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Florida Gators alter travel plans ahead of Topical Storm Idalia

On3 imageby: Keith Niebuhr08/28/23On3Keith
Trevor-Etienne-Florida-Gators
Florida running back Trevor Etienne. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The Florida Gators no longer are leaving for Salt Lake City on Wednesday. But they’ll still arrive there that day.

With Tropical Storm Idalia barreling toward Florida and expected to hit land on the northwest coast of the Sunshine State on Wednesday, the Gators have altered their travel plans ahead of Thursday’s season opener at Utah.

The Gators now will leave Florida and head to Dallas on Tuesday. While there, Billy Napier and Co. will execute their regular routine two days ahead of a game.

Florida will spend the night in Dallas, then leave for Salt Lake City on Wednesday. Once they arrive there, the team’s schedule will be back to how it originally was planned.

At this time, it is unclear where the Gators will practice in Dallas.

Had the Gators stuck to their plan of leaving Florida on Wednesday, things might have gotten dicey given the unpredictable nature of storms. Tampa International Airport already closed all flights in and out starting Tuesday at midnight.

Per CNN.com, “Tropical Storm Idalia is expected to strengthen into a hurricane Monday and bring life-threatening and potentially catastrophic storm surge, winds and flooding rainfall to Florida’s Gulf Coast starting Tuesday into Wednesday as a Category 3 storm.Concerns are mounting around Idalia’s expected strength as it goes through rapid intensification, something it is forecast to do up until it makes landfall along Florida’s Big Bend – a natural, storm surge-prone divot along the coast stretching from Tampa to just south of Tallahassee.”

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Gators getting ready to play at a higher altitude

Rice Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City sits at more than 4,000 feet above sea level. It’s an altitude not many on the Gators’ roster have played in. Senior receiver Ricky Pearsall, however, has made two trips to Rice Eccles as a member of the Arizona State Sun Devils. While ASU went 0-2 in those trips, Pearsall does know what it feels like to play there.

“I didn’t really notice it too much to be honest,” Pearsall said of the elevation. “I just go out there and play football for myself. But there is a little bit of an adjustment factor, but we’re preparing for it each and every day.”

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