1 » Florida Gators cornerbacks coach Vance Bedford visited the home of four-star CB recruit Cody Riggs (Fort Lauderdale, FL) Thursday night and earned the St. Thomas Aquinas High School product’s commitment, according to a report from Rivals. Bedford still taking visits and bringing back commitments is a strong indication that he may not leave the Gators as was previously reported by other sources.

2 » Former Cincinnati Bearcats head coach Brian Kelly, who has now accepted the same job with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, will not coach his former team in the 2010 Sugar Bowl against Florida, according to university administrators. In the few hours since Kelly’s announcement, Cincinnati players have already begun bashing him in the press. “I didn’t want to hear it,” star wide receiver Mardy Gilyard said. “I’m fairly disgusted with the situation – him letting it last this long. Hopefully he’ll pack his things up and get to South Bend in a hurry.”

3 » Gators players, including redshirt junior left guard Carl Johnson, are making sure the team is up and ready for the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1. “Winning [22] straight games in a row is not much of a letdown,” he said. “We had the nation’s [longest] win streak there for a while. We’ve still got a BCS bowl game. We’ve still got another opponent. It’s not much of a letdown.”

4 » Golfer Greg Norman will host a 12-team golf tournament on Friday at the Tiburon Golf Club and two of the main competitors in the contest are former Florida players. Mark Calcavecchia and Brian Gay will pair together in the $3 million tournament.

Tags: Brian Gay, Brian Kelly, Carl Johnson, Cincinnati Bearcats, Cody Riggs, golf, Greg Norman, Mardy Gilyard, Mark Calcavecchia, Notre Dame Fighting Irish, St. Thomas Aquinas, Sugar Bowl, Tiburon Golf Club, Vance Bedford

From time to time, OGGOA will come across too many news items we want to share with our readers. In those instances, we present a special post: Gator Bites. Enjoy.

- Reports were released early Sunday that Florida Gators head coach Urban Meyer was hospitalized late Saturday night with chest pains. However, Meyer actually checked himself into Shands hospital in Gainesville, FL, early Sunday morning. He was treated and released for dehydration. The Orlando Sentinel reports that Meyer “worked late recruiting Saturday night after the Southeastern Conference Championship game loss to Alabama, which may have contributed to his dehydration.” ESPN has the story:

- Four-star linebacker Jeff Luc (Port St. Lucie, FL), a recruit who was highly coveted by the Gators, committed to the Florida State Seminoles on Saturday according to Aaron Shepard, one of his high school coaches. “He said he’s been a fan since he’s been a little kid and it just felt like home since he went up there this weekend,” Shepard told The Orlando Sentinel on Sunday.

- Defensive coordinator Charlie Strong told reporters on Saturday that he has not yet spoken to the Louisville Cardinals and had no planned meeting with the school on Sunday. Sunday morning, the Cardinals spoke with Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley and received permission to speak with Strong about the job opening. According to ESPN’s Joe Schad on twitter, Strong and Louisville AD Tom Jurich have plans to meet Sunday night in Gainesville, FL.

- The Gators will likely face the Cincinnati Bearcats in the Sugar Bowl. Meyer played defensive back for the Bearcats from 1983-1986.

- Former Alabama Crimson Tide running back Shaun Alexander, a close friend of senior quarterback Tim Tebow for some time, was seen consoling him late after the game in the Georgia Dome.

– Prior to the Miami Dolphins game on Sunday, former middle linebacker Channing Crowder ran out of the tunnel and gave a huge Gator Chomp to the crowd (which received a surprising ovation). Crowder was responsible for the game-clinching interception with 0:35 left in the fourth quarter as the Dolphins defeated the New England Patriots.

- Also a huge day for former Florida wide receiver Louis Murphy with the Oakland Raiders. Murphy caught four balls for 128 yards and two fourth quarter touchdowns against the Pittsburgh Steelers to give his team a 27-24 win.

- Competing in the 2010 Under Armour All-American Game are the following Florida commitments: Joshua Shaw (CB; Palmdale, CA), Jonathan Dowling (S; Southeast, FL), Demar Dorsey (S; Boyd Anderson, FL), Solomon Patton (WR; Murphy, AL), Leon Orr (DT; Gulf, FL), Mack Brown (RB; Martin Luther King, GA), Ian Silberman (OT; Fleming Island, FL). These recruiting prospects (among others) will also be playing in the game: Chris Dunkley (WR; Pahokee, FL), Kadron Boone (WR; Trinity Catholic, FL), Lamarcus Joyner (CB; St. Thomas Aquinas, FL), Cody Riggs (CB; St. Thomas Aquinas, FL), Chaz Green (OT; Tampa Catholic, FL), Devin Gardner (QB; Inkster, MI), Eric Mack (OG; Calhoun County, SC). For the star ratings of the Gators commits found in this list, visit OGGOA‘s recruiting page.

OGGOA will continue to update you with news throughout the day, so stay tuned.

Tags: Alabama Crimson Tide, Channing Crowder, Charlie Strong, Chaz Green, Chris Dunkley, Cincinnati Bearcats, Cody Riggs, Demar Dorsey, Devin Gardner, Eric Mack, Florida State Seminoles, Ian Silberman, Jeff Luc, Jonathan Dowling, Joshua Shaw, Kardon Boone, Lamarcus Joyner, Leon Orr, Louis Murphy, Louisville Cardinals, Mack Brown, Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots, Oakland Raiders, Pittsburgh Steelers, SEC Championship, Shands, Shaun Alexander, Solomon Patton, Sugar Bowl, Tim Tebow, Under Armour All-American Game, Urban Meyer

From time to time, OGGOA will come across too many news items we want to share with our readers. In those instances, we present a special post: Gator Bites. Enjoy.

- On NBC’s Football Night in America, Peter King said he spoke to 17 NFL general managers about Florida Gators quarterback Tim Tebow. Asking them where they projected him being drafted, King said the average came out to No. 33 overall. However, two coaches of winning teams told King that he would not get past their pick in the first round. No surprise there. Almost the entire group of commentators on The OT on FOX agreed that Florida will beat the Alabama Crimson Tide on Saturday. Some claimed the Gators were poised to win the National Championship while others said Tebow deserves the Heisman Trophy.

- Rolling up 545 yards of total offense on the Florida State Seminoles, the Gators unit looks the most comfortable it has the entire season. Consider the fact that it rolled up 584 yards against the Florida International Golden Panthers the week prior.

Be sure to check out the seven additional Gator Bites after the jump…
Continue Reading » Gator Bites for Sunday, November 29th

Tags: Aaron Hernandez, Alabama Crimson Tide, Bobby Bowden, Cody Riggs, Draft, Florida State Seminoles, Gator Nation, Georgia Bulldogs, Heisman Trophy, Joe Haden, Minnesota Vikings, National Championship, NFL, Percy Harvin, Rookie of the Year, Tennessee Volunteers, Tim Tebow, Urban Meyer

Rather than write you a long, worthless introduction, just go ahead and make the jump for a ton of recruiting news on the following recruits: Matt Elam, Jeff Luc, Chaz Green, Christian Green, Chris Dunkley, Kardon Boone, James Louis, Cody Riggs, Lamarcus Joyner, Sharrif Floyd and Ronald Powell.

Continue Reading » Status updates for UF’s top recruiting prospects

Tags: Alabama Crimson Tide, Chaz Green, Chris Dunkley, Christian Green, Cody Riggs, Florida State Seminoles, Georgia Bulldogs, James Louis, Jeff Luc, Kardon Boone, Lamarcus Joyner, Lane Kiffin, Matt Elam, North Carolina Tar Heels, Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Ohio State Buckeyes, Penn State Nittany Lions, Ronald Powell, Sharrif Floyd, South Carolina Gamecocks, Texas Tech Red Raiders, University of Florida, Urban Meyer, USC Trojans

It should be no surprise to Florida Gators fans that if a player is committed or being sought after by the Orange and Blue, Tennessee Volunteers head coach Lane Kiffin is one step behind trying to swipe them away. The same goes for four star running back commitment Mack Brown (Lithonia, GA), who committed to the Gators back on July 24.

Brown, who contends that his “commitment [to Florida] is strong,” said the Vols, Alabama Crimson Tide and North Carolina Tar Heels are still pursuing him. In fact, Kiffin even made a theatrical entrance to one of his games in an attempt to impress. “I saw a red helicopter over my head and I was like, ‘who’s in that up there?’” Brown told Rivals. It was Kiffin, of course, angling for Brown to take a visit to Knoxville, TN. The only visit Brown has planned is one to Gainesville, FL, for the Gators game against the Florida State Seminoles. “I talk to Florida every two days at least,” he said. “They like my running style and they want me to come in at 215 (pounds) to be an every down runner.”

Continue Reading » Brown being pursued, Riggs stays silent

Tags: Alabama Crimson Tide, Byrnes, Cody Riggs, Florida State Seminoles, Georgia Bulldogs, Lane Kiffin, Mack Brown, North Carolina Tar Heels, Notre Dame Fighting Irish, St. Thomas Aquinas, Tennessee Volunteers, Urban Meyer

1 » It was reported that Florida Gators head coach Urban Meyer was going to attend the Tampa Catholic high school football game Friday night, presumably to watch 4-star quarterback recruit Christian Green. Personally attending the No. 1 St. Thomas Aquinas vs. No. 2 Byrnes game this evening, I spotted Meyer on the sideline in Fort Lauderdale, FL, along with former St. Thomas Aquinas safety Major Wright and right tackle Marcus Gilbert. Meyer was in attendance presumably to keep an eye on 4-star cornerback Cody Riggs, a heavy Gators lean. The Gators are off from practice until early next week. In the game, Riggs blocked and field goal and played decent coverage all night, except for turning around too soon and being taken advantage of for a touchdown late in the game. I am curious to find out if the St. Petersburg Times got the story wrong, or if Meyer chose to visit Riggs over Green, who the team is reportedly extremely interested in.

2 » No. 5/5 Florida Gators volleyball lost their first regular-season home game since 2004 in front of 3,820 fans at the O’Connell Center Friday night to the No. 15 Kentucky Wildcats. The Gators jumped out to an early lead before losing a heartbreaker to the Wildcats.

3 » Senior linebacker Ryan Stamper suffered two concussions during his younger years and is able to relate to what his quarterback, Tim Tebow, is going through in recovery. “Your head hurts a lot and you get a lot of rest,” Stamper said. “It all comes back to you though.”

4 » FOX Sports college basketball writer Jeff Goodman believes that the improved experience and talent of SEC teams will make the conference a contender in the national picture this season. He predicts the Florida Gators will finish fourth in the SEC East, due to losing guard Nick Calathes to Greek professional team Olympiakos. I am of the belief that Florida will actually improve this year without Calathes.

Tags: Christian Green, Cody Riggs, Nick Calathes, Ryan Stamper, Tim Tebow, volleyball