Linebacker Jon Bostic and the rest of the Gators don’t care about their preseason No. 23 ranking, nor are they concerned about outsiders looking down on them following a disappointing season a year ago.
They’re just ready to finally take the field.
“A lot of people from everywhere are overlooking us,” Bostic said. “Everyone’s kind of like, ‘The forgotten Gators.’ … It doesn’t bother us at all. That’s how we’re trying to look at it.”
It’s not difficult to see why Bostic, a junior, and his teammates feel slighted.
After enduring a trying season in 2010, the Gators dealt with an overwhelming offseason.
They had to adjust to a new head coach, an overhauled staff, revamped offensive and defensive schemes, the transfer of their best player and cope with the stigma of an 8-5 season.
But when Florida takes the field Saturday night at 7 against Florida Atlantic in coach Will Muschamp’s debut, all of that will be behind the new-look Gators.
“There’s a lot of things that went wrong last year, but this is another year,” Bostic said. “A lot of people have changed what we did in the offseason, getting more focused for these games this year.”
However, several players admitted this week all the preseason talk of change and fresh starts means nothing to the Gators if they struggle out of the gate like they did last season.
With a preseason No. 4 ranking in 2010, expectations were high for a Florida team that made back-to-back Southeastern Conference title game appearances and was two seasons removed from hoisting the BCS Championship trophy in Miami.
But the Gators limped through their opener against Miami (Ohio) as the offense struggled, setting the tone for a lackluster year. There were errant snaps, Florida fumbled the ball eight times, and a passing offense that came in with high hopes managed a meager 113 yards.
“It just killed the momentum,” quarterback John Brantley said. “It just kind of sucked the wind out of us, I guess you could say. If you have good plays and something like that happens, it doesn’t kill our confidence, it just kind of sucks the wind out of us.”
With the team preparing for Saturday’s season opener throughout fall camp, the Gators know what they need to do to prevent a similar stumble out of the gates.
Muschamp has preached turnover margin, and sophomore Trey Burton said the team is looking to limit turnovers as well as penalties, and develop a good tempo in the debut of Charlie Weis’ offense.
“It’s real important to step on that gas pedal from the first play and just keep going,” Brantley said. “Don’t let off.”
Contact Tom Green at tgreen@alligator.org.
Florida linebacker Jon Bostic said people are overlooking the Gators this season after an 8-5 record last year. Bostic said the Gators must avoid another slow start to prove the doubters wrong.
