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Tyreak Sapp, the Florida defensive lineman, had a lot to say about his first collegiate debut in The Swamp. Florida’s 29-26 upset against No. 7 Utah on Saturday night left both Gator fans and players shocked.
A Look at Sapp’s Past History
Standing at 6-foot-3, 260 pounds, this redshirt freshman had an impressive high school career. During his four years on varsity, Sapp compiled 105 total tackles, 21.5 sacks, 19 tackles for loss, an interception, and four forced fumbles. He was considered the No. 9 defensive end and No. 73 overall prospect in the nation by Sports Illustrated All-American’s rankings.
It was no surprise that Sapp did not fail to come out confidently in Florida’s home opener by helping the team with three assisted tackles in the win.
When asked in a post-game interview about staying focused after such an emotional high, Sapp responded with, “You cant be complacent, you got to understand that there’s room for improvement. The biggest room in the world is the room for improvement so you got to take that for what it is and move on to the next week and have laser beam focus on the next team.”
He also added on that he could not fall asleep until 4 a.m. for it took him a long time to gather his thoughts and understand what just happened.
Thoughts on The Swamp
With the team’s upcoming game against No. 20 Kentucky, Sapp claims that the communication among the front seven players will be crucial to beating the Wildcats.
After being question about the misalignments from the defense in the second half, Sapp responded with, “That was my first game ever in The Swamp, and I can tell you right now, The Swamp is real. You got to buckle up and be ready for that.”
Sapp continued to explain that the loud roar from the stadium did not help with the communication aspect of playing but he looks forward to learning and growing. On top of that, Tyreak Sapp is big on “wild dog mentality” and playing for each other. This was his respond when asked about what this term truly means:
It is safe to say the team is pumped up for another home game this Saturday (Sep. 10), and so are fans.
As Sapp and his team say, “I’m a dog, I’m a villain, competition, I’m gonna kill it.”
