1 » On Sunday, New Orleans Saints defensive end Bobby McCray became the 13th former Florida Gators football player to win a Super Bowl as his team defeated the Indianapolis Colts 31-17 in Miami, FL. The Saints’ starting defensive end, McCray totaled two tackles and a quarterback hurry during Super Bowl XLIV. He is the first former Gators defensive player to win a ring since DE Kevin Carter did it with the St. Louis Rams in 2000 (Super Bowl XXXIV).

2 » While most of the country was focused on the Super Bowl, the Florida women’s basketball team (13-10, 6-4 SEC) was in Gainesville, FL, hosting the Mississippi State Bulldogs (15-9, 6-5 SEC) at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center. The Gators kept it close all game, eventually pulling out a hard-earned 80-78 double-overtime victory. Senior guard Lonnika Thompson scored all of her 11 points in overtime while classmates G Steffi Sorensen and forward Sharielle Smith each recorded double-doubles. Redshirt sophomore G Jordon Jones was responsible for the game-winning free throws with only 2.7 seconds left to lift Florida for the win.

3 » Following in the footsteps of their male counterparts, the No. 7 Gators women’s tennis team (5-0) completed a sweep at home over the weekend. The Florida women took on and defeated the Troy Trojans 7-0 at Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex. No. 13-ranked freshman Allie Will and No. 81-ranked senior Marrit Boonstra each won their singles matches and combined as the No. 26 doubles duo to take the event’s first doubles match 8-1.

4 » The Florida club cycling team took home the annual Swamp Classic in Gainesville, FL, on Sunday. Called “one of the most dominant teams in the nation,” by The Gainesville Sun, the Gators group seemingly dominated the event from start-to-finish. For more, read Ray FItzGerald’s report here.

Tags: Allie Will, Bobby McCray, cycling, Indianapolis Colts, Jordon Jones, Linder Stadium, Lonnika Thompson, Marrit Boonstra, Mississippi State Bulldogs, New Orleans Saints, NFL, O'Connell Center, Ring Tennis Complex, Sharielle Smith, Steffi Sorensen, Super Bowl XLIV, Swamp Classic, tennis, Troy Trojans, women's basketball

1 » The 2009 NFL Playoffs may have begun with seven but only one former Florida Gators player has made it to Super Bowl XLIV at Sun Life Stadium in Miami, FL. That man is New Orleans Saints defensive end Bobby McCray, who did not have a dominating regular season but has had quite an impact on his team’s first two playoff games. Making it a point to hit both Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner and Minnesota Vikings QB Brett Favre hard, McCray knocked each out of the game for a short period of time. Now he will turn his focus on NFL MVP and Indianapolis Colts QB Peyton Manning. Keep an eye on No. 93 throughout the game on Sunday.

2 » All of the pre-2010 NFL Draft attention has been focused on former Gators QB Tim Tebow (wide receiver Riley Cooper has received a little, too), but linebacker Brandon Spikes is preparing for the biggest job interview of his career, too. Staying quiet while training and working out after a sub-par (for him) season, Spikes is doing whatever he can to impress scouts at the NFL Scouting Combine from Feb. 24 to March 2. “I’m anxious to get started,” Spikes told Jeremy Fowler of the Orlando Sentinel. “Hopefully, I can go to the league and grab it by the neck.” Speaking about the future at Florida, Spikes was optimistic. “Those younger players know what we started and the legacy we have here. They just want to keep it going. I say it all the time to my younger group, the linebacker corps, those guys are talented. The sky’s the limit for those guys. If they continue to work and buy into the program, they’ll have the same success.”

Read how Jeff Demps, Chris Rainey and Frankie Hammond fared in track and field action and how gymnastics and tennis performed this weekend after the jump!
Continue Reading » SIX BITS: McCray in Super Bowl, weekend wrap-up

Tags: Alabama Crimson Tide, Alexandre Lacroix, Antoine Benneteau, Bobby McCray, Brandon Spikes, Chris Rainey, combine, Draft, field, Florida Atlantic Owls, Frankie Hammond, George Washington Colonials, gymnastics, Indianapolis Colts, Jeff Demps, Linder Stadium, Mariam Kevkhishvili, N.C. State Wolfpack, NCAA, New Orleans Saints, NFL, Peyton Manning, Playoffs, Rector Field House, Ring Tennis Complex, Shara Proctor, Sun Life Stadium, Super Bowl XLIV, tennis, Tim Tebow, track, Virginia Tech Elite Meet

1 » Former Indianapolis Colts and Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach and current NFL analyst for NBC Tony Dungy continues to stand behind former Florida Gators quarterback Tim Tebow and believes he will succeed at the next level. “I know a lot of people are saying he will play another position and he might, but I think he’s going to be a great leader, a winner, and I think some team is going to take him and tailor their offense to the special qualities he has,” Dungy told George Diaz of the Orlando Sentinel. “I think he’s going to be a fantastic player in the NFL. If I am a coach, I say to myself: ‘I’ve got a special, unique talent and I am going to structure my team a little differently to take advantage of that.’ People are starting to do that. Tennessee did that with Vince Young and was very successful. I think somebody is going to do it. [...] Tim won a lot of games in high school, a lot of games at the University of Florida and my belief is that he will win if he gets with the right team in the NFL.”

2 » Jacksonville Jaguars general manager Gene Smith told The Florida Times-Union that his team’s experiment with the 3-4 defense is over. Part of the reason for the change is a belief of Smith in former Gators defensive end Derrick Harvey, who only had two sacks in 2009. “The third year is usually a defining year for what you’re going to become,” Smith said as he indicated that Harvey will begin camp as the starting left end. Former Florida safety Reggie Nelson, who had an outstanding rookie campaign but has since floundered with the Jaguars, may be cut if he does not show significant improvement throughout training camp.

Women’s basketball, lacrosse and men’s & women’s tennis after the jump!
Continue Reading » SIX BITS: Dungy on Tebow, Jaguars, weekend

Tags: Alexandre Lacroix, Antoine Benneteau, C.M. Tad Smith Coliseum, Derrick Harvey, Disney Wide World of Sports, Florida International Golden Panthers, Gene Smith, Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, Indianapolis Colts, ITA, Jacksonville Jaguars, Kick-Off Weekend, Linder Stadium, Lonnika Thompson, National Team Indoor Championships, NFL, Ole Miss Rebels, Reggie Nelson, Ring Tennis Complex, Sharielle Smith, Steffi Sorensen, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, tennis, Tim Tebow, Tony Dungy, U.S. National Developmental

1 » New Orleans Saints defensive end Bobby McCray is the only former Florida Gators football player to make his way out of the 2010 NFL Playoffs and into Super Bowl XLIV in Miami, FL. McCray and his team will face the Indianapolis Colts and star quarterback Peyton Manning in the grandest stage of them all. Also in action Sunday were Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Percy Harvin (five receptions for 38 yards, four rushes for 15 yards and one fumble) and New York Jets cornerback Lito Sheppard (two tackles). McCray has been a big-name over the last few weeks, delivering powerful hits to both Arizona Cardinals QB Kurt Warner and Vikings QB Brett Favre.

2 » No. 11 Florida men’s tennis fell 5-2 to the No. 6 Baylor Bears on Sunday at the Baylor Tennis Center in Waco, TX. Senior Antoine Benneteau held his own in singles competition, though junior Alexandre Lacroix fell in three sets to Denes Lukacs 6-3, 3-6, 6-1. Lacroix and Benneteau, the No. 10-ranked doubles team in the country, continued their hot streak by winning their match 9-7. The Gators host the Furman Paladins on Jan. 30 at 10 a.m. in the first round of the ITA Kick-Off Weekend at Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex. The Georgia Tech yellow Jackets and Penn State Nittany Lions are also involved in the short tournament.

Tags: Alexandre Lacroix, Antoine Benneteau, Arizona Cardinals, Baylor Bears, Baylor Tennis Center, Bobby McCray, Brett Favre, Denes Lukacs, Indianapolis Colts, Kurt Warner, Lito Sheppard, Minnesota Vikings, New Orleans Saints, New York Jets, NFL, Percy Harvin, Playoffs, Super Bowl XLIV, tennis

1 » Could former Florida Gators wide receiver Percy Harvin be sitting out the most important game of his young NFL career? If his sudden migraine flare-up continues, he just might. Harvin missed Minnesota Vikings practice on Thursday [and Friday] for the first time since returning from the Mayo Clinic in December. He had been headache-free for more than a month, but head coach Brad Childress indicated that the only thing that can cure Harvin is time. “I think it’s just a matter of trying to slow the onsets,” Childress said. “For a while he had them pretty often. We expect him to be OK.” Harvin has 60 receptions on the season, second on the team to Sidney Rice, and has become one of quarterback Brett Favre’s favorite targets on third down.

2 » Preparing for the 2010 Under Armour Senior Bowl and a future in the NFL, former Gators quarterback Tim Tebow has been working out in Franklin, TN, since last week at D1 Sports Training. Co-owned by Indianapolis Colts star QB Peyton Manning, D1 “specializes in making athletes faster, stronger, more agile and explosive while also building character,” according to the company’s mission statement. Tebow is working closely with former Georgia Bulldogs All-American QB Zeke Bratkowski, a 40-year playing and coaching veteran. “When they see him in person, how he moves and throws, his work ethic at the Senior Bowl, and his passion for the game, I think that is what is going to move him up on the draft,” said Kurt Hester, director of training for D1. Check out the full story by Jim Wyatt of The Tennessean.

Tags: Brad Childress, Brett Favre, D1 Sports Training, Draft, Indianapolis Colts, Mayo Clinic, Minnesota Vikings, NFL, Percy Harvin, Peyton Manning, Senior Bowl, Sidney Rice, Tim Tebow, Under Armour

1 » With so many people questioning Florida Gators senior quarterback Tim Tebow’s future in the NFL, one city and team that are seemingly fully behind him are Jacksonville, FL, and Tebow’s hometown Jaguars. In addition to revitalizing a franchise that is one of the least financially successful in the NFL, Tebow could add a much-needed character boost to a team that has been desperately trying to catch up with their division-rival Indianapolis Colts for years. The 17,000 fans who chose not to renew their season tickets this past offseason could easily come back if Tebow is drafted to his local team.

2 » Speaking of the Jaguars, former Gators free safety Reggie Nelson allowed not one but two touchdowns Thursday night to the Colts, immediately throwing him in head coach Jack Del Rio’s doghouse. Nelson has regressed significantly over his last two seasons in Jacksonville, leading many to believe he will be benched this week. “[Nelson] didn’t play well,” Del Rio said. “You can’t stay in the lineup playing like that.”

3 » Gators four-star tight end commitment Gerald Christian, a star for Dwyer High School who is playing in the Class 4A Championship game on Saturday, has started since his freshman year and become an irreplaceable part of both the team’s offense and defense. “He was already a grown man as a sophomore, even as a freshman,” Dwyer defensive coordinator Bobby Sifrit said. “He’s a leader at practice, in school. He’s very smart and even keeled. You couldn’t have a better candidate to [call shots on defense].” Five-star Florida safety commit and Christian’s teammate, Matt Elam, agrees. “He’s a freak with all the stuff he knows,” Elam said.

4 » Gators basketball fans may notice that one of the reasons the team has improved so much in 2009 is a dedication o defense. “Nowhere is Florida’s newfound commitment to defense than from behind the 3-point line,” writes Michael DiRocco of The Florida Times Union. In some ways, the Gators are playing better on defense than even the 2006 and 2007 National Championship teams did at this point through their seasons.

Tags: Bobby Sifrit, Dwyer, Gerald Christian, Indianapolis Colts, Jack Del Rio, Jacksonville Jaguars, Matt Elam, NFL, Reggie Nelson, Tim Tebow

Named by numerous inside sources as the front-runner for the Louisville Cardinals head coaching job last week, Florida Gators defensive coordinator Charlie Strong sat down for a meeting Sunday night in Gainesville, FL, with Tom Jurich, the school’s athletic director. Jurich, who waited to contact his Florida counterpart Jeremy Foley and then Strong until after the 2009 SEC Championship, said last week that he wanted to “get the program rolling” but not “be a disruption to their program.”

As OGGOA reported on Wednesday, Jurich was prepared for a lucrative counter offer from the Gators to keep Strong as their defensive coordinator and left the meeting (which was “several hours” long) feeling one was on the horizon. “We’ve got a little more work to do,” Jurich told ESPN’s Pat Forde after meeting with Strong. “I know Florida wants to keep him. I was very, very impressed by him,” he said. “He’s a quality guy.”

However, Jurich left the meeting without officially offering the job to Strong, though he will continue discussing it with him over the next few days. Jurich also told ESPN that he was given a noteworthy recommendation of Strong by former Indianapolis Colts coach Tony Dungy. “Not a bad recommendation,” Jurich said.

Should Strong leave, it will be the second time in as many seasons that the Gators have lost a coordinator after the SEC Championship game with former offensive coordinator Dan Mullen being hired as the Mississippi State Bulldogs head coach in 2008. Assistant defensive coordinator/safeties coach Chuck Heater and assistant head coach/defensive line coach Dan McCarney would be the leading candidates to replace Strong should he accept the job. One of the two could join Strong as his defensive coordinator wherever he winds up, and rumors have begun that Strong plans to bring Florida wide receivers coach Billy Gonzales along with him as his offensive coordinator should he take a head job.

Tags: Billy Gonzales, Charlie Strong, Chuck Heater, Dan McCarney, Dan Mullen, Indianapolis Colts, Jeremy Foley, Louisville Cardinals, Mississippi State Bulldogs, SEC Championship, Tom Jurich, Tony Dungy