With ‘one more game together,’ Florida Gators look to make lasting impact in Orange Bowl
The Florida Gators have arrived in South Florida, ready to play in their second New Years Six bowl in as many years under coach Dan Mullen.
As the No. 9 Gators (10-2) aim to end the season on a high note when they play the No. 24 Virginia Cavaliers in the Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium on Monday, Mullen also has the opportunity over the next few days to see what he has at his disposal for the future.
“This year’s team has one more game together,” Mullen said Thursday, “but there’s a lot of guys on this year’s team who will be on next year’s team. You look and you’re playing Dec. 30 and then you don’t have another game until September. You have a lot of offseason training and conditioning, developmental growth. You have 15 spring practices, 25 training camp practices before you play again. I think the momentum that a bowl game and a bowl win can do for you kind of builds you up through this huge developmental stage until you play again.”
They’ve already taken advantage of the extra time.
The Gators held a handful of developmental-type practices in Gainesville before taking a few days off for the holidays and then traveling to South Florida. They have three more practices in Miami this week before playing on Monday.
And with the NCAA’s updated redshirt rule that was enacted before the 2018 season that allows players to participate in as many as four games at any point in the season without losing a year of eligibility, Mullen has just about everybody at his disposal for the Orange Bowl.
“It allows you to put the depth on special teams that you need to get through a game, but also with the week leading up to it, the two weeks leading up to it, you kind of get some developmental practices for young players,” Mullen said. “It’s huge because you’re talking about guys that now are transitioning from ‘Hey, I was on the scout team, I was getting a look or really a minor role,’ but this spring they’re guys we’re able to count on and be big, major players for us heading into next season and that kind of gives them a jumpstart into that, being able to get back in January to next year’s team and start the offseason program. Those guys kind of got back into the flow of playing.”
Outside of those out with season-ending injuries, the only player UF should be missing is cornerback C.J. Henderson, a Columbus High alum who declared for the NFL Draft. With Henderson absent, younger players such as freshman Kaiir Elam will have the chance to get extended reps opposite Marco Wilson.
“I think we’ve been prepared for it all year,” junior safety Donovan Stiner said. “He’s helped us by bringing the younger guys up, so they’ve been getting a lot of reps. So I think they’ll be ready for it.”
They’ll have the chance to get extra work in leading up to it.
“It means a lot. It’s going to help for their future,” Stiner said. “Just like all of our bowl game prep, a lot of the younger guys got a lot of reps, so it’s just preparing them for their future.”
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