Former Wolverines commit a bright spot
ARLINGTON, Texas — After he committed to Florida, David Reese kept hearing one question.
“‘Why are you going there?’ ” he recalled friends asking him. “‘Stupidest decision in your life.’ ”
Florida had just lost 41-7 to Michigan in the Citrus Bowl in 2016, and Reese had decommitted from Michigan a month earlier, telling UF coaches he planned to be a Gator.
Nearly two years later, starting at middle linebacker for Florida as a sophomore, Reese thinks he made the right choice. And even though the No. 17 Gators lost to the No. 11 Wolverines 33-17 in Arlington, Texas, on Saturday, Reese showed why he was such a soughtafter recruit.
On Michigan’s first play of the game, Reese tackled running back Chris Evans for a 1-yard loss. On the next play, he tackled Michigan receiver Kekoa Crawford after a completed pass and a 3-yard gain.
And against a team located about 30 miles west of his hometown of Farmington, Mich., Reese had an impressive season debut, compiling a game-high 11 tackles, including one tackle for loss.
A few days earlier, Reese vowed to have a big game on Saturday. He wanted to play well in front of about 10 friends and family members who were sitting in the stands, and he wanted to show Michigan what kind of player they missed out on.
“I’m just ready to prove everyone wrong in my home town,” Reese said on Monday.
Reese is just a sophomore, but he has more experience than many of the players on UF’s young defense. When redshirt senior safety Marcell Harris was declared out for the season with a torn Achilles tendon in July, Reese suddenly became the team’s leading tackler from 2016. He played in 12 games last season as a freshman and collected 49 tackles.
But even though Florida’s defense — which started six underclassmen on Saturday — is young, Reese isn’t worried.
“I feel like all we got is all we need,” Reese said on Monday. “We have a young group, but we do have experience.”
KICKING GAME: UF kicker Eddy Piñeiro has been automatic since the middle of last season. He picked off where he left off Saturday, giving the Gators a 3-0 lead against Michigan with a 46-yard field goal on the game’s opening drive.
It was Piñeiro’s 13th consecutive field goal, dating to a miss Oct. 29 against Georgia. The score also marked just the fifth time in 28 games under coach Jim McElwain that UF has scored on its opening drive.
Looking to add to a 17-10 lead during the second quarter, the Gators turned again to Piñeiro. But the redshirt junior from Miami was wide left from 47 yards, ending his streak.
Meanwhile, Michigan kicker Quinn Nordin hit both of his field goals, including a 55-yard kick to cut UF’s lead to 17-13 before halftime. Quinn’s kick barely cleared the crossbar but still marked the longest field goal at AT&T Stadium during a college football game.
Nordin later added a 50-yard field goal, becoming the first Michigan kicker to boot two 50-plus yard field goals in a game.