Former Gators taking on high school football rebuild

Two former Gators are taking on a rebuild of epic proportions at P.K. Yonge in Gainesville, and the early returns are very encouraging.

A pair of former Gators from the 1990s — wide receiver Willie Jackson Jr. and safety Lawrence Wright III — are finished with their NFL careers and making a difference on the high school circuit, according to All Gators’ Cam Parker.

Jackson played with the Gators from 1990 to 1993, hauling in 162 career receptions, which ranks third in program history. He also scored 24 touchdowns (6th) and totaled 2,172 career receiving yards (9th). Wright, who started with the Gators in 1993 helped the team to four conference titles and a national championship while claiming a Jim Thorpe Award.

Jackson and Wright have reunited at P.K. Yonge’s Developmental Research School in Gainesville as coaches. The first year of Jackson’s tenure as head coach of the program comes with some serious challenges, though. The Blue Wave have 24 players on the roster, including Wright’s son, quarterback Lawrence Wright IV, who found the end zone twice on the ground.

“We don’t have many kids, but we’re working with them on teaching them warrior mentality, develop as men, character,” the senior Wright said following his team’s third win, over Sante Fe, on Saturday.

The Blue Wave managed four wins a year ago. Jackson and Wright are doing a fine job turning the program around just as they did at UF 30 years ago.

Jackson spoke briefly about Florida’s trajectory under Billy Napier, stating the defense had taken major strides forward but also pointing out that the offense isn’t scoring nearly as much as it should.

Entering Week 7, the Gators rank dead last in the SEC in touchdowns per game, just behind the Gamecocks (2.8) with 2.6 per game.

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Which former Gators are playing in Super Bowl LVII?

Florida will be well represented in this year’s Super Bowl when four former Gators take the field.

The Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles will battle it out on February 12 for Super Bowl LVII, but it’s the University of Florida that will enter the weekend as the guaranteed winner as four former Gators across both teams take the field.

The Chiefs have former Gators at all three phases of the game. Wide receiver [autotag]Kadarius Toney[/autotag] will be catching passes for Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs on offense, veteran end [autotag]Carlos Dunlap[/autotag] is a key contributor to the defense and [autotag]Tommy Townsend[/autotag] is an All-Pro punter.

Townsend has been with the Chiefs for all three seasons of his entire professional career, while Dunlap and Toney are recent additions to the team. Dunlap was a second-round pick in the 2010 draft and played for Cincinnati until 2020. He spent a season with the Seattle Seahawks before signing with Kansas City over the offseason.

Toney was a first-round pick in 2021 that was traded from the New York Giants to Kansas City in the middle of the season. He’s since made good on 20 of 24 targets for 216 yards and two touchdowns through nine games with the Chiefs.

On Philadelphia, it’s safety [autotag]C.J. Gardner-Johnson[/autotag] representing UF. He’s been a major factor for the Philly defense all season, despite missing time while on injured reserve with a lacerated kidney. He’s been sensational since rejoining the team on Jan. 7 and might play the biggest role of the four former Gators playing in the big game.

Super Bowl LVII kicks off at 6:30 p.m. EST on NBC. The game will also be live-streamed on Peacock.

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Former Gator, WWE Global Ambassador Titus O’Neil helping out after Hurricane Ian

Former Florida Gator and WWE Global Ambassador was in Tampa this week to help those affected by Hurricane Ian.

Tampa was hit hard by Hurricane Ian this week, along with the rest of southwest Florida, and former Florida Gator/WWE Global Ambassador [autotag]Titus O’Neil[/autotag] (Thaddeus Bullard) was in town recently to help those affected by the storm.

O’Neil’s been involved with charity work for most of his adult life, so it’s no surprise to see him rush to aid the place he calls home. The Bullard Family Foundation has done a lot in the Tampa area, and O’Neil recently had a school named after him for his efforts with the youth in the community.

“He partnered with Metropolitan Ministries to deliver over 15,000 hot meals, 10,000 cold meals and phone charging stations” according to USA Network. “O’Neil is also partnering with World Central Kitchen, Next Level Brands Hospitality, and other philanthropists and volunteers who will be in Tampa Bay all weekend long to help those affected. Some of the other aid items will include non-perishable food drive-throughs, bagged lunches, and supplies of bottled water.”

O’Neil has always represented the University of Florida well since moving on from his playing days. This is just the latest in a long series of commendable acts he and his foundation have committed over the last several years. He was last seen at a Gators game on September 3 for the season opener against Utah.

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LOOK: Kyle Pitts loses a bet over Florida-Tennessee game

Kyle Pitts had to wear some very ugly overalls after losing a bet with teammate and former Tennessee Volunteer Cordarelle Patterson.

The Florida Gators turned the page on the loss to Tennessee the day after it happened, but it took [autotag]Kyle Pitts[/autotag] a few days to make good on a bet he made with Atlanta Falcons teammate (and former Volunteer) Cordarrelle Patterson.

On Wednesday night, Patterson posted a photo of Pitts wearing a pair of orange and white checkered overalls. Pitts didn’t look happy, but fair is fair and this only happens twice every 18 years for Volunteers fans.

“Y’all aren’t getting me in that,” Pitts said, according to Josh Kendall of the Athletic. “They put me in overalls. I think that was the worst part. Overalls.”

Pitts never lost to Tennessee during his time at Florida. In 2019, he hauled in four receptions for 62 yards and a touchdown in a home win. In 2020, he topped those numbers with seven grabs and 128 yards on the road. Maybe that’s why he was so confident in making the bet.

But this Florida team isn’t the same one he played on. Billy Napier is still undoing the damage left by the previous staff. Now the team can write its own revenge story next season when the Vols come to Gainesville. Hopefully, Patterson is game to run the bet back.

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LOOK: Kyle Pitts loses a bet over Florida-Tennessee game

Kyle Pitts had to wear some very ugly overalls after losing a bet with teammate and former Tennessee Volunteer Cordarelle Patterson.

The Florida Gators turned the page on the loss to Tennessee the day after it happened, but it took [autotag]Kyle Pitts[/autotag] a few days to make good on a bet he made with Atlanta Falcons teammate (and former Volunteer) Cordarrelle Patterson.

On Wednesday night, Patterson posted a photo of Pitts wearing a pair of orange and white checkered overalls. Pitts didn’t look happy, but fair is fair and this only happens twice every 18 years for Volunteers fans.

“Y’all aren’t getting me in that,” Pitts said, according to Josh Kendall of the Athletic. “They put me in overalls. I think that was the worst part. Overalls.”

Pitts never lost to Tennessee during his time at Florida. In 2019, he hauled in four receptions for 62 yards and a touchdown in a home win. In 2020, he topped those numbers with seven grabs and 128 yards on the road. Maybe that’s why he was so confident in making the bet.

But this Florida team isn’t the same one he played on. Billy Napier is still undoing the damage the previous staff did and now the team can write its own revenge story next season when the Vols come to Gainesville. Hopefully, Patterson is game to run the bet back.

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Former Gator Pete Alonso is not-so-quietly having a monster year

The New York Mets are on top of the NL East as we near the 100-game mark and former Gators Pete Alonso is a big reason why.

The New York Mets sit atop the NL East as they approach the 100-game mark in the 2022 season, and at the heart of the lineup is none other than former Floirda first baseman [autotag]Pete Alonso[/autotag].

With 84 runs batted in, Alonso leads not only the national league but all of baseball in the statistical category. His 26 home runs rank third in the NL and he’s in the top five in both slugging percentage and OPS. And he’s done it all in one of the most trying years of his life.

A spring car accident had Alonso’s life flashing before his eyes and it’s something he’s still working to get over today, according to this moving piece he penned in the Player’s Tribune. He’s done work off the field to help those in need with the Alonso Foundation, and on the field he’s all about bringing a championship to New York.

While the Mets have found success with Alonso in the cleanup spot, he’s also been at the center of some mild controversy. The Mets get hit by pitches a lot and Alonso is third in the league in HBPs. Two of those ball were at his head, which is as scary as it gets in baseball. Eventually, the Mets fought back, literally.

Jomboy Media did a good job covering the May scuffle between the Mets and Cardinals, and Alonso’s interactions with a St. Louis coach were focused on fairly heavily.

Then there was the three-peat attempt at the Home Run Derby that wasn’t meant to be. Alonso still made headlines deadlifting and meditating before his turn to hit. He eventually was elimnated in the second round against Julio Rodridguez, who hit 81 combined homer in the event.

It’s been anything but quiet for Alonso this season, but it’s shaping up to be the best one so far in his four-year career. Gators Wire is officially on Polar Bear watch for the rest of the season as Alonso looks to finish out a campaign that could earn him some MVP votes. His fWAR (2.8) might not be pacing for the typical 6.00+ number we see from MVPs, but a hot streak could get him where he needs to be.

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Watch: Former Gator Al Horford drops 26 in Finals debut

15 years later and Al Horford looks just as good as he did winning back-to-back chips in the Orange and Blue.

On the eve of his 36th birthday, former Gator [autotag]Al Horford[/autotag] is playing some of his best basketball with the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals. That’s high praise for someone who once led Florida to back-to-back national championships, but Horford’s performance in Game 1 of the Finals against Golden State deserves that kind of attention.

Horford scored a team-high 26 points, shooting 6-of-8 from beyond the arc in the comeback win for Boston. The six three-pointers are a record for a Finals debut, and his 11 points in the final quarter of the game allowed the Celtics to come back from a 15-point deficit in the second half against the Warriors. Ever the team player, Horford gave credit to his teammates for his success.

“It was the way that we were moving the ball on offense, just being in those positions,” Horford said, according to Celtics.com. “I felt like the guys kept finding me time after time.”

Celtics fans showered Horford with love after the performance and birthday wishes began to flood in on social media as the clock turned over on the East Coast. Those of us in the Sunshine State will always remember Horford best for his three years in the Orange and Blue, but he might go down in history for this game.

Heck, he even beat out LeBron as the oldest player in NBA history to sink more than five threes in a Finals game.

Getting a win in the Bay Area to start the series off is big too. If Boston goes on to win it all quickly, it will be hard to look back at Horford’s performance as the difference-maker in the series.

The Celtics are back on Sunday against the Warriors at the Chase Center before heading to the Garden for a pair.

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Former Gator Alex Faedo scheduled for Tommy John Surgery

The one-time Florida star has had a rough road to the MLB with the Detroit Tigers, and a recent elbow injury is another major setback.

It was announced Saturday morning that former Florida Gators star Alex Faedo has damaged his UCL, an injury which will require corrective surgery. The procedure, ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, is more commonly known as Tommy John surgery. For Faedo, the timing couldn’t be worse.

In his time with the Gators, the right-handed pitcher made a name for himself with his deceptive delivery and monster slider. In his most memorable performance with the team, Faedo struck out 22 batters over 14.2 innings against Texas Christian University as the Gators marched to the 2017 College World Series. Over the course of his unquestionably successful career at Florida, he became a first-round pick, drafted 18th overall by the Detroit Tigers.

It would be fair to say that Faedo has had a rocky pro career. The delivery that worked to unsettle college opponents is a detriment against more steady pro hitters, as it shortens his extension and reduces the perceived velocity of his fastball. Additionally, his slider regressed and his changeup stagnated under the watch of Tigers coaches.

He was finally able to get back on track in the 2019 season, dominating Double-A hitters and earning a place on the Tigers’ 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 draft. For the uninitiated, that essentially means that the team considers him to be a valuable asset, but one unready for Major League playing time.

Faedo spent the 2020 season pitching at the Tigers’ alternate training site, a provision made available to a select group of minor league players who would have otherwise lost the season altogether to the COVID-19 related shutdown of minor league play. He was expected to make his debut with the Tigers in 2021.

Baseball has increasingly become a young man’s game, meaning that lost developmental time can be a death knell to a fringy player’s career. Of course, a team will not so quickly throw in the towel on a former first rounder. The Tigers have proven to be especially stubborn in that regard. However, as a player who is already 25 years old, to undergo this surgery is a terrible stroke of bad luck.

In order to recover fully from Tommy John surgery, a pitcher often requires a full year to throw at full strength again, and another 6 to 7 months before he has fully recovered his former talent, if ever. By the time Faedo can again reasonably expect to lay claim to an MLB role, he’ll be 26 years old, if not 27. In terms of baseball prospects, that’s ancient!

The timing of this injury is tragic for Faedo and for the Tigers, but the only way forward is headlong through the adversity. He’s scheduled to be operated on later this month, putting his recovery timeline squarely in mid-2022. We wish him all the best and a speedy recovery as he works toward achieving his major league dream in Detroit.

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