Category: Florida Gators

Florida fans melt down after Miami steamrolls Gators

Florida suffers an massive 41-17 home loss to the Miami Hurricanes and Gator fans are going nuts on social media

For Georgia football fans that enjoy schadenfreude, they received a share of it by seeing Florida lose on Saturday.

It was not a great day for Florida Gators fans. Their football team was absolutely walloped at home. The Miami Hurricanes dominated Florida, 41-17.

Coming into this season, the Gators were looking to start strongly, so that had a chance to make a bowl game despite a brutal schedule. This game was seen as a tossup that could bring Gators fans hope at the start of the season, but it was the exact opposite.

The game was close for a half. Florida trailed 17-10 near the end of the half. However, Miami rattled off 21 unanswered points, scoring on every drive in the third quarter.

New Miami quarterback Cam Ward was basically perfect, throwing for 385 yards and three touchdowns for a 189.3 passer rating. The only mistake he made was throwing interception on their side of the field in the first quarter. The Miami running game totaled 144 yards and two touchdowns on 33 carries.

As for Florida’s QB, Graham Mertz was garbage, passing for only 91 yards, no touchdowns, one interception and an 83.2 passer rating, which wouldn’t even be considered good in the NFL’s passer rating scale. He left the game due to injury in the third quarter, bringing in DJ Lagway, who threw for 31 yards and another interception for a 60.1 passer rating.

Montrell Johnson Jr. had a great statistical day, running for 106 yards on 11 carries, but it was inflated by one big 75-yard touchdown run in the second.

Georgia fans had a great opening Saturday. Georgia crushed its ACC opponent, 34-3, but watching the Florida Gators struggle is a nice cherry on top.

Here’s how social media reacted to Florida’s latest embarrassing loss.

Florida coach Billy Napier is on a HOT seat

https://twitter.com/Aaron_Torres/status/1830003771994489108

Spurrier can’t like this

https://twitter.com/Wes_nship/status/1830019469445308716

https://twitter.com/MichaelWBratton/status/1830019680414691445

You almost feel bad

https://twitter.com/CFBRep/status/1830016402453102649

 

https://twitter.com/PickSixPreviews/status/1830020586539569185

https://twitter.com/CFBONFOX/status/1830020264513687691

https://twitter.com/ChrisVannini/status/1830013629258772712

https://twitter.com/ALostrich/status/1830017682541842631

https://twitter.com/ThomasGoldkamp/status/1830008690591584470

Miami does the chomp in the swamp!

https://twitter.com/theACCDN/status/1830020581573738709

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nation’s top interior offensive lineman, LSU target sets commitment date

The Tigers are trending for Carius Curne, who will commit on Thursday, after an official visit this past weekend.

LSU’s 2025 recruiting class is off to a red-hot start, and we’re now in the midst of the most important part of the recruiting calendar as each weekend in June has featured a number of high-profile official visitors.

This past weekend was headlined by a pair of players who rank at the top of their respective position groups. No. 1 safety [autotag]Jonah Williams[/autotag] was in attendance, and coach Jay Johnson’s baseball program stepped in to help recruit the two-sport star.

Also in town was [autotag]Carius Curne[/autotag], the top interior offensive lineman in the class. After his visit to Baton Rouge, Curne has set a commitment date for Thursday, June 20.

Curne, who hails from Marion, Arkansas, ranks No. 84 nationally and is the top player in Arkansas per On3’s industry rankings. Those have him as the No. 5 IOL, but On3’s own rankings are higher on him, placing him in the top 25 nationally as the top interior lineman in the nation.

The Tigers received three crystal balls from 247Sports to land Curne in March, and with a 93.9% chance to land him per the On3 recruiting prediction machine, they seem to be in good shape as we’re 72 hours out from his announcement.

Update: The original publication of this story indicated Curne would commit on Wednesday. He has set his commitment date to Thursday.

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Florida guard Riley Kugel to enter transfer portal

Florida sophomore guard Riley Kugel to enter portal

According to reports, Florida sophomore guard Riley Kugel has entered his name into the transfer portal after two seasons in Gainesville.

Kugel, a Florida native out of Dr. Phillips High School, was a four-star, Top 100 prospect from the 2022 class, and has been a key contributor in Florida’s success across each of the past two years.

Across the last two seasons, the first of which he was a SEC All-Freshman selection, Kugel started a combined 28-of-65 games for the Gators, averaging 9.5 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 1.2 APG, and 1 SPG. Kugel has also shot 42.3% from the field, as well as 34.2% from three and 67.8% from the free throw line.

This past season, Kugel started 11-of-33 games for a Florida team that made the NCAA Tournament. During the season, Kugel averaged 9.2 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 1.5 APG, and 1.1 SPG on 39.4% shooting from the field, as well as 31.2% from three and 69.6% from the free throw line.

Kugel is now the first Florida player to enter the transfer portal so far this offseason, and should be a sought-after name.

Alabama defeats Florida in OT, holds on to one game lead in SEC

The Alabama Crimson Tide defeated the Florida Gators in overtime to remain in sole possession of first place in the SEC standings.

Transfer Grant Nelson had 22 points, eight rebounds, and a season-high six blocks as Alabama secured a 98-93 overtime win over Florida to maintain a one game lead in the SEC standings.

‘Bama has now won 16 straight SEC home games and is 11-2 in conference play and 19-7 overall this season. An ugly 2-5 stretch of basketball in November notwithstanding, this Nate Oats led team has been among the most prolific teams in the entire country and their odds of winning the SEC in wire-to-wire fashion continue to grow.

It wasn’t easy on Tuesday night though, as ‘Bama went one for their first 17 from the perimeter and needed a clutch offensive rebound and bucket from Aaron Estrada to secure the victory over a Gators team that, lately, has looked like not only an NCAA Tournament team, but a potential Sweet 16 caliber squad.

The loss pushes the Gators into sixth place in the SEC, although it likely won’t have a major impact on their at-large hopes. Golden’s team has two games left against Vanderbilt (2-10) and one against Missouri (0-13), which should pad the W-L record, but they also take on South Carolina on the road and have a home game left against Alabama.

A win in that one would go a long way toward putting this team on the six line (or higher) in the Big Dance, assuming they take care of business elsewhere.

Florida lands former 4-star Texas defensive line commit

Florida lands former 4-star Texas defensive line commit

Only days after being released from his NLI, former Texas commit D’antre Robinson officially committed to the Florida Gators on Friday afternoon.

Robinson, who had previously committed to the Longhorns back in July, as well as signed with Texas in December, had been officially released from his National Letter of Intent earlier this week. It did not take Robinson long to decide on his future destination either, with the former Texas signee now committing to return home to the Sunshine State to play for the Florida Gators.

Robinson is ranked as a four-star defensive lineman in the 2024 class out of Jones High School in Florida, as well as the No. 252 overall player in the country according to the 247Sports Composite.

The four-star is also now one of the highest-rated commitments of the 2024 cycle for the Gators and is the fourth defensive lineman joining the likes of LJ McCray, Brien Taylor, and Michai Boireau.

Wake Forest, Florida atop D1Baseball’s 2024 preseason rankings

The Demon Deacons and the Gators are considered the teams to beat in college baseball as the 2024 season approaches.

With the calendar turned to the start of 2024 and warmer weather theoretically on the way, college baseball season is quickly approaching. The first signs of life on the NCAA diamond came on Tuesday when D1Baseball released its preseason rankings of the 25 best teams this upcoming year.

The defending champion, LSU, is only six months removed from its College World Series title. However, the rankings think the leaders the Tigers lost, including the first two picks of last year’s MLB draft in pitcher Paul Skenes and outfielder Dylan Crews, are enough to drop LSU down to a humble fourth.

Two conference foes slot in ahead of the defending champions. Florida, the team that lost to LSU in the final series, sits second. The Gators also won the title in 2017 and were atop the national rankings with a 16-1 record in 2020 before the rest of the season was canceled due to COVID-19. Arkansas finished the regular season 39-15 last year, but a surprising 4-3 postseason campaign held them back from advancing to Omaha after TCU stunned them in their home regional.

All three of the top SEC teams are looking up at Wake Forest, however. The Demon Deacons lost to LSU in the 11th inning of a survive-and-advance game with a ticket to the championship series on the line.

Here are the full rankings:

Rank Team 2023 Record
1 Wake Forest 54-12
2 Florida 54-17
3 Arkansas 43-18
4 LSU 54-17
5 TCU 44-24
6 Vanderbilt 42-20
7 Oregon State 41-20
8 Texas A&M 38-27
9 Tennessee 44-22
10 Clemson 44-19
11 East Carolina 47-19
12 Duke 39-24
13 N.C. State 36-21
14 Virginia 50-15
15 North Carolina 36-24
16 Texas 42-22
17 UC Santa Barbara 35-20
18 Coastal Carolina 42-21
19 Alabama 43-21
20 Iowa 44-16
21 Texas Tech 41-23
22 UCLA 28-24-1
23 Northeastern 44-16
24 Kansas State 35-24
25 South Carolina 42-21

 

Florida State adds two big-name SEC transfers including a Florida lineman

Just one day after head coach Mike Norvell signed an extension, the Seminoles brought in an Alabama running back and a Florida offensive lineman.

Just one day after Florida State announced head coach Mike Norvell signed an extension, the Seminoles reeled in two big transfers from the SEC, including one big rival.

Former Alabama running back Roydell Williams and former Florida offensive lineman Richie Leonard IV both committed to join Norvell in Tallahassee next season.

Williams spent the past four seasons with the Crimson Tide, rushing for 1,168 yards and 11 touchdowns in an Alabama uniform. His carries increased in each of his four seasons, culminating in his best season in 2023. He ran for 560 yards and five touchdowns on 111 carries, the highest single-season marks of his career in all three categories.

Leonard started every game for the Gators last season, and PFF credits him with 1,250 snaps across the past three seasons. He earned a pass-blocking grade of 63.7 and a run-blocking grade of 63.9 last season.

Both transfers will have one year of eligibility remaining.

Former Florida defensive lineman Chris McClellan commits to Missouri

The former top-100 recruit from the Class of 2022 had 46 total tackles and 2.0 sacks in two years with the Gators.

Former Florida defensive end Chris McClellan is staying in the SEC. He announced on Tuesday that he was committed to the Missouri Tigers, according to a report by On3’s Hayes Fawcett.

“I felt as if they are going to put me in the best position to make me successful and develop me over the next (two) years,” McClellan said in Fawcett’s report on the decision.

McClellan was a four-star prospect in the Class of 2022, one of 247Sports’ top 100 prospects in the class. He was the No. 12 defensive lineman, and the Oklahoma native was the top recruit in his state.

The 6-foot-3, 320-pound lineman had 23 total tackles in both of his seasons with the Gators, finishing with seven solo tackles and 16 assists in both 2022 and 2023. He has 2.0 career sacks, with his only full sack coming against Missouri last season.

His highest PFF grades from this past season came as a tackler (74.6) and run defender (67.5).

McClellan joins a Missouri team on the rise. The Tigers won 10 games this season for the first team since 2014, and while head coach Eliah Drinkwitz has only pulled six transfers now with McClellan, four of them are four-star prospects.

Auburn lures premier defensive lineman and top-50 prospect from Florida

Amaris Williams, who had been projected to flip from the Gators, chose to stay in the SEC with the Auburn Tigers.

Defensive lineman Amaris Williams, who ranks as 247Sports’ eighth-best defensive lineman in the Class of 2024 and the No. 34 overall prospect, officially flipped from Auburn to Florida on Wednesday. On3’s Hayes Fawcett first reported the announcement on social media.

Williams committed to Florida in June, but he was expected to change his mind with 247Sports’ Steve Wiltfong predicted the jump to the Tigers this morning.

The 6-foot-3 and 270-pound defensive tackle initially had his eyes on running back as a position, and he ran a 4.7 40-yard dash. The North Carolina native chose Auburn despite recent visits to Georgia and Ohio State.

Williams is the third-highest prospect in the Tigers’ 2024 class behind five-star wide receivers Cam Coleman and Perry Thompson, a pair of Alabama natives both within the 30 best players in the country.

Florida has now lost six recruits with four or more stars since the start of November. Williams is the third Florida commit to flip this week after safety Xavier Filsaime chose Texas on Monday and linebacker Adarius Hayes chose Miami less than an hour before Williams announced his decision.

Get more Auburn coverage at Auburn Wire.

Four-star linebacker chooses Miami over Florida

Adarius Hayes committed to Florida in January, but he switched to the Hurricanes and signed his letter of intent to seal the flip.

Linebacker Adarius Hayes, a four-star prospect within the top 200 of 247Sports’ Class of 2024 rankings, flipped in-state from Florida to Miami on Wednesday. On3 reported the switch.

Hayes had committed to Florida back in January, but he signed his letter of intent with the Hurricanes on early signing day to seal the switch.

The Florida native, who plays for Largo High School, climbs as high as 73rd on 247Sports’ composite rankings. The website’s director of scouting, Andrew Ivins, describes him as a “lanky second-level defender that can drop back into coverage and fill gaps.”

He measures out at 6-foot-4 and 210 pounds, and he is one of the website’s top 15 linebackers in the class.

His addition to the Miami class helps bump the Hurricanes up to fourth in the 2024 team rankings while the Gators, who were once No. 3, tumble outside the top 10. Hayes was the fifth 2024 recruit with four or more stars to decommit from Florida in the past six weeks.