Napier, Gators Detail Rioux Special Teams Experiment

GAINESVILLE, Fla.-- Olivier Rioux's record-breaking 7-foot-9 height gives the Florida Gators an advantage on the hardwood, and it nearly did so on the gridiron.

Seeing the rising second-year center, who is also the Guinness World Record holder for world's tallest teenager, in the dining hall of the Heavener Football Training Center, football head coach Billy Napier and special teams coordinator Joe Houston came up with an idea: line him up on the field goal block unit.

"The guy walks by and we're thinking about, you know, man, what is the guy's reach and then what's the guys vertical jump relative to the launch point of the block spot," Napier said. "So we did a little bit of homework on that."

Rioux underwent a workout in May, with men's basketball head coach Todd Golden's permission, of course.

“I like the idea,” Golden recently said at a booster event. “I give them credit for trying it.”

While the idea was creative, it didn't seem to work out. Rioux was unable to block any kicks in the workout, due to a reported 11-inch vertical. Despite failing to block a kick in the workout, Rioux's height, should he actually appear in a game, may be enough to force a missed field goal.

"I don't even know what I'd say," said kicker Trey Smack, who was not at Rioux's workout. "I've had some pretty interesting things going on, but if I look at him, I'm like, 'Well that's new.' I mean, I feel bad for any kicker going against him."

It's unlikely that Rioux actually joins the football program after his unsuccessful tryout, with Napier saying it's "to be determined," and Houston saying he didn't "see it going forward too much more."

Still, credit to Napier and his staff for trying.

"We are looking for every competitive advantage we can get, period," Houston said. "There’s too much competition in this conference. The level of play in this conference, the coaching in this conference, the athleticism in this conference, you are trying to do everything you can to create an edge.”

For now, Rioux will head back to the Gators men's basketball program, which will look to defend its national championship from a year ago, and UF's football program will look for new creative ways to block field goals.

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