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DJ Coleman, Bailey Stockton react to Florida's loss to Georgia
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- DJ Coleman, Bailey Stockton react to Florida's loss to Georgia
Bailey Stockton wasn't certain he would be able to play against Georgia, but the Florida wide receiver found a way onto the field despite battling an injury throughout the week.
Stockton finished with eight catches for 76 yards in Saturday's 27-8 loss, while safety DJ Coleman helped lead a defense that showed improvement despite the final score. Florida's offense committed four turnovers, however, leaving both players frustrated by the mistakes that continue to undermine the Gators' progress.
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After the game, Stockton discussed his determination to play, the team's quarterback situation and the need for better execution. Coleman addressed the defense's resilience, its development under coordinator Brad White and the importance of finishing the season strong.
Here's everything Coleman and Stockton had to say after Florida's loss to Georgia.
Bailey Stockton: What was your process throughout the week to get healthy enough to play?
Yeah, I think this week it was hurting. I didn't practice much. I think our trainers are really good. John, Paul, Don, Matt, all of them are great.
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I told them what was wrong. They understood, and they just tried to help me out as best as possible.
Bailey Stockton: Did Vernell Brown III's setback motivate you to get back on the field?
Well, I woke up Friday morning, and he was hurt. So I was just like, let me go out there and try to run. Went out there and ran. It hurt, but I just, yeah.
DJ Coleman: What allowed the defense to keep fighting throughout the game?
Something that Coach talks a lot about is you get 60 minutes. So as long as there's time on the clock, we gotta be prepared to play until the clock is all zeros.
And we fought. You're never out of the game. College football, crazy things happen. So as long as we can give our offense a chance and just hold them to as minimal an amount of points as possible, that's what we're out there to do.
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How frustrating is it when turnovers and mistakes compound throughout a game?
DJ Coleman:
You really just gotta control what you can control. It's not something that we plan for, of course, but we practice sudden-change situations and just difficult situations that put our backs against the wall.
So that's something we prepare for, of course. And when the time comes, we just gotta be ready.
Bailey Stockton:
It's frustrating for sure. We're beating ourselves every game right now. I feel like we're good enough to beat anybody. We've proven that. But we're just beating ourselves right now.
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What's the mentality with four games remaining in the regular season?
DJ Coleman:
Of course, it's four games left. We plan on doing everything we can within our power to win every game we have left on the schedule and give ourselves an opportunity to do something big with what we can control.
Bailey Stockton:
Yeah, 9-3, that's the only thing we should be thinking about, for sure.
Bailey Stockton: What were your thoughts on Florida playing both Aaron Philo and Tramell Jones Jr.?
I feel like we can win with both guys, honestly. We've proven that. I mean, we've beaten good teams with Philo and good teams with Tramell.
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We ride with any of them, to be honest with you.
Bailey Stockton: How did you feel about Philo's preparation during the week?
Yeah, I felt good. We practiced well. We just gotta get back to the drawing board, honestly, with everything. And it starts with practice.
Bailey Stockton: Did Philo seem like himself coming off his injury?
He's a tough guy. He's not the type to complain about it or tell anybody about it. But I'll talk to him about it, for sure.
Bailey Stockton: What did you think of Jones playing through his injury?
Yeah, he's a great player. He's a good leader. He spins the ball well. But like I said, we ride with both quarterbacks. For real, the guy that's out there, we're gonna put our life on the line for him.
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DJ Coleman: What's improved defensively under Brad White?
Just like Coach White said, just staying the course. There was pushback early on. A lot of the fans and people in the building had different things to say.
But I feel like we're all heading in the right direction now, and everybody's on board with the plan. And we're seeing more of the results that we've been practicing for.
Bailey Stockton: What did it mean for the offense to finally reach the end zone?
Felt good. It was tough because we were down inside the five and we couldn't capitalize there.
We're just beating ourselves. We could have easily scored a lot. We just gotta protect the ball. Way too many turnovers and penalties, and we gotta clean that up.
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Bailey Stockton: What did it mean to play through an injury against Georgia?
Yeah, I've said this before. I just feel like the more people that play, the better opportunity we get. And that's just what I felt like going through the week.
I wanted to beat them bad, just like I want to beat any other team. So I'm gonna keep that mentality, and I think the rest of the guys will, too.
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This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: DJ Coleman, Bailey Stockton react to Florida's loss to Georgia
