This story first appeared in Chomp, our Gators football newsletter. Subscribe here.
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Hey, Gator Nation!
I’m eagerly awaiting SEC media days. While we still don’t know which players will be representing the Gators in Hoover, I wouldn’t be surprised if they include quarterback Emory Jones, cornerback Kaiir Elam and a senior on the team.
But this week, Gators Breakdown host David Waters had two special guests on an episode of the podcast.
🐊 Nick & Monica Evers praise support of Gator Nation
David spoke with Florida 2022 quarterback commit Nick Evers and his mother, Monica Evers, during an episode of Gators Breakdown.
They both praised the support of Gator Nation, with Nick adding that’s also helped as he looks to build a “super team” in Gainesville.
“You know, Gator Nation has always been really good to me ever since I committed, definitely super supportive of everything that I’ve done and really has been like behind my back with this whole recruiting process, you know, with these other guys because I’ve been trying to build a super team, you can say, down in The Swamp, so I’m trying to build something special down there. And everyone has just been super supportive,” he said. “I can definitely tell their love and support. You know, when I went off to Elite 11, everyone was rooting for me. And so, you know, it’s just like, you know, an extra boost when I have a bunch of people, a huge fan base, behind me, going into something that big like the Elite 11. So just like the whole Gator Nation has been really great to us -- me and my family.”
“I tell you that that’s one thing that I’ve been extremely impressed with is just how deep Gator Nation rolls. I’m from a military background,” his mom added. “Whether you were a non-commissioned officer or you were in the officer ranks, everybody supported each other, and we may talk about each other, but we don’t let anybody come into that circle. And so what I felt with the social media presence is, you know, Gator Nation seems to go really hard and roll deep for its fellow Gators, and that’s been very, very assuring to me as a parent, knowing that he’s going into an environment that I think, you know, may call him out on some mistakes here and there, but, you know, there’s nobody else who can talk about him -- you know, it’s family.”
🏈 Evers at Elite 11 Finals
David was also joined by SI All Gators’ Zach Goodall on another episode of Gators Breakdown this week to discuss Nick Evers’ performance at the 2021 Elite 11 Finals.
He was among the 20 quarterbacks in the 2022 recruiting class who gathered in California for the event. Afterward, the Elite 11 coaching staff selected the top 12, which included Evers, based on event evaluation and traits and junior season film and performance.
Zach says Evers “has some really natural arm power.”
🤔 Where does Jones rank among SEC QBs?
David’s “Thought of the Day” comes in the form of a question on YouTube from Kody Sprague. Kody asks: “Do you think Emory Jones is in the top 3 QBs in the SEC?”
David has Jones falling just shy of the top three in his rankings, coming in at No. 4:
- Ole Miss’ Matt Corral
- Georgia’s JT Daniels
- LSU’s Myles Brennan or Max Johnson
- Florida’s Emory Jones
David breaks down his list on the latest episode of Gators Breakdown.
🏀 Castleton is back
Colin Castleton announced that he will be returning to Florida’s basketball program after testing the NBA waters.
He played really well in stretches last season and had one of his best performances in the NCAA Tournament.
Castleton is a key piece in a pretty experienced basketball team for next season.
There are enough pieces in play to get a better feel on the program’s direction under head coach Mike White.
✉️ Send us your Gators thoughts & questions
David and I want to hear from you. Do you have any thoughts or questions about the Gators football program? Agree or disagree with something we’ve said? Let us know here and we’ll share our responses to your questions.
🎙️ Listen to more Gators Breakdown
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