Florida Gators Announce Captains for Georgia Game

Saturday's game marks the second team each are captains for a game, which is also the first time this season a player was named captain for two different games.

Thornton was a captain for Florida's game against Texas A&M, Slaughter against Miami and both Sapp and Baugh against LSU.

Napier previously had a preference for different captains each week.

Head coach Billy Napier previously explained Florida's preference for rotating captains.

"I think we have lots of guys that are capable," he said at the beginning of the season. "You know, we allow the players to vote at the end of the year. That's our thought process is to observe the group within competition, within the adversity of the season, the ups and downs, and then over time, their body of work as a leader. We got, probably had more votes last year, you know, it was spread out. So I think that's a good thing."

Slaughter and Sapp are two of Florida's main senior leaders, looking to cap off their careers while mentoring the younger players through the coaching change. As Dan Mullen recruits, Sapp and Slaughter are two of the few players remaining from the last time the Gators made a coaching change.

"I think that there's guys like myself, Austin Barber, Tyreak Sapp and a handful of other guys that, unfortunately, we've been through this before. We've had coaching changes in-season. I think we can serve as a good resource," Slaughter said.

Thornton, meanwhile, has been heavily relied upon this season as a leader, especially in the win over Mississippi State, where he was the only main contributor to play the bulk of the game due to various injuries around him.

As a result, Florida is expecting his leadership to continue growing as the program moves on after Napier's firing.

“It’s been very important. They’ve been telling me, continue trying to be a leader and just try to help as much as possible," Thornton said. "When I was a freshman, even when I was a sophomore I had people always helping me so I just feel like it’s my time and my turn to help them and tell them every little thing and just make sure everybody stick together.”

Finally, Baugh has been relied upon to carry the team's rushing attack with Ja'Kobi Jackson and Duke Clark both battling injuries throughout this season. The sophomore has rushed for 611 yards and four touchdowns, needing just 77.8 yards per game over the next five games to be the program's first 1,000-yard rusher in 10 seasons.

Baugh rushed for a career-high 150 yards and a touchdown in the win over Mississippi State.

"“He did a great job last week. He’s done a great job all year, to be honest with you," Gonzales said. "He's strong, he's big. He can tote the rock. Like I said, for him, it's just about getting in a rhythm, let the offensive coordinator get him in a rhythm, let Coach O'Hara call the plays, get him in a rhythm, and then obviously Coach Juluke coach him up. He can make those plays. He gives you an added receiver in the pass game as well, whether it's coming out of the backfield or splitting out or motioning him.

"He’s a fantastic player. I coach him in the punt return, kick return game, so I know what kind of athleticism he has. He's got phenomenal hands. For a big guy that is a running back, I don't know if I've ever been around a guy that has that type of ball skill for a big running back.”

Florida's annual matchup against Georgia kicks off at 3:30 p.m. with television coverage on ESPN.