Please Read: Welcome to the new-look Inside the Gators
Florida running back Jadan Baugh, wide receiver Vernell Brown III, and linebacker Myles Graham met with the media during Wednesday’s session of SEC Media Days.
JADAN BAUGH
Q. Why did you decide to come back to Florida with the coaching change, and what sold you so far about this coaching staff?
JADAN BAUGH: One, just being a Gator is everything to me and being able to just play for the fans that support us when we’re down, up, regardless. They came around and embraced me with open arms just to keep going. And it was the greatest (lost audio) to me (indiscernible).
But with the coaching staff, they came in with the fire in their eyes. And I told everybody that. When the coaching staff come in with a fire in their eye and they’re ready to just go, I’m ready to play right then and there.
Q. I want to get your perspective of how they’ve talked to you about how you’re going to fit into this offense, obviously coming off a fantastic 1,000-yard rushing last season. How do they plan to duplicate that for you heading into the season next year?
JADAN BAUGH: Well, Coach Buster, he recruited me out of high school when he was at Georgia Tech. We had a real good relationship. He was talking to me day in and day out, and he was just telling me how he could use me in the offense, at quarterback, running back, anywhere on the field. I feel like that’s definitely gonna get displayed this year.
Q. What messages from Coach Sumrall have really stuck out to you and to the team. And that fire, has that permeated to the rest of the team?
JADAN BAUGH: Definitely. The fire has spread throughout the team. The main messages that I got from just the staff in general, even Coach Sumrall, is when things are going bad, we all say good. When we’re facing adversity, we all say good, just because that’s what builds character.
When you are in adversity times, that’s what helps us. So I know each and every day we come out there, the coaches are trying to put us behind the wall, behind the line. But we also just look at it and be like, let’s go.
Q. With DJ Lagway leaving, how is the running back group adjusting to the two redshirt quarterbacks?
JADAN BAUGH: Again, those two quarterbacks are great quarterbacks. They’re gonna be able to display their talents this year.
But in the running back room, we stick to the same plan every day — go out there, work hard, just put our best efforts on the field, because each and every day you’re fighting for a job. And all of us know that it’s competitive, but also we’re brothers as well.
Q. There’s been a lot of saying that the talent hasn’t matched the results. Why is it going to be different now under Coach Sumrall?
JADAN BAUGH: We always had the pieces. It was just more of the inside stuff with the team as to buying into the process, understanding the process a lot more just to keep going. And I feel like this year we have a lot of guys who want to and a lot of guys who is willing to sacrifice anything for the team.
There’s been times when Coach had to tell us to stop and chill out just because we were putting so much on our bodies. I feel like it’s going to be very exciting this year.
Q. You guys are playing Georgia this year in Atlanta. Obviously you’re an Atlanta native. Have you thought about the emotions of that game as far as the hometown reception? And obviously being one of your bigger rivals, how much would it mean for this program and for you guys to get over the hump and beat them?
JADAN BAUGH: A rivalry game in general is exciting just because there’s so much around it. And we played this game in Jacksonville a couple times. It was always exciting because you see the red and you see the blue and it gets loud at one time and then it got loud another time.
But being able to go back home and play in front of my family and all my friends, it’s very exciting for me. And I’m not too much focused on that. I’m more focused on the game, though.
Q. Obviously the top of your list of team goals. What individual goals are you aspiring to meet to make those team goals successful?
JADAN BAUGH: Becoming the best leader I can because we have a lot of guys who were transfers. We’ve got a lot of young guys that came in. You’ve got a lot of guys who stayed. But being able to the best leader I can to teach them to just keep going and facing adversity, I think that’s the main goal for me right now, to just help us be successful.
Q. I know it’s a lot on the offense, you’re on the offense, but going up against the defense in spring ball, what are you seeing from this Gators defense this year?
JADAN BAUGH: Fast, electric. You’ve got a lot of guys who is just ready to just put the pads on now even. So I feel like that group in general, they’re going to be very, very tough to be able to score on because coach (indiscernible), they come around every day. They usually hear them yelling.
And that excites me a lot more too because I know my defense is ready to just go out there and kill anybody in front of them.
Q. Over your past few years at Florida, what has been your favorite stadium that you guys have traveled to and which one are you looking forward to most this season?
JADAN BAUGH: Again, there’s nothing like The Swamp in general. I don’t too much see another stadium that I’m just ready to just play other than The Swamp.
Q. With the coaching change this past offseason, a lot of uncertainty. But what was the process of Coach Sumrall and his staff of making sure to get you back on campus and get you back with this roster? Do you remember anything that stuck out that made it feel special in any sort of way?
JADAN BAUGH: People don’t know it, but he came to my grandmother’s house on Christmas Day. And we sat there and just talked about everything, and that stuck out to me the most because that show is a guy who cares. It showed a guy with character that when anything’s going on, he does not care to a point where we’re just trying to get me back on the team, you know?
Q. Jadan, what to you has been the biggest difference you’ve seen so far since spring ball with this new coaching staff compared to the previous coaching staff?
JADAN BAUGH: Well, I can say for a fact that the coaching staff now, we have a lot more guys into to certain areas as we have OC, we have a defensive coordinator. You have the guys who stand around and help, you know?
They all coach us like it’s the last day. And with that, I feel like that makes us better each and every day and they push us 24/7.
Like Coach Buster, he always tells me, high and tight, high and tight. He’s screaming, you’re going to hear him as soon as you walk in the building and as soon as you walk out.
Q. You spent last year with Hayden Hansen, a tight end who just transferred to Norman. What are the Sooners getting from him?
JADAN BAUGH: Hayden is a great player, obviously. He can do a lot. I remember this one time, we were playing Tennessee or something, and he lost on a rep or whatever. He told me and the rest of the running backs, that’s never going to happen again. So he’s going to be a fighter, regardless.
Q. Another September Saturday up in Gainesville, you’re standing in the tunnel at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium again. You look out, you see all those Gators, they’re chomping, do you still get goosebumps?
JADAN BAUGH: Every time. Before I even touch campus, I get goosebumps, just because it’s different. I don’t think you’ll ever get that feeling nowhere else. Because I seen it as a recruit, as a fan. I’ve also seen it as a player now. So being able to get goosebumps in a place like The Swamp, I feel like that’s an honor.
VERNELL BROWN III
Q. Coach Sumrall has had first-year success wherever he’s been. How’s that going to bleed over into — and what you’ve seen so far where that successful repeating his first year at Florida?
VERNELL BROWN III: I can’t really speak to results of games. But I will say that the whole team is putting in the work and we all believe in what we can do and our capabilities. So I think we’re doing everything that we can to make sure we’re in the best position to have those results.
Q. Team goals obviously are at the top. What’s your individual goals, though, that you’re aspiring to to make those team goals happen?
VERNELL BROWN III: I just want to go out there and be the best player I can be every game. Like I say, the results, the stats and all that is a byproduct of the work. So just going in and putting in the work and winning each day. That way, when opportunities present itself, I’m prepared.
Q. Coach told us this morning that Dallas Wilson is going to be back for fall camp. Just how exciting is that for you guys? What have you seen him put in the work this offseason?
VERNELL BROWN III: It’s been really good to see Dallas go through his process after he was battling the injury. But just to see him go throughout that process and become healthy and be back for the season, man, it’s exciting.
Q. What is it like playing for the same team that not only your dad played for, but also your uncle and grandfather? And how are you living up to their legacy?
VERNELL BROWN III: It means everything. Being a kid from Gainesville, having that Florida Gator legacy and deciding to come to the University of Florida and wear the same jerseys in the same stadium and locker room that they were in, it means everything.
Obviously they set a legacy before me, and I’m doing everything that I can to uphold their legacy and also create my own legacy for myself and take our legacy to a new level.
Q. Talking about legacy, Florida has flown under the radar, seems like it’s flying under the radar. How badly do you want to put Florida back on the SEC radar? And how far off is the program from getting there?
VERNELL BROWN III: I mean, I can’t really speak to how far off we are. Like I said, I know we’re putting in the work to be the best we can on Saturdays.
I definitely think we are flying under the radar. Florida, obviously, in the early 2000s, Florida was the program, the standard. And we’re doing everything we can to get back to that.
Q. Last year, you played with Eugene Wilson. Can you just speak to a little bit about what he is as a player and a person to play with?
VERNELL BROWN III: Eugene is a great player, great person. Me and him have a really good relationship outside of football. But he was a guy, an older guy in the room obviously who had that experience. He was someone that I can go to and ask different questions. But wish Eugene much success in the future.
Q. Where do you feel your game currently stands compared to that final snap against Florida State last season to now? What do you feel needs to be done before week one?
VERNELL BROWN III: I feel like my game has risen to a whole new level. Obviously, I’ve had a whole offseason to continue to develop and improve as a player, and I feel like I’m fully prepared for week one. And I’m continuing to win the days and, like I say, put in the work to be the best player I can be.
Q. Saturday, September night in Gainesville. It’s hot and humid. You’re standing in the tunnel again. Everybody’s out doing the chomp. You still getting goosebumps?
VERNELL BROWN III: Yeah, for sure. I feel like The Swamp is unlike any other environment. And every time I’m in The Swamp, it feels like a dream.
Q. Staff wants to move you around, and Buster Faulkner wants to move you around, inside/outside, use you in many ways different ways. How are you embracing the new look offense and those new roles?
VERNELL BROWN III: Yeah, just learning everything. That way when they do move me to whatever spots, there’s no drop-off, there’s no question. I’m fully confident that I’ll be able to do my job and knowing what my job is.
And also from a leadership standpoint, learning everything that, with the younger guys or the guys that may have any questions, I’m a guy that they can come to for anything, and I’ll be able to answer it for them.
Q. I know you’re a team-oriented goal and team goals and all that, but how hungry are you for that first touchdown? Did you think that one against FSU was a catch as well?
VERNELL BROWN III: I mean, they ruled it not a catch. So ultimately it wasn’t a catch. But, like I say, I’m just putting in the work to be the best player I can be, and I’ll be sure that I’m ready when the opportunity presents itself.
Q. With you being one of the younger veterans, who are some of the older veterans on the team that you look up to on and off the field to succeed in this tough conference?
VERNELL BROWN III: I mean, two of the guys that are here, Myles Graham and Jadan Baugh, this will be their third year with the program. So they’ve had two years of experience, and guys who have that experience that I can lean on and ask questions who’s in similar positions that I’m in.
Q. Week three, you travel to Auburn, and then you turned around and you’ve got Ole Miss coming home. Can you talk to us a little bit just how difficult that SEC schedule grind is?
VERNELL BROWN III: I mean, I think that’s what you join the conference for, right? SEC, any given Saturday is known as arguably the best conference in the country. I feel like it’s the best conference in the country.
But you know what you signed up for when you commit to play for an SEC school. So, I mean, I love it personally. I’m looking forward to it.
Q. Going into your second season with the Gators, how do you think your role has changed as a leader within the locker room?
VERNELL BROWN III: I definitely feel like guys look to me more as a leader, for sure. Just having that experience, being somebody that’s made plays on Saturdays and being that vocal leader throughout the offseason. So I definitely think that I’m going to have to continue embracing those roles as we go into the season.
Q. What is it about Buster Faulkner that stands out about him compared to maybe other offensive coordinators you’ve played under in your career?
VERNELL BROWN III: One, I haven’t played for very many. But Coach Faulkner is very personable. I love the personability that he has, and just how he creates his system around the players.
Obviously, he has experience in a number of different style of offenses, but I genuinely feel that his offense is whatever that puts his players in the best position to make plays.
Q. Jadan was in here a little while ago and he said that the coaching staff coached like it’s their last day. Do you get that perception? And then how does that carry over to the rest of the team? You guys take every rep like it could be the last.
VERNELL BROWN III: Right. Absolutely. I think their approach to it definitely bleeds into the team. And just having those coaches that you know love you and it makes you want to play harder for not only them, but for the team and the program as well.
Q. Unless somebody’s played football, it’s hard to explain what culture is. What’s the culture at Florida?
VERNELL BROWN III: I definitely think we have a really great culture. Since Coach Sumrall and his staff has been here, they’ve done a really good job implementing it. And as players, it’s our job to uphold that culture and standard.
If we’re lacking, it’s our job as leaders to bring the guys who is not quite there along and make sure that we’re in the best position.
Q. Your new jersey number reflects significant history and expectations. How does that reflect your growth as a player?
VERNELL BROWN III: Number one has always been a goal for me just because of what you said, like, the expectation and what it means at the University of Florida. Just to be able to earn that number has been amazing. Now I’m doing everything that I can to uphold that standard.
Q. With Florida being so deep in your bloodstream, at the end of the third quarter when they crank Tom Petty, do you sing along? And what does that mean to you?
VERNELL BROWN III: Yeah, of course, I sing along every time. You know, I know the song word for word. I didn’t know it before I got there, but I was always mumbling it.
But I mean it just means everything. Just everything about The Swamp, the Florida Gator brand, Florida Gator football and the University of Florida in general means everything.
MYLES GRAHAM
Q. Brad White mentioned he wanted to have a violent defense. How does that fit your style? You played running back as well in high school. I know you want to run downhill. Does that kind of just fit your mentality and the room’s mentality?
MYLES GRAHAM: Yeah, absolutely. Every time we step into a meeting, I’m just happy to play for Coach White. I love contact. I love seeking contact. So it’s definitely going to be a great defense for me. It’s going to be a good fit for me, and I’m excited to play for him.
Q. Team goals obviously at the top of your list, but what individual goals do you want to meet so you get to those team goals?
MYLES GRAHAM: I would say it’s hard to put a direct number on it. Obviously you want to have the most tackles, interceptions, forced fumbles, whatever it is. But I just want to be the best version of myself for my team, honestly.
I just want to be that guy that guys can lean on and go out and attack, play fast, play physical. If you do that, do your job, take care of everything, all those goals and everything that I have for myself will take care of itself.
Q. Coach Sumrall was up here. He said his responsibility is to bring out the best in everybody.
MYLES GRAHAM: Yeah.
Q. What has this coaching staff done in terms of energy, bringing the juice, and also helping you guys along to be the best you can be?
MYLES GRAHAM: Yeah, this coaching staff brings a whole lot of energy. Like I’ve been saying today, one of our team rules is do not be an energy vampire.
You’ll see in practice, like, Coach White, he’ll hop in our tackling drills. We get to tackle him. And you’ll see, even the offensive guys, they’ll run full speed after the play, trying to chase the ball down. They’ll beating some of us to the ball.
When we get tired, they bring a whole lot of juice, a although the whole lot of energy. And it’s gonna be really fun to play for them because you never know what you’re gonna expect. It’s gonna be just fun every single day.
Q. Leading tackler on the team last season. Not the performance you wanted as an entire defense, but how confident are you that you can be the face to turn this around after the season that you had last year?
MYLES GRAHAM: I’m extremely confident just having that, like you said, year of experience last year, it gives me a whole other level of confidence under my belt. Just knowing what to expect at this level and playing a lot of snaps, it really helps me just be able to process the game faster and make even more plays and just be a guy that I just want to be the anchor in the defense that anchors that defense in the middle.
Q. Who is an incoming freshman that’s caught your attention so far, and what is it about his game that has caught the attention?
MYLES GRAHAM: Absolutely. On defense, I would say incoming freshman would probably be KJ Ford. He’s just a natural kind of pass rusher. He’s just a natural football player. He’s just very limber, loose. He’s very mobile. He’s fast.
I think he’s going to be a great player for us this year and the next years to come.
Q. Going back to last season when you guys played USF, what was the challenge of a big quarterback like Byrum Brown, and what kind of challenges does he present now that he’s back on your schedule at Auburn this coming season?
MYLES GRAHAM: Yeah, he’s definitely a great quarterback that can run downhill. I think having a quarterback that can throw and run is definitely harder to prepare for. So we’re excited to play him.
Q. Saturday afternoon in Gainesville, it’s hot. It’s humid. Stadium is packed. You’re standing the tunnel again. Still get goosebumps?
MYLES GRAHAM: Every time. I just get goosebumps just thinking about it. Because honestly it’s nothing like it. It’s a lot going through my head. But at the same time, it’s not, like, I’m just speechless. Like it’s just like a dream come true. You gotta pinch yourself.
So I definitely get goosebumps. And it’s just nothing like Gator Nation showing up every single Saturday, no matter what the outcome was the week before. They’re always there for us.
It’s not been a game that I’ve been a Gator that it hasn’t sold out, that the home game has not sold out. It’s a big thank you to the Gator Nation for always showing up for us.
Q. You’re going into your third year at UF. Yesterday a couple of the players said The Swamp was the best stadium that they’ve played in. What does it mean to you to get to call that stadium home?
MYLES GRAHAM: Just seeing that stadium, just driving by anytime I’m just grateful. It’s just, honestly, it’s really a blessing. And, like you said, walking out into The Swamp and seeing that sea of orange and blue is a blessing. I’m really thankful.
Q. Jadan Baugh said earlier that he describes the Gator defense as fast and electric. How would you describe the Gator offense? And where would you put Jadan Baugh in terms of the talent among the playmakers in the SEC?
MYLES GRAHAM: Yeah, so our Gator offense, we just got a full weapon arsenal. Just the receivers and the running backs and quarterbacks, the O line, just top to bottom it’s just a whole bunch of weapons. It’s gonna be deadly.
And then pairing that with Buster Faulkner, who’s a very great OC, and just seeing how creative he is and how complex he can really get. And I’m just excited to see what he can do with all of those pieces.
And then Jadan Baugh, just going up against him every single day in practice since freshman year, it’s definitely made me better. We go back and forth in practice, we talk trash all the time. But he’s definitely the best back, in my opinion, in the country. And I’m excited to see what he does this year.
Q. There’s been some talk about the talent and the results not really matching up. What’s it going take to unlock that talent, and why hasn’t it been unlocked yet?
MYLES GRAHAM: I just think it’s going to take a great attention to detail, great focus from our end. The coaches can do whatever Xs and Os, they can coach how hard they want, but we’re out there making the plays. So it’s really up to us. We have to be very focused and very honed in on what we’re doing and just executing our job.
We have to come together and be close, be a close-knit group of guys and build our relationship with one another to have a great year. But I think we can do it.
Q. I remember talking to you a few years ago before LJ McCray committed and how big that commitment was for you guys, and he’s going into a pretty important fall camp after his injury history. Just what has he done this offseason that you’ve seen that gives you confidence that he can truly blossom into that five-star that we all thought he was?
MYLES GRAHAM: The potential is obviously 100 percent there. I mean, from one, he’s just completely changed his body, just gotten very strong in the weight room. And being like 6’7″ and being that tall, it’s hard to do that in the weight room. But he’s done it. So I’m really proud of him.
Coming off that injury, he’s really hungry. He’s ready to go. I’m excited to see him just let it loose this fall and just wreak havoc.
Q. How do you balance this next six, seven weeks, the competitiveness that you want to keep throughout the roster, but yet you want to get to week one healthy and fresh and all that stuff? Especially with a new coaching staff that’s going to really push you this next six, seven weeks, how do you balance that — take care of everybody but we also want to be very competitive?
MYLES GRAHAM: We’re itching. We’re itching to play. I think that’s really up to Coach Sumrall, Coach Whitt and the coaches to really pull us back. I think our job is to go 100 percent. Whenever they say we gotta go. We got to compete, we gotta get benefit, we gotta push each other, we gotta hit, we gotta strain, we gotta run to the ball, we gotta do everything that they tell us to do.
I think it’s their job to help us pull it back. But we’re gonna be competitive and we’re gonna get better these next few weeks, for sure.
Q. The SEC is one of the most competitive conferences that there is. Which team’s offense do you see giving you the biggest challenge this year?
MYLES GRAHAM: The SEC is definitely very competitive. The new nine-game schedule and everything, I’m really excited about it. I think we play a whole bunch of great offenses, honestly. Last year we did, too. Ole Miss, Georgia, they were all really good. And I’m excited to play you a of them.
Q. You’re obviously a leader on your team, a veteran on your team, but you’re also on the SEC Fall Football Leadership Council. What does that mean to be a leader in those conversations as well?
MYLES GRAHAM: Yeah, it means a lot, just having that respect from my peers just being able to be voted for that. It really means a lot to me just coming up as a young kid and looking up to guys like Shemar James and Jake Slaughter, and seeing how they did it. I just wanted to kind of do the same thing. And I’m just blessed to be on that council.
Transcripts courtesy ASAP Transcript
0 comments