Gators' Jack Pyburn Embracing Role as Fullback

Florida Gators edge rusher Jack Pyburn is mostly known for his ability as a defender, but now he's starting to take on a role on the team's goal line offense.

Oct. 19, 2024. Florida Gators edge rusher Jack Pyburn lines up at fullback in front of running back Jadan Baugh against Kentucky. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Lander-Gators Illustrated. / Kyle Lander - Gators Illustrated

GAINESVILLE, Fla.-- The fullback position in this era of college football has become a lost art, but for Florida Gators edge rusher Jack Pyburn, it's another opportunity to help his team while fulfilling a love for contact.

However, this new role on the Gators' offense wasn't always part of Pyburn's plans. It wasn't even his idea.

"(Coaches) came to me about it," he said. "They used me in a variety of ways. They use me on special teams. My defensive role, and now offense. It's been a package that we've had in for a good while."

It wasn't a package the Florida offense debuted, though, until the 48-20 win over Kentucky two weeks ago, when freshman running back Jadan Baugh tied a program record with five rushing touchdowns. Pyburn, who also played fullback in high school, was the lead blocker on two of the scores.

Part of the decision to finally use the Pyburn-led goal line package came from red zone struggles the week prior against Tennessee. In four first-half red zone opportunities, the Gators came away with only three points. Florida fumbled on a quarterback sneak with Graham Mertz on the goal line, turned the ball over on fourth-and-one on a jet handoff and had a field goal negated due to a penalty.

"Obviously given what happened to us last week, I think we felt like -- you know, we carry those type of plays each week. We just had those scenarios tonight," said UF head coach Billy Napier after the win over Kentucky. "Look, Jack was lights out. You know, I think it's a factor. Pyburn, he's made our team better."

For Pyburn, the role simply comes down to his love for contact and creating chaos for opponents on the field.

"It's coming down to, 'Hey, Jack, we need to you blow up the edge.' Okay, I do that pretty well on defense, so I can do that well pretty well on offense, too," he said. "I look forward to putting my face into someone and running through someone, if I'm being honest. I love contact."

This love for contact, even in a violent sport, seems to be another lost art. Pyburn's love for the violence of the game comes from childhood, where he would get in trouble for wreaking havoc on the youth soccer field because he would "plow everyone over."

"I remember after my first (football) practice (his parents) came, and I was, like, 'So I can hit people and not get in trouble for it?' They were, like, 'Yeah.' I was, like, 'Wow, this is great,'" Pyburn explained. "So ever since then I have just loved -- I just love being physical. I love contact. I don't know why. I guess something might be wrong with me. I don't know."

"He’s physical, he's fast, he's smart. I mean, he's going to do the right thing," said linebacker Grayson Howard. "So I mean, if you tell him where to go, if you need to put him on offense and tell him where to go, he'll do it 100 mph and he's going to put the team on his back and he's going to do what's best for the team.”

Fullback may be a perk of Pyburn's sacrificial attitude, but it doesn't take away from his main role as one of Florida's top defenders. Less than a year after an ACL tear cut his 2023 season short, Pyburn leads the Gators with 35 total tackles and is coming off a career-high eight tackles against Kentucky.

With a matchup against No. 2 Georgia up next in his hometown of Jacksonville, Florida, there's a lot on the line for the team as a whole and for Pyburn personally. With a heated rivalry comes violence, and Pyburn understands that trait will be necessary if the Gators want to pull off the upset.

"It's what I do, man. I love contact," he said. "At the end of the day you watch the best edges in the NFL, you watch the best edges in college football, the best edges are ones that set edges and set edges with violence.

"Like I say, it's better to be the hammer than the nail because if you're the nail, you're the one that's getting hurt. If you are the hammer, you ain't going to feel nothing. So when I come there it's a mentality that I'm going to run through your face, and you're going to have to stop me. Hurts them a lot more than it hurts me. It's fun."