1 » During mini camp at the Dove Valley facility, Denver Broncos rookie quarterback Tim Tebow was elevated to the No. 3 position on the team’s depth chart – ahead of Tom Brandstater – but still behind starter Kyle Orton and back-up Brady Quinn. The former Florida Gators star took a few reps, though “Tebow’s throwing motion, by the way, is still a tad long. But he does fire with decent zip and accuracy,” said beat writer Mike Klis of The Denver Post.
- VIDEO: Tebow speaks with Fox Sports about NFL career.

2 » A few former Gators chimed in on the passing of safety Jarvis Williams on Wednesday. The Orlando Sentinel‘s Jeremy Fowler was able to catch up with ex-Florida head coach Galen Hall (1984-89), who spoke just as highly about Williams as his former teammates. “He was just a joy to coach,” Hall said. “He was a very quiet person who went about his business, but he was one of the toughest people I’ve been around in his nice, quiet way. He loved contact, was a good athlete and never tried to be an outstanding hero, just a player doing his job.”

Photo Credit: Associated Press

Tags: Brady Quinn, Denver Broncos, Galen Hall, Jarvis Williams, Kyle Orton, NFL, Tim Tebow, Tom Brandstater

1 » Advancing to the 2010 NCAA Tournament semifinals for the 20th time in the last 24 years, the No. 3 Florida Gators women’s tennis team (28-2) swept the No. 11 Miami Hurricanes (20-6) 4-0 on Saturday at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, GA. The No. 5 doubles pair of senior Marrit Boonstra and freshman Allie Will defeated the No. 6 Miami pairing 7-6 DNF; both No. 65 Boonstra and No. 8 Will also won their singles matches. No. 9 freshman Lauren Embree was impressive in her victory over No. 7 Laura Vallverdu, winning in straight sets 6-4, 6-2. Florida will face no. 2 North Carolina (30-4) on Monday at 1 p.m. for a chance to advance to the championship game.

2 » As if the media’s obsession with Denver Broncos rookie quarterback Tim Tebow had not previously reached a peak – it has now. ESPN.com has just unveiled a “Tim Tebow Tracker” for its unique Tebow Watch page. It is not yet filled with much content (mostly things you have read elsewhere – cough, cough), but as the offseason progresses it should get filled up quite nicely. You can check it out by clicking here.

Four more BITS on the SEC commissioner’s contract, a honor for Emmitt Smith, golf advancing and baseball losing its regular season finale…after the jump!
Continue Reading » SIX BITS: W-tennis advances, Tebow’s tracker, Slive’s contract, Emmitt’s homecoming

Tags: Allie Will, baseball, Buddy Alexander, Denver Broncos, Emmitt Smith, ESPN, golf, Homecoming, Lauren Embree, Lee Todd, Marrit Boonstra, Miami Hurricanes, Mike Slive, NCAA, NCAA Championship, NCAA Tournament, NFL, SEC, SEC Championship, SEC Tournament, South Carolina Gamecocks, tennis, Tim Tebow

1 » Senior center Mike Pouncey will be filling in for his brother next season in the middle of the Florida Gators offensive line – a position he has yet to play on the college level. Nevertheless, he has already been named to the 2010 Rimington Trophy spring watch list. The trophy, which is awarded to the best center in college football, was won by now Pittsburgh Steelers center/guard Maurkice Pouncey last season, providing a rare opportunity for brothers to win it in back-to-back years.

2 » Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow‘s No. 15 jersey is so popular that it has already set numerous NFL sales records. It is in such high demand, in fact, that Chinese counterfeiters rolled out some fake ones almost immediately. According to the Tampa Tribune, “U.S. Customs & Border Protection in Tampa seized $8,175 in counterfeit sports jerseys” last week. Though there were others included in the package, “several” were “good quality” counterfeits of Tebow’s jersey.

Tags: Denver Broncos, Maurkice Pouncey, Mike Pouncey, NFL, Pittsburgh Steelers, Rimington Trophy, Tim Tebow

1 » As he finishes his junior baseball season and gets ready for his senior year of football at Hagerty High School, four-star 2011 Florida Gators quarterback commitment Jeff Driskel (Oviedo, FL) knows the comparisons to Denver Broncos signal caller Tim Tebow will be coming sooner than later. “I’d love to continue the standards he set on the field and off the field,” Driskel told ESPN. “But at the same time, I have to make my own impact and be my own person.” Driskel is also aware that extra attention will be paid to him throughout the upcoming season due to his commitment to Florida. “Whenever you are linked to the football program at the University of Florida, all eyes are going to be on you,” he said. “I know there will be people that have never seen me play [who will] develop a new interest in us and how well we play this season.” Driskel is receiving plenty of praise and support from his coaches who realize that he will be a good fit with the Gators. “I had visited a few schools but every time I went to Florida it felt right,” Driskel admitted. “I wanted to be in the SEC because that’s where the best football in the country is played. Florida is competing for national titles every year and they run an offense suited around the quarterback. I love everything about that program.”

2 » Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley was in Jacksonville, FL, on Wednesday night, speaking to a bunch of fans at the Jax Beach Gator Club’s annual Gator Gathering. WJXX ABC 25 was on hand to cover the event, where Foley spoke about head coach Urban Meyer, redshirt junior quarterback John Brantley and a number of other topics.

On Meyer: “He’s doing well. He’s really doing well. He’s worked very hard – worked on some things that will help him be a better coach in terms of obligation. Very excited about the upcoming year. I can see the energy back. I can see the color in his face back.”

On Brantley: “I think his a heck of a talent. I know what our coaches think about him. I know how hard he’s worked. I know how hard he’s worked this spring. Johnny Brantley is a quality kid, a quality quarterback. Does he have the same reps as Tim Tebow? No. Will there be a learning curve for him? Certainly, but I think he’s got a chance to be a big time player. We’re very excited about Johnny Brantley.”

On Florida-Georgia: “It’s a tradition that’s second-to-none, in my opinion, in college football. Probably similar to Texas-Oklahoma. It’s as good as football stadium in the country, and we do have a contract. There’s a few Is to be dotted a few Ts to be crossed. I think that thing will be signed before next fall, and keep it here for another seven years and that certainly excites us all in Gainesville.”

Photo Credit: ESPN

Tags: Denver Broncos, Florida-Georgia, Gator Gathering, Hagerty, Jeff Driskel, Jeremy Foley, John Brantley, Tim Tebow, Urban Meyer

Montreal Alouettes head coach and recently Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow’s personal coach, Marc Trestman, once again defended the former Florida Gators star’s throwing motion and mechanics during a wide-ranging conference call with Canadian reporters Thursday.

“Basically all he’s doing is shortening his throwing motion and getting [the ball] out quicker,” Trestman said per the National Post. “I thought it was much, much overplayed and I think the perception of what it was and the reality of what it is was a lot different.”

Trestman went on to compare Tebow’s formerly elongated but since refined delivery to that of Anthony Calvillo, his team’s current starting quarterback.

“We have a quarterback who has a long delivery and he’s one of the greatest quarterbacks and will finish as one of the greatest quarterbacks of all-time north or south of the border so he does it with a motion very similar to what Tim Tebow used in college,” explained Trestman. “When you’re an accurate passer and you have the intangibles that go along with that you can figure it out and make it work and whether Tim changed his motion or not I believed he would figure it out and I don’t have any doubt that he’ll be very, very successful.”

Considering how closely Trestman worked with Tebow, his experience as a quarterbacks coach in the NFL and what he has done in the CFL, his opinion holds a lot of water.

However, some will certainly point out that comparing Tebow’s NFL future to the production of a career-long CFL quarterback is not necessarily something that Broncos fans want to hear. Perhaps that parallel should be examined a bit more before one jumps to any rash conclusions.

Calvillo is fourth in all-time professional passing yards (63,322) only behind Damon Allen (CFL – 72,381), Warren Moon (CFL/NFL – 70,553) and Brett Favre (NFL – 69,329) and directly ahead of names like Dan Marino, Doug Flutie, Danny McManus and Denver’s own John Elway. Additionally, Calvillo’s completion percentage (62.4) is higher than 22 of the other 24 signal callers on that list (Peyton Manning, Joe Montana).

Photo Credit: Associated Press

Tags: Anthony Calvillo, CFL, Denver Broncos, Marc Trestman, Montreal Alouettes, NFL, Tim Tebow

1 » In case you did not know after watching him for four seasons, former Florida Gators quarterback Tim Tebow is left-handed. As if questions about his throwing motion and mechanics were not enough, ESPN decided to speak to some lefties who played in the NFL to see if it would have any impact on the Denver Broncos‘ first-round draft pick’s career. “Ultimately, whether Tim Tebow succeeds in the NFL or not, the fact that he is left-handed will have no bearing on it,” Brock Huard said. Obviously. However, it is interesting that only 12 lefties have started more than 50 NFL games behind center and there are just six currently in the league (only one – Arizona’s Matt Leinart – is currently a starter). “It’s just little things,” said Houston quarterbacks coach Greg Knapp (who worked with Steve Young In San Francisco). “But when it works, it can be an advantage. Defensive players are trained to play against right-handed quarterbacks. So, you can really make them uncomfortable.”

2 » Organized team activities (OTAs) are going on right now throughout the NFL, but information is hard to come by due to the fact that most are closed to the press. Here are two notes that OGGOA was able to uncover: (1) Defensive end Carlos Dunlap, a second-round pick of the Cincinnati Bengals, “could have had three straight sacks on contact” while working out Wednesday. (2) Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Riley Cooper, like he did for much of his Florida career, “made some nice catches but also had some bad drops” while looking for passes from quarterback Kevin Kolb.

Photo Credit: Associated Press

Tags: Brock Huard, Carlos Dunlap, Cincinnati Bengals, Denver Broncos, Greg Knapp, Kevin Kolb, Matt Leinart, NFL, Philadelphia Eagles, Riley Cooper, Steve Young, Tim Tebow

1 » Tuesday evening was all about freshman first baseman Austin Maddox. Going 4-4 with five RBI and a two-run home run, Maddox powered No. 4/5 Florida Gators baseball (38-12) to a 9-3 win over the North Florida Ospreys (29-23) at McKethan Stadium in Gainesville, FL. Maddox’ 17th blast of the season set a new Florida freshman single-season record while also giving him the team lead in homers. Making his first start since having facial surgery, sophomore starter Tommy Toledo (3-1) collected the win in only two innings of work. Tuesday’s victory marked the Gators’ 12th in their last 13 games and fifth in a row. Tied atop the Southeastern Conference standings with South Carolina, Florida travels to Columbia, SC, on Thursday for a three-game series to determine the regular season champion. The Gators must win two of three games as they would otherwise lose the tiebreaker due to their greater number of canceled SEC games due to inclimate weather.

Four more BITS on Wilbekin, Tebow, Haden and Donovan…after the break!
Continue Reading » FOUR BITS: Baseball tops UNF, Wilbekin signs

Tags: Austin Maddox, baseball, Billy Donovan, Chris Richard, Chuck Heater, Cleveland Browns, Denver Broncos, Draft, Jerome Henderson, Joe Haden, Kyle Orton, McKethan Stadium, NFL, North Florida Ospreys, Patric Young, Rob Lanier, Scottie Wilbekin, SEC, Tim Tebow, Tommy Toledo, Vance Bedford

1 » Columnist Woody Paige of The Denver Post has taken to calling former Florida Gators quarterback Tim Tebow the Denver Broncos’ next John Elway. You know, the nine-time Pro Bowler who happens to be the best quarterback in the franchise’s history. Colleague Dave Krieger takes issue with Paige’s praise asking, “Seriously, can we just stop? […] Tebow is no Elway. And we will do him and everybody else a favor if we kick the habit of pretending he is.” Read the rest of what Krieger had to say in the Post. For a little more on Tebow’s progress, you can check out this video update from NFL Network.

2 » The Gainesville Sun’s Kevin Brockway put together a nice piece on incoming four-star 2010 power forward commitment Patric Young (Jacksonville, FL). Sure to be a defensive-minded presence for the Gators next season, Young knows what it takes to make an impact. “You can always be selfish on defense,” Young said. “No one is going to complain if you are getting too many rebounds and keep running the floor and that’s primarily what I do. So I’m just going to come out there and play a big role and do whatever I can to help the team.” Even head coach Billy Donovan has taken to comparing him to two former Florida stars – the Atlanta Hawks’ Al Horford and Chicago Bulls’ Joakim Noah. “[Young] is a very physical, high-energy, likes-contact guy,” Donovan said. Check out the Sun’s article for more from Young and Donovan.

Tags: Al Horford, Atlanta Hawks, Billy Donovan, Chicago Bulls, Denver Broncos, Joakim Noah, John Elway, NBA, NFL, Patric Young, Tim Tebow