In this week’s Swampcast, the Sun’s Kevin Brockway and Noah Ram break down the grind of Florida football fall camp and introduce The Sun’s new sports writer, Andrew Abadie.
Brockway said mounting injuries have been the theme of Florida Gators fall camp, with the latest involving preseason All-SEC defensive lineman Caleb Banks, who is day-to-day with a lower leg injury.
Despite fan angst, Brockway said that injuries during the preseason are inevitable. Wide receiver Dallas Wilson and L.J. Cray have also suffered significant injuries that have sidelined them during fall camp, while quarterback D.J. Lagway and wide receiver Eugene Wilson remain limited.
“It’s interesting because you are trying to prepare for the physicality of the season but when you have these roll ups which result in leg injuries you wonder how hard are they going, are they going too hard,” Brockway said. “But at the same time, you’ve got to get these guys ready.”
Later, Brockway and Ram were joined by new Gainesville Sun colleague Andrew Abadie, who will cover Florida basketball and Florida athletics. Abadie hails from New Orleans and has covered the Southern Mississippi beat for the Pine Belt News. Abadie is looking forward to the challenge of covering a national championship program and will assist in covering Florida football and Florida baseball as well.
“It’s really going to be interesting, really in every sport, where you’re going to be covering a program that can win a natty,” Abadie said.
Brockway and Ram wrapped up the podcast debating College Basketball Report’s list of Top 50 head coaches in the country, which ranks Florida basketball coach Todd Golden 10th, behind fellow SEC coaches Nate Oats (Alabama, seventh) and Bruce Pearl (Auburn, eighth). UConn’s Dan Hurley was ranked No. 1 on the list, with Houston’s Kelvin Sampson coming in at No. 2. Both believe that Golden is ranked too low and belongs closer to the top five.
“Todd doesn’t have the longevity on his side, it’s only been on year, but in the NCAA Tournament, he beat Dan Hurley, he beat Kelvin Sampson, he beat Bruce Pearl,” Ram said, “He beat three coaches that are ahead of him on that list.”
Kevin Brockway is The Gainesville Sun’s Florida beat writer. Contact him at kbrockway@gannett.com. Follow him on X @KevinBrockwayG1. Read his coverage of the Gators’ national championship basketball season in “CHOMP-IONS!” — a hardcover coffee-table collector’s book from The Sun. Details at Florida.ChampsBook.com
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Swampcast talks Florida football fall camp, introduces new colleague Andrew Abadie
Reporting by Kevin Brockway, Gainesville Sun / The Gainesville Sun
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