Gators freshman Jon Bostic making a name for himself on special teams
by Ben Volin
Tim Casey/Gator Country
The best advice
Jon Bostic received this summer had nothing to do with playing linebacker.
“Basically they said, ‘Get on as many special teams as you can,’” said Bostic, a true freshman from Wellington. “And once you make a name for yourself there, they’re going to throw you in the game.”
Bostic took that message to heart. The quickest way to endear yourself to
Urban Meyer is to excel on special teams, and 2/3rds of the way through the season, Bostic now finds himself on both kickoff units and the punt coverage team.
“To be on three, you’re the real deal,” Meyer said. “Not many guys do that.”
One day, Bostic will start at linebacker. For now, though, he is stuck behind All-American
Brandon Spikes and veteran stand-outs
Ryan Stamper,
A.J. Jones and
Dustin Doe.
But Bostic is ensuring his spot in the future lineup with his play on special teams now, much like Spikes did as a freshman in 2006.
“Jon Bostic is a great example – he had a great spring, then this summer he realized, ‘Hey, this is how I can get on the field and help the team,’” punter
Chas Henry said. “And he’s done an amazing job getting on there.”
Bostic, listed at 6-foot-1, 235 pounds, was singled out by Meyer this week for making two tackles on punt coverage against Vanderbilt. Meyer values the punt coverage unit above all others.
“If I don’t trust you, there’s no chance you’re getting near that team,” he said.
Bostic admitted that at first it was a little strange trying to bust his hump just to get on the kickoff team. At Palm Beach Central High, the kickoff team was for the backups and guys who didn’t get to play.
“In high school we didn’t really focus on special teams that much. We had a good kicker and he used to kick it out of the end zone every play,” Bostic said. “When I got here, I was actually a little surprised how much they focus on special teams.”
Bostic, who has 17 tackles on the season (seven in SEC play), credits Spikes and Stamper for mentoring him since he stepped on campus in January and helping him adjust to linebacker. Bostic was mostly a running back at Palm Beach Central High, and played safety for the first time as a senior.
“When I first got up here I was just trying to run all over the field,” Bostic said. “But then you got to start reading the guards, tackles, sitting back on their heals, and Spikes has been teaching me a lot of that stuff.”
Bostic had been projected as the Gators’ middle linebacker of the future, but Meyer said this week that Bostic might play weakside linebacker because of his “freakish” athletic ability and outstanding speed.
Meyer said he knew he was getting a special player when he met Bostic’s parents, Jon and Jacqueline, last year. Bostic’s father played three seasons for the Detroit Lions in the 1980s.
“I saw a father who played in the NFL, and a great mother,” Meyer said. “And the correlation between that and a guy that’s going to be a productive player is really high.”
