GAINESVILLE, Fla. — A pair of Florida Gators were named Preseason All-Americans by Phil Steele. Senior punter Jeremy Crawshaw and redshirt junior long snapper Rocco Underwood. Crawshaw was named to the fourth team, while Underwood was named to the third team.
Crawshaw completed a strong junior season with the Gators, which landed him a spot on the Associated Press All-SEC Second Team. He set the Gators all-time season record for net punting average (48.9 on 42 punts). Crawshaw also totaled seven punts for 60-yards or more, a career best 21 punts of 50-yards or more, 15 inside the opponent’s 20-yard line and a long of 68 yards.
Crawshaw was also named to the SEC All-Freshman team in 2021. That season, Crawshaw ranked third in the SEC with an average of 44.02 yards per punt. He booted 18 punts of 50 yards and three of 61 yards plus en route to 19 landing inside the opponent’s 20-yard line. His career-long 69-yard punt vs. Vanderbilt ranks 12th all-time in program history and was the third longest by an SEC punter this season. In the same game, Crawshaw ripped off a 28-yard rush to convert a successful punt.
Underwood saw action in every game in the 2023 season as Florida’s primary long snapper and recorded one total tackle on the year. He was one of eight Gators presented with the “Unsung Hero Award” at the end of the season football banquet. The award is presented to the player, or players, who have made significant contributions to the success of the team and received the least amount of recognition for it.
Crawshaw and the Gators get a new position coach
In January, Billy Napier hired New England Patriots assistant Joe Houston to help coach Florida’s special teams unit. Houston spent the last four seasons in the NFL with the Patriots before returning to college with the Gators.
“I think Joe Houston has done a good job from a situational football standpoint. He’s brought a lot to the table. We’ve worked a specific area today where we hard count and then take a delay and can improve our hang punt situation,” Napier said of Hoston during spring practice. “That’s one example. We kind of combined the special teams component with the situation football component, the analytics. All of that is under one roof. I think that each day, he’s been able to help me and I think he’s been able to help Chris (Couch). He’s done a good job in that regard.”
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