I believe “To Kill a Mockingbird” is one of the few novels you’re forced to read in high school that you don’t actually hate. I’ve read Harper Lee’s lone novel several times since.
(I also love the 1962 movie with Gregory Peck, but I digress.)
Aside from the whole lawyer thing, I want to be Atticus Finch when I grow up — a smart, reasonable guy who’s right as rain and strong in his convictions.
Lord knows I’ll never be as awesome as Atticus, but I like to apply his (read: Lee’s) wisdom often. It gives me something to aspire to, no matter how much I fail to reach it.
So when Will Muschamp announced Monday that running back Matt Jones was Florida’s fifth first-string player to suffer a season-ending injury, I thought of Atticus.
(Yeah, I know. I’m weird.)
In Chapter 11, he imparts some wisdom to his children, Scout and Jem, on basically fighting the good fight. It’s a bit out of context considering the jarring difference between the novel’s plot and football, but the theme is both sound and pertinent.
“[Courage is] when you know you’re licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what,” Atticus says.
At this juncture, Florida is pretty licked. Losing Dominique Easley, Jeff Driskel and Jones in the span of three weeks is, I imagine, the very definition. Instability on special teams and an offense still struggling to find its footing don’t help.
But there is still everything to play for. Florida still controls its own destiny in the Southeastern Conference Eastern Division. Everything is still in play for the Gators.
Atlanta is still very much in sight. And Muschamp is not backing down from that goal, touting it any and every opportunity he gets. I applaud him for that.
But frankly, it’s quite an uphill battle.
Healthier teams in South Carolina, Georgia and Missouri are still in contention. Also, Florida has crumbled in two road games this season, and it plays all three aforementioned divisional rivals away from Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
The task is daunting. It would be easy to just throw his hands up behind closed doors and say, “Screw it. Let’s just stay healthy and finish strong.”
But Muschamp makes it clear that he always expects excellence regardless of the circumstances. He put himself out there by hammering the Atlanta narrative home so often in recent days.
Muschamp’s licked right now, but he’s a brave guy. He plugged his nose, held his breath and walked right into the you-know-what-storm that Urban Meyer left behind.
He called out the NCAA for suspending Sharrif Floyd in 2011, took Florida to task for being “soft” later that season and never toned down his ferocity on the sidelines.
He let kicker Francisco Velez make his college debut in LSU’s Death Valley of all places and will likely burn freshman punter Johnny Townsend’s redshirt to bench former Ray Guy Award finalist Kyle Christy.
Rotten luck with injuries paints Florida’s season as essentially over. Mathematically, they’re still in it, but the cards are certainly stacked like skyscrapers against the Gators.
In the back of his mind, Muschamp hears those voices.
I’m sure he has even more doubts now that he has lost Jones. But he can’t get caught up in that. A trying 2011 taught him as much.
Because as far as Muschamp is concerned, losing sight of what’s next — even in the face of a tough draw — would be a sin worse than killing a mockingbird.
Follow Joe Morgan on Twitter @joe_morgan.
UF coach Will Muschamp reflects after No. 17 Florida's 17-6 loss to No. 10 LSU on Saturday in Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, La.
