Gators behind on Citrus prep
With finals ongoing, UF won’t practice until Friday.
The Gators aren’t ready to begin bowl practices just yet.
With Florida in the middle of finals week, the Gators will wait until Friday to hold their first bowl practice. It will mark the Gators’ first practice since falling to No. 2 Alabama in the SEC Championship game on Dec. 5.
“Guys have been lifting, running and doing some stuff and we’ll have some of that this week kind of in prep before we get into the practice,” coach Jim McElwain said Tuesday.
Florida is a little behind Michigan in bowl prep for their matchup in the Citrus Bowl on Jan. 1 (1 p.m., ABC). The Wolverines began bowl practices Thursday.
One of the benefits of playing in a bowl game is the extra practices that come with it. But a big misconception is that teams are limited to 15 bowl practices.
“There is no specific limit on the number of practices teams may hold while preparing for a bowl game,” NCAA spokesman Christopher Radford said.
The only limitation is the NCAA caps practice and other athletic activities at four hours per day and 20 hours per week. However, McElwain is just pleased to hold some extra practices before the offseason.
“That’s what’s exciting about this,” McElwain said. “You’re preparing for a game and you’re getting spring-ball-type work, which I think is great. This will only help you as you head into the offseason.”
Once Florida begins bowl practices, players will be separated into two different groups for the first few sessions. The Gators’ seniors and draft-eligible underclassmen who have declared for the draft will be separated from the rest of the team to work with strength and conditioning coach Mike Kent.
This strategy is meant to help give the older players extra time to rest their bodies and make it easier for coaches to grade returning players.
“What we’re going to do is the seniors, for those first three days, first two or three practices, will not be in there, and any of those guys that have obviously already declared,” McElwain said. “They’ll hold out and be working with coach Kent during that time. Then when we get into actual game prep, which will be that following week, they’ll jump back in.”
How many underclassmen does McElwain expect to leave early? That number is still up in the air.
“They’re all going through the process. We’re helping them in every way, shape and form,” McElwain said. “We’re going ahead with everything we can to get help from the (NFL) to give us as many write ups so they can have informed decisions. We’d love to have all of them back.”
All-American junior cornerback Vernon Hargreaves, who is projected to be a top-10 pick in most mock drafts, already has said he’s “most likely” going to declare for the draft.
Safeties Marcus Maye and Keanu Neal, wide receiver Demarcus Robinson and running back Kelvin Taylor are among the underclassmen who could join Hargreaves in the 2016 NFL draft. Junior linebacker Jarrad Davis announced after the conference championship that he plans to return to Florida for his senior season.
“They’ve got to be comfortable with that decision and do what is right for them and their families,” McElwain said. “Here’s the hard part: There are so many people in these guys’ ears now that are telling them stuff that is not true.”