What You Need to Know for the Orange & Blue Spring Game
GAINESVILLE, Fla.– The Florida Gators on Saturday conclude spring camp with its annual Orange and Blue Debut scrimmage inside Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
The scrimmage, which comes in an era of team’s moving to closed scrimmages, will be free to all of those looking to attend with special events throughout the day, including a celebration for the national champion men’s basketball program.
“To each his own,” Napier said earlier this spring. “I’m either going to have coaches tampering with my players, or I’m going to have a fanbase that’s pissed off at not having a spring game. It’s pick your poison.”
Details for those in attendance, including relevant gameday info and other special events, as well as information on certain player’s availabilities can be found below.
Gameday Info
- Start Time: 1 p.m. ET
- Streaming/Television: None
- Admission: Free
- Parking: Free on a first-come, first-served basis on all non-reserved lots on campus, including Lot 114 and the O’Connell Center parking garage.
Special Events
- Gatorland Fan Fest: 10 a.m., west side of the North lawn of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
- Gator Walk: 10:20 a.m. University Avenue on North side of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
- Men’s Basketball National Championship Celebration: Halftime of the scrimmage inside Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
- Florida Victorious autograph session: Postgame on the field for members of the Florida Victorious
The Teams
A major aspect of Napier’s version of Florida’s spring game is the fact that the splitting of his roster is only a microcosm of the competition. The fourth-year head coach splits his entire organization, from the social media team, to trainers, to communications staff, to recruiting staff and to coaching staff, right down the middle.
Thursday’s released rosters revealed that Team Orange, which will be coached by running backs coach Jabbar Juluke, is composed of the expected first-team defense and second-team offense, while Team Blue, coached by defensive line coach Gerald Chatman, is composed of the second-team defense and first-team offense.
The full rosters can be found below.
DJ Lagway’s Status, Other Injured Players
Although listed on the roster and a participant in some portions of Florida’s spring camp, Lagway will not throw in Saturday’s scrimmage, Napier previously announced. Should he see the field, expect only handoffs and other non-throwing work.
Backups Harrison Bailey (Orange) and Aidan Warner (Blue) are expected to take the bulk of the snaps with Tramell Jones Jr. (Orange) and Clay Millen (Blue) as their backups.
Additionally, the Gators have been short-handed this spring, especially on the defensive side of the ball, due to various injuries. Those who have either been absent for the all or most of the various viewing periods from spring camp include defensive lineman Caleb Banks, linebacker Grayson Howard, STAR Aaron Gates, STAR Sharif Denson and corner Dijon Johnson.
Others, including receivers Tre Wilson and Kahleil Jackson, have been participants throughout spring camp in a non-contact capacity.
The expectation is that the absent players won’t participate at all, while the non-contact players to continue participating in a non-contact capacity.
