GAINESVILLE -- While Florida’s basketball team aims to right the ship tonight at LSU (8:30 p.m., SEC Network), eight former Gator football players are participating in the 2016 NFL Combine in Indianapolis.
After becoming just the second 1,000-yard rusher at UF in the last decade, tailback Kelvin Taylor was the first to work out in front of league executives, scouts and coaches.
It didn’t go particularly well, though.
Taylor, who weighted in at 209 pounds, ran the 40-yard dash in 4.60 seconds -- the sixth-slowest among all running backs.
He also struggled in the agility drills (vertical leap, broad jump) and didn’t even participate in the three-cone drill or shuttle run. Taylor bench-pressed 225-pound 15 times -- fourth-fewest among all tailbacks.
It was a disappointing showing for the junior, who immediately took to Twitter in now deleted tweets and told his fans and critics to just wait.
"LOL sit back in keep watching," he wrote. Adding, "Film don't lie! Im a baller see you guys at pro day."
Florida's Pro Day is set for March 22.
ROBINSON TALKS
Demarcus Robinson will workout Saturday, but UF’s former enigmatic wideout held court with the media on Thursday and opened up about his issues at Florida.
According to SEC Country, the talented receiver called himself “selfish,” saying he wanted to “tell the truth and get it out all in the open now.”
Robinson added, “I’m not the same person I was three years ago.”
Robinson was suspended four times in three seasons at UF, but 6-1, 203-pounder said he didn’t fail a drug test after his freshman season. He admitted to spending 45 days at Florida Recovery Center to address his addiction issues in 2013.
After a breakout sophomore season (810 yards, seven touchdowns), Robinson caught just 48 passes for 522 yards and two touchdowns in 2015. He was suspended for Florida’s regular-season finale against Florida State, too, telling Jacksonville radio station 1010XL-AM that he met with a marketing representative who “was offering me something that I’d never been offered before.”
Robinson was reinstated for the SEC Championship Game and finished his UF career with just one catch for 17 yards in the Citrus Bowl against Michigan.
GATORS ADD SUPPORT STAFFER
Florida added a veteran assistant to its support staff Friday, announcing the hiring of longtime NFL coach Bret Ingalls.
Ingalls, who spent the past seven seasons with the New Orleans Saints, will serve as a quality control staffer on offense. The 27-year coaching vet is a Washington native and served as an offensive coordinator four times (at San Diego State, Louisville, Northern Iowa and Idaho) in college football.
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