CORAL GABLES, Fla. _ Their season opener is still more than four months away, but if there was any expectation Florida and Miami wouldn't engage in a little spring trash talking, Gators linebacker Andrew Chatfield would like a word.
Actually, the redshirt freshman had more than a few words, it seems.
After the Gators wrapped up one of their spring workouts in Gainesville earlier this week, Chatfield was asked about the challenge Miami could pose, especially because of how strong its front seven was last fall despite the Hurricanes' 7-6 record.
And Chatfield _ who starred at American Heritage-Plantation along with Hurricanes defensive tackle Nesta Silvera _ was blunt in his assessment of the Hurricanes.
"Well, I don't really see them as a challenge," Chatfield told reporters in Gainesville, according to the Tampa Bay Times. "I just see them as another team really, because I feel like my whole team, we face SEC teams, big-boy teams. They faced one SEC team, and they got smashed by LSU last time I checked."
Chatfield, of course, was referring to Miami's 33-17 season-opening loss to the Tigers in Arlington, Texas, last September. A month later, Florida would go on to beat that same LSU team, 27-19, in a top-15 showdown in Gainesville.
But if Chatfield was hoping to get a rise from any of the Hurricanes with his comments, on Thursday at least, no Miami player was interested in taking the bait.
At least not publicly.
"August 24th," Silvera responded with a shake of his head when asked about his former teammate's comments. "That's just it. That's all I have to say on that."
Silvera then clarified there may have been more said when the two spoke privately.
"Possibly, possibly," he added when asked if he'd spoken to Chatfield recently. "That's my boy. I mean, the football side of it is the football side. It's separated."
Silvera noted Chatfield isn't the only Gators player he knows personally. Though he didn't name names, he said he'll face off Aug. 24 against "cousins, childhood friends and old teammates" on the Florida roster.
That's to be expected any time the two in-state rivals meet and though it will be his first time facing UF since signing with the Hurricanes in 2018, Silvera _ who is expected to take on a bigger role on this year's defensive line after the departure of veteran Gerald Willis III _ says he's confident he'll be able to keep his emotions in check and handle the task at hand the way his coaches expect him to.
"It's football at the end of the day," Silvera said. "Just (have to) keep working with (defensive line coach Todd Stroud), getting better every day and keep listening to what (defensive coordinator) Blake Baker has to say."
Fellow defensive lineman Greg Rousseau, who is working his way back from a season-ending ankle injury last season and also hails from South Florida, echoed Silvera's thoughts, especially when it came to Chatfield's comments.
"I'm not speaking on that. We're just coming out here as a team, working hard and getting ready," the defensive end said.
All of that said, Hurricanes coach Manny Diaz seemed to reference the Gators game during a fundraising event Wednesday night in Miami.
During an impassioned speech to more than 500 Hurricanes boosters, the coach quipped, "One-hundred and thirty six days from today ... we're going to Orlando, but we're not going to Disney."
He never mentioned Florida by name, but, Orlando's Camping World Stadium is the site of this year's game.
