Seniors like Jon Bostic have seen almost everything during their time at Florida. Bostic arrived from Palm Beach Central High School in 2009 when the Gators were fresh off a national championship and headed toward a Sugar Bowl appearance under coach Urban Meyer.
He also languished through the 2010 and ’11 seasons, when UF floundered to a 15-11 record.
Now the program is back on top. Heading into Saturday’s game against Jacksonville State (1 p.m., pay-per-view), Florida is 9-1, No. 7 in the Associated Press poll and still has a shot at landing in a BCS bowl. The success under second-year coach Will Muschamp came earlier than most people expected, and the senior class played a major role in the acceleration.
“We knew it was going to take some time,” said Bostic, the starting middle linebacker. “We wish it hadn’t taken this long, but we definitely got back to Gator football.”
Bostic is one of 18 seniors who will make their final appearance at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on Saturday. Florida finishes the regular season next week at No. 10 Florida State, then awaits its bowl invitation.
The senior class has been blamed for many shortfalls, but also produced several key starters. Furthermore, seniors like Bostic and defensive tackle Omar Hunter were valuable to Muschamp when he took over the program and began implementing his style of offense and defense.
“Those two have been exactly what we wanted in this program,” he said. “Certainly it helped my transition here. Those are guys I count on as far as their input with our football team, how our locker room is doing, and I think they have done an outstanding job.”
Offensively, no player is more important than Mike Gillislee, a senior who waited his turn through three years of obscurity.
His career totals going into this season were 145 carries, 930 yards and 10 touchdowns. With three games remaining, he already has 191 rushes for 842 yards and seven touchdowns. He is closing in on UF’s first 1,000-yard rushing season since 2004.
The four seniors who start defensively have been excellent this year. Safety Josh Evans leads the team in tackles with 67 and has two interceptions. Bostic is second in tackles and has a career-high three sacks.
Up front, Lerentee McCray made the switch from linebacker to Buck, which is a combination of a defensive end and a linebacker, after junior Ronald Powell injured his knee in the offseason. He has 21 tackles, 2.5 for loss, an interception and a forced fumble.
Hunter has career highs in tackles (32), tackles for loss (three) and pass break-ups (four).
“When I first came in, I wasn’t that mature,” said Hunter, who red-shirted during the 2008 championship season. “I thought everything was going to be handed to me. The more mature I’ve become through the years, I think the better I’ve become as a person and a football player.”
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