Skip to main content
florida logo

Florida Gators announce kickoff time for Orange and Blue Game

Untitled designby:Nick de la Torre•02/28/23•

delatorre

florida-gators-south-carolina-game
A wide shot of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium during a game on Sept. 21, 2019. (Carmen Mandato / Getty Images)

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The Florida Gators have a kickoff date for the 2023 Orange and Blue Debut. Spring camp will culminate on Thursday, April 13 at 7:30 p.m.

The spring game will be the culmination of spring practice. Practices can be conducted over a 34-day period with 20 hours per week of unrestricted activities. The Gators will open spring camp this Saturday, March 4. Players must receive one day off per week. 15 on-field practice sessions may be held, with no more than 12 involving contact. Full contact may not occur until the third practice.

Florida will be bringing in a new co-defensive coordinator in Austin Armstrong. Billy Napier still has two holes on his coaching staff (receiver and tight end) that need to be filled before camp.

Florida says that the Thursday night game allows them to promote and gain a national audience, giving the University of Florida the national spotlight. It also creates an opportunity for the staff to host and interact with some of the top recruits in the nation. Having the game on a weekday allows Florida to not compete with other schools that typically hold their spring games on Saturdays.

This year, more than 40 teams will hold their spring games on that Saturday, April 15. Those teams include SEC rivals Tennessee and Georgia Other teams holding their spring games on the 15th are Florida State, Arkansas, Ohio State, Clemson, Mississippi State, Penn State, Texas, North Carolina, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, South Carolina, and USC.

How to watch the Florida Gator Orange and Blue Game

While broadcast information was not released yet, the game is expected to be streamed on SEC Network +. The 2022 game was streamed live on SEC Network + as well. The 2022 game was also held on a Thursday in front of an announced attendance of 45,000.

“It was electric out there,” Billy Napier said after the game. “I think it was even better than I expected to be honest with you. I’m very thankful for the support. We made a decision to move the game and they rallied behind that and showed up. We had a great group of recruits here today as well, and hopefully, we can capitalize from that. I think this was a little bit of a midterm exam. We’ve worked our way through phase one, phase two, and phase three, and now we get to regroup and assess where we’re at.”

You may also like