Grimes, Orange team light up scoreboard in Gators Spring game

Orange team beat blue team 60-35 on Saturday

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – It didn’t take very long for the Florida Gators to put a smile on the face of the nearly 40,000 fans that packed the Swamp for their annual Orange and Blue spring game. 

On the very first play from scrimmage Kadarius Toney hooked up with Feleipe Franks on a 40-yard throwback pass. Later in the drive the pair hooked up again. This time it Toney on the receiving end of a touchdown reception from Franks. 

This year’s spring game was the highest-scoring game in Orange & Blue history, with the two teams combining for 95 points to break the previous high of 65 points – which came in a 35-30 game last year.
The Orange team beat the Blue team 60-35, but the final score is never the story in a spring game. 

Franks’ threw for 327 passing yards and four touchdowns. Wide receiver Trevon Grimes was the beneficiary of two of those TD passes. Grimes finished with four catches for 195 yards, setting a new Orange and Blue record for most receiving yards. 

“We have a lot of great receivers, we have a lot of great weapons,” said Grimes. “I trust the coaches, like I said Van Jefferson, Tyrie Cleveland, Josh Hammond, there’s a lot of great receivers on our team so I know my time will come whenever it does. Can’t be a stingy teammate, you got to just let the ball go where it goes, if it doesn’t come to you one game it may come to you the next, so I’ve always had that mentality. When the ball comes to me I just do what I do.”

Head coach Dan Mullen feels the spring game is as much about having fun as it is fine tuning things before the start of fall camp. 

Former Raines and Gators defensive back Lito Sheppard made one of a handful of celebrity appearances in the game. He had a 36-yard interception return for a touchdown.

“I think that our players work hard, we demand a lot out of them, and we push them in the offseason and in practice, so we let today be more of a celebration day for them to have fun in front of family and friends,” said Mullen. “Plus, we want to make it a festive activity, so I want to make it a lot of fun for the campus.”