DT Leon Orr contrite about leaving Florida

Now-former Florida Gators redshirt senior defensive tackle Leon Orr did not play in Saturday’s game against Vanderbilt after leaving the team on game day when Orr learned from head coach Will Muschamp that he would not be starting the game.

Florida announced before the game, and Muschamp explained after the Gators’ 34-10 win, that Orr would have seen the field for his normal allotment of plays, but he could not accept not starting the contest.

“Leon hasn’t started since the Alabama game. He hadn’t started all week in practice. Came to me [Saturday] and didn’t understand why he wasn’t starting, said he was going to go home. That was his decision. I said, ‘You go home, you’re done. You’re not a Florida Gator anymore,’” Muschamp said Saturday night.

As a result, Orr was kicked off the team for good, a fact Muschamp reiterated on Monday during his weekly press conference. “Nothing’s changed,” he said.

After sending numerous tweets during his bus ride on Saturday, Orr posted on Instagram early Sunday morning, saying the following: “At the end of the day ppl make mistakes we all human , I love my team and I love the #GatorNation ! Goodnight.”

On Monday, he sent a series of tweets in an attempt to clarify the situation.

“I’ll have my chance to respond on the proper format , I won’t tongue wrestle fans or try to fit my reasoning in a tweet …” he began. “More than anything I love my university and my brothers and if you really know me and see me play you can tell …

“I made the mistake of putting my families future ahead of my team and for that I am truly sorry it’ll haunt me forever … But as my mothers only son I gotta find a way to provide for my three sisters , my daughter and neice !”

Orr is intimating here that not starting games for Florida drastically affects the way teams view him ahead of the 2015 NFL Draft.

What he does not seem to realize is that making an issue about not starting – and subsequently walking out on his team before a game for that reason – places him in a much more negative light as 32 prospective employers review his file ahead of the draft.

Asked about Orr’s departure from Florida, redshirt senior center Max Garcia had the following to say on Monday.

“Leon is a guy I respect a lot. I thought we were getting to a point where I saw him maturing a lot,” he said. “[Making that decision] struck me off guard.”

Its no fighting its nothing to get bent out of shape about. Im just speaking for all the gators who went through the grind. Nothin personal

— IG: ahmadblack3535 (@ahmadblack35) November 10, 2014