One
of the key members of coach Will Muschamp’s staff left the Gators
for Ohio State.
Mickey Marotti, the school’s director of
strength and conditioning, joined ex-Florida coach Urban Meyer with
the Buckeyes. Meyer brought Marotti to Gainesville in 2005 and was
expected to lure him to Ohio State.
Muschamp
retained him when he took over for Meyer in January. Losing Marotti
is significant because he runs the team’s off-season conditioning
program. For the past seven years, he has been a pseudo-coach during
time periods when the actual coaches are not allowed to have contact
with players.
“That’s
a critical hire,” Muschamp said. “Mickey did a great job at the
University of Florida and I appreciate his efforts. But again, we
need to get stronger, we need to get more physically and mentally
tough, and that’s a critical hire for me.”
He
said there have been no departures from the coaching staff.
It
is logical that Meyer also will pursue Florida linebackers coach D.J.
Durkin and running backs coach Brian White. He hired both of them to
work for the Gators, and Durkin worked as a graduate assistant under
Meyer at Bowling Green.
Plus,
there was a recent report in the Columbus
Dispatch
that Meyer wanted to hire Florida receivers coach and recruiting
coordinator Aubrey Hill, who has strong relationships with high
schools in South Florida.
“Our
coaching staff is intact,” Muschamp said. “We’ve had coaches on
our staff have other options, have other opportunities. Again, I’m
excited about the continuity of our staff and our staff is in place.”
MLB
Jon Bostic was asked last month about the possibility of Marotti
leaving Florida and said, “He’s one of those guys you can always
go in and talk to. Obviously, he’s not a coach, but he’s not just
a strength coach. He’s a good guy. When you get recruited he’s
one of those guys that’s going to recruit you because you’ll
spend the next four or five years with him.”
