Little time remaining for Jordan Scarlett in Florida-Georgia rivalry
GAINESVILLE, Fla.-- Last season during the Florida-Georgia game, running back Jordan Scarlett could do nothing to help his team. He watched from a couch on campus as the team he was suspended from was walloped by Georgia 42-7.
“I was watching it with me and (Antonio) Callaway,” Scarlett said. “He was my roommate at the time. We sat home and watched every game together.”
Both Scarlett and Callaway were suspended from the team the entire 2017 season due to their involvement in the credit card scandal. The two were forced to watch the team they once played for limp to a 4-7 season, including the blowout loss to the Bulldogs.
“It’s frustrating to watch, especially the close losses and the blowouts,” Scarlett said. “We just felt like we could make a difference. Everybody knows me and him were two of the offensive weapons on the team. Just watching the offense struggle last year was just a problem for me and him.”
Now being a member of the team again, Scarlett now has a chance to make up for his absence last season. This will be his third battle against Georgia, who ranks 7th in the country. This year’s edition of the SEC East brawl means a little bit more for Scarlett than it just being a bitter rival.
"This is a little bit (personal), but then again it's a rivalry,” he said. “It's always important to me because it's the next game and it's a rivalry. I've loved Florida-Georgia every year since I've been here. So just going to keep that same attitude."
In 2015, then a freshman, Scarlett broke a 60-yard run in the fourth quarter that helped set up a Kelvin Taylor touchdown that secured a 27-3 victory for Florida.
The 2016 game showcased Scarlett as the feature back for the Gators as he grinded out 93 yards on the Georgia defense. He also had a touchdown that put the Gators up 14-10 late in the second quarter, a lead Florida would not relinquish in its 24-10 win.
Since his return to the Gators in 2018, Scarlett has had an incredibly productive season. The redshirt junior has pilled up 381 yards on 70 carries, three of those carries resulting in touchdowns. Scarlett has been splitting time with Lamical Perine in the backfield, and the combo has proven to be lethal.
“We're always competing,” Scarlett said. “If he breaks one, I'm like 'You know I've got to get you back, man. I'm going to try to break one too.'"
“You’ll know when they're winded or if they have a long run and we gotta substitute them in to get them in there,” co-offensive coordinator John Hevesy said. “It’s not necessarily making sure each gets reps but if one’s got the hot hand keep with him until he’s gotta go and then bring in. The great thing is you have another one to put in there between all of them. Anyone that’s going to go in the game right now between Jordan, between Perine, between Pierce, I mean, ‘hey, go. He’s a little winded. Get in there.’ They each have their own little thing in the game plan that helps us.”
Breaking one against Georgia will be a challenge though. The Bulldogs allow only 136 rushing yards a game and 4.17 yards a rush.
With this potentially being Scarlett’s last Florida-Georgia game, he has little time left to leave his mark on the rivalry.
"It gives me extra motivation,” he said. “Probably going to be my last time I'm in the orange and blue going into that game, and that game's special, holds a lot of history. Just want to be a part of that history.”