Tabor tells UF farewell in letter
CB ends bumpy Gator career on high note, heads for NFL.
GAINESVILLE — Florida cornerback Jalen Tabor vowed last month to announce any decisions about his future “the right way.”
He c h o s e T h e P l aye r s ’ Tribune, saying goodbye to the Gators on Thursday in a lengthy letter in which he thanked coaches, teammates, two academic advisers, former athletic director Jeremy Foley and fans. As expected, Tabor decided to skip his final year of college eligibility and enter the NFL draft.
“It’s an exciting time for me, ” Ta b o r wro t e . “I ’ ve decided to do what’s best for me and my family by continuing to pursue my dreams. But I’m not saying goodbye. I’m saying see you later. Hopefully I’ll make y’all proud and show how my passion for this game continues to shine through. You can measure how fast a guy runs and how high he jumps, but you can’t measure how much heart he has — even though there’s nothing more important.
“After three years, I’ve given Gator Nation everything my heart has.”
A junior from Washington, D.C., Tabor was widely considered one of the top defensive backs in the country this season and likely will be one of the first ones selected in the NFL draft in late April.
He had 33 tackles, four interceptions and a sack for the Gators (9-4), who already have lost cornerback Quincy Wilson, offensive tackle David Sharpe and linebacker Alex Anzalone to the pros. Defensive tackle Caleb Brantley also is expected to leave school early.
Tabor spent much of the season in the spotlight, not always for something positive.
He made headlines over the summer for boldly predicting Florida would hand Tennessee a 12th consecutive loss. The Gators got rolled in Knoxville.
He was kicked out of practice for a week and suspended for the season opener after getting into a fight with teammate C’yontai Lewis during practice in August. A few days after the suspension, Tabor posted video on social media of him buying a homeless man shoes and giving him $20. Some questioned Tabor’s timing, saying he was merely trying to make up for the fight.
He also was suspended one game in 2015 for violating University Athletic Association policy. He openly criticized the UAA on Twitter for its decision and later apologized.
He kept a much lower profile after his second suspension, likely realizing more issues would damage his NFL stock and cost him financially.
He stayed out of trouble, kept quiet and proved to be Florida’s best defensive player. Although opposing quarterbacks rarely threw his way, Tabor broke up six passes and returned one of his four picks for a touchdown.
He was named a first-team all-Southeastern Conference selection by The Associated Press and league coaches. He also received second-team All-America honors from the Football Writers Association of America, the American Football Coaches Association, CBS Sports and Sports Illustrated. He was a third-team AP selection.
FSU, West Virginia to open 2020 in Atlanta
West Virginia and Florida State will open the 2020 college football season in Atlanta.
West Virginia athletic director Shane Lyons said in a statement Thursday that the Chickfil-A Kickoff Game against the Seminoles will be played Sept. 5, 2020, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher was born in Clarksburg, W.Va.
Even his own teammates s e e m i mpre s s e d b y t h e hard-hitting Foster, whose 103 tackles is 27 more than anybody else on the nation’s top defense.
“A true beast,” said Alabama wide re c e ive r Cal - vin Ridley, adding that he wouldn’t want to get hit by him.
“Everybody’s running to the ball but you just see him like flying past everybody,” def e ns ive t a c k l e Da’Ron Payne said.
Foster had to battle his way to this point after arriving from Auburn High School, where he had once committed to the Tide’s biggest rival.
He had the Auburn tattoo on his right forearm changed to honor his cousin, former Auburn player Ladarious Phillips, who died after being shot at an off-campus apartment.
Predictably, the college switch drew some heat from folks in Auburn, especially when it took Foster two seasons to work his way into the starting lineup. Now, he’s the primary play caller and joins defensive end Jonathan Allen as Alabama’s biggest defensive stars.
Foster said he got serious about mastering the defense after joining the fraternity Omega Psi Phi in 2015.
“Everything changed when I pledged Omega,” Foster said. “I had to learn about all the history of Omega Psi Phi. I was like, ‘Dang, I’m learning all this but I can’t learn this defense.’ I said I might as well go ahead and take the chance and really learn this, the ins and outs of the defense.”
The 6-foot-1, 225-pounder a l s o d r o p p e d s o m e 2 0 pounds during the offseason with the help of team nutritionist Amy Bragg. Bragg would send him daily text messages and gave him a list of things not to eat, but she also took a more hands-on role during some mealtimes.
H e h a s f o l l o we d i n a succession of star middle linebackers from Rolando McClain and Dont’a Hightower to C. J. Mosley and Reggie Ragland, three NFL first-round picks and a second-rounder.
Foster returned for his senior season with designs on graduating — he got his degree in December — along with improving on the field and becoming a first-round pick. Now, he’s regarded as a likely high first-rounder who figures to go 3 for 3 in checking off those goals.
“It’s a great feeling,” he said. “I never knew that a middle linebacker can be in that conversation. (Top 5) that’s outstanding. I’m bl ess ed. I t ’s c r az y. I s t i l l think about it and I still don’t believe it.”
Foster played a big role in probably Alabama’s biggest play in the 24-7 semifinal victory over Washington. He was closing in on Huskies quarterback Jake Browning, whose swiftly unloaded pass was picked off and returned for a touchdown by Ryan Anderson.
The oft-smiling Foster is also one of the team’s more popular players, well-liked by teammates and defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt.
“Because he’s real,” Pruitt said.
“What you see is what you get. He’s my kind of guy. I like Reuben a lot. If he tells you he’s going to do something, he’s going to do it.”
Tide coach Nick Saban said one thing that makes Foster so well liked is that “in the day and age of everybody’s into selfies and what about me, he’s a guy that’s pretty interested in the relationships that he has and how it affects people. ...”
“He’s got a great personality,” Saban said.
“I think a lot of people are attracted to him because of that, but I also think he’s very caring in terms of what he’s willing to do to help someone out.” players in fourth-quarter minutes, despite not having started a game, it’s easy to be satisfied.
“I’ve kind of understood I was going to be in late in big games,” Johnson said. “That’s why I didn’t make a big fuss about starting. I could not care less. I would rather finish the game than s t a r t a n d n o t f i n i s h t h e game.”
And Johnson is finishing, in a big way. He is averaging 10 minutes and 54 seconds of playing time in the fourth quarter. He played all 12 minutes of the fourth quarter during Wednesday’s 107-102 victory at Sacramento, something he has done in five of the past seven games. During one stretch this season, Johnson played the entire fourth quarter in seven consecutive games.
Johnson took over Wednesday’s game in the final minutes, scoring Miami’s final eight points and blocking a layup attempt by Darrin Collison that changed the game. He led the Heat with 23 points.
Johnson’s acrobatic threepoint play with 27 seconds remaining snapped a tie at 102. Johnson hit a line-drive left-handed runner from the lane and was fouled by Matt Barnes after twice mishandling the ball as he started his move.
“It’s not a coinc idence that Tyler’s most memorable moments happen down the stretch,” Spoelstra said. “He’s a fearless player, a fearless competitor, and if you have that kind of mentality in close game, you’re just going to find a way to put your fingerprints on the game, and that’s what Tyler does.”
Which is why, despite a ridiculous amount of injuries in which three key players — Chris Bosh, Josh McRoberts and Justise Winslow — all are likely done for the season, Spoelstra has not given into the temptation to start Johnson.
E v e n w h i l e R o d n e y McGruder, Wayne Ellington, Luke Babbitt and Derrick Williams have been in and out of the first five, Spoelstra has kept his two key bench players in their roles: Tyler Johnson and James Johnson.
Johnson and Johnson and Udonis Haslem are the only three players not to have started this season.
Tyler (migraine) and James ( f ood poi s oni ng) mi s s e d Tuesday’s loss in Phoenix, a game in which the Heat had an NBA-minimum eight healthy players.
Tyl e r, Ja mes a nd Di on Waiters returned for the Sacramento game, Waiters after missing 20 games because of a torn muscle in his groin.
And while Hassan Whiteside has been cleared to fly after suffering a retinal contusion last week and is expected to join the team this weekend in Los Angeles, the news came down Wednesday that Justise Winslow will miss the rest of the regular season because of a torn labrum in his right shoulder. Winslow had surgery Thursday.
Miami continues its sixgame t r ip tonight in L os Angeles against the Lakers
“We’ve had so many different lineups,” Tyler Johnson said. “We’ve had so many guys in and out. It’s draining to keep going through something like that. You feel like you’re getting guys back, getting healthy, then all of a sudden, somebody else goes down.
“We were happy to have 11 (healthy players for Sacramento). It was good to have Dion back in the rotation, and when he starts to play more minutes and get back into his role, that’s another attacker that kind of opens the floor for everyone else.”