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04-10-2021, 01:15 PM
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#1 |
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Designated Red Shirt
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Orange and Blue Forever: A Florida Gators Dynasty
System/Game: RPCS3/NCAA Football 14 College Football Revamped
Mode: Dynasty Rosters: 2020 Roster Set by vikesfan Starting Point: Post-2020 Bowl Game (simmed the 2020 year) Sliders: Custom — offense on Heisman, defense on All America, fatigue off, injuries on, 40 player threshold speed. CPU/User sliders adjusted as needed (in general the CPU is about 3-5 points higher in sliders). Quarter Length: 8 Minutes Coach Progression: Normal My coach is at a normal progression and comes from a smaller-school, so he has about 10 skills or so to start off, all recruiting. I won’t be maxing out any of his skill trees (leaving certain skill completely empty, like “Insta-Commit” or any of the game management ones) and may reset his skills at the end of the year in the future to provide more of a challenge or, potentially, may have him “Retire” and put a new coach in place (running a new system). House Rules: After my first dynasty attempt after many years away, Coach Silver, I stepped back for a few months and researched the hell out of some house rules — I dominated WAYYYYY easy with Coach Silver, thanks to how amazing I recruited and my own abilities in game. I’m now running the new CFBR mod (V10) and that’s helped give the CPU a fighting chance on my custom sliders but the bottom line is that a user will ALWAYS be superior to the CPU (unless you want to punish yourself and max out the CPU sliders while zeroing out your own, but where’s the fun in that). As such, I have instituted the following house rules — note, I will change these as I go on if it’s too hard or easy, to find the best balance. Any suggestions are welcome. GENERAL RULES: 1. Any player declaring MUST leave after the 1st offseason – if a player declares after the 1st offseason (so in offseason year 2 or beyond), I must let them go. Doesn’t matter if they’re a 7th round pick or not, if they want the cash, go get the cash. 2. Schedule MUST rank at least B+ in difficulty – I’m not here to play (many) patsy schools. My schedule must be tough in order to impress the pollsters and get my program to the top of the mountain. 3. Opening game must be a top-25 opponent every-other year, minimum – my school must schedule a tough opener every other season (starting in year 1). 4. If Academic Juniors or Seniors are (Year 3 edit, originally 96) 98 overall or above after training camps, they must be “transferred” (cut) to another school out of conference; this will prevent 99 overall players on my roster and force me to develop younger players, and also simulate the “transfer portal” effect we see now where good players go elsewhere for many reasons. May drop the overall minimum, increase it, or remove this rule entirely as I go on, this is a rather experimental idea. 5. Not allowed to use Locksmith tool. COACH RULES: A certain amount of games MUST be simmed, based on coach level — max level is 54 (Nick Saban). The higher the level, the more games allowed to play — 54 allows a MAX of 9 regular season games with the ability to play either the full conference title game OR the bowl game. Breakdown of level and rules associated with it are below — all subject to change in the future if needed. 1. MAX level 54=9 games (Full Conference Title OR Bowl Game): You are on the Saban level — you may trade in two of your regular season games for the second postseason game (trade in must be done by Week 6 of regular season). 2. Between 43-53=8 games (2nd half of Conference Title Games AND Bowl Games can be played) 3. Between 32-42=8 games (4th quarter of conference title game can be played AND 4th quarter of bowl game can be played) 4. Between 21-31=7 games (4th quarter of conference title game can be played OR 4th quarter of bowl game can be played) 4. Between 10-20=7 games (4th quarter of bowl game can be played) 5. Between 1-9=6 games (no conference title or bowl game can be played) In order to decide which regular season games to play, I must use a random number generator to roll - 1-15. If it lands on a bye week, re-roll. RECRUITING RULES: 1. Can only recruit based on how many seniors+2 — so if 12 seniors, you get 14 recruits. 2. Only 2 ATH — this to avoid abusing their amazing versatility. STORY LINES: I have developed a method to assign random storylines to players at the beginning of the season. At the beginning of each year I roll between 1-10 using a random number generator. That determines the number of “storylines” my team will have in a given year. So, say for instance I roll a 5 at the beginning of the year – that means I have 5 storylines I must choose for my team. I’ve composed a list of 99 of the most common college storylines you can get – from training camp accidents, arrests, injuries (sending guys to the bottom of the depth chart to remove any chance of play time), suspensions, academic issues … you get the gist. Since I rolled a 5, that means I have 5 attempts in the 1-99 random number generator. For each attempt, I have to choose a position group (there are QBs, RBs, FBs, WRs, TEs, Ts, Gs, Cs, DEs, DTs, OLBs, MLBs, CBs, FS, SS, K, P — so 17 in total) for that storyline to take place. So, I rolled a 5, I then roll 1-99 and it lands on #29 — suspension. I then roll for the position group, 1-17, and it lands on 7 — so one of my guards is about to get suspended. I then look to see total number of guards, set the number generator 1-maximum number (let’s say 6), and it lands on 2 — that means my second best guard must be suspended. I then roll 1-15 (number of weeks in season) to see how long that storyline plays out, and that guard is suspended for that amount of time. Certain storylines carry additional consequences to be enforced in the offseason (so if it’s an academic suspension, I lose 5 scholarships for next season, or a devastating injury, my player may transfer out or quit football altogether, etc). It’s kinda a long math problem but it adds a good bit of flavor to the proceedings. BOWL GAMES: Beginning of every year, I must roll 1-10 “Sit out Players” who will sit out the bowl game for draft reasons/healing reasons. Must be eligible to be drafted, so academic juniors or seniors only. Once 1-10 rolled, roll number (1-99) — player jersey number nearest to number sits out; if no player near number, re-roll. And with that out of the way … welcome! I’m trekfan, a frequent poster of dynasties over in the basketball side of the forum, and a lifelong, diehard fan of one team and one team alone: the Florida Gators. After trying to do a proper dynasty before with Coach Silver (and dominating far easier than I wanted to), I’ve reset things here. This dynasty will be a mix of straight up reporting on games/recruiting (fake articles and such), short story posts from the perspectives of major characters in the dynasty (our head coach and others), and some video highlights (included with the recaps mostly). I’m hopeful that with the new house rules I have here, plus the advances the CFBR mod has made to CPU game logic (which has led to a few shockingly close games), I will be able to make a worthy, challenging (but fun and entertaining) football dynasty based on my all-time favorite team. As always, any and all comments are welcome, hope you enjoy! 
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Any comments are welcome. Texas Two-Step (2K20 Alt History) Orange And Blue Forever (NCAA 14 Dynasty) You Don't Know Jack (2K18 Pacers Dynasty - Complete) Second Coming (2K16 Sonics MyLeague - Complete) The Gold Standard (2K13 Dynasty - Complete) Last edited by trekfan; 04-18-2021 at 06:46 PM. |
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04-10-2021, 01:19 PM
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#2 |
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Designated Red Shirt
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Dynasty History
Deuce2223 likes this.
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Any comments are welcome. Texas Two-Step (2K20 Alt History) Orange And Blue Forever (NCAA 14 Dynasty) You Don't Know Jack (2K18 Pacers Dynasty - Complete) Second Coming (2K16 Sonics MyLeague - Complete) The Gold Standard (2K13 Dynasty - Complete) Last edited by trekfan; 09-04-2022 at 02:14 PM. |
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04-10-2021, 01:23 PM
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#3 |
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Designated Red Shirt
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Re: Orange and Blue Forever: A Florida Gators Dynasty
Ch. 1 Thank God, he thought to himself with a smirk. Outside, it was cool, but not too bad for early spring — despite the incredible amount of work he had put in the last six weeks, there was still so much to do. As Desmond Flyer leaned against the moving truck, he glanced at his new house — a lot bigger than his old one — and heaved a sigh. Six bedrooms, more square feet than he knew what to do with, a big kitchen, a basement, and a backyard that he was definitely paying someone else to take care of … he wasn’t going to have time. Not as the new head coach of the Florida Gators. Getting this job was one thing — more than anything, he felt like he lucked out. Dan Mullen had guided the team to an 11-3 record, but losing to Alabama in the SEC title game and then North Carolina in the bowl game had left a bad taste in the mouths of just about everyone. Mullen packed up for the NFL, the AD that hired him was fired, and a new AD was appointed that went against the usual type for Florida. Joanna Fultz became the first woman AD of Florida and she hired Desmond to become the next HC of the Gators — and the first African-American head coach in the university’s history. It was groundbreaking in multiple ways … as a former player for Steve Spurrier, Desmond was more than familiar with the level of expectations the Gators supporters — fans, players, and boosters among them — had. The pressure on him, his staff, his family, and Joanna was going to be massive. Already, they were getting flack for being unable to salvage Mullen’s recruiting class. When the former HC left, multiple recruits jumped ship — understandable, especially with the NCAA’s new rule allowing players to transfer once, out of conference, without sitting out a year; that was going to substantial increase player movement in the offseason. They only managed the 25th best class, and Desmond had to work hard to keep it together.  The biggest get was Scott — a five star athlete, he profiled as a CB in Desmond’s mind and they were going to need him after the losses they took in graduation, the draft, and transfers.  They lost a lot of seniors and one star underclassmen in Jahari Rogers, a CB who was profiled as a starter. Desmond had to convince Emory Jones to stay — he was the best QB on the roster but the change in coaches had left him considering going to the pros; Jones wasn’t hard to convince to return, the kid’s heart wasn’t in leaving, but the fact that it was a possibility turned Desmond’s stomach. A loud whistle broke him out of thoughts and he looked up, seeing his wife wave at him. “Hey, spaceman, seen my husband? About six feet, cocoa skin, and a ragged *ss beard?” Desmond winced and rubbed his beard. “It’s not that bad!” Laurel laughed. “Grab some more boxes — the teenagers can’t do all the work.” Desmond looked inside the moving truck, still filled with things, and shook his head. “Why did we have them if they’re not gonna be useful?” “Do you want assemble the TV cabinet?” she asked with clear sarcasm. Desmond picked up a box and headed towards the house. “I hate you a little.” “But you love me a lot,” she retorted in their usual fashion. Life in Gainesville was going to be different … but some things would never change.
slowpokemcgee likes this.
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04-10-2021, 02:05 PM
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#4 |
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Designated Red Shirt
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Re: Orange and Blue Forever: A Florida Gators Dynasty
Ch. 2 Her office was barely assembled, a few stray boxes left, but it already felt like a second home to her — or a first, really. Joanna Fultz had spent more time here in the last few months than anywhere else in this town, including her own home. That was the nature of being a brand new AD of one of the most well-known — and profitable — athletics programs in the country. It wasn’t enough that she had to hire a new basketball coach when she first got the job, she had to hire a new football coach, too — and that program, more than the basketball one, would be the one she’d be judged on the most. It was important to perform well and to win in every sport the University of Florida participated in — the money put into the programs, both by the university and its boosters, made it so losing wasn’t tolerated for long. The football program, though, was another thing entirely — it had its own expectations, separate from the rest, and what had been made very clear to Joanna was that losing wouldn’t be tolerated at all, and winning double-digit games every year was the minimum expectation. Coming from the University of Clemson, as the senior associate AD there, Joanna was aware just how quickly expectations could rise … and how difficult it was to get anyone to lower them. Once a mountaintop had been reached, no one wanted to set their sights lower — not the fans, boosters, coaches, or players. When she looked for a new head coach, she opted away from bigger names and more prestigious backgrounds; what she needed was a football coach who understood the players, the game, and the expectations that came with the job. She needed a Florida Gator. She found her man in Desmond Flyer, whose credentials included six years as head coach of the impressive UCF Knights and multiple NFL stints — he worked his way up over the last 20 years and he was quite qualified, in her mind — his history as a former walk-on receiver turned graduate assistant under Spurrier was just the backstory she needed to rally the fans around him. The boosters were another story — they were divided on her hire. None more so than the man who had attempted to call her six times earlier today. Her secretary, Mindy, popped her head in. “Ma’am, it’s Arthur Newman again,” she said with exasperation. Joanna took off her glasses and sighed. “I’ll take care of it, put him through.” Mindy disappeared and an instant later Joanna’s phone rang. She picked it up and expected to be subjected to a blistering barrage of words. Instead, she found silence. “Hello?” she asked. “Joanna, hi,” Arthur Newman, one of the largest boosters at Florida, answered. His voice dripped with false kindness. “Just wanted to touch base with you quickly … you’ve seen the news reports about our quarterback?” The hairs on her neck stood up just a bit straighter and she leaned forward. “I’m afraid I’ve been swamped with work all day, Arthur.” It was the truth — it was also true she had sought out some of that work to keep from talking with Arthur, but he didn’t need to know that. “Well, it appears Emory Jones has suffered quite the training accident. I’m told he’s out for the year.” *hit.“That’s very unfortunate,” she managed. If Jones was gone for the season, Desmond’s first year was going to be a lot harder than either of them expected. “I’ll touch base with Coach Flyer and see if there’s anything I can do.” “Do that. Perhaps we should have hired the new strength coach instead of letting Coach Flyer pick one,” he suggested. The implication that he thought this was Desmond’s fault — and by extension, her’s — was quite clear. “I’m sure we’ll be fine. Have a good afternoon.” He hung up and she did the same. She leaned back in her chair and reached into her desk drawer for a tiny flask; she took a hit of old booze, made a face, dropped it back into the drawer, and picked up her pen. Desmond would take care of it. She wasn’t going to micromanage him. He knew his job was at stake, and he knew her job was tied to his performance; her calling him about this would do nothing. The boosters were watching — Arthur Newman was watching — and that wasn’t news to either her or Desmond. But it felt a lot more threatening today than it had a few minutes ago … and she imagined Desmond felt the same. |
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04-10-2021, 02:41 PM
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#5 |
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Designated Red Shirt
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Re: Orange and Blue Forever: A Florida Gators Dynasty
Ch. 3 Another night, another benefit down — the life of Arthur Newman was, in many respects, a life of fantasy; he was blindingly wealthy, had many exotic cars, was a very active bachelor, and took care to always keep tabs on his many business interests. But all those things came with burdens — he had to attend benefits and parties to keep in the good graces of certain powerful people, he had to make sure to always be presentable to the public, and he had to pretend he was above loving something too much. The truth was, he loved few things, but the thing he loved the most — what he cherished the most — was the Florida Gators. That team, those sports, got him through some of the lowest points of his life before he made it big; they were the one piece of his old life that he refused to give up. Back when he was a nobody, when he was an unknown, he could always turn to the Gators to boost his spirits … even when they were awful. That’s why he was one of the university’s biggest boosters and why he was very forthcoming in his opinions about the athletics of the school; he refused to see those teams, especially the football team, enter the cellar on his watch. It was also why he found himself conflicted with the latest news from spring training; Emory Jones had gone down last week, and now their starting TE, Gamble, was gone too till sometime in the regular season. Both those players were key on the offense and Florida would suffer without them … a bad thing, yet also a good thing. He needed the football team to suffer because Fultz had made a mistake. Desmond Flyer wasn’t cut out to be an SEC coach, that was the simple fact. Arthur took off his tuxedo, slipped into a robe, and poured himself a glass of whiskey before taking a seat in his favorite leather chair. He took a moment to appreciate the smell of the whiskey before taking a small sip, enjoying the burn. He turned his TV to ESPN, put it on mute, and paid it little attention as his mind worked. As much as he hated to see the Gators suffer, experience had taught him that suffering was needed before the mountaintop could be reached. Florida had made a mistake hiring Flyer — the man wasn’t qualified enough to be their head coach. Much like with Mullen, Fultz had plucked a head coach from another, lesser school, and expected him to succeed here. Florida didn’t need a head coach that was already established, they needed fresh blood, someone who was eager to tackle a new opportunity, who didn’t have baggage from a past head coaching experience. There was no way they would find their own version of Saban from the current head coaching ranks — there was only one of Nick Saban — so they needed to go another way. Get an offensive mind, put him in charge, and watch the magic fly … Arthur and his allies had wanted Fultz to hire Joe Brady, the former LSU offensive coordinator. But Fultz went with Flyer — she had the support to do it, at least then. But the team, as expected, was falling apart as Flyer was failing them; all Arthur had to do was wait. Flyer would dig his own grave and be out of the building in short-order … perhaps Fultz with him if she fought hard to keep him.
studbucket likes this.
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04-10-2021, 03:28 PM
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#6 |
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Designated Red Shirt
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Re: Orange and Blue Forever: A Florida Gators Dynasty
 The 2021 Offseason Refresher By Tricia Green It’s been an offseason to forget for Florida Gator fans, but it’s been one chock-full of drama. Florida can’t seem to keep a head coach in the building, as Dan Mullen bolted for the NFL (and the Jets, ewww) and the chance to coach Trevor Lawrence (that’s fair) — after an 11-3 year, where Florida lost to Auburn, Alabama, and then fell to North Carolina (who finished 13-1 and looked like the far better team in the surprisingly close 31-17 win for them), Mullen said, “Deuces” and walked out of Gainesville. Following him was his AD and then his basketball counterpart in Mike White. Ouch. Florida rebounded all right on the AD and basketball front — both candidates are pretty well-regarded. The questions are about the football coach — Desmond Flyer didn’t do too badly in his final season as HC of UCF, as his team finished 10-3 — losing to Cincinnati, Tulsa, and Tulane before barely beating UTEP in the New Mexico Bowl (hey Albuquerque!) 14-12. But those types of results — great for UCF — are just the bare minimum for Florida, and that’s only for some years. Boosters and fans fall out of love with head coaches faster than my grandmother with whatever hunk was brought in for whatever her favorite soap opera is that week. Long story short, boosters and fans are fickle beasts. For years since Urban Meyer walked away and then quickly walked back into Ohio State’s arms, Florida has been trying — and failing — to find stability at the head coach position. After Urban it’s been Muschamp (Coach Boom blew up our record), McElwain (he who was weird and lied about some stuff), and then Mullen (Mississippi State import, great pedigree, lured away by insane NFL money). You know who hasn’t struggled to get a head coach to stay for all that time? Alabama. That’s the gold standard of college football and Florida is desperate to find their Saban, their guy who’ll be a lifer for the school. Those coaches are increasingly rare — as the NFL embraces more college-like schemes and college athletes take more ownership of their skills/bodies, the college game looks like a lot more work for a lot less cash; Saban, remember, tried (and failed) in the NFL — he took a shot and came back, much like Spurrier and other head coaches of old. Will Flyer leave for new pastures? He has a history in the NFL, being a QB coach for Chip Kelly during that coach’s Eagles tenure. But Flyer lasted only four years there before making his way back to college (as OC at Oregon) before taking the HC job at UCF (where he’s spent the last six years). He doesn’t seem to want to go back to the pro game. After this offseason, though, he may reconsider — this offseason has been the Gators “Series of Unfortunate Events” and it started with some transfers and a lot of leaving seniors. Two key young players, CB Rogers and RG White, both left due to lack of playing time. Emory Jones threatened to leave, but Flyer convinced him to stay — Jones was the clear starter, no one was going to argue that. The Gators got a bit of good news with some great draft results. Pitts, Trask, and Toney all went in the first round, while Marco Wilson — much maligned as a Gator defender, almost in the “everyone hates Scrappy-Doo” zone — was drafted late in round seven.  The Gators had plenty of holes to fill with so many graduating seniors, and thanks to Mullen bolting, the recruiting scene was less than ideal — Flyer managed to assemble only the 25th best class, headlined by five star ATH Larry Scott. It appears — at least through spring training — that the Gators this year are going to have to win as a team, because there isn’t an all-pro talent sitting on offense or defense; there’s no Kyle Pitts walking through that door this year, no headliner talent. This team isn’t Ocean’s 11, not even Ocean’s 8, it’s really like Ocean’s 0.5 — like, if you squint, MAYBE you can see a star talent emerging from someone.  Spring training went well, as a lot of guys got better … and then the injuries started to hit. First was Emory Jones, getting hurt in a weight lifting accident. Six days later, freshmen TE Mike Harris got into an accident on his scooter — both Jones and Harris will miss all the regular season, with an off-chance they can return if the Gators make it to the SEC title game. Two weeks after those injuries, starting TE Kemore Gamble tripped down some stairs at his house and is out till week 6. Add in a suspension for starting RG Josh Braun (suspended for a post-practice fight with WR Ja’Markis Weston), who’s out till week 4 — then add in the benching of Weston (partly for the fight, partly for lack of effort in practice) and you can see that the narrative around the Gators is that the team is a mess. And … well, the team is a mess. Injuries, suspensions, fights … it speaks to a team that’s having trouble in the locker room. Part of the reason is because the expectations for this season have significantly lowered with Jones out; the schedule also does the Gators no favors as they open the season in week 2 against the #2 team in the nation in Iowa State.  That’s where we are right now, just a month away from the start of the season, and with a bunch of questions to answer. Top Gator Questions: 1. Who starts at QB? That’s the biggest question within Gator fandom at the moment and it’s hard not to see why; Emory Jones was expected to be the type of QB that Desmond Flyer — a man whose offense is a dash of Spurrier, with a chunk of Chip Kelly, and some fun spread concepts that make great use of speed — would want in his offense. Jones was an effective runner and a thrower that, while untested in big-game moments, looked good in the limited snaps we saw him. But now he’s gone and the QB competition over the spring was neck and neck between RS freshmen Anthony Richardson and RS Sophomore transfer Hiram Robinson, who was a backup at Oregon — the two have differing skillsets (Robinson is barely 6’1”, Richardson is 6’4”, Robinson can play both ways if needed, Richardson is definitely a QB) and throughout the spring it was reported that Coach Flyer was torn on who was the presumptive starter for this year. The announcement of the starting QB may not be made for another week, as both players continue to take the same number of first-string snaps in practice. 2. What’s with all the injuries and suspensions? Rightly so, the drama behind the scenes is a point of concern for anyone that that has eyes — the type of dysfunction we’ve seen with the Gators this offseason is usually reserved for head coaches about to be fired, not ones just hired! Yet, Coach Flyer and his staff have had to deal with a rash of problems that will affect the team all year. Flyer, for his part, has attributed the injuries to bad luck — and that’s a fair explanation — and the discipline issues as “growing pains” with the new culture they’re trying to institute which, okay, maybe? It’s not a good look for the program and many fans (and most importantly boosters) are concerned that this is the first step towards scandal, not titles. Flyer has to get this team under control and ready to play against ISU in week 2, else he could be a very short-lived Gator HC. 3. Who’s the starting running back? Florida has itself a lot of questions on offense, but the starting running back might just be the biggest — Florida entered the spring with five different HBs on the depth chart: Seniors Dameon Pierce (rushed for 1290 yards and 8 TDs last year), Senior Malik Davis (rushed for 449 yards and 4 TDs), RS Sophomore Nay’Quan Wright (rushed for 333 yards and 5 TDs), RS Junior Lorezon Lingard (literally rushed once for 2 yards), and former Clemson recruit RS Freshmen Demarkcus Bowman (redshirt last year). Talk about a treasure trove of riches … someone was bound to not get carries and Lingard, in an effort to actually start, agreed to play fullback — a position not normally associated with Florida football in recent years — and will be deployed in certain formations as that guy. Meanwhile, with 4 other running backs to feed, the favorites to get the starting job this year are either Pierce or Davis. Having this many backs is a good problem to have, but managing their playtime will be a high-wire act for Coach Flyer — Bowman may be the most talented of the bunch, but with Pierce and Davis being seniors (and both performing well as a tandem last year), Flyer is likely to give the bulk of the carries to them. 4. What kind of unit is the special teams? Florida will be employing a brand-spanking new kicker this year, Justin Andrews, and multiple recruiting services made him out to be one of the top-3 kickers of the 2021 class. Andrews is a power guy, hailing from Tennessee, but there are questions about his accuracy — and whether or not he can perform in pressure situations. Andrews, in high school, was great … except when it came to “clutch” kicks (defined as FG attempts in the last 2 minutes that will get a team a tie or a lead); Andrews tried 10 such kicks, made only 5, but his high school coaching staff trotted him out at some ludicrous distances for a teenager (3 of those 5 missed attempts were at 55+ yards). Andrews will have to prove in college that his high school career wasn’t his ceiling, but merely a stepping stone towards greater things. 5. How will the defense look? The offense is a mess, so it’s not worth asking how messy it will be (on a scale from “Spilled Milk” to “Britney Spears Meltdown” the offense is probably in the middle at “Christian Bale Method Acting Too Hard”). The defense, though, is the Gators strongest unit by default — in terms of experience and health, the defense sports talent at every position and the depth behind those positions to survive adversity. Flyer’s first hire as HC was to bring in his super-talented d-line coach from UCF, Richie Marks. Marks is young — just 32 — and it’s his first crack at a defensive coordinator job — and Marks is very happy to be a Gator. “Lifelong dream, that’s what this is,” he said at his introductory press conference. “The amount of talent that comes through this program is tremendous, the passion of the kids is incredible, and this university has put produced some of the most fearsome defenses in college football history. I want to be a good caretaker of that legacy and add something to that legacy … I don’t take that duty lightly.” Marks sounds like someone who’s excited to be at the job but he’ll be deploying a defense never seen at the University of Florida — the 4-2-5. A defense that’s heavily dependent on good defensive backs, good front four pressure, and linebackers that play with discipline, the 4-2-5 will be a big change of pace for Florida. With the amount of talent on the defensive side, Marks will have to get that unit on the same page — something previous DCs have failed to do. Recruiting News Florida is due to lose 12 seniors this year total for graduation, but there are some RS sophomores and RS juniors will likely take their talents elsewhere — whether that be to the pros or another school via transfer. Atop the list of likely departures is Emory Jones — after having been convinced to stay only to get injured and be out for the year, sources are reporting that he wants to start fresh somewhere else … and really, he can’t be blamed for that. It’s been one misstep after another here and, much like George Clooney and his god-awful Batman movie, he needs to get as far away as possible from Gainesville. Other likely departures include CB Kaiir Elam, LG Richard Gouraige, and LE Brenton Cox Jr; each of these are starters, each veterans, each important … so chalk up another 4 likely gone to make Florida’s total losses about 16 players. Flyer and his staff will have to recruit defense HEAVY this year as a lot of the projected losses are coming there, chief among them DT, where two players are graduating. NCAA News The drama wasn't just confined to Florida, as college football saw a lot of changes over the offseason — chief among them a new (and old!) crop of head coaches. Look, it’s McElwain again!   McElwain takes over Akron, FSU fired another head coach and hired Pete Golding (Alabama’s DC, in theory, but we all know Saban is doing the defensive work over there), and Brady Hoke (former Michigan man) took over Ball State. Also, congrats to the Big 12 for being 12 members again! Only took a few years for them to work out that math. They added SMU and Houston, then slotted all the Texas teams into the South division — winners of that division will get bragging rights as the best team in Texas (assuming TAMU never wins an SEC division, which is highly likely because Alabama exists).  Preseason Top 25 The top 25 sees the pollsters ranking — to no one’s surprise — Alabama first, followed by Iowa State, and then Notre Dame. Florida is ranked 9th — not bad considering the turnover.    |
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04-11-2021, 01:18 PM
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#7 |
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Designated Red Shirt
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Re: Orange and Blue Forever: A Florida Gators Dynasty
Know Your Commit: 2021 Edition By Tricia Green The Gators had plenty of holes to fill with so many graduating seniors, and thanks to Mullen bolting, the recruiting scene was less than ideal — Flyer managed to assemble only the 25th best class, headlined by five star ATH Larry Scott. But just because a player commits doesn’t mean they always make the roster — there are a thousand different factors (and a million different way for the NCAA to be jerks) that could prevent a player from actually being on the field for the school they signed with. Luckily for Coach Flyer, every player in his salvaged class is eligible to suit up, but there are some players in this class that will make a difference from day one. These are their stories (Law and Order sound effect). 1. K Justin Andrews  It isn’t often we highlight kickers, but Andrews walks in as a true freshmen and will immediately have the starting job; pressure that, for anyone else, might be too much for a young player — but Andrews knows what it’s like. He walked into a similar situation at his high school in Kingsport, TN — a town of around 55K, Kingsport had only one high school and needed a kicker, so Andrews was drafted from the soccer program as only an 8th grader. “I really had no interest in football till then,” Andrews said in a recent interview by his hometown paper. “The Indians football team pleaded with my soccer coach to let me kick for them and after a lot of begging, I was allowed to. I think I was the only black kicker in the tri-county area,” he added with a laugh. Andrews thrived as the go-to special teams weapon, up for trying to boot kicks at ludicrous distances, and though his team never won a state title, they did make the playoffs every year. His accuracy is questionable, but with the amount of power he brings to the table, you can never count him out based on distance alone. 2. ATH Larry Scott  The only five-star in this class and a late commit as well, Scott looked like he would be heading elsewhere — namely Texas — but Flyer made a late appeal to the Palm Bay, FL native and won. Scott is an athlete who can play offense or defense, but Florida plans to use him as a CB on a roster that needs a young infusion of talent at that spot. Scott, for his part, seems pretty ready to be a Gator. “I had only major interest from about three places,” said Scott, “and only Florida in-state. I still feel disrespected by that — my team was good, we played well, but we got ignored because our high school isn’t established; it just opened back in 1998, no one scouts us really, but Coach Flyer came down and he took the full tour, man. The fact that he showed up, in person, and treated us like we were there … that was different than what some other coaches had done. I knew after our day together that Florida was the place for me.” Scott is slotted to start as the Gators nickel corner and has great speed to cover the fastest of deep threats — at only 5’11”, though, he’s not tall enough to completely take away the tall ones, but the Gators believe he’ll be able to still make plays on the ball. 3. SS Aaron Strickland  Florida had a lot of recruits bail when Mullen left and Flyer took over, but one recruit who didn’t — and who’ll be key to the new 4-2-5 defense — is Aaron Strickland. The SS from Haleyville, AL came from a town of barely 4K, and played at a program that won no more than 5 games a season throughout his school career — but he wanted, desperately, to be a Gator. “I just wanted to experience the world, a new place, a bigger place,” said Strickland. “My hometown is nice, but I spent my whole life there … and I wanted to go somewhere else, be anywhere else, to get some miles on my soul. Football was a way for me to prove I could be more than whatever had come before in my family.” A lot of what came before in Strickland’s family wasn’t pretty — a grandfather in prison for burning down a former workplace (the old town saw mill), a father who’s an alcoholic, and a pair of older brothers who are alleged meth dealers, Aaron Strickland has so many red flags most colleges avoided him like the plague; Mullen and Florida offered him, and Flyer could have rescinded it but didn’t. Strickland will be seeing play time this year as a true freshmen — and the coaching staff believes he’ll stay out of trouble. |
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