FOUR BITS: Pouncey, Trattou, Demps, Durkin

By Adam Silverstein
February 26, 2010

1 » Whether you call it sacrifice or making the right decision, former Florida Gators center Maurkice Pouncey’s decision to enter the 2010 NFL Draft had an impact on his brother. Now alone on the line for the first time without Maurkice, junior guard Mike Pouncey looks to move to his sibling’s old position next season – and it is for the best. “I think what really was impressive about [Maurkice] was when he was making his decision to come out, he wanted his brother to be able to play center,” Pouncey’s trainer Tom Shaw told FanHouse. “It was a big sacrifice because they’ve played everything together their whole life. That was one of their plans, he could come out and that will give Mike a chance to move up in the draft. It’s the ultimate sacrifice — he loves his brother and wants to spent time with him.”

2 » Junior defensive end Justin Trattou is ready for his captainship, and he realizes part of that comes with showing the youngsters the ropes. “It’s always [hard to adjust] when you come in as a freshman, especially when you come in midway in January,” Trattou said, according to The Gainesville Sun. “It’s always going to be tough because no matter what you did in high school, it’s not going to be the same intensity as it is here, between all the strength coaches and all the guys who have been here for a couple years.” Trattou’s toughness is not to be questioned, especially considering he played with a torn left bicep last season. “The one I had is ripped off,” Trattou said per the Orlando Sentinel. “Now it’s basically just scarred over. The key was giving it time to get stronger. […] Any time you can fight through injuries, it always gets respect from guys.”

Two more BITS on RB Jeff Demps and LB coach D.J. Durkin…after the break!

3 » Recovered from his dislocated elbow, sophomore running back (and freshman sprinter) Jeff Demps has been tearing it up for the Gators track and field team this spring. Specializing in the 60-meter dash, for which Demps has recorded a nation’s-best time this season, many experts believe he has a bright future ahead off of the football field. The Miami Herald’s Joseph Goodman spoke with Loren Seagrave of Velocity Sports Performance, who agrees that Demps could be an excellent track and field star but thinks he should concentrate on football for the time being. “If you love playing football and you love running track, then keep on doing both as long as you can and see how the football plays out for you, because if football doesn’t work and you’ve been staying active and running track, then you can step right in as long as you don’t have a real bad injury,” Seagrave said.

4 » “I got to see firsthand, right from the start, talk about a guy coming in [to Bowling Green] and changing the whole culture and the way things are done at a place,” new Florida linebackers coach D.J. Durkin told the Sun about head coach Urban Meyer. “He’s got a plan to win, and it works.” Durkin, who joined the Gators’ staff after Charlie Strong left for a head coaching job with the Louisville Cardinals, continued to gush about his previous experiences with Meyer. “The biggest thing is the way Coach Meyer worked with players, the relationship he had with them,” Durkin said. “With all due respect, Stanford is a great program and Jim Harbaugh is a tremendous coach and a great guy. But the chance to come here and coach with the best players in the country, in the country’s best program for the best coach…it’s a deal you can’t pass up.”

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