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Third time’s the charm for adopted senior Austin Appleby
By Andrew Olson
Published:
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – It took 11 weeks, but Austin Appleby was finally the man of the hour in The Swamp. After going 1-1 in the collapse at Tennessee and an ugly win at Vanderbilt, Appleby finally got to experience a home start as a Gator.
“It was my first start in The Swamp. It was my last start in The Swamp,” Appleby said. “It’s a day that I’m never going to forget. I’m going to cherish it.”
The Purdue graduate transfer was recognized before kickoff in the same Senior Day ceremonies as the four- and five-year players who signed in 2012 and 2013. Appleby was asked if he felt out of place, but he said not after the way the Gators had adopted him as one of their own.
“Maybe if it was a different place,” he said. “But the way these guys, particularly the seniors, welcomed me and took me in under their wing from the second I walked into the first team meeting and I sat over there in my seat in the left up in the front — I went straight to the senior seats.”
The welcome extended beyond the meeting rooms. Appleby remembers senior center Cam Dillard’s hospitality.
“I didn’t have a place to live yet,” Appleby said. “I was living in a Holiday Inn down the road for the first couple of days before I figured out where I was going to live, and he offered to let me sleep on the couch. And just the way these guys, the togetherness, it’s truly a family. I know some guys have said it hasn’t always been that way, the chemistry has improved I guess over the years. But as far as my experience has gone, I’ve never felt closer with a team with every single guy than I do here.”
That closeness helped Appleby stay focused after Luke Del Rio retook the starting job once declared healthy. Appleby, somewhat awkwardly, addressed the media the same Monday of the original LSU week after Del Rio, indicating he still considered himself the starting quarterback. The LSU game ended up getting postponed, and Del Rio got the start the following week against Missouri.
“It was trying times,” Appleby said of the past four weeks. “I do my very best to remain faithful, put my faith in God that I have a purpose here, beyond football, but just to continue to be the best teammate, the best person I could possibly be in the this building, try to impact my teammates in a positive way.
“I’m so fortunate that they never questioned me. They never have. Whether I’m in or not, my teammates know what I’m all about. They know how much I care for them. They know what I’ll do for them. And I’m so proud of the way that they rallied for me and picked up the pace in a lot of spots.”
Instead of complaining or checking out mentally, Appleby went back to preparing as a backup ready to step in at a moment’s notice.
“You look inside yourself,” Appleby said. “It would be easy for somebody to say, ‘To heck with this. I’m going to sit at the end of the bench and pout.’ That’s not who I am. That’s not the way I was raised. I owe it to my teammates to be ready, because I am at the drop of a hat. They count on me, so I can’t for even one second even think about packing it in. That’s just not who I am.”
Appleby has called himself a friend and fan of Del Rio, but he’s never shied away from being competitive. He appeared extra motivated to make the most of his second chance as the starter, going 17-of-21 for 201 yards, 2 touchdowns and an interception, along with 42 yards on the ground in Saturday’s victory over South Carolina. Senior WR Ahmad Fulwood said the offense fed off Appleby’s poise and confidence.
“A nice confidence, a nice swagger,” Fulwood said of what Appleby brings to the team. “Austin is a guy that’s not going to freak out or let us freak out. He kept us very level headed and he kept us moving forward. Things happen in the game, people get hurt. Stuff happens. But, you know, we still got a job to do. He reminded us of that, he kept our cool and led us to a victory.”
While Florida won only 20-7, the Gators were in control for most of the game, and the offense moved the ball, even if turnovers kept points off the board. Appleby said it was about correcting the biggest problem a week ago in Fayetteville, when UF fell to Arkansas 31-10.
“I think our offense stayed on rhythm,” he said. “I think what we didn’t do last week was win first and second down, and when you get stuck on third-and-longs, you can be Tom Brady, but it’s still going to be hard because then the pass rush starts coming, they start bringing all the exotic blitzes, you get the crazy coverages. It’s hard.”
“We won first down. We were able to get into second and manageable where we were able to move the pocket, we were able to do some of the misdirection and we could run the ball. And Coach Nuss is able to get creative in his calls, and once we get our tempo going we started wearing down their front, I stand back there and deliver the ball. You know, that’s going to be huge for us, to stay on rhythm, stay on tempo and play the way we can.”
If Appleby can keep the Gators on rhythm again, he might be the first Florida quarterback to beat LSU in Death Valley since Tim Tebow in 2009.
“It’s the biggest game of the year because it’s the next game of the year,” Appleby said. “We know what’s at stake. We want to go back to Atlanta, and this is the next step in order to get there. We’ve got a lot of guys dinged up. With that said, the next man’s up. We’re going to have a great game plan.
“These guys are going to bust their tail. They’ll be in until midnight or later, trying to get the best plan possible for us. Then it’s up to us to go out and practice and bring great energy, great focus, great enthusiasm and put in the work to put ourselves in the best position to be successful.”
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
