The 2017 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida in the 2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Gators played their home games at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, Florida. Florida played as a member of the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). They were led by third-year head coach Jim McElwain until his dismissal on October 28, after which defensive coordinator Randy Shannon served as the interim head coach until the end of the season.
Florida finished with a 4–7 record overall and were 3–5 in SEC play, good for fifth place in the Eastern Division. It was the program's second losing season since 1979.
Spring Game The spring game, dubbed the Orange and Blue Debut, took place on April 7, in Gainesville.
Date Time Spring Game Site TV Result Attendance April 72017 Football Schedule (FloridaGators.com) 7:30 p.m. Orange vs. Blue Ben Hill Griffin Stadium • Gainesville, FL SECN Orange 31–0
Schedule The Gators' 2017 schedule consisted of 6 home games, 3 away games, and 2 neutral site games in the regular season. The Gators hosted SEC opponents Tennessee, Vanderbilt, LSU, and Texas A&M. They traveled to Kentucky, Missouri, and South Carolina. They faced Georgia at a neutral site.
Florida's non-conference schedule consisted of two home games: UAB and their rival Florida State. A third was scheduled for Sep 9 vs Northern Colorado, but was canceled due to inclement weather caused by Hurricane Irma. The season was opened against Michigan in the Advocare Classic.
The game between Florida and Northern Colorado was originally scheduled for September 9 at 7:30 p.m. On the Wednesday before the game, the kickoff time was moved up to noon, as forecasts for Hurricane Irma had the storm approaching the east coast of Florida on Sunday. On Thursday, updated forecast tracks (correctly) predicted that Irma would move up the middle of the Florida peninsula as a major hurricane, prompting both schools to agree to cancel the game altogether due to safety and traffic concerns. This cancellation marked the third time in four seasons that Florida had to cancel or move a home game due to inclement weather and the second season in a row in which a scheduled home game was affected by the threat of a hurricane.
Schedule Source
Rankings
Game summaries No.11 Michigan
Overall record Previous meeting Previous winner 0–3 January 1, 2016 Michigan, 41–7
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No.23 Tennessee
Overall record Previous meeting Previous winner 26–20 September 24, 2016 Tennessee, 38–28 With 0:09 seconds left in the fourth quarter quarterback Feleipe Franks threw a 63-yard hail mary to wide receiver Tyrie Cleveland for the win.
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Kentucky
Overall record Previous meeting Previous winner 50–17 September 10, 2016 Florida, 45–7
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Vanderbilt
Overall record Previous meeting Previous winner 38–10–2 October 10, 2016 Florida, 13–6
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LSU
Overall record Previous meeting Previous winner 32–28–3 November 19, 2016 Florida, 16–10
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Texas A&M
Overall record Previous meeting Previous winner 2–1 September 8, 2012 Florida, 20–17
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Special "alligator skin" uniforms
No.3 Georgia
Overall record Previous meeting Previous winner 43–49–2 (per Florida)43–50–2 (per Georgia) October 29, 2016 Florida, 24–10
Following the game, it was announced that Florida and Head Coach Jim McElwain would be parting ways and Defensive coordinator Randy Shannon was to be promoted to interim head coach for the remainder of the season.
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Missouri
Overall record Previous meeting Previous winner 3–3 October 15, 2016 Florida, 40–14
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South Carolina
Overall record Previous meeting Previous winner 26–8–3 November 12, 2017 Florida, 20–7
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UAB
Overall record Previous meeting Previous winner 2–0 September 10, 2010 Florida, 39–0
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Florida State
Overall record Previous meeting Previous winner 34–25–2 November 26, 2016 Florida State, 31–13
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Personnel Roster
2017 Florida Gators rosterQuarterbacks 8 Malik Zaire – senior 11 Kyle Trask – Freshman 12 Jake Allen – Freshman 13 Feleipe Franks – freshman 14 Luke Del Rio – Junior 29 Jack Ruskell – freshman 42 Nick Sproles – freshman
Running backs 20 Malik Davis – Freshman 22 La'Mical Perine – Sophomore 24 Mark Thompson– senior 25 Jordan Scarlett – SUS Junior 32 Adarius Lemons – freshman 33 Tyriek Hopkins – sophomore
Wide receivers 4 Brandon Powell – senior 9 Dre Massey – senior 10 Josh Hammond – sophomore 16 Freddie Swain – sophomore 18 Daquon Green – freshman 31 Anthony Gigla – sophomore 39 Jacob Mesenger – freshman 43 Glenn Jarriel – sophomore 44 Tucker Nordman – sophomore 45 Charles Nordman – sophomore 81 Antonio Callaway – SUS Junior 83 Rick Wells – SUS Freshman 85 James Robinson – Freshman 87 Kalif Jackson – sophomore 89 Tyrie Cleveland – sophomore
Tight ends 16 Brian Fallace – junior 30 DeAndre Goolsby – senior 39 Ryan Ferguson – junior 46 Harry Gornto V – sophomore 80 C'yontai Lewis – junior 82 Moral Stephens – junior 88 Kemore Gamble – freshman
Punters 19 Johnny Townsend – senior 86 Jacob Finn – freshman 88 Tommy Townsend – freshman 97 Jon Gould – sophomore Offensive line 51 Antonio Riles – senior 53 Kavaris Harkless – junior 59 T.J. McCoy – sophomore 61 Brett Heggie – Freshman 64 Tyler Jordan – junior 65 Jawaan Taylor – sophomore 66 Nick Buchanan – sophomore 69 Marcus Givens – sophomore 70 Tanner Rowell – freshman 71 Nick Villano – sophomore 72 Stone Forsythe – freshman 73 Martez Ivey – junior 74 Fred Johnson – sophomore 75 TJ Moore – freshman 76 Kadeem Telfort – SUS Freshman 77 Andrew Mike – junior 78 Ricardo Benalcazar – senior 79 Dallas Bruch – freshman
Defensive line 17 Jordan Sherit – senior 42 Jordan Smith – SUS Freshman 54 Khairi Clark – junior 55 Kyree Campbell – freshman 56 Tedarrell Slaton – freshman 57 Elijah Conliffe – freshman 68 Richerd Desir-Jones – SUS Sophomore 90 Antonneous Clayton – sophomore 92 Jabari Zuniga – sophomore 93 Taven Bryan – junior 94 Zachary Carter – freshman 95 Keivonnis Davis – SUS Junior 96 CeCe Jefferson – junior 97 Justus Reed – sophomore 98 Luke Ancrum – sophomore 99 Jachai Polite – Sophomore
Placekickers 15 Eddy Piñeiro – junior 79 Daniel Justino – freshman 98 Jorge Powell – junior Linebackers 11 Vosean Joseph – sophomore 28 Kylan Johnson – Sophomore 33 David Reese – sophomore 34 Lacedrick Brunson – freshman 40 Nick Smith – Freshman 41 James Houston – SUS Freshman 43 Cristian Garcia – senior 44 Rayshad Jackson – sophomore 45 R.J. Raymond – junior 46 Will Thomas – freshman 50 Jeremiah Moon – sophomore 51 Ventrell Miller – SUS Freshman 53 Brendan Ackerman – freshman 58 Jahim Lawrence – sophomore 59 Danny Weldon – freshman 84 Camrin Knight – sophomore
Defensive backs 2 Brad Stewart – freshman 3 Marco Wilson – freshman 5 C. J. Henderson – freshman 6 Brian Edwards – freshman 7 Duke Dawson – senior 8 Nick Washington – Senior 12 Christopher McWilliams – Freshman 13 Donovan Stiner – freshman 14 Chris Williamson – junior 21 McArthur Burnett – freshman 23 C. J. Gardner-Johnson – sophomore 25 Brady Walters – junior 26 Marcell Harris – Senior 27 Quincy Lenton – Freshman 29 Jeawon Taylor – sophomore 30 Garrett Stephens – Senior 31 Shawn Davis – freshman 35 Joseph Putu – senior 36 Eddie Giles – junior 38 Nick Oelrich – freshman 47 Austin Perry – freshman 48 Edwitch Merisier – freshman 49 Cameron Town – junior
Long snappers 41 Ryan Farr – junior 48 Brett DioGuardi – freshman 49 Jacob Tilghman – sophomore
Athlete 17 Kadarius Toney – Freshman Redshirt Injury SUS Suspension
Coaching staff Name Position Joined staffJim McElwain Head coach (dismissed Oct 29) 2015 Randy Shannon Defensive coordinator / Interim head coach (after Oct 29) 2015Doug Nussmeier Offensive coordinator / quarterbacks 2015Chris Rumph Defensive line / Interim defensive coordinator (after Oct 29) 2015Robb Akey Defensive line (after Oct 29) 2017Greg Nord Special teams coordinator / Tight Ends 2015 Brad Davis offensive line 2017Ja'Juan Seider Running Backs 2017Kerry Dixon II Wide receivers 2015Tim Skipper Linebackers 2015Corey Bell Defensive Backs 2017Mike Kent Director of Strength & Conditioning 2015
Recruiting class
Players drafted into the NFL
1 29 Taven Bryan DT Jacksonville Jaguars 2 56 Duke Dawson CB New England Patriots 4 105 Antonio Callaway WR Cleveland Browns 5 173 Johnny Townsend P Oakland Raiders 6 184 Marcell Harris S San Francisco 49ers
References