Greenard held back his emotions on Saturday
Florida football just beat its rival 40-17 in front a sold out Swamp crowd. It was the last time the seniors would play in Gainesville. It was the last time Jon Greenard would step foot inside the Swamp as a player.
“It’s a bittersweet feeling. I can’t explain it," said the Gators pass rusher. "All the emotions you’re feeling as a senior, realizing it’s your last time in The Swamp. Guys understand it’s the start of a new journey, the start of a new year. We wanted to make sure we would leave a mark in the last game. I think we were very successful in that.”
In just one season, Greenard certainly made his mark on the Florida program
The grad-transfer arrived in Gainesville from Florida and quickly made his presence felt not only on the field but in the locker room. In just 11 games played, against LSU he only took a few snaps before having to come out, Greenard managed to record 52 tackles, a team-high 15 tackles for a loss and nine sacks, one interception, three pass break ups, one fumble recovery for.a touchdown and two forced fumbles.
Such an amazing feat for a guy that was not sure what his future would hold.
Greenard was forced to sit on the bench his final season at Louisville. He didn't know if he could ever return to the player he was. After his head coach was fired, Greenard made a decision to return down south and play for the school he dreamed of playing for.
“That almost brings me to tears. It’s crazy,” Greenard said about playing at Florida in 2019. “At one point in time I didn’t think I was going to be able to play this game again or at this level. Everything I’ve been through, not just in college, in high school too all throughout my life. I never thought I’d be in this situation at this school, my dream school, playing at this level, excel. I can’t put it into words. I’m just so thankful. I’m thankful to God for putting me in this situation. I just kept praying and had a really good support system.”
Greenard has two more games as a college athlete before embarking on his next career path- a Florida bowl game and a chance to showcase his talent at the Senior Bowl.
“Man it gets you choked up,” he said. “I’ve got to the point now where I understand how to handle success and this basically is just a building block and I want to continue to build from this. I’m very ecstatic and happy, you may not be able to see it on my face right now, but I’m excited about what I did. It’s not easy to do that. I don’t want to take this for granted. I missed a whole year so it made me love the game that much more.
“The passion I have for this game and passion for my teammates and how they feel about just fueled me to play that much harder on the field,” he added. . “So I just want to thank them.”
