Dan Mullen Reacts To The Offseason Hype For Georgia

In recent years, the battle for the top spot in the SEC East has been waged between the Florida Gators and the Georgia Bulldogs.

At this year’s SEC Media Days, Georgia was selected to win the SEC East by a landslide — notching 923 points and 124 first-place votes. Florida came in at second place with 784 points and just seven first-place votes.

While Dan Mullen and his squad could use the Bulldogs’ offseason hype as motivation, the fourth-year Gators head coach said his team’s focus is elsewhere heading into the 2021 season.

“I don’t know that [my players] notice that,” Mullen said during a Fall Camp press conference on Thursday. “I think it’s an edge of their competitiveness as a team. I don’t ask our guys, I don’t pay much attention to that stuff, to be honest with you. I like looking at the edge of our team and the competitiveness of our guys. I don’t know a chip on their shoulder about that, I think about a chip on their shoulder and edgy about kind of who they are and the type of team they want to become. They have that challenge.”

https://twitter.com/GatorsFB/status/1423298168167428100

#7 Florida took down #9 Georgia 44-28 in Jacksonville this past season, breaking a three-game win streak for the Bulldogs dating back to 2017. With this head-to-head victory and an 8-2 conference record, the Gators finished the year atop the SEC East in 2020 — edging out UGA with a 7-2 SEC record.

Much of Georgia’s offseason hype this year stems from their highly-touted 2021 recruiting class. With the No. 4 overall class in the nation, the Bulldogs will add four five-star and 11 four-star recruits to their roster this season. The Gators’ 2021 class ranks 12th in the country with one five-star and 12 four-stars, per 247Sports.

Losing star quarterback Kyle Trask to the 2021 draft, Florida is set to start redshirt junior Emory Jones. The Bulldogs will be led by Heisman hopeful QB J.T. Daniels, who transferred to Athens after two seasons with USC last year.

Florida and Georgia will settle this argument during another head-to-head matchup on Oct. 30.

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