Strange news out of Nashville: Fifth-year Florida senior Leon Orr left the Gators after finding out he wasn’t in the starting lineup, apparently heading back to Gainesville by himself on a bus while the team played Vanderbilt.
Florida DT leaves Vanderbilt on bus to Gainesville after realizing he wasn’t starting
After realizing he wasn’t in the lineup, senior DT Leon Orr got out of town instead of sticking around to play as a backup.
After talking to head coach Will Muschamp, Orr opted to leave the team and return to Gainesville on a bus.
“He was more concerned with starting than being part of the team,” Muschamp said.
This is weird on several levels. First of all, Orr wasn’t a regular starter -- he’d started two games, but none of the past four -- but did play frequently. It’s not like the starting snub was unexpected, and it’s not like Orr wasn’t a part of the team’s game plan.
Secondly, it’s weird that Florida is -- I swear, no pun intended -- throwing Orr under the bus like this. The Gators didn’t have to put out a press release right before kickoff explaining that Orr had thrown a fit and left the team, complete with a disappointed quote from the head coach calling out a player for his selfishness. They could’ve just said that Orr wasn’t with the team if anybody asked.
Third, dude took a bus? Did he take a waiting team bus back to Gainesville by himself? Did he go to the Nashville bus station, three miles away from Vandy’s stadium, and embark on a 12-hour journey featuring a transfer at Atlanta?
Update:
Muschamp on Leon Orr: "If you go home you're done." Says he is off team.
— Morgan Moriarty (@Morgan_Moriarty) November 9, 2014 See More:
