2012 Florida Gators football team

The 2012 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida in the sport of American football during the 2012 college football season. The Gators competed in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC), and played their home games at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on the university's Gainesville, Florida campus. The 2012 season was the Gators' second under head coach Will Muschamp. They finished the season with 11–2 overall, 7–1 SEC. The team was invited to the 2013 Sugar Bowl, where they lost to the Louisville Cardinals, 33–23.

2012 Florida Gators football
SEC Eastern Division co-champion
Sugar Bowl, L 23–33 vs. Louisville
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Division	Eastern Division
Ranking
Coaches	No. 10
AP	No. 9
Record	11–2 (7–1 SEC)
Head coach	Will Muschamp (2nd season)
Offensive coordinator	Brent Pease (1st season)
Offensive scheme	Multiple
Defensive coordinator	Dan Quinn (2nd season)
Base defense	Multiple 4–3
Home stadium	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium[1]
Seasons ← 2011 2013 →

2012 Southeastern Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
Eastern Division
No. T–5 Georgia xy		7	–	1					12	–	2
No. 9 Florida x%		7	–	1					11	–	2
No. 8 South Carolina		6	–	2					11	–	2
No. 23 Vanderbilt		5	–	3					9	–	4
Missouri		2	–	6					5	–	7
Tennessee		1	–	7					5	–	7
Kentucky		0	–	8					2	–	10
Western Division
No. 1 Alabama x$#		7	–	1					13	–	1
No. 14 LSU *		6	–	2					10	–	3
No. T–5 Texas A&M		6	–	2					11	–	2
Mississippi State		4	–	4					8	–	5
Ole Miss *		3	–	5					7	–	6
Arkansas		2	–	6					4	–	8
Auburn		0	–	8					3	–	9
Championship: Alabama 32, Georgia 28
# – BCS National Champion $ – BCS representative as conference champion % – BCS at-large representative x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant * Ole Miss and LSU vacated all wins due to NCAA violations. Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

The 2012 Orange and Blue Debut game was played on April 7 at 1 p.m. and was televised on Sun Sports.^[2] Blue defeated Orange 21–20 in front of 38,100 fans.^[3]

The October 20 game against South Carolina hosted ESPN's College Gameday.^[4] In addition, their road games against Texas A&M and Tennessee were also hosted by College GameDay.

Image from Florida–Vanderbilt game.

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 1	Bowling Green*	No. 23	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL	ESPN	W 27–14	84,704
September 8	at Texas A&M	No. 24	Kyle Field College Station, TX (College GameDay)	ESPN	W 20–17	87,114
September 15	at No. 23 Tennessee	No. 18	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN (College GameDay) (rivalry)	ESPN	W 37–20	102,455
September 22	Kentucky	No. 14	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL (rivalry)	SECN	W 38–0	87,102
October 6	No. 4 LSU	No. 10	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL (rivalry)	CBS	W 14–6	90,824
October 13	at Vanderbilt	No. 4	Vanderbilt Stadium Nashville, TN	ESPNU	W 31–17	40,350
October 20	No. 9 South Carolina	No. 3	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL (College GameDay)	CBS	W 44–11	90,833
October 27	vs. No. 12 Georgia	No. 3	EverBank Field Jacksonville, FL (rivalry)	CBS	L 9–17	84,644
November 3	Missouri	No. 8	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL	ESPN2	W 14–7	90,496
November 10	Louisiana–Lafayette*	No. 7	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL	SECN	W 27–20	86,482
November 17	Jacksonville State*	No. 7	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL	PPV	W 23–0	82,691
November 24	at No. 10 Florida State*	No. 6	Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, FL (rivalry)	ABC	W 37–26	83,429
January 2, 2013	vs. No. 22 Louisville*	No. 4	Superdome New Orleans, LA (Sugar Bowl) (College GameDay)	ESPN	L 23–33	54,178
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released before game time

Source:^[5]

Rankings

See also: 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
( ) = First-place votes

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	Final
AP	23	24	18	14	11	10	4	3	3 (1)	8	7	7	6	5	4	9
Coaches	23	23	17	14	12	11	6	4	3	8	7	7	6	5	4	10
Harris	Not released						6	3	3 (1)	8	7	7	5	5	4	Not released
BCS	Not released							2	2	7	6	6	4	4	3	Not released

Roster

2012 Florida Gators roster
Quarterbacks 6 Jeff Driskel – sophomore 9 Jacob Guy – freshman 10 Tyler Murphy – sophomore 12 Jacoby Brissett – sophomore 13 Christian Provancha – sophomore 17 Skyler Mornhinweg – freshman 19 Ryan McGriff – freshman Running backs 16 Scott Peek – senior 23 Mike Gillislee – senior 24 Matt Jones – freshman 32 Chris Johnson – sophomore 33 Mack Brown – sophomore 35 Jessie Schmitt – freshman 37 Mark Herndon – freshman 41 Hunter Joyer – sophomore Wide receivers 1 Quinton Dunbar – sophomore 4 Eric Rumph – junior 8 Trey Burton – junior 13 Latroy Pittman – freshman 15 Ryan Parrish – junior 30 Michael McNeely – sophomore 33 Chris Maignan – junior 81 Darius Masline – freshman 83 Solomon Patton – junior 85 Frankie Hammond – senior 86 Raphael Andrades – freshman 87 A. J. Mobley – sophomore 89 Stephen Alli – junior Tight ends 11 Jordan Reed – junior 18 Kent Taylor – freshman 20 Omarius Hines – senior 80 Tevin Westbrook – sophomore 82 Bair Diamond – freshman 84 Colin Thompson – freshman 88 Clay Burton – sophomore		Offensive line 50 Sam Robey – senior 62 Cole Gilliam – junior 63 Trip Thurman – freshman 64 Kyle Koehne – junior 65 Tommy Jordan – freshman 66 James Wilson – senior 67 Jon Halapio – junior 68 John Reichardt – senior 70 D. J. Humphries – freshman 71 Matt Patchan – junior 72 Jonotthan Harrison – junior 73 Xavier Nixon – senior 74 Jessamen Dunker – freshman 75 Chaz Green – sophomore 76 Max Garcia – Incoming Transfer 77 Ian Silberman – sophomore Defensive line 2 Dominique Easley – junior 4 Damien Jacobs – junior 6 Dante Fowler – freshman 7 Ronald Powell – junior 44 Leon Orr – sophomore 57 Dakota Wilson – freshman 58 Nick Alajajian – senior 68 John Reichardt – junior 73 Sharrif Floyd – junior 90 Jonathan Bullard – freshman 91 Earl Okine – senior 93 Kedric Johnson – junior 94 Bryan Cox Jr. – freshman 95 Alex McCallister – freshman 98 Quinteze Williams – freshman 99 Omar Hunter – senior		Linebackers 1 Jon Bostic – senior 3 Jelani Jenkins – junior 11 Neiron Ball – sophomore 12 Antonio Morrison – freshman 25 Gideon Ajagbe – sophomore 28 Jeremi Powell – freshman 34 Lerentee McCray – senior 36 David Campbell – junior 48 Wes Owings – freshman 49 Darrin Kitchens – junior 51 Michael Taylor – sophomore 53 Cody Adams – freshman Cornerbacks 5 Marcus Roberson – sophomore 8 Jeremy Brown – junior 14 Jaylen Watkins – junior 15 Loucheiz Purifoy – sophomore 22 Hugh Miles – freshman 24 Brian Poole – freshman 27 Willie Bailey – freshman 31 Cody Riggs – junior Safeties 9 Josh Evans – senior 10 Valdez Showers – freshman 20 Marcus Maye – freshman 21 Jabari Gorman – sophomore 21 Evan Schroeder – freshman 22 Matt Elam – junior 26 De'Ante Saunders – sophomore 27 Ben Peacock – freshman 29 Rhaheim Ledbetter – freshman 30 Tim Clark – junior		Punters 0 Grant Van Aman – freshman 4 Kyle Christy – sophomore 39 Todd Fennell – freshman 40 Justin Vogel – freshman Kickers 16 Austin Hardin – freshman 19 Caleb Sturgis – senior 47 John Crofoot – junior 95 Francisco Velez – junior 97 Brad Phillips – junior Long snappers 43 Kyle Crofoot – freshman 46 Drew Ferris – junior 54 Christopher Guido – senior

Coaching staff

• Wide receivers coach Aubrey Hill resigned during the offseason, so Pease and graduate assistant Bush Hamdan coached wide receivers.

Name	Current responsibilities	Joined staff
Will Muschamp	Head coach	2011
Brent Pease	Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks*	2012
Dan Quinn	Defensive coordinator	2011
D.J. Durkin	Linebackers/Special Teams	2010
Tim Davis	offensive line/Running game coordinator	2012
Brian White	Running Backs	2009
Derek Lewis	Tight Ends	2011
Travaris Robinson	Defensive Backs	2011
Bryant Young	Defensive line	2011

Recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Raphael Andrades WR	Tallahassee, Florida	Lincoln	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Feb 1, 2012
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Willie Bailey CB	Hallandale, Florida	Hallandale	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	165 lb (75 kg)	Apr 6, 2011
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Jonathan Bullard DE	Shelby, North Carolina	Crest	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	255 lb (116 kg)	Jan 7, 2012
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Bryan Cox Jr. DE	Fort Lauderdale, Florida	St. Thomas Aquinas	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	230 lb (100 kg)	Jan 21, 2012
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Jessamen Dunker OL	Boynton Beach, Florida	Boynton Beach	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	315 lb (143 kg)	Mar 21, 2011
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Dante Fowler DE	St. Petersburg, Florida	Lakewood	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	Feb 1, 2012
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Austin Hardin K	Atlanta, Georgia	Marist Brothers	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Jun 22, 2011
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
D.J. Humphries OL	Charlotte, North Carolina	Mallard Creek	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	270 lb (120 kg)	Aug 5, 2011
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Damien Jacobs DT	Scooba, Mississippi	East Mississippi C.C.	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	295 lb (134 kg)	Dec 21, 2011
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN: N/A
Matt Jones RB	Seffner, Florida	Armwood	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Feb 15, 2011
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Rhaheim Ledbetter S	Boiling Springs, North Carolina	Crest	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Jul 15, 2011
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Jafar Mann DT	Stone Mountain, Georgia	Stephenson	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	275 lb (125 kg)	Mar 25, 2011
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Marcus Maye S	Melbourne, Florida	Holy Trinity	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Jul 18, 2011
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Alex McCalister DE	Clemmons, North Carolina	West Forsyth	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Jan 23, 2012
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Skyler Mornhinweg QB	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	St. Joseph's	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Jan 27, 2012
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Antonio Morrison LB	Bolingbrook, Illinois	Bolingbrook	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Aug 3, 2011
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Latroy Pittman WR	Citra, Florida	North Marion	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Aug 18, 2010
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Brian Poole CB	Bradenton, Florida	Southeast	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Jun 14, 2011
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Jeremi Powell MLB	Largo, Florida	Pinellas Park	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Feb 19, 2011
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Kent Taylor TE	Land O' Lakes, Florida	Land O' Lakes	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Oct 27, 2011
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Colin Thompson TE	Warminster, Pennsylvania	Archbishop Wood Catholic	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	255 lb (116 kg)	May 5, 2011
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Quinteze Williams DE	Tyrone, Georgia	Sandy Creek	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	290 lb (130 kg)	Mar 30, 2011
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 5   Rivals: 3  247Sports: 4  ESPN: 4
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2012 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

Season summary

Bowling Green

1 2 3 4 Total Bowling Green 7 0 7 0 14 • Florida 0 14 3 10 27 Date: September 1 Location: Ben Hill Griffin Stadium

Texas A&M

1 2 3 4 Total • Florida 7 3 3 7 20 Texas A&M 3 14 0 0 17 Date: September 8 Location: Kyle Field

Tennessee

1 2 3 4 Total • Florida 7 3 17 10 37 Tennessee 7 7 6 0 20 Date: September 15 Location: Neyland Stadium

Kentucky

1 2 3 4 Total Kentucky 0 0 0 0 0 • Florida 3 21 7 7 38 Date: September 22 Location: Ben Hill Griffin Stadium

LSU

1 2 3 4 Total LSU 3 3 0 0 6 • Florida 0 0 7 7 14 Date: October 6 Location: Ben Hill Griffin Stadium

Vanderbilt

1 2 3 4 Total • Florida 0 11 7 13 31 Vanderbilt 7 0 0 10 17 Date: October 13 Location: Vanderbilt Stadium

South Carolina

1 2 3 4 Total South Carolina 3 3 2 3 11 • Florida 7 14 16 7 44 Date: October 20 Location: Ben Hill Griffin Stadium

Georgia

1 2 3 4 Total Florida 0 6 0 3 9 • Georgia 7 0 3 7 17 Date: October 27 Location: Everbank Field

Missouri

1 2 3 4 Total Missouri 0 7 0 0 7 • Florida 0 0 7 7 14 Date: November 3 Location: Ben Hill Griffin Stadium

Louisiana-Lafayette

1 2 3 4 Total Louisiana 3 0 14 3 20 • Florida 3 7 3 14 27 Date: November 10 Location: Ben Hill Griffin Stadium

Jacksonville State

1 2 3 4 Total Jacksonville St 0 0 0 0 0 • Florida 10 0 7 6 23 Date: November 17 Location: Ben Hill Griffin Stadium

Florida State

See also: 2012 Florida State Seminoles football team and Florida–Florida State football rivalry

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Florida	3	10	0	24	37
Florida State	0	3	17	6	26

Game information
Florida Jeff Driskel 15/23, 147 Yds, TD Mike Gillislee 24 Rush, 140 Yds, 2 TD Jordan Reed 4 Rec, 54 Yds Florida State EJ Manuel 18/33, 182 Yds, TD, 3 INT 12 Rush, 54 Yds, 2 TD Rashad Greene 5 Rec, 65 Yds

#6 Florida Gators (10–1) at #10 Florida State Seminoles (10–1)

at Doak Campbell Stadium • Tallahassee, Florida

• Date: November 24
• Game time: 3:30 p.m. EDT
• Game weather: Sunny • 66 °F (19 °C) • Wind N/NW 10 miles per hour (16 km/h; 8.7 kn)
• Game attendance: 83,429
• Referee: Brad Allen
• Automated ScoreBook

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP FLA FSU 1 9:13 14 54 5:47 Florida 39-yard field goal by Caleb Sturgis 3 0 2 6:53 10 54 4:59 Florida 45-yard field goal by Caleb Sturgis 6 0 2 5:26 3 21 1:20 Florida Mike Gillislee 9-yard touchdown run, Caleb Sturgis kick good 13 0 2 0:00 9 56 2:10 Florida State 50-yard field goal by Dustin Hopkins 13 3 3 10:27 4 25 1:06 Florida State Nick O'Leary 6-yard touchdown reception from EJ Manuel, Dustin Hopkins kick good 13 10 3 8:30 2 26 1:49 Florida State EJ Manuel 1-yard touchdown run, Dustin Hopkins kick good 13 17 3 4:24 4 13 1:15 Florida State 53-yard field goal by Dustin Hopkins 13 20 4 13:27 13 64 5:53 Florida 32-yard field goal by Caleb Sturgis 16 20 4 11:01 1 37 0:08 Florida Mike Gillislee 37-yard touchdown run, Caleb Sturgis kick good 23 20 4 7:00 5 32 2:23 Florida Quinton Dunbar 14-yard touchdown reception from Jeff Driskel, Caleb Sturgis kick good 30 20 4 2:33 4 56 1:25 Florida Matt Jones 32-yard touchdown run, Caleb Sturgis kick good 37 20 4 0:00 11 77 2:28 Florida State EJ Manuel 22-yard touchdown run 37 26 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 37 26

Sugar Bowl

1 2 3 4 Total • Louisville 14 10 6 3 33 Florida 0 10 0 13 23 Date: January 2 Location: Mercedes-Benz Superdome Game weather: Indoors (dome)

Players drafted into the NFL

See also: 2013 NFL draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	NFL club
1	23	Sharrif Floyd	DT	Minnesota Vikings
1	32	Matt Elam	S	Baltimore Ravens
2	50	Jon Bostic	LB	Chicago Bears
3	85	Jordan Reed	TE	Washington Redskins
4	104	Jelani Jenkins	LB	Miami Dolphins
5	164	Mike Gillislee	RB	Miami Dolphins
5	166	Caleb Sturgis	K	Miami Dolphins
6	169	Josh Evans	S	Jacksonville Jaguars

References

1. University of Florida Sports Information Department. "Florida 2012 Media Guide" (PDF). floridagators.com. University Athletic Association, Inc. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
2. "Orange & Blue Debut, Presented by Sunniland, Set for April 7". gatorzone.com. Archived from the original on January 27, 2012. Retrieved January 20, 2012.
3. "Gator Football Boxscores". gatorzone.com. Archived from the original on October 8, 2012. Retrieved October 3, 2012.
4. "ESPN College Football". ESPN. Archived from the original on January 26, 2009. Retrieved October 20, 2012.
5. "Gator Football Schedule/Results - GatorZone.com". Archived from the original on April 28, 2011. Retrieved December 28, 2011.