Dan Mullen’s second ten-win season in his two years at the helm for the Gators means another New Year’s Six bowl for this team. The Orange Bowl gives these players the chance to play in front of a Florida crowd against a top 25 opponent.
But for the seniors on this team, it’s so much more than that.
“It’s a great opportunity to get a lot of family and friends, a lot of fans get to come out, we get to show them what we can do,” said defensive lineman Adam Shuler. “Our last big hoo-rah.”
It’s their last chance to play together as a team before some head into the NFL Combine and the draft.
“It says we all love to play with each other,” said Shuler. “We all want one last ride together. There’s a lot of us leaving, so we just want to have fun with it.”
Have fun, and look good while doing it. This game will provide a huge stage for some of these guys to get their name out there one last time before the season is officially over.
“There’s going to be a lot of scouts watching, a lot of people watching,” said Shuler. “It’s a big opportunity to make a good impression.”
But these seniors say that’s not their main concern right now; Virginia is. They’re staying focused on this game and trying not to get too caught up in the business of it all.
“You kind of want to go out there and leave your resume on a good mark,” said senior wide receiver Josh Hammond. “All of us are kind of not focused on that, we’re working really hard right now to prepare ourselves for Virginia. That’s our focus 100 percent, to go out and execute at a high level to put our team in a position to win the ball game."
“We are trying to make plans for things to do once we get down there to try to make it as memorable as possible,” he added. “We really enjoy each other’s company. We love each other. All those guys will tell you the same thing.”
Only one Gator, C.J. Henderson, has announced that he won’t be playing in the bowl game following his decision to forgo his senior season and declare for the NFL Draft. His teammates respect his decision, but no one else chose to go the same route.
When linebacker Jonathan Greenard was asked if he’s playing in this game, he responded without hesitation, “I’m definitely playing.”
His health was his only concern in his decision to play, but once he found out that he was at 100 percent, he knew he had to go out there and play at his best one last time for this team that welcomed him with open arms at the start of the season.
“If I’m not able to do that, I feel like I’m no help to the team,” he said. “I’ll just be hurting myself and the other guy that could be healthy. That’s my main issue, but I’m playing.”
Hammond will also play in the bowl game and said he’s happy with the way he and the other seniors are leaving the program.
“I think I am leaving it better than I found it,” he said. “Not just me, but this whole group of seniors that came in. I think we have done a good job just trying to get guys to buy in, you know, make plays and try to win as many ball games as we can. I think we have been able to do that and be very successful to put this program back on national prominence.”
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