| The No. 9 ranked University of Florida Gators arrived on Christmas night in Miami for their December 30th matchup with the No. 24 ranked University of Virginia Cavaliers in the 86th Capital One Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium. Florida arrived individually and was greeted officially by Orange Bowl Committee members prior to a team meeting at the Intercontinental Miami. Video is available at:https://www.orangebowl.org/media/info/pressbox/ Head Coach Dan Mullen and select student-athletes met with the media at 9:30 a.m. today (Thursday, Dec. 26) at the Intercontinental. The Gators will practice for the first time in South Florida at Barry University at 12:35 p.m. 15 minutes of practice will be open for still and video photography only. The University of Virginia will arrive today (Thursday) at approximately 5:30 p.m. at Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport (Sheltair Aviation, 1100 Lee Wagener Blvd. Fort Lauderdale, FL 33315). There will be an informal arrival press availability planeside with Head Coach Bronco Mendenhall and select student-athletes. Florida Head Coach Dan Mullen Opening statement…“We are excited to be here. For the team, the honor to play in the Orange Bowl is pretty special. As a program, to be here in South Florida, that’s what the bowl season is all about: great hotels and a great experience for our guys. We expect to have a lot of fun but also put in the work and try to find a way to win.” On how special it is for the players from South Florida to play here…“It’s really cool, especially when growing up you look at the game and as a kid you watch and think ‘hey, this is right here in my backyard and now I am getting the opportunity to go play in it.’ It is a pretty unique deal. And not just for the players, but for all of the Gators in South Florida too. We haven’t played in a lot of Orange Bowls and I think for our fan base it is really exciting.” On a quarterback’s role in bringing momentum into the spring…“It can build a lot of momentum and a lot of confidence. For the team that’s why bowl games are huge. This year’s team gets one more game together, but there are a lot of guys on this year’s team that will also be on next year’s team. You play on December 30th and then you don’t have another game until September. You have a lot of off-season training, conditioning and developmental growth. You have 15 spring practices and 25 training camp practices before you play again. The momentum a bowl game and a bowl win can do for you builds yourself up through this huge developmental stage until you get on the field again.” On how big of a game this is for Defensive Lineman Jabari Zuniga…“It’s a huge game for him to go out there and perform. He started the season really well. He missed the majority of the whole season with an ankle sprain, but now he has the opportunity to go out on a big stage against a great opponent and make a statement. It could help his future a lot.” Florida Defensive Back Donovan Stiner On his first impressions of being in Miami…“We are excited. It is a nice city and it looks like we are going to have a lot of fun.” On what the first four practices were like and expectations for preparing now down in Miami…“Same as all of our other practices. Our first four practices we had a big thing on preparing hard and we are going to keep doing that while we are here.” On his early impressions of the Virginia offense…“They have a good quarterback. He runs he ball a lot, even more than their running backs, so that is a big key we are looking at. Mainly staying disciplined in our rush lanes and things like that.” On how the secondary looks without CJ Henderson…“I think we’ve been preparing for it all year. He’s helped us by bringing the younger guys up, and they have been getting a lot of reps, so they’ll be ready for it come Monday.” Florida Offensive Tackle Stone Forsyth On being in South Florida…“It’s been pretty good (to be in South Florida). We had a little time to go out last night, saw the city but we’re all here to win a game.” On importance of bowl practices…“These practices are everything; kind of like an early spring practice basically, so a lot of younger guys getting a lot of reps; lot of older guys getting a little rest that they need after a long season. It helped me a lot (last year). I was rotating a little bit but came to these (bowl) practices and got better. You go back to the basics, (work on) techniques for the first couple of days.” On who he is eager to see take advantage of the extra practices…“Probably Ethan White, Michael Tarquin…and then the two new guys who came in early. They’re pretty good the first few days.” |
| About the Orange BowlThe Orange Bowl is a 370-member, primarily volunteer non-profit sports organization that promotes and serves the South Florida community. With its primary mission since being created in 1935 to bring tourism to South Florida through an annual football game and events, it has also maintained a legacy of charitable contributions and community outreach. Orange Bowl community outreach efforts are comprised of four pillars: youth sports, fundraising and community events, academic programs and scholarships, and legacy gifts. The Orange Bowl features a year-round schedule of events culminating with the Capital One Orange Bowl on December 30, 2019. For more information on the 2019-2020 Orange Bowl events, including promotional and volunteer opportunities through the Ambassador Program presented by Panera Bread, log on to www.orangebowl.org or follow the @OrangeBowl on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat. |
