NFL teams were required to trim their active rosters to 53 men on Saturday, which meant a number of former Florida Gators were on the fence about whether or not they would make their respective teams going into the 2010-11 season.

GOOD NEWS

» As expected, all nine Gators selected in the 2010 NFL Draft made it through training camp and the preseason.

» Former Florida wide receiver David Nelson, who signed an undrafted free agent contract with the Buffalo Bills after the draft, was told Saturday afternoon that he made the team. “Officially a Buffalo Bill,” Nelson wrote to his Twitter account. “Thanks to everyone for the support and prayers through this long but rewarding process!”

» Though it is not believed he was in complete danger of making the cut, former Gators safety Reggie Nelson got what he will likely consider his own form of good news Saturday, as the Jacksonville Jaguars decided to trade him to the Cincinnati Bengals. The Bengals, in need of safety help after losing Gibril Wilson to a season-ending injury, decided to trade cornerback David Jones and a conditional draft pick to the Jaguars. Nelson will be reunited with wide receiver Andre Caldwell and defensive end Carlos Dunlap in Cincinnati.

BAD NEWS

» Tight end Cornelius Ingram has faced plenty of adversity since tearing his anterior cruciate ligament during his senior season with Florida. Drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles with the No. 153 overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft, Ingram proceeded to tear the same ACL again as a rookie during training camp. Finally back at near full speed, he had been playing well for the Eagles this offseason until a baker’s cyst in his knee kept him out of action. Ingram was released by Philadelphia on Saturday but will be a candidate to land on the team’s practice squad should he go unclaimed.

» Even though he scored three touchdowns in the Indianapolis Colts‘ final preseason game, former Gators kick returner Brandon James did not make the cut with one of the top teams in the AFC. Instead, the team elected to sign Devin Moore for that job. James did muff a punt that was returned for the touchdown during the preseason and will likely be picked up as a practice squad player with either the Colts or another team.

» One of the team’s most valuable defensive players throughout the 2009 playoffs, former Gators defensive end Bobby McCray was cut by the New Orleans Saints on Saturday, just over a month after the team brought him back (they originally let him go on June 21). In the offseason, the Saints signed fellow former Florida DE Alex Brown, who will be a starter for New Orleans this season.

Tags: Alex Brown, Andre Caldwell, Bobby McCray, Brandon James, Buffalo Bills, Carlos Dunlap, Cincinnati Bengals, Cornelius Ingram, David Nelson, Draft, Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars, New Orleans Saints, NFL, Philadelphia Eagles, Reggie Nelson

1 » With seven of their eight 2010 NFL Draft picks now under contract, the last thing on the docket for Cleveland Browns president Mike Holmgren is to sign former Florida Gators cornerback Joe Haden to a deal. Here is what he had to say about the situation at a press conference on Wednesday:

“As far as Haden goes, those of you who have been around this for a long time, the number one picks you just need a domino to go and then it starts to happen. Then it just explodes and happens. We have had good discussions with Joe’s agents and I am hopeful that he will get in without too much loss of time. It’s very important for the young man, I will say that. I get the business part of it, even when I was coaching I did. It frustrated me to a certain extent, but I get it. This is a lot of money, but I also saw and lived through and experienced the importance of this with a lot of athletes. If they wait too long, they miss some really valuable stuff. [...] It’s hard to catch up in most cases. It’s important that he gets in here, but I’m not discouraged. I think we are making progress.”

2 » As draft picks are being signed left and right, the Cincinnati Bengals made a splash Wednesday officially signing veteran wide receiver Terrell Owens to a one-year contract. Owens’ signing will certainly impact former Gators WR Andre “Bubba” Caldwell, who had been penciled in as the team’s starting slot receiver in 2010. Instead, it looks like veteran Antonio Bryant will hold that role and Caldwell will be fighting for balls as the Bengals’ No. 4 pass catcher. Caldwell said he realizes his playing time will be “diminished” but “maybe not. I’m just going to keep grinding and playing my hardest.” Nevertheless, he has great respect for Owens. “I read his book. I’ve been watching all this time,” Caldwell said. “He’s one of the greatest receivers. […] To be able to learn from him is something I’m really looking forward to.” As far as team chemistry is concerned, Caldwell has no worries. “If Chad [Ochocinco] can’t disrupt this team,” I don’t think T.O. can,” he told the team’s website.

3 » Former Florida thrower Evelien Dekkers, who took home the 2010 NCAA National Championship in women’s javelin, was named the 2010 U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Scholar-Athlete of the Year for Outdoor Women’s Field. Dekkers is the only female in school history to own a national title in javelin and holds a school-record toss of 58.99m/193-6.

4 » Good news came Wednesday for Gators redshirt senior gymnast Maranda Smith, who has been granted a sixth year of eligibility by the NCAA. A four-time All-American, Smith has suffered a stress fracture in her right shin and torn her right labrum in previous seasons. “I’m so grateful that the NCAA granted me another year of eligibility,” she said. “I’m really looking forward to competing with my Gator teammates again and having another chance to compete in front of the O’Connell Center fans is truly a gift.”

Photo Credit: Cleveland Browns

Tags: Andre Caldwell, Antonio Bryant, Chad Ochocinco, Cincinnati Bengals, Draft, Evelien Dekkers, gymnastics, Joe Haden, Maranda Smith, Mike Holmgren, National Championship, NCAA, NFL, O'Connell Center, Terrell Owens, USTFCCCA

1 » Appearing Friday on The Scott Van Pelt Show on ESPN Radio, the network’s AFC West blogger Bill Williamson predicted that former Florida Gators quarterback Tim Tebow will start this season for the Denver Broncos – beginning in week 12. Williamson believes Kyle Orton will play the first 10 games of the season, and Tebow will take the reigns if the team is no longer in playoff contention. ESPN Insider notes that “Williamson points out that Tebow was drafted not to serve as a clipboard holder or gadget play extraordinaire, but to play starting QB, and he will be given the opportunity to do so unless Orton comes through with a very solid season.”

2 » One of the best things about following athletes on Twitter is the ability to read their streams of consciousness when going off on a tangent or speaking passionately about an issue. Monday, former Gators wide receiver Andre Caldwell of the Cincinnati Bengals expressed his desire to take his game to another level while putting some responsibilities – like family and friends – on the back burner for a short period of time.

“Training camp starts in [nine] days. I can’t wait. I dedicated my entire offseason to getting better and working hard – now it’s time to show it off,” Caldwell wrote. “I worked extra hard this whole offseason. I haven’t had much time to hang out with family and friends. I’m trying to accomplish my dream and be the best WR in the NFL, and the only way I know how to be the best is to work harder than every WR in the league. My friends and family say I’m selfish and I have changed [be]cause I don’t make time for them. I tell them I’m chasing my dream. Am I wrong? People say I have become crazy and my work ethic is insane, but my love for the game is much crazier and failure is not a[n] option. I see and hear all the comment[s] these report[er]s write and how they write me off, but it just add[s] fuel to this fire burning inside me.”

Extra BIT » Former New York Yankees shortstop Bucky Dent was a thorn in the side of the Boston Red Sox, so it is no wonder that having his son – and Florida freshman – Cody Dent playing in the New England Collegiate Baseball League for the summer was a “risky” move. “The first day they were joking about Bucky (Bleeping) Dent,” Cody told The Gainesville Sun. “I just laugh along with it. It’s all good humor.” The move was a suggestion by head coach Kevin O’Sullivan, who elicited a funny response from the elder statesman. “I texted Sully and said, ‘What are you trying to do, get my son killed?” Bucky exclaimed. Never nervous while playing professionally, watching his son play makes Dent jitter. “I can’t sit still,” he said. “I’ve go to move because I get really nervous. Way more nervous than when I played. I’m sitting there in the College World Series and he’s playing third base against Florida State and I’m going, ‘Oh God, he’s 18 years old, there’s 20,000 people in the stands and national TV,’ and I’m sweating bullets.”

Photo Credit: Ed Andrieski/Associated Press

Tags: Andre Caldwell, baseball, Boston Red Sox, Bucky Dent, Cincinnati Bengals, Cody Dent, Denver Broncos, Kyle Orton, New England Collegiate Baseball League, New York Yankees, NFL, Tim Tebow

1 » On Tuesday, OGGOA tweeted a picture of former Florida Gators quarterback Tim Tebow handing a football off to a kid that got some of our female followers pretty riled up. It appears that picture was taken from a Broncos Bunch kids club event that Tebow participated in over the weekend. The Denver Broncos rookie threw passes to and took pictures with a bunch of children – not all of whom were Broncos fans. “Gator nation really is everywhere,” Tebow told CBS4 in Denver, CO. “It’s great to be out here and to play with these kids, to meet the parents and just be here in the stadium. It really is humbling to have people supporting me and to have fans. It really does mean a lot. […] It’s just an opportunity to come out here, throw balls, take some pictures, hang out with people, get a chance to make a kid smile or a family smile and – it’s more important than winning games, when you really look at it.”

Three more BITS on the futures of Udonis Haslem, David Nelson and Demar Dorsey.
Continue Reading » FOUR BITS: Tebow, Haslem, Nelson, Dorsey

Tags: Andre Caldwell, BCS, Buffalo Bills, Chan Gailey, Charlie Strong, David Lee, David Nelson, Demar Dorsey, Denver Broncos, Draft, Florida State Seminoles, Louis Murphy, Louisville Cardinals, Miami Heat, Michigan Wolverines, NBA, New York Knicks, NFL, Percy Harvin, SEC, Tim Tebow, Udonis Haslem

Round 2 – No. 54
Carlos Dunlap, DE
Cincinnati Bengals

Height: 6’6″ – Weight: 277 lbs.
Age: 20 – Class: Junior

Experiencing a slide in the 2010 NFL Draft that he certainly did not expect when he declared as a junior, former Florida Gators defensive end Carlos Dunlap did not have to wait long after his linemate Jermaine Cunningham was picked. In fact, Dunlap’s name was called immediately after Cunningham’s when he was finally chosen by the Cincinnati Bengals with the No. 54 overall pick in the second round.

The eighth Florida defensive lineman to be drafted in the past five years, Dunlap was a unanimous 2009 first-team All-SEC player by the conference’s coaches, the Associated Press and Sporting News. His 19.5 career sacks with the Gators puts him in the top ten in school history.

He was projected to be a top-five selection in the draft before the 2009 season began due to his athletic ability but steadily fell down scouts’ charts due to character concerns (his DUI before the 2010 SEC Championship) and, more importantly, an inconsistent motor. Most front office personnel are of the opinion that Dunlap takes plays off during games, something he adamantly denies.

Dunlap will join former Gators wide receiver Andre Caldwell (third round – 2008) and cornerback Keiwan Ratliff in Cincinnati.

Tags: All-SEC, Andre Caldwell, Carlos Dunlap, Cincinnati Bengals, Draft, Jermaine Cunningham, Keiwan Ratliff, NFL, SEC, SEC Championship

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Andre “Bubba” Cadlwell, who caught 56 passes for 761 yards and seven touchdowns from former Florida Gators quarterback Tim Tebow in 2007, told his team’s official Web site that the Heisman Trophy winner and two-time National Champion does not have what it takes to be an elite passer on the next level.

“He needs time. He needs to sit behind one of those good quarterbacks for about three years because I know he’s going to put in the work and the effort to be a great quarterback. He’s going to learn. I don’t think he’s going to be an elite passer ever. But he’s a playmaker. He’ll get the ball there. He probably can’t make the prettiest looking passes. But he’s going to use what he has to his advantage. Running. Scrambling. Making passes. He’s got a strong arm and I think he can make the throws, but they may not be the prettiest.”

For what it’s worth, Caldwell is simply speaking his mind. He was asked a question and gave an honest reply. Seeing as he’s been catching passes from two-time Pro Bowler Carson Palmer for 21 NFL games and two full seasons of practice, Caldwell is certainly in the position to speak on the topic.

Asked to give an assessment of where he would draft Tebow if he was an NFL general manager, Caldwell was specific. “Late second round,” he said.

10:15 p.m. UPDATE: Caldwell wished to clarify his comments via Twitter this evening, and OGGOA is more than obliged to provide him with an additional forum:

“People are taking my comments about Tebow not being an elite passing QB wrong. Tebow is a college football great. What I meant is that he probably won’t throw as good as [Peyton] Manning or Carson [Palmer] – guys like that. But he can do so many other things that they don’t which make him a great QB but just in a different way. He’s a playmaker in so many ways not just only throwing the ball.”

OGGOA believes Caldwell was perfectly clear in the first place.

Tags: Andre Caldwell, Carson Palmer, Cincinnati Bengals, Heisman Trophy, National Championship, NFL, Pro Bowl, Tim Tebow

With the regular season wrapping up Sunday night, the participants in the 2009 NFL Playoffs have now been determined. There are seven Florida Gators with roles on their squad’s active rosters among the 12 teams competing to appear in Super Bowl XLIV. OGGOA has put together a comprehensive list of these players.

Continue Reading » Florida Gators in the 2009 NFL Playoffs

Tags: Andre Caldwell, Bobby McCray, Brandon Siler, Cincinnati Bengals, Fred Taylor, Ian Scott, Lito Sheppard, Minnesota Vikings, New England Patriots, New Orleans Saints, New York Jets, NFL, Percy Harvin, Playoffs, San Diego Chargers, Super Bowl XLIV