Tag: Brandon Spikes

Gators football LB talks Brandon Spikes, Florida-Georgia Rivalry

Gators linebacker Grayson “Pup” Howard talked about Brandon Spikes’ impact and the Florida-Georgia rivalry during Wednesday’s presser.

As Florida football gears up for their highly anticipated matchup against the Georgia Bulldogs, Gators sophomore inside linebacker Grayson “Pup” Howard reflects on one of the biggest rivalries in college football.

Howard remembers the impact of Brandon Spikes‘ iconic hit on running back Knowshon Moreno during the Gators’ matchup with Georgia back in 2008.

“Oh yeah. I mean, you see that everywhere,” Howard said about the hit during Wednesday’s press conference. “But, I mean, I’ve definitely seen it a couple of times.”

Spikes has been around the team, sharing his insight and giving advice to the players.

“I mean, it’s phenomenal,” Howard said about Spikes’ impact. “I mean, having a linebacker great that played here, he understands what we go through. I mean, his insight has, I mean, tremendously boosted everybody in the linebackers room.”

There’s no question that the storied rivalry between the Gators and Bulldogs is a focal point for the team, serving as a source of motivation throughout the week.

Howard emphasized the importance of understanding rivalries from the moment new players joined the Florida football program.

“I mean, it’s been motivation throughout practice and throughout the week and, you know, rivalries and everything like that,” Howard said about the Florida-Georgia rivalry.

“We had this thing called rivalry 101, where we talked about rivalries with transfers and freshmen when we first got here. So we learned about it earlier, when we first got here. But no, it’s a big game, and we know it’s a rivalry game.”

Howard mentioned that his family will be at the game on Saturday.

“My mom, my pops, my brother,” Howard said. “I got my siblings, so I’m going to have the whole family there.”

Howard, previously at South Carolina, transferred to Florida this past offseason and has logged 33 total tackles, one forced fumble and two fumble recoveries this season.

How to watch Florida vs. Georgia

The Gators go up against the Bulldogs on Saturday, Nov. 2 in Jacksonville. That game will kick off at 3:30 p.m. ET and can be seen on ABC.

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Florida football announces ‘Mr. Two Bits’ for regular season finale

Brandon Spikes is taking over the Mr. Two Bits role on Saturday before Florida takes on Florida State in the Swamp.

For the past 10 seasons, every Florida home game has featured an honorary Mr. Two Bits who leads a pre-game cheer.

For those unfamiliar, an insurance salesman named George Edmonson began the Two Bits cheer at Gators games in 1949 and continued to do so until 2008 when he retired from the role. Edmonson became incredibly popular amongst the Florida fanbase and eventually moved onto the field to lead the cheer in a more official manner.

Since his retirement, the Gators have had guest Mr. Two Bits take over the cheer. Each honoree dons some version of the yellow shirt and orange-and-blue striped tie Edmondson wore every week, but no current member of the football program has ever taken over the role… until now.

The Gators announced that legendary linebacker and student assistant coach Brandon Spikes would lead the Two Bits cheer ahead of Saturday’s regular-season finale against the Florida State Seminoles.

“The (Florida State) game was always a big one on my calendar,” Spikes said. “I’m going to be the guy getting everybody going before the battle. That means a lot to me.”

Spikes is back in Gainesville to get his degree, and it was a no-brainer for Billy Napier to give him a spot on the staff. He’s loud, motivating and a fan favorite from his time as a player under Urban Meyer. In many ways, he’s the perfect person to take over the role, especially against FSU.

Both the Gators and Seminoles will be starting backup quarterbacks, so anything could happen despite the obvious talent gap between 5-6 Florida and No. 4 Florida State. There’s no doubt Spikes will have a sold-out crowd at its loudest by kickoff.

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Former Florida LB Brandon Spikes joins Florida coaching staff

The Florida Gators are bringing back one of the best linebackers in program history, Brandon Spikes, as a student assistant coach.

One of the top linebackers of the last 20 years of Gators football is [autotag]Brandon Spikes[/autotag], and he’s returned to Gainesville to give back to the team that helped him grow into a man.

Spikes did some recruiting for Florida over the summer and was seen coaching players during training camp. Billy Napier addressed the addition in his press conference during the first week of camp. Spikes’ will be with the team this year as a student assistant.

“Brandon came into town. He’s coming back to get his degree, and he wanted to have a role. He wanted to contribute to this place,” Napier said. “He really cares about the University of Florida and what this place did for him, not only as a football player but as a man as a student. The way that helped him on his path in life, and he’s had legitimate success at the professional level.”

Spikes is just 35 and many of the current players know his name from the NFL. It never hurts to add a coach with instant name recognition, and Napier is convinced that the team will get better with Spikes helping out.

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55 days till Patriots season opener: Every player to wear No. 55 for New England

Here’s a list of every Patriots player to wear the No. 55 jersey number

The New England Patriots are officially 55 days away from their 2023 season-opener at home against the Philadelphia Eagles.

So we’re continuing our countdown series by listing every Patriots player that has worn the No. 55 throughout franchise history.

Burgeoning star linebacker Josh Uche currently wears the number, which was also worn by the late, great Pro Football Hall of Famer Junior Seau. Uche did the number proud last season when he exploded for a career-high 11.5 sacks.

There have been a total of 21 Patriots players that have worn No. 55, including other long-tenured standouts like Willie McGinest and Don Blackmon.

Here’s every Patriots player that has worn the number (via Pro Football Reference):

NFL draft history: Every player chosen with the 62nd pick since 2010

We’re looking at every player selected No. 62 overall since the 2000 NFL Draft and the Philadelphia Eagles’ chances of landing an impact player.

The Eagles need impact players on both sides of the ball, and with two first-round picks in this month’s draft, Howie Roseman will have another opportunity to add depth to a Super Bowl-caliber roster.

With so much parity in college football now, second-round picks are expected to be dynamic players, but the list of No. 62 overall selections leaves a lot to be desired.

The previous 13 choices at 62nd overall have combined for two All-Pro selections, three Pro Bowl selections, and two All-Rookie Team selections.

With the NFL draft fast approaching, we’re looking at every player selected with the 62nd pick since 2000.

 

This Gator named to Chuck Bednarik Award watch list

Florida Gators OLB Brenton Cox Jr. was named to the Chuck Bednarik Award Watch list and is looking to become the first Florida Gator to win.

Veteran outside linebacker and holder of the coveted No. 1 jersey [autotag]Brenton Cox Jr[/autotag]. was named to the Chuck Bednarik Award watch list. The Chuck Bednarik Award is awarded by the Maxwell Club each year to the nation’s defensive player of the year.

Cox Jr. has grabbed the national attention of multiple preseason watch lists and media outlets, including the All-SEC second team from Athlon Sports, Phil Steele, and the scrum at SEC media days. Cox Jr. is the seventh different Florida player to be named to a preseason award watch list: [autotag]Anthony Richardson[/autotag] (Maxwell), [autotag]Ventrell Miller[/autotag] (Butkus), [autotag]Kingsley Eguakun[/autotag] (Rimington), [autotag]Gervon Dexter[/autotag] (Outland), [autotag]O’Cyrus Torrence[/autotag] (Outland), and [autotag]Nay’Quan Wright[/autotag] (Doak Walker & Wuerffel).

Cox Jr. is looking to become the first player in Florida football history to win the Chuck Bednarik award. Nine Gators players have been named semifinalists for the award with [autotag]Jevon Kearse[/autotag] (1998) and [autotag]Brandon Spikes[/autotag] (2009) the only finalists in program history.

Semifinalists for the award will be announced on November 1, with the three finalists to be announced on November 22. The winner will be announced on the ESPN Home Depot College Football Awards Show to be held on December 8.

The Florida Gators will open the 2022 season on Saturday, September 3, at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium against Utah at 7:00 p.m. EDT on ESPN.

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