14-15 PARTING THOUGHTS

| II Michael Taylor Parting Thoughts: I

| II | III Trenton Brown Parting Thoughts: I

| II | III | IV Anonymous Player Parting Thoughts: I

| II | III Jabari Gorman Parting Thoughts: I

| II Leon Orr Parting Thoughts: I

Inside the Gators' subscribers. After discussing his time at Florida and his preparation for Florida's Pro Day as well as giving his assessment of a few current and former Gators for our "Parting Thoughts" series, former UF linebacker Michael Taylor was kind enough to do a Q&A with' subscribers.

For this segment, we asked Taylor the best questions our members submitted to us.

From 3timeHeisman: Knowing that injuries and a lot of misfortune plagued Will Muschamp's tenure as Florida's coach, what would be your one criticism of him as a coach?

Taylor: I wouldn't say I had any problems with him as a coach. It was just, like you said, some misfortune that happened while he was here, like getting the punt blocked at the end of the game against South Carolina and giving up a 3rd and 23 against Alabama and a 3rd and 25 against LSU. Little things like that, just little things that can lose you games. That was the difference between a much more successful season than the season we just had rather than going simply 7-5.

From bookiebrock: Who is a player on offense that didn't get to play much last year that you expect to break out this season?

Taylor: The one that everybody's probably expecting is The one that everybody's probably expecting is Adam Lane . You guys saw a little bit in the bowl game what he can do. He's been doing that ever since he's got here. It's just good that hopefully now he'll get a chance. I don't know how he's been doing in practice now, but I know how he was when I was here and he was good. He was definitely difficult to tackle. They had him on scout team surprisingly. When he was on scout team, he would give us a better look sometimes than what we got in the game, unless if we played an elite back.

Again from bookiebrock: Who performed the best in practice last season as a whole - Will Grier or Treon Harris?

Taylor: The person who played, Harris. Grier was hurt for a lot of time so we didn't get to see a lot of him, but he was good too though. Just Treon did because he was the one who played. That game experience helps you a long way in practice.

Another question from bookiebrock: Who is the better overall running back - Kelvin Taylor or Adam Lane?

Taylor: I'm a fan of both. I've been an Adam Lane fan ever since he was on scout team that one year, and I've been a KT fan. I call him my cousin because of our last names and stuff. They both have their strong suits. I think they're both good at what they do. Kelvin doesn't have the power that Adam Lane has, and Adam isn't as shifty as Kelvin, but Adam can make you miss and Kelvin has power too. They're both good running backs. I can't say one's better than the other. I would have to see how it's going in practice.

From movinonwapir22: What information can you give us about our current linebackers?

Taylor: They're young. They didn't have a lot of playing experience when I was here. But as they get the playing experience as I did, the game will come easier and they'll be able to play so much faster and make a lot of plays. The DBs are probably going to be the strong point of the defense, but the linebackers will make a lot of plays as well.

From Gator-One: What did you think of Gerald Willis?

Taylor: I thought he was cool. I think he might have been misunderstood by how he carried himself, because he wasn't a bad person. He wasn't a bad dude. Most of the time, you've just got to sit down and talk to a person and see where they're coming from. That's what I learned being here instead of when I was younger. I used to jump to conclusions and wouldn't really worry about the person they were. He wasn't a bad person. He was a good football player, too.

Another question from movinonwapir22: What information have you heard, if any, about head coach Jim McElwain?

Taylor: They haven't really said much about it. They've said it's definitely different. I've just talked to most of the linebackers about how they like Coach They haven't really said much about it. They've said it's definitely different. I've just talked to most of the linebackers about how they like Coach Randy Shannon and they said it's completely different. They said they love him. They said they love how it is and they love how the atmosphere with him. They like it now.

Another question from Gator-One: When did you really feel like there was no way Muschamp would be brought back?

Taylor: I wasn't really thinking about that, but probably after we lost to South Carolina game we kind of knew. Especially how we lost, it was pretty sure.

Again from movinonwapir22: What's your plans post UF? Best of luck going forward, Mike!

Taylor: I've been training so far, working out for Pro Day, getting ready for the draft. We'll see where I'm going. Wherever I'm going, make a 53-man roster, try to make some plays next year and try to get my name out there and keep playing football as long as I can. After I'm done playing I want to get into entertainment, broadcasting of some sorts. I have a pretty good personality and I'm well-spoken, I've heard, so I'd like to use those gifts I have and make a career out of that as well as football.

From jjp79: Who are the fastest offensive and defensive players on the team?

From Adagator55: When was the rift between defensive and offensive players most apparent during the 2013 season? Was it during practice, a game or in the locker room?

Taylor: I wouldn't say it was a rift between the sides of the ball. It was just a rift between individuals being individuals and not playing part of the team role. We counted on those guys and those guys were playmakers, so that was the main thing. It wasn't a rift between sides of the ball.

From mo256: What was the biggest challenge being a student athlete at UF? Just want to get a feel of the day in the life of a UF athlete.

Taylor: I'd say managing time and having a healthy diet, because there were so many times where you couldn't prepare a meal. You had to get something fast. It just wasn't allocated so that you could eat as healthy as you possibly wanted to be. You don't want to be square - you want to have fun and stuff. Then you see all of these girls and stuff, it's a lot of stuff you've got to balance. By your sophomore year you'll be able to balance it, knowing when and where to do what and how to do things.

From floridagators2323: Who was the hardest running back to tackle in practice last year?

Taylor: I'd say Adam Lane when it comes to physically-wise just because he's so low in sense of the ground. He's powerful. With KT in open space is hard, too. I'd probably say it's between the two they have now - it's between KT and Adam Lane.

From Bricks1017: Who was your favorite player to play alongside on defense while at UF?

Taylor: I liked having I liked having Dominique Easley in front of me. That was good. He disrupted a lot. I liked playing with Dante Fowler Jr. I'd have to also say Neiron Ball and Antonio Morrison because we spent so much time together and we worked together so much in practice and stuff like that. It was just cohesive when we were out there.

From JMUTT12: Thanks for being a Gator, Mike. As a Gators football player, which team that you played against was the dirtiest? Which was the cleanest?

Taylor: Vanderbilt use to do some cheap stuff when they had that one coach when he first got there. LSU was tough, I wouldn't say they were dirty. I would probably say it's that Vanderbilt team when he first got there. They used to do some stuff and you'd just be like, 'What are you doing? That's unnecessary. Why are you doing that? Just play football.' I'd probably say a group that was most respectable, that was Missouri. The last two years we played them, they were just upstanding citizens. You would talk mess and would say something disrespectful to them and they were just like, 'OK.' They were just nice guys helping you off the field. And they were good, which kind of disturbed me. Like, 'Say something, talk trash, do something.' Don't just be nice. So I would probably say they were the best group.

Again from JMUTT12: Which team was the toughest you faced?

Taylor: I'd probably say that Texas A&M team. A&M was good. We beat them though. They were a damn good team. I'd probably say that Texas A&M team. A&M was good. We beat them though. They were a damn good team. Johnny Manziel , I actually sacked him. They had some good tackles and Neiron was beating the tackles a couple of times. I don't know how Manziel felt Neiron like twice and he got up out of it. Neiron actually helped me get my sack because he got pressure on them. Neiron was supposed to have that one, and Manziel got out of two other ones, so Neiron was supposed to have three sacks that game. It was difficult chasing him. He was good. LSU, too. When we lost to them 41-11, they were damn good that year. Then they were good my junior when we went to them and lost 17-6. They had Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry and Jeremy Hill

Another question from JMUTT12: Which team was the easiest you faced?

Taylor: Eastern Michigan was pretty easy. Toledo wasn't really able to do much on offense, either. But I'd probably say Eastern Michigan.

Again from Gator-One: Going back to Jeff Driskel and Jacoby Brissett, was there a locker room divide among the players over who should start of those two?

Taylor: It wasn't a divide. We just wanted who gave us the best chance to win that year. We weren't going to make the decision for the coaches. We just wanted who gave us the best chance to win, and that was proved through practice.

The last question from Gator-One: We only beat Georgia one time while you were on the team. How much trash talk do you have to listen to being from that state?

Taylor: I didn't really have to hear it much, because I just went to high school in Georgia because I was from California. My mom had to hear most of it because that's who she worked with - people from Georgia and Alabama. Our last year we won it, so she really won't have to hear anything for the rest of the time because I'm not playing for Florida anymore and the last we played them, we won. Every year, she said, 'Y'all need to beat them. I'm tired of hearing about it at work. Y'all need to beat them because I have to hear about it all year.' I'm pretty sure she's not hearing about it now.

Again from jjp79: Who will take over telling the jokes now with you and Mack Brown gone?

From Hoppo: What is your favorite Adam Sandler movie?

Taylor: I'd probably say "Big Daddy." "Little Nicky" is a good one with the dog Mr. Beefy. I also like "Eight Crazy Nights," that's funny.