When I asked the question, it was almost as if the subject was too much to talk about. On the stage in front of the media at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl hotel sat Florida junior linebacker David Reese, junior defensive back Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, and senior defensive end CeCe Jefferson. I stated that the three won’t play together as Gators after Saturday’s game with Michigan. And then to say something about the other two.

Gardner-Johnson, who already had been a little emotional when talking about his step father earlier and the fact that he took on the man’s last name out of his respect and love, sighed and shook his head about answering a question about his brothers on the stage and the last few days of all playing together as Gators.

But, the uncle or grandpa of the group, Jefferson took the mic first and started thinking out loud.

“I'll start first, since I'm the oldest,” Jefferson said. “With Chauncey, when he first came in, Chauncey was the most aggravating person in the world. He would never stop talking. Every corner you turn, you heard Chauncey Gardner. I'm extremely proud, watching him over the years, the way he's matured, the way he's being the leader of the team, embracing the role. Now when Chauncey talks, everybody listens because everybody knows he goes out and works hard. Whatever he says, you should definitely listen to him because he can definitely help you. He just comes out to work every day and he's had an amazing season. And I'm extremely proud of this guy.

“David Reese, he's the guy that comes in, works hard every day, doesn't complain about anything. So generous, helps out his linebackers. He's a huge communicator, so that's huge on any football team. He's been that way since he stepped foot on campus. So extremely blessed to have the opportunity to play with both of these guys and make memories with them and I'll never forget you guys. I love ya.”

While Gardner-Johnson was still gathering his thoughts, Reese took over the microphone.

“Chauncey, man, that was my first roommate,” Reese said shaking his head. “Crazy experience with that man. I didn't know nothing about Florida. I didn't know nothing about anything about down south. He's the first one telling me, oh, man you got Florida, man, it's DBU. Let's get some work in the endo. I'm like, man, I ain't even moved in yet. That guy's a character. I love him to death. We did so much together, living at Keys (apartment complex), doing all types of crazy stuff. We had me, Josh (Hammond). We had a great room. Just watching him grow up, like I said, he really took strides, really matured a lot since he first got here.

“And C is like an uncle. He's the old man on campus since I've been here. He's been doing big things since I been here freshman year. That's one of those guys you always knew about when you hear about the program, hear about the guys. You heard of Cece Jefferson. You see everybody wearing 96. You see how he treats his family. You know he cares about us. He means a great deal.”

Gardner-Johnson was more reflective of the first time he was with Jefferson and still a recruit.

“I'll start with Cece,” Gardner-Johnson said. “We've been boys since we rode scooters on my visit. We got past a lot of media people, and we were just laughing and joking. In that moment there, it changed my life. At that time, I didn't know what school I was going to choose. Just bonding with a player. Most players, you go to their house, play the game, sit around, chill, wait for the letter. We rode around on scooters on campus for like three hours. That was what I cherish.”

“… if you're with Cece, you know you're good. Other than that, you know, like I said, he treats his family and his teammates the same way. You see Cece, you see Little Luke (Jefferson’s young boy). When you see Cece, when I first met Little Luke, he's bad. You know he loves his dad and his dad love him. I cherish every moment I have with him.”

“Reese, that cat's weird. Being from Michigan, when we first moved in together, with his big old Timberlands, I ain't never seen Timberland before. So just meeting him and his family, it's a blessing because you may never know what happens in the future. We're brothers. Every day, we talk about different stuff. Been through a lot of stuff. Keys, went to Best Buy, bought the lights to hook up in the house. Had Christmas lights inside the house, running every day. So, you know you don't pay rent in the dorms, you can run the light bill up. Like I said, me, Reese, Josh, Jachai, Jordan, doing good now. Bonding with my boys, being there, all three years, you know, it's been tough. It's going to be hard telling these guys goodbye. But every day they know they have a brother, they can call any time, answer the phone, I'm still going to be aggravating. So, it's all love.”

Gardner-Johnson has declared for the NFL Draft early and will skip his final year of eligibility in 2019. Jefferson will finish his senior season off in the Peach Bowl. Reese is likely to stick around for his final season in 2019 as a true junior now.

They may play on the same team in the NFL someday. But when they suit up Saturday versus Michigan it will be the last time they play as Florida Gators together. That’s not the part they want to end.