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CAPITAL ONE ORANGE BOWL: FLORIDA VS VIRGINIA

December 27, 2019

Van Jefferson

Miami Gardens, Florida

Q. Any thoughts on your last game?
VAN JEFFERSON: A little bit, man. Last time I get to play with a lot of guys, man, and I'm going to miss them a lot. We had a little senior tackle the last week at practice, that was the last time practicing and the game. It's going to be emotional, because I'm not going to see these guys for a long time. We're going on to the next chapter of our lives. We'll see each other again.

Q. So many good receivers on this team who are seniors. Who do you think might step up next year?
VAN JEFFERSON: Man, I think Jacob Copeland, Trevon Grimes, Dionte Marks, Ja'Markis, Trent, a couple guys are going to step up next year and have a big impact on offense.

Q. What is your impression of those three freshmen that redshirted?
VAN JEFFERSON: I like them a lot. I think Trent does really well in practice. Dionte and Ja'Markis are two of the fast guys, they make plays, so I think they're going to be good next year and have a really big impact.

Q. Weston has a chip on his shoulder. Do you like that?
VAN JEFFERSON: Yeah, I do. Ja'Markis is big. He's strong. So I think he's going to come in and take that role, surprise a lot of people, so I'm excited to see what he does.

Q. Who's one of the receivers (indiscernible).
VAN JEFFERSON: I mean, we've already talked about Jacob and Trey, but of the freshmen, I think you'll be talking about -- I think you'll be talking about Trent, Ja'Markis and Dionte. I think those will be three guys like, whoa, where did they come from because they work so hard in practice, they put the time and effort in. I think it'll be there for them next season. Coach likes them, the whole team likes them, especially what they're doing on scout team going against Marco and C.J. and those guys. If they come back and say, those guys are fast, I think those are going to be three guys that really has a big impact next year.

Q. Did you get your last tackle --
VAN JEFFERSON: Yeah, we'll see. The last practice and games, man, the last time I'll ever see those guys for a long time, last time to get in a uniform. It's emotional, but we're going to the next chapters of our lives, so I'm prepared for it. Life goes on.

Q. How is your form?
VAN JEFFERSON: My form was not very good. I mean, I just tackled (indiscernible) pretty much.

Q. (Indiscernible) did you talk to your dad about that?
VAN JEFFERSON: No, I didn't have a discussion with my dad. I was going to play regardless. I know some guys do it for other reasons and that's them and I wish the best for them, but I came in with these guys, they accepted me, and so I can't just play (indiscernible) to get out there one last time, man, that's pretty much it.

Q. How would you describe the direction of the program as you're leaving here?
VAN JEFFERSON: I think it's going up. I think Coach Mullen came in and did a great job with the program. It's only going to get better, and I think the guys on the team that's going to be on the next year, the seniors are going to be up there, I think that they have a good understanding of what the Gator standard is, so I think the guys leading that team I think it's going to go up from here.

Q. What would a win in this game mean for the program?
VAN JEFFERSON: It would mean a lot, playing a good team in Virginia. Just got to execute the way that we do, but it would be a huge win for the Gators, man. It would be huge for the program. It would be huge for the seniors. You know, I can't wait to play on Monday, and it'll be a good game.

Q. What have you seen from them?
VAN JEFFERSON: They're a physical defense. They've got a lot of athletic guys. We've just got to be sound in what we do and execute. Just be technically sound. I think they pose a great challenge for us, and we like challenges, so we've just got to play.

Q. How have you been able to catch so many big passes this year? How do you get excited for a four-yard (indiscernible) basically?
VAN JEFFERSON: Personally for me, I like the short stuff. I like the slants, the digs and the out cuts and things like that. I mean, the reason I like it is because kind of like I'm quick twitch, so I like to work my moves and things like that. I think guys like Tre, Tre and Tyrie, they like the deep stuff, so it's a different game. But I think you've just got to get prepared for it every day. No matter what the game plan is, you've just got to execute it at a high level. So I think -- of course you like the long stuff, you know, but we've just got to go with the game plan that they give us.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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