Returning to Florida Gators Easy Choice for Rocco Underwood

Rocco Underwood opted to stay with the Florida Gators after his award-winning season in 2024. After being named the top long snapper in college football, most would use that as an opportunity to jump to the NFL.

That wasn’t the case for Underwood. Sticking around Gainesville was always part of the plan.

“No, I wasn't really debating it at all,” he said this week. “Before the season, I hadn't really talked to any agents or anything like that. I was kind of focused on the season, but I wasn't talking to anyone. I wasn't even thinking about the NFL. I was thinking about coming back for a fifth year. I just had a good year, made some plays and won. A lot of people were thinking I was going to leave, but that wasn't in my plan."

After the Gators' late-season turnaround, he’s got a chance to be part of a team that’s pushing for the College Football Playoff. Having him on special teams is going to remain crucial for the Gators, especially since he’ll work with the successor to Jeremy Crawshaw, Tommy Doman, and continues to work with Lou Groza Award watchlist member kicker Trey Smack.

Underwood said that working with Doman, compared to Crawshaw, hasn’t been noticeably different.

“I think they're both great punters. They both have their own little things they like to do.”

Doman transferred over from Michigan during the offseason, giving the Gators an experienced specialist to take over the role.

Underwood’s contributions went beyond just cleaning, sending a missile toward the Gators’ kickers. He even forced a fumble and recovered it during the win over FSU last season.

It was a cool moment, but he admitted the adrenaline of the moment caused him to black out a bit. It’s something that he would like to do again, but he knows the opportunity has to come his way. He can’t just force the situation.

“Hopefully, Tommy just hits great balls,” he said.

Underwood has been putting in the work to have a strong follow-up to 2024. He doesn’t keep track of how many snaps he does on a busy day, but he estimates that it’s between 50 and 100 snaps.

He’s also started to prioritize punt protection as part of his game.

“I feel like in the NFL, that's what they do. We do that here.”

The simplest way to describe is goal in practicing punt protection is going for the closest guy and blocking him. These finer details will only help him in his last year with the Gators, but also once he goes pro.

We’ll get to see this further refined Underwood at the end of this month when the Gators take on Long Island University in the season opener Aug. 30.

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