From time to time, OGGOA will come across a plethora of news and notes that we wish to share with our readers. In those instances, we present a special post: Gator Bites. Enjoy.

» An article published Tuesday by the Gainesville Sun brings Florida Gators fans numerous clarifications from head coach Urban Meyer about some of the most recent incidents and rumors swirling around the football program. It is important to remember that just because Meyer says something does not make it true as coaches cannot always be honest with the media and public. OGGOA will tackle Meyer’s statements one-by-one based on their appearance in the article.

- (Did Billy Gonzales’ knowledge about a birthday party attended by Carlos Dunlap lead to his dismissal?) “That’s absolutely not true,” Meyer said. “In fact, that’s the first I’ve heard of that one. Billy left because he was passed up last year for the offensive coordinator’s job. It was about the title.”

- (Then why did they hire Zach Azzanni so quickly as his replacement?) “We had to act quickly on that because of recruiting and because we have a bowl game coming up,” Meyer said. “I knew the guy and we moved fast on that.”

- (Ole Miss Rebels defensive coordinator Tyrone Nix was offered the job at Florida and turned it down, right?) “I talked to Tyrone. I’ve known Tyrone for a long time,” Meyer said. “But we would have had to change our whole defense if we hired him. We would have had to change everything our players are doing, and we didn’t want to do that.”

- (Will Dunlap play in the 2010 Sugar Bowl?) “It’s close to being finalized,” he said. “It’ll be done pretty soon.” Meyer also indicated he will sit down with athletic director Jeremy Foley and UF president Bernie Machen before making the decision.

Three more Gator Bites are waiting for your eyes after the jump!
Continue Reading » Gator Bites for Tuesday, December 15th

Three-star cornerback recruit Robert Clark, who had been committed to the West Virginia Mountaineers since July, recently opened up his recruitment and named the Florida Gators the second of his final two schools. Teammates at Dwyer High School with Florida commits five-star safety Matt Elam and four-star tight end Gerald Christian, Clark had the press put on him to join the Gators’ 2010 recruiting class when he visited Gainesville, FL, with Elam and Christian last weekend. Christian has been a solid commit for a while, and Elam all but signed on the dotted line over the weekend by donning a blue No. 22 Florida jersey and declaring his recruitment over. OGGOA has now uncovered a similar picture of Clark presumably from last weekend, also in the Gators locker room wearing his high school No. 4 on a blue Florida jersey. Clark plans to enroll at the university of his choosing in January for the spring semester in order to get a leg up on next season. As OGGOA reported early Monday, he has decided to officially announce his commitment decision before the Class 4A championship game on Saturday.

Corey Brewer‘s professional career with the Minnesota Timberwolves has not been a fairy tale up until this point. Drafted seventh overall in the first round of the 2007 NBA Draft, the forward averaged 5.8 points and 3.7 rebounds over 79 games his rookie season. Going into 2008-09, Brewer was expected to be one of the Timberwolves’ leaders, but a torn ACL just 15 games in sidelined him for the duration. As he looks to get his NBA career rolling once again, Brewer made the highlight reel over the weekend with this dunk over Los Angeles Lakers veteran point guard Derek Fisher.

1 » Four-star offensive tackle Morgan Moses (Fork Union, VA) has narrowed his college choices down to the Florida Gators and Virginia Cavaliers, according to JC Shurburtt of ESPN. A prep school standout, Moses has been committed to Virginia for some time but decided to open up his recruitment after head coach Al Groh was fired. He visited Gainesville, FL, this past weekend and came away impressed with what the experience. Moses will announce his decision within the next week and could be a monster get for the Gators.

2 » Solomon Patton, a three-star wide receiver commit from Mobile, AL, speaks with The Birmingham News about his commitment to Florida and his plan to enroll early for the spring semester in January.

Extra Bit » Former five-star Notre Dame Fighting Irish defensive end commit Chris Martin has given his pledge to the California Golden Bears. Though Martin’s choice was thought to be between the Gators and the Oklahoma Sooners, his decision to commit to Cal came after a recent visit and some encouragement by his parents.

Speaking with Jeremy Fowler of The Orlando Sentinel on Monday, Florida Gators cornerbacks coach Vance Bedford said he was staying put in Gainesville, FL, and concentrating on recruiting the incoming 2010 class. “I’m a Gator,” Bedford said when asked if new Louisville Cardinals head coach Charlie Strong had contacted him to be a member of his new staff. “I’m trying to do everything I can to recruit well. I’m trying to get to Dade County.”

Bedford, a former defensive coordinator with the Oklahoma State Cowboys from 2005-06 and defensive backs coach with the Chicago Bears from 1999-2004, said he has neither been contacted by Strong nor any other coach about a promotion and has only been working on recruiting over the past two weeks. When asked if he was under consideration to replace Strong at Florida, Bedford said he “could be talking about [the job] in the near future” with head coach Urban Meyer, though he admitted the Gators’ No. 1 priority right now is recruiting.

1 » “Two and possibly three” Florida Gators recruiters will be visiting Calhoun County, SC, on Monday to meet with four-star offensive lineman recruit Eric Mack at his school and home, according to The State newspaper. While Mack is still a South Carolina Gamecocks commitment, his potential position coach has left the program and the Gators have been after him for the last few months. He is scheduled for an official visit to Florida on January 22 – a week after he visits South Carolina.

2 » University of Florida senior outfielder Francesca Enea has been named a semifinalist for the Sixth Annual Coach Wooden Citizenship Cup. Presented to an intercollegiate and professional athlete each year who best display character, teamwork and citizenship, the award recognizes excellence both on and off the field. Senior quarterback Tim Tebow was a finalist for the award in 2008, and Enea is certainly a deserving semifinalist. She holds seven records with the Gators including single-season and career marks in home runs and RBI. Tearing her ACL twice in her short career, Enea has also been involved in a lot of community service off of the field.

1 » Two former Florida Gators players had strong showings in the NFL on Sunday, and both are recent alumni from the defensive side of the ball. Second-year defensive end Derrick Harvey of the Jacksonville Jaguars recorded a sack in his second straight game even though his team fell to the Miami Dolphins while third-year linebacker Brandon Siler dominated the middle for the San Diego Chargers against the Dallas Cowboys. Siler recorded five tackles on the day (two for a loss) and one sack. He was also instrumental on a number of goal-line and fourth-down stands. Other Gators who contributed this weekend were LB Mike Peterson of the Atlanta Falcons (eight tackles), wide receiver Jabar Gaffney of the Denver Broncos (three receptions for 48 yards) and Andre “Bubba” Caldwell of the Cincinnati Bengals (four catches for 25 yards).

2 » Looking to nab a trifecta of players from Dwyer High School in West Palm Beach, FL, Florida set their sights on bringing three-star cornerback Robert Clark into the fold during his official visit this weekend. Clark, who said prior to his visit that he was leaning towards the Gators until the loss of recruiting coordinator Billy Gonzales had him open up the process again, met new wide receivers coach Zach Azzanni and came away impressed. “[Azzanni] was great,” Clark told Rivals. “I already knew him from camp because he worked the camp [in Gainesville]. He’s a great guy. He taught me a lot of things so it was good to meet him again. [The coaches] didn’t really talk about [Gonzales] much [this weekend]. It was kind of sad that he left but at the same time they had to move on and stuff and get a new coach. He’s pretty energetic. He likes to hop around a lot. He was hyped up.” Though he is not considered “solid,” Clark is currently committed to the West Virginia Mountaineers; even so, he has decided to make his decision official before the Class 4A championship game this Saturday.

UPDATE: “Florida['s visit] is the best visit I’ve been on by far. I’m not gonna lie,” Clark told The Gainesville Sun. “It’s hard because I’m kind of committed to West Virginia, right now, but I love Florida more than I love West Virginia.” Clark also told The Sun that the shorter distance and better weather are much more appealing to him.

Over the past two weeks, OGGOA had you participate in three polls. First, we asked you how the suspension of Florida Gators junior defensive end Carlos Dunlap would affect the team. Then, after the Gators lost the 2009 SEC Championship, we wanted to know the biggest reason why. Finally, you told us what you were most looking forward to since the loss. 715 combined votes (238 average) were cast, and the results are in:

Losing DE Carlos Dunlap to suspension…
hurts the Gators’ chances of winning. (58%, 105 votes)
does not matter in the long-run. (38%, 69 votes)
improves the Gators’ chances of winning. (4%, 7 votes)

The Gators failed to win the SEC because of…
immense defensive failures. (43%, 131 votes)
Alabama’s overall game plan. (33%, 102 votes)
poor offensive playcalling. (21%, 66 votes)
lack of discipline (penalties). (3%, 9 votes)

What are you most looking forward to?
National Signing Day (39%, 88 votes)
2010 Sugar Bowl (38%, 86 votes)
Florida basketball…fantastic! (21%, 49 votes)
Gators spring sports (2%, 5 votes)

OGGOA is going to call the last poll a tie between National Signing Day and the 2010 Sugar Bowl because the majority vote changed all week long, including the day the poll was closed. I was kind of expecting fans to be looking toward basketball to fill the void now that football suffered a heartbreaking loss (especially with the big game against Syracuse last week), but I was happy to see that people still see the Sugar Bowl as a priority even though the title is not on the line. Take a moment and vote in our brand new poll in the right column: How will Tim Tebow fare in the NFL?