Florida
Florida sophomore WR preparing for potential breakout season in 2024
Swampcast talks Florida football entering year 3 under Billy Napier
The Sun’s Davis Whitley and Kevin Brockway talk the impending start of Florida football camp with Edgar Thompson of the Orlando Sentinel
Head coach Billy Napier made clear who will serve as a focal point to the Florida football offense in 2024. After Eugene Wilson III posted 8 catches for 128 yards, including a 60-yard TD catch, in UF’s spring game, Napier said he intended to get his “money’s worth” from Wilson entering the 2024 season.
Napier re-iterated that point before the start of Florida Gators fall camp on Tuesday, when asked about getting the ball in the hands of playmakers.
“We’re always going to be intentional about who we get the ball to,” Napier said. “Tre Wilson being at the top of that list for sure.”
Last season, Wilson earned All-SEC freshman honors, with 61 catches for 538 yards and a team-high 6 TDs. With UF leading receiver Ricky Pearsall gone to the NFL, Wilson will become the primary target for quarterback Graham Mertz.
Wilson also showed the ability to carry the ball on jet sweeps as a true freshman, with six carries for 55 yards, including a long of 18 yards.
“I most definitely don’t disagree with him,” Wilson said about Napier wanting to get him more touches in 2024. “But at the same time, it’s a team game and being able to give our team the best chances to win and drop down and get in the box as many times in the game as you can to give our team the best chance to win.”
Wilson said he’s even open to getting more involved in the return game on special teams this season after returning one punt and one kickoff last season.
“I feel like, especially in our past, we’ve had a lot of returners that, you know, had the game in their hands just off of returns, punt returns, kick returns,” Wilson said. “So just being able to have that aspect to change the game, I feel like something I really look forward to.”
How Florida football WR Eugene Wilson III is preparing for more usage in 2024
The 5-foot-10, 183-pound Wilson said he’s ready for the challenge of more touches in 2024. He’s put on about 10 pounds of muscle on the offseason training with new UF strength and conditioning coach Tyler Miles, which should help him handle the contact he will receive in the physical SEC.
“From the winter to the spring, I put on about 10 pounds and really just tried maintaining it over the summertime with the heat and all the sweat and all that,” Wilson said. “I was trying to lose no weight, but at the same time, I’m not trying to be too heavy; trying to keep a little twitch going. But the strength staff, they do a really good job helping us maintain and getting stronger every day.”
Recovery is another important aspect to surviving the grind of fall camp and a 12-game season. Wilson said he picked up tips from watching the Netflix documentary “Receiver” to better take care of his body.
That includes more trips to the cold tank to alleviate muscle soreness and prevent muscle pulls.
“I would say a lot of it is probably not fun,” Wilson said. “But at the end of the day you have to take care of your body because it’s a moneymaker.”
Wilson’s combination of speed (he was clocked as high as 22 miles per hour over the summer) and shiftiness make him a tough cover for opposing SEC defensive backs.
“He is one of the best receivers in the SEC and I’m glad that, one, he’s on my team and two, I get to go against him every day,” Florida senior cornerback Jason Marshall Jr. said. “Iron sharpens iron. He goes out there, he practices hard. He challenges me. I challenge him. It’s only going to make us better.”
Florida
SNAP benefits will be changing in Florida starting Monday
TAMPA, Fla – New SNAP restrictions will start Monday in Florida.
What we know:
These changes will ban the purchase of many sugary sodas, energy drinks, candy and ultra-processed, shelf-stable prepared desserts.
Hunger Free America, an advocacy group, is against these restrictions.
Joel Berg, the CEO, said some regulation is a good thing, but he wants to see it support access to healthy foods as a choice.
“We do support mandates to mandate that healthier food is available in stores that do accept SNAP,” Berg said. “So, it makes a lot more sense to make it easier to get healthier food.”
Berg said these restrictions are unnecessary in achieving a healthier America.
“We should make America healthier again by making healthy food more affordable, convenient and physically available,” Berg said. “We shouldn’t micromanage the eating patterns of adults to try to achieve that goal.”
The other side:
This is part of the Make America Healthy Again initiative.
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins said, “Under the MAHA initiative, we are taking bold, historic steps to reverse the chronic disease epidemic that has taken root in this country for far too long.”
What they’re saying:
Berg said that these changes, on top of cuts to the program nationwide, will increase hunger.
“It’s not that low-income Americans don’t want healthier food; it’s that they can’t afford healthier food,” Berg said.
This coincides with the announcement that there will be cuts to WIC, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, which supplies food to mothers and young children.
“President Trump’s budget just announced that he’s proposing taking away fruits and vegetables from the WIC program for pregnant women and children under five,” Berg said. “So, they’re taking away healthier food.”
The WIC cuts would take away $1.4 billion in fruit and vegetable benefits from 5.4 million people.
Big picture view:
The SNAP changes come as part of the MAHA movement and include more than 20 other states that will implement changes over the next two years.
The Source: Information in this story comes from WIC, SNAP and interviews done by Fox 13’s Danielle Zulkosky.
Florida
GALLERY: Barrett-Jackson ‘Super Saturday’ takes over South Florida Fairgrounds
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (CBS12) — The engines are revving for one final day of high-stakes bidding and family fun at the South Florida Fairgrounds.
Barrett-Jackson’s Palm Beach auction reaches its grand finale today with an action-packed “Super Saturday” lineup, promising to close out the weekend with a full slate of collector car sales, live entertainment, and fan attractions.
“Super Saturday,” presented by Seminole Casino Coconut Creek, officially kicks off at 8 a.m. when gates, food courts, and the exhibitor marketplace open to the public.
What to expect
- 8:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.: The Fantasy Bid presented by Dodge begins early, running in tandem with the automobilia auction in the arena.
- 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.: Thrill-seekers can catch Dodge thrill rides on the Barrett-Jackson Performance Track.
- 10:00 a.m.: New amenities open to the public, including the Stella Artois, Staging Lanes, and Food Court patios, which offer shaded seating and auction views.
- 10:45 a.m.: The national anthem will be performed in the auction arena, signaling the start of the main collector car auction at 11 a.m.
- Afternoon Entertainment: DJ sets run from noon to 5 p.m. across the various patios, and a detailing clinic by Adam’s Polishes is scheduled for 2 p.m. near the South Showcase.
For those unable to attend, the whole event will be livestreamed throughout the day on the Barrett-Jackson website and the HISTORY channel from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Today’s finale comes on the heels of a high-energy Friday that saw significant sales and notable celebrity interest.
Star power was evident throughout the day, particularly with vehicles tied to the Busch family. A 1957 Ford Thunderbird Convertible owned by Samantha Busch and a 1969 Oldsmobile 442 Custom Coupe were among the day’s heavy hitters, each fetching $159,500. Kyle Busch’s 1956 Chevrolet Bel Air Custom Coupe also drew a strong bid, selling for $143,000.
Other Friday highlights included:
- 1968 Ford Mustang Eleanor Replica: $137,500
- 2004 Dodge Viper SRT-10 Mamba Edition: $132,000
- 1972 Chevrolet K5 Blazer Custom SUV: $126,500
- 1957 Ford Thunderbird Custom Convertible: $121,000
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With a festival-style atmosphere and high-profile sales driving momentum, organizers expect a busy crowd for the final push at the auction block today.
Florida
Bodycam captures life-saving rescue of choking baby by Florida deputies
ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. (CBS12) — A quiet Monday turned into a frantic race against time when a deputy stepped in to save a choking 1-year-old’s life.
According to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded to a call about a 1-year-old baby choking. Upon arrival, the responding deputy performed life-saving procedures to help the child breathe again.
See also: Two arrested after 6-year-old arrives at Florida school with bruises, deputies say
Body camera video shows a deputy holding the baby, flipping it over on its stomach, and beginning to pat the baby’s back.
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When the baby begins to cry, the deputy is heard saying, “he’s good.”
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