Three Gators Receive Half-Game Suspensions for Florida-Tennessee Altercation

I appreciate Billy Napier's comments about this being a teachable moment. Goes beyond football. As compared to Dan Mullen's leadership (or lack thereof) against Missouri in 2020.

https://www.si.com/college/florida/football/florida-gators-tennessee-volunteers-sec-suspensions-2023

 

It was clearly a shot to the head - he wasn’t trying to bring Mertz down, he was trying to hurt him

 

That last sentence is where I am. I would rather have teammates sticking up for one another than anything else. Better than if Mertz got knocked to the ground and the Oline just walked off.

 

I agree with those who say Heupel should have been punished in some form. Calling the timeout the way he did was what set this off. I understand that the hit wasn't hard. And I understand that Heupel probably wants his kids to play to the end. But our linemen really weren't even blocking them. That timeout just wasn't necessary and I think that kind of pissed our guys off. Heupel should be called out by the SEC for that.

I don't like that at least one player tried to throw a punch, which could have resulted in a broken hand. But these guys fought together for the first time. I think that incident is going to pay dividends down the road and it brought our team even closer together.

 

Our seats were very close to the play, so I got a good look. You can't blame Mertz for trying to run the clock out. He stood up and wandered until someone actually bothered to pursue him. Cheap hit by TN. I usually wouldn't say this, but, I'm glad Mertz' OL defended him. They probably won't be missed in the first half against Charlotte.