By Franz Beard
A few thoughts to jump start your Wednesday morning:
ONCE KYLE LOFTON VISITED UF, TODD GOLDEN SOLD HIM ON BEING A GATOR
When Kyle Lofton, a self-described North Jersey type who had just spent four years lighting up defenses in the Atlantic 10 Conference at St. Bonaventure made his official visit to the University of Florida, the Gators weren’t anywhere close to the top of his potential transfer list. He was basically tagging along with center and St. Bonaventure teammate Osun Ossiniyi, who the Gators were trying to lure with a full court recruiting press.
Lofton had his sights set on Rutgers, Ohio State, Purdue and Arizona but things changed when he got to Gainesville.
“When I came on my visit this really wasn’t one of my top schools, but I came here with Osun – he ended up going to Iowa State – but I liked the staff and the goals they had for me,” Lofton said Tuesday at the Florida practice facility. “I think this is a great place to be.”
Todd Golden and the Florida staff impressed Lofton with their offensive philosophy and energy. At St. Bonaventure Lofton scored 1,613 points and totaled 604 assists in 116 games, averaging 13.9 points and 5.2 assists per game while making All-Atlantic 10 each year.
In the 2021-22 season, Lofton averaged 12.8 points, 3.6 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 1.5 steals while leading the Bonnies to a 23-10 record.
Lofton picked Florida because of Golden, the 36-year-old first-year coach who came to Florida after three very successful seasons at San Francisco. Since arriving on campus, Lofton has discovered a side of Golden he didn’t know existed when he signed his scholarship papers to transfer.
“He lifts with us,” Lofton said. “I don't think a lot of coaches do that, and just his spirit walking around the gym. It reminds me of a big brother … He's pretty strong. I didn't know he could do pull ups. He does everything we do, basically."
That Golden gets so involved with a roster that he’s still getting to know checks a lot of boxes for Lofton.
“It just shows that he's willing to be with us,” he said. “He doesn't have to do that. He can be in his office. He wants to be with us and learn us and we can learn him."
There was a time when the SEC forbid any coaching in the summer but gradually the rules have been eased to where coaches have opportunities to work with individuals and the team as a whole. When the Gators work out, Golden is quite actively involved. It’s not a hands off approach, which is welcome. Everything Lofton has seen so far of Golden’s offensive philosophy
tells him the Gators are going to push the tempo and run every opportunity. That should be music to the ears of Florida fans, who grew weary of an offense that seemed guaranteed to have at least one lengthy scoreless stretch every single game.
Lofton not only made a name for himself as a scorer and distributor at St. Bonaventure but as a natural leader who teammates want to follow. Even though he’s been at Florida just a short time he has found a kindred soul in Colin Castleton, a two-time All-SEC performer who chose to return to Florida for his COVID year. Castleton is rehabbing from surgery to repair a torn labrum so he hasn’t been able to work out but he and Lofton have already formed a bond.
“I feel like we're the veterans here, so me and him talk a lot,” Lofton said. “I haven't got to work with him. I'm excited to do that, but going over to his house, you know, just kicking it with him."
If there is one thing clear to Lofton it is a chemistry that is building among teammates.
“I just like that everyone is happy to be here,” he said. “Everyone wants to learn, wants to get better and you want to be around that to win.”
ATHLON RANKS UF NO. 33; NO GATORS ON FIRST TEAM ALL-SEC
Athlon’s college football preseason magazine has hit the stands and not surprisingly, the Florida Gators aren’t in the top 25. The Gators, who are ranked No. 31 in the Lindy’s preseason magazine, are No. 33 in Athlon, which means they’re 10th among the SEC’s 14 teams. Athlon projects the Gators to play in the Gator Bowl against Pittsburgh.
Florida right guard O’Cyrus Torrence, selected first team All-America by Lindy’s, didn’t even merit first team All-SEC by Athlon. Torrence is second team All-SEC on Athlon along with outside linebacker Brenton Cox Jr. Selected third team were defensive lineman Gervon Dexter, linebacker Ventrell Miller and corner Jason Marshall Jr. Alabama had seven first team selections, five second teamers and two third teamers. Georgia had five on the first team, four on the second and two on the third team.
Athlon top 25: 1. Alabama; 2. Ohio State; 3. Georgia; 4. Clemson; 5. Texas A&M; 6. Michigan; 7. Notre Dame; 8. Utah; 9. Southern California; 10. Oregon; 11. Baylor; 12. North Carolina State; 13. Oklahoma; 14. Michigan State; 15. Cincinnati; 16. Wake Forest; 17. Oklahoma State; 18. Tennessee; 19. Wisconsin; 20. Miami; 21. Kentucky; 22. Pittsburgh; 23. Arkansas; 24. Houston; 25. Penn State
Other notables: 26. LSU; 28. Ole Miss; 30. Mississippi State; 33. FLORIDA; 36. Florida State; 40. Auburn; 42. South Carolina; 45. UCF; 53. Missouri; 79. Louisiana; 94. Vanderbilt; 100. South Florida; 105. Florida Atlantic; 128. Florida International
Athlon SEC position ratings (top ranked plus Florida)
Quarterbacks: 1. Alabama; 8. Florida
Running backs: 1. Alabama; 11. Florida
Wide receivers: 1. Georgia; 9. Florida
Offensive line: 1. Georgia; 8. Florida
Defensive line: 1. Alabama; 10. Florida
Linebackers: 1. Alabama; 5. Florida
Defensive backs: 1. Alabama; 5. Florida
Lindy’s SEC position ratings (top ranked plus Florida)
Quarterbacks: 1. Alabama; 6. Florida
Running backs: 1. Alabama; 11. Florida
Receivers: 1. Alabama; 10. Florida
Offensive line: 1. Georgia; 8. Florida
Defensive line: 1. LSU; 9. Florida
Linebackers: 1. Alabama; 3. Florida
Secondary: 1. Alabama; 7. Florida
Special teams: 1. Auburn; 8. Florida
SEC FOOTBALL/BASEBALL
Alabama: Shortstop Ed Johnson, who hit .331 with a .406 on-base percentage at Tennessee Tech is transferring to Bama where he will move to third base in an attempt to fill the shoes of Zane Denton, who is in the portal after hitting .263 with 13 homers and 48 RBI for the Tide in 2022.
Arkansas: The unseeded Hogs (43-19) open up in Omaha against No. 2 seed Stanford. A year ago Arkansas was the nation’s No. 1 seed but was eliminated in the super regionals by North Carolina State.
Auburn: SEC co-player of the year Sonny DiChiara has homered in six of the last seven games for the 14th-seeded Tigers (42-20) who open play in the College World Series with Ole Miss (37-22).
Kentucky: UK could be the landing spot for D1AA All-American running back Ramon Jefferson, who ran for 1,155 yards and 13 touchdowns last year at Sam Houston State.
LSU: Wide receiver Kayshon Boutte has been cleared to start running again at full speed. Before he was injured in game six last season, Boutte had 38 catches for 509 yards and nine touchdowns.
Ole Miss: The Rebels (37-22), who were one of the last teams in on selection Sunday, are 5-0 in NCAA play. They face Auburn (42-20) Saturday, a team they beat two out of three in Auburn back in March.
Tennessee: On his Monday show, Paul Finebaum called Tennessee’s exit loss to Notre Dame in the Knoxville super regional “a complete meltdown.”
Texas A&M: The 5th-seeded Aggies (42-18) open play in Omaha against Oklahoma (43-22). The Aggies are one of only two top eight seeded teams to make it to the College World Series.
ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: Just when you thought it was safe to go in the water! Okay, that was from “Jaws,” but since we don’t have a 22-foot-long great white shark eating people off the Gulf coast, the Nick vs. Jimbo feud will have to suffice. Following the SEC Spring Meetings in Destin that ended 12 days ago, meetings that, by the way, were relatively peaceful, leave it to the little brother Aggies (Texas was, is and will always be big brother in that state so the Aggies have always and will always feel dumped on), to play the disrespect card to the hilt.
Here is what happened over the weekend. The president and athletic director of Texas A&M sent emails to Greg Sankey suggesting the Southeastern Conference commissioner fine and suspend Saban for stating that Jimbo Fisher and the Aggies had bought every player in its top-rated recruiting class. In the letter, A&M president M. Katherine Banks and AD Ross Bjork wrote, “A public apology from Coach Saban to Coach Fisher, Aggie football and Texas A&M University is a good starting point but the league should also consider monetary and participation penalties against Coach Saban.”
If the Aggies had anything but an inferiority complex, they would simply keep their mouths shut and on October 8 in Tuscaloosa “go a-ridin’ into town, a-whoopin’ and a-whumpin’ every livin’ thing that moves within an inch of its life.” Yeah, I stole that line from Blazing Saddles but it’s what the Aggies should have done, but noooooo. Instead they threw a few 40-gallon drums of gasoline on an already raging fire.
That led to Paul Finebaum weighing in. One thing the Aggies still don’t seem to grasp is that only Aggies like to hear other Aggies talk. Non-Aggies tend to tune into Finebaum and take what he has to say seriously, which only diminishes any arguments Aggies can come up with. So here is how Finebaum responded on WJOX in Birmingham Monday morning:
“It’s extremely disappointing if you’re a believer in the SEC, where you have 14 schools – about to be 16 – and everyone tries to work together and air grievances in a gentlemanly way as opposed to schoolyard running to the principal and telling on your classmate. But I will say this, and you guys are welcome to disagree, but those who know Ross Bjork are not surprised. This is how he operates. He’s a grievance-oriented administrator. If he heard something on this program he didn’t like, instead of calling you guys … he would go over your head and try to find the highest authority that he could make a formal complaint to. That’s apparently what he did here.
“I don’t know what’s wrong with picking up the phone and calling Greg Sankey and saying, ‘Commissioner, what do you advise here. What do you suggest?’ Instead he enlists the president of the university to go along with him, which I’m sure was nothing more than a digital signature, and writes this absolutely laughable letter to the commissioner of the SEC. I’ll try to say this with a straight face: trying to get Nick Saban suspended or fined for expressing a thought that many others have expressed in various forms – I don’t know how to describe it other than petty, petulant and unprofessional. What was even more remarkable is that Greg Sankey tried to head this off. He called Jimbo Fisher on the morning of Jimbo Fisher’s rant and warned him, and he did it anyway.”
I have to wonder if Jimbo had anything to do with the letter to Sankey. Jimbo worked for Nick and he has to know that Nick doesn’t lose grudge matches. What the letter has done is not only turn October 8 into the grudge match of the century, but given Nick Saban a reason to get up in the morning.
If Laurence Tureaud – also known as Mr. T – were to offer his two cents right about now, his tirade would begin with “I pity the fool …” and the fool in this case is anyone associated with Texas A&M on the second Saturday of October in Tuscaloosa.
A few thoughts to jump start your Wednesday morning:
ONCE KYLE LOFTON VISITED UF, TODD GOLDEN SOLD HIM ON BEING A GATOR
When Kyle Lofton, a self-described North Jersey type who had just spent four years lighting up defenses in the Atlantic 10 Conference at St. Bonaventure made his official visit to the University of Florida, the Gators weren’t anywhere close to the top of his potential transfer list. He was basically tagging along with center and St. Bonaventure teammate Osun Ossiniyi, who the Gators were trying to lure with a full court recruiting press.
Lofton had his sights set on Rutgers, Ohio State, Purdue and Arizona but things changed when he got to Gainesville.
“When I came on my visit this really wasn’t one of my top schools, but I came here with Osun – he ended up going to Iowa State – but I liked the staff and the goals they had for me,” Lofton said Tuesday at the Florida practice facility. “I think this is a great place to be.”
Todd Golden and the Florida staff impressed Lofton with their offensive philosophy and energy. At St. Bonaventure Lofton scored 1,613 points and totaled 604 assists in 116 games, averaging 13.9 points and 5.2 assists per game while making All-Atlantic 10 each year.
In the 2021-22 season, Lofton averaged 12.8 points, 3.6 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 1.5 steals while leading the Bonnies to a 23-10 record.
Lofton picked Florida because of Golden, the 36-year-old first-year coach who came to Florida after three very successful seasons at San Francisco. Since arriving on campus, Lofton has discovered a side of Golden he didn’t know existed when he signed his scholarship papers to transfer.
“He lifts with us,” Lofton said. “I don't think a lot of coaches do that, and just his spirit walking around the gym. It reminds me of a big brother … He's pretty strong. I didn't know he could do pull ups. He does everything we do, basically."
That Golden gets so involved with a roster that he’s still getting to know checks a lot of boxes for Lofton.
“It just shows that he's willing to be with us,” he said. “He doesn't have to do that. He can be in his office. He wants to be with us and learn us and we can learn him."
There was a time when the SEC forbid any coaching in the summer but gradually the rules have been eased to where coaches have opportunities to work with individuals and the team as a whole. When the Gators work out, Golden is quite actively involved. It’s not a hands off approach, which is welcome. Everything Lofton has seen so far of Golden’s offensive philosophy
tells him the Gators are going to push the tempo and run every opportunity. That should be music to the ears of Florida fans, who grew weary of an offense that seemed guaranteed to have at least one lengthy scoreless stretch every single game.
Lofton not only made a name for himself as a scorer and distributor at St. Bonaventure but as a natural leader who teammates want to follow. Even though he’s been at Florida just a short time he has found a kindred soul in Colin Castleton, a two-time All-SEC performer who chose to return to Florida for his COVID year. Castleton is rehabbing from surgery to repair a torn labrum so he hasn’t been able to work out but he and Lofton have already formed a bond.
“I feel like we're the veterans here, so me and him talk a lot,” Lofton said. “I haven't got to work with him. I'm excited to do that, but going over to his house, you know, just kicking it with him."
If there is one thing clear to Lofton it is a chemistry that is building among teammates.
“I just like that everyone is happy to be here,” he said. “Everyone wants to learn, wants to get better and you want to be around that to win.”
ATHLON RANKS UF NO. 33; NO GATORS ON FIRST TEAM ALL-SEC
Athlon’s college football preseason magazine has hit the stands and not surprisingly, the Florida Gators aren’t in the top 25. The Gators, who are ranked No. 31 in the Lindy’s preseason magazine, are No. 33 in Athlon, which means they’re 10th among the SEC’s 14 teams. Athlon projects the Gators to play in the Gator Bowl against Pittsburgh.
Florida right guard O’Cyrus Torrence, selected first team All-America by Lindy’s, didn’t even merit first team All-SEC by Athlon. Torrence is second team All-SEC on Athlon along with outside linebacker Brenton Cox Jr. Selected third team were defensive lineman Gervon Dexter, linebacker Ventrell Miller and corner Jason Marshall Jr. Alabama had seven first team selections, five second teamers and two third teamers. Georgia had five on the first team, four on the second and two on the third team.
Athlon top 25: 1. Alabama; 2. Ohio State; 3. Georgia; 4. Clemson; 5. Texas A&M; 6. Michigan; 7. Notre Dame; 8. Utah; 9. Southern California; 10. Oregon; 11. Baylor; 12. North Carolina State; 13. Oklahoma; 14. Michigan State; 15. Cincinnati; 16. Wake Forest; 17. Oklahoma State; 18. Tennessee; 19. Wisconsin; 20. Miami; 21. Kentucky; 22. Pittsburgh; 23. Arkansas; 24. Houston; 25. Penn State
Other notables: 26. LSU; 28. Ole Miss; 30. Mississippi State; 33. FLORIDA; 36. Florida State; 40. Auburn; 42. South Carolina; 45. UCF; 53. Missouri; 79. Louisiana; 94. Vanderbilt; 100. South Florida; 105. Florida Atlantic; 128. Florida International
Athlon SEC position ratings (top ranked plus Florida)
Quarterbacks: 1. Alabama; 8. Florida
Running backs: 1. Alabama; 11. Florida
Wide receivers: 1. Georgia; 9. Florida
Offensive line: 1. Georgia; 8. Florida
Defensive line: 1. Alabama; 10. Florida
Linebackers: 1. Alabama; 5. Florida
Defensive backs: 1. Alabama; 5. Florida
Lindy’s SEC position ratings (top ranked plus Florida)
Quarterbacks: 1. Alabama; 6. Florida
Running backs: 1. Alabama; 11. Florida
Receivers: 1. Alabama; 10. Florida
Offensive line: 1. Georgia; 8. Florida
Defensive line: 1. LSU; 9. Florida
Linebackers: 1. Alabama; 3. Florida
Secondary: 1. Alabama; 7. Florida
Special teams: 1. Auburn; 8. Florida
SEC FOOTBALL/BASEBALL
Alabama: Shortstop Ed Johnson, who hit .331 with a .406 on-base percentage at Tennessee Tech is transferring to Bama where he will move to third base in an attempt to fill the shoes of Zane Denton, who is in the portal after hitting .263 with 13 homers and 48 RBI for the Tide in 2022.
Arkansas: The unseeded Hogs (43-19) open up in Omaha against No. 2 seed Stanford. A year ago Arkansas was the nation’s No. 1 seed but was eliminated in the super regionals by North Carolina State.
Auburn: SEC co-player of the year Sonny DiChiara has homered in six of the last seven games for the 14th-seeded Tigers (42-20) who open play in the College World Series with Ole Miss (37-22).
Kentucky: UK could be the landing spot for D1AA All-American running back Ramon Jefferson, who ran for 1,155 yards and 13 touchdowns last year at Sam Houston State.
LSU: Wide receiver Kayshon Boutte has been cleared to start running again at full speed. Before he was injured in game six last season, Boutte had 38 catches for 509 yards and nine touchdowns.
Ole Miss: The Rebels (37-22), who were one of the last teams in on selection Sunday, are 5-0 in NCAA play. They face Auburn (42-20) Saturday, a team they beat two out of three in Auburn back in March.
Tennessee: On his Monday show, Paul Finebaum called Tennessee’s exit loss to Notre Dame in the Knoxville super regional “a complete meltdown.”
Texas A&M: The 5th-seeded Aggies (42-18) open play in Omaha against Oklahoma (43-22). The Aggies are one of only two top eight seeded teams to make it to the College World Series.
ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: Just when you thought it was safe to go in the water! Okay, that was from “Jaws,” but since we don’t have a 22-foot-long great white shark eating people off the Gulf coast, the Nick vs. Jimbo feud will have to suffice. Following the SEC Spring Meetings in Destin that ended 12 days ago, meetings that, by the way, were relatively peaceful, leave it to the little brother Aggies (Texas was, is and will always be big brother in that state so the Aggies have always and will always feel dumped on), to play the disrespect card to the hilt.
Here is what happened over the weekend. The president and athletic director of Texas A&M sent emails to Greg Sankey suggesting the Southeastern Conference commissioner fine and suspend Saban for stating that Jimbo Fisher and the Aggies had bought every player in its top-rated recruiting class. In the letter, A&M president M. Katherine Banks and AD Ross Bjork wrote, “A public apology from Coach Saban to Coach Fisher, Aggie football and Texas A&M University is a good starting point but the league should also consider monetary and participation penalties against Coach Saban.”
If the Aggies had anything but an inferiority complex, they would simply keep their mouths shut and on October 8 in Tuscaloosa “go a-ridin’ into town, a-whoopin’ and a-whumpin’ every livin’ thing that moves within an inch of its life.” Yeah, I stole that line from Blazing Saddles but it’s what the Aggies should have done, but noooooo. Instead they threw a few 40-gallon drums of gasoline on an already raging fire.
That led to Paul Finebaum weighing in. One thing the Aggies still don’t seem to grasp is that only Aggies like to hear other Aggies talk. Non-Aggies tend to tune into Finebaum and take what he has to say seriously, which only diminishes any arguments Aggies can come up with. So here is how Finebaum responded on WJOX in Birmingham Monday morning:
“It’s extremely disappointing if you’re a believer in the SEC, where you have 14 schools – about to be 16 – and everyone tries to work together and air grievances in a gentlemanly way as opposed to schoolyard running to the principal and telling on your classmate. But I will say this, and you guys are welcome to disagree, but those who know Ross Bjork are not surprised. This is how he operates. He’s a grievance-oriented administrator. If he heard something on this program he didn’t like, instead of calling you guys … he would go over your head and try to find the highest authority that he could make a formal complaint to. That’s apparently what he did here.
“I don’t know what’s wrong with picking up the phone and calling Greg Sankey and saying, ‘Commissioner, what do you advise here. What do you suggest?’ Instead he enlists the president of the university to go along with him, which I’m sure was nothing more than a digital signature, and writes this absolutely laughable letter to the commissioner of the SEC. I’ll try to say this with a straight face: trying to get Nick Saban suspended or fined for expressing a thought that many others have expressed in various forms – I don’t know how to describe it other than petty, petulant and unprofessional. What was even more remarkable is that Greg Sankey tried to head this off. He called Jimbo Fisher on the morning of Jimbo Fisher’s rant and warned him, and he did it anyway.”
I have to wonder if Jimbo had anything to do with the letter to Sankey. Jimbo worked for Nick and he has to know that Nick doesn’t lose grudge matches. What the letter has done is not only turn October 8 into the grudge match of the century, but given Nick Saban a reason to get up in the morning.
If Laurence Tureaud – also known as Mr. T – were to offer his two cents right about now, his tirade would begin with “I pity the fool …” and the fool in this case is anyone associated with Texas A&M on the second Saturday of October in Tuscaloosa.
