Florida Gators head coach Urban Meyer, offensive coordinator Steve Addazio, defensive coordinator Teryl Austin and a number of players represented the team at the 2010 Florida Media Day on Tuesday in Gainesville, FL. After the break…are some of the biggest stories and most interesting quotes coming out of the event.
Thursday begins fall practice for the Florida Gators, and the team will be going into the 2010-11 season with more questions than answers for the first time in recent memory. From reserves taking over as starters to freshmen trying to make an impact right away, head coach Urban Meyer and his revamped coaching staff will be taking a close look at each and every player stepping on the field over the next few weeks
OGGOA is here to provide you with a preview of exactly what you should watch for and pay attention to, even though practice is closed to both the media and public.
1 » Florida Gators shortstop Nolan Fontana, pitcher/designated hitter Brian Johnson, third baseman Austin Maddox and pitcher Hudson Randall were all named to the 2010 Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American Team as chosen by Collegiate Baseball on Wednesday. All four players were also selected for the 2010 Southeastern ConferenceAll-Freshman Team, with Maddox leading the pack by earning 2010 SEC Freshman of the Year honors.
2 » Gators softball’s freshman utility player Brittany Schutte was named to the 2010 NCAA Women’s College World Series All-Tournament Team on Tuesday. Her 6-9 performance with three home runs in three games was an outstanding accomplishment that made her the first Florida freshman in school history to be given this honor.
3 » Gators football is set to host the third annual Gator Charity Challenge on Friday, July 30, at 7 p.m. at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. The event features members of the team, representing six different charities, squaring off against each other in three strength competitions (such as tire rolling). All of the organizations this year are affiliated with Shands Hospital – Shands Cancer Hospital, American Cancer Society, STOP! Children’s Cancer, Ronald McDonald House, American Heart Association and March of Dimes – and are being captained by seniors safety Ahmad Black, defensive tackle Brandon Antwine, linebacker Lorenzo Edwards, LB A.J. Jones, DT Terron Sanders and defensive end Duke Lemmens, respectively.
4 » The NCAA’s Academic Progress Rates (APR) have been released for the 2008-09 school year, and Florida is looking good in its rankings. The Gators are situated at No. 3 in their multiyear APR (2005-08) in both football (971) and basketball (956), behind only Vanderbilt (No. 1 in both), Georgia (No. 2 football) and Alabama (No. 2 basketball).
Location: Ben Hill Griffin Stadium – Gainesville, FL [Capacity: 88,548] Time: 1:00 p.m. (EST) Weather Forecast: 72°F, Sunny
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ATTENDANCE INFORMATION:
» Free admission for University of Florida students (with IDs), Gator Boosters, F Club Letterwinners and Alumni Association members with membership cards.
» $5 general admission: Online | Gator Ticket Office
ORANGE & BLUE DEBUT GAME FORMAT:
» Time: Four 10-minute quarters, running clock in the second half.
» Blue: First-team offense, second-team defense, driving to south end zone
» Orange: Second-team offense, first-team defense, driving to north end zone
» Colors: Offense always wears blue, defense always wears white
» Kickoffs: None, drives start at the 35-yard line after a score
» Punts: Yes, but all are fair caught by returners
1 » The Gainesville Sun is reporting that 2010 power forward recruit Will Yeguete of Florida Air Academy will visit the Florida Gators this weekend. Yeguete – who is choosing between Florida, Indiana and Georgia Tech – would not the first to make the transition from FAA to UF; guard Walter Hodge did it just a few years ago.
2 » Day one of the 2010 Masters has come and gone, and two former Gators are already struggling. Both Brian Gay and Camilo Villegas finished their first round at 2-over par. Gay birdied four holes (2, 3, 7, 13), bogeyed four (6, 10, 12, 14) and double-bogeyed one (16) to finish with a score of 40 on the back nine. Villegas bogeyed three holes (3, 11, 13) and only earned one birdie (15), shooting a 37 out and in.
With the Florida Gators 2010 spring practice now in full swing, there is plenty of newsworthy information around the program. Rather than publishing it all in long form, OGGOA thought it would be best to lay it out piece-by-piece. We continue this series with a look at team practice from Wed., March 31.
Absences/Injuries:
» Redshirt senior wide receiver Carl Moore no-showed practice Wednesday for his second-straight absence. The Gainesville Sun reported Monday that Moore was “seen leaving the field after practice [on Saturday] visibly upset.” Moore had been seen in the football offices earlier in the day. (More in the quotes section.)
» Redshirt sophomore cornerback Adrian Bushell participated in his second consecutive practice and once again did not wear pads (as expected). He will likely return to full activity on Friday. Head coach Urban Meyer suspended him from team activities for two weeks for grades and other off-the-field issues.
» Redshirt freshman wide receiver Andre Debose spent most of practice off to the side on a stationary bike. The team continues to bring him along slowly as he recovers from his hamstring injury. Debose is expected to be 100 percent healthy for fall practice, according to The Gainesville Sun.
» Redshirt senior running back Emmanuel Moody practiced Wednesday and looked good by all accounts, breaking off a few nice runs. He had been out of action for a few days with an injured ankle.
With the Florida Gators beginning spring practice for the 2010 season last Wednesday, there is plenty of newsworthy information around the program. Rather than publishing it all in long form, OGGOA thought it would be best to lay it out piece-by-piece. We continue this series with a look at the start of week two.
» Be sure to read over 1,000 words on the return of head coach Urban Meyer and the start of spring practice in OGGOA‘s first post on the subject. Then supplement your reading with more notes from over the weekend!
More notes from Monday 03/22:
» ESPN‘s Ivan Maisel interviews redshirt junior quarterback John Brantley:
» Sitting out: running backs junior Jeff Demps and redshirt junior Chris Rainey, redshirt freshman wide receiver Andre Debose (hamstring) and redshirt seniors guard Carl Johnson and defensive tackles Lawrence Marsh and Terron Sanders
» Absent: redshirt sophomore cornerback Adrian Bushell (academics, disciplinary)
» Injuries: sophomore safety Josh Evans (knee/leg) and redshirt freshmen tight end Desmond Parks (wrist/hand) and guard/center Kyle Koehne (shoulder, 3-6 weeks)
» Senior linebacker Brandon Hicks may have had the play of the day with a one-handed interception on Brantley on an inside route.
» Senior Duke Lemmens is starting at defensive end with the first team. In fact, he is also switching to tight end on some plays, too – we’re guessing mostly so the other DEs have a big body to fight against.
» Both secondary specialists, defensive coordinator Teryl Austin and co-defensive coordinator Chuck Heater are splitting the duties in the defensive backfield. Austin is spending much of his time with the cornerbacks, while Heater continues to handle the safeties like he has previously.
» Sophomore RB Mike Gillislee is really impressing coaches and spectators with his play thus far and could be in line to steal some carries away from Demps and redshirt senior Emmanuel Moody. Moody, especially, must be careful as Gillislee is currently out-performing him head-to-head.
More quotes on Urban Meyer‘s return:
» Offensive coordinator, offensive line coach and former interim head coach Steve Addazio: “[Meyer’s] involvement is becoming greater. It’s unscripted, you know what I mean? Ultimately, you’re in uncharted waters. I mean, he’s doing great, so there’s nothing negative or anything like that. He’s doing fantastic. I’m going to help him wherever I can with the workload wherever I need to take it.”
» Heater: “This week, he’s really been back in earnest. How he basically crystallizes what the expectations are, what your role is and having those meetings, communicating those things to me, I was, ‘OK, I’ve heard these things before.’ So his energy was certainly there. He’s excited about being back. That’s the part that’s fun for all of us.”
Over the last two weeks, OGGOA has reported on the slow and steady depletion of starters on the Florida Gators defensive line. The unplanned lack of depth is getting increasingly worrisome with senior middle linebacker Brandon Spikes hampered by groin and Achilles tendonitis injures, further softening the middle of the defense.
Defensive tackles redshirt junior Lawrence Marsh (ankle), redshirt sophomore Jaye Howard (knee), junior Justin Trattou (biceps tendon) and redshirt junior Brandon Antwine (shoulder) lead the interior of the line – and all four are either questionable or doubtful for Saturday evening’s Mississippi State Bulldogs game. In their stead, redshirt freshman Omar Hunter and junior Terron Sanders filled in admirably against the Arkansas Razorbacks, both being named to head coach Urban Meyer’s Champions Club.
With four of six tackles potentially out for the game Saturday, Florida has scratched and clawed in order to find some depth in senior Troy Epps (who has played so rarely it took me five minutes to find a picture of him in action), redshirt defensive end Earl Okine and junior DE Duke Lemmens. Egads!
Defensive line coach Dan McCarney updated the status of his unit: “It’s day-to-day on Howard, don’t know on him. Marsh is day-to-day, I’d say he’s doubtful. I’m hoping he gets back next week. Earl Okine, we’re working in at tackle. Omar Hunter or Tank Epps can play in there at nose or tackle. Duke Lemmens can jump in there at tackle if we needed him to. I can only coach the guys who practice. We’ve got to get those guys ready. We’re thin right now, but we were still able to win an SEC game here (last Saturday) with four of my six guys that didn’t play.”
The best part of that quote, unfortunately, is that Epps’ nickname is “Tank.”
Taurean Green (@TaureanJGreen):
"Yes yes....my #GatorBoys in the Elite 8. All u jive time turkeys that thought Marquette was gonna win can sit down and go to sleep!"
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With four of six tackles potentially out for the game Saturday, Florida has scratched and clawed in order to find some depth in senior Troy Epps (who has played so rarely it took me five minutes to find a picture of him in action), redshirt defensive end Earl Okine and junior DE Duke Lemmens. Egads!
