1 » While sophomore guard/forward DeVon Walker changed his mind about his decision to transfer and returned to the Florida Gators basketball program, sophomore point guard Braxton Ogbueze remained steadfast in his desire to leave and officially transferred this week. Ogbeuze, who committed to Florida out of Charlotte, NC, decided to return to his local community and play for the Charlotte 49ers. He will sit out the 2013-14 season due to NCAA transfer rules but will have three years of eligibility remaining beginning in 2014-15.

2 » Gators head basketball coach Billy Donovan sat down for a wide-ranging interview with former long-time NBA coach Brendan Suhr on his Coaching U LIVE podcast. The interview, which is reminiscent of a conversation with Inside the Actors Studio’s James Lipton, covers a variety of topics including why Donovan is a coach, how he describes himself as a coach, if he would play for a coach like himself and how college basketball players have changed over the years.

3 » Baltimore Ravens rookie safety Matt Elam met and spoke with Dwyer High School’s current football players recently, telling the members of his former team that using life’s difficulties to propel them on the football field can benefit their lives in the long run. “I feel like with me going [in the draft], it was a big motivation for the kids because they come from the same neighborhoods, the same program,” Elam told the Palm Beach Post. “I got the chance, and I took advantage of the chance. That makes the kids feel like they’ve got the chance. That’s what it’s all about.”

CLICK TO EXPAND and check out three more BITS of Florida Gators news.

Tags: Baltimore Ravens, Billy Donovan, Bradley Beal, Braxton Ogbueze, Cleveland Browns, DeVon Walker, Draft, Eric Banks, golf, Matt Elam, NBA, NFL, Washington Wizards

Former Florida Gators linebacker Jelani Jenkins and kicker Caleb Sturgis agreed to four-year rookie contracts with the Miami Dolphins on Tuesday.

OGGOA has learned that Jenkins signed for $2.632 million with a $472,688 signing bonus and Sturgis inked his deal for $2.304 million with a $144,560 signing bonus. Signing bonuses for draft selections are fully guaranteed.

Jenkins and Sturgis are the second and third of Florida’s eight draftees to come to terms with the team that selected them in April’s draft. Chicago signed LB Jon Bostic on Thursday.

Jenkins was chosen by Miami with the No. 104 overall pick in the fourth round of the 2013 NFL Draft. Sturgis was selected at the bottom of the fifth round with the No. 166 overall choice.

The Dolphins believe that Jenkins’s speed, coverage ability, athleticism and upside were worth using their first third-day pick to acquire. At the time of his selection, he was the 11th former Gators player to be selected by the team and the first Florida linebacker picked by Miami since Channing Crowder (No. 70 overall) in 2005.

Sturgis became the 13th former Gators player selected by the Dolphins as he was picked just two spots after the team chose running back Mike Gillislee at No. 164 overall in the fifth round. Gillislee remains unsigned as of press time but should ink his deal with the team soon.

While Jenkins will compete for field time as a back-up linebacker, Sturgis will be in starter-or-bust mode as he goes up against veteran Dan Carpenter for the kicking job. Most NFL teams only carry one kicker on their roster. Though Carpenter had success early in his career, he struggled in 2012 and is set to earn $2.7 million in 2013, meaning Sturgis will have every opportunity to win the gig this summer.

All three new Miami players will join former Florida center Mike Pouncey, who is entering his third year with the franchise.

Tags: Caleb Sturgis, Draft, Jelani Jenkins, Mike Gillislee, NFL

Through the 2013 NBA Draft, which is set for June 27, former Florida Gators forward Erik Murphy, the team’s leading three-point shooter last season (.453), will be keeping you up-to-date on his Path to the Draft via a weekly blog entry here on OGGOA.

Between workouts in Las Vegas, NV on Thursday, which he is taking part in as preparation for next week’s 2013 NBA Combine, Murphy got in touch with OGGOA to discuss what he has been doing to get ready for the draft over the last month.

After the tournament, I took a little bit of time off, about a week and a half to just hang out, relax and unwind. I did not even meet with any agents during that time. Eventually I met with a couple people – B.J. Armstrong and Art Tellem (Wasserman Media Group), for example – with my dad, who came down, Coach [Billy] Donovan and others were there to help me. I was talking with Mark Bartelstein (Priority Sports and Entertainment) because he’s [the agent for Chandler Parsons, Bradley Beal and David Lee], but I just decided that Andy Miller (ASM Sports) was the best choice for me.

I just felt really comfortable with him. Going through the process of being with the agents, getting to know them a little more, it’s a partnership hopefully for a long time, so you want to be comfortable with the person. They’re all great and do what they do well; it was just a comfort level and getting along with him really well that made the decision pretty easy at the end.

Part of my conversation with Andy was laying out a plan for the entire process. Most of the guys Andy signs, as long as they find it agreeable, he sends them out to Las Vegas to train at Impact Basketball. I’ve actually been out here before when I was young, training for a couple weeks during the summer, but Impact is a different spot, of course. He basically set me up out here with Impact and [founder/president] Joe Abunassar.

I’ve just been out here for the last three weeks, except when I went back to school for graduation, working out every day, lifting, getting in really good shape and getting a good feel for what I’ll be doing during the combine. It’s a good idea to get comfortable with the process, get acclimated before the combine.

Continue Reading » Erik Murphy – Path to 2013 NBA Draft: Las Vegas

Tags: Billy Donovan, combine, Draft, Erik Murphy, Kenny Boynton, NBA

Updated: May 10 at 11:00 p.m.

Former Florida Gators linebacker Jon Bostic has signed a four-year, $3.941 million contract with the Chicago Bears.

The rookie’s agreement was officially announced by the team on Thursday, making Bostic the first of Florida’s eight draftees to come to terms with the team that selected him in April’s draft.

Bostic was chosen by the Bears with the No. 50 overall pick in the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft. He was the third overall Gators player selected during the event and the first to have his name called (coincidentally by former Florida and Chicago running back Neal Anderson) on the second day of the three-day draft.

Bostic is the first Gators linebacker selected since Brandon Spikes (No. 62, 2010) and the 24th UF player drafted by the Bears in the history of the event.

He is the first Florida player to be picked by Chicago since safety Major Wright (No. 75, 2010), who is entering his fourth year with the franchise.

Bostic’s four-year rookie deal includes a $1.246 million signing bonus and $405,000 in first-year salary. He will earn $584,127 in 2014, $663,254 in 2015 and $842,381 in 2016 and will also be eligible for $100,000 workout bonuses in both 2015 and 2016.

Expected to compete immediately for the starting middle linebacker job, Bostic will be counted on to have a major impact on the Bears’ defense in 2013 even if he does not win the position. Chicago believes he can line up and start at all three linebacker spots.

“It’s really starting to sink in now,” Bostic told the team’s website. “It’s hard to believe that it’s all here. It’s something you dream about all your life as a kid and then all of a sudden you open your eyes this morning and it’s right in front of you.”

Tags: Chicago Bears, Draft, Jon Bostic, NFL

From time to time, OGGOA will come across a plethora of news and notes that we wish to share – too much to fit into one of our truncated BITS segments. When stories like these fall through the cracks, we catch and wrap them all up with Gator Bites.

» The relationship between Dwyer High School head coach Jack Daniels and the Florida Gators has soured. According to ESPN 106.3 out of West Palm Beach, FL, Daniels is angry that two former Dwyer players who committed to Florida but have since left the program (quarterback Jacoby Brissett and tight end Gerald Christian) did not get the opportunities they were promised with the team. “I’ve said all along, I don’t think he’s been given the fair shot which was said was going to happen,” Daniels said in regards to Brissett. “It was made clear to him, and to everybody else, that it didn’t matter what Jeff Driskel did, it was [Driskel’s] job and going into next fall, it’s going to be the same way. I think he had no choice. If I was quarterback on that team last year, I might have been able to get some wins, the way their defense was playing.” He continued: “The way Jacoby was handled and the decision that was made…if it was my kid, I wouldn’t expect anybody to treat my kid like that, and I don’t think anybody should treat anybody like that. I think it was a complete lie about how he was going to be given a fair chance and I don’t think there’s anything to dispute that there wasn’t a lie.”

Despite all of this – including similar comments about how Christian “was frustrated and felt like the coaches were lying to him” – Daniels (a Florida alumnus) said he will not dissuade his students from playing for the Gators. “I can’t hold a grudge forever and I still talk to Coach [Will] Muschamp,” he said. “I would never steer a kid away.”

» Former Florida wide receiver Stephen Alli was selected with the second pick in the sixth round of the 2013 CFL Draft by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers over the weekend. Alli, who would have been chosen higher had he committed to playing in the CFL next season, will instead attend graduate school and continue his education at UF.

» He may currently be a free agent hoping for the opportunity to continue his NFL career, but former Gators quarterback Tim Tebow received a shred of good news this week when Forbes named him the most influential athlete in the United States. “A unique set of QB strengths and weaknesses and an affinity for wearing his Christian faith on his sleeve combine to make Tebow a compelling public figure, even as an NFL backup,” staff member Tom Van Riper wrote.

Check out 14 more interesting bites of Florida Gators news…after the break!
Continue Reading » 17 Gator Bites for Tuesday, May 7

Tags: ALC, ALC Tournament, Baltimore Ravens, Billy Donovan, CFL, Corey Brewer, Denver Nuggets, Draft, Eli Carter, ESPN, Gerald Christian, Jacksonville Jaguars, Jacoby Brissett, Jelani Jenkins, Jordan Reed, Josh Evans, lacrosse, Matt Elam, Miami Dolphins, Mike Gillislee, NBA, NCAA, NCAA Tournament, NFL, Playoffs, Stephen Alli, Tim Tebow, Vernon Macklin, Washington Redskins, Will Muschamp, Winnipeg Blue Bombers

The 2013 NFL Draft is now in the books, and Florida Gators fans saw eight players – one shy of the school record in a seven-round draft – get selected from Thursday-Saturday. Safety Josh Evans, Florida’s leading tackler in 2012, patiently waited for his name to be called and eventually saw his dream come true late on Saturday when he was selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars with the No. 169 overall pick, the first of the sixth round of the draft. Below is Evans’s final entry as his Path to the Draft has finally come to a close. OGGOA thanks him for keeping his fans up-to-date on his experiences over the last four months in this exclusive blog.

The whole draft process was pretty crazy. It really is unlike anything else I have experienced or will probably experience again in my life. Though I knew I would not be drafted during the first round on Thursday, there were indications that I could go during the second day on Friday.

Personally, I thought I would be going anywhere from the third or fourth round on down. The Dallas Cowboys had actually called me twice on Thursday – in the morning and at night – and told me they were looking to pick a safety on Friday or first thing on Saturday. They wound up taking somebody else [J.J. Wilcox - No. 80 overall], so I just stayed humble and hungry and waited for that phone call from another team.

When I did not get selected on Friday, it was not a major concern. I wondered what was going on and how things would play out, but I kept my faith in God and figured that something good would happen. No matter what, I was going to make the most of whatever opportunity a team decided to give me.

During the fifth round, the Buffalo Bills called me and told me that they were interested. When they didn’t select me, the next team I heard from was the Jacksonville Jaguars, which called me about a minute before they drafted me.

As I wrote here last time, the Jaguars spoke with me and my agent three times over the last week, so I knew they were interested…but I did not know I would end up there.

When they called, they asked if I was “ready to be a Jacksonville Jaguar.” I said, “Absolutely,” and then my name popped up on the TV a minute later and then my family and everyone around me got excited.

Continue Reading » Josh Evans – Path to 2013 NFL Draft: Jacksonville

Tags: Draft, Jacksonville Jaguars, Josh Evans, NFL

In a phone call with the South Florida media on Monday, Florida Gators head coach Will Muschamp had nothing but extremely positive things to say about the three Gators selected by the Miami Dolphins on Saturday on the third day of the 2013 NFL Draft.

“They got three great people, three great guys in the locker room,” he said. “Three really good, solid people and really good football players.”

The Dolphins started off the day by drafting linebacker Jelani Jenkins in the fourth round with the No. 104 overall pick. Miami sees Jenkins as a player who can contribute immediately on passing downs, and Muschamp agreed with that concept.

“Jelani Jenkins has got a huge upside as a player. He’s an every-down linebacker,” Muschamp said. “He’s an immediate contributor on special teams. But the guy can really run and play in space. He’s improved his physicality, playing blocks in the core. But he can play in every down, and that to me, especially the way the NFL is moving right now, as far as becoming a little bit more of a spread league, you got to have guys that are able to play in the box in two-back situations and have people spread you out, be able to play every down. And he can do that. He’s extremely intelligent, [a] hard worker and [has] absolutely no issues.”

Muschamp also explained that Dolphins linebackers coach George Edwards, who is back with the franchise after leaving in 2010 to take over as Florida’s defensive coordinator under Urban Meyer before leaving less than two months later to become defensive coordinator with the Buffalo Bills, is excited about Jenkins. Edwards coached under Muschamp when he was defensive coordinator in Miami under Nick Saban.

Continue Reading » Muschamp praises Gators drafted by Dolphins

Tags: Caleb Sturgis, Draft, George Edwards, Jelani Jenkins, Miami Dolphins, Mike Gillislee, NFL, Will Muschamp

Former Florida Gators linebacker Lerentee McCray, defensive tackle Omar Hunter, defensive end Earl Okine, offensive tackle Xavier Nixon and wide receivers Omarius Hines and Frankie Hammond, Jr. each signed undrafted free agent contracts minutes after the conclusion of the 2013 NFL Draft on Saturday.

McCray, who was expected to be selected on the third day of the draft, wound up agreeing to a deal with the Denver Broncos. Nixon’s stock dropped immensely during the draft process, but he got inked by the Washington Redskins. Hines was snatched up by the Baltimore Ravens. Neither Hunter nor Okine nor Hammond were expected to be drafted, but the three signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Houston Texans and Kansas City Chiefs, respectively.

McCray will be the second former Gators player on the Broncos as wide receiver Andre Caldwell is currently signed by the team. Nixon joins quarterback Rex Grossman, guard Maurice Hurt and tight end Jordan Reed (third round, No. 85 overall) on the Redskins. Hines will see familiar faces in safety Matt Elam (first round, No. 32 overall) and WR Deonte Thompson with the Ravens. Hunter links up with center Maurkice Pouncey and G Marcus Gilbert on the Steelers.

Offensive linemen James Wilson and Sam Robey remain unsigned as of press time.

Some of the undrafted free agent signings were first reported by InsidetheGators.com‘s Bryan Holt, Florida Today‘s David Jones and Gainesville TV20‘s Kassidy Hill.

Tags: Baltimore Ravens, Denver Broncos, Draft, Earl Okine, Houston Texans, Lerentee McCray, NFL, Omar Hunter, Omarius Hines, Pittsburgh Steelers, Washington Redskins, Xavier Nixon