You’ll Never See A Football Player Give Less Effort Than Florida Guard Damieon George Jr. After Graham Mertz’s INT

I get that the big men in the trenches in football have to gorge down a bazillion calories to keep their weight up, and yet they're still expected to have the stamina to run a hurry-up offense if necessary at north of 300 pounds or thereabouts. That takes a special blend of discipline, freaky athleticism, and peak conditioning. All those qualifiers aside, the effort or lack thereof that Florida Gators offensive guard Damieon George Jr. gave when his quarterback Graham Mertz threw an awful interception is the comedic gold stuff that dreams are made on. As Miami Hurricanes defensive back Mishael Powell sprinted away from his own end zone with the ball, the Gators did their best to ensure he wouldn't house that thing for a pick-six. Well, almost every Gator made an effort. I don't think you can qualify what George did as that. https://twitter.com/SharpFootball/status/1830007075474456839 Maybe he pulled a hammy and couldn't move as well, or had some other injury that limited his mobility. I'll acknowledge that possibility. Regardless, though, come on Damieon! If you're gonna be out here loafing it like that, tap your helmet, and signal to the sidelines that you need a breather. So what if it's a backup in your stead? Looks like we need some fresh legs down in Gainesville! What a nosedive the Florida program has taken in recent years. Coming off three straight losing seasons, this isn't the best of starts. The fact that it's a rival powerhouse program in the same state only putts salt into the wound. But hey, if you lose and you give maximum effort, so be it. Right? That's how a lot of teams often frame defeat. What also sucks about this George loafing play is that Mertz appeared to get injured when he got drilled before letting that ill-fated pass go. https://twitter.com/awfulannouncing/status/1830008028374188276 Not a clue what Mertz was looking at in trying to fit that ball in there. Not that it would've mattered much, since the Gators were down 38-10 as it was. Just not the start head coach Billy Napier needed in a pivotal third season at the helm. I never really understood how his gimmicky run-heavy scheme was going to translate from the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns to the SEC. Doesn't feel like it's going so well to date. Might want to change things up a bit. I was today years old when I learned Mertz completed almost 73% of his throws for Florida last season, with only three INTs to go with 20 TD passes. That's a lot better than he fared at Wisconsin, so let's hope he's OK so that he can continue building on some of 2023's positivity. For now, we get to watch his teammate George serve as the perfect microcosm for the disaster that was the Gators' season-opening loss. I don't know what kind of disciplinarian Napier is, but can you imagine Nick Saban chewing George out either in real time, or when the team watches film together? Hoooh. I wouldn't want to be in that room!