Dan Mullen inspires a new 'Gator Standard' in year one

ATLANTA -- Dan Mullen is a competitor.

"Someone wins and someone loses," said Florida's head coach on Nov. 3, soon after the Gators' loss to Missouri. "I don't care what we’re doing. If you wanna thumb wrestle me right now, I’m gonna kick your ass."

Florida needed that competitive edge that seemed to be lacking in Gainesville the last few seasons.

The UF head coach had some work ahead of him if he wanted to make the program relevant on the national stage again.

The Gators were coming off a disappointing 4-7 season, which ended with their coach and the program parting ways; their offense ranked 103rd out of 130 teams; and the team's strength and conditioning program in disarray.

Mullen was hired in November and did not waste any time before addressing his biggest concerns.

The first step is making sure he had the correct staff to lead the charge. Mullen immediately brought in new Director of Strength and Conditioning Nick Savage.

“I feel like it’s really Coach Savage, he just made us all stronger, bigger," said defensive lineman Jachai Polite, who has recorded 11 sacks this season. "Everything starting to come in. Then the coaching, more disciplined than the last time. That’s what I really think it is -- Savage and discipline.”

Discipline.

Mentality.

The Gators were one of the most penalized teams in 2017. Mullen was able to turn things around physically with Savage's aid, however, changing someone's internal make up is quite a different story. The Florida head coach had to come in and change the culture, change how a player is wired.

"He came in and just laid the foundation, just like go as hard as you can, fight for your brothers," said Gators nickel Chauncey Gardner-Johnson.

"I think that a lot of people don't think that's something that can change somebodies play; I think that's totally wrong. Mentality can change completely how you play," said quarterback Feleipe Franks. "Everything you do you wanna be a champion. Whether it's thumb wrestling, whether it's playing a game on Saturday, whether it be in the weight room, the class room, you wanna be a champion in everything you do. That's what he's brought to the program."

"Every guy on this team wants to win and I think Coach Mullen has brought that mentality to us about going hard and being the best you can be," said wide receiver Van Jefferson. "And I think really Feleipe has done a, has led the offense in that way. Especially with Feleipe's mindset and how he approaches the day but we just all want to win, that's pretty much it."

Franks is a prime example of how Mullen and company turned around the program. The redshirt sophomore finished the regular season throwing 2,284 yards and 23 touchdowns - the most since Tim Tebow was Florida's man under center in 2008. However, the biggest change for the quarterback was his ability to make better decisions. In 2017, Franks threw eight interceptions to nine touchdowns; in 2018 it was 23 touchdowns to six interceptions.

Franks credits Mullen's faith in him for the radical change.

"Just confidence in myself," Franks explained. "It starts with players, the players having trust in me, always saying 'Feleipe go out there, we all got your back. Just go out there and play free.' And that's what Coach Mullen tells me as well, 'you're not on a short leash, go out there and you just play free, you play like you're playing football in your back yard.' I think that's what I've been able to do and having the guys trust."

Mullen stood behind his quarterback, his players, despite a few stumbles in the season.

The Kentucky loss.

The Georgia loss.

The first half stumble against Vanderbilt.

The Missouri loss.

The slow start against South Carolina.

Every single time Mullen went to bat for his men. Every time he just challenged them more.

"We stuck together, nobody on the team fell apart," said Gardner-Johnson.

In former years, a slow start cost the team dearly. It was an unnerving sight when a team just could not dig itself out of a hole but that was not the case this season.

According to running back Jordan Scarlett, part of the team's confidence came in knowing that Mullen and his coaches, would be able to change the game with a few quick adjustments at half time.

“He does a really great job of that," said Scarlett. "I like the way he approaches the team whether we’re losing or winning. He’ll never come in bashing us, screaming, raging type thing. He’s like, ‘C’mon guys we know we’re in it.’ He’ll just talk about the adjustments and make sure everyone is on the same page. I like the way he executes his plan.”

Scarlett sums it up perfectly.

This team has faith in Mullen and the Gators have faith in themselves. From the freshman newcomer to the fifth-year veteran, everyone has bought in to Mullen's new Gator

Although Jim Harbaugh has plenty of praise for Florida's intelligence, physicality and speed, the Michigan head coach was more impressed by Mullen's ability to bring together a team across classes.

"You have freshmen that are playing that you guys have come right in and coached right up right out of high school. That's been really impressive," said Harbaugh. "You've got your sophomores, your redshirt juniors, you've got seniors, a few fifth-year seniors. That's really impressive to be -- come in as a first-year coach and get the buy-in from the whole team.

"You see it throughout the roster and Coach has done a fabulous job and so have his assistants. It's really a good year of coaching for Dan and his staff."

What the Florida coaches have done is quite remarkable. However, to those that have followed Mullen's career it is not surprising. It was the main reason why Jefferson decided to follow Mullen to Florida -transferring to UF rather than Michigan.

"I mean I played against him and you could see what he did at Mississippi State and how he turned that program around," explained Jefferson why he picked the Gators. "So I think just seeing that at Mississippi State and coming to Florida you know he's gonna be successful.

"He has a dog mentality, you just gotta go get it and I got that mentality too so just gotta buy in."

"He always, being a champion is not a sometimes thing, it's a way of life, " said Franks." That's one of my favorite quotes ever, since I've been around football, everything you do—classroom, football, you name it, you wanna be a champion. It's not fun loosing so you wanna win everything you do. And thumb wrestling is his best example."

Mullen has introduced the new Gator Standard to the program. A standard that has allowed this team to turn a program to a New Year's Six Bowl team.

"We’re back where we belong," said Gardner-Johnson.

Although a few thumb wrestling games have occurred in the last 12 months, "he wins. He cheats though," joked Franks, the message is what resonates with his players.

"You gotta represent the Gators. You got pride in your university. You got pride in the program," said Mullen on that Nov. 3rd night. "Man, I, either you're a competitor or you’re not.That’s all I need. Right? That is all I need. Certainly I hope that rubs off and that’s the attitude of every single guy in the locker room.”

Florida is competing for the Peach Bowl as the No. 10 team in the country.

Message received, Dan.