Meyer Talks FSU; Shows Emotion Over Seniors

Urban Meyer is in the midst of the greatest run in Florida football history and the University of Florida head coach is about to also face one of the Gators’ biggest rivals. In the midst of talking about that with the media, Meyer broke down with the thought of losing all of the seniors that have been a huge part of this program. It was something special.

Urban Meyer started off the media function praising the opponent this week. Florida State became bowl eligible last weekend and aren’t the Seminoles of old, but Meyer knows they have enough talent to make Saturday a disturbing one for the Gators.

“It is a rival week and we have great respect for the athletes on this team,” Meyer said of the Seminoles. “They are as good of athletes as there are in college football. We realize exactly what this game means. There will be no reason for a pregame speech, this game is special.”

“What makes FSU dangerous is the athletes. I wish they didn’t have good players. The team we are playing has excellent personnel and we recruited every one of those guys. Bert Reed is an excellent example. He is a dynamic player and if you let him get in open space he is going to beat you. We work very hard to not let that happen.”

Meyer talked about the accomplishments of his Gators, especially this senior class, which is the winningest in school history and in the Southeastern Conference.

“Their record is 46-6, more wins than any class in the SEC,” Meyer said. “They are 27-5 in the SEC and 25-2 in their own stadium. They are 14-3 against ranked opponents and 11-1 against their traditional rivals with a Heisman Trophy winner and national defensive player of the year.”

Meyer is quick not to just single out one or two players from the class. The group is a special one and there were many parts that accomplished a lot at Florida.

“Who do you want to take out of that class,” Meyer said. “There are two guys that are very visible for us and deservedly so (Tim Tebow and Brandon Spikes), but take Coop (Riley Cooper) out of there and this isn’t happening. Take Jermaine Cunningham out and this doesn’t happen. There are plenty of guys in that class that have done a great job.”

This is senior week and these seniors will be playing for the Gators for the last time at home in The Swamp and will be introduced to cheers and tears to a full house crowd. Still, there is a job to do leading up to this weekend.

“It’s going to be a tough week,” Meyer said. “What makes it the toughest is that we are facing a very talented team and we have to do what we do. We work extremely hard on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and prepare to be at competitive excellence by the time we hit the field.”

Meyer touched on much more about this senior class Monday. He got really emotional which is best seen and heard on video. Here is the rest of what he had to say.

Video Part 1: Watch Video

Video Part 2: Watch Video