This Gators assistant coach has a unique perspectives on the UF-GA rivalry. Here’s why
Todd Grantham has seen plenty of the Florida-Georgia rivalry.
The Gators’ defensive coordinator spent four seasons (2010-2013) as the Bulldogs’ defensive coordinator, including two as associate head coach under Mark Richt. And as the No. 9 Gators gear up for their annual trip to Jacksonville to take on No. 7 Georgia on Saturday, Grantham gets to experience the bout from both sidelines.
His first year coaching a Florida-Georgia game was one that many remember his most infamous moment during his time in Athens.
It was the 88th meeting between Georgia and Florida in 2010.
UGA trailed the Gators 31-24 in the fourth quarter after a 51-yard touchdown run by UF’s Trey Burton.
Florida kicked it back to the Bulldogs, and defensive back Brandon Boykin had given his team favorable field position with a 51-yard return to the UF 43-yard line. And the drive ended in Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray firing a 15-yard touchdown pass to receiver A.J. Green on third-and-goal to force overtime.
The game is the only overtime contest in the history of Florida-Georgia, but it was Grantham who made headlines after he was seen making a choking gesture toward Florida kicker Chas Henry right before he lined up to kick what was the game-winning field goal.
It was the only Florida-Georgia game Grantham lost with the Bulldogs.
And he expects Saturday’s battle to go down to the wire just as that 2010 matchup.
“Yeah, this is like an NFL game in a sense that you’re going to probably be in a one-possession game, and when you’re in one-possession games, there’s a handful of plays that can affect the outcome one way or another,” Grantham said. “Now, you don’t know when those plays are going to come, so that’s why it’s important that you know the game plan.”
Georgia advanced to four-consecutive bowl games and compiled a 36-18-1 record during Grantham’s tenure.
During the 2011 season, Grantham led the Bulldogs’ defense to a No. 5 national ranking in total defense (277.2 ypg; 11th versus rush, 10th versus pass). His Bulldogs defense finished the 2012 season ranked 8th nationally in pass defense (175.6 ypg) and 18th in scoring defense (19.6 ppg), holding five opponents to 10 or fewer points.
He left UGA after the 2013 season to join the Louisville Cardinals, but not before he had two players taken in the first round of the draft — Jarvis Jones was taken 17th overall by Pittsburgh, and Alec Ogletree was taken 30th by St. Louis.
Grantham also coached a handful of current NFL defensive players including Justin Houston, a four-time Pro Bowl linebacker for Kansas City and Geno Atkins, a five-time Pro Bowl lineman for Cincinnati.
Grantham’s 2018 Gators’ defense ranks 22nd in the FBS in total defense, sixth in passing defense and tied for third in takeaways with 18. And he credits part of that success to his fiery personality trickling down to his players.
“I think it’s more of a buy-in approach and a belief approach,” Grantham said. “I also felt like that the defense is going, the way they play is an influence on me and the coaches. So I want to make sure we play good and play with a certain edge and a certain style. I think if the players know you care about them and you care about the results, I think it can feed into it.”
This story was originally published October 24, 2018 at 2:46 PM.