If the enshrinement of “The Promise” speech outside Heavener Football Complex is not enough for you, former Florida Gators quarterback Tim Tebow may be immortalized in front of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium as a bronze statue, too.

The Gainesville Sun’s Pat Dooley has learned that Tebow along with former QB Danny Wuerffel and former head coach and QB Steve Spurrier will be enshrined in statues somewhere either inside or outside of The Swamp if everything goes as planned.

The goal is to not only honor the Gators’ three Heisman Trophy winners but also, arguably, the three most important players in school history. Dooley reports that the University Athletic Association has hired sculptor Sandy Proctor out of Tallahassee, FL, to work on the three statues and the process is underway (though there are, of course, a few speed bumps).

Proctor has already spent two hours with Wuerffel, will meet with Spurrier on Tuesday in Gainesville, FL, and plans to sit down with Tebow sometime in the future.

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Former Florida wide receiver and current NBC Sunday Night Football color commentator Cris Collinsworth will be awarded the Pat Summerall Award on Thurs., Feb. 4 at the Legends for Charity Dinner. The award is presented to an individual with a connection to the NFL who has made a significant contribution to the sports field.

Tags: Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Cris Collinsworth, Danny Wuerffel, Florida Gators, Heavener Football Complex, Heisman Trophy, Legends for Charity Dinner, Pat Summerall Award, Sandy Proctor, Steve Spurrier, The Swamp, Tim Tebow, University Athletic Association

At halftime of the Florida Gators vs. South Carolina Gamecocks basketball game, head football coach Urban Meyer spoke with reporters in the Stephen C. O’Connell Center about his health and plans for the future. Meyer explained that he has been exercising and eating right since his health scare, resulting in a weight gain of 20 pounds.

“I feel real good. I’ve been working out a lot,” Meyer said. “I’m over 200 pounds, so I guess that’s how they gauge it a little bit because I was not good there for a while. Doing a lot better.” He also indicated that he will undergo a series of tests on his heart in February to check for stress levels and any other outstanding issues.

Meyer, speaking for the first time publicly since the 2010 Sugar Bowl, mentioned that he plans to coach the Gators during spring practice in March, a sign that he may actually be recovering quickly from his ailments (or that he is simply too stubborn to stay off the field). Practice begins March 17 and stretches into April. “I keep hearing about this ‘time out,’” Meyer said. “People I’m closest to are going to demand I take some time off, but I tried that already. I tried a day and a half, and it didn’t work.”

He confirmed that doctors advised him against traveling for recruiting over the last few weeks even though his medical tests have been “coming back pretty positive.” Meyer said he will speak with his wife Shelley and meet with athletic director Jeremy Foley and his football staff to determine a course of action after National Signing Day on Feb. 3. “We’re trying to get to February 3, and then we’re going to sit down, have a very in-depth meeting about it,” Meyer said.

Part of those meetings will include determining the roles of his coaching staff, particularly interim coach and offensive coordinator Steve Addazio. Even so, Meyer realizes that he will need to take a break in one way or another after those sit-downs. “I’ve been instructed I have to [take time off],” Meyer said. “I’m just not sure what I’m going to do. I just don’t know how long. I have to change some things. That’s obvious.”

PART II: Meyer on hiring Edwards, bringing back Drayton

Tags: Florida Gators, Jeremy Foley, National Signing Day, Shelley Meyer, South Carolina Gamecocks, Stephen C. O'Connell Center, Steve Addazio, Sugar Bowl, Urban Meyer

Now that Eastern Carolina Pirates‘ Skip Holtz has been hired as the new head coach of the South Florida Bulls, the Florida Gators 2010 coaching staff appears to be solidified. Associate head coach and defense/defensive line coach Dan McCarney was under consideration for the job and, according to Jeremy Fowler of the Orlando Sentinel, he actually received two interviews for the position.

Florida Gators (Projected) 2010 Coaching Staff

Head Coach: Urban Meyer

Interim Head Coach, Offensive Coordinator, Offensive Line: Steve Addazio
Quarterbacks: Scot Loeffler
Wide Receivers: Zach Azzanni
Running Backs: Stan Drayton
Tight Ends: Brian White

Defensive Coordinator, Inside Linebackers: George Edwards
Co-Defensive Coordinator, Secondary: Chuck Heater
Associate Head Coach, Defense/Defensive Line: Dan McCarney
Outside Linebackers: D.J. Durkin

Special Teams: Urban Meyer / D.J. Durkin
Recruiting Coordinator: TBD
Director of Player and Community Relations: Terry Jackson

Tags: Dan McCarney, Eastern Carolina Pirates, Florida Gators, Skip Holtz, South Florida Bulls

Five-star safety recruit Matt Elam (West Palm Beach, FL), formerly the prize of the Florida Gators 2010 recruiting class, decommitted and pledged to play for the Florida State Seminoles on New Year’s Eve. Elam, who appeared to waiver about his commitment throughout the entire recruiting process, reaffirmed his decision to play for the Gators numerous times over the last few months but changed his mind after learning about Meyer’s indecision on his future. Elam was flabbergasted.

Ignoring two of Meyer’s phone calls following the Florida coach’s decision to take a leave of absence two Sundays ago, Elam eventually picked up and spoke with Meyer sometime after the 2010 Sugar Bowl. “He tried [to sway me back], but it didn’t work,” Elam said of the phone call. Meyer, apparently, persisted.

Adam Gorney of Rivals spoke with Elam Tuesday and reports that the safety may be having second third fourth fifth sixth seventh thoughts about has commitment. Apparently Meyer and Elam had a “long and emotional conversation” with Elam telling Gorney that he “doesn’t think he can leave Meyer,” though he has yet to decommit.

“I talked to Urban last night,” Elam told Gorney. “We were talking about our relationship basically and he told me to have trust, to have trust in him and he asked me a word that really touched me. He said, ‘Do you know what faith means?’ and he told me the definition. It really touched me a lot. It really touched me so my decision might change. I’ve known him for a while. It’s been tough to leave him so I don’t know if I’ll be able to.”

Upon hearing this story, Jason Lieser of the Palm Beach Post contacted Elam and asked him point-blank if there was any chance he would spurn FSU for UF. “No,” Elam said. “Other players are probably telling them that.” If Gorney is sourcing Elam and Lieser is as well, someone obviously has the story wrong.

Elam will make his commitment official on Saturday during the U.S. Army All-American Bowl. OGGOA will have full coverage of the event.

Tags: All-American, Army, Florida Gators, Florida State Seminoles, Matt Elam, Sugar Bowl

With Florida Gators cornerbacks coach Vance Bedford and running backs coach Kenny Carter all but gone to the Louisville Cardinals, speculation is running rampant about who will replace them on the coaching staff. Jeremy Fowler of the Orlando Sentinel reports that UF is looking to hire a coach to either directly replace Bedford or take over those duties while also holding down a co-defensive coordinator role alongside current assistant Chuck Heater. Some names have been thrown around for both positions, and OGGOA has compiled them for our readers in short form.

1 » Defensive coach / cornerbacks coach
- Willie Martinez: former Georgia Bulldogs defensive coordinator
- Corwin Brown: Notre Dame Fighting Irish associate head coach, co-defensive coordinator, defensive backs coach
*replaced at ND by Grand Valley State head coach Chuck Martin
- Taver Johnson: Ohio State Buckeyes cornerbacks coach

2 » Running backs coach
- Stan Drayton: Syracuse Orange running backs coach, former Florida and Tennessee Volunteers running backs coach
*has previously insulted both head coach Urban Meyer and the program
- Terry Jackson: Florida Director of Player and Community Relations, former Gators RB
- Brian White: Florida tight ends coach, former running backs coach with Wisconsin Badgers and UNLV Rebels

Tags: Brian White, Chuck Heater, Corwin Brown, Florida Gators, Kenny Carter, Louisville Cardinals, Stan Drayton, Taver Johnson, Terry Jackson, Vance Bedford, Willie Martinez

The morning after the 2009 SEC Championship, at about 4:30 a.m. on Dec. 6, Shelly Meyer, the wife of Florida Gators head coach Urban Meyer, called 911 after her husband awoke briefly in the early morning and fell out of bed onto the floor.

ESPN investigative reporter Paula Lavigne obtained the 911 call Wednesday, which features Shelley explaining to the operator that Urban “was breathing and had a pulse but would not wake up,” presumably due to him having taken the sleeping pill Ambien earlier in the evening. Rushed to the hospital by ambulance, Meyer complained of chest pains and a tingling sensation on the side of his body. Shelley, a certified nurse, also mentioned that Urban had never had a heart attack before, though he had previously complained of chest pains caused by anxiety.

Jeremy Fowler of the Orlando Sentinel also got ahold of the full 911 call and provides a few more details into the panic experienced by Shelley.

Shelley tells the 911 operator that “my husband’s having chest pains.” Shelley, talking in a calm tone, eventually sees Meyer moving and breathing but “he’s not talking to me.”

“Urban, talk to me please,” Shelley said. “I see him breathing.”

Tags: Florida Gators, SEC Championship, Shelly Meyer, Urban Meyer

1 » Florida Gators senior quarterback Tim Tebow has not yet decided if he will participate in the Senior Bowl on Jan. 30 at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile, AL. After the 2010 Sugar Bowl, Tebow plans to sit down with head coach Urban Meyer and several of his trusted NFL people before making a decision. “I don’t know [if I will play]. I haven’t talked to anybody about it,” Tebow said. “If the people I talk to that are wise think that I should play in it, I’ll go play in it. If they don’t, I won’t. I don’t know. I’ll do whatever I need to do [to impress] – throw out here a million times, I don’t care.” Tebow can decide to play in the Senior Bowl up until just days before the game.

2 » Nebraska Cornhuskers defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh has been voted The Associated Press College Football Player of the Year. The first defensive player to be awarded the honor, Suh received 26 of 59 votes. Stanford Cardinal running back Toby Gerhart came in second (20 votes) while Tebow, who received the award in 2007, placed fifth with a single vote.

Extra Bit » University of Florida graduate student John O’Hearn created this four-by-six-foot mural of Tebow with 46,000 BBs. It is currently on display at Ripley’s Believe It or Not in Orlando, FL. Head on over and check it out!

Tags: Draft, Florida Gators, Ladd-Peebles Stadium, Ndamukong Suh, Nebraska Cornhuskers, NFL, Stanford Cardinal, Sugar Bowl, Tim Tebow, Toby Gerhart, University of Florida, Urban Meyer