Clip of the day

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVSqdxYHs6Q

Getting closer

54 days until the season opener against Charleston Southern

The Sporting News ranks the Top 5 coaches.

Quick link

Forecasting the SEC

‘Bama Cheats, NCAA Says It Doesn’t Care

Is there anything lamer than vacating past victories?


From the Birmingham News.

My favorite part – “The ruling, which will be announced at 2 p.m., also includes the NCAA placing Alabama on three more years of probation, and Alabama will pay a fine. “

Three MORE years probation. What’s next, double-secret probation?

You see Alabama football was already in the midst of five probation period for past violations. And if one might expect enhanced penalties, one is bound to be disappointed. As you see, for their most recent transgressions the Crimson Tide, besides the new probation, will have to forfeit “at least 10 wins”. There will be no scholarship penalties.

In other words all the markings of the proverbial slap on the wrist.

There is simply nothing lamer the NCAA can do than cause schools to forfeit past victories. No one cares, not the school, not the fans and – with the exception of perhaps Bobby Bowden – not the coaches. What are you going to do – brag to your rival that you really beat them back in 2006 despite what occurred on the field?

The only penalties worth anything are penalties to your future, and Alabama got none here. And the NCAA continues its toothless irrelevance in the face of the sports biggest programs.

Have Some Perspective, People!

Vol's quarterback Jonathan Crompton received death threats last season.

Take heart Jonathan there are plenty of SEC schools that love you! I think I can speak for Brandon Spikes and the entire defense that we look forward to seeing you on September 19th.

Opening Shot 2009 – Georgia

Because it’s never too early to taunt your rivals


Let’s start 2009's opening shot with this -


2008 PRESEASON POLLS

2008 POSTSEASON POLLS

Kiffinloo

The “science” behind the coming beat down of September 19th.

A friend recently forwarded me this amusing piece in which the author predicts a betting line on the Florida – Tennessee game of 37 points in favor of the Gators.

Funny stuff indeed.

But is it accurate?

I figured what better to reacclimatize myself to college football blogging than diving headfirst into the SEC controversy de jour – the war of words between Kiffin and Meyer, and what effect that will have on the September 19 contest at Florida. And better yet, do so statistically.

So how to predict what the score at the Swamp might look like? I would suggest we look at last year’s stats, make an educated assessment about this year’s returning players, then come up with a solution. Let’s start with last year’s game, a 30-6 win by the Gators at Neyland.

By “holding” Florida to a mere 30 points last year the Vols had one of the better defensive performances against the Gators of any team in 2008, exceeded by only the 28 points by Miami and the 24 of Oklahoma (and tied with the 30 in the loss to Ole Miss). Moreover Tennessee did an excellent job of overall defense, holding Florida to only 243 yards, the best performance against the Gators all year, and 202 yards better than Florida’s season average of 445.

Tennessee’s defense was excellent last year, ranking 10th in the nation in scoring defense, and 3rd in total defense. But defense wasn’t the Vols problem.

Against Florida offensively Tennessee had 258 yards, scoring only 6 points on a single TD (with a missed extra point). That 258 yards was pretty close to par for the Vols last year as they averaged a mere 269 yards per game. More disturbing for Tennessee was the scant 17.33 points per game averaged in 2008, ranking them 111th of the 119th FBS teams.

Now let’s take a look at the 2008 averages for both teams, and make our assessments about the coming season.

Tennessee 2008

Offensive Points per Game – 17.33
Defensive Points Given per Game – 16.75

It’s hard to win much with that margin.

Florida 2008

Offensive Points per Game – 43.64
Defensive Points Given per Game – 12.93

That’s right – while Tennessee was great defensively in 08’, Florida was even better.

The Assessments

Tennessee Defense in 2009 –

UT has arguably one of the better defensive players in the SEC in safety Eric Berry, and they return team tackle leader Rico McCoy but lost linebackers Nevin McKenzie and Ellix Wilson. And while the defensive back seven is solid, the defensive line lost first round pick Robert Ayers and tackle Demonte Bolden. New defensive coach Monte Kiffin is a proven commodity, and this should be a solid defensive unit later in the year, but I would think them slightly worse on September 19th due to losses.

Tennessee Offense in 2009 –

Tennessee offense in a word in 2008 – terrible. 110th in the nation in scoring offense, 115th in the nation in total offense, 107th in passing offense and 88th in rushing Vols were anemic at best. Tennessee lost running backs Foster and Creer but is fairly deep at the position. They also lost offensive tackle Ramon Foster from a squad that wasn’t that good to begin with, and the offensive line should be concern in 09’. They return quarterback Jonathan Crompton who was mediocre last season passing for only 889 yards and 4 touchdowns with a QB rating of 98.13 (Tebow, by way of contrast, had 2746 yards, 30 TD’s and a rating of 172.37). It is hard to imagine this unit being much worse than last year, but equally hard to imagine much improvement by September 19th when the playes will have had little time to adjust to Jim Chaney’s new offense. We will call it a draw.


Florida Defense in 2009 –

They are all coming back. Not only are all eleven starters back, but every defensive player that saw any real time returns for one of the nation’s best defenses last season. Florida’s defense should be at least as good next season, though it is hard to improve much from giving up only 12.93 points per game. Let's say, for the sake of argument, they are just as good.

Florida Offense in 2009 –

Florida had the nation’s 4th best scoring offense in 2008, but there were some key losses on this side of the ball in wide receivers Percy Harvin and Louis Murphy. Plus the losses of tackles Phil Trautwein and Jason Watkins leave some holes. Though Harvin was a unique talent no doubt, but there is plenty of talent at the position. The loss of the linemen may be harder to overcome. Let’s call the offense slightly worse by the 3rd week in September.

The Intangibles

The Swamp – 90,000 screaming Gators in what will likely be a night game. The last time Tennessee came to Florida in 2007 Meyer and the Gators put a 59-20 smack down on Fulmer and crew. Those 59 points were scored by an offense that wasn’t as good as the 08’ squad, and UT’s 20 points came against one of the worst Gator defenses ever. (In all fairness the 08’ UT defense wasn’t stellar either).

Revenge – Anyone who thinks Meyer – and Tebow – don’t believe in revenge old testament style hasn’t been paying attention. There is little doubt that Mark Richt’s little gimmick of 2007 led directly to the 49-10 Bulldog annihilation of 2008. To gauge how lopsided that Georgia loss was, note it was exactly twice the 24.5 point per game average Georgia surrendered last season.

My Somewhat Scientific Outcome

Florida’s Score = UF managed 30 last year on the road. This year the defense of UT should be slightly worse. So –

30 (last year) + 0 (a wash with slightly worse UT defense, slightly worse UF offense) + 7 (Home/Swamp Factor) + 14 (Revenge Factor) = 51

Tennessee’s Score = 6 (last year) +0 (same UF defense, same UT offense) = 6

51-6

Kiffinloo 2009.

Mark it down.

It would be the largest margin of victory in the series. I also bet Meyer is aware of that.

Does this count towards the Fulmer Cup?

Daniel Hood has recently been added to the 2009 Tennessee recruiting class.

Unfortunately, the below link discusses the same person.

http://www.tsc.state.tn.us/OPINIONS/TCA/PDF/064/HooddaOPN.pdf

because I saw it

He did what?

They were right there in front me; and I couldn’t help myself but soak in the moment. The post-combine Mock Drafts were out and they all had Percy Harvin in the top half of the draft, some pundits were even arguing he could go top 10. Percy was going to be the player that would forever banish the bias against the University of Florida wide receivers. The bias that started with wideouts that played under Spurrier and continued to be held against the players that have played under Meyer. But Percy was different. Percy would find a crack in the theory and expose it, like he had done so many times to opposing defenses. He would be the guy that the Florida coaching staff would point to as the example of wide receivers they put into the League.

Scouts had seen the combination of size, speed and power and were in awe. They watched the tape and saw what Gary Danielson once called the best release from the line of scrimmage he had ever seen in college football. They saw him glide into the endzone time after time against the best defenses in college football and had visions of Percy doing the same in their uniform.

They spoke with Urban Meyer, he of the 2 National Championships and the trust of Bill Belichick, and they heard that Percy’s will to win was unrivaled. They heard that he was a great teammate from the ultimate teammate, Tim Tebow. Sure there were concerns about injuries, but Percy had had that surgery to correct the foot problem and said he finally felt healthy. You could see it in their eyes – the scouts were thinking he had done all that he had done and didn’t feel healthy? Imagine what he could do for us now that he felt 100%!

Then as quickly as the dream appeared it began to disappear. Within a few weeks of the combine, it was reported that Percy had scored a 12 on the Wonderlic Test. Thankfully though, I reasoned, the League will forgive a low test score when the talent is great. There are a long line of players that have done poorly on the Wonderlic that ended up succeeding in the League I said. I reasoned Dan Marino scored a 15 and he was a pretty good pro.

While my own reasoning calmed me, everyone else wasn’t so easily dissuaded from concern. The pundits began to pencil in Percy’s name in the 20s. My initial reaction was that of shock and disbelief. How could someone who was arguably the best skill position player at the University of Florida drop into the lower half of the first round I wondered aloud. And then I started to see the teams that they were projecting him to and realized that maybe, just maybe, dropping into the lower half of the first round would hasten the banishment of the bias. If Percy could catch passes from Ryan, Flacco or Manning wouldn’t that help the cause more than being stuck with Russell, Girard or whoever is the quarterback for the Jets? Yes, this will work out just fine, I told myself. I could see it in my mind’s eye, there were the pundits talking about the 2011 draft, saying that Deonte Thompson, from the University of Florida and in the mold of former first rounder and current Atlanta Falcon Percy Harvin, will be one of the first receivers taken in the draft. I was at ease with this scenario. Sure it might cost Percy a little money, but wouldn’t it be worth it for the good of the next group of players? Percy’s last gift to the University of Florida, as if the two National Championships weren't enough.

While I basked in the idea of Percy playing for a better team, a better quarterback, reporters at SI.com and NFLdraftbible.com were compiling a list of players that supposedly had failed the combine drug test. Reports began to surface that there were some “big names” on the failed list. I wondered aloud to my friends, who could possibly be dumb enough to smoke pot before the combine? The players know that they are going to be tested right, I asked.

A friend once told me be careful of the questions you ask because someone might just answer them.

The initial leaked list of names (remember the drug test results are supposed to confidential), included Clay Matthews, Jr., Brian Cushing, B.J. Raji, Vontae Davis, and our own Percy Harvin. No, no this couldn’t be. Not Percy. One by one the players and their representatives began proclaiming their innocence. I found it odd that neither Percy, nor his agent, were publicly voicing Percy’s innocence, but I figured why argue when all it is is a rumor?

Time passed and as it turned out more and more names were crossed off the “failed” list. First Matthews, then Cushing, then Davis, then Raji. I figured it was just a matter of time before our beloved Percy would have his name cleared too. All would be fine and Percy could banish the bias.

Unfortunately it was all just a dream. For some unknown reason, Percy did, in fact, fail his drug test at the combine. And while the above was written tongue-in-cheek (personally I don’t care if anyone smokes pot), there is some truth to it. Percy was in the unique position to be Meyer’s first recruited player to be drafted in the first round. That is all but a pipe dream now, excuse the pun. The NFL has become intolerant to off-field-issues over the past 3 years or so, ask Pacman and Mike Vick. There is so much money involved in a first round draft choice that picking a player that will have one strike against him – which Percy will – in the first round just isn’t smart business and can be career suicide. In all likelihood Percy will be drafted in the first half of the 2nd round (although it is possible he slips even further); and while he probably cost himself millions of dollars he should also have a fine NFL career.

All of this just has me wondering – what in the world was he thinking?

Random items

The Promise

What does he know about too stiff ?

Bryan Thomas has been given a medical exemption. He will be allowed to remain on scholarship, however he will not count towards the 85 scholarship limit.

Orlando reporter confirms what Gator fans already know – nothing interesting happens in Tallahassee.

Personally, I think he is trying too hard to convince everyone he knows what he is doing. I think Dennis Dodd is one of the best in the business, but he is off base here.

more to come later today if I can break away from the TV.

Defensive Tackle

Just to update everyone - John Brown is no longer with the team, and there are rumors floating about that Torrey Davis is back in the doghouse.

In my opinion look for the staff to try to sign 3 defensive tackles in the 2010 recruiting class.

Signees - the Defense

DT: Edwin Hebert enrolled in January and was previously written about.

Gary Brown – Quincy, FL
6’3”
275lbs
5 stars
#23 on the ESPN 150

Brown continues to impress with his play. He committed to Florida in March 2008 and never wavered, despite what the Seminoles will tell you. He was without a doubt the best DL prospect at the Under Armor All American game, and routinely game the OL fits. While his frame needs a little bulk, he has excellent skills, initial quickness and good motor. Has enough speed to run the QB and can be unstoppable when he stays low. Will need to work on breaking the habit of spinning off of blocks and improve his consistency.



DE: Kedric Johnson – Palmetto, FL
6’4”
220lbs
3 stars


He totaled 46 sacks over the past 2 seasons, so he obviously has some skill rushing the passer. Will need to put on some weight before he sees the field (word is that he is to 230lbs). Could be a real sleeper.

The ones that got away – Nick Kasa (Broomfield, Colorado) and/or Ryne Giddins (Seffner, FL). Kasa was committed to Florida for a long time before switching his commitment to Colorado. Seems that his parents (Florida grads) were more excited about him going to Florida than he was. Despite being a 5 star DE prospect, Kasa also let it be known that Florida was looking at him at TE, in the event that he couldn’t compete with the players already on the roster. Either way Kasa stated that he loved the State of Colorado and didn’t want to leave. Giddens ended up at USF and coincidentally his mother is now working at USF. Go figure. Apparently Giddens was going to announce his intentions at the Army All-American game and then something happened (rumors that a car drove over his foot were floating around). He ended up hurting himself before going to San Antonio and couldn’t play in the game or make his surprise USF over UF announcement. Once the charade was over, Giddens chose USF quietly and without much fanfare.

LB: Jon Bostic enrolled in January and was previously written about.

Jelani Jenkins – Wheaton, MD
6’1”
210lbs
4.45/40
5 stars
#9 on the ESPN 150

When reading this, remember that he is only 16, and should only get better. Played both LB and RB in high school, but will play LB at Florida. Plays hard every snap. Doesn’t have the bulk necessary yet, but has the frame to hold more weight without becoming too bulky. Tremendously quick and gets up to top speed in a very short distance. Excellent tackler and uses his lower body properly when tackling. Has plus football instincts, get an excellent jump on plays, but is under control enough not to overrun them. Also an excellent blitzer. All his weaknesses can be corrected by either coaching or within the weight room.

The one that got away – Jarvis Jones (Columbus, GA). Jarvis signed with USC and was a big loss because he was a Mike LB. When Brandon Spikes decided to stay for his senior year, Jarvis decided to go elsewhere. Would you trade Spikes for a freshman? Purely a business decision by him and you have to respect that. Jarvis said that he will always be a Gator fan and follow them.

CB: none

The ones that got away – Marsalis Teague (Paris, TN) and Greg Reid (Valdosta, GA). Both Teague and Reid were committed for a long time to the Gators. Reid opened the process back up during the Under Armor All American game, where he played extremely well. Initially he said that he committed to soon, but eventually the truth came out and he said that our depth chart was not attractive to him. Reid eventually signed with FSU, which is replacing 3 out of the 4 members of their Secondary. Funny story about Reid – after withdrawing his pledge to the Gators, everyone assumed that he was going to sign with Georgia (so much so that his grandmother wore Red & Black to his announcement). Well apparently one of the Georgia coaches sent the following text – “Keep on Reid, he loves the attention”. Unfortunately for the coach he sent it to Reid instead of to his fellow assistant coach. Teague on the other hand strung the Florida staff along until 2 or 3 days before signing day. Teague and Richardson became friends during the recruiting process and they both ended up at Tennessee. While I feel all is fair in Love, War and Recruiting, I find the Tennessee staff to be despicable (actually lower than FSU’s during their incredible run) and I have little respect for anyone who bought into their garbage.

S: Dee Finley enrolled in January and was previously written about.

Josh Evans – Irvington, NJ
6’1”
185lbs
4 stars

Extremely versatile athlete, can play safety or cornerback. For the record I have heard that he will play corner first. Good enough athlete that he could be a threat at WR. Possesses excellent agility and his hips are loose enough to play corner. Smart player on defense, with excellent timing on blitzes. Needs to work on tackling. Has make-up speed.

The one that got away – no one.

Signees - the Offense

This year’s class of signees

Once again I will break the class down by position and give a star ranking of each recruit.

QB: Jordan Reed – New London, CT.
6’4”
235lbs
4.6/40
4 stars
#142 on the ESPN 150

Has the same build as Cam Newton, but is more equipped to be a pocket passer than Newton. Strong arm with a quick release. When he sets his feet has a big arm and great accuracy. Is capable of moving within the pocket and becoming a running threat. His size obviously makes him difficult to bring down when he is outside of the pocket. Still raw, needs to improve his throwing mechanics and willing to improve.

The one that got away – Denard Robinson – Deerfield Beach, FL. While it was clear that there was no way that Robinson would ever see the field as a true QB - his throwing motion is similar to Vince Young’s (read horrific) – Robinson is an exceptional athlete and would have slid nicely into a slot receiver role next year. In the end Robinson signed with Michigan and will be given an opportunity to be RichRod’s Pat White in Ann Arbor.



RB: Mike Gillislee – DeLand, FL
6’0”
190lbs
4.5/40
3 stars
#129 on the ESPN 150

More of an athlete than a true RB, since he is more of an outside threat than a between the tackles runner. Dangerous and elusive in the open field, although he does have a deceptively strong lower body. Once he gets the corner, he has that “second gear” to separate from defenders. Has the frame to hold additional weight and could develop into a slashing back. Keeping in line with the current RBs on the Florida roster, possesses excellent hands and receiving skills. Will afford the OC the ability to take advantage of potential mismatches with his versatility.

The one that got away – Trent Richardson – Pensacola, FL. Committed to Alabama early in the process and then toyed with the idea of moving to another school. In the end Richardson stayed with the Tide. Richardson has the ability to be that back that Coach Meyer hasn’t been able to land since his arrival at Florida. Richardson ending up in Tuscaloosa might not be a bad thing, since it has come out that Richardson has at least two children under the age of two and more baggage is starting to emerge since his commitment.

WR: Andre Debose – Sanford, FL
6’0”
180lbs
4.4/40
5 stars
#17 on the ESPN 150

The most important player on Florida recruiting board. Has the ability and skill level to replace Percy Harvin with his combination of speed, quickness and acceleration. Played in a variety of spots (QB, RB, WR) in high school, including both punt and kickoff returner. Dangerous in the open space. Kid is an absolute playmaker. Has the ability to get open quickly, gets in and out of his cuts well, and has consistent hands. Has a great attitude (pull up the video on YouTube and compare his commitment at the Under Armor game with his teammates and tell me who you would rather have representing your school). Due to the fact that he played other positions in high school, he will need to learn the nuances of the WR position.

FSU fans were clamoring about his late visit to their campus, but all their hopes were squashed when Andre and his father stopped by Gainesville after his visit in order to meet with Coach Meyer.

The one that got away – Nu’Keese Richardson? While it definitely hurt that Richardson switched on signing day, if we would have signed Richardson and lost Debose it would have cataclysmic to class. Richardson is a nice player, but at 5’9” 155lbs, he wasn’t going to contribute in Gainesville in the next two years (unless you count the hundreds of pictures of him in the tunnel of the Swamp that Coach Marotti has posted).


TE: Desmond Parks enrolled in January and was previously written about.

On the Board Still:

Orson Charles – Tampa Plant High School. Down to 3 schools, Georgia (considered the favorite), USC (visiting the weekend of Feb. 20th) and Florida (the school that most logically fits him). Would be an excellent replacement to CI (coincidentally he wants to wear #7). Playing with his high school QB at Georgia really working against us.

OL: Nick Alajajian and Jonatthon Harrison enrolled in January and were previously written about.

Xavier Nixon – OT Fayetteville, NC
6’6”
265lbs
5 stars
#50 on the ESPN 150

Could be Florida’s Andre Smith, he is that good of a player. He is tall, has long arms and light on his feet. While consistency needs to be worked on, he gives superior effort, excels in combination blocks and is extremely quick off the ball. He is also aggressive at the point of attack and has good football instincts. Improvement in his body control and work in the weight room could make him a complete tackle.

Was a silent commit after his visit for the LSU game, public announcement was held off until the Army All-American game due to the fact that his father (currently serving in Afghanistan) would be on leave and able to see the announcement.


Jon Halapio– OG St. Petersburg, FL
6’4”
300lbs
3 Stars

A mauler in every sense of the word. Has excellent balance and has good footwork. Needs to improve his technique and consistency. Pretty much defined an under the radar prospect until he was MVP of the Gainesville Nike Camp and he started picking up offers.


Kyle Koehne – OG Indianapolis, IN
6’6”
290lbs
4 Stars

Played tackle in high school, but will in all likelihood play guard in college. Basically the opposite of Halapio, Koehne excels technically and is sound in most blocking schemes, especially when covered during the running game. Koehne was the player of the year in the State of Indiana.

The one that got away - No one. In fact Miami was nice enough to sign one of our scraps - Jared Wheeler. Wheeler was considered to be too soft to play in the SEC after the Friday Night Lights camp and was slow played until Koehne committed.