ObKnoxiousVol
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and I'm a little ticked. It is written by one of their columnists. Why can't we get the magic back?
"In life, it is good to quit smoking. It is acceptable to quit at politics. And, yes, apparently even not so bad these days to quit at marriage. But among the things where quitting is frowned upon is in the heat of sports competition and in fox holes. Derek Baldry has been in both.
Baldry never saw anybody quit in Afghanistan, where he served two tours of duty as an Army Ranger. And until last Saturday, Baldry had never seen anybody quit on the football field until a player from Tennessee pulled a no mas. On the 49th point, the Vol defender waived the white flag.
I dont want to rush this s--- anymore, Im too f----g tired. the unidentified player reportedly told Baldry about defending Floridas extra point.
When the exhausted Vol begged off the contact in the fourth quarter, the Gator tight end couldnt wait to run off the field and tell strength and conditioning coach Mickey Marotti.
It wasnt about gloating or chiding the opponent. In Urban Meyers Plan to Win, the players begin pushing themselves in the off-season so they can be in tip-top shape. It is uppermost in their minds to win the fourth quarter --- and in doing so, finish off the opponent. They just dont expect SEC players in big-time programs to give up.
Baldry, 25, is a 6-6, 269-pound walk-on senior from Gainesville High School and Santa Fe Community college who plays special teams as a blocker for field goals extra points. His story is one of courage and bravery and tenacity, carved out on the battlefields where he jumped out of planes and waded through ambushes with fellow Rangers.
Sometimes Baldrys teammates didnt survive. On one mission Baldry was heroic enough to be nominated for a Bronze star. He says this part was overblown, but he did decline the nomination because he felt he didnt deserve it. Others on his team were wounded; he also said his commanding officer was new to combat and didnt understand what it was like.
But it was there, in the hot, arid climate of this foreign soil, that Derek Baldry learned his first football moves.
One of my really good friends over there (Jeff Meredith) was a huge LSU fan, Baldry said. So when we beat them in 2003 it was an awesome deal.
In Afghanistan he began tossing a football around --- we ran the red routes --- with Meredith. In their training for the Rangers, they also sometimes emulated football-like conditioning. He had never played football before in his life, but his agility, size impressed friends so much they began encouraging him to try out for football one day.
He joined the Army before 9/11, arriving in Afghanistan Oct. 2001 and staying to January 2002. Then he returned on July 2003 and stayed through April of 2004. From there he returned home and finished community college in 18 months.
On Valentines Day 2006, he went out for the Gator team. Marotti told some of the coaches about his size and agility. They never really asked about his high school football experience until later, but Urban Meyer was impressed with his commitment to physical fitness. Finally, right before two-a-days practice in 2006, Baldry was awarded a scholarship. He soon learned that his conditioning and training as a Ranger was an asset.
Around the Florida locker rooms there are signs everywhere, pushing the athletes to the limit that he says are competitive and almost comical. Everywhere you turn there is another sign that says 4-6 seconds, go as hard as you can.
The point is that if you buy into it and work real hard, you can make guys quit if you try real hard, said Baldry.
Right up to kickoff Saturday, Marotti was going around the locker room chanting, you train for this s---. This is what we train for. Theyre over their worrying about the heat.
The heat, and the Gators, overwhelmed Phil Fulmers team.
Baldry was both amazed and elated that the enemy had been dominated morally, physically and on the scoreboard. This game of football is still relatively new to him, but having lived his life on the principles of his Army Ranger training, Baldry just expected his opponent to fight to the end.
As a Ranger, Baldry was taught never to give up. He couldnt fathom somebody rolling over on his teammates. This guy was just giving up, said Baldry, almost aghast at the thought.
The whole week leading up to it, we were told the best conditioned team, mentally and physically, is going to win the game. They harped on this day after today, for five or six days --- that preparation was everything and were going to out-condition them. Coach Meyer brought up statistics of how Tennessee dominated us in the fourth quarter in previous games, but also provided examples of how we dominated the fourth quarter since hes been coaching here.
On the point-after attempt, after the 48th point, one of the guys rushing, I guess, decided he didnt want to go too hard. Instead of shooting through the gap, which is where he would have come through me, he kind of ran into me and kind of pulled up and said whoa, whoa, whoa as if I were going to deliver a hit to him. Verbatim he said, I dont want to rush this s--- anymore, Im too f----g tired. Thats what he said.
As he was saying whoa, whoa, whoa, I thought the play had been whistle dead or a flag had been thrown or something. I didnt understand what was going on. I kind of looked around real quick and I saw the refs with his arms up in the air, showing it was a good kick, and thats when I tapped him on the head and ran off.
Baldry isnt sure of the players number, but believes it was a linebacker or safety. But when he came off the field, he couldnt wait to tell Marotti and the other coaches and players what had transpired. Why?
Because that was the culmination of everything we worked for. They had harped on us that we were the ones that decided when they quit and they didnt have a choice. It was up to us when we were going to drive that stake home. Basically we did that. And to have it pan out was phenomenal.
Marotti was pleased to hear Baldrys news.
We have a philosophy that the most invested and best-conditioned team wins the game, said Floridas strength and conditioning coach. That investment has a lot to do with what happens in the off season. The way we prepare then translates into what happens during the course of a Saturday and our goal is to get stronger as the game goes on. When Derek came off the field and told me what happened, it was a credit to the approach our players take.
Baldry said that the Gators beat them down for four quarters and they just gave up.
As they say in the Army, Mission Accomplished.
"In life, it is good to quit smoking. It is acceptable to quit at politics. And, yes, apparently even not so bad these days to quit at marriage. But among the things where quitting is frowned upon is in the heat of sports competition and in fox holes. Derek Baldry has been in both.
Baldry never saw anybody quit in Afghanistan, where he served two tours of duty as an Army Ranger. And until last Saturday, Baldry had never seen anybody quit on the football field until a player from Tennessee pulled a no mas. On the 49th point, the Vol defender waived the white flag.
I dont want to rush this s--- anymore, Im too f----g tired. the unidentified player reportedly told Baldry about defending Floridas extra point.
When the exhausted Vol begged off the contact in the fourth quarter, the Gator tight end couldnt wait to run off the field and tell strength and conditioning coach Mickey Marotti.
It wasnt about gloating or chiding the opponent. In Urban Meyers Plan to Win, the players begin pushing themselves in the off-season so they can be in tip-top shape. It is uppermost in their minds to win the fourth quarter --- and in doing so, finish off the opponent. They just dont expect SEC players in big-time programs to give up.
Baldry, 25, is a 6-6, 269-pound walk-on senior from Gainesville High School and Santa Fe Community college who plays special teams as a blocker for field goals extra points. His story is one of courage and bravery and tenacity, carved out on the battlefields where he jumped out of planes and waded through ambushes with fellow Rangers.
Sometimes Baldrys teammates didnt survive. On one mission Baldry was heroic enough to be nominated for a Bronze star. He says this part was overblown, but he did decline the nomination because he felt he didnt deserve it. Others on his team were wounded; he also said his commanding officer was new to combat and didnt understand what it was like.
But it was there, in the hot, arid climate of this foreign soil, that Derek Baldry learned his first football moves.
One of my really good friends over there (Jeff Meredith) was a huge LSU fan, Baldry said. So when we beat them in 2003 it was an awesome deal.
In Afghanistan he began tossing a football around --- we ran the red routes --- with Meredith. In their training for the Rangers, they also sometimes emulated football-like conditioning. He had never played football before in his life, but his agility, size impressed friends so much they began encouraging him to try out for football one day.
He joined the Army before 9/11, arriving in Afghanistan Oct. 2001 and staying to January 2002. Then he returned on July 2003 and stayed through April of 2004. From there he returned home and finished community college in 18 months.
On Valentines Day 2006, he went out for the Gator team. Marotti told some of the coaches about his size and agility. They never really asked about his high school football experience until later, but Urban Meyer was impressed with his commitment to physical fitness. Finally, right before two-a-days practice in 2006, Baldry was awarded a scholarship. He soon learned that his conditioning and training as a Ranger was an asset.
Around the Florida locker rooms there are signs everywhere, pushing the athletes to the limit that he says are competitive and almost comical. Everywhere you turn there is another sign that says 4-6 seconds, go as hard as you can.
The point is that if you buy into it and work real hard, you can make guys quit if you try real hard, said Baldry.
Right up to kickoff Saturday, Marotti was going around the locker room chanting, you train for this s---. This is what we train for. Theyre over their worrying about the heat.
The heat, and the Gators, overwhelmed Phil Fulmers team.
Baldry was both amazed and elated that the enemy had been dominated morally, physically and on the scoreboard. This game of football is still relatively new to him, but having lived his life on the principles of his Army Ranger training, Baldry just expected his opponent to fight to the end.
As a Ranger, Baldry was taught never to give up. He couldnt fathom somebody rolling over on his teammates. This guy was just giving up, said Baldry, almost aghast at the thought.
The whole week leading up to it, we were told the best conditioned team, mentally and physically, is going to win the game. They harped on this day after today, for five or six days --- that preparation was everything and were going to out-condition them. Coach Meyer brought up statistics of how Tennessee dominated us in the fourth quarter in previous games, but also provided examples of how we dominated the fourth quarter since hes been coaching here.
On the point-after attempt, after the 48th point, one of the guys rushing, I guess, decided he didnt want to go too hard. Instead of shooting through the gap, which is where he would have come through me, he kind of ran into me and kind of pulled up and said whoa, whoa, whoa as if I were going to deliver a hit to him. Verbatim he said, I dont want to rush this s--- anymore, Im too f----g tired. Thats what he said.
As he was saying whoa, whoa, whoa, I thought the play had been whistle dead or a flag had been thrown or something. I didnt understand what was going on. I kind of looked around real quick and I saw the refs with his arms up in the air, showing it was a good kick, and thats when I tapped him on the head and ran off.
Baldry isnt sure of the players number, but believes it was a linebacker or safety. But when he came off the field, he couldnt wait to tell Marotti and the other coaches and players what had transpired. Why?
Because that was the culmination of everything we worked for. They had harped on us that we were the ones that decided when they quit and they didnt have a choice. It was up to us when we were going to drive that stake home. Basically we did that. And to have it pan out was phenomenal.
Marotti was pleased to hear Baldrys news.
We have a philosophy that the most invested and best-conditioned team wins the game, said Floridas strength and conditioning coach. That investment has a lot to do with what happens in the off season. The way we prepare then translates into what happens during the course of a Saturday and our goal is to get stronger as the game goes on. When Derek came off the field and told me what happened, it was a credit to the approach our players take.
Baldry said that the Gators beat them down for four quarters and they just gave up.
As they say in the Army, Mission Accomplished.
