
McClendon (Willie’s nephew), a redshirt freshman, is arguably the best offensive lineman ever to come out of Glynn County, certainly the best I’ve seen in my 18 years of broadcasting Brunswick High football.
Final score for the 2020 Georgia-Florida game: Bulldogs 33; Gators 30.
Podlesny kicks a last second field goal to win the game. McClendon, of course, makes the key block.
The Smart Choice
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
After Georgia’s 41-24 loss to Alabama, Georgia fans took to social media complaining about head coach Kirby Smart. Some fans went as far as saying it was time for change.
If you want to start www.FireKirby.com or #FireKirby, let me, a longtime UGA adversary, drive that bandwagon.
All Kirby has done is build an Elite program in Athens, and I will happily let you idiots ruin that to benefit my Gators.
Getting back on topic, Georgia fans are a bunch of arrogant, spoiled, crybabies. Georgia has not won a National Championship since 1980 and up until 2015 Georgia has only been relevant a couple years at a time during the 1990s onward.
Fans have been comparing Smart to Mark Richt after Georgia’s loss to Alabama (again) last weekend.
Anyone who is honestly considering the idea that Georgia’s program is in the same place now as it was then should simply go look up the 2015 Georgia vs Alabama game.
All Georgia fans wanted was a program just like Alabama. Kirby achieved that goal in year two of his legacy in Athens. But, losing to Nick Saban three times (National Championship Game, SEC Championship game and October 17th) has Bulldog Nation on edge.
Kirby has constructed a program through recruiting. Georgia’s current class is ranked number third in the nation, and they have finished with the number one class in the country 3 out of the last 4 years. In my opinion, Kirby and staff are the top recruiters in the country.
The state of Georgia is a hotbed for high school football and Kirby gets who he wants in his home state. He also goes into Florida and recruits the top talent to their neighbor in the north.
The quickest take you’ll get on the last Alabama vs Georgia game: Matt Jones is better than Stetson Bennett!
Don’t get me wrong Kirby has his issues with hiring and firing offensive coordinators and five-star players transferring to other programs, he’s good but certainly not perfect.
I heard some Georgia fans saying he can recruit but he can’t coach. That is the biggest pile of bull. Kirby simply runs the defense and Georgia’s defense is simply the best in the country.
Kirby has outcoached Florida’s Dan Mullen the last two seasons. Completely controlling both games with his style of play.
Being 3-1 versus the Gators, Kirby knows the importance of this game as a player, and now, he coaches just like the Ole’ Ball Coach.
Mark Richt was 5-10 against the Gators in his 15 years in Athens.
So, the smug Bulldog fans who are whining about the Alabama loss, who are you hiring to replace Kirby?
There are only three other coaches in the country at the same level as Kirby Smart: Nick Saban, Dabo Swinney and Ryan Day.
The Bulldogs are the favorite in the SEC East to travel to Atlanta to face Alabama in the SEC Championship game.
If Kirby gets a chance in Atlanta to face Nick Saban again during this COVID environment shows his coaching prowess.
To Georgia fans, please just shut up and enjoy the greatness in front of you.
In my opinion, Kirby Smart is one of the top 5 coaches in college football.
Keys To The Game
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Dan Mullen was reprimanded and fined $25,000 for his actions in Saturday night’s fight between Florida and Missouri. The brawl was sparked after Gator quarterback Kyle Trask was hit up high and late by Missouri’s defensive lineman Trajan Jeffcoat and no penalty was called on the play.
In my opinion, there is no place for this kind of conduct in college football. I do not condone Mullen’s actions and I think the fine was insufficient.
Mullen down played his actions by stating, “from my understanding, I think our guys thought they took a late hit at our quarterback and they’re going to protect him.”
Reaction on social media started flooding in about potential fine and suspension. I heard from a few Bulldog fans on how Mullen is an embarrassment. Mullen’s reputation has taken a hit on social media with his recent comment about “Filling the Swamp.”
Former Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush on FOX Saturday Football stated, “That was a dirty hit and I loved the way Dan Mullen and the Gators responded.”
Mullen’s actions had a positive reaction on his team’s play in the second half. Now can that carry over to the “World’s Largest Cocktail Party”?
Here are a few thoughts about the Florida vs Georgia game.
Georgia is a five point favorite.
Georgia has a huge advantage in talent if you believe stars matter.
The Saturday night injury suffered by All-American safety Richard LeCounte in a motorcycle accident had fans everywhere startled. My prayers for a full recovery go out to him and his family.
LeCounte is the heart of the Georgia defense, he was the SEC Player of the Week for his 13 tackles, three pass breakups, and a fumble recovery against Kentucky.
Georgia is suddenly hit by the injury bug with Jordan Davis, Quay Walker, Julian Rochester, Monte Rice, Lewis Cline, Tyrique Stevenson, George Pickens, Kenny McIntosh and Ben Cleveland all battling injuries.
Florida has two players suspended for the first half, starting defensive end Zach Carter and Antwuan Powell. Add those to the players that missed last week’s game due to COVID and the Gators could be short handed in the battle for the SEC East Division.
My questions going into this game:
Which Florida Defense shows up, the one that got shredded against Texas A&M or the one that controlled Missouri?
Which Georgia Offense shows up, the one that dominated Auburn or the one that struggled against Kentucky?
Who will be under center for the Bulldogs? Stetson Bennett, JT Daniel or Carson Beck
Can Dan Mullen out coach Kirby Smart?
Which team wins the turnover battle?
If you have the answers to these questions then you know who will win this game. The winner of this game is in the driver’s seat to represent the SEC East in Atlanta.
The Return
By: JJ Lanier
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
I’m sure at some point over the past six months, most of us reached that moment where we had watched everything we were interested in and started binge watching television shows or movies we had no desire to see, just to pass the time.
(Personally, I began a weekend watching the first Police Academy and finished it with Mission to Moscow; something I’m both proud of, yet less than impressed with.)
If I may stick with the entertainment theme for just a minute longer, when the college football season started a few weeks ago it felt like watching “The Office” after Steve Carell left; the cast of characters and storylines were enough to keep watching, but it just wasn’t the same.
Don’t get me wrong, I’ve enjoyed watching some of the lesser known schools get their time in the national spotlight, but when the two best conferences in college football aren’t on the schedule the whole thing is a little underwhelming.
With the SEC beginning their season, it not only felt like another step towards some sense of normalcy, but there was a feeling of excitement about watching the games because of who was playing and not just because a game was being played.
I have to admit, even with it being the first games of the season for SEC teams, they did not disappoint, obviously with Mississippi State and Florida garnering a lot of the praise.
Speaking of the Bulldogs, me trying to find any redeemable quality in Mike Leach is like trying to find a pack of Skittles in the ball pit at Chuck E. Cheese.
However, what KJ Costello and the MSU offense was able to do to LSU forces me to begrudgingly give Leach credit.
I still think LSU will finish the season as the better team and I doubt the Bulldog offense will put up those type numbers again, but for right now Leach is deserving of the credit that’s come his way.
I also have to confess, I kind of like this schedule, where teams basically just play within their conference. I know we’re missing out on some of the big out of conference games we’ve started to see more of lately, but we’re also not having to be subjected to Alabama playing the Flying Griffindors of Hogwarts University, either.
I realize when you’ve got a new head coach, or new players at prime positions, like LSU and even Georgia to a certain extent, it’s nice to have easier games for everyone to get acclimated to each other.
On the other hand, it’s a nice change to essentially throw all the teams into the deep end and see who learns to swim first.
This isn’t to say the first few weeks of the season were rough to watch, they weren’t by any stretch. And there have been some really good storylines we’ve seen emerge that may not have otherwise gotten the attention. (A perfect example are the Miami Hurricanes. Imagine how much of the hype going to Mississippi State would be going to Miami after their annihilation of Florida State.)
Still, it’s nice to turn on a football game and see some of the major teams and players back in the field; it’s one of the reasons we love it so much.
I mean, we’re not watching Cobra Kai because it has the return of Daniel LaRusso’s mother, are we?
Lost Rivals
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The SEC announced it would be moving to a 10-game only conference game schedule for the 2020 football season.
With this news it means it means people will not see Georgia/Georgia Tech, South Carolina/Clemson, Florida/Florida State, nor Kentucky/Louisville play their rivalry games this fall.
The start of the season will be pushed back until September 26th.
If you are a UGA fan this probably means you open the season in Tuscaloosa against Alabama on that date. It is unclear at this time which teams the Bulldogs would add to the schedule.
It’s assumed that they would play the six teams from the SEC East and keep the Crimson Tide, this year’s SEC West rotational opponent, and Auburn, the annual SEC West opponent, on the schedule.
The SEC is developing a formula based on strength of schedule to determine the remaining two games for each SEC team.
SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said the shift to late September will allow schools to reintegrate their entire student bodies on campus amid the new challenges presented by the pandemic.
“This new plan for a football schedule is consistent with the educational goals of our universities to allow for the safe and orderly return to campus of their student populations and to provide a healthy learning environment during these unique circumstances presented by the COVID-19 virus,” Sankey said in a statement. “This new schedule supports the safety measures that are being taken by each of our institutions to ensure the health of our campus communities.”
Clemson and South Carolina have played every year since 1909.
Georgia and Georgia Tech, which have played 114 times, have met in each season since 1925.
Florida and Florida State started playing each other in 1958. I hate losing these three games as a fan in 2020.
Other Big SEC non-conference games that were cut in 2020 are Alabama vs. USC in Arlington, Texas, was canceled when the Pac-12 opted to play only conference games.
Two other ACC-SEC games Georgia vs. Virginia and Auburn vs. North Carolina at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta are gone.
Other games that won’t be played: Texas at LSU, Arkansas at Notre Dame, Tennessee at Oklahoma, Missouri at BYU, Vanderbilt at Kansas State and Mississippi State at NC State.
2020 will go down as one of the worst years in history with the Covid-19 pandemic. I lost a family member to this deadly pandemic.
College football is like comfort food to many of us in the South, currently. I’m hoping the season takes place. As a UGA fan it bothers you that you can’t play a rival that is only 70 miles from your campus, but I applaud the SEC and the University Presidents for doing everything in their power to have a football season.
Questions to be answered now:
Once play begins will we even have fans in attendance?
Will UGA/UF be played in Jacksonville this year?
With the conference only format, will Florida and Georgia lose a home game?
What does a competitive balanced additional two SEC games mean?
Does that mean Florida picks up Texas A&M and Auburn while Alabama picks up Vanderbilt and Missouri?
Long time SEC fans know how everything seems to benefit Alabama in the long run. Yes, I said it prove me wrong from a historical perspective. It is going to be interesting when the additional two game rotation rolls out.
The ultimate goal is to have SEC football this fall, and Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate will resume in 2021 at Bobby Dodd Stadium in Atlanta.
I Will Take My Talents To…
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
With the Early Signing Period in the rearview mirror and bowl season over, the last big day for college football before spring practice is National Signing Day.
With many of the top recruits from the 2020 class already signed, who is left for the top programs to pick up on Wednesday, February 5th?
Five Star Running Back Zack Evans is the number 1 running back in the class of 2020.
By far the wildest recruitment of the 2020 cycle. Evans signed a LOI (Letter of Intent) with the Georgia Bulldogs back in December, got cold feet, and asked to be released from his LOI.
Georgia obliged and now Evans is back on the market as an extremely talented athlete with some off the field issues.
This recruitment still seems very cloudy through, as Evans has left a lot of coaches guessing. This is shaping up to be a Tennessee, Ole Miss and Georgia battle. Alabama, Florida and LSU have rescinded their offers over the past few weeks. My Pick: Georgia
Four Star Safety Avantae Williams backed off his early commitment to the Oregon Ducks back in December.
Williams is the 9th ranked safety in the 2020 class.
He is a hard-hitting safety that can cover a lot of ground. Williams’ recruitment is a battle between Miami, Florida and Georgia. My Pick: Florida
Four Star Offensive Lineman Sedrick Van Pran has been committed to Georgia since August.
Van Pran has taken official visits to Alabama and is scheduled to be at Florida this weekend.
With the departure of former Offensive Line coach San Pittman, Van Pran seems to have opened up his recruitment. It would be shocking if Van Pran is not a Bulldog come National Signing Day. My Pick: Georgia
Four Star Running Back Jahmyr Gibbs has been committed to Georgia Tech since May.
After a very strong senior season, Gibbs has received offers from Ohio State, LSU, Georgia and Florida.
While Florida and Ohio State have put on the full court press, Gibbs will stay firm to his commitment. My Pick: Georgia Tech
Four Star Athlete Damarcus Beckwood has hopes of playing college football and basketball.
The 6-foot-4, 220 pounder is a versatile weapon on offense playing both wide receiver and tight end in high school. This is a battle between Tennessee and Florida. My Pick: Florida
February 5th marks the final day of the 2020 recruiting cycle. National Signing Day will still be important as there are a couple highly touted 2020 high school prospects that remain uncommitted.
And there will always be the few flipped prospects that make headlines on National Signing Day.
Since Dan Mullen’s time at Florida, the Gators have used the transfer portal to pluck talented players. The Gators have landed four star Van Jefferson and Trevon Grimes in Mullen’s first year at Florida.
Last season, the Gators landed five-star defensive end, Brenton Cox.
This season is much different, the Gators signed a pair of five stars in running back Lorenzo Lingard and wide receiver Justin Shorter. Both players have applied for waivers with the NCAA.
Kirby Smart used the portal to add quarterback Jamie Newman. Newman has one season of eligibility and should be the front runner for QB1 for the Bulldogs.
Can Newman do what Joe Burrow did for LSU?
