Chauncey Gardner Jr. felt disrespected. Gardner, a sophomore cornerback for the Gators, had just seen a picture of UF legend Steve Spurrier’s statue outside the Swamp with a bright orange Volunteers flag planted in his facemask, presumably by a Tennessee fan.
“Even though a fan did it, that’s something you don’t do regardless of the rivalry,” Gardner said. “It’s our property. You don’t vandalize what we earned and what we did.”
Gardner didn’t take the flag down because he only saw a picture of it.
But on Saturday at 3:30, he’ll get a chance for payback.
As a team, the No. 24 Gators (0-1) are looking to right some wrongs against No. 23 Tennessee (2-0). The Gators are looking to appease fans that felt nauseous about a 33-17 defeat to Michigan in the season’s highly anticipated opener.
The Gators are looking to avoid starting the year 0-2 for the first time in 47 years.
And the Gators are looking to make up for a second-half collapse in Knoxville last year, in which they coughed up a 21-point lead to lose 38-28.
Tennessee torched Florida’s pass defense in Knoxville, completing 9-of-12 passes in the second half for 235 yards. Saturday, the Gators will have to do a better job in the secondary than they did in 2016, despite losing top performers to the NFL in defensive backs Teez Tabor, Quincy Wilson and Marcus Maye.
UF veteran defensive back Duke Dawson will have to marshall a secondary full of inexperienced freshmen who gave up big plays against Michigan like Shawn Davis, who fell asleep on a 46-yard touchdown heave in the season opener, and Marco Wilson, freshman brother of Quincy Wilson.
Then add that Tennessee’s receiving corps boasts their own intimidating pass catchers.
“All of them got speed; they all can run,” Dawson said.
You’ve got to act like every snap, their receivers are going to attack, Dawson said.
One of those pass catchers is sophomore Marquez Callaway, who leads the Volunteers in receiving yards and has already caught three touchdowns through two games.
Florida will likely play without their own Callaway, one who streaked down the Swamp’s sideline in a fourth-quarter comeback on a fourth-down prayer to defeat the Volunteers in 2015.
Florida’s top receiving threat, junior Antonio Callaway, is still slated to miss Tennessee’s game with an indefinite suspension for reportedly misusing school funds. Florida’s also missing its star running back in Jordan Scarlett along with seven other players due to suspensions.
Florida’s defense is picking up the burden of the team’s suspensions on offense, but it’s a challenge the Gators have been itching to tackle. Gardner, a starter who had to leave the Michigan game in a walking boot, understands the urgency. That’s why he says he’s good to play Saturday despite leaving AT&T Stadium on crutches.
“Me sitting out is going to hurt (my teammates) and it’s going to hurt me,” Gardner said. “I’m back. Time to go ball.”
You can follow Matt Brannon on Twitter @MattB_727, and contact him at mbrannon@alligator.org.
Junior defensive back Chauncey Gardner-Johnson said that West Virginia transfer is sleeping on his couch. “That’s my boy. Me and him grew up probably like 20 minutes from each other,” he said.
