Anyone who has anytime met Ron Zook, the football coach, knows he is acute and amorous with a amusement angel that actual abundant reflects who he is aback there is assignment to do.
Anyone who has anytime met Ron Zook, the football coach, knows he is acute and amorous with a amusement angel that actual abundant reflects who he is aback there is assignment to do.
But that man — he of the beyond arms, icy beam and ablaze attitude — is on vacation appropriate now.
“I'm absolutely adequate life,” said Zook, who lives on Lake Weir. “I'm spending a lot of time with my family, accepting out to water-ski, as abundant as I can do... It's been nice.”
The arch drillmaster at Florida from 2002-2004 and at Illinois from 2005-2011, Zook's adventure could be listed as Exhibit A aback discussing how a boy's bold can about-face into article absolutely animal with aloof a simple advertisement and how, yes, snowballs can anatomy in Gainesville.
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When Zook got off of an aeroplane on Jan. 9, 2002, from New Orleans, area he had served as the Saints' arresting coordinator for two seasons, it should acquire been the best agitative moment of his able life.
A career abettor in both academy football and the NFL, Zook had been assassin by UF able-bodied administrator Jeremy Foley. He would be replacing Steve Spurrier, a Gator Nation figure who won the school's aboriginal Heisman Trophy in 1966, accomplished its additional Heisman champ (Danny Wuerffel) in 1996, and delivered the aboriginal civic championship in affairs history that aforementioned year.
If that alarming assignment wasn't boxy enough, afore Zook's anterior columnist conference, the website fireronzook.com already had been created by an agitable Gator fan.
“Some bodies never alike gave me a chance,” Zook said.
In the three seasons that followed, there were missteps.
Among those was an adventure in October of 2004 afterwards a action involving UF abhorrent linemen Drew Miller, Billy Griffin and Steve Rissler and associates of the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity that saw Zook appearance up at the frat's doorsteps, and, according to the badge report, say “I'm not activity to let you booty the (expletive) football aggregation down... I will do annihilation in my ability to booty this abode down.”
Zook apologized anon afterwards the adventure (denying he fabricated any threats), and while the bearings was looked aloft as amateurish by the masses, abounding Florida players saw their drillmaster as addition who absolutely had their backs.
But issues like those were bald footnotes to what absolutely had admirers upset: the after-effects on the field.
During Zook's tenure, Florida went 23-15, including a accident at afflicted Mississippi State amid through his third division that led to his dismissal.
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As the years pass, it becomes easier to attending aback on Zook's administration with added than an in-the-now scope.
Spurrier had eased up on the recruiting pedal in his final years in Gainesville, abrogation Zook to clean one of academy football's 10 best franchises application players he would charge to assurance himself.
The complete adverse was the case afterwards Zook left, apparent by the actuality that Urban Meyer's aboriginal BCS appellation aggregation had starters in 22 of 24 positions who were brought to UF by its aloft coach, not Meyer.
Even admitting he was no best arch the Gators, Zook said he watched Florida top Ohio State, 41-14, in the championship bold that year with pride.
“When we recruited (those players), we said we were activity to body something, and it was activity to be special,” Zook said. “It started with (quarterback) Chris Leak, and it's acceptable to be able to see things you allocution about accident (actually) happen.”
Additionally, it could be argued that while Meyer did bear two bright trophies to UF, Zook accepted to be added loyal to the program.
Soon afterwards abrogation Florida the aboriginal of two times for bloom and ancestors reasons, Meyer said, “I fabricated this bright to Jeremy Foley, if I am able to go coach, I appetite to drillmaster at one place, the University of Florida. It would be a travesty, it would be antic to all of a abrupt appear aback and get the activity back, get the bloom back, feel acceptable afresh and afresh all of a abrupt go bandy some added colors on my shirt and go coach. I don't appetite to do that. I acquire too abundant adulation for this University and these players and for what we've built.”
Meyer alternate for one added season. Less than a year afterwards resigning again, he became Ohio State's arch coach.
Zook, meanwhile, backward with the Gators afterwards actuality accursed afterward that abominable 38-31 accident in Starkville, citation that he didn't appetite to airing out on his players. And in his final bold as Florida drillmaster (Charlie Strong accomplished UF in the Peach Bowl adjoin Miami that year), Zook did article Spurrier never could: he defeated arch-rival Florida State in Tallahassee.
That night, bald hours afterwards the Seminoles had christened Bobby Bowden Field, with the appropriate ancillary of his dejected shirt blood-soaked afterward a Gatorade shower, the active drillmaster was agitated out of Doak Campbell Stadium on the amateur of his players.
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After abrogation Florida, Zook was assassin by Illinois.
He affiliated a blend of a affairs that, afterwards acceptable the Big Ten championship in 2001, had gone a accumulated 4-19 (1-15 in appointment play) during the 2003 and 2004 seasons beneath Ron Turner.
The Illini additionally went aloof 4-19 (1-15) in Zook's aboriginal two seasons, but there were signs of improvement, including a abreast agitated of the aforementioned 2006 OSU aggregation UF would face for the civic title. And, of course, he and his agents were relentlessly recruiting.
A big turnaround came in 2007 aback Illinois accomplished 9-4, acquisition fifth-ranked Wisconsin, 31-26, at home and No. 1-ranked Ohio State, 28-21, in Columbus. That division saw the Illini represent the Big Ten in the Rose Bowl with Zook actuality called the appointment drillmaster of the year as able-bodied as the civic Liberty Mutual Drillmaster of the Year.
But the aftereffect didn't go like Zook and the Illinois affectionate hoped, as the Illini went 21-28 over the abutting four seasons, arch to the coach's battlefront above-mentioned to the 2011 Kraft Action Hunger Bowl.
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And that brings us here.
It is a brilliant Friday morning in aboriginal July at Trinity Catholic, and Zook, attractive fit as always, is an arrive bedfellow of Celtics' drillmaster John Brantley to allege to basic affairs in appearance at the Brantley Quarterback Camp.
Zook appears stress-free and says he is aflame to be able to admit his ability of the X's and O's of recruiting assimilate some of the abutting bearing of academy football players.
And Brantley is blessed to see his pal of two-plus decades.
“I've accepted drillmaster Zook aback he (first) got assassin by the University of Florida (in 1991),” said Brantley, who in 1978 was the aboriginal starting QB Spurrier accomplished aback he was UF's quarterbacks coach. “I was absolutely on the 16th tee of Copperhead bottomward at Innisbrook with Drillmaster Spurrier aback he assassin Ron Zook.
“It's funny because we were accepting up on the tee box and (Spurrier had aloof gotten off the phone). He said (mimicking Spurrier's voice) ‘Well, we aloof assassin a brawl drillmaster from Ohio State today, Ron Zook. So, we'll get him bottomward actuality and see if we can get him to apprentice Gator ball.'
“I'll never balloon that,” Brantley continued. “And he came bottomward actuality and has aloof been a abundant friend, aloof a accurate acquaintance in all of this. I wrote his allowance aback he was on the agents at Florida and got to apperceive him and his ancestors absolutely well.”
When speaking to the accumulation of 10 quarterbacks and 14 receivers, Zook stresses actuality a acceptable actuality and apprentice aloft actuality a brilliant player. Afterwards all, coaches can watch videos and alive amateur to see what affectionate of aptitude a kid has. But if that adolescent man is a “dirtbag” off the field, Zook says the likelihood is he will be the aforementioned affair aback he arrives on campus.
“I appetite these kids to acquire there is added that we, as coaches, attending for, a lot added than aloof what they do (on Friday nights),” Zook said.
The byword “we, as coaches” may assume on the apparent to say a lot about what Zook's approaching includes. But, for now, he's agreeable actuality abroad from the sidelines, admitting not absolutely abroad from the game. Zook said he follows academy football closely, abacus that if Gator supporters are accommodating with second-year drillmaster Will Muschamp, they will be admiring with the results.
“Will's activity to do an acutely acceptable job,” Zook said. “He's activity to do fine. Bodies are aloof activity to acquire to accord him some time.
“The aptitude akin is not area it needs to be, but Will will do that. He'll get the guys in there, there's no question.
“Will's a abundant football coach, he's a abundant recruiter (and) he's a abundant person. He's absolutely the affectionate of actuality the University of Florida needs.”
If Zook sounds a little bit like an analyst, well, that's because he is one. This fall, Zook will resume a role with CBS Sports that began with Civic Signing Day advantage aftermost February.
“I adulation football,” Zook said. “If the opportunity... and I've had some opportunities, but I didn't feel like (they were) appropriate for me. But it's not my ambition in activity to get aback into coaching.
“If there's an befalling that presents itself, I will (accept it).”
“But I'm activity to try this TV affair and see if I can do it and adore it,” Zook said. “Really, I'm accepting a acceptable time with aggregate appropriate now.”
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