How Fatherhood Inspires Florida Gators OL Damieon George Jr.

Expected to be one of the top offensive lines in the country, the group has underachieved, struggling to give quarterback DJ Lagway time, not opening up enough rush lanes for the running backs and committing costly penalties in multiple games.

George Jr. is no stranger to criticism himself. Florida's starting right tackle in 2023, the then-redshirt sophomore struggled to block in space, eventually leading to a position change to guard.

"I've been in a situation where a lot of noises come my way," George Jr. "I've been through that before. So, it don’t really affect me anymore, because I just know I just got to do my best. Like, they’re gonna talk about you playing bad. I mean, I get it, I get like noise when a person’s playing bad because it's a lot of people watching and a lot of people tuning in for Florida football to win games.”

That ability to handle criticism also comes from George's early days at Florida after transferring from Alabama, a time when he said he was "kind of lost."

“I was just lost as a kid in that program. I didn’t know how to adapt to the college lifestyle, and it was the first time I was away from my mom and everything," he said. "I never had that, like, ‘Oh you’re on your own and you have to figure this out. And you have something going bad at school or at practice.’ Like, I can’t go talk to my mom. Everything’s on me, I got to figure it out and dig myself out of this hole or just sink into it.”

Saint's birth in April of 2022, ahead of his third and final season at Alabama, forced him to grow up even more.

"(Handling adversity) is one of the lessons I’m gonna have to teach him," George Jr. said. "So I just knew I had to get right for myself and put myself in better positions.”

George Jr. also credited Saint's mother, Suzie Patterson, for being his biggest source of support.

“My child’s mom, I’m with her, and she really helps me out, making sure I’m in the right head space so I can perform my best," he said. "She’s taking care of everything at home and everything with my son. Just making sure I’m good overall."

The Gators enter a crucial stretch of the season with no room for more struggles. Already one loss away from matching its total from last season, Florida also appears to have an imminent coaching change with Billy Napier's hot seat scorching and in danger of its fourth losing season in five seasons.

Entering the final stretch of his final season, and with the lessons from fatherhood and handling adversity, George Jr. is leaving it all on the field.

“I just want to flip things around," George Jr. said. "Especially just for my younger guys in the room, I just know how it feels to feel like you could have did more. I don't want nobody to have any regrets.”