For as much as the Florida Gators were in the news off the field in 2011 (check out Friday’s post), the Gator Nation was making plenty of headlines on it as well. From breathtaking moments, game-changing and game-winning plays to winning championships and setting world records, Florida accomplished some unique athletic feats in 2011. Below are OGGOA‘s Top 11 On the Field Moments of the Year.

11 » JOHNSON, BRANTLEY, KITCHENS SUFFER SCARY INJURIES
Plenty of Florida student-athletes suffered injuries in 2011 but three in particular caused fans to gasp and remain worried about the future of said player. Participating in the semifinals of the 2011 SEC Tournament, Gators baseball wound up dropping a close game 4-3 to Georgia, a loss that forced an elimination game which Florida would later win. However, UF sophomore right-handed pitcher Brian Johnson was taken off a stretcher in the top of the first inning after giving up two earned runs and accidentally being beaned in the back of the head with the baseball by sophomore catcher Mike Zunino. Trying to pick off a runner stealing second, Zunino got his leg tangled with the batter, tripped and flung the ball into the head of a crouching Johnson. He was quickly stabilized, brought to the hospital and deemed responsive though he had a massive headache and was diagnosed with a minor three concussion (no skull fractures or bleeding). Johnson missed the entire Gainesville Regional but returned to action in the Super Regional after being sidelined for more than two weeks.

Redshirt senior quarterback John Brantley was in the middle of playing the best game of his collegiate career (despite throwing a costly pick-six) when he went down with an ugly lower leg injury at the end of the first half against Alabama. Brantley had thrown a pretty 65-yard touchdown pass to redshirt sophomore wide receiver Andre Debose on the first play of the game and was in the middle of driving Florida in for another score before being sacked twice and having his lower leg contorted the second time. Brantley was nearly immediately ruled out of the team’s next game against powerhouse LSU with a high-ankle sprain, and UF was forced to start a true freshman who had not even taken a snap in the team’s first five games in consecutive road contests against LSU and Auburn. Needless to say, the Gators lost both of those contests.

Brantley was never the same after the injury. He nearly helped Florida beat Georgia but was pretty much immobilized in the pocket and threw three interceptions in the team’s first five possessions against Florida State before being knocked out of the game with a head injury that was equally painful to watch. However, that was not the Gators’ only major injury in that game. Perhaps the scariest incident of the year came on kickoff coverage when sophomore linebacker Darrin Kitchens was hit hard from his blindside and laid motionless on the field while trainers attended to him. To this day Kitchens does not remember anything about being hit. Lucky for him, he was cleared that evening with “just” a concussion, released from the hospital and allowed to return to practice with the team just before Christmas. He is expected to play in the 2012 Gator Bowl.

10 » LACROSSE WINS FIRST CONFERENCE TITLE, REACHES ELITE EIGHT

The Florida lacrosse program has been making history since the day it signed the nation’s No. 1 ranked recruiting class prior to the team’s inaugural season in 2010. The Gators were a young but talented group and won over the school even if falling short of some of their goals one year ago. Florida took the next step in 2011, ending the regular season with an 11-0 record at home and on a 13-game winning streak. The Gators capped their stellar regular season by defeating Northwestern for the 2011 ALC Championship just 419 days after the team played its first game in school history. Florida would fall to Northwestern just over three weeks later in the finals of the 2011 ALC Tournament, splitting the season’s conference title down the middle, but took home a number of awards from the league. Sophomore midfielder Kitty Cullen won Player of the Year honors while head coach Amanda O’Leary was named Coach of the Year in just her second season. Two more players were All-ALC first team selections and three others earned spots on the second team. The ladies made it all the way to the Elite Eight of the 2011 NCAA Tournament as well before being taken down 13-9 by Duke, their only loss at home on the season. The Gators were the first program in the history of the sport to earn a berth in the NCAA Tournament in only their second year of existence and defeated some of the top teams in the country on the way to an unforgettable season that sets Florida up as a favorite heading into 2012.

Continue Reading » Top 11 for 2011: On the Field Moments of the Year

Tags: Abby Wambach, Ahmad Black, ALC, ALC Championship, ALC Tournament, Alex Tyus, All-ALC, All-Defensive, All-Freshman, All-SEC, baseball, Billy Donovan, Brian Johnson, Chandler Parsons, Christian Taylor, Coach of the Year, College World Series, Daniel Pigott, Darrin Kitchens, Denver Broncos, Dumisane Hlaselo, Erving Walker, ESPY, field, Gainesville Regional, Gator Bowl, Gray Horn, Heather Mitts, Heisman Trophy, Ian Lockwood, Jeff Demps, John Brantley, Kelsey Bruder, Kenny Boynton, lacrosse, Lauren Embree, Marrit Boonstra, Miami Dolphins, Mike Zunino, Most Valuable Player, MVP, NCAA, NCAA Indoor Championship, NCAA Tournament, NFL, Olivia Janowicz, Outback Bowl, Player of the Year, Ryan Lochte, SEC, SEC Championship, SEC Tournament, Shands Hospital, soccer, softball, Stephanie Brombacher, Sun Life Stadium, Super Regional, tennis, Tim Tebow, Tim Walton, track, Urban Meyer, USA, USA Swimming, Vernon Macklin, Women's College World Series, World Cup

1 » Florida Gators freshman runner Jimmy Clark was named 2011 SEC Freshman of the Year by the league’s coaches on Friday. Clark is just the second male member of Florida’s cross country team to earn the honor in the history of the program and was also awarded a spot in the All-SEC first team and All-Freshman team. Eight of his teammates were honored with All-SEC accolades including senior Genevieve LaCaze and sophomore Cory McGee (women’s first team), junior Florence N’Getich (women’s second team), freshman Grace VanDeGrift (women’s All-Freshman team), sophomores Mark Parrish and Matt Mizereck (men’s first team), and freshmen Eduardo Garcia and JL Hines (men’s All-Freshman team).

2 » Florida freshman cornerback Marcus Roberson, a starter for all eight of the Gators’ games this season, settled his underage drinking case with the state by accepting deferred prosecution. Roberson will perform 10 hours of community service and pay $150 in fines ($100 of which goes to charity) as restitution for his brush with the law. He has 20 tackles this season as well as a fumble recovery; Roberson caught the first interception of his career last week against Georgia.

Extra BIT » According to the Naples News, Florida tennis will receive a national letter of intent next week from Gordon Watson, a “phenom” junior tennis player who has garnered plenty of honors and won a number of tournaments already in his career. Watson has held national USTA rankings including No. 1 in Boys 12s and 14s and No. 2 in Boys 16s. He plans to play right away for the Gators and hopes to be in either the No. 5 or No. 6 position at the start of the 2012-13 season.

Tags: All-Freshman, All-SEC, cross country, Freshman of the Year, Gordon Watson, Jimmy Clark, Marcus Roberson, SEC, tennis

1 » Those who follow us on Twitter saw a retweet from CBS Sports’ Jeff Goodman Monday morning noting that the Florida Gators basketball team held a “secret” scrimmage against the Central Florida Knights over the weekend. OGGOA inquired about the scrimmage and learned that Florida head coach Billy Donovan was pleased with his team’s effort following the game. The Gators’ starting five consisted of senior point guard Erving Walker, guards junior Kenny Boynton and freshman Brad Beal, junior forward Erik Murphy and sophomore center Patric Young.

Beal, as noted by Goodman, was the standout performer in the scrimmage, but redshirt junior transfer G Mike Rosario also played quite well. Florida earned a double-digit “victory” at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center, a nice prelude to their exhibition game against Catholic University on Thursday.

2 » Eight full weeks into the 2011 NFL season, former Gators cornerback Lito Sheppard was finally signed by a team. The Oakland Raiders picked up Sheppard, who they cut just before the season after signing him as a free agent, on Monday and hope to have him ready to play as soon as this upcoming weekend. Sheppard was one of three notable ex-Florida veterans available on the free agent market. Defensive ends Alex Brown and Bobby McCray remain unsigned.

3 » Every year, the Gators women’s soccer team holds a special practice on Halloween with all of the players going through the motions in full costume. The annual tradition gives the team a boost each year before they begin playing in the Southeastern Conference Tournament. Florida had an opportunity this past weekend to earn a share of the 2011 SEC regular season title but failed to do so dropping a 2-1 decision to the SEC champion South Carolina Gamecocks. SEC Tournament action begins Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. when UF faces Georgia in Orange Beach, AL.

4 » The Gators soccer team received good news Monday when the SEC announced its women’s soccer awards. Junior midfielder/forward Erika Tymrak and redshirt junior defender Kathryn Williamson were named to the All-SEC first team, while senior D Jazmyne Avant and junior MF Holly King garnered second-team honors. Florida also had two picked as All-Freshman – MFs Havana Solaun and Annie Speese.

Extra BIT » Below is the Thriller video put together by a number of UF student-athletes for Gator Growl in 2009. Happy Halloween!

Tags: Alex Brown, All-Freshman, All-SEC, Annie Speese, Bobby McCray, Brad Beal, Central Florida Knights, Erik Murphy, Erika Tymrak, Erving Walker, Havana Solaun, Holly King, Jazmyne Avant, Kathryn Williamson, Kenny Boynton, Lito Sheppard, Mike Rosario, NFL, O'Connell Center, Oakland Raiders, Patric Young, SEC, SEC Tournament, soccer

1 » Writing for ESPN Insider, columnist Chris Sprow makes a case for why Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow will indeed be a successful NFL signal caller – whether or not that ends up happening in Mile High. In the piece, Sprow cites quotes from 1986 that were said about Steve Young but are just as applicable to Tebow and uses ESPN‘s advanced metric “QBR” to point out how effective he is each game.

Ultimately, Young struggled and was traded away from Tampa in frustration; he was viewed as a bust. He didn’t become a starter, then a star, for years. Perhaps Tebow also will be traded at some point, a wasted pick, a project for another coach. But there’s also good reason to think that Tebow can be a very good NFL quarterback because, in the same way Tampa once miscalculated on Young, there’s reason to think we haven’t done a good job of accurately deciphering what a quarterback like Tebow can do. [...]

The bottom line is this: If you want to evaluate Tebow as a quarterback, you have to understand that what he lacks as a passer can be made up for by what he brings with his legs. This isn’t a new argument, but it now has additional context. [...]

Orton is a much better passer but a statue in the pocket, costing the Broncos points with sacks — and Tebow’s 82.1 passer rating in 2010 would have been the best among rookies if it had stretched for 16 games. [...] Tebow, were he to start in Week 1, would continue to be as raw a passer as you can find in the NFL. But this unrefined product is a lot better than some believe, and he might even be more valuable than Denver’s other option.

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Tags: All-Freshman, All-SEC, Billy Donovan, Charlie Weis, Denver Broncos, golf, J.D. Tomlinson, John Brantley, Kelly Murphy, Kristy Jaeckel, Matt Herring, NBA, NFL, O'Connell Center, San Antonio Spurs, SEC, Steve Young, Tim Tebow, U.S. Amateur, volleyball

Five members of the Florida Gators softball team saw their collegiate careers come to an end Tuesday night in the final game of the 2011 Women’s College World Series. And while they may not have won the national title and are likely returning to Gainesville, FL on Wednesday with heavy hearts, their accomplishments as a senior class are unmatched in school history. Let’s take a look at their impact…

2011 Senior Class
- Compiled a 238-33 record (.878 winning percentage)
- Set a NCAA record with 70 wins in 2008 (freshman year)
- First SEC team to appear in four-straight WCWS
- Played in WCWS Championships Series twice in three years (2009, 2011)
- Won two SEC regular season and two SEC Tournament titles (2008, 2009)
- Won four-straight SEC East division titles (2008-11)

OF Kelsey Bruder
- Hit .357 (221/619) with 52 homers, 195 RBI, 185 runs scored and 103 walks
- School record for career batting average (.357)
- School record for total bases in a single season (152, 2011)
- School record for runs scored in single season (79, 2011)
- Only player in school history to hit two sacrifice flies in a single game
- 2011 NFCA First-Team All-American
- 2011 SEC Player of the Year
- 2011 WCWS All-Tournament Team
- 2009, 2011 All-SEC First Team
- 2009 SEC All-Tournament Team
- 2009 SEC All-Defensive Team

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Tags: Aja Paculba, All-American, All-Defensive, All-Freshman, All-SEC, All-Tournament, Kelsey Bruder, Megan Bush, Player of the Year, SEC, softball, Stephanie Brombacher, Tifany DeFelice, Women's College World Series

The team’s leader in hits, runs, home runs, RBI, total bases and slugging percentage, Florida Gators sophomore catcher Mike Zunino was named the 2011 Southeastern Conference Player of the Year by the league’s coaches on Tuesday.

He is the second University of Florida baseball player to ever win the award. Former Gators first baseman Matt LaPorta captured the honor in 2005 and 2007.

A terror at the plate for Florida all season, Zunino leads the conference in home runs (15), RBI (59), runs scored (62) and total bases (141); he is second in the SEC in batting average (.383, -.002) and slugging percentage (.701, -.008). Zunino is also tied for third in doubles (19), places fifth in on-base percentage (.455) and is tied for sixth in hits (77).

He was named to the 2011 All-SEC First Team alongside teammates junior outfielder Preston Tucker and sophomore designated hitter Brian Johnson. Also on the team are Vanderbilt’s Aaron Westlake, Tony Kemp and Grayson Garvin; South Carolina’s Scott Wingo, Michael Roth and Matt Price; Kentucky’s Casey McElroy; LSU’s Mikie Mahtook; and Auburn’s Casey McElroy.

His Gators teammates – senior second baseman Josh Adams, sophomore shortstop Nolan Fontana and sophomore right-handed pitcher Hudson Randall – were placed on the All-SEC Second Team. RHP Karsten Whitson and third baseman Zack Powers were honored on the 2011 SEC All-Freshman Team, and both Zunino and Fontana earned spots on the 2011 SEC All-Defensive Team.

It is the first time in UF history that student-athletes representing the school have won SEC Player of the Year in baseball and softball (senior left fielder Kelsey Bruder). Florida now has 11 SEC Players of the Year for 2010-11 also including Chandler Parsons (men’s basketball), Bank Vongvanij (men’s golf), Christian Taylor (men’s indoor track & field), Will Claye (men’s outdoor track & field), Conor Dwyer (men’s swimming), Monica Dodson (women’s diving), Kathryn Williamson (women’s soccer), Allie Will (women’s tennis) and Kelly Murphy (volleyball). Gators lacrosse’s Kitty Cullen also won ALC Player of the Year.

Photo Credits: The News-Press, John Korduner/Icon SMI

Tags: All-Defensive, All-Freshman, All-SEC, Allie Will, Bank Vongvanij, baseball, Brian Johnson, Chandler Parsons, Christian Taylor, Conor Dwyer, Hudson Randall, Josh Adams, Karsten Whitson, Kathryn Williamson, Kelly Murphy, Kitty Cullen, Mike Zunino, Monica Dodson, Nolan Fontana, Player of the Year, Preston Tucker, SEC, University of Florida, Zack Powers

1 » During the 2011 NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships on Friday, the Florida Gators men’s team brought home a pair of National Championships. Competing in Minneapolis, MN, senior Brett Fraser captured the national title in the 200-yard freestyle. He was also part of the four-man team – including senior Conor Dwyer, junior Jeffrey Raymond and sophomore Sebastien Rousseau – that won the championship in the 800-yard freestyle relay.

2 » Former Florida golfer Sandra Gal picked up the first LPGA victory of her career on Sunday, winning the Kia Classic and $255,000. She finished at a 16-under 276 and won on the 18th and final hole on Sunday. “I’m a bit overwhelmed,” she said after the win. “you know, it was close all day long, so I had to kind of dig deep to pull out some shots. I’m just happy to have finally done it. I had a good feeling about today when I woke up.”

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Tags: Alaina Johnson, Alexandre Lacroix, Alicia Goodwin, All-Freshman, All-SEC, Artem Ilyushin, Ashanée Dickerson, Brett Fraser, Coach of the Year, Conor Dwyer, diving, Dizney Stadium, Freshman of the Year, Jeffrey Raymond, Kia Classic, Kitty Cullen, lacrosse, LPGA, Maranda Smith, Marissa King, Mississippi State Bulldogs, NCAA, NCAA Championships, Nicole Ellis, Ohio State Buckeyes, Ole Miss Rebels, Rhonda Faehn, Sandra Gal, Sebastien Rousseau, SEC, swimming, tennis

A double-digit point scorer and team leader in rebounding and assists, Florida Gators senior forward Chandler Parsons was named the 2011 Southeastern Conference Player of the Year by the league’s coaches on Tuesday.

He is the first University of Florida student-athlete to ever win the award.

“I’m honored to be named the SEC Player of the Year,’’ Parsons said in a statement. “It’s really not something I ever spent a lot of energy on and in time I may be able to process winning the award, but right now I’m focused on staying grounded and helping our team understand what we have to do to get better everyday. Obviously this award is handed out to a single player, but I share it proudly with my teammates and coaching staff.”

The straw that has stirred the drink for Florida all season, Parsons is one of only two active Division I college basketball players with over 1,300 points, 800 rebounds, 300 assists and 100 steals. He also ranks No. 1 among active SEC players in rebounds (805), No. 3 in points (1377) and assists (307), and No. 4 in steals (123).

Parsons has accounted for seven double-doubles on the season including three-straight to start the month of February and five in SEC play. He is also the only player in the country 6’9” or taller dishing more than 3.0 assists per game.

Averaging 11.4 points, 7.8 rebounds and 3.6 assists, Parsons was also named to the 2011 All-SEC First Team alongside Alabama F JaMychal Green, Georgia F Trey Thompkins, Kentucky F Terrence Jones, Kentucky G Brandon Knight, Ole Miss G Chris Warren, Tennessee G Scotty Hopson and Vanderbilt G John Jenkins.

His Gators teammates – sophomore guard Kenny Boynton and junior point guard Erving Walker – earned nominations to the All-SEC Second Team, and center Patric Young was honored on the 2011 SEC All-Freshman Team.

OGGOA RELATED: Billy Donovan named 2011 SEC Coach of the Year

Photo Credit: Associated Press

Tags: All-Freshman, All-SEC, Chandler Parsons, Erving Walker, Kenny Boynton, Patric Young, Player of the Year, SEC, University of Florida