GAINESVILLE — Phil Trautwein’s return to his old stomping grounds at Florida feels welcoming, familiar and — he had long hoped — inevitable.
Much also has changed since the Gators’ new offensive line coach attended his first game in the Swamp in 2001 or lined up at left tackle for the 2006 and 2008 national champions.
The palatial $85 million Heavener Football Center dazzled him. The program’s recent struggles disheartened him. The talent he inherited reassured him.
Trautwein arrived in December determined to take the considerable tools at his disposal to build a better future rooted in past success.