Florida's staff is out to prove the standard for the Gators will be different in 2026

Great coaching goes beyond what happens on a football field, baseball field, basketball court, and even beyond the college campus. If there’s one thing Gator recruits have always commented on when it comes to is that the coaches at the University of Florida care deeply. They care beyond the gridiron. For Florida football offensive line coach Phil Trautwein, this characteristic is why he coaches.

He told “Stadium and Gale: A Florida Gators Podcast” on Monday that his mentor, Coach Adazio taught him that beyond high standards, “deep empathy creates winning teams and lives.”

“I wouldn’t be here without the coaches in my life,” said Trautwein. “My dad left me when I was young. There’s two people I call on Father’s day and it’s my O-Line coach in high school and my O-Line coach from college, Coach Adazio,” he said. Why? Because though he was a tough coach and yell and be mean on the field, off the field the hard coach shuts off and the empathetic coach and the “father figure” turns on. “Off the field, he’ll love you, he’ll bring you over to his house, he’ll care about you, and he’ll do anything for you. And that’s the kind of coach I want to be,” he noted.

He said because that’s how we was raised and brought up as an athlete and because of the impact it left on his life and how the empathetic side of a coach made him the player he is, he wants to be that same coach to his players.

Trautwein discussed how to win you have to be tough, so he will be tough on his guys on the field, but off the field, he will love them, care about them, and make sure they know that he is always there for them.

“I’m going to show them that I will do everything for them and that I love them. And that’s what I truly feel,” he stated. “A lot the basics and the beginnings is coach Adazio.”

And on the same evening that was released, 2028 offensive tackle prospect, Carter Barrett made a statement to Greg Smith of On3 Rivals that echoes those sentiments. He told Smith, “I think very highly of Coach Trautwein as his love for Florida goes very deep.”

Per Smith of On3 Rivals, the Gators offered the 2028 recruit out of West Des Moines, IA on Tuesday.

This is something that many Gator recruits have discussed when asked about why they’re choosing Florida. Yes wearing the Gator crest on your chest is a big deal in and of itself, but if you ask many of the recruits who Florida has signed recently, they will tell you the Florida Gators care, and they care a lot about each member of their athletic programs, whether they’re on their specific team or not.