Neil Blackmon does a nice job here chronicling our history of "what ifs?" starting with Cam Newton and ending with AR. It really puts things in perspective. And makes you wish a few of those "what ifs?" went in a different direction. As Anthony Richardson heads to NFL, Gators fans left wondering: ‘What if?’
What's the barber say?.......... "Next." I wish Anthony all the success at the next level for him and his family. This is another opportunity for the next Gator QB to do great things. I look forward to seeing them and cheering them on. The cycle continues. GO GATORS!!!!
I wish we would have hung onto Cam. I think we'd be looking at 4 titles, possibly a 4th Heisman. Maybe our program would have gone a slightly diff direction and the bottom would not have been so bad, like losing to Georgia Southern (ugh) For a damn laptop? lol
Someone correct me but the laptop was the coup d’grace. Cam had run afoul of the university wrt plagiarism
Oh but for the "Could-Have-Been". Urban had UF perfectly placed, whipped Saban in 08. Natty, Undefeated in 09 going into the SECCG. Lose to Bama in 09, CAM gets dumped, Urban goes crazy and instead of a UF dynasty we get a BAMA one. Yeah a couple of 11 win seasons since 2009 were nice but buzz ahead 13 years and UF is now an SEC east cellar dweller. CBN needs to clean the house, preach defense, recruit his ass off, transfer portal his ass off, and get this ship headed in the right direction, starting with the upcoming bowl.
What if we had hired an experienced OC in 2009 instead of elevating Addazio to a position he had never held before? With the talent we had that year, it was Like giving a Lamborghini to a middle schooler. That has always been the biggest what-if for me.
the dunlap dui also derailed that SEC title game! Man, but if we keep Cam, Urban would have been Saban for sure.
Yeah, 09 was not as enjoyable as expected because of the struggles with the offense during the season.
That is my second biggest Gator "what-if". What if we had stuck with runs to the outside against Bama in the SEC championship? I used to know the numbers off the top of my head, but it was something like 4 total non-Tebow runs to the outside for big yardage, but we got gunshy from getting stuffed up the gut and stopped trying to run. The speedsters to the outside were 100% successful the few times we let them loose, but we played tight and lost. My biggest "what-if" is 2001 Tennessee. Win that game, chances are high that Grossman gets a Heisman, we get another natty, Spurrier stays until Urban arrives
Yep, that selfish clown couldn't wait till after the freaking game? He just had to get our defense drunk and dysfunctional for the SECCG.
He was a different QB after his time in JC. Much, much better passer than when he was at UF. And let's face it, Urban isn't exactly known for developing great passing QBs.
No guarantees if you're switching to a new OC. Addazio, I'm guessing, already knew the offense and could presumably run it, which is why they stayed in house. But I agree in general. His inability to replace staff was a huge weakness for Urban at UF and stands in direct contrast to Saban at Bama.
Addazio - Takes two smallish, speed burners, (Rainey and Demps) and decides to pound them up the gut, over and over and over............guess he thought they were Derrick Henry's at the time.
Easy to make the call . . . from the stands. . . . 14 years later. Reality is we don't know what the thought process was in that room or what was going on with Urban. Presumably, he could change the plays, ask SA not to run Rainey and Demps up the middle, etc. Wasn't this "his" offense that he and Mullen developed at Utah and Bowling Green?
Some could say you can pinpoint the beginning of our football troubles on the Dunlap DUI. If he doesn't get arrested for sleeping at a red light after going to a birthday party a few days before the SEC Championship, everything is different. That's a huge what if.