9,Aidion JiotWA 9A4A Ctnwrua Florida Gator football for 1953 begins in high gear on September 19th when Coach Bob Woodruff's aggregation clashes with mighty Rice Institute of the Southwest Conference, and the tempo doesn't let up an iota the next two weeks with spectacular Georgia Tech and resurging Kentucky on deck. The Gators play their opener with Rice in Houston and make their first home appearance against Georgia Tech at Gainesville with a 2:30 kickoff in the game that has been talked about as one of the nation's top games of the year all summer. Fans considerably in excess of the 40,000 Florida Field capacity are likely to be on hand for this battle of Southeastern Conference titans. Fan speculation on the Gators has run far higher through the summer than has that of Florida's Coach Bob Woodruff. The slow-moving, action-getting Woodruff, who took only three seasons to put the Gators in their first post sea- son bowl game, has repeatedly warned Gator followers that the comeback from graduation losses is going to be definitely slow and probably painful. "You just can't lose 19 senior lettermen one year and be as strong the next." Woodruff said originally and has several times repeated. "This will necessarily be a rebuilding year for Florida. We'll do the best we can with it." Some 33 lettermen will be available to the Gater coaches when the Saurians go into their opener with Rice, but the joker in that deck of 33 is the fact that 1953 will be a one- platoon year and all of them won their varsity awards under the two-platoon system of football specialization. Prospects for improvement over the Gator Bowl season of last year that brought a seasonal record of eight wins and three losses-including the 14-13 win over Tulsa in the Gator Bowl-are anything but real bright. The Gators could be a well-moulded football team, rugged and hard to beat, but the departure of All-America tackle Charlie LaPradd, halfbacks Buford Long and J. (Papa) Hall and, in fact, 16 other gridiron valuables is going to take some of the keenness from Florida's 1952 effectiveness. Still sparkling on the Florida gridiron horizon, however, are aces like full- back Rick Casares and guard Joe D'Agostino, and an encouraging supporting cast will be there in the sturdiness of performers like ends Jack O'Brien and Jerry Bilyk, guard Art Wright, tackles Dan Hunter and Jimmy Hatch, and backs Doug Dickey, Bob Davis, Dick Watson, Bob Mueth, and Jim Schwartz- burg. The strength, and even the greatness, of Florida's first home opponent- Georgia Tech-is unquestioned from the Atlantic to the Pacific. The colorful proteges of Coach Bobby Dodd are on a winning streak that has extended The joy of victory over arch rival Georgia is reflected in the faces of Co-captains Charlie La- Pradd, Bubba Ware; and Coach Bob Woodruff.