Arguably, the state of Florida has some of the best college football programs in the nation, and there are Polk County players making an impact with each of the major programs.

In Gainesville, week after week, all you hear about is how the “Gator-Naughts” help Florida win games. The “Gator-Naughts” are all former Lakeland High School players who are making it big at UF. They are Chris Rainey, Maurkice Pouncey, Michael Pouncey and Ahmad Black and they have all contributed to both Gator wins so far this season.

Even more Polk County high school stars made their mark on the college game last night in South Florida’s big win over Kansas. While the Gators have the “Gator-Naughts”, someone might need to come up with a catchy nickname for the three South Florida stars who hail from Polk County. Quarterback Matt Grothe (Lake Gibson), Running Back Jamar Taylor (Lakeland) and Kicker Maikon Bonani (Lake Wales), led the Bulls to a 37-34 win over #12 Kansas. Bonani won the game with a 43-yard field goal as time expired in his first game on the college level.

This is just further proof that on every Friday night, at any given high school stadium around the county, you can see the future of many college programs and some future NFL stars.