Tight end Isaac Nauta joked that his dislike for the arch-rival Florida Gators comes naturally. It came at a very early age.
As a youngster, Nauta and his family lived in Jacksonville until he was 14 years old, and they moved to Buford, where the Bulldog senior starred for three seasons with the powerhouse Wolves.
His senior year, Nauta headed back to Florida, where he played his final campaign of high school ball at IMG Academy in Bradenton.
The Gators just never were his style
“When I first moved to Jacksonville, I became a Florida State fan, because they put me in a class full of Gator fans, and I wanted to be different,” Nauta said after practice Wednesday.
Nauta initially committed to the Seminoles before flipping to the Bulldogs, who come into Saturday’s game needing a victory to stay in charge of their own destiny, as far as the SEC East Division title is concerned.
“I was never a Gator fan,” Nauta said. “I don’t really like these guys a whole lot, but that’s just part of it. It’s part of the Georgia-Florida rivalry, and every time we come into Jacksonville we want to win this game. That’s the mentality we took into practice last week and and into this week.”
Nauta said to expect plenty of words between the two teams when they take the field at TIAA Bank Stadium Saturday at 3:39 p.m. (CBS)
“I would say so. They don’t like us and we don’t like them,” Nauta said. “But this game is about composure, you can’t get caught out of control, and the next thing you know, you’re costing your team, because you can’t keep your mouth shut. There are some words swapped during the game, that’s for sure.”
Keeping one’s composure will obviously be a key.
“That’s what we thrive on anyway, is composure, discipline, and physicality,” wide receiver Mecole Hardman said. “We need to make sure we stay composed at all times, because undisciplined penalties can kill you, especially on drives or a key, critical play.”
Both players say they’re going to make sure their younger teammates are able to keep their cool.
“We’ll just keep harping on it, letting them know that composure is a real thing in this game, and they need to have it,” Nauta said. “I know a lot of guys on their team, and they love to talk. You know them through the camp circuit, 7-on-7; it hasn’t changed.”
He doesn’t expect it ever will.
“This is just a big trash-talking game. For the last two years, that’s the way it’s always been,” Nauta said. “It’s just a good old-fashioned hate between two teams that don’t like each other.”
