The preseason honors for Florida offensive lineman [autotag]O’Cyrus Torrence[/autotag] continue to roll in and the latest is a spot on the Associated Press All-America Second Team.
Torrence has yet to play a down in the SEC, but he’s already well respected as one of the conference’s best. He followed [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] from Louisiana to the Swamp and immediately received first-team honors from SEC reporters during the conference’s media days. He also recently was named a preseason All-American by CBS Sports, making their second team as well.
There’s no shortage of hype surrounding Torrence, which isn’t always typical for an interior offensive lineman. But the fourth-year player immediately became a veteran leader of the team. Players and coaches respect him, and they aren’t afraid to let others know how great it is to have Torrence on the team.
“Unbelievable human first, right, person and character,” Florida co-offensive line coach and offensive coordinator [autotag]Rob Sale[/autotag] said of Torrence to 247Sports. “Identified that when we were there at the other place. But he’s big, he’s twitchy, football comes easy to O’Cyrus, it really does.”
Defensive lineman [autotag]Gervon Dexter[/autotag] praised Torrence for helping him develop as a pass rusher too. Dexter, a projected first or second-round pick in his own right, said he didn’t know what going up against a pro was like until he went against Torrence.
All the praise isn’t going to Torrence’s head either. He said it motivates him to achieve the goals he believes are worthy of that recognition.
“For me, I use (preseason awards) as fuel,” he said. “I feel like it feels good to get the type of recognition. I feel like I work hard to get that recognition, but I still feel like I haven’t done anything yet to deserve it. It feels good, but I still don’t feel too deserving, so it makes me want to work harder to prove to myself that I do deserve it.”
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