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Florida notebook: Will Grier shows toughness, flu bug bites
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Questions about Gators quarterback Will Grier's high-school competition and toughness have hovered over the 2013 Parade Magazine National Player of the Year since he arrived at Florida in January 2014.
Grier put up numbers at Davidson Day School in North Carolina that more resembled those from a video game than from a Friday night. He threw 77 touchdowns passes his senior season and once passed for 837 yards and 10 touchdowns in a single game.
Obviously, Class 1A and 2A competition in North Carolina isn't exactly the Southeastern Conference.
But as Grier has established himself as Florida's primary quarterback the past two games, he has shown an ability to take a pounding and continue playing. In Florida's win at Kentucky, Grier led the team in rushing and appeared to be in pain late in the game, favoring his ribs.
And then in Saturday's win over Tennessee, Grier often let his arm dangle in the second half in apparent discomfort. Whatever was bothering Grier, when the game hung in the balance, he was at this best. Grier was 11 of 18 for 141 yards and two touchdowns in the fourth quarter as Florida overcame a 13-point deficit to defeat the Vols 28-27.
Grier stiff-armed any concerns about his health in the postgame press conference.
"Everybody is taking hits. Everybody is kind of beaten up and you've just got to work through it man," he said. "If you ain't broken, you've got to keep going. That's just part of the game. It's a violent game. It's a game that you've got to take adversity, take a beating and keep on going. "I'm alright. I walked in here. I'm talking to you right now."
The 6-foot-2 Grier arrived at UF weighing around 190 pounds. He has added around 15 pounds since then and every one of them has come in handy.
Besides finding open receives, Grier has proven to be a better runner than many expected. He is second on the team with 114 yards rushing which includes minus-35 yards in sacks. Still, head coach Jim McElwain wants Grier to be smart about when to run to protect himself.
"He was sore," McElwain said. "You're playing in the SEC, you're going to get sore. I love his courage. He played with some bruises."
Receiver Brandon Powell was impressed by Grier's toughness. He was sacked three times and under some heavy pressure at times.
"We saw he was kind of hurting," Powell said. "We (were) all behind him. The receivers were getting open so he could throw the ball. He was still in it, trying to motivate everybody. That's what motivates us to keep fighting and come out with the W."
McElwain declined to say Monday that Grier has earned the starting quarterback job with sophomore Treon Harris set to return this week from a one-game suspension. The Gators host Ole Miss on Saturday and McElwain kept his options open.
As for Grier's 23-of-42, 283-yard performance against the Vols -- and the two fourth-quarter scoring drives -- McElwain offered cautious praise.
"I thought Will did some real good things in the game, but there's some things he's got to get better at, too," McElwain said. "Those two drives as the end are what he's supposed to do. That's what you do when you play the position."
KINGS OF FOURTH DOWN
The Gators lead the nation in fourth-down conversion rate, going 10-for-10 in their first four games.
Florida went 5-for-5 on fourth down in Saturday's victory, including three fourth-down conversions on its final two drives. According to records that date back to 1996, Saturday marked the first time a Florida team converted five fourth-down attempts in a game.
And they weren't just short-yardage situations. The Gators needed 37 yards to convert their five fourth-down attempts. For comparison's sake, when LSU went 5-for-5 on fourth down in a memorable 28-24 victory over the Gators in 2007, the Tigers needed only 11 yards.
The Gators converted a fourth-and-2 in the second quarter on Grier's 13-yard pass to tight end Jake McGee, a fourth-and-6 in the third quarter on Grier's 21-yard pass to Powell, a fourth-and-7 in the fourth quarter on Grier's 10-yard pass to McGee, a fourth-and-8 later in the quarter on Grier's 16-yard pass to Powell, and finally, the biggest one of all: a fourth-and-14 pass from Grier to Antonio Callaway that resulted in a 63-yard game-winning touchdown.
Overall, Grier was 5-for-5 for 123 yards on fourth down.
"The biggest thing that kind of really stood out besides the end result was the confidence," McElwain said. "No panic. Guys are in it together."
FLU BUG BITES
The Gators returned to practice Monday in preparation for Saturday's game against No. 3-ranked Ole Miss a few players short.
"Right now probably our biggest problem is the flu bug," McElwain said. "We've got about nine guys out."
Coincidentally, Monday was flu-shot day for the Gators to prevent a possible outbreak.
"Obviously our timing is impeccable," McElwain quipped. "Something we gotta deal with."
THE BLOCK
On Grier's 63-yard touchdown pass to Callaway with 1:26 left, Powell at first thought Grier might throw the ball deep to him.
When Grier threw to Callaway instead, Powell came back and made a tremendous block to spring Callaway free down the sideline with three Vols in pursuit.
As Callaway caught the ball and curled toward the sideline, Powell took Vols free safety Brian Randolph out of the play to create more space.
"I just wanted to make a play," Powell said. "I didn't expect it to be a touchdown."
Florida Field erupted as soon as fans saw Callaway sprint into the open. Powell didn't see the value of his block until later that night.
"It looked better on TV," he said.
TOUCHDOWN TAYLOR
Florida Gators running back Kelvin Taylor rushes for a 4-yard touchdown against the Tennessee Volunteers.
Running back Kelvin Taylor has rebounded nicely from his sideline scolding two weeks ago. Taylor has rushed for a touchdown in four consecutive games, the first UF back to do that since Ciatrick Fason did it in five consecutive games in 2004. Taylor carried 19 times for 102 yards in the victory over the Vols, including a 47-yard run in the first quarter to set up his 5-yard scoring run.
Other than one carry for Powell and Grier's eight credited runs, Taylor was the only running back to get an attempt. True freshman Jordan Cronkrite played on special teams and Jordan Scarlett did not make an appearance.
"I thought he did a really good job," McElwain said. "He played a lot of plays. Really proud of some of the other things he did. Being in the right spot in passing plays, protection was really good. He was keyed into everything he did."
QUOTE OF NOTE I
"We've been really good tacklers the first three games. Then, all of a sudden, didn't wrap up. Tried to strip the ball instead of grab the cloth." -- McElwain on Florida's tackling issues against Tennessee
QUOTE OF NOTE II
"That was nothing we did. That was what The Swamp did. That's why it's such a special place. Hats off to how our fans played the ballgame as well." -- McElwain on atmosphere Saturday
QUOTE OF NOTE III
"I got more to worry about than that." -- McElwain on whether he would file any complaints to the conference office about the officiating in the Tennessee win ... (Replays showed officials gave a favorable spot on the second field-goal attempt by the Vols at the end of the game)
EXTRA POINTS
Starting offensive lineman Trip Thurman chronic shoulder injury flared up according to McElwain, who said he doesn't expect Thurman to miss Saturday's game against Ole Miss. "It's one of the things we're looking at," he said ... Sophomore cornerback Jalen Tabor returns this week after serving a one-game suspension along with Harris ... Gators defensive lineman Jon Bullard is second in the SEC in tackles-for-loss with 8.5, trailing only Missouri's Charles Harris ... The Gators have five consecutive multi-sack games, their longest such streak since a five-game streak in 2009 ... Kicker Austin Hardin, who missed the Tennessee game with an injury, remains uncertain for Saturday. "That's up to him," McElwain said ... Linebacker Alex Anzalone remains out with a shoulder injury suffered in the East Carolina game. Anzalone will miss his third consecutive game on Saturday ... McElwain said the team should know more about redshirt freshman tight end C'yontai Lewis' status after a Wednesday check-up. Lewis has missed the past two games with a hand injury.
