Florida appeals Grier suspension

“I’m really sorry to everyone, just really sorry”, Grier said during a press conference on Monday. And we feel for him, we feel his pain. We don’t know for certain if this was an “honest mistake” by Grier, as UF football coach Jim McElwain contended at a brief news conference. “He had a chance to address the team and spoke from the heart”.

According to multiple reports, Nash’s older brother Will is suspended from the University of Florida’s football team for the rest of the season after testing positive for drugs.

Maybe Grier took what he thought was a no-big-deal supplement and it slipped his mind to not check with UF’s medical staff. Or maybe he felt he needed that unidentified product – the school can not reveal what it is without Grier’s consent – and didn’t want to know if it was among the NCAA’s eight categories of banned substances.

Grier has had a great season for Florida, throwing for 1,204 yards and 10 touchdowns with just three interceptions.

McElwain said repeatedly Monday that perhaps Grier’s draconian punishment will serve as a lesson to other young athletes.

“I didn’t know”, Turkoglu said, “that this was a banned substance and didn’t check before taking it”. “He’s not putting it on anybody else”.

Florida will miss Grier to be sure, and it could cost them Saturday’s game at LSU, but all is not lost with Harris who keeps the SEC East title window open because of his experience and his confidence. Grier grabbed the starting job the following week and his grasp on the job only solidified when Harris was suspended for the Tennessee game for breaking team rules. Harris has played the last two games as a change-of-pace option, and the Miami native provides dual-threat ability that will have to make up for Grier’s arm.

Grier elevated the level of play at quarterback for the Gators, a team that has struggled at that position in recent years.

“I took an over-the-counter supplement that had something in it”, Grier told reporters, fighting back tears. Quarterback Brandon Harris had a career game against the Gamecocks. They have a two-game lead in the SEC East with four games to play. “It happened. Things happen in life, and if you wanna use it as an excuse, so be it. But that’s not what we’re gonna do”.

“Treon’s been practicing all the same stuff and, obviously, he has a different skill set”, McElwain said.

Fournette finished with 158 rushing yards, but that was a season low for him and more than half came on an 87-yard touchdown in the third quarter.

Grier began the season by splitting playing time at QB with Treon Harris, before separating himself as the lone starter. He is 19 for 27 for 269 yards and two touchdowns.

“I just heard about that”, LSU senior linebacker Lamar Louis said Monday.