Football is fun again for Tyler Moore and Max Garcia.
And it was worth the wait.
Both of them fled what they viewed as toxic situations at their former schools and found refuge at Florida. Their happiness is paying off for the Gators, who are working them as first-string offensive linemen heading toward the Aug. 31 season opener against Toledo.
“Greatest decision in my life,” said Garcia, one of 24 players to bolt from Maryland in coach Randy Edsall’s first year there.
Edsall was heavily criticized for his management style, and Garcia left despite starting every game at left tackle. He attributed his exit to a combination of “personal issues, academic issues and athletic issues.” Taking a year off sounded better than another year under Edsall, so he came to UF and practiced on the scout team all of last season.
Moore is equally grateful to be at Florida. He grew up in Clearwater, but signed with Nebraska because his father and two other relatives had played there. His Cornhuskers’ career opened beautifully, starting the first four games of the 2011 season as a true freshman. Gradually, however, his playing time diminished and he grew disinterested in living the family legacy.
“Little things that I had to deal with at Nebraska made me slowly hate the game,” he said, although he provided no specifics other than being demoted to second-string and not playing enough.
When pressed, he continued, “I was busting my butt all year practicing and trying to get some playing time and still only got a few plays here and there. It’s just what the coaches wanted to do.”
Gators coach Will Muschamp said the “No. 1 deciding factor” in Moore’s decision was homesickness. Either way, Moore was so disgusted with his freshman experience that he left football completely and attended St. Petersburg Community College.
That school does not have a football program, but Moore did not care. He believed he was finished with sports and began contemplating career options.
“I was just expecting to finish out college and get a job,” he said.
Was he really done? If he transferred to play football, he would be red-shirt sophomore with three years of eligibility left. Seeing a shortfall on his offensive line, Muschamp figured it was worth checking.
“We asked him about that situation, and he said, ‘No. In the right situation, I would love to play again,’” Muschamp said. “I’ve seen nothing but a guy that works extremely hard, has a great work ethic and has great passion for the game.”
Moore explained his brief retirement by saying, “After going to Nebraska, I just hated the game, so I wasn’t ready to go back to it. Once I got away from it a little bit, I was ready to go back in.”
He and Garcia were valuable acquisitions for a program that needed quick fixes up front. The staff saw promise in three homegrown returning offensive linemen, but the rest of the Gators’ depth was questionable.
Garcia — a red-shirt junior who is 6-foot-4, 307 pounds — won the left guard job in spring and should start there against Toledo. He was fine with moving from left tackle, the only offensive line spot even remotely considered to be glamorous. He was willing to play any position as long as it was not at Maryland.
Moore is viable at every spot on the line due to his size (6-foot-6, 312 pounds) and versatility. He has been at right guard while incumbent starter Jon Halapio recovers from a torn left pectoral muscle, and likely will move to right tackle when Halapio is back. Florida would have to decide between Moore and red-shirt junior Chaz Green at right tackle.
The Gators plan to fill out the rest of their lineup with sophomore D.J. Humphries at left tackle and red-shirt senior Jonotthan Harrison at center. Moore could switch positions and fill in for any one of them if needed.
“We’ve been able to plug him in across the board,” Muschamp said of Moore. “A guy that can go in and play different spots, different angles, different assignments and different techniques — he’s going to be a huge member of our football team.”
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