College Football
Jim McElwain shares his thoughts on why Florida handles adversity so well
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The Gators appear to have righted the ship after some early season struggles and have quietly established themselves as the East leaders as the calendar turns to October. Jim McElwain’s team is the only East team with a 3-0 record in conference play and will have a chance to improve that mark to 4-0 Saturday at home against LSU.
McElwain was among the first coaches to speak during Wednesday SEC Coaches Teleconference.
Here’s a summary of what the Florida coach had to say:
- “Looking forward to a great atmosphere and a good ballgame. Anytime these two meet it’s a great game, should be fun.”
- Malik Zaire’s status? “We are aware of (his success vs. LSU while at Notre Dame), we’ll see how it plays out.”
- Keeping up with Will Grier and his success at West Virginia at all? “Yeah, he’s a very good player. He’ll continue to do well I bet.”
- How has RB Malik Davis been able to bring an edge to your offense? “We thought he could add to the depth at RB. This is really important to him. He helps on special teams, he’s taking a lot of reps for us.”
- How has your team handled adversity so well? “The big thing is that everyone goes through distractions. No matter the obstacle, it is the way. It’s all about how you approach it. It is what it is and it’s nothing different than the team we are playing this week. It’s no different than anywhere else. It’s all about your focus more than anything.”
- Has LSU disappointed you this season? “I would say the opportune time for them is to come here and play us. Each week is another opportunity. I know what great players they have, I don’t think much about it to be honest.”
A graduate of the University of Tennessee, Michael Wayne Bratton oversees the news coverage for Saturday Down South. Michael previously worked for FOX Sports and NFL.com
