Gators focusing on task at hand: Georgia
GAINESVILLE — The week began with talk of death threats and ended with Jim McElwain’s exit.
The bizarre lead-up to last season’s Georgia debacle and McElwain’s downfall is a distant memory for a group of players thriving under a new head coach just 12 months later.
Dan Mullen’s No. 9 Gators (6-1, 4-1 SEC) are preparing to face No. 7 Georgia (6-1, 4-1 SEC) Saturday, with the long-standing rivals meeting as top-10 foes for the first time since 2008. The winner is sure to be in the thick of the College Football Playoff semifinals picture when the first rankings are released Oct. 30.
But with so much at stake Saturday in Jacksonville and the Gators’ future seemingly so bright under Mullen, Florida’s players candidly reflected on the chaos surrounding last year’s Georgia game before turning the page.
“Definitely a lot of weirdness leading up to it,” UF receiver Josh Hammond said. “I think that’s part of why a lot of guys kind of just forgot about it because of the mental confusion that went before the game and a lot of things that happened after the game. We’re just ready to move forward and put that behind us and getting ready to play ball this week.”
On the Monday prior to the 2017 game, McElwain told reporters he had received death threats amid his team’s disappointing 3-3 start. Later, McElwain refused to share details when asked for more information by his employers.
By the day of the game, rumors swirled McElwain soon would be fired, causing a major distraction for the struggling Gators before facing the unbeaten Bulldogs. McElwain only added to the angst and confusion when he addressed the team at breakfast unaware of his fate.
“It made it worse, actually,” linebacker Rayshad Jackson said. “It made it worse because he said he’s going to get fired and so we all came to the game like, ‘Man, our coach is about to get fired and we can’t do nothing about it either because it’s the last game, it’s the last game he’s going to do.’
“So we were wondering who we were going to bring in for him the whole time.”
Jackson clarified that McElwain was not certain he would be let go, but added, “The way he was talking about it was like he was going to get fired.”
A day after Georgia’s 42-7 romp, McElwain and UF parted ways, paving the way for Mullen’s hiring four weeks later and the Gators’ sudden resurgence this season.
“We went through a coaching change, which turned out for the better of us,” quarterback Feleipe Franks said. “Just a bunch of different things have changed.”
Georgia remains the team to beat in the East Division and is a seven-point favorite. But the Gators could further accelerate the rebuilding with an upset win.
“It’s really exciting, especially after last year turning this thing around and getting back what Florida’s known for,” safety Donovan Stiner said. “So we’re really excited and we worked really hard for it.” Mullen is excited, too. “If you said, ‘Hey, 6-1 going into the Georgia game, take it or leave it,’ I might take it,” Mullen said Monday. “I would love to be 7-0, to be honest with you, but if you threw that out there, I might, like on the game shows you hit the button, I might consider hitting that button right there and taking it.”