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Head coach Jon Sumrall, wide receiver Vernell Brown III, wide receiver Kahleil Jackson, and JACK Jayden Woods spoke to the media this morning following their 44-39 win over Auburn. They discussed the matchup and previewed this Saturday’s game against Ole Miss.
JON SUMRALL
INJURY REPORT
Not much to report on injuries. Evan Chieca and Emmanuel Oyebadejo both played on Saturday. The only injury left is wide receiver Eric Singleton Jr. Similar to last week, Sumrall said that Singleton will be a game-time decision. “Saturday we’ll warm him up, and if he is great, we’re going to play. If it’s like ‘Man, I’m not feeling good cutting or I don’t feel like I can hold up,’ then I’ll say ‘Hey man enjoy watching the game’,” Sumrall said. He said that they could have been “dumb tough” and had him play against Auburn, but they didn’t want to risk anything.
BEING FAVORED AGAINST OLE MISS
Sumrall was not aware that the Gators are going into this game as a slight betting favorite. A reporter asked him what he thought about it. “Who’s got us favored against these guys? There’s a lot of good drugs out there,” Sumrall said. Reporters attributed being the favorite to the home field environment. “We played FAU and Campbell, I’m not knocking those opponents, but you go out, and you get ready for Gator Walk, FAU game, I’m like, ‘Holy cow. This is electric,” Sumrall said. He added that he has never coached an SEC game in The Swamp before and that it is a special place.
ON JADAN BAUGH
Jadan Baugh has made a lot of national noise ever since he started doing the Heisman pose after scoring touchdowns. Sumrall said that he was fine with the celebration as long as he keeps “playing like he’s playing.” He also talked about his performance and ability to break tackles. “Yeah, he’s the type of runner that gets better with the workload. He’s been very impressive with making people miss,” Sumrall said. Baugh has cemented himself as a top back in the nation, we shall see how the season unfolds with the Heisman race.
PREPARING FOR OLE MISS
Sumrall was very complimentary of Pete Golding’s squad. Even calling Trinidad Chambliss the best quarterback in the country. Reporters asked Sumrall what he thought of Golding’s aggressive tactics. “I do think watching Ole Miss operate with Pete as the head coach, I think they’re a little bit more aggressive in the kicking game,” Sumrall said. He said that last week’s performance will not cut it against the offense they are about to play. It’s going to be a good one this weekend.
JAYDEN WOODS
Woods had an unbelievable 2.5 sack performance against Auburn. However, he was a man of few words when asked about it. A reporter asked if it was nice to break out of a slow start; he simply replied, “Yes, sir.” He spoke on the work he has put in to get to where he is. “You put in a lot of work to get those results. For me, it’s right back to the chalkboard. Right back to my process,” Woods said. He was not thrilled with the number of penalties on Saturday. Saying that they needed to be more disciplined and focus on attention to detail. He was asked about Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss. “He has great ability. He makes that offense go… he can throw and run, which is a good challenge for us as a defense,” Woods said. He is excited to get another shot at Ole Miss, this time in The Swamp.
VERNELL BROWN III
Brown had several big catches in the win over Auburn over the weekend. He was asked about what it’s like for the offense to perform the way it has. “It’s fun. Just us practicing hard all week and putting in the work and then going out there and being able to execute,” Brown said. He spoke on fellow teammate Jadan Baugh and his Heisman pose. “We’re all behind him 100%,” Brown said. He added that he was surprised when he first did it, but the team is supporting him all the way. A reporter asked him about the huge opportunity the Gators have this weekend. “Yeah, I mean, obviously the magnitude of the game, obviously we’re no strangers to that. We all understand where we are and where we could go,” Brown said. He was pumped for Kahleil Jackson to be able to showcase his talents. He complimented his determination and relentlessness.
KAHLEIL JACKSON
Kahleil Jackson was the talk of the town after the game with his trick play to tight end Amir Jackson. “We put it in a couple of weeks before the season started. This was the first time we got to run it. I was ready for it when the time came,” Kahleil said. Jackson is a seventh-year senior who the team likes to call unc or uncle. The trick play is referred to as Uncle Jack. Vernell Brown III talked about Jackson’s passing ability. “We were actually in warmups before the game, you know, we come out, we were all out there tossing the ball around, and he was almost to the 50-yard line throwing it in the endzone,” Brown said. Jackson played quarterback in high school, so he clearly has not lost his throwing ability; perhaps we will see more trick plays down the road.
The Florida Gators (3-0) will face off against the Ole Miss Rebels (3-0) this Saturday in The Swamp at 3:30 p.m.
Video courtesy GatorVision on YouTube
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