Florida Gators News

Five questions with Kentucky beat writer Jon Hale of the Louisville Courier-Journal:

1. Following a 45-7 loss last season at Florida during Week 2, Kentucky was 0-2 and Mark Stoops' head coaching future in Lexington appeared bleak. Much has changed since things. Are fans and the UK administration...

The last time Florida and Kentucky met is a fading memory for the Gators — just one game during a long season.

For the Wildcats, a humbling 45-7 loss on Sept. 10, 2016, is fresh and impossible to escape.

A video of the game played on a loop this week in Kentucky’s weight room, a reminder of the...

Veteran quarterback Luke Del Rio will serve as redshirt freshman Feleipe Franks’ back-up at Kentucky.

Del Rio was the 2016 Gators’ season-opening starter, but knee and shoulder injuries eventually sidelined him.

“He’s healthy. That’s the big thing,” UF coach Jim McElwain said.

Notre Dame graduate...

UF middle linebacker David Reese had the fleet-footed freshman in his crosshairs last month and was eager to welcome him to college football.

Little did Reese know, Kadarius Toney was one step ahead - a familiar spot for the first-year receiver.

Reese did not think Toney saw him, but in the blink...

Kentucky coach Mark Stoops has seen fast starts turn sour and slow starts turn around.

Unbeaten and tied atop the SEC East, Stoops is not getting ahead of himself.

“We’ve had it all,” Stoops said. “That really doesn’t mean anything right now, other than learning from our mistakes. The starts, the...

The Florida Gators released a corrected 2018 schedule Wednesday that now includes a much tougher stretch of road games early in the SEC slate.

The Gators will travel to Tennessee, Mississippi State and Vanderbilt during a four-week period that could go a long way toward determining UF’s season.

Gators QB Feleipe Franks’ game-winning touchdown against the Vols came after lots and lots of practice. And the redshirt freshman has the video to prove it.

Franks and Tyrie Cleveland connected on the 63-yard TD as time expired Saturday, giving UF a dramatic 26-20 win over Tennessee.

Franks and...

New athletic director Scott Stricklin will return for his alma mater and former employer next season for the first time with the Florida Gators’ football team.

Back-to-back visits to Tennessee and Mississippi State in September are among the highlights on next season’s slate, released Tuesday by...

Tyrie Cleveland always was fast. For a young receiver, that was more than enough.

But when he arrived last year to UF, Cleveland still knew only one gear.

“Freshman year, I was just out there running, just playing,” he recalled this week.

At times, Cleveland’s speed was impossible to contain. Too...

UF cornerback Duke Dawson says he will play, but coach Jim McElwain is not so sure.

Dawson sustained a head injury during this past Saturday’s win against Tennessee, leading McElwain to call the fifth-year senior “highly questionable” for Saturday’s visit to Kentucky.

“We’ll see where that is as...

UF quarterback Feleipe Franks arrived to American History class a conquering hero.

On his way, some students congratulated the low-key redshirt freshman. As Franks reached his seat, a few awkward stares followed.

But once class began Monday, Franks was in for a surprise.

Professor Steve Noll was...

Florida moved up four spots in this week’s Associated Press top 25 poll following the Gators thrilling last-second win over Tennessee Saturday in the Swamp.

UF (1-1, 1-0 SEC) climbed from No. 24 to No. 20 in the weekly rankings after earning a dramatic 26-20 win over the Volunteers.

Florida State...

UF quarterback Feleipe Franks knew he would need a little time to sit back and make sense of it all.

The 19-year-old also had no doubt his walk-off, 63-yard touchdown pass to stun Tennessee was the biggest play of his life.

“Definitely in football,” Franks said. “I just want to take it overnight,...

Three things we learned during Gators' 26-20 win over Tennessee:

1. Gators’ fans should to embrace the excitement of Saturday’s win, but not Jim McElwain’s offense.

But there just might be hope for Florida’s beleaguered attack.

Other than a pair of first-year freshman, receiver Kadarius Toney and...

Feleipe Franks and Tyrie Cleveland practiced the play during the offseason and still do some days at the end of practice.

The redshirt freshman quarterback would tell the sophomore wide receiver to run as fast as he can, as far as he can and look up. The ball would be there.

On Saturday, it was...

GAINESVILLE — You wanted offense, Gator Nation?

You wanted excitement and electricity, elation and exhilaration?

You wanted a big-armed quarterback who can rear back and sling the ball a million miles?

You wanted a reason to fall in love with coach Jim McElwain?

You got all of that Saturday when...

Kadarius Toney caught the pass and juked a pair of defenders.

It was a familiar play on Saturday.

Toney, a versatile freshman playmaker, earned significant playing time during Florida’s first home game of the season and took advantage of it. He made Tennessee defenders miss nearly every time he...

Florida offensive center T.J. McCoy had one thought in mind as he watched quarterback Feleipe Franks uncork a deep pass in the direction of receiver Tyrie Cleveland with the game clock expiring Saturday.

Tennessee had just tied the game 20-20 and the Gators were facing a possible overtime period...

Most teams aren’t facing a must-win game in Week 3.

Unlike most teams, coach Jim McElwain’s Florida Gators already have lost any room for error.

A season-opening beatdown by Michigan followed by the cancellation of an SEC warm-up game against Northern Colorado have turned Saturday’s visit from...

Five questions with Tennessee beat writer David Cobb of the Chattanooga Times Free Press.

1. Butch Jones received tremendous support and generated a high level of enthusiasm during his first two or three seasons in Knoxville. But 2016 was filled with drama within the team and fell well short of...

During the past two seasons, the UF’s defense did not finger point.

Instead, it stoically shouldered the load and carried a struggling offense to the SEC title game.

At times, though, one of the nation’s top defenses had its own issues, never more than when facing the Tennessee Vols. A combination...

After three painfully slow quarters, the Florida Gators defeated Tennessee 26-20 on a spectacular final play.

Feleipe Franks found a streaking Tyrie Cleveland on a 63-yard strike to give the Gators their 12th win in the last 13 against the Volunteers.

Florida led the game 6-3 after three quarters...

Like many Floridians, coach Jim McElwain was not quite past Hurricane Irma.

The storm left Gainesville early Monday. Two days later, many people in the city, including McElwain, still were picking up the pieces.

The 55-year-old’s somber mood and subdued tone reflected Irma’s impact on him and his...

Jim McElwain claims that Saturday’s game against Tennessee is no more important than other games he’s competed in as head coach of the Florida Gators.

In typical clichéd coachspeak on Wednesday, McElwain attempted to downplay the importance of not only winning the game on Saturday but of calming...

Josh Hammond’s family has no power, but he knows it could have been worse.

“Other than the power going out, the house is fine,” said Hammond, a sophomore receiver on Florida’s football team. “It's just out of their control."

The Florida football team returned to practice on Tuesday, nearly a day...