It took Brandon James 13 seconds to find his hole in the middle of the field, bounce the play to the right sideline and scamper to the endzone for the first kickoff return by a Florida player in 10 years.
The touchdown extended the Gators' lead to 42-3 and gave UF its first kick return for a score since Bo Carroll took one back 100 yards against LSU in 1999.
That's 123 consecutive games.
"I've been getting a lot of grief from the teammates," James said. "Actually, Bo Carroll' s a part of our staff, so he has been giving me a lot of grief."
In the preseason, James was selected as the First-Team All-Southeastern Conference return man, but he struggled the first few times he got his hands on the ball Saturday against Charleston Southern.
He muffed a punt, took a couple big hits after small gains and even dropped a wide-open touchdown as a receiver before his 85-yard return with just more than five minutes remaining in the first half.
James became just the second Florida player to log both a kick and punt return for touchdown in a career. The first was Harvin Clark, who played for the Gators from 1969-71.
James, who was used almost exclusively as a return man during his first three years, was given an expanded role in this year, his senior season.
Coach Urban Meyer plans to use James in the running game as well as in the slot, but James doesn't want that to interfere with his role on special teams.
"Most of the time I want to be back there," James said before the game. "That's where I made my mark at, so I don't want to give that up too quickly."
The 5-foot-7 spark plug said after a practice last week that he hoped to only get one chance &ndash the opening kickoff &ndash at returning a kick because that would mean Florida's defense was shutting out its opponent.
The Buccaneers mustered one field goal, however, and it was then that James put an end to the Gators' drought in front of the home crowd.
As for whether or not this cements his legacy as the greatest return man in UF history, James isn't sure.
"I'll let the fans and coaches and teammates be the judge of that," he said. "I just try to make a big play every time I step out on the field."
