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Florida reveals captains for SEC Opener with Kentucky

Untitled designby:Nick de la Torre•09/09/22•

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Photo courtesy of UAA Communications

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The No. 12 Florida Gators will open SEC play with a top-20 matchup. The No. 20 Kentucky Wildcats come to Gainesville this week and Florida will have a new set of captains for the SEC debut.

Receivers Jordan Pouncey and Xzavier Henderson, center Kingsley Eguakun, and linebacker Amari Burney will serve as captains for Florida.

Burney drew a tough matchup last week against Utah tight end Brant Kuithe. The senior finished the game with more than 100 yards and a score. All of that was forgotten when Burney intercepted Cam Rising in the end zone to seal the Gators’ 29-26 win over Utah. A fifth-year senior, Burney is a leader on the defense and his captain status shows that this week.

Henderson led all Gators with six receptions in the opener. The sophomore receiver was heavily involved in Napier’s game plan. He will be a critical player for the offense in 2022.

Napier’s philosophy on captains

This is the second set of captains the Gators have had this season. The Gators will have a different set of captains on a week-to-week basis.

At the end of the season, Napier has the team vote on captains. It’s something he considers one of the highest honors they can receive.

“We wait until the season’s over and then we let the players vote and really observe the entire body of work,” Napier said of the team captains. “We give the players an opportunity to give their opinion at the end of the year. I think it’s probably one of the biggest honors that you can get. When you’re actual teammates vote you to be the team captain.

“So, I think the season is where leadership emerges. That’s the ultimate challenge, the ultimate adversity. So I think there’s a there’s a lot of work to be done there and a lot of leadership to be developed. (There) will be tons of opportunity to observe these guys. And I think we’ll let the players vote on the full body of work at the end of the year.”

The Gators will host Kentucky at 7:00 pm on ESPN this Saturday.

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