BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Two UF seniors saw their collegiate football careers come to an end one game early.
Sixth-year senior Andre Debose (mutual agreement) and defensive lineman Darious Cummings (violation of team rules) did not make the trip to Birmingham and will not play in the bowl game against East Carolina on Saturday, interim head coach D.J. Durkin said Wednesday.
Debose had the opportunity to travel to Birmingham, but the return specialist opted against it.
“Andre was kind of a decision he made and mutual agreement of, you know, he’s moving on with his career,” Durkin said.
Debose’s choice to sit out the bowl game ends his career with the Gators where he left a valuable mark in the return game.
The Sanford, Florida, native finished his career with five special-teams touchdowns (four kickoff returns, one punt return).
His four career kickoff return touchdowns are a school record and tied for the most in the Southeastern Conference with Felix Jones (Arkansas), Brandon Boykin (Georgia) and Willie Gault (Tennessee).
He finished second in the SEC and sixth nationally with a 14.04 punt return average.
“We joke he’s as old as some of the coaches and we’ve been here a long time together,” Durkin said. “You know sometimes things just work out that way and he’ll be just fine and so will the Gators.”
Cummings — a transfer from East Mississippi Community College — finished his two-year UF career with 45 tackles (eight for loss), three sacks, eight quarterback hurries, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and an interception in 22 games.
Secondary strides: Keanu Neal still remembers Florida’s last trip into Alabama on Sept. 20.
Heading into their first road contest of the season, the Gators lost 42-21 to the Crimson Tide at Bryant-Denny Stadium, giving up a single-game program worst 672 yards.
Blake Sims torched UF’s secondary to the tune of 445 yards and 4 touchdowns.
“We just had a lack of communication,” Neal said.
But since that game, Florida’s secondary has come into its own.
Led by Neal at safety and All-American Vernon Hargreaves III at cornerback, the Gators have given up an average of just 159.1 passing yards per game since the loss to the Crimson Tide.
In its regular-season finale against Florida State, Florida held Jameis Winston to 125 passing yards and two touchdowns while forcing four interceptions.
“We just built chemistry,” Neal said. “We understand each other a lot better. The people that we’re playing with now we understand where each other is going to be and things like that.”
UF now turns its attention to an ECU offense that is anything but shy when it comes to passing the ball.
The Pirates are third in the country in passing offense, averaging 367.3 yards through the air per game.
ECU quarterback Shane Carden is second nationally in pass attempts per game (45.9). In his last two years as the starter, Carden has recorded 61 passing touchdowns against just 18 interceptions.
“That’s going to be fun,” Neal said. “Every game’s the same, but that, you want to play guys like that. You want to play guys that are on a high pedestal. He’s backed it up.”
Weather report: There is an 80-percent chance of rain in Birmingham on Saturday, according to weather.com.
There is expected to be as much as one-and-a-half inches of precipitation on game day.
“We’ve had our share of elements this year if you’ve followed our season,” Durkin said. "It is what it is, you make due with what’s going on and we’re obviously aware of that and our guys will play fine.”
Follow Jordan McPherson on Twitter @J_McPherson1126
Redshirt senior wide receiver Andre Debose returns a punt for a touchdown during the first quarter of Florida's 30-27 loss to LSU at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
