There is something in the air in
Will Muschamp was born in Rome,
Georgia but grew up in Gainesville, Florida. He attended Martha Manson
Academy elementary school and Oak Hall High School in Gainesville . His family moved back to Rome , where his father became the head master
of the Darlington School, and where he graduated from
high school. Muschamp played football, basketball, baseball, and ran track for
the Darlington Tigers. Muschamp attended
the University of Georgia in Athens,
Georgia. He walked on to the Georgia Bulldogs football team and played
safety from 1991 to 1994. As an undergraduate, he
was initiated into the Kappa Alpha Order (Gamma Chapter) and also earned a
spot on the SEC Academic Honor Roll in 1993. He was a defensive team
captain his senior season, and played in two bowl games with the
Bulldogs. Current Georgia offensive coordinator and former
Bulldogs quarterback Mike Bobo, who was Muschamp's college teammate, described
him as "a hard worker, Very physical, and Very intense, "Muschamp
graduated from the University of Georgia with a bachelor's degree in 1994. Will Muschamp was born
to Coach in College Football, and he is very good at it. After graduating from
Georgia, Muschamp became a graduate assistant coach at Auburn
University, where he worked under defensive coordinators Wayne Hall and Bill Oliver
in 1995 and 1996 He
earned a master's degree in education from Auburn in 1996,
then spent a season each at the University of West Georgia and Eastern Kentucky University as the
defensive backs coach, before becoming the defensive coordinator at Valdosta State University in 2000.
LSU Tigers - Muschamp joined Nick Saban's
staff at LSU as the linebackers coach in 2001, before rising to become the LSU
defensive coordinator in 2002. In 2003, LSU won the BCS
Championship. That season, Muschamp's defense led the nation in both
scoring defense (11.0 points per game) and total defense (252.0 yards per
game). The Tigers topped the SEC in every major defensive category and also
ranked second nationally in defensive pass efficiency (89.8 rating) and third
in rushing defense (67.0 yards per game). While
at LSU, Muschamp coached four All-Americans including Bradie
James, Chad Lavalais, Corey
Webster and Marcus Spears. Muschamp left LSU with
Saban after the 2004 season to join the Miami
Dolphins staff as the assistant head coach and defensive coordinator.
Auburn Tigers - When the Auburn
defensive coordinator position became available in January 2006, Muschamp took
the opportunity to return to the college game. In 2006, Muschamp's first season
at Auburn , the
defense finished seventh among NCAA Division I-FBS teams in scoring defense,
allowing only 21 touchdowns. In 2007, Auburn led the SEC in
scoring defense and finished in the top 10 in four defensive categories
(ranking 7th nationally in pass efficiency
and 6th nationally in total defense passing defense and scoring defenses among
NCAA Division I-FBS teams).
Florida Gators - On December 11, 2010, University of Florida athletic
director Jeremy Foley named Will Muschamp to succeed Urban Meyer
as the head coach of the Florida Gators football program. In his first year as head coach, he led the Gators to a 7–6 record and a 24–17 Gator
Bowl victory over the Ohio State Buckeyes. Coach Muschamp
also proved himself an adept recruiter, bringing in the No. 3 recruiting class
in the nation according to Rivals.com. So here we go and Gator Nation is starting to
love their coach. Coach Champ has most certainly squashed any rumors that he
may be sitting on the hot seat after having a dismal 2011 season, so far he has
lead the Gators to a 3-0 start 2-0 in the SEC and has his Gators getting better
every week.
So hey Gator Nation! How do you like the
new look of Florida Gator football? I am sure if you're old school, Will
Muschamp should get two thumbs up from you. Most teams don't come with the
amount of talented players that Coach Muschamp inherited. Of course, just being
talented isn't the end-all in creating a good football team. You must have the
correct type of talent for your schemes. Still, having great athletes all
around you makes for good situations during the transition. An example of that
was Chris Rainey. The lightening fast scat back isn't the type of running back
Coach Muschamp would recruit for the Gators' new schemes. But, it was sure nice
having his 233 total yards and touchdown versus Tennessee during last year's transition.
That's an example of what great existing talent can do for you during the lean
times of a transition. The Gators have a lot of talent. And Coach Muschamp and
his staff are excellent recruiters. As a result, Florida
has nearly completed what many would consider a three-year transition even
though this week is only the third game of Muschamp's second season at Florida . However, it is
clear that the team has changed from being centered on Urban Meyer's spread offensive
system to Will Muschamp's more conventional pro set. The LA Times Sports section Read The Florida Gators
put together another road rally Jeff Driskel threw two touchdown
passes and Trey Burton ran for a pair of scores as No. 18 Florida scored the
game's final 24 points to beat No. 23 Tennessee now think about it, The Swamp
is in Gainsville Florida, and they are getting national attention. Florida is quickly developing a reputation as
the Southeastern Conference's
comeback kings. Flodida QB Jeff Driskel is really starting to come into
his own, he just gets better and better as the season moves forward, Driskel
threw two touchdown passes and the very
explosive and dangerous Trey Burton who ignited the Gators and ran for a pair of
scores as No. 18 Florida scored the game's final 24 points to beat No. 23 Tennessee, 37-20, on
Saturday. This only proves that the Team is buying into and believing in the
Coach. The Gators have won eight straight against
their SEC East rivals, and for the second straight week came from behind on the
road to win a conference game.
The
Gators (3-0, 2-0) rallied from a 17-10 halftime deficit to win 20-17 at Texas
A&M last week. Florida
lost all five games it trailed at halftime last season. Gators Coach Will Muschamp said there's a
"night-and-day" difference in the toughness of this year's Florida team. "I'm really proud of our effort, coming on
the road two weeks in a row," Muschamp said. "We were really poised
at halftime again, no bickering [or] finger-pointing, just doing what we needed
to do to get this thing going. "Mike Gillislee ran for 115 yards to lead a
336-yard rushing effort for the Gators, who have outrushed Tennessee (2-1, 0-1) in each of their eight
consecutive victories over the Volunteers.
Burton added 91
rushing yards in only three carries. Driskel ran for 81 yards on eight
attempts, and he also went 14-of-20 for 219 yards passing. "We've put a tremendous emphasis on
winning the fourth quarter, winning the second half and wearing down our opponent,"
Muschamp said. "That's
something we've been able to do in the first three ballgames. That's something
our kids have bought into doing." As for me, I believe the Gators can most
definitely win the East. The Gators look really good so far, and what is most
impressive is their ability to adjust and over come adversity at the half, you have to love their never say die new attitudes. I know I sure do. So it’s a new day in Gainesville these days, and there is a new Sheriff in town and his name is Coach “Champ”,
and he has most certainly put the swagger back in the Mighty Gators Step ~
Donnie Bolena