Good Morning Gators: Patrick Toney mic'd up; Todd Golden arrives at UF
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Florida’s defense has a new scheme and a new play-caller this spring in co-defensive coordinator Patrick Toney.
He came over from Louisiana with coach Billy Napier, who promoted Toney to Ragin’ Cajuns DC in 2020.
“It means a lot to me that he promoted me there and gave me an opportunity to start calling plays,” Toney said. “kind of on-the-job learning by being a coordinator at a young age. That experience is invaluable and I hope I’ve done my part to prove him right.”
In 2021, Toney’s Louisiana defense finished first in the Sun Belt in scoring defense (18.3) and tied-for-ninth nationally, while ranking fourth in passing defense in the conference.
It’s been a whirlwind for Toney since he took the UF job with recruiting and settling in, but he’s finally back in his element with the Gators starting spring practice this month.
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“It’s been a lot of fun, and it’s been fast,” Toney said. “We coached that conference championship game there and then I flew over the next day with Coach Napier. We hit the ground running with early signing day, developing relationships with the players on our team, recruiting for this last class, picking up recruiting for 2023, putting a staff together and then preparing for spring football. It’s been non-stop and a lot of fun.
“This is the second time I’ve been at the beginning with Coach Napier at program. I think it’s invaluable to learn from him and see how he does that at two different stops and assist him in anyway I can. Obvious the University of Florida is a premier program I the country and I’m blessed to be here.”
In other Florida football news
- New running backs coach Jabbar Juluke recalls the 2016 Florida-LSU game, happy to be back in the SEC.
- Former UF offensive lineman Trent Brown has reached an agreement to return to the New England Patriots in 2022.
UF recruiting roundup
- Gators Online’s Corey Bender has the latest on five-star cornerback Cormani McClain, whose mother raves about their weekend trip to UF.
- Top-100 recruit Dylan Lonergan, the nation’s No. 7-ranked quarterback with On3 Sports, has locked in a visit with Florida for this month.
- Big-time 2024 linebacker Myles Graham, the son of UF running back Earnest Graham, was offered by Napier’s staff while in town over the weekend.
- Four-star EDGE AJ Hoffler knows he’s wanted at the Swamp and recaps his first-ever visit to UF on Saturday.
- Four-star linebacker Lewis Carter is set to make the trek to Gainesville after landing an offer from Florida last month.
Gators sports roundup
- The Gators baseball team moved up in the top-25 poll on Monday after an SEC series win over Alabama.
- New Florida men’s basketball coach Todd Golden landed in Gainesville on Monday night. His introductory press conference will be Wednesday at 12:30 p.m. on SEC Network.
Let’s keep talking
Want to keep the conversation going? Head over to our Florida message board, Swamp Talk. Gators Online is running a spring camp promo. Sign up here and join the discussion for just $10, which will cover the next four months.
Gators Twitter updates
- Florida football’s nutrition and scholar athletes of the week:
- Kansas City Chiefs defensive line coach Joe Cullen will speak at Florida’s Chalk Talk event from March 24-26:
