{"id":417773,"date":"2026-10-03T14:36:08","date_gmt":"2026-10-03T14:36:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/417773\/"},"modified":"2026-10-03T14:36:08","modified_gmt":"2026-10-03T14:36:08","slug":"london-montgomery-alec-clark-continue-to-shine-on-floridas-special-teams-wruf-98-1-fm-850-am","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/417773\/","title":{"rendered":"London Montgomery, Alec Clark Continue To Shine On Florida\u2019s Special Teams \u2013 WRUF 98.1 FM | 850 AM"},"content":{"rendered":"

The improvements for Florida football from last year to this season<\/a> are obvious across the board. The Gators hiring Tulane coach Jon Sumrall has paid dividends, the latest of the highlights coming in the form of a 52-28 win against Ole Miss<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

While the overwhelming difference between 2025 and 2026 has been the offensive improvements, another unit has stood out in the early games of the Sumrall era.<\/p>\n

One of the reasons that No. 8 Florida (4-0, 2-0 SEC) took a lead and never conceded in the top-five win against the Rebels was the effort of the special teams. A band of unlikely heroes have turned a sore spot for the Gators last year into a key positive under Sumrall.<\/p>\n

That shift has been partly caused by the influx of transfers who have revolutionized the group. Six players were brought in to fill the gaps left by players like kicker Trey Smack and punter Tommy Doman graduating to the NFL. In addition to those specific transfers that have shaken up special teams, another first-year Gator has come up massive when his name is called in the return game.<\/p>\n

East Carolina transfer running back London Montgomery has spent time picking up new aspects of the run game alongside Heisman Trophy candidate Jadan Baugh<\/a>. The one thing he never had to learn was the speed, a facet that has made him a potent kick returner at Florida.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople would show up to his pee wee games just to see London play,\u201d Terry Gallagher, Montgomery\u2019s coach at Scranton Prep High School, said. \u201cHe played at a different level from a young age. You\u2019d put the ball in his hand and a moment later, he\u2019s 70 yards down the field standing in the end zone every time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Montgomery, who ran for 2,356 yards and 36 touchdowns in his junior year at Scranton Prep, took that trait that was signature throughout his childhood to the next level. The Pennsylvania standout played a year at Penn State before making the move to East Carolina where he excelled.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Montgomery totaled 737 yards rushing and seven touchdowns his junior year before betting on himself and his progress by entering the transfer portal. That decision has worked out after he joined the Gators in January and is now making a strong impact for Florida as of late.<\/p>\n

The senior running back earned SEC Special Teams Player of the Week honors<\/a> for his breakout performance in the 24-point win against the Rebels last week in The Swamp. Montgomery returned three kicks for 128 yards, with two of those returns extended for 40-plus yards.\u00a0<\/p>\n

His output, which leads the SEC in single-game kick return yards this year, included a career long 74-yard return, which was the longest for the Gators since Solomon Patton\u2019s 100-yard return touchdown in 2013. It also gave Florida great field position to score three plays later and begin to pull away as the third quarter winded down.<\/p>\n

Adding Montgomery\u2019s speedy, physical style to a return room that features wide receiver Vernell Brown III on punts has made the Gators dangerous in the return game. That feeling of fear for opponents is one that Montgomery relishes.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll of our players are bought in to what the coaches are trying to coach us to do. We just take pride in special teams here,\u201d Montgomery told WRUF\u2019s Kevin Winter on the Gators Sports Network. \u201cOn the sidelines, before we go out for kick returns, my teammates are telling me that we\u2019re gonna take it to the crib. You need players like that who take pride in special teams and want to see us succeed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Montgomery is not the only transfer who made his mark in the Ole Miss game. Former Tulane punter Alec Clark moved from New Orleans to Gainesville to follow Sumrall. It is safe to say that is not the farthest move he has made.<\/p>\n

\"\"Florida Gators punter Alec Clark (38) and kicker Patrick Durkin (91) celebrate after an extra point against the Mississippi Rebels during the first half at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium last Saturday. [Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images]<\/p>\n

Clark calls Australia home, which is more than 11,000 miles away from Gainesville. Clark began learning American football punting through The Gridiron Company, a specialized training academy in Melbourne that helps Australian athletes earn U.S. collegiate scholarships for punting and kicking.\u00a0<\/p>\n

After playing Australian rules football his entire childhood, the Perth native made the decision to come to the United States and hone his skills by playing at the high school level in Atlanta. Clark would go on to play at Marshall before finding his wealth of action under Sumrall at Tulane.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In his time with the Green Wave, Clark developed into one of the best punters in the American Athletic Conference. He earned 2025 All-AAC First Team recognition for logging a career-best 46.5 average yards per punt across his 48 tries last season at Tulane.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Aussie has already made his mark as a Gator despite only booting away five punts through four games, a testament to how strong Florida\u2019s offense has been. His landmark moment, similar to Montgomery, also came in the Ole Miss game.<\/p>\n

With Florida backed up near its own end zone inside the final minute of the first half, the Gators were forced to give the ball away after an unsuccessful drive. Ole Miss held three timeouts and it was a near certainty that they would have a scoring chance depending on their field position. That is where Clark stepped in.<\/p>\n

The senior punter booted a 70-yard punt that tied a career-high and trickled out at the 2-yard line and pinned the Rebels deep in their own territory with no chance to score before halftime. While Clark has had limited opportunities to punt, he has made the most of the ones he has gotten.<\/p>\n

What made the moment special for Clark is that his family got to watch it back home, despite the time difference. The 3:30 p.m. kick off meant a 3:30 a.m. watch party for his parents back home, who sometimes find the difference in rules between Australian and American football to be a bigger challenge than the time change.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s crazy calling on the phone because my mom doesn\u2019t really know too much of the rules,\u201d Clark said.\u2029\u201dShe\u2019s like, \u2018Was it good?\u2019 My thought was, \u201cYes mom, I thought it was pretty nice.\u2019 They were both pretty happy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Clark\u2019s balance of the mental and physical aspects of American football is one that he learned and focused on through his coaching staff at The Gridiron Company. One of those key teachers in his development is former Australian NFL punter and Los Angeles Chargers Hall of Fame inductee Darren Bennett.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf someone said to me, \u2018I want a kid to go out and hit the most important punt in the season,\u2019 I would say let Alec Clark do it,\u201d Bennett said. \u201cHe\u2019s as strong mentally as he is capable physically.\u201d<\/p>\n

Between the pair of rising transfers and a bonafide top kicker in Tulane transfer Patrick Durkin, who is a perfect 27-for-27 on all kicks this season, the special teams crew is in good hands. While the offensive and defensive units have held strong for the top-10 Gators early on in 2026, the special teams unit has helped put them in good positions to succeed.<\/p>\n

What has also developed the special teams group into one of the SEC\u2019s best statistically is the attention to detail that Sumrall has provided. He has frequently mentioned throughout the season that he does not overlook their contributions and how he focuses on preparing the unit for Saturdays at practice. That dynamic is what has made Florida into the complete team it has been through the first four contests and what could make the Gators a national threat.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think your players can tell what\u2019s important by how many people are involved, and when the whole staff\u2019s involved, I think\u00a0 they feel that,\u201d Sumrall said of Florida\u2019s special teams. \u201cOur guys believe in it. They\u2019ve bought into it, and they\u2019re giving great effort.\u201d<\/p>\n

Catch the full interview with London Montgomery and Kevin Winter on the Gator Sports Network from Learfield during the Gators Pregame Show. Coverage between No. 8 Florida and No. 25 Missouri begins at 12:30 p.m. on WRUF 98.1-FM\/850-AM\/103.7 HD2 and at 3:30 p.m. on ABC.<\/a><\/p>\n

Category: Feature Sports News<\/a>, Gator Sports<\/a>, Gators Football<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The improvements for Florida football from last year to this season are obvious across the board. The Gators…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":417774,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[28,30,29],"class_list":["post-417773","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-florida","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/417773","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=417773"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/417773\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/417774"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=417773"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=417773"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=417773"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}