The seniors have moved on and another season will arrive.  But the Land O’ Lakes Gators are preparing for success again.  Shadow Williams leaves a big void at line backer, Ryan Byrd passes on the ball and Kent Taylor will be carved into the Gator record books.

New faces will surface.  But until then, a few veterans must carry the team on their shoulders.  2013 returners, Kyle Forchion and Harrion Wood will be counted on for leadership and direction.  Both have plenty of varsity experience.  2014 DE, Shaheed Salmon was a force last season for the Gators in 2011.  The expectations for his performance in 2012 are high based on how he killed last season.

No matter the task, Head Coach Brian Wachtel and the Gator staff are knee deep in hard work and covered with a positive attitude for the 2012 season.

Shaheed Salmon, 2014 DE
6-2/220
Big body kid with so much upside. Shaheed does a few things very well. First,  how he disengages with offensive linemen. Observing today, he showed that he could use his hands and violently escape from the opposition in pursuit of the ball carrier. Second, he has a really good first step. The young 2014 DE gets out of his stance in a hurry. Good skill to have as a defensive end.

Kyle Forchion, 2013 OLB/WR
6-3/185
Long arms and great feet. He moves well in space and is an excellent zone dropper.

Harrison Wood, 2013 RB
5-7/165
The obvious: Tough runner. At just 5-7, Wood is an excellent runner between the tackles with the skill to make the line backer miss in hole and gain 5-10 yards after first contact. He is not a 6 ft kid, does not pack a huge punch, but it is tough to bring him down. He will not shy away from contact, yet has good enough feet to avoid contact.

A few other prospects:

Justin Forchion, DE, 2013
Bobby Austin, OLB, 2013
John Kranendonk, OC, 2013
Dino Tsilionis, P/K, 2013