GAINESVILLE, Fla.-- Lamical Perine is preparing for his final game as a Florida Gator.
“Very emotional, teary-eyed. Just knowing it’s going to be my last time running out there, just going to be crazy," said the senior running back this week. "I’ve had a long four years, and it’s been good times, bad times, but ain’t nothing like running out there your last time. That’s the best feeling right there.”
Perine's time at Florida was certainly a rollercoaster. A then Gators sophomore, Perine seriously considered transferring away from UF - after seeing his position coach, Tim Skipper, move to linebackers, and his then head coach, Jim McElwain, essentially quit on his team halfway through the season, and then was ultimately fired.
He chose though to give Dan Mullen a chance.
"I’m glad I didn’t make that decision, honestly," said Perine about transferring. " I don’t know where I would be right now, but I know you’ve got to fight through adversity to get something. I’m blessed to be in the situation I’m in right now."
His loyalty to the Gators program seems to have paid off. Not only did he decide to not transfer away from the program, but after a "heart-to-heart" with himself, Perine decided to return for his senior season.
"I feel I became a smarter player just by playing this year," said Perine about his decision to stay.
"I think he's probably one of the most dynamic and versatile players in the country," said center Nick Buchanan. "He can run the football, he can run routes, catch it. I've seen him at practice even throwing the football a couple of times. High school, he played safety. Anything that you can ask him to do on a football field, he can do it all. So just kudos to him, that's a testament to his hard work."
Buchanan is absolutely correct. Perine is one of Florida's, no, one of the SEC's, no, one of the country's more underrated running backs.
This playmaker, who was apparently too slow for Auburn to offer him a scholarship out of high school, is set to make a lot of money on Sundays.
"I feel like this has been a back and forth season for me and things like that. But I learned how to become a better receiver," said Perine. "When the running game is not working, but just being a leader and just being somebody who people can look up to on the team."
The running game was not where Perine or Florida wanted this season. The Gators average just 124.2 yards per game, however, that does not mean Perine has not been productive - far from it.
Perine leads all rushers with 520 yards and four touchdowns, however, he also caught 32 catches for 179 yards and four touchdowns. He is a dynamic playmaker that has helped Florida overcome its lack of a ground game.
"Would you like to see him run it for 150? Yes," said co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach John Hevesy. "But for him, in the long run, his stock is up there. He can catch the ball. So everything he does is learned, which he didn’t do last year catching the ball. Now he’s getting the ball out of the backfield which helps his stock as he graduates and moves on. You see a different aspect… he can do these things. He just helped himself with that. I wish he would run for 150 yards a game, but for me it’s helped him and we got to do what we got to do to win games.”
"Just showing my game, just not being a basic running back that can just run the ball and pound people," said Perine. "Being a guy who can protect your quarterback, being able to receive out of the backfield, things like that, they put me out wide, put me in the slot, just makes me a versatile player overall."
Perine is a prime example of a player that did things the right way. He paid his dues.
"My freshman year I was like the fifth running back on the depth chart, so I had to find a way to just do little things," explained Perine. "If that's playing kick returner, special teams, doing anything."
And now he is reaping the rewards.
"It's a great honor, man," said Perine about playing in the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala. "Just to end my college career in my hometown, that'll be great."
But first comes his senior day celebration next Saturday. It's a chance to say goodbye to Gator Nation and a chance to secure Florida's first home win over in-state rival, Florida State, in a decade.
“Just seeing everybody, man, seeing the Swamp for that last time, it’s going to be a great feeling," said Perine. "That'd be great to get this win under the lights, in front of a big crowd I'm sure. So it'd be nice to end my Florida State streak with a win."
