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Florida Football: 5 things to watch during 2019 spring game

By Briley Hughes

STARKVILLE, MS - SEPTEMBER 29: Head coach Dan Mullen of the Florida Gators reacts during the first half against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Davis Wade Stadium on September 29, 2018 in Starkville, Mississippi. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)
STARKVILLE, MS - SEPTEMBER 29: Head coach Dan Mullen of the Florida Gators reacts during the first half against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Davis Wade Stadium on September 29, 2018 in Starkville, Mississippi. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images) /
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GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA – NOVEMBER 17: A general view of first half action as the Idaho Vandals and Florida Gators play at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on November 17, 2018 in Gainesville, Florida. (Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images)
GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA – NOVEMBER 17: A general view of first half action as the Idaho Vandals and Florida Gators play at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on November 17, 2018 in Gainesville, Florida. (Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images) /

5. Loosey-goosey rules and unexpected surprises

Spring games lend coaches the opportunity to showcase a fun side of the program that gets buried as soon as the games begin to matter.

“I usually always have some surprises up my sleeve,” Mullen told the Orlando Sentinel. “But I know this, the format, the game will last two hours on the dot.”

Expect Mullen to call several trick plays, players to perform elaborate celebrations and everyone else to lean into ridiculous antics. The Orange and Blue game can always be expected to infuse a certain measure of hype and fun back into the fanbase.

2018 saw cameos and touchdowns from former players Lawrence Wright and Travis McGriff. But Mullen wouldn’t offer any new insight into what he has planned for 2019: “I don’t wanna give away all my tricks. You keep asking if I got tricks up my sleeve for the spring game. If I give ’em all away now, no one’s gonna be excited to find them after.”

Adding to the intrigue, Mullen admitted that spring game attendance numbers are often fudged and he suggested he might troll Florida State with the numbers: “Yeah, if you go 41,140 or something, I don’t know. You kinda do stuff like that. Have some fun.”

At the very least, the spring game will be fun and may be the genesis for future drama with a few of the Gators’ rivals.

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