A Florida Gators 7th-year senior and the joy of spring football

GAINESVILLE — The value of spring football practice isn’t just seeing which newcomers look like early contributors or which veterans are playing their way into larger roles this fall. It’s the emergence of players you’ve never heard of who get a rare chance to shine.

Players like Florida Gators edge rusher Tyreik Norwood.

He’s a seventh-year senior from a 9,000-person town in Tennessee (Winchester). If he had a Rivals of 247Sports recruiting profile coming out of high school, we can’t find it. The next snap he plays for the Gators will be the first.

But he made one play this spring that, as coach Billy Napier said, made both sides go nuts. All because a door was left unlocked.

Norwood was checking out UF’s construction management program and visiting his girlfriend (a student at UF’s Levin College of Law) two years ago when he walked by the Bull Gator statue in front of the stadium. The Heavener Football Complex was right there, too. Norwood wanted to see the Gators’ trophy case, so he tried the front door.

It opened.

“Honestly it was God telling me, ‘Go take your chance,’ ” Norwood said.

Norwood had spent four seasons at Kentucky Wesleyan (27 games, 65 tackles) but didn’t feel as if his football career was quite over. Maybe that’s why, after bumping into then-assistant Corey Raymond in the office building, he semi-jokingly asked if the Gators needed a walk-on defensive end.

Raymond saw Norwood’s frame (243 pounds, just shy of 6-foot-3) and decided it was worth a conversation — especially as Napier has emphasized building up the scout team during his tenure.

“Since then, it’s been a whirlwind,” Norwood said. “It’s been life-changing.”

Soon after starting classes that fall, Norwood officially tried out for a walk-on spot with a few dozen other hopefuls. He earned a spot.

He was on the scout team in 2022. He made his public debut in last year’s spring game … then tore his right ACL with five minutes left in the third quarter. He was out for the year.

“Most people will say, ‘Hey, my football career is over, right?’ ” Napier said.

Norwood wondered that, too. Out-of-state tuition isn’t cheap.

But he didn’t want his football career to end with a blown knee. His parents didn’t, either; they said they’d support him.

In December, Norwood told Napier he wanted one more season. The coach’s message: “Just come play.”

This spring, Norwood has. The highlight came during a scrimmage two weeks ago. Norwood dropped into coverage and intercepted a pass. Napier singled it out during his post-practice wrap-up.

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“Everyone got excited,” defensive lineman Cam Jackson said.

The external excitement flowed from Norwood’s roundabout path from a Division II program to the SEC and the way a walk-on kept his dream alive, no matter the cost, day after day in the training room — all for a shot that might never come.

Norwood’s goal this fall is to simply appear in a game. He’s been grinding on special teams and tells coaches he’ll do anything.

“I might be an old man,” the 24-year-old said, “but I’ve still got some juice in me now.”

Saturday, finally, provides a chance for him to show it again. His knee has healed, as his recent scrimmage pick showed. The benches empty during spring exhibitions like UF’s Orange and Blue Game, so he should get playing time.

Norwood’s performance Saturday probably won’t tell us anything about the Gators’ 2024 hopes or the future of five-star freshman quarterback DJ Lagway or the hot-seat speculation surrounding Napier. But it matters.

“I can’t wait for (Saturday),” Norwood said, “just to step on that field one more time.”

Orange and Blue game

When: 1 p.m. Saturday

Where: Ben Hill Griffin Stadium:

Admission: Free

TV: SEC Network+

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