Tag: Adam Mihalek

Eight Gators on Phil Steele’s 2024 Preseason All-SEC Teams

Florida returns several of the conference’s best players, including these eight who made the Phil Steele Preseason All-SEC Teams.

The Florida Gators regularly produce some of the best talent in the SEC, so it isn’t surprising to see eight UF players named to Phil Steele’s Preseason All-American Teams

A pair of seniors — running back [autotag]Montrell Johnson Jr[/autotag]. and punter [autotag]Jeremy Crawshaw[/autotag] — made the first team.

Johnson transferred from Lousiana, following head coach [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] and has been the main man in Florida’s backfield since. He’s passed the 800-yard mark on the ground in both of his seasons in Gainesville and scored 15 rushing touchdowns as a Gator. Crawshaw is one of the nation’s premier legs and is among the punters Florida has ever rostered.

Senior cornerback [autotag]Jason Marshall Jr[/autotag]. and junior inside linebacker [autotag]Shemar James[/autotag] join long-snapper [autotag]Rocco Underwood[/autotag] on Steel’s All-SEC Second Team.

A former five-star recruit, Marshall has yet to live up to expectations at the college level, but he’s considered a top draft prospect and will be tested as such. James is a bit more proven, but he’s coming off a serious knee injury that could change how he plays.

Left tackle and leader of Florida offensive line [autotag]Austin Barber[/autotag] joins kicker [autotag]Trey Smack[/autotag] on the Third Team.

Barber also missed time with an injury last season, but he’s the anchor in the trenches for the Gators. He’ll have some help from the transfer portal this season, but look for him to play the same role up front for UF. Smack took over the starting kicker role for [autotag]Adam Mihalek[/autotag] in 2023. He made all 29 extra points he attempted and made 17 of 21 field goals, including a pair of 50-plus-yarders.

Rounding out the list is sophomore safety [autotag]Jordan Castell[/autotag] on the Fourth Team. Pro Football Focus ranked him fifth among freshman safeties who played at least 20% of his team’s snaps.

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Florida losing kicker Adam Mihalek to transfer portal

Florida kicker Adam Mihalek is entering the NCAA transfer portal after three years in Gainesville with the Gators.

After [autotag]Adam Mihalek[/autotag] lost the starting placekicker job to Trey Smack, most figured he’d hit the transfer portal at the end of the season.

Mihalek made that news official on Sunday following Florida’s season-ending loss the day before.

“I am grateful for my tie as a Florida Gator in Gainesville,” Mihalek wrote in an announcement posted to social media. “I want to thank Coach Napier and the entire staff for the opportunity at UF. It was a great experience to kick for the Gators. It has enriched my life in countless ways and I will carry those life lessons with me…

“I have decided to enter the transfer portal and look forward to my next opportunity.”

A former walk-on, Mihalek started all 13 games for Florida in 2022 under first-year head coach Billy Napier. He made 14 of 21 field goals that year, the longest coming from 52 yards out.

Napier put Mihalek on scholarship ahead of the 2023 season but things unraveled pretty quickly. Mihalek missed two kicks and a point after attempt through three games, opening the door for Smack to take over.

Mihalek will have two years of eligibility remaining wherever he lands.

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Florida kicker put on spring scholarship

At least one walk-on at Florida is being put on scholarship for the spring semester, according to Billy Napier.

After serving as the team’s primary kicker in 2022, walk-on [autotag]Adam Mihalek[/autotag] has been awarded a scholarship for the spring semester, according to head coach Billy Napier during his national signing day press conference.

While Mihalek is the only walk-on being put on scholarship right now, Napier said that the team would continue to evaluate over the spring with one spot still freed up. For Napier, the move was an obvious one after Mihalek served as a starter for the entirety of the 2022 season.

“We did. Adam in particular,” Napier replied when asked if the team had put anyone on scholarship for the offseason. “He’s certainly very deserving. His role and how he contributed to our team this past year. We’ll have a handful more, but I think we’re going to observe the work this spring before we make those decisions.”

Mihalek passed up scholarship offers out of high school from Liberty, Navy and Stetson to play at Florida, and that gamble is paying off after two years with the program. He didn’t appear in a game in 2021 but quickly became the team’s only option after [autotag]Chris Howard[/autotag] transferred and [autotag]Jace Christmann[/autotag] graduated. Mihalek was the lone kicker on the team for a month or two before true freshman [autotag]Trey Smack[/autotag] enrolled over the summer, giving him a head start on the competition.

He made 14 of 21 field goal attempts for Florida in 2022, but three of those misses were from 50 yards or more. Mihalek hit as many 50-yarders as he missed too, nailing three throughout the year. He also extended the school’s historic scoring streak to 436 games with a late field goal against Oregon State in the Las Vegas Bowl.

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Here’s ESPN’s takeaway from Florida’s Las Vegas Bowl loss

Here’s ESPN’s takeaway from Saturday afternoon’s embarrassment.

Florida football took a beating on Saturday afternoon in the Las Vegas Bowl at the hands of the Oregon State Beavers, who nearly shut the Gators out for the first time since 1988. While the 30-3 final score was far more lopsided than most predicted, the outcome of this game could have been even worse.

Throughout the bowl season so far, ESPN’s staff updated its takeaway tracker following the conclusion of each postseason game. Writer Alex Scarborough offered his take on what the nation saw in Las Vegas between the Gators and Beavers on behalf of his crew, as noted below.

A week after signing a six-year deal worth $30.6 million, Oregon State coach Jonathan Smith led his team to a dominating triumph over Florida, securing the Beavers’ first 10-win season in 16 years and their first-ever victory against an SEC opponent. It was a balanced, all-round effort for Oregon State, which threw for 189 yards and rushed for 164 yards — 107 of which came from junior running back Deshaun Fenwick. The defense allowed only 1.2 yards per rush. A 40-yard field goal by [autotag]Adam Mihalek[/autotag] with less than a minute remaining avoided the shutout and extended the Gators’ streak of scoring in games to 436. — Scarborough

The loss sunk the program to its second-straight sub-.500 finish for the first time since the 1978 and 1979 seasons — the latter being the Swamp’s nadir following a 0-10-1 campaign in head coach Charlie Pell’s first season. The good news, based on that historical trend, is that brighter days are ahead in Gainesville… or at least, they should be.

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Depth Chart: Gators light at WR ahead of Week 11 matchup with South Carolina

The Gators might be thin at wide receiver this weekend when South Carolina comes to the Swamp.

The Florida Gators are still dealing with injuries, particularly at the wide receiver position, according to the Week 11 depth chart update released Wednesday evening.

The team’s leading receiver, [autotag]Justin Shorter[/autotag], is still listed as questionable after missing the Texas A&M game, and backup [autotag]Ja’Quavion Fraziars[/autotag] is out with an upper-body injury. Fraziars made his first-career start against the Aggies last week, so Florida will be down to it’s reserve options on Saturday.

Shorter is still listed as the starter, but freshman [autotag]Caleb Douglas[/autotag] is set to make his first career start if he can’t go. Behind him and [autotag]Xavier Henderson[/autotag] will be Marcus Burke and [autotag]Daejon Reynolds[/autotag] with [autotag]Kahleil Jackson[/autotag] as another option. [autotag]Ricky Pearsall[/autotag] is the starter in the slot.

The wide receiver room isn’t the only position group to deal with injuries. Starting left guard [autotag]Ethan White[/autotag] was added to the injury report and is listed as questionable with an upper-body injury. White is still listed as the starter, but that decision will be made as kickoff approaches.

Freshman kicker [autotag]Trey Smack[/autotag], who has exclusively served as Florida’s kickoff man this season, is out for a second straight week after missing the Texas A&M game. [autotag]Travis Freeman [/autotag]will back up [autotag]Adam Mihalek[/autotag] for all kicking duties.

At linebacker, [autotag]Diwun Black[/autotag] is back on the depth chart and off the injury report. He’s listed as a third-team option behind [autotag]Amari Burney[/autotag] and [autotag]Shemar James[/autotag].

Tight end Keon Zipperer will miss a second-straight game, and that’s all for the depth chart update this week. [autotag]Devin Moore[/autotag], [autotag]Arlis Boardingham[/autotag] and [autotag]Nick Elksnis[/autotag] are all out as well.

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Florida kicker nominated for Burlsworth Trophy

Florida’s kicker, Adam Mihalek, is getting some national recognition as one of the best walk-ons in college football.

Florida’s placekicker, [autotag]Adam Mihalek[/autotag], is one of 81 nominees for the 2022 Burlsworth Trophy, according to a release from the award committee on Tuesday.

“The Burlsworth Trophy is given to the most outstanding football player in America who began his career as a walk-on and has shown outstanding performance on the field,” according to the award’s website, meaning “each nominee must have begun his first season of participation with FBS (D1) football program without financial aid of any kind from his university’s athletic department.”

Simply put, the award goes to the best player in college football that wasn’t a high-profile enough recruit out of high school to warrant a scholarship. Last year, long snapper [autotag]Marco Ortiz[/autotag] (who recently entered the transfer portal) represented Florida as a nominee, and now Mihalek has a shot to finish as a finalist.

“I always wanted to play at a big school,” Mihalek said to the University Athletic Association. “I wanted to play in the SEC. The SEC is pretty awesome. I really love the Gators.”

The committee will choose three finalists from the list of 81 nominees over the next month, and a ceremony will take place on Dec. 5 to honor all three and announce the winner.

The full list of nominees can be found here.

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Florida going with a new kickoff man against Eastern Washington

Among the many changes made to Florida’s depth chart this week, it looks like true freshman Trey Smack is Florida’s man for kickoffs against Eastern Washington.

Florida true freshman kicker [autotag]Trey Smack[/autotag] will make his collegiate debut on Sunday when the Gators host the Eastern Washington Eagles, according to 247Sports.

Smack will take over for [autotag]Adam Mihalek[/autotag] on kickoffs this week, but the walk-on will still be the team’s primary leg on extra points and field goals. Mihalek has been solid through the first four weeks of the season, hitting three of four field goal attempts, including a 50-yarder against Kentucky. His only miss came from beyond 50 in the Tennessee game, so he’s really done no wrong this year.

Still, Smack was competing with Mihalek for the job until “a minor ailment” limited him in fall camp. Now that he’s healthy, Smack could pick up right where he left off.

It’ll be interesting to see how Napier manages Smack’s redshirt situation. After missing the first four games, he could appear in half of Florida’s remaining games and retain his eligibility for the year. If he’s only doing kickoffs for the team, that seems like a likely scenario.

Right now, the job is Mihalek’s to lose and he’s not showing signs of regression as the season carries on. He’s hit all 10 extra point attempts this season, and a miss from 50-plus yards isn’t going to hurt his reputation too much.

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Florida announces Players of the Week for Tennessee game

Florida may have lost on Saturday, but there will still plenty of performances worth recognizing from the boys in Orange in Blue.

Despite the final score of Saturday’s game between Florida and Tennessee, there was a lot to like from the Gators.

On Monday, the team took a moment to recognize the top performers from the contest and revealed who the Players of the Week were. Three players on offense, defense and special teams (game-changers) were selected.

On offense, quarterback [autotag]Anthony Richardson[/autotag] and receivers [autotag]Justin Shorter[/autotag] and [autotag]Ricky Pearsall[/autotag] got the nod. Richardson provided 515 yards of total offense and four touchdowns in what was easily the best game of his collegiate career so far. Shorter led the way with seven receptions for 155 yards, and Pearsall also broke the century mark (103 yards) on five grabs.

Safety [autotag]Rashad Torrence II[/autotag], linebacker [autotag]Ventrell Miller[/autotag] and linebacker/STAR [autotag]Amari Burney[/autotag] earned the honors on defense. Miller played hurt after missing just one week with an ankle injury and totaled six tackles against Tennesse while forcing a fumble and recovering another. Torrence led the team in total tackles with 13 (11 solo), and he also broke up a pass. Burney finished second on the team with eight tackles (seven solo), including 2.5 tackles for a loss, a pair of sacks for nine yards and a forced fumble.

Punter [autotag]Jeremy Crawshaw[/autotag], linebacker [autotag]Diwun Black[/autotag] and safety [autotag]Kamari Wilson[/autotag] were all recognized for their efforts on special teams. Black made the big play of the night, snatching the ball out of the air on the onside kick to give Florida a last-second shot at the end zone. Crawshaw only delivered one punt on the night, but it landed inside the 20 and [autotag]Adam Mihalek[/autotag] missed his field goal, so it sort of had to be him. Wilson finished with five total tackles, including one on a kickoff return.

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Florida kicker Chris Howard to enter his name into the NCAA transfer portal

Florida redshirt senior kicker Chris Howard announced on Twitter Monday that he will play his final season of college football elsewhere.

Florida redshirt senior kicker [autotag]Chris Howard[/autotag] announced his decision on Twitter to enter the NCAA transfer portal on Monday. He only has one year left of eligibility.

“Gator Nation, thank you for the countless memories, the relationships that will last a lifetime, and for the endless support over the last five years,” Howard wrote. “To all my coaches, trainers, professors, and to everyone else who contributed to making my journey at Florida so special, I cannot begin to say how grateful I am for the opportunities.

“As I enter my 6th and final year of my collegiate football career, my family and I have decided it’s time to see where the next stop on my journey will take me. I will be entering the transfer portal with 1 year of eligibility remaining and am beyond excited to see what’s next. Thanks again, and Go Gators!”

Howard handled the responsibilities in the short-kicking game while Mississippi State transfer [autotag]Jace Christmann[/autotag] was tasked with attempting deeper field goals. Howard went seven for nine on field-goal tries with the longest one coming in at 42 yards. He also converted 31 out of 32 extra-point attempts in 2021.

The media observed Howard leaving many practices early with the group of players, going to rehab for an injury they suffered. For the Orange and Blue game, Howard wasn’t on the Blue team with the rest of the first-team offense. Instead, it was redshirt freshman walk-on [autotag]Adam Mihalek[/autotag] who nailed his attempts from 48 and 52 yards out. Howard missed his only try from 32 yards out.

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