‘This is... The Swamp’ provides inside look at Florida Gators football

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Hours before the release of his first episode in almost 15 months, Florida Gators associate director of creative video Randy Mickens was still constructing the final scenes for the Season 3 debut of This is… The Swamp.

He spent a week editing the entire episode but received one last shot in the eleventh hour that had to be included.

“The Colts were super gracious and shared that little clip from the war room of them calling Anthony [Richardson] like probably five hours before we posted it,” Mickens said. “So, I had it done, and they sent me that and it was like, ‘OK, we have to put this in.’

After Indianapolis selected him with the No. 4 overall pick, Mickens shows Richardson’s raw emotions as he takes the phone call, hugs his loved ones and makes his way to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.

“To me, the perfect ending was right when he walked out on stage,” Mickens said. “It was the culmination of everything. That was the peak. Nothing was going to beat that.”

The in-depth video feature on Richardson marked the return of This is… The Swamp after a one-year hiatus. Covering Richardson’s path to the draft provided the perfect way to bring it back.

“When Anthony was here, he was such an electrifying player and personality, but really being able to tell the full story the best we can to people that might not know,” Mickens said. “Because everyone has seen Anthony perform on Saturday. Everyone knows what he can do, but what really drew me to this was his background, his story, his family, and to me that’s what made it.”

Mickens first started This is… The Swamp in 2020 after shooting the first episode for the 2019 Orange Bowl. The idea for the video series came after HBO chronicled the Gators football program during Week 5 of the 2019 season.

“This was definitely kind of product of when HBO was embedded with us. That was kind of the genesis of it. That idea kind of came to life from that experience,” Mickens said. “To see how that was done, how impressive that was and how effective and impactful that product came out kind of is where this all started. It was a group effort of what’s a creative way that we can tell the story of this team in different ways.”

Mickens filmed five episodes during Season 1 in 2020 and four more for Season 2, but the show discontinued once the coaching changes took place in 2021. Following his inaugural season last year, head coach Billy Napier and Florida’s creative video team began brainstorming with Mickens on how to produce the series again.

“Coach Napier and this whole staff, they’re very forward thinking and always looking for ways to be creative and groundbreaking with anything we do. He’s always looking for us to be growing and adding tools to our arsenal,” Mickens said.

“They’re very supportive of our whole creative team. And with the show coming back this year, it’s something that I’m super lucky to do. I’m very proud of it. It’s definitely a rewarding thing to work on, for sure.”

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While the first episode of Season 3 was solely focused on Richardson as a standalone piece, the second episode released on June 13 — “Forward Together” — featured a format that most of the shows will follow moving forward.

It included a day inside the program with behind-the-scenes footage from Napier at work and spring practice. The episode also showcases GatorMade’s trip to NYC, O’Cyrus Torrence’s All-American season, three new coaches on staff and the Orange & Blue Game.

“Episode 2 was a lot more conventional in terms of what the show is usually going to be like,” Mickens said. “Each episode is always going to have a football element, in season or offseason. There’s always so many things going on, it’s almost difficult to choose what to showcase to be quite honest.

“It is about Florida Football, but Florida Football isn’t just about what happens on Saturday in the stadium. There’s a million moving parts and different pieces and stories. Current players, former players, the staff. Everyone has their own story, right? So, there’s no set boundaries to what it can be.”

While Mickens takes on the brunt of the workload for this show, he’s not alone. Scott Hoffman, Florida’s assistant director of creative video, also produces the series with him and Napier serves as an executive producer along with director of football operations Joshua Thompson.

“Scott Hoffman, who I work with on the show, has such a great eye for cinematography and lighting. I think a lot of the look of the show, the color, Scott has done such a great job bringing that not only to the show but our video content in general,” Mickens said.

“Josh and Coach Napier are both super supportive and they’re gracious with their time. Coach Napier’s got so much going on. For him to set aside 20-30 minutes to review things and look at them, same with Josh, I’m just super appreciative of those guys.”

Mickens plans to release the third episode later this month before the start of fall training camp, which begins July 31. He’s already getting pestered by players about the show.

“They’re kind of getting excited now, asking when the next episode is coming out,” Mickens said. “The players on this team are the main thing the show is about. There are a lot of personal stories that are waiting to be told. For me, it’s a really exciting opportunity to introduce fans to some new players and just tell the story of what’s going on inside our building day to day.”

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