The Alligator Awards continue this week, with the second award being for “Best Freshman Athlete.” Sports writers Ray Boone, Matt Brannon and Alejandro López join alligatorSports editors Ian Cohen and Ethan Bauer in a roundtable discussion to debate the five nominees. Debates will go in alphabetical order by the writer’s last name.
Bauer: Callaway’s explosiveness ignited dried-out receiving corps
There are all kinds of statistical reasons that justify Antonio Callaway’s status as Florida’s best freshman athlete of 2015-16, but his relevance — unlike the other players on this list — goes beyond the box score.
Still, let’s look at his numbers.
Callaway led the Gators with 678 receiving yards this season, tied for the team lead with four receiving touchdowns and averaged almost 20 yards per catch.
Not even Florida’s last freshman phenom wideout, Percy Harvin, reached those numbers in 2006.
For years, UF’s receiving corps had been lackluster. The once highly-recruited pass catchers have given Florida fans nothing to be excited about since Harvin’s departure in 2008.
Enter Callaway.
For the first time in seven years, the Gators had an actual playmaker on the outside.
For the first time in seven years, the Gators had someone who was worthy of getting excited over when the ball landed in his hands.
And for the first time since Tim Tebow trotted out of the tunnel at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Gator fans had some lasting, positive memories of the football season.
Remember Callaway’s 63-yard catch-and-run to finish off Florida’s 13-point comeback against Tennessee?
Of course you do. Who could forget it? It was the highlight of Florida’s season.
And because Callaway single-handedly provided a starved football fan base a reason to care, he’s the Florida freshman most deserving of recognition.
Boone: Horsfield’s talent impossible to overlook
The University of Florida’s men’s golf program has been graced with spectacular talent over the years. From Camilo Villegas to Billy Horschel, the Gators have consistently produced quality players.
And Sam Horsfield might be the best of them all.
Horsfield came to Florida as somewhat of an unknown — that is, until he teed it up in the 2015 U.S. Open as an 18-year-old fresh out of high school.
When he got to UF, it didn’t take long for him to make his mark. Horsfield claimed his first victory at the Sea Best Invitational on Feb. 2, and it didn’t stop there. He went on to win two more times, capturing the Southern Highlands Collegiate and the Mason Rudolph Championship.
Since 1977, only five UF players have won at least three events in a season. With his win at the Mason Rudolph, Horsfield became the sixth to join that exclusive club, and he is the only one to do so as a freshman.
In addition, Horsfield’s 70.55 scoring average broke Villegas’ record for lowest single-season stroke average. His stellar season earned him just about every accolade in the book. Horsfield was named the Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Year and a PING First-Team All-American. In addition to being a semifinalist for both the Jack Nicklaus and Ben Hogan awards, Horsfield also earned First Team All-SEC and SEC All-Freshman Team honors.
Horsfield’s talent is undeniable. Not only is he Florida’s best freshman athlete, but he might be its best athlete, period.
Brannon: Barnhill’s track record makes her most deserving
There are three reasons Kelly Barnhill was the Gators’ greatest freshman in 2016.
The first was her un-freshman-like competitive maturity. In her first collegiate appearance, the pitcher from Marietta, Georgia, started against No. 2 Michigan, the team Florida had narrowly beaten in the championship of the Women’s College World Series only eight months prior.
Barnhill tossed a complete-game shutout in her debut, giving up just three hits to the World Series runner-ups. The veteran confidence and poise she displayed led her to a dominant 15-1 record. That’s strike one.
The second reason is her opponents’ batting average. If it’s the pitcher’s job to keep the other team off base, then Barnhill is your perfect candidate.
Opposing teams hit just .140 against the right-handed hurler, shattering a 2004 record for the lowest opposing batting average in UF softball history. So statistically, Barnhill’s freshman season was the most unhittable stretch of pitching delivered by any Gator.
That’s strike two.
The third reason is her sheer number of strikeouts. Barnhill struck out 167 batters in 108.1 innings. That means in an average seven-inning game, she sits down 10.8 batters on strikes.
No Gator had ever eclipsed 10, and Barnhill finished second in the nation in the category. Pop Quiz: Who holds the UF record for most strikeouts in a single game? That’s right, Barnhill rewrote the record one month after her first college start by mowing down a school-record high tying 18 Winthrop Eagles.
That’s strike three.
Cohen: Allen’s instant offense key for UF basketball
During a year full of positive signs for a rebuilding Florida basketball team — the introduction of a new, young coach, a 21-win campaign and an SEC Tournament quarterfinal appearance — the best sign for UF was the emergence of KeVaughn Allen.
The freshman provided an offensive spark to a UF team that ranked 10th in the SEC in points per game. Allen averaged 11.6 points and shot 39.9 percent from the field in a starting role last season, earning a spot on the 2016 SEC All-Freshman Team.
And it all started with a breakout performance against FSU in December.
Allen scored a season-high 32 points, the fifth-most by a Florida freshman in program history. He finished his first collegiate campaign with the fourth-most points by a UF freshman over the last two decades, consistently providing baskets for a Florida team that struggled to score down the stretch and in the postseason.
He was the only UF player who could bring the Gators back from a deep deficit by heating up and downing a couple quick three-pointers. Then-redshirt senior Dorian Finney-Smith even nicknamed him “The Microwave.”
Heading into next year, Allen will be the offensive centerpiece for the Gators, who will try to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2014.
Give The Microwave some well-deserved recognition.
López: Boren proves herself as a top-10 gymnast
Say what you want, but one thing is certain: Gymnastics is hard.
And yet, as a freshman, Alicia Boren managed to make it look easy.
Part of a five-woman recruiting class that included a former U.S. Senior National Team member and three other Junior Olympic competitors, Boren stitched together an exemplary 2016 campaign.
For starters, the Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, native consistently contributed as an all-around athlete. Boren competed in the classification in 13 out of 14 meets — only Gator-great Bridget Sloan appeared in as many all-around contests this season — clinching podium honors in seven of them.
Combined, Florida’s remaining freshman quartet placed three times across all events.
Additionally, her performances garnered four SEC Freshman of the Week awards. No other first-year Florida gymnast managed to match that figure.
What’s more? Her dominance extended to the national stage.
According to Road to Nationals’ all-around rankings, Boren was one of three freshmen to crack the top 10, finishing 0.070 RQS points behind Stanford’s Elizabeth Price for the first-year crown. She also established herself as a premier vault competitor, finishing third among freshmen and ninth nationally.
She rapidly emerged as a force — you’d be hard-pressed to deny that.
In all, Boren proved herself to be an important cog in the Gators gymnastics program for years to come.
Kelly Barnhill pitches during the second game of UF's doubleheader sweep of Jacksonville on Feb. 27, 2016, at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.
UF wide receiver Antonio Callaway is tackled by FAU punter Dalton Schomp during a punt return in Florida's 20-14 overtime win against Florida Atlantic on Nov. 21, 2015, at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
UF guard KeVaughn Allen attempts a layup during Florida's 61-55 loss to Alabama on Feb. 13, 2016, in the O'Connell Center.
Sam Horsfield lines up a shot to start the third round of the SunTrust Invitational on Feb. 21, 2016, at UF's Mark Bostic Golf Course.
Alicia Boren performs her floor exercise routine during the NCAA Gymnastics Super Six on April 16, 2016, in Fort Worth, Texas.
