1 » One rumor that was circulating throughout the World Wide Web when Florida Gators head coach Urban Meyer initially announced he would step down from his job was that the two-time BCS National Championship-winning coach would be heading to the NFL to replace head coach Wade Phillips of the Dallas Cowboys. The Orlando Sentinel‘s Jeremy Fowler caught up with four-star running back commit Mack Brown (Lithonia, GA), who said that fallacy was perpetrated by rival recruiters. “They would say, he’s tricking ya’ll — he’s going to the NFL to coach the Dallas Cowboys,” Brown said. “I was like ‘What?’ There’s no way. I wasn’t too worried about it anyway, but coach Meyer told me he’s a Gator. He’s coming back.”

2 » Three-star linebacker recruit Darrin Kitchens (Homestead, FL), who is currently uncommitted but deciding between the Gators and Texas Tech Red Raiders on Wednesday morning, has “survived the struggles in Homestead and still achieved [his] dreams,” his head coach Bobby McCray, Sr. (father of the New Orleans Saints defensive end and former Florida player) told The Miami Herald. Kitchens has used his strong work ethic and immense passion to propel him to a 3.0 grade point average and a Miami-Dade County-high 19 sacks his senior season.

Tags: BCS, Bobby McCray, Dallas Cowboys, Darrin Kitchens, Mack Brown, National Championship, NFL, Texas Tech Red Raiders, Urban Meyer, Wade Phillips

1 » New Orleans Saints defensive end Bobby McCray is the only former Florida Gators football player to make his way out of the 2010 NFL Playoffs and into Super Bowl XLIV in Miami, FL. McCray and his team will face the Indianapolis Colts and star quarterback Peyton Manning in the grandest stage of them all. Also in action Sunday were Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Percy Harvin (five receptions for 38 yards, four rushes for 15 yards and one fumble) and New York Jets cornerback Lito Sheppard (two tackles). McCray has been a big-name over the last few weeks, delivering powerful hits to both Arizona Cardinals QB Kurt Warner and Vikings QB Brett Favre.

2 » No. 11 Florida men’s tennis fell 5-2 to the No. 6 Baylor Bears on Sunday at the Baylor Tennis Center in Waco, TX. Senior Antoine Benneteau held his own in singles competition, though junior Alexandre Lacroix fell in three sets to Denes Lukacs 6-3, 3-6, 6-1. Lacroix and Benneteau, the No. 10-ranked doubles team in the country, continued their hot streak by winning their match 9-7. The Gators host the Furman Paladins on Jan. 30 at 10 a.m. in the first round of the ITA Kick-Off Weekend at Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex. The Georgia Tech yellow Jackets and Penn State Nittany Lions are also involved in the short tournament.

Tags: Alexandre Lacroix, Antoine Benneteau, Arizona Cardinals, Baylor Bears, Baylor Tennis Center, Bobby McCray, Brett Favre, Denes Lukacs, Indianapolis Colts, Kurt Warner, Lito Sheppard, Minnesota Vikings, New Orleans Saints, New York Jets, NFL, Percy Harvin, Playoffs, Super Bowl XLIV, tennis

1 » Former Florida Gators defensive end Bobby McCray, now with the New Orleans Saints, laid out Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner during the second round of the NFL Playoffs on Saturday. OGGOA has the video.

2 » Plenty of former Gators will be in action Sunday as the second round of the NFL Playoffs continue. Linebacker Brandon Siler and defensive tackle Ian Scott will be lining up for the San Diego Chargers, New York Jets‘ cornerback Lito Sheppard will be trying to shut down the Chargers’ deep threats and wide receiver Percy Harvin will see action in the early game as one of Brett Favre‘s top targets on the Minnesota Vikings against the Dallas Cowboys.

3 » Barely missing a triple-double for the New York Knicks Saturday was former Florida forward/center David Lee. Finishing with 26 points, 17 rebounds and nine assists, Lee has been tearing it up in New York over the last two seasons. Lee is averaging career-highs in minutes (36.9), points (19.3), assists (3.3) and steals (1.1) this season while also grabbing 11.2 rebounds per game; he has all the makings of an NBA All-Star.

4 » The decision that former Gators tight end Aaron Hernandez made to declare for the 2010 NFL Draft may turn out to be a wise one. But one choice Hernandez made that is already paying dividends was that of attending Florida instead of the University of Connecticut. “I feel like it was the best decision I made,” Hernandez told the Hartford Courant. “It made me grow up a little bit, get away from family and friends. The coaches were great coaches and they were great people, and I just don’t think anything could have gone better.” When did Hernandez decide to leave school? “I kind of planned toward the middle of the season, because I felt like I wanted to move on and enter a new part of my life,” he said. “Really, as the season went on, I just wanted [it] more and more.”

Tags: Aaron Hernandez, All-Star, Arizona Cardinals, Bobby McCray, Brandon Siler, Brett Favre, Dallas Cowboys, David Lee, Draft, Ian Scott, Kurt Warner, Lito Sheppard, Minnesota Vikings, NBA, New Orleans Saints, New York Jets, New York Knicks, NFL, Percy Harvin, Playoffs, San Diego Chargers

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

OGGOA has heard athletes make a lot of excuses in our day, but this one is literally a slice of hilarity.

New Orleans Saints defensive end Bobby McCray was arrested Tuesday morning and charged with four of counts including driving while intoxicated. Handcuffed after refusing to take a breath alcohol test during a traffic stop for speeding, McCray was booked into Orleans Parish Prison and released on his own recognizance. McCray, a two-time All-SEC second-team selection who played in 36 games while with the Florida Gators from 2001-04, claims he was arrested under false pretenses and was actually “driving with pizza.”

“Trying to deal with this bogus charge of DWP…driving with pizza,” McCray said via his twitter account (@bobbymccray) Wednesday morning. “My fiance was feeding me pizza [while I was] driving home. [The police officer] pulled me [over] for doing 80 in a 60. He got upset because I asked him why did I need to get out of the car on a routine traffic stop. He started ranting and raving, saying I think I know it all and threw me in cuffs. I had cuffs on me in three minutes. This was a short guy with [a] Napoleon complex. Lawyers mount up – we got some work to do!”

Tags: arrest, Bobby McCray, New Orleans Saints

New Orleans Saints defensive end Bobby McCray was arrested Tuesday morning and charged with a number of counts including driving while intoxicated, according to a report by The Associated Press. McCray was handcuffed after refusing to take a breath alcohol test during a routine traffic stop.

McCray was pulled over and arrested at 4:30 a.m. by an officer who caught him speeding. He was charged with DWI, speeding, careless operation of a motor vehicle and absence of vehicle registration. McCray was booked into Orleans Parish Prison but has been released on his own recognizance. Anyone who refuses a breath test under suspicion of driving drunk in Louisiana automatically loses their license for 12 months.

McCray was a two-time All-SEC second-team selection who played in 36 games while with the Florida Gators from 2001-04. He was drafted in the seventh round of the 2004 NFL Draft (249th overall) by the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Tags: arrest, Bobby McCray, Jacksonville Jaguars, New Orleans Saints