Former Florida offensive coordinator Steve Addazio to call Gators vs. Samford

Former Florida offensive coordinator Steve Addazio will be in Gainseville on Saturday, but in a different setting.

Alongside Clay Matvick providing play-by-play, Addazio will be in the booth for the ESPN+ broadcast, Gators Online’s Nick de la Torre revealed.

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Addazio most recently served as the offensive line coach for Texas A&M from 2022-23, a position he also held during his time on Urban Meyer’s staff in Gainesville. The longtime college football coach spent five seasons on the Florida coaching staff, serving in multiple rolls before being named offensive coordinator during the 2009-10 season. He won two national championships while on the Gators’ staff.

After Meyer left Florida, Addazio left to become head coach at Temple, then Boston College and then Colorado State before settling in on Jimbo Fisher’s staff in College Station for the past two seasons.

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Now, he’s turned in his coaches headset for a broadcasting one. He made his ESPN debut over the weekend in Elon vs. Duke alongside Matvick and Justin Walters on the ACC Network. 

He’ll be covering a 2024 Florida Gators team coming off a 41-17 loss against in-state rival Miami on Saturday.

Running back Montrell Johnson was the strongest performer on the offensive side of the ball in the home loss. He tallied 11 carries for 106 yards and a touchdown during the contest. Miami’s defense held Florida starting quarterback Graham Mertz to 91 passing yards in a matchup that felt must-win for Gators fans coming in.

Mertz suffered a concussion during the season opener, and with his status for Saturday up in the air as of Monday, many fans are excited at the prospect of having DJ Lagway as their starting quarterback.

“I’ve got a ton of confidence in DJ,” Napier said on Monday. “We’ve had him since January. He’s a completely different person and player than he was when he first arrived. He’s got a really good knowledge of our system. I do think coach to player helps a young quarterback, right? There’s an advantage there that maybe you wouldn’t have had a year ago.”

Kickoff between the Gators and Samford is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 7 at 7 p.m. ET and will air live on ESPN+ and SECN+.