1 » Following up on a story OGGOA posted on Monday, the Texas Rangers have told MLB.com that they are still expecting Florida Gators wide receiver Riley Cooper to attend spring training in Arizona. “Yes, we do,” Rangers general manager Jon Daniels said on Tuesday. Though Cooper has said that the Rangers have not been in contact with him – “I must not mean that much to them.” – Daniels begs to differ. “We’ve been in touch with his agents,” Daniels said. “We intentionally gave him space and time while he was preparing for the SEC Championship game and the Sugar Bowl. Everything is still on track for him to report to Arizona. He has a decision to make but the lack of contact was out of respect, not from a lack of disrespect.”

2 » Though Louisville Cardinals head coach Charlie Strong cited the fact that he is African-American and married to a Caucasian woman as one of the reasons it was so difficult to break into the head coaching ranks, he does not want the onus of being a minority coach. “What you want to do is never put pressure on yourself to be like, ‘Hey, you have to be a pioneer,” Strong said last Tuesday.

3 » With an outstanding showing at the Under Armour All-American Game last weekend, Florida four-star defensive back commitment Demar Dorsey (Lauderdale Lakes, FL) took the opportunity to reaffirm his commitment to the Gators. Always being honest and holding that he was 60-80 percent committed to UF throughout the year, Dorsey upped that percentage to 90 after the game. Because of his honesty, Dorsey was previously considered one of the most likely Florida recruits to decommit, but he appears to be as much of a Gator as ever. Even so, he has chosen to visit the Tennessee Volunteers and is considering taking a trip to one of four other schools in order to make sure he covers all of his bases.

Check out the three remaining BITS after the jump…
Continue Reading » SIX BITS: Cooper, Strong, Dorsey, Rivers & more

Tags: Alabama Crimson Tide, All-American, Austin Rivers, Billy Donovan, Chandler Parsons, Charlie Strong, Demar Dorsey, Duke Blue Devils, Joey Sorrentino, Jon Daniels, Louisville Cardinals, Marquis Maze, MLB, Riley Cooper, Sugar Bowl, Tennessee Volunteers, Texas Longhorns, Texas Rangers, Under Armour

Head Coach: Urban Meyer

Interim Head Coach, Offensive Coordinator, Offensive Line: Steve Addazio
Quarterbacks: Scot Loeffler
Wide Receivers: Billy Gonzales (LSU) Zach Azzanni
Running Backs: Kenny Carter (Louisville) Stan Drayton
Tight Ends: Brian White

Defensive Coordinator: Charlie Strong (Louisville) TBD
Assistant Defensive Coordinator, Safeties: Chuck Heater
Associate Head Coach, Defense/Defensive Line: Dan McCarney
Linebackers: Charlie Strong (Louisville) D.J. Durkin
Cornerbacks: Vance Bedford (Louisville) TBD

Special Teams: Urban Meyer D.J. Durkin
Recruiting Coordinator: Billy Gonzales (LSU) TBD
Director of Player and Community Relations: Terry Jackson

Tags: Billy Gonzales, Brian White, Charlie Strong, Chuck Heater, D.J. Durkin, Dan McCarney, Kenny Carter, Scot Loeffler, Stan Drayton, Steve Addazio, Terry Jackson, Urban Meyer, Vance Bedford, Zach Azzanni

Former Florida Gators running backs coach Stan Drayton has been rehired to his former job according to three sources close to the team. Drayton, who spent last season in the same position with the Syracuse Orange, left the Gators in a lateral move to the Tennessee Volunteers before the 2008 season. Florida’s running backs coach position opened after current assistant Kenny Carter decided to accept the same job with head coach Charlie Strong and the Louisville Cardinals.

Drayton, a member of the Gators coaching staff for three seasons from 2005-07, left in 2008 after he attempted to leverage a job with Tennessee to increase his salary and responsibilities at Florida. Head coach Urban Meyer did not fire Drayton but instead suggested he take the position made available to him. “I can’t go into too much detail, but it was a little rough, a little rocky,” Drayton said at the time. “He had a coach that was getting ready to entertain a situation at his rival school. I understood that completely.”

Other stops Drayton has made include Mississippi State (2004), the NFL’s Green Bay Packers (2001-03), Bowling Green (2000) and Villanova (1996-2000). While with Green Bay, Drayton was the offensive quality control and assistant special teams coach.

Upon departing Gainesville, FL, Drayton slighted the Gators while propping up Meyer to the Nashville Tennessean, saying that Florida was not a program that nurtured running backs. “The offense that we were running at Florida didn’t have much involvement from the running back,” Drayton said. “There was some frustration there, to be honest with you. But you’re in a community that’s very supportive of Florida. Florida’s been good to me for three years. It was a very comfortable situation, it really was. Urban Meyer made it a very comfortable situation for me.”

Gators running back Anthony Gay spoke to the Sporting News in January 2008 about the rocky relationship between the two coaches. “They ain’t like this,” Gay said while holding up crossed fingers. “They’re not even really tight. A lot of days, I’ve seen Coach Drayton shed tears before. Not in front of [Meyer], but right after practice because of how he acknowledged him, because of how he belittled him.”

In a release from the University of Florida, Meyer welcomed Drayton and new linebackers/special teams coach D.J. Durkin to the staff. “Coach Addazio and I worked together on this and are excited to have D.J. and Stan join our coaching staff,” Meyer said. “Both guys are familiar with the plan we have for our program, our coaches and our student-athletes. It will be a smooth transition and they both bring a high level of expertise to the table and have proven to be good recruiters.”

UPDATE: Pat Dooley of this Gainesville Sun wrote the via his twitter account Tuesday evening – “I hear Urban Meyer apologized for cutting [Drayton] loose [two] years ago.”

Tags: Anthony Gay, Charlie Strong, D.J. Durkin, Kenny Carter, Stan Drayton, Syracuse Orange, Tennessee Volunteers, University of Florida, Urban Meyer

Though both are denying this seemingly inevitable fact to one source or another, Florida Gators cornerbacks coach Vance Bedford and running backs coach Kenny Carter are likely headed to the Louisville Cardinals to join head coach Charlie Strong‘s staff. Even Strong, who told the Gainesville Sun after the 2010 Sugar Bowl that Bedford had already agreed to become his defensive coordinator, backtracked on his comments. He also said Carter “hasn’t told me that” he was joining his staff.

Bedford explained to anyone who asked him that he would be recruiting for the Gators in South Florida this week, and he is currently doing just that. However, Pat Dooley of the Gainesville Sun reports that Bedford’s hiring out of Gainesville, FL, “will happen this week.” This falls in line with what four-star cornerback commitment Demar Dorsey (Lauderdale Lakes, FL) said a few days ago. Bedford has even told the Miami Herald that he is “open to working with Coach Strong. He’s one of the reasons I’m here.” Though he added that his “opportunity to stay is also good, and I’ve talked with Coach Addazio about that.”

On Dec. 14, Bedford claimed he was staying put in Gainesville and concentrating on recruiting the incoming 2010 class. “I’m a Gator,” Bedford exclaimed when asked if 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 said at the time that he had neither been contacted by Strong nor any other coach about a position.

Similarly, four-star running back commit Mack Brown (Lithona, GA) told Mark Wheeler of Rivals on Monday night that Carter has already informed him he is leaving the program. This is an unconfirmed report as only Brown has mentioned it thus far, but Carter does have an outstanding offer to join the Cardinals staff. Even though Strong has already hired an offensive coordinator, Carter could be given an expanded role on offensive. When asked after the Sugar Bowl about his future, Carter said, “I’m not talking about anything but this game. I’m not talking about any of that crap. It doesn’t mean anything to me.”

UPDATE: Robbie Andreu of the Sun is now reporting that Bedford is “expected to leave official[ly] later in the week.” He also reached out to Strong Monday evening, who said Carter is “expected to reach a decision on whether or not to take the job or stay at Florida by the weekend,” according to the paper. It was indicated that Carter would be hired as running backs coach – a lateral move and not a promotion.

Strong has mentioned to the press on numerous occasions since leaving Florida that he would not be hiring coaches from the Gators’ staff as not to shake things up or raid the program of its staff. Apparently he has changed his mind about that pledge.

Tags: Charlie Strong, Demar Dorsey, Kenny Carter, Louisville Cardinals, Mack Brown, Vance Bedford

1 » At the end of this his Monday Morning QB column this week, Sports Illustrated‘s Peter King spoke at great length about Florida Gators senior quarterback Tim Tebow. Here is an excerpt from his diatribe on NFL scouts’ opinions of Tebow: “The NFL team that can’t find a spot for Tebow to help it win games is close-minded,” King writes. “I don’t know if he can be an every-down quarterback, but I do know 28 teams passed on Joe Montana through two rounds because he was too small, 31 teams passed on Tom Brady through five rounds because he was just another guy, and Kurt Warner went undrafted and twice went knocking on doors as an unwanted free-agent even after he won a Super Bowl in the NFL. [I would pick Tebow and] pop the champagne corks.”

2 » Mark Wheeler of Rivals is reporting that Florida cornerbacks coach Vance Bedford is indeed down in Miami, FL, recruiting today just as he said he would be last week. Bedford’s comments were met with skepticism as it is widely held that he will eventually become Charlie Strong‘s defensive coordinator with the Louisville Cardinals.

Extra Bit » Though rumors that he might decommit flurried over the weekend, four-star running back commitment Mack Brown (Lithonia, GA) has reaffirmed his decision to numerous sources. Five-star defensive end recruit Ronald Powell, who is expected to announce his commitment soon, is still leaning toward joining the Gators.

Tags: Charlie Strong, Joe Montana, Kurt Warner, Louisville Cardinals, Mack Brown, Ronald Powell, Tim Tebow, Tom Brady, Vance Bedford

1 » Redshirt freshman wide receiver Andre Debose was supposed to play a big role in the Florida Gators offense this past season. However, after injuring his hamstring while running the track and undergoing season-ending surgery, Debose received his medical redshirt and has been rehabbing ever since. According to Jeremy Fowler of the Orlando Sentinel, Debose is running in the pool and his rehab is coming along quite well. “I’m happy with my results so far,” he said. “They’ve been positive.”

2 » Fowler also spoke with Nicki Meyer, head coach Urban Meyer’s 19-year-old daughter, about her father’s health and future. Nicki spoke in-depth about the Christmas conversation her father had about stepping down as well as what the family hopes to accomplish with his time off. “I just want my dad to be healthy,” Nicki said. “I want his heart to be OK. I want his anxiety level to go low. I want him to enjoy [coaching] again like he used to. The fact that he’s going to pull himself together again, that means so much to me. He needs to learn not to put everything on himself all the time. It’s a loss, he would take it as himself. He’d say, ‘That’s my fault.’ If a player gets in trouble, he thinks, ‘That’s my fault.’ We don’t want him to completely close the door on coaching, because that’s what he loves. We know he’s good at it, obviously. He’s so young. If he can come back and get healthy and start coaching again, we want him to do it. We want him to stay healthy. He needs to be around football, and we know that.”

3 » Now that the 2009 season is over, Meyer will be meeting with his coaching staff to work on a few issues before taking his official leave of absence for (at least) the summer. Among the issues will be replacing defensive coordinator Charlie Strong (probably cornerbacks coach Vance Bedford, too) and finishing up recruiting before National Signing Day in a month’s time. “I’m going to do everything I can to keep this train going in the right direction,” Meyer said. “That will all be discussed in the next few days.”

4 » Catching up on a story that OGGOA purposely skipped over during the week, Tennessee Volunteers senior forward Tyler Smith, junior center Brian Williams, junior point guard Melvin Goins and sophomore guard Cameron Tatum are all facing misdemeanor drug, gun and alcohol charges after being stopped on Friday by Knoxville, TN, police for speeding. Head coach Bruce Pearl has suspended all four players indefinitely and has said that dismissal is an option depending on what information is revealed about the incident. “This is tough,” Pearl said. “This is so hard because we’ve worked so hard to try to do the right things.”

Tags: Andre Debose, Brian Williams, Bruce Pearl, Cameron Tatum, Charlie Strong, Melvin Goins, National Signing Day, Nicki Meyer, Tennessee Volunteers, Tyler Smith, Urban Meyer, Vance Bedford

Each week following a Florida Gators game, ONLY GATORS Get Out Alive grades the team position-by-position based on each unit’s performance. This week, we look at how the Gators fared against the Cincinnati Bearcats in the final game of their season, the 2010 Sugar Bowl at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, LA.

QUARTERBACKS: A+
When the best player in school history plays the best game of his career in the final game of his career, it is tough not to give him an “A+” grade. And that is exactly what senior quarterback Tim Tebow has earned – not just for his outstanding performance Friday evening but for his career in the Orange and Blue. Pick your poison: was it the Lowe’s Senior CLASS award he was given before the game, the Sugar Bowl record 12 consecutive completions, the career-long 80-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Riley Cooper, the Sugar Bowl and BCS bowl game record 533 yards of total offense, the Sugar Bowl/BCS record 482 passing yards, the 31 completions which set a new Sugar Bowl record, the Sugar Bowl high four touchdowns or the 88.6 completion percentage that set a BCS record? The answer, of course, is “all of the above.”

RUNNING BACKS: A-
Tebow was once again the leading ball carrier for the Gators with 14 touches for 51 yards and a touchdown, but both redshirt junior Emmanuel Moody and redshirt sophomore Chris Rainey came up big throughout the game. Moody rushed eight times for only 14 yards but scored two touchdowns on the ground (he also had four receptions for 19 yards) while Rainey caught four passes for 71 yards and ran four times for 27 yards and a touchdown. Freshman Mike Gillislee cleaned up at the end of the fourth quarter and took a ball 52 yards for a final line of five carries for 78 yards. Sophomore Jeff Demps, the true starter, left the game after he dislocated his elbow on his third rush of the game. Though the attempts and yards were not there, three rushing touchdowns brought this unit up a half-grade.

Read the rest of Florida’s grades from the Sugar Bowl after the jump…
Continue Reading » Grading the Florida vs. Cincinnati game

Tags: Aaron Hernandez, Ahmad Black, BCS, Brandon Hicks, Brandon James, Brandon Spikes, Caleb Sturgis, Carlos Dunlap, Charlie Strong, Chas Henry, Chris Rainey, Cincinnati Bearcats, David Nelson, Deonte Thompson, Dustin Doe, Emmanuel Moody, Janoris Jenkins, Jeff Demps, Joe Haden, Justin Trattou, Louisiana Superdome, Major Wright, Mardy Gilyard, Mike Gillislee, NFL, Riley Cooper, Ryan Stamper, Scot Loeffler, SEC, Sugar Bowl, Tim Tebow, Tony Pike, Urban Meyer, Vance Bedford

» Florida Gators defensive coordinator Charlie Strong coached his last game in the Orange and Blue Friday before heading to the Louisville Cardinals as the team’s new head coach. UF cornerbacks coach Vance Bedford, who was expected to join Strong as his defensive coordinator, has yet to say one way or another though Strong said on Thursday and Friday that an agreement was in place. Bedford continues to claim he will be recruiting for Florida next week but at least one recruit (four-star CB Demar Dorsey) says Bedford is gone. “I’m open to working with Coach Strong,” Bedford told the Miami Herald. “He’s one of the reasons I’m here. My opportunity to stay is also good, and I’ve talked with Coach Addazio about that.” Strong told the Gainesville Sun after the game that Bedford is joining his staff.

» Running backs coach Kenny Carter is another staff member who is rumored to be joining Strong in Louisville. Even though Strong has already hired an offensive coordinator, Carter could be given an expanded role on the offensive staff. When asked after the Sugar Bowl about his future, Carter said “I’m not talking about anything but this game. I’m not talking about any of that crap. It doesn’t mean anything to me.” When asked about Carter joining his staff, Strong told the Sun, “He hasn’t told me that.”

» Quarterbacks coach Scot Loeffler told reporters he will be returning next season. Loeffler’s name was thrown around for a few head coaching jobs in recent weeks.

» As OGGOA reported yesterday, three Gators experienced major health issues on Friday. Junior center Maurkice Pouncey spent five hours in Tulane Hospital before the game with kidney stones, played in the game but left after the half to pass another stone. Sophomore running back Jeff Demps dislocated his elbow in the first quarter on his third carry of the game and redshirt junior left guard Carl Johnson injured his right shoulder during the second quarter – both did not return.

» After the Sugar Bowl, Johnson announced that he will be returning for his senior season. However, juniors cornerback Joe Haden, defensive end Carlos Dunlap, tight end Aaron Hernandez and center Maurkice Pouncey are all expected to declare for the 2010 NFL Draft. OGGOA believes that junior safety Ahmad Black will also declare while junior S Major Wright, junior right guard Mike Pouncey and redshirt junior right tackle Marcus Gilbert have yet to decide.

» Senior quarterback Tim Tebow was followed around with a “Tebow Cam” during FOX’s Sugar Bowl broadcast. The camera shot, available via FOXSports.com during the game, was on Tebow the whole time – from focusing on him while on the field to every single thing he did on the sidelines. OGGOA believes this will be included in the Sugar Bowl DVD to be released by FOX.

Tags: Aaron Hernandez, Ahmad Black, Carl Johnson, Carlos Dunlap, Charlie Strong, Demar Dorsey, Draft, Jeff Demps, Joe Haden, Kenny Carter, Louisville Cardinals, Major Wright, Marcus Gilbert, Maurkice Pouncey, Mike Pouncey, NFL, Scot Loeffler, Tim Tebow, Vance Bedford