Tag: college

Gators News: July 21, 2020

As we wade deeper into another week, we inch closer and closer to the beginning of MLB’s 60-game season, slated to start on Thursday night.

Another Tuesday has arrived and as we continue to wade deeper into another week, we inch closer and closer to the beginning of Major League Baseball’s abbreviated 60-game season, which is slated to start on Thursday night.

Meanwhile, in the football realm, there is still a great deal of discussion going on over how a college football season can be played in the fall — if it is even possible at all. And if football cannot be played, the economic ramifications could be huge, to the tune of many billions of dollars in lost revenues that stretches from the schools to the local economies to the broadcast networks.

There is still a great deal of uncertainty that lies ahead of us, with some answers expected to come sooner than later, such as with the SEC, which is expected to release a clarified plan before the end of July.

Enough of the bad news, here is some good news from yesterday on Gators Wire.

Around the Swamp

It’s great to be a Florida Gator

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Gators cornerback Kaiir Elam named to Jim Thorpe Award Watch List

Kaiir Elam, who appeared in all 13 games as a true freshman last season, has been named to the watch list for the Paycom Jim Thorpe Award.

Sophomore Florida cornerback Kaiir Elam is gaining some national recognition heading into his second season in Gainesville. Elam, who appeared in all 13 games as a true freshman last season, has been named to the watch list for the Paycom Jim Thorpe Award, which is given to the top defensive back in college football. He was one of 49 secondary players placed on the list.

Elam started five games in 2019, totaling 11 tackles and three interceptions. He was one of just seven true freshmen in the FBS to snag three or more picks last season. With the departure of one of last year’s starting corners in C.J. Henderson, Elam is likely to take over his starting role on the outside.

The list of 49 will be narrowed to 10-15 semifinalists on Nov. 2 before being slimmed to just three finalists on Nov. 16. The winner is set to be announced at the Home Depot College Football Awards on Dec. 10.

Here’s the full watch list.

Kaiir Elam Florida
Paulson Adebo Stanford
Reed Blankenship Middle Tennessee State
Eric Burrell Wisconsin
Camryn Bynum California
T.J. Carter Memphis
Andre Cisco Syracuse
Kenderick Duncan,  Jr. Georgia Southern
Greg Eisworth Iowa State
Caleb Farley Virginia Tech
Paris Ford Pitt
Kaleb Ford-Dement Old Dominion
Darrick Forrest Cincinnati
Ahmad Gardner Cincinnati
Thomas Graham,  Jr. Oregon
Richie Grant UCF
Darren Hall San Diego State
Brontae Harris UAB
Kolby Harvell-Peel Oklahoma State
Tyrone Hill Buffalo
Jevon Holland Oregon
Talanoa Hufanga USC
Shaun Jolly Appalachian State
Kekaula Kaniho Boise State
Derion Kendrick Clemson
Richard LeCounte Georgia
Trevon Moehrig TCU
Elijah Molden Washington
Israel Mukuamu South Carolina
Hamsah Nasirildeen Florida State
Dell Pettus Troy
Antonio Phillips Ball State
Aaron Robinson UCF
Emmanuel Rugamba Miami (OH)
Caden Sterns Texas
JaCoby Stevens LSU
Derek Stingley, Jr. LSU
Eric Stokes Georgia
Corey Straughter ULM
Patrick Surtain II Alabama
Ambry Thomas Michigan
Tariq Thompson San Diego State
Amechi Uzodinma Ball State
Shaun Wade Ohio State
Lamont Wade Penn State
Jalen Walker Boise State
Jermaine Waller Virginia Tech
Sterling Weatherford Miami (OH)
James Wiggins Cincinnati

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Florida Gators add three-star safety Donovan McMillon to 2021 class

One day after losing defensive back Clinton Burton Jr UF added another with Canonsburg, Pennsylvania three-star safety Donovan McMillon.

One day after losing a defensive back in the 2021 class, Clinton Burton, Jr., the Florida Gators added another, with Canonsburg, Pennsylvania three-star safety Donovan McMillon pledging on July 18.

McMillon shared the news of his commitment on his Twitter account.

The No. 26 player at his position in the cycle and a top-dozen player in the state, per the 247Sports Composite, he had previously trimmed his list of schools to five on June 1.

Along with Florida, the Oklahoma Sooners, Oregon Ducks, Texas A&M Aggies, and Virginia Tech Hokies made the cut for his services.

Primarily recruited by position coach Ron English, McMillon, listed at 6-foot-2 and 193 pounds, is a physical safety, who is also a standout wrestler for the Peters Township Mighty Indians, owning a 101-18 career record on the mat.

The Gators offered McMillon on April 18 and he took a trip to Gainesville in June, although the coaching staff was unable to interact with him, in accordance with National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) guidelines regarding the recruiting dead period.

“This is one of the only schools in the country that’s ranked in the top-ten academically and athletically,” he told 247Sports’ Brian Dohn.

“Coach (Dan) Mullen and his staff have continued to be outstanding during this recruiting process.”

The addition of McMillon brings Florida’s upcoming class back up to an even 20 members. The lone commit from the Keystone State, he is the twelfth-highest rated player in the group and the six-highest on the defensive side of the football.

McMillon becomes the Gators’ fourth defensive back in the cycle, joining fellow safety Dakota Mitchell, a three-star from Winter Park, and cornerbacks Kamar Wilcoxson and Jordan Young, a four-star from Bradenton’s IMG Academy and a three-star from Tampa, respectively.

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2021 Florida CB commit Clinton Burton Jr. flips to Boston College

Burton flipped to the Boston College Eagles, breaking the news shortly after 10 p.m. ET with a video on his Twitter account.

One of the highest-rated members of the Florida Gators’ upcoming recruiting class, Baltimore, Maryland four-star cornerback Clinton Burton, Jr., announced he will be taking his talents elsewhere on July 17.

Burton flipped to the Boston College Eagles, breaking the news shortly after 10 p.m. ET with a two-minute and twenty-second video on his Twitter account.

Originally committing to position coach Torrian Gray and the Gators on September 2, 2019, Burton was the second-highest rated pledge for the program in the 2021 cycle, according to the 247Sports Composite, trailing only Fort Lauderdale four-star defensive end Tyreak Sapp.

He becomes the top commit for Boston College and the school’s lone current four-star in the class.

Last reaching the eight-win mark in 2009, the Eagles parted ways with head coach Steve Addazio, who spent six years as an assistant under Urban Meyer at Florida from 2005-10, in December after seven seasons.

To succeed him, the program hired Ohio State Buckeyes co-defensive coordinator/secondary coach Jeff Hafley. Regarded as one of college football’s best recruiters, the hiring of the 41-year-old New Jersey native seems to be paying immediate dividends for Boston College.

With Burton out of the picture, the Gators’ 2021 class now stands at 19 members and ranks No. 10 in America and fourth-best in the Southeastern Conference.

Florida has secured the verbal commitment of two other cornerbacks in the cycle, IMG Academy four-star Kamar Wilcoxson and Tampa three-star Jordan Young.

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Indiana latest to suspend football workouts after positive COVID-19 tests

The Hoosiers football team had zero positive COVID-19 tests just a few short weeks ago but are now suspending voluntary workouts.

If you’ve been keeping tabs on college football teams and their COVID-19 results you may remember that along with Notre Dame and Michigan, Indiana has been one who has seemingly handled the situation well.

A June 23 report showed the Hoosiers having zero positive tests among the 187 that were administered.

Unfortunately that number is on the rise as six Hoosiers football players tested positive in the most recent series of tests, forcing the University to suspend voluntary workouts for the time being.

Obviously being in Indiana is one reason for posting this on a Notre Dame site but also relevant is that Indiana’s football team had zero positive tests a few short weeks ago. Notre Dame also had zero positive tests the last time the team went through the testing process.

What it means is just because it hasn’t seriously effected a team yet doesn’t mean it won’t.

Here’s to hoping this is just a speed bump for the Hoosiers as they’re now on the list of more than ten teams who have to suspend workouts due to COVID-19 outbreaks.

Enough about football, what about the college basketball season?

Lost in these conversations over what could have been in regards to football is a nagging question—what will happen with college basketball?

In recent weeks, the spotlight in the college sports world has been on the management (or lack thereof) of the college football season in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The NCAA and major conferences wasted the bulk of the summer by not coming up with a suitable return plan for college athletes, and now, with two of the Power Five conferences already moving to conference-only schedules and the rest likely to follow, the entire idea of having a college football season in the fall seems to be hanging by a thread.

It seems a near certainty that the season will be at the very least delayed until late fall/early winter, the implications of which would be devastating for the sport at large.

But lost in these conversations over what could have been in regards to football is a nagging question — what will happen with college basketball?

Surely, the NCAA will do whatever is possible to avoid making any substantive changes to the season considering the entire postseason was canceled last season. Allowing the virus to significantly affect two seasons in a row is a worst-case scenario.

But if the college football season — along with other fall sports — are canceled or postponed, where would that leave college basketball?

In making these plans, many of the limitations and stipulations that affect college football’s return also apply. Players are still unpaid, and forcing them into a position of risk is a bit different from when the NBA does it to its millionaire athletes. You still have to deal with the fact that it’s inconceivable to try and replicate a bubble-type environment; travel and the freedom of movement for student-athletes (who will still be taking classes as students, and at least at UF, could be taking them in-person) will be necessities.

But there are also a number of reasons why basketball doesn’t have to suffer the same fate football inevitably will. Smaller rosters mean you only have to worry about keeping conditions safe for 12-15 people (plus support staff), as opposed to the 100+ required for football. The schedule would be easier to adjust if necessary since nonconference basketball games aren’t tied with seven-figure contracts like in football, and playing games without fans wouldn’t be as financially catastrophic as it would be for football, where schools in conferences that don’t have lucrative TV deals often need revenue from ticket sales to subsidize their entire athletics departments.

Not to mention the fact that the season isn’t set to start until November, putting several more months between the current state of the pandemic in the United States and the season’s commencement.

But there are no guarantees. The Ivy and Patriot Leagues have already canceled sports through the fall, meaning that if the basketball season were to happen in those Division I conferences, it would at the very least be delayed. It’s very possible the beginning of the season is pushed until December or January and nonconference games are eliminated entirely or severely reduced. There’s also the conflicts basketball season could have with a potential spring football season to keep in mind.

There is reason to be more optimistic that the college basketball season will happen on time than the college football season, to be sure. But if that’s going to happen, the NCAA can’t waste the next three months and repeat the mistake it made with football.

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Florida’s Kyle Trask makes CBS Sports’ list of the top-10 players in the SEC

Turning his focus to players returning to campus, CBS Sports’ Barrett Sallee ranked the SEC’s top-10 players ahead of the 2020 season.

Producing 63 selections in the 2020 National Football League Draft, 15 more than the next closest conference and their 14th-straight year atop the list, the Southeastern Conference has long been regarded as the mountaintop of college football.

Turning his focus to players returning to campus this fall, CBS Sports’ Barrett Sallee ranked the SEC’s top-10 players ahead of the 2020 season, releasing his list on July 15.

One Florida Gator made the cut, redshirt senior quarterback Kyle Trask slotting in at No. 10.

“Trask stepped in for an injured Feleipe Franks in Week 3 vs. Kentucky and threw for 2,941 yards last year – the best season for a Florida quarterback since 2009, which was Tim Tebow’s final season in Gainesville,” Sallee wrote.

“He completed 54.8-percent of his passes while under pressure last season, the second-best mark in the country. Not bad for a guy who hasn’t been the starting quarterback in an offseason at any point during his high school or college career.

“His future looks bright now that he’s finally the unquestioned starting quarterback for the Gators.”

While Trask and head coach Dan Mullen must adjust to life without four of their top-five wide receivers from 2019, Van Jefferson, Freddie Swain, Josh Hammond, and Tyrie Cleveland, the program does return senior Trevon Grimes and boasts arguably the nation’s best tight end in junior Kyle Pitts.

On top of this, co-offensive coordinator/offensive line coach John Hevesy’s unit returns four starters from a year ago and added versatile Mississippi State Bulldogs graduate transfer Stewart Reese, the brother of redshirt sophomore linebacker David Reese.

Lamical Perine, a four-year contributor, played, perhaps, the best football of his career toward the end of last season and was selected by the New York Jets in the fourth-round (No. 120 overall) in April.

To help fill this void, Florida received a major boost when redshirt sophomore Lorenzo Lingard, a Miami Hurricanes transfer, had his request for immediate eligibility approved by the National Collegiate Athletic Association in May.

Junior LSU Tigers wideout Ja’Marr Chase, the reigning Fred Biletnikoff Award winner, received the No. 1 ranking from Sallee, with Alabama Crimson Tide redshirt junior linebacker Dylan Moses and Mississippi State senior tailback Kylin Hill occupying the next two spots.

Completing the list, in order from four-through-nine, were LSU sophomore cornerback Derek Stingley, Jr., Tennessee Volunteers senior offensive tackle Trey Smith, Alabama senior running back Najee Harris, Missouri Tigers junior linebacker Nick Bolton, Georgia Bulldogs senior safety Richard LeCounte, and Crimson Tide senior offensive tackle Alex Leatherwood.

Pitts was one of a dozen players to receive an honorable mention, joining a group including Arkansas Razorbacks redshirt senior tailback Rakeem Boyd, Texas A&M Aggies senior quarterback Kellen Mond, and Alabama wide receivers DeVonta Smith and Jaylen Waddle, a senior and junior, respectively.

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NCAA issues latest outline of return-to-sport guidelines

The National Collegiate Athletic Association issued its next set of return-to-sport guidelines on Thursday afternoon.

The National Collegiate Athletic Association issued its third set of return-to-sport guidelines on Thursday. The press release includes the following.

The guidelines are designed to inform schools in responding appropriately based on their specific circumstances and in the best interest of returning college athletes’ health and well-being. Many sports require close, personal contact and require specially crafted guidelines. Among the recommendations put forth:

– Daily self-health checks.

– The appropriate use of face coverings and social distancing during training, competition and outside of athletics.

– Testing strategies for all athletics activities, including pre-season, regular season and post-season.

– Testing and results within 72 hours of competition in high contact risk sports.

“Any recommendation on a pathway toward a safe return to sport will depend on the national trajectory of COVID-19 spread,” said Brian Hainline, NCAA chief medical officer. “The idea of sport resocialization is predicated on a scenario of reduced or flattened infection rates.”

“When we made the extremely difficult decision to cancel last spring’s championships it was because there was simply no way to conduct them safely,” said NCAA President Mark Emmert. “This document lays out the advice of health care professionals as to how to resume college sports if we can achieve an environment where COVID-19 rates are manageable. Today, sadly, the data point in the wrong direction. If there is to be college sports in the fall, we need to get a much better handle on the pandemic.”

Additionally, the association also posted a caveat following up on its announcement on Twitter.

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Kyle Pitts the top tight end in 2021 class, per The Athletic

Florida Gators tight end Pitts is expected by many to be one of the top tight ends in the country in 2020 and The Athletic agrees.

UF tight end Kyle Pitts is garnering himself quite a bit of offseason attention. Coming off a stellar sophomore season in which he made 54 catches for 649 yards and five touchdowns, Pitts is expected by many to be one of the top tight ends in the country in 2020.

In an article from The Athletic comparing the nation’s top draft-eligible tight ends, Pitts was ranked in the No. 1 spot. He was praised for his “freak athleticism,” as his agility is comparable to that of a smaller receiver. He was also praised for his route-running, which was on full display in his matchup with LSU corner Derek Stingley Jr., in which he won most of his battles.

However, The Athletic also said he needs to improve on his finishing skills to solidify himself as the top tight end prospect. Pitts drops one of every eight catchable passes, a rate that needs to improve for quarterback Kyle Trask‘s top target. The No. 2 tight end in the class, Penn State’s Pat Freiermuth, drops one of every 16 catchable passes.

Still, Pitts was deemed to have first-round potential and was compared to longtime NFL tight end Jared Cook. If he can work on his consistency and blocking, he has all the physical tools to have a dominant season in 2020.

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Gators quarterback Kyle Trask named to Davey O’Brien Award Watch List

Trask joins four other SEC passers on the watch list, which features 30 total players from across the country and four other SEC passers.

Florida quarterback Kyle Trask, who is getting considerable attention for a former high school backup heading into his redshirt senior season, has been named to the preseason watch list for the Davey O’Brien Award, given annually to the nation’s top quarterback, UF announced in a release Tuesday.

Trask became the starter in the third game of the 2019 regular season when incumbent Feleipe Franks suffered a season-ending ankle injury. Trask led the Gators to and 11-2 season, throwing 25 touchdowns to just seven interceptions and helming the best Florida passing offense in terms of yards per game since 2001.

Trask joins four other SEC passers (Auburn’s Bo Nix, Alabama’s Mac Jones, Georgia’s Jamie Newman and Texas A&M’s Kellen Mond) on the watch list, which features 30 total players from across the country.

The list of 30 will be trimmed to 16 on Nov. 10. That list of semifinalists will be cut to just three finalists two weeks later, with the award set to be announced on Dec. 10 at the Home Depot College Football Awards.

Here is the full watch list.

Kyle Trask, Florida

Hank Bachmeier, Boise State

Ian Book, Notre Dame

Alan Bowman, Texas Tech

Charlie Brewer, Baylor

Shane Buechele, SMU

Jack Coan, Wisconsin

Sean Clifford, Penn State

Dustin Crum, Kent State

Micale Cunningham, Louisville

Jayden Daniels, Arizona State

Sam Ehlinger, Texas

Justin Fields, Ohio State

Dillon Gabriel, UCF

Donald Hammond III, Air Force

Sam Howell, North Carolina

Mac Jones, Alabama

D’Eriq King, Miami

Trevor Lawrence, Clemson

Levi Lewis, Louisiana

Kellen Mond, Texas A&M

Tanner Morgan, Minnesota

Jamie Newman, Georgia

Bo Nix, Auburn

Brock Purdy, Iowa State

Chris Robison, Florida Atlantic

Spencer Sanders, Oklahoma State

Kedon Slovis, USC

Zac Thomas, Appalachian State

Brady White, Memphis

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