It’s been an eventful season for [autotag]Chimere Dike[/autotag] at Florida after transferring from Wisconsin.
The former Badger joined his old teammate [autotag]Graham Mertz[/autotag] in Gainesville over the offseason and immediately emerged as a veteran presence in The Swamp. Following Eugene Wilson’s early-season injury, Dike became the go-to target for both Mertz and [autotag]DJ Lagway[/autotag], and now he’s one of the only senior skill players on the offense with Mertz recovering from a torn ACL.
Dike spoke to the media on Monday ahead of Florida’s Week 10 matchup with Georgia. Here’s everything he said.
On preparing for first Florida-Georgia game
“Kind of like Tennessee week, B Spikes in the summer, we had Georgia day where some of the new guys came in, the transfers and the the freshmen, and he kind of gave us a feel for it. But just being a college football fan, you definitely know about this game, and my cousin unfortunately went to Georgia.
“No, she has a great education. She’s doing great, but she’s told me about this game as well. Just growing up and it obviously means a lot to our fans and our university, so I’m excited to be able to play (in it).”
On DJ Lagway taking over the starting role
“Yeah, I think for me it’s the poise. To be 19 and be able to play like (that), even the Tennessee game, (during a) big fourth quarter down the stretch and step up in those moments. I think it just shows the kind of competitor he is.
“And then just the way he approaches every single day in the building is also really impressive to me.
“When you can make some of the throws he makes, I’d be confident too. So, you know, he’s definitely a really special player. I’m excited to continue to see him grow and take steps every single week.”
What’s the biggest challenge Saturday?
“I mean, Georgia is a really good football team. I think it’s just, you know, being able to execute our game plan. Obviously, you know, we’re still early in prep, but, you know, they are a well-coached football team. They’re really athletic. They know how to win. So, you know, we have to have a good game.
“We’re going to have to execute and it’s going to be is going to be a battle. But I’m excited and I think that’s, as a competitor, you know, that’s the challenge that you want.”
On bye week preparation
“We had a lot of competitive, good-on-good stuff. I think the first bye week was really good for our team. I think we were able to find kind of our identity a lot. During that time. Obviously, we have a lot of really good teams (on the schedule), and we have a really good team this week. So, I think that we definitely took advantage and, competed and try to take steps forward.
On improving year-to-year despite transfer
“I feel like I’ve been playing good football. My focus is just on executing as much as I can. I feel like I’ve been able to go out there and do different things. But our coaches do a great job preparing me. I have great teammates around me. So, it’s really easy for me to just go out there on Saturdays and have a great attention to detail and play as hard as I can.”
How Florida recruited Dike
“I think it was somewhere where I thought I could make an impact on the field and off the field. I feel like I could be a guy who, you know, made an impact in the locker room (and) in our receiver room with a lot of really young, talented players. That’s something that I take really seriously as well.
“But then on the field, the kind of way they utilize me is kind of the way I envisioned, and, you know, as well, it’s a great university. So it was a pretty easy sell.”
On special teams success
“I think when you, when you get to somewhere new, you just want to work extremely hard. I think I wanted to prove to the guys, you know, how much I cared, and I came into winter workouts and I worked as hard as I can.
‘In spring practice, just continue to improve. Listen to all the coaching points and they put me where they need me. I’ve been blessed to be able to represent this university.”
What would beating Georgia mean?
“Rivalry wins are huge, obviously, especially against a team like Georgia, with their success and, the level of talent, how well coached they are. I think that every single win in the game, the SEC is huge. But I definitely think this is a big one this Saturday, and we understand that.
“But our approach is the same. Just continue to take it one day at a time and be as immersed in the game as we can.”
On locker room chatter ahead of the game
“I spoke to B-Spikes, and obviously, the guys have talked about it too. But, that’s just throughout, like, regular talk. We haven’t necessarily sat down a been like what is important. But, you know, I think that if you’re a college football fan, you know, the importance of this game, it’s one of those rivalries.”
On Eugene Wilson III
“I mean, I’ve said it before. Tre’s special. He’s got an extreme ability to hit his top speed quick and he’s a dynamic playmaker. So, he’s continued to work, and he’s the same guy every single day in the facility. Just continued to make plays and I’m excited.
“I think that whenever he’s involved and he’s making plays that we’re definitely, will have a key to our offense.”
On film review for Georgia’s defense
“You can see by the results that they have that they’re a very good defense. And obviously, through the past couple of years, they’ve been very, very, very good. And I think they have a lot of athletic people up front. Their secondary is disciplined. They’re really physical. They have a lot of really good players back there.
“They’re a disciplined defense as well. So I think that when you have a lot of talented players that you’re well coached, it makes for a good defense. But I think as a competitor, like I said, you want that. You don’t want to go against somebody who’s not prepared, who’s not disciplined. And, I’m excited for the challenge.”
On setting several top speed personal records
“Coach Miles has done a great job of pouring into us. Even during in-season lifting, I feel like I’ve been able to maintain my weight really well and my strength as well. I think that the faster you can be, especially in a conference like the SEC, where I think speed is a little more at the forefront, I think it’s important. So I think definitely helped me.”
On Jadan Baugh
“I remember like, well, the first time you really get a look at running backs is in scrimmages or spring games because they’re running the ball, but it’s kind of, it’s not the same. And that spring game, I was like, oh.
“I’ve been around some good backs. My senior year (of high school), at Wisconsin, Jonathan Taylor, I went to every home game. I was an hour away from Wisconsin. So I got to see him every single week. I saw Braelon Allen. Chez Melusi, like Isaac Grant, who just had 100 yards for the Niners.
“(Baugh) has that special ability with this ball at the ball in his hands too. And, like Coach Napier was saying, he’s a great kid. He has high character. And, I think the sky’s the limit for him.”
How the bye week affected DJ Lagway
“I think it was huge for everyone, especially some of the young guys being able to work. But, you know, D.J. took advantage of it, having a great week of practice. I think the more reps you can get, the more comfortable you can be, come Saturday.
“So I think it was it was huge for him. Obviously, I think he’s very well prepared, even before the open day, as you could see. But, I think that it’s just huge for our team to continue to take every single week and get better teams up again.”
On split-squad scrimmages during bye
“I love the feeling of the competition. Not that practices aren’t competitive, but when you see that score on the scoreboard and stuff down the line, it gets the juices flowing a little bit more and we had fun with it.
“One of the days I won. One of the days I lost. So, it was two come from behind victories, too, which is huge.”
On Lagway opening up the deep passing game
“I think that when you can make teams defend the run, you can make them defend the short pass, medium pass and the long ball. It spreads them out. And, I think that if we’re able to have success in all those areas, it’ll be, definitely a lot tougher to defend us.”
On Graham Mertz’s recovery
“Graham’s doing good. I was able to spend a lot of time with them on Sunday. You know, I think that the way he’s handling it is amazing. Like, he’s handling better than I would. His character is something that, as his friend, I’m really proud of him for.
“I think that when you’re presented with the challenge, you kind of have two ways to go about it. You can kind of sulk in or you can kind of attack it and grow from it. And he’s definitely doing the latter. I’m excited to see the kind of success that he has going forward.
“I hope I can be there for him during this time. I think that we’re extremely close. We can talk about stuff that maybe we can’t talk about with other people. So, whenever he needs me, I want to be somebody that’s there for him.
“And, he’s doing an amazing job of just still being in the locker room. And being a guy who, you know, DJ can lean on a guy who, the rest of our team can lean on, because obviously he’s a big part and and a huge leader of our team.”
On Mertz setting a timeline to return for Pro Day, catching passes for him
“That would be amazing. I mean, a guy that you went through all these experiences with. The ups and downs. To be able to go out on pro day. Obviously, we have a lot of stuff to take care of before then, but, that’ll be a really cool experience.
“And, hopefully, he’s able to be back by then. That’d be a really special day.”
On Mertz’s impact on Lagway
“I think that anytime you have, as a young guy, at least speaking for myself, when I had players that I thought did it the right way and I was able to learn from them. I think back to my time in Wisconsin, I had three senior receivers in the room, that I was playing with, Danny Davis, Kendrick Pryor and Jack Dunn.
“You know all those guys, I took something from their game and just from how they approached it. So I think that when you have a guy like Graham who is obviously a really talented quarterback, but also is somebody who knows the game, is super smart and is a leader, kind of does things the right way in my opinion.
“A guy like DJ who’s super talented and young, being able to learn from him is something that he can take with his career and obviously kind of put his own spin on it. But I think that is very valuable.”
On mentoring young wide receivers
“I try to be, someone who any of the young guys can lean on. Guys like Tank (Hawkins), TJ (Abrams), a lot of the younger guys. I try to be able to share different things with them. I try to be somebody who they can come to talk to you, but also just as a leader by example and how detailed I am in my preparation and the way I practice things like that.”
How to watch Florida-Georgia
Florida and Georgia face off for a Week 10 rivalry battle in Jacksonville on Saturday, Nov. 2 with kickoff slated for 3:30 p.m. ET. The pregame festivities will be featured on SEC Nation and the game will be broadcast on ABC.
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