Top 3 Gator Shooting Guards

As I continue on in my Top 3 Gator Basketball Players series, I now move on to the shooting guard position. Without further adieu, let's begin!

#3 Lee Humphrey (2003-2006)


Lee Humphrey was the starter on the back-to-back National Championship Gator squads in 2005 and 2006. During four collegiate seasons, he averaged 7.9 points per game with 1080 total points, 182 assists, and 184 rebounds. He shot 46% from the field, 43% from three-point land, and 63% from the free throw line. Defensively, he had 73 steals.

In addition to winning two National Championships, Humphrey left his mark in the record books. Here are some of his records:

• 55 three-pointers in 14 games played in the NCAA Tournament
• 39 straight games with a three-pointer during his senior year
• 113 three-pointers in a season in both 2005 & 2006
• 288 career three-pointers

After going out a repeat National Champion his senior year, Humphrey went undrafted and never got a shot to play in the NBA. Instead, he has played abroad and currently he is with BC Juventus in Lithuania.

#2 Vernon Maxwell (1984-1987)

(#5 on the right)

Vernon Maxwell was a very accomplished player at UF as he holds 15 school records and is the all-time leading scorer in school history with 2450 points. To top it all off, he is the number two scorer in SEC history after LSU's Pete Maravich.

His collegiate numbers were very impressive as he averaged 18.8 points per game with 386 assists, a 46% shot percentage, a 38% three-point percentage, and a 72% free throw percentage. He was a defensive force who tallied a total of 206 steals and 482 rebounds.

Maxwell helped launch the program onto the national scene during his senior year when he lead the Gators to their first NCAA Tournament appearance in 1987. The #6 seeded Gators made it all the way to the Sweet Sixteen before falling to #2 Syracuse 87-81. This was a very valiant effort from the Gators as Syracuse would finish as runner-up to Indiana in the tournament.

After the Sweet Sixteen loss, Maxwell entered the 1988 NBA Draft and was selected 47th overall in the second round by the Denver Nuggets. He would play 13 seasons for a total of nine NBA teams. He averaged 12.8 points per game with 10,912 points, 2,200 rebounds, and 2,912 assists. He would win two NBA championships with the Houston Rockets in 1994 and 1995.

#1 Bradley Beal (2011)


Bradley was the most prominent "one and done" to ever play for the University of Florida basketball program. Coming out of high school, he was a five star prospect and the #2 shooting guard prospect overall. He was ranked #5 on ESPN's Top 100 High School Basketball Recruits in 2011.

In his lone season as a Gator, he averaged 14.8 points per game for a total of 546 points. He shot 45% from the field, 34% from three-point range, and 77% from the free throw line. He also accumulated 83 assists, 51 steals, and 249 rebounds.

Beal's stellar freshman campaign earned him First-team All-SEC and SEC All-Freshman Team honors in 2012. He closed out his Florida career by leading the Gators to an Elite Eight appearance in the 2012 NCAA Tournament. Beal's #7 seeded Gators lost to the #4 seeded Louisville Cardinals 72-68.

After the NCAA Tournament, Beal declared for the 2012 NBA Draft and was selected third overall by the Washington Wizards. He made the NBA All-Rookie First Team in 2013 and is currently still with the Wizards. Together with fellow star John Wall, Beal has helped make Washington a perennial playoff team.

Currently he averages a stat line of 15.6 points per game with a .419 shooting percentage and a .400 three-point percentage. Beal's NBA career continues to look brighter and brighter, and I hope the best for him going forward.

I hope you enjoyed this Top 3 article! I am very excited that I was able to write it less than a week after writing the first article of this series! My next installment in the series will feature the Top 3 Small Forwards to ever play at the University of Florida! Stay tuned for that and my upcoming April recap for the Gator baseball team.

*All stats accredited to http://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/ & Wikipedia.com,  ESPN.com & of course "The Source"

*All photo accredited to www.lostlettermen.com, ebay.com, & arizona.sb.nation.com

Top 3 Gator Point Guards

As my sophomore year comes to a close, I will begin embarking on a new Top 5 series. Just recently, I finished listing my Top 5's for each position in Gator football history. Now, I will do the same by listing my Top 3 players for all five positions in Gator basketball history! I figured with the lesser amount of players in basketball, naming just a Top 3 would be perfectly suitable. So without further adieu, here are my Top 3 Point Guards to ever play basketball for the Florida Gators.

#3 Jason "White Chocolate" Williams (1997)


Jason Williams (nicknamed White Chocolate) is a personal favorite of mine because he was on the 2006 Miami Heat team that won the NBA Finals. When I found out he attended the University of Florida, I was ecstatic and knew I had to find a way to get him on this list.

Williams was a transfer from Marshall who played just one season at UF. He had played for head coach Billy Donovan while at Marshall and followed Donovan when he took the job at Florida in 1996. During his time at Florida, he averaged 17.1 points per game and scored 341 total points. He also averaged 6.7 assists while dishing out 134 assists. He maintained a 48% field goal shooting percentage, a shooting percentage of 40% from three-point land, and an 84% free throw percentage. Defensively he had 59 rebounds, 53 steals, and four blocks.

Williams had a chronic problem with marijuana use, and he was suspended from the Gator basketball team in February of 1998 for the rest of the season. He had been suspended two times prior for the same reason.

Despite missing out on all of March, Williams entered the 1998 NBA Draft and went 7th overall to the Sacramento Kings. He made the NBA All-Rookie First Team and played four seasons for the Kings. He would then be traded to the Memphis Grizzlies before making his way to the Miami Heat and winning an NBA Championship. Williams would retire after the Heat, come out of the retirement to play three seasons for the Orlando Magic, then end his career as a Memphis Grizzly in 2011. He scored 8,286 points with 4,611 assists and 933 steals in his NBA career.

#2 Taurean Green (2004-2006)

(#11 in the middle)

Taurean Green was the starting point guard for the legendary Gator teams that won back-to-back National Championships in 2005 and 2006. As a member of the Orange and Blue, Green was a prolific offensive force as he tallied 1,174 total points and 400 assists while averaging 10.6 points and 3.6 assists per game. He shot 40% from the field, 39% from three-point land, and 86% from the free throw line. On the defensive side, he brought down 242 rebounds with 124 steals and seven blocks.

In addition to winning two National Championships, Green's only other collegiate accomplishment includes being named MVP of the 2006 SEC Tournament. After his junior year, Green entered the 2007 NBA Draft and was selected 52nd overall in the second round by the Portland Trail Blazers. He played just 17 total NBA games between the Portland Trail Blazers and the Denver Nuggets before leaving the league in 2008.

He currently plays overseas and just recently won an LNB Pro A Championship with Limoges CSP in 2014. His current team is ASVEL Basket in France.

#1 Scottie Wilbekin (2010-2013)


Rounding out my list at No.1 is Scottie Wilbekin. Scottie is the only Gator on this list to have a senior year as he stayed for all four of his collegiate seasons. Scottie broke out his senior year as he averaged 13.1 points and 3.6 assists per game. He left Florida with a stat line of  953 total points, 419 assists, a 42% shooting percentage, a 38% three-point shooting percentage, and a 71% free throw percentage. Scottie was mostly lauded for his defensive prowess as he registered 294 rebounds, 167 steals, and five blocks in his career.

Florida saw tremendous postseason success during Wilbekin's tenure as he helped lead the Gators to three Elite Eights and a Final Four appearance. In addition, some other awards of his include:

• Third-team All-American in 2014
• SEC Player of the Year in 2014
• First-team All-SEC in 2014
• SEC All-Defensive Team in 2013 & 2014

After losing his last collegiate game to UConn in the 2014 Final Four in Dallas, Wilbekin would not be drafted in the 2014 NBA Draft. That did not keep him down, however, as he signed with Cairns Taipans in Australia. After a season down under, Wilbekin signed a contract with AEK Athens in Greece and still plays there now. Maybe one day Scottie will get his shot at making an NBA roster.

I hope you enjoyed this Top 3 article! In due time I will be coming out with the next part of this series that includes my Top 3 Gator Shooting Guards! Until then, stay tuned for my other articles!

*All stats accredited to http://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/ & Wikipedia.com, & of course "The Source"

*All photo accredited to www.pinterest.com, www.reuters.com, & www.zimbio.com

Gator Baseball: March Recap

I want to start off this article by apologizing for taking so long to write this. I have been so busy wrapping up my pledgeship and I am now officially a brother of the Beta Upsilon Chi (BYX) fraternity! In commemoration of this monumental moment in my life, I decided to celebrate and also decompress from the stress of school by writing my March recap of Gator baseball.

Since starting 13-2, the Gators have gone 11-7 in the month of March. The standout game for me was when the Gators dominated rival FSU in Gainesville with a convincing 14-8 victory on March 17th. The Gators used seven pitchers, with redshirt sophomore Mike Vinson recording the win. 

Despite the lack of pitching, the Gator offense showed up and smothered FSU. Junior outfielder Harrison Bader went 1-3 with three RBI's while freshman catcher/DH JJ Schwarz went 2-5 with a home run and 3 RBI's as well. Fellow freshman and catcher Mike Rivera led all Gators with three hits on the night.

Now, let's take a look at the stat leaders through March and very early April.

Offense

Hits: Dalton Guthrie (48) (Freshman)

RBI's: JJ Schwarz (40) (Freshman)

Home Runs: Harrison Bader/JJ Schwarz (9) (Junior/Freshman)

Batting Average: Josh Tobias (.398) (Senior)

Slugging %: Harrison Bader (.682) (Junior)

On Base %: Harrison Bader (.471) (Junior)

Stolen Bases: Buddy Reed/Richie Martin  (11) (Sophomore/Junior)

Runs Scored: Dalton Guthrie (31) (Freshman)

Strikeouts: Buddy Reed (25) (Sophomore)

Walks:  Harrison Bader (23) (Junior)

Defense

Assists: Dalton Guthrie (95) (Freshman)

Putouts: Mike Rivera (147) (Freshman)

Errors: Jeremy Vasquez (4) (Freshman)

Pitching

Wins: Logan Shore/A.J. Puk (5) (Sophomores)

Losses: A.J. Puk (3) (Sophomore)

Strikeouts: A.J. Puk (41) (Sophomore)

ERA: Starting Pitcher and Relieving Pitcher - Logan Shore (1.76) (Sophomore) Logan Browning (0.00) (Freshman)

Shutouts: Logan Shore (2) (Sophomore)

Saves: Taylor Lewis (6) (Junior)

Appearances: Taylor Lewis (15) (Junior)

The Gators ran into some trouble this month as the brunt of SEC play began. In their four SEC series thus far, they went 2-2 as they beat Tennessee and Alabama at home while losing to Ole Miss and Missouri on the road. The SEC is one of- if not the best- conferences in college baseball and every weekend series the Gators play will be a dogfight. 

Despite some bumps in conference play, the Gators are still high in the rankings and currently sit at #11. As long as they can win two out of three games in every series and at the minimum avoid getting swept, the Gators will be able to defend their SEC crown. Outside of SEC play, the Gators only lost one game, which was to #8 FSU on March 31st. FSU is also the only ranked team that the Gators faced in the month of March.

I should be able to do the April recap right when the month ends because I will be out of school by then. Hopefully I can survive this semester and make it to the 31st! Till then, stay tuned for any upcoming articles I might put out and stay tuned for my Gator baseball recap for the month of April!

*All stats accredited to Gatorzone.com

Top 5 Safeties in Gator Football History

So here we are, I have finally made it to my final article ranking my Top 5 Gator football players by position. This will complete a series I started long ago in October. I have been trying to write this forever, but I have been distracted by either social plans, schoolwork, or just plain sickness/tiredness. So now, as I sit here in bed with mononucleosis, I will now bring to you my Top 5 safeties in the history of Florida Gator football! Without further adieu, let us begin for the final time!

#5 Major Wright (2007-2009)


Kicking off my list is Major Wright. In his three years as a Gator, Wright compiled 165 total tackles, eight interceptions (one for a touchdown), 15 passes defended, and four forced fumbles. He was an SEC Champion in 2008 helped the Gators win both the 2009 BCS National Championship and the 2010 Sugar Bowl.

His most memorable moment in Orange and Blue came on the third play from scrimmage in the National Championship when he laid out Oklahoma wide receiver Manny Johnson to force an incomplete pass. In addition to his monster hit, Wright had nine total tackles, two pass breakups and one interception in the National Championship. His interception was critical as it came at the end of the first half with Oklahoma on the goal line in a 14-14 game.

After his junior season and a Sugar Bowl Championship, Wright entered the 2010 NFL Draft and was selected 75th overall in the third round by the Chicago Bears. He played three years in Chicago before signing with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Wright has totaled 298 total tackles and nine interceptions (three for touchdowns) in his NFL career so far.

#4 Matt Elam (2010-2012)


Another three-year star at the University of Florida, Matt Elam absolutely tore it up on the gridiron. He accumulated 176 total tackles (23.5 for loss), five sacks, six interceptions, three forced fumbles, and 13 passes defended as he helped the Gators win the 2010 Outback Bowl and 2011 Gator Bowl.
In his last collegiate game, a 33-23 loss to Louisville in the 2013 Sugar Bowl, Elam left his mark as he recorded a team-high 11 total tackles (one for loss) and one sack.

All of his accolades came his junior year, and they include:

• First-team All-American in 2012
• First-team All-SEC in 2012

Similar to Wright, Matt Elam declared for the NFL Draft after his junior year following the Sugar Bowl. He was selected 32nd overall in the first round of the 2013 NFL Draft by the Baltimore Ravens. In two NFL seasons thus far, Elam has notched 127 tackles, 0.5 sacks, one interception, and seven passes defended.

#3 Louis Oliver (1985-1988)


I was not able to find much statistical wise on Louis Oliver, but any player who cracks the Top 10 in Gator interceptions deserves to be on this list. Oliver totaled 11 interceptions in his four-year Gator career and was a member of either a .500 or wining Florida team each year. He initially started out as a walk-on before earning his scholarship from Head Coach Galen Hall. His senior season, he helped the Gators win the 1988 All-American Bowl.

From his humble beginnings as a walk-on, Oliver would make a name for himself in Gator lore as shown by his numerous accolades which include:

• First-team All-SEC in 1987 & 1988
• First-team All-American in 1987 & 1988
• UF Hall of Fame Inductee in 2000

Following his senior year, Oliver entered the 1989 NFL Draft and was selected 25th overall in the first round by the Miami Dolphins. He would play seven years in the NFL and amass 544 total tackles and 27 interceptions (two for touchdowns). 

#2 Ahmad Black (2007-2010)


Teaming up with Major Wright to form a fearsome secondary, Ahmad Black helped the Gators win the 2009 BCS National Championship and 2010 Sugar Bowl in a solid four-year career. In the National Championship, he had five tackles and an interception that set up the game-sealing touchdown in the fourth quarter.

His collegiate stats include 244 total tackles (13 for loss), 13 interceptions (3 for touchdowns), 28 passes defended, three forced fumbles, and one fumble recovery. His 13 interceptions put him on the Top 5 list in all of Florida football history for picks!

Coming to form his senior year, Black's accolades include:

• SEC Champion in 2008
• First-team All-SEC in 2010
• First-team All-American in 2010

After graduation, Black entered the 2011 NFL Draft and was selected 151st overall in the fifth round by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He played just two years in the NFL and recorded just 53 tackles and two interceptions.

#1 Reggie Nelson (2005-2006)


Coming in at the top spot is Reggie Nelson. After transferring to UF from community college, Nelson balled during his sophomore and junior years in Orange and Blue. In just two seasons he had 97 total tackles (six for loss), four sacks, seven interceptions (one for a touchdown), 11 passes defended, and one forced fumble. He served as a major catalyst during his junior year in 2006 as he helped lead the Gators to the school's second ever National Championship.

Nelson was an unstoppable force during his final year at Florida as he took home numerous accolades like:

• First-team All-SEC in 2006
• Consensus All-American in 2006
• Jack Tatum Trophy in 2006
• SEC Champion in 2006

After winning the 2007 BCS National Championship, Nelson declared for the 2007 NFL Draft and was selected 27th overall in the first round by the Jacksonville Jaguars. He is currently still in the league as a member of the Cincinnati Bengals and has racked up 570 total tackles, 22 interceptions (one for a touchdown), and 6.5 sacks in what has been a successful career for him up to this point.

Honorable Mentions: None

Conclusion:

So there you have it. With the conclusion of this article I have finished listing my Top 5 Gator football players by position. It was a grueling process that took about six months in the making, but I am very proud and blessed that I was able to complete such a daunting task. I have no idea what my next big writing assignment will be as I have a crazy month and a half of a semester left along with other social commitments and my recovery from mono.

That being said, I am always brainstorming and I know that soon enough I will have a new project in the works! Thank you to everybody who has kept up with these articles since the beginning and stay tuned as I prepare to get back on the Florida Gator sports beat in the upcoming months! Go Gators!

*All stats accredited to College Football @ Sports-Reference.com, Pro Football-Reference.com & Wikipedia.com

*All photos accredited to behindblondiepark.com, projectshanks.com, secrant.com, floridatoday.com, & posternation.com

Gator Baseball: February Recap

First off, I apologize for my lack of writing this semester. I have been super busy with schoolwork, fraternity pledging, and my new girlfriend. Due to all of these going on at once, I have not been able to cover every single Florida baseball game I have gone to. As a substitute, I will present a month recap of the team's performance thus far. So let's begin!

The Florida Gators lost just one game on route to a 9-1 start. As it stands now, they are 13-2. Their only loss in February came to the Miami Hurricanes on Saturday, February 21st. I was at this game and all I can say was that it was a rough night for the Gators as the pitching was not there. The night before, however, was one of the best Gator baseball games I have ever been to.

On a blistering cold Friday night where the temperatures reached the low thirties, I watched the Florida Gators walk off in the ninth inning to beat the Miami Hurricanes 4-3. It was an absolutely amazing game!

I remember everything vividly! Down 3-1 with two outs in the fifth inning, freshman catcher Mike Rivera strode to the plate for the Gators with the bases loaded. He remained calm under pressure and knocked a game-tying single between first and second. Then, in the eighth inning, Miami smoked a ball to right center with a runner on first and one out. I thought for sure Miami would score. Buddy Reed corralled the ball and threw it to Richie Martin, who then threw a dart to Rivera at the plate to gun the runner by ten feet! It was amazing and kept the game tied! All 100 people in the stadium were buzzing at this point!

The climax of the game came in the bottom of the ninth. With two outs and senior Josh Tobias representing the winning run on second base, sophomore Buddy Reed blooped a ball just over the shortstop's head to win the game for the Gators! I was going crazy as I had never seen a walk off in person before. Being a part of the 50 people who braced the freezing temperatures at Alfred A. McKethan Stadium at this point made it a really special moment for myself and my friends who had stayed for it all.

Now that I have covered my favorite game of the month, it is time to move on to the stat leaders of February.

Offense

Hits: Dalton Guthrie (21) (Freshman)

RBI's: Harrison Bader (21) (Junior)

Home Runs: Harrison Bader (6) (Junior)

Batting Average: Harrison Bader (.417) (Junior)

Slugging %: Harrison Bader (.896) (Junior)

On Base %: Harrison Bader (.556) (Junior)

Stolen Bases: Buddy Reed (9) (Sophomore) 

Runs Scored: Harrison Bader (17) (Junior)

Strikeouts: JJ Schwarz (11) (Freshman)

Walks:  Harrison Bader (13) (Junior)

Defense

Assists: Dalton Guthrie (46) (Freshman)

Putouts: A.J. Puk (55) (Sophomore)

Errors: Riche Martin/ Logan Browning (2) (Sophomore/Freshman)

Pitching

Wins: Logan Shore/Dane Dunning (3) (Sophomores)

Losses: Bobby Poyner/A.J. Puk (1) (Senior/Sophomore)

Strikeouts: Bobby Poyner (15) (Senior)

ERA: Logan Shore (0.00) (Sophomore)

Shutouts: Logan Shore (2) (Sophomore)

Saves: Taylor Lewis (3) (Junior)

Appearances: Taylor Lewis (7) (Junior)

The team swept two series in February while taking two out of three from rival Miami at home. They have been firing on all cylinders going into March and I think they will stay hot for a good rest of the season. Stay tuned for another Gator baseball recap at the end of March!

*All stats accredited to Gatorzone.com

Gators Win Birmingham Bowl

The Florida Gator football team capped off its mediocre 2014 season with a 28-20 victory over the Eastern Carolina Pirates in the Birmingham Bowl. This was another typical Gator game that was painful to watch as the offense disappeared in the second half. As has been customary all year, the defense carried the Gators to victory.

I'll start with the defense because they were the reason Florida won this game. In total, Florida's defense gave up a ton of yards as ECU out-gained the Gators 536 to 339. They especially had trouble stopping ECU wide receiver Justin Hardy, who had 11 catches for 160 yards and a touchdown. However, the spectacular play of Hardy and all of ECU's offensive yards would not be enough to beat the Gators as the Florida defense was stingy all game long and forced three turnovers.

Junior safety Brian Poole put the Gators on the board when he picked off a pass over the middle and took it back for a touchdown. This helped knot the game at 7-7. The next big turnover came from freshman defensive lineman Gerald Willis. With ECU on the 1-yard line and threatening to tie the game, Willis poked the ball loose from backup quarterback Kurt Benkert. Brian Poole would fall on it and prevent the ECU score.

The turnover bug would strike ECU again in crunch time. Down 28-20 with less than two minutes in the game, ECU was in the red zone looking to tie the game. On 2nd down and 10, ECU decided to run the ball and Brian Poole stripped the ball from ECU running back Isaiah Jones. At this point, I jumped up to celebrate the victory as I saw UF defensive lineman Joey Ivie running to recover the fumble.

However, my celebration would turn out to be premature as the ball hit off Ivie and was recovered by ECU. I was LIVID. With a fresh set of downs, it looked like ECU was going to score and then be in position to tie the game with a two-point conversion. Then, VH3 struck.

Vernon Hargreaves III, who I said in my "Top 5 Florida Gator Cornerbacks" article would play well in this game, intercepted ECU on first and goal to seal the game. Without these three turnovers and the defense making ECU settle for field goals, Florida would not have won today.

In addition to Poole and VH3, some other Gator defensive players stepped it up today. Playing in his last collegiate game, Dante Fowler Jr. balled out as he had three sacks and two quarterback hurries. He solidified his status as a first rounder in this upcoming NFL Draft and showed us all that he is going to be a threat to QB's in the NFL for many years to come. The only other Gator to record a sack was junior defensive lineman Jonathan Bullard.

The tackling leaders for Florida in today's game were defensive backs Marcus Maye and Keanu Neal with eight a piece. Maye also led the secondary with two broken up passes.

I will say that I loved watching the defense play today and with a majority of these guys coming back for 2015, this defense can still remain great!

Now on to the offense. For the last time ever (hopefully), I had to endure another pitiful offensive performance from the Florida Gators. The first half went well as the Gators scored 21 points. After that, they would score just one more touchdown before shutting down for the rest of the game.

True freshman quarterback Treon Harris did alright as he completed 5 of 11 passes for 123 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception. Harris also used his legs as he rushed 10 times for 48 yards. This would ultimately be his undoing as Harris injured his knee after a run in the third quarter.

With Treon down, it would come down to the one and only Jeffery Driskel. After finding out the news that Jeff had been released from the team, I was curious to see how he would play in his final game as a Gator. Honestly, Jeff played pretty poorly as he completed 8 of 17 passes for just 48 yards. He led the Gators on no scoring drives whatsoever and the team had three three-and-outs with him on the field.

Despite playing poorly, Jeff found a way to close this game out. After VH3's interception, the Gators were facing 3rd and 4 on their own 26. ECU had one timeout left and would get one last chance if they could stop the Gators. Jeff hiked the ball and faked the handoff to Adam Lane. With the entire ECU defense fooled, Jeff ran past the first down line to clinch the game.

This had to be the most ironic/fitting moment of the season as Jeff Driskel, who could never properly run the read option, finally ran the play correctly to secure the bowl victory. Personally, I will not miss Jeff and I want to forget most of what happened here during his time at QB. As incompetent as he looked on the field, Jeff did ultimately close out the game and for that I will always have some sort of respect for him.

As questions surround who will be the starting QB next year, a big statement was made as to who should be the starting tailback. Redshirt freshman Adam Lane, who sported Gator legend Emmitt Smith's No. 22, had a heck of a game today. He rushed 16 times for 109 yards and his first career touchdown. He did fumble the ball once, but I can ultimately overlook that because the Gators pulled out the victory.

Lane's performance prompts me to ask why he was barely used at all this year. Then I remember that Will Muschamp was the head coach and a lot of bad decisions were made this year regarding personnel and play calling decisions. With that in mind, I'll let that question go and just revel in the fact that UF has a solid option at running back returning for 2015.

While Lane carried the load, Florida sprinkled some other running backs in the mix. Mack Brown saw action in this game simply because he was a redshirt senior playing his final college game. He had eight rushes for 21 yards.

Sophomore Kelvin Taylor saw action in the first half and was unable to do anything with zero yards on four rushes. I had heard rumor of Taylor transferring earlier this season after the LSU game and I wonder if he will pursue that option with Lane emerging as the favorite to win the job entering spring camp.

The final back, Matt Jones, did not receive a single carry. That is right, the redshirt junior who is entering the NFL Draft after this season did not play a single down in this game. I do not know why he did not play. Maybe he broke team rules, maybe he was hurt, maybe Durkin and he had a private altercation, I just do not know. It is a shame Jones did not get to play and I hope that he gets an opportunity to play for an NFL team somewhere.

The last phase of offense that is usually hit or miss were the receivers. Today they were above average as two of Florida's three offensive touchdowns came through the air. Sophomore Demarcus Robinson led all receivers in receptions with six catches for 36 yards. The only other receiver to have more than a single catch was running back Brandon Powell. He had three catches for 20 yards and a touchdown.

The biggest play on offense came in the form of a screen pass to Ahmad Fulwood on 3rd and 6 in the third quarter. Fulwood caught the pass at his own 14-yard line and outran all of ECU's defenders for an 86-yard Gator touchdown. This was the longest play in Birmingham Bowl history and the last time the Gators would score all game. This was also Fulwood's only reception of the contest.

In the special teams realm, senior punter Kyle Christy balled in his last collegiate game. He had eight punts for 343 yards with his longest punt being 54 yards. He averaged 42.9 yards per put and was able to put one ball inside the 20. In my opinion, he will most definitely be punting for a team in the NFL.

As a whole, this game sums up the Gators' 2014 season and the mantra of the Muschamp Era. The offense was inept and the defense was able to hold the lead and end it with late game heroics. The Gators finish at 1-0 under interim head coach D.J. Durkin who already has a better winning percentage than Will Muschamp.

I give Durkin a ton of credit for sticking it out and coaching the team despite knowing he would not return in 2015. His coaching style puzzled me, however, when he continued to keep throwing the ball deep into the fourth quarter with Jeff Drisekl as opposed to just running it with Lane.

Regardless, Florida won and the Gators have won their first bowl game since the 2011 season. It is also worth mentioning that Durkin has also won as many bowl games as Muschamp after today's game. The Gators finish 7-5, which is by no means spectacular, but is much better than 4-8.

Now Birmingham Bowl Champions, the Florida Gator football team will enter this offseason with much optimism as Jim McElwain takes over as the new head coach. McElwain has already brought in new offensive and defensive coordinators, and will look to purge the rest of a subpar coaching staff built by his predecessor. The future looks bright in Gainesville. To the football team: Thank you guys for giving it your all game in and game out this 2014 season and for ending it on a high note with a 2015 Birmingham Bowl victory! Go Gators!

*All stats accredited to Gatorzone.com