Swamp Things: A podcast about the Florida Gators

DJ Lagway’s recovery from a calf injury continues, with Florida’s quarterback participating in 11-on-11 for the first time in fall camp. A modest step could have massive implications, especially given the Gators’ uncertainty behind him. Meanwhile, injuries at receiver have given true freshman Vernell Brown III even more opportunity to establish a key role. UF’s talent, depth and direction have earned preseason praise, including a N...

Florida quarterback DJ Lagway’s health remains a concern as the Gators’ Aug. 30 season opener looms. Lagway’s workload will be modified for a while because of a left calf injury as he also continues to progress from an offseason shoulder issue. UF’s fortunes likely hinge on the availability of the sophomore, who turned 20 a day after the Gators checked in at No. 15 in the preseason AP Top 25 featuring 10 SEC teams - six of the Flor...

Florida quarterback DJ Lagway is throwing in front of reporters for the first time since the Gasparilla Bowl, a positive step as he returns from shoulder, core and calf injuries. Lagway’s health could be the key to Billy Napier’s fourth season, though the embattled coach now has a roster better equipped to handle setbacks and able to support whoever lines up at QB. Napier hopes he doesn’t have to put his team’s depth to the test ag...

Florida opens fall camp Wednesday as Billy Napier begins his fourth season in Gainesville. Napier has put together the Gators best roster in years, but all eyes will be on sophomore quarterback DJ Lagway as he returns from a shoulder injury. While Lagway’s health status remains a mystery, coach Todd Golden revealed transfer guard Boogie Fland is recovering from sports hernia surgery as the reigning national champions conclude summe...

SEC media picked Florida to finish sixth a season after Billy Napier’s team was picked to finish 12th in the expanded 16-team conference. 2024 newcomer Texas is expected to win the league, ahead of Georgia. Each is on UF’s daunting 2025 schedule, but Napier is confident his team can go toe-to-toe with anyone. A big reason is sophomore QB DJ Lagway, who claimed a clean bill of health at Media Days but was left off the three All-SEC ...

All-American guard Walter Clayton Jr. was recognized one final time after he spearheaded the Gators’ national title, earning SEC Male Athlete of the Year honors. The Lake Wales native became the record 14th UF athlete to earn the distinction, including three in a row, and first SEC men’s basketball player since 2012. Clayton is onto his career’s next chapter, playing in the NBA summer league along with former backcourt mates Will R...

Florida’s national title-winning guards Walter Clayton, Alijah Martin and Will Richard are headed to the NBA after the trio was among 60 players drafted. Selected No. 18, Clayton improved his value as much as just about anyone, while Martin’s stock also rose considerably — to pick No. 39 — during his one season with the Gators. Thomas Haugh and Alex Condon now push to become 2026 first-rounders themselves. Each first cashed in befo...

Todd Golden’s Gators began summer workouts with several new faces, key veterans and one goal in mind: The ability of transfer point guards Boogie Fland and Xaivian Lee to spearhead a rebuilt backcourt will be key to Florida’s aims to repeat. Meanwhile, UF athletic director Scott Stricklin soon will enter uncharted waters with the House v. NCAA settlement set to go into effect July 1. During the lastest Swamp Things, Mark and Edgar ...

Following a no-show on the field for Kevin O’Sullivan’s baseball team the longtime Gators coach had no place to hide. He was caught on film delivering a profanity-laced tirade at on-site officials. At least, UF’s softball team kept it classy despite disappointing results by Tim Walton’s squad. A week after men’s golf came up short and lacrosse flopped at the Final Four, it’s been a tough close to the spring for the Gators. During t...

The Gators received a major boost when Alex Condon withdrew from the NBA draft. Florida will open practice June 9 with a team poised to challenge for another national title. The football team’s hopes rest largely on the health of DJ Lagway. Billy Napier said this week he’s increasing his workload and should be 100% when the season opens. By then, college football should have some answers to some big questions surrounding the sport....

Florida has shifted its early season scheduling philosophy in football to provide the Gators a soft opening and enhance their College Football Playoff hopes. Visits from LIU, FAU, South Florida, South Alabama, Campbell and Charleston Southern are a necessary evil, but a hard sell for Edgar while Mark is a bit more forgiving during the latest Swamp Things. Highly coveted transfer guard Boogie Fland’s visit, the national championship...

Florida’s national championship earned coach Todd Golden a new contract with a hefty raise to put him among the nation’s highest-paid men's basketball coaches at age 39. UF included plenty of perks and some incentives to enhance the 6-year, $40.5 million package, but did little to make the deal ironclad if the NBA came calling. Meanwhile, Billy Napier’s assistant coaches got richer this offseason, highlighting the cost of doing bus...

The NFL draft was a waiting game for the Gators, but seven Florida players eventually had their names called while several others heard from NFL teams once the three-day marathon concluded. DJ Lagway’s wait also is over as Florida’s star quarterback has resumed throwing after resting and rehabbing an ailing shoulder in recent months. Meanwhile, Todd Golden added another transfer, Orlando native A...

Fresh off a national championship, Todd Golden turned his attention to restocking his roster and completing his coaching staff. Yet, Golden did not expect Denzel Aberdeen to become part of the equation. Instead, the Orlando native and member of Golden’s first UF team three seasons ago entered the transfer portal for a bigger payday and, presumably, a better opportunity at SEC rival Kentucky. Aberdeen’s about-face is a sign of the t...

Florida’s spring football game also became one last chance to celebrate newly minted national champions in men’s basketball. On a picturesque day in Gainesville, a reported crowd of 56,563, the largest since Tim Tebow’s final spring game, came out to cheer Todd Golden’s Gators and see whether Billy Napier’s program is getting closer to competing for one. During the latest Swamp Things, Edgar and Mark have plenty to chat about, incl...

Todd Golden’s squad saved its best for last, staging yet another comeback - its fourth in six NCAA Tournament games - to capture the school’s third national title in men’s basketball. Along the way, Golden established himself as a rising star, while Walter Clayton became the darling of the Big Dance to win Most Outstanding Player honors and position himself as a potential first round NBA Draft pick. Three national titles and five F...

Florida is heading to the Final Four for the first time since 2014 after a stunning comeback against Texas Tech in San Francisco. All-American guard Walter Clayton Jr. once again led the way with another scintillating performance during perhaps the greatest comeback in Gators sports history. During the latest Swamp Things, Edgar and Mark catch up about the UF’s remarkable run under Todd Golden, Clayton’s rise to stardom and what it...

Florida traveled cross-country two days after ousting two-time defending national UConn in the NCAA Tournament to keep alive the Gators’ championship dream. Next up, a date with Maryland in the Sweet 16. The Terps are tough and talented, but the Gators are deeper and just might have the most confident player in the Big Dance - All-American guard Walter Clayton Jr. During the latest Swamp Things, Mark and Edgar discuss Todd Golden’s...

Florida earned a top seed in the NCAA Tournament after their first SEC Tournament title since 2014, the last time the Gators reached the Final Four. Todd Golden’s team is poised for a deep run after rising to the top of a conference with a record 14 bids to the Big Dance. But upsets and Cinderella stories abound during what is arguably the most riveting event in sports. On the latest Swamp Things, Edgar and Mark have great expectat...