Pouncey, Florida’s center and one of five team captains, made some brash comments about his teammates during training camp. Now that the season is about to begin, he is changing his tune (not that that’s a bad thing).
Here are two examples from today’s press conference:
*************************************************************************
– Aug. 18: “You’ll see on Saturdays who are the guys that toughed it out through camp and didn’t fake an injury. There’s a lot, man, but those guys ain’t going to play.”
Today: “It was just a joke. It was a message trying to get those guys to come back to practice because we’re going to need everybody on this team this year to be successful.”
*************************************************************************
– Aug. 24: “The freshmen need to shut their mouths and just come play. They haven’t done nothing on Saturday and most of the fans don’t even know who they are. Until they prove themselves, they just need to sit back and let the older guys play. That whole recruiting class is cocky. I hate when guys come in and talk too much and don’t show nothing on the field. But with this great recruiting class that we have, all of them played good, but it’s time for them to shut up.”
Today: “We came here as Gators and we’re going to leave as Gators. I didn’t mean to separate them. I know it came out that way, but I love all those guys. I’m going to respect them and they’re going to respect me.”
*************************************************************************
It makes an observer wonder which one he really meant. Was there some truth to Pouncey’s initial comments or did his mouth just run away from him in front of the cameras? Either way, it’s all peace and love and unity from here on out.
