1 » Florida Gators junior left-handed pitcher/designated hitter Brian Johnson, who has signed a professional contract with the Boston Red Sox after being selected with the No. 31 overall pick in the first round of the 2012 MLB Draft, was presented with the John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Award on Saturday night. Johnson became the first player in team history to bring home the award and added yet another honor to the numerous postseason recognitions earned by Gators juniors who will play professionally next season. He finished the 2012 season with an 8-5 record, 3.90 ERA and 73 strikeouts in 90 innings along with a .307 batting average and 41 RBIs.

2 » According to sources close to the team that spoke with Yahoo! Sports’s Jason Cole, the relationship between cornerback Janoris Jenkins and the St. Louis Rams (which selected the first-round talent with a second-round pick in the 2012 NFL Draft) is “off to a rocky start because of a verbal pre-draft agreement” that is not permissible but is also not being honored. One reason why Jenkins has not signed his contract with St. Louis yet, Cole reports, is because head coach Jeff Fisher wants him to be financially advised by Lou Taylor of Tri Star Sports & Entertainment Group while Jenkins and agent Malik Shareef seem “content” with the management team in place. Pre-draft agreements of this kind are not allowed as part of the new collective bargaining agreement, something that Cole reports both parties are aware of, but what appears to be one looks to be the reason why Jenkins is not yet an official member of the Rams organization.

Click to expand and read two more BITS in this post.

Tags: AAU, baseball, Billy Donovan, Boston Red Sox, Brian Johnson, Chris Walker, Draft, Florida Rams, Janoris Jenkins, John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Award, Kasey Hill, MLB, NCAA, NFL, St. Louis Rams

1 » He may not have been drafted as early as he would have liked but new St. Louis Rams cornerback Janoris Jenkins is already drawing rave reviews from his performances at rookie minicamp. St. Louis head coach Jeff Fisher was interviewed on ESPN’s NFL 32 program on Tuesday and said that Jenkins is proving his evaluators right so far. “[Jenkins is] very talented – obviously we know that and that has shown just in the last couple of days,” he explained. “He’s got excellent football intelligence and he carries things from the classroom to the field. He’s going to be a really good player soon for us.” Fisher also discussed the process that the Rams’ front office went through in evaluating Jenkins’s off-the-field issues. “It started with the 15-minute interview at the Combine and then the visit where we had him for the day,” he said. “Believe me, no one did more research [than we did]. Everyone we talked to along the road, whether it was in Pahokee, Florida, the University of Florida or people from North Alabama, everyone to a man said, ‘Take this young man.’ This stuff is behind him.” Speaking of Jenkins, below is a video interview he did with ESPN after being selected in the 2012 NFL Draft.

2 » Despite coaches saying after trading for him that quarterback Tim Tebow would play a number of other positions this season for the New York Jets, Tebow told the media last week that he has only taken snaps as a signal caller so far during minicamp. Not only is Tebow only working at quarterback at this point, he has also received rave reviews from both offensive coordinator Tony Sparano and quarterbacks coach Matt Cavanaugh in regards to the progress he has made at his position. “I think he can be very good,” Cavanaugh told the New York Daily News on Tuesday. “I was pleasantly surprised when I saw him over an extended period of time…not just watching him play on film. I think he’s certainly got the arm strength. He has good mechanics. They’re getting better every day.” He also explained to the paper that improved footwork and additional work inside the pocket can help Tebow get even better. “I think with Tim, he’s more focused right now in the offseason on just working on the fundamentals of trying to be rhythmic in the pocket,” Cavanaugh said. “He’s shown great progress. I’m real pleased with him. [...] He doesn’t let a day go by when he’s not focused on trying to get better at something.”

Tags: combine, Draft, Janoris Jenkins, New York Jets, NFL, St. Louis Rams, Tim Tebow

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. In these instances, or when stories fall through the cracks, we catch and wrap them all up with Gator Bites.

» Florida Gators baseball (33-12, 12-9 SEC) continued to falter over the weekend, dropping two of three games to the Arkansas Razorbacks (31-13, 11-10 SEC). Florida has now lost 10 of their last 20 games (including one each to North Florida and South Florida) while also struggling to put forth consistent performances at the plate and on the mound. For instance, the Gators scored just five runs in 27 innings over the weekend. Florida picked up a 3-2 victory on Friday before falling 5-1 on Saturday and 3-1 in 10 innings on Sunday. The Gators were supposed to get a reprieve with a nine-game homestand but instead went just 5-4 over that span of games. Florida will have three full days off before travelling to Kentucky for a three-game series on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. UF fell to No. 5 in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches’ Top 25 and No. 7 in the Baseball America rankings on Monday.

» Gators softball (43-8, 20-5 SEC), also ranked No. 2 heading into the weekend, dropped their final home series of the regular season to the Kentucky Wildcats (26-27, 12-13 SEC) over the weekend. Florida fell 2-0 in the series opener (their second-straight shutout and fourth of the season) before picking up a 5-0 win on Senior Day Saturday and dropping the rubber match 5-1 on Sunday. Freshman right-handed pitcher Lauren Haeger picked up a win on Saturday and a loss on Sunday to bring her to 13-4 on the season while sophomore RHP Hannah Rogers (25-4) added a loss Friday despite pitching quite well over the weekend. Senior center fielder Michelle Moultrie (2/4, HR, 2 RBI, R) began her Senior Day with a big-time solo homer in her first at bat on Saturday, giving her another nice memory for her career. UF will conclude the regular season with a three-game road series at Alabama over the weekend.

» Florida five-star 2013 point guard commit Kasey Hill (Clermont, FL) threw down a strong dunk over the weekend and followed it up with a Gator Chomp while staring straight into the camera. Think he’s ready for the big time?

Continue Reading » Gator Bites for Monday, April 30

Tags: Angelina Ballatore, Arkansas Razorbacks, baseball, Bradley Beal, Chicago Bulls, Chris Rainey, Cleveland Cavaliers, Draft, Gator Chomp, Hannah Rogers, Janoris Jenkins, Joakim Noah, Kasey Hill, Kentucky Wildcats, Lauren Haeger, Michelle Moultrie, NBA, NFL, Ohio State Buckeyes, Olympics, Pittsburgh Steelers, Ron Ballatore, SEC, softball, St. Louis Rams, swimming, Tim Tebow, Top 25, Urban Meyer

Round 2 – No. 39
Janoris Jenkins, CB
St. Louis Rams

Height: 5’10″ – Weight: 193 lbs.
Age: 23 – Class: Senior (North Alabama)

Despite being dismissed from the Florida Gators and playing the 2011 season for the North Alabama Lions, cornerback Janoris Jenkins still represents the orange and blue for many fans. He will don his third uniform in as many years this season after being selected by the St. Louis Rams with the No. 39 overall pick in the second round of the 2012 NFL Draft on Friday.

A starter at Florida for three seasons, Jenkins was dismissed from the team after being arrested for possession of marijuana on April 23, 2011. It was his second arrest for marijuana possession in under 90 days and his third arrest overall in 23 months – all while a member of the Gators football team.

Jenkins was originally expected to declare early for the 2011 NFL Draft but chose to stay at Florida another year after undergoing shoulder surgery in the offseason. He never got that opportunity and instead transferred to North Alabama to play out his final year.

Heading into the draft, Jenkins was the subject of much chatter around league circles. His multiple arrests as well as the fact that he has four children under the age of four birthed by three different women created a number of red flags for teams. Once considered a unanimous top-15 pick, Jenkins’ stock appeared to slide further and further each day as additional rumors (he allegedly continued smoking at UNA) and actions (switching agents) became public knowledge.

However, the Rams are obviously confident in his ability and believe his claims that his troubled past is in the rear view mirror and are willing to take a chance on this first-round talent. Jenkins will likely have an opportunity to compete for a starting job as a rookie and his selection could pay dividends for St. Louis

Tags: Draft, Janoris Jenkins, NFL, North Alabama Lions, St. Louis Rams

The Florida Gators may not have a proverbial dog in the race when it comes to the first round of the 2012 NFL Draft on Thursday but a handful of former Florida players still hope to see their childhood dreams come true this weekend.

As fans of the 32 NFL teams look on nationwide, those supporting the Gators may not be as excited about the event this time around considering there will be yet another a significant drop-off from the nation-leading nine players that were selected in 2010 (including a school-record three in the first round and six in the first two rounds). In fact, Florida is not expected to have a first-round pick for the first time since the 2006 draft when Chad Jackson was an early second-round selection by New England.

Few things are certain when it comes to the NFL Draft – trades can occur at any moment and each team views its most pressing needs and what each player brings to the table differently than analysts do. Rather than try to predict the unknown variables and tell you what could happen, we will stick with what likely will happen Thursday-Sunday.

» Cornerback Janoris Jenkins will be the only player with (close) ties to Florida to be selected in the first two rounds – probably in the latter part of round one.

Unless a team falls in love with running back Chris Rainey’s potential, Jenkins is the only name Gators fans can hope to hear on Thursday or early Friday. He has early first-round potential but what many teams apparently consider undraftable off-the-field character concerns. Reports coming out this week state that some teams have removed Jenkins from their draft boards entirely while others recognize that his talent may be too good to pass up. Many analysts even believe he has a higher upside than LSU’s Morris Claiborne, who is expected to be the first cornerback selected (somewhere in the top 10) on Thursday. With such a rush of anti-Jenkins reports, it appears as if a number of teams are trying to create a major smokescreen in the hopes that he falls to them late in the first round. Marijuana arrests and multiple children out of wedlock may matter to some front office executives, but they are not considered to be on the same level with felony arrests, for example. It is likely that someone takes a chance on Jenkins Thursday and does not let him slip into the second round where he would be an absolute steal.

Continue Reading » Florida Gators 2012 NFL Draft viewer’s guide

Tags: Chris Rainey, combine, Dan Wenger, Deonte Thompson, Dorian Munroe, Draft, Janoris Jenkins, Jaye Howard, John Brantley, Moses Jenkins, NFL, Will Muschamp, William Green

1 » Former Florida Gators quarterback Tim Tebow was named Wednesday to TIME Magazine’s 2012 list of The 100 Most Influential People in the World. Tebow can be found among names like President Barack Obama, Warren Buffett, Louis CK and New York Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin, who penned a few paragraphs on Tebow.

Watching Tim Tebow play football, you can observe many things about his character. You see his fierce competitiveness, his strong work ethic and how he is a leader that his teammates trust and respect.

But it is the qualities that Tim, 24, embodies in his life off the field that truly set him apart. He is unashamed of his convictions and faith, and he lives a life that consistently reflects his values, day in and day out. Through his foundation, he constantly reaches out to people and communities in need of hope. He realizes what he has been blessed with and seeks to help those who are worse off. As athletes, we pour our hearts into winning games. Tim is a reminder that life is about much more than that.

2 » Denying reports that he continued smoking marijuana after being dismissed by Florida, cornerback Janoris Jenkins is emphatic that he has turned the corner in both his life and career. “I wasn’t smoking marijuana at North Alabama,” he told Scout.com’s Aaron Wilson. “If anybody wants to know, they can give my coaches a call. I wasn’t partying. They’ve been saying a lot of things about me that aren’t true without getting my side of the story. It’s been a humbling experience. You’ve got to be a man; you’ve got to be honest and straightforward. I’ve matured. My past is my past. People can judge me for how far I’ve come. I want to know why all of a sudden this is out there about me. Why didn’t it come out after the combine when I was straightforward with the scouts? The timing is very interesting to me.”

Continue Reading » SIX BITS: Tebow, Jenkins, Brewer, Thomas

Tags: Corey Brewer, Denver Broncos, Denver Nuggets, Draft, Janoris Jenkins, Jeremy Lin, Marcus Thomas, Miami Heat, Mike Miller, NBA, New York Jets, New York Knicks, NFL, Tim Tebow, Udonis Haslem

1 » The Florida Gators released this week a pair of question-and-answer stories with coordinators Brent Pease (offensive) and Dan Quinn (defensive) on their thoughts following the 2012 Orange & Blue Debut. Pease pointed to the improvement of the offensive line as what he was most impressed with after watching film. “We established an identity in being physical up front and being able to run the ball. I think our core kids there are very good. They are quick learners and they are very good athletes,” he said. “I think we built some depth that if we get some injuries during the season, we can rotate guys and put them in positions. We should be good there because there are good players there and there’s experience.” Quinn said that junior transfer defensive tackle Damien Jacobs, freshman linebacker Antonio Morrison and defensive backs sophomore Jabari Gorman and junior Jaylen Watkins stood out for him though it was the first two that took the biggest step. “[Jacobs] showed in the spring that he had power and that he could convert from run into pass rush,” he said. “Antonio Morrison continued to impress me with how it wasn’t too big for him – he got it. He’s got good instincts at the linebacker position.”

2 » Florida defensive tackle Jaye Howard may not be getting as much attention as some other current and former Gators heading into the 2012 NFL Draft, but he is still doing whatever he can to prove to teams that he is worth selecting relatively early in the process. NFL.com recently released a short video interview with Howard in which he talks about getting ready for the event later this month. “[Teams are] not going to invest any money in anyone who is not conducting themselves in the right manner,” he said. “You have to carry yourself in the right way all the time. I’m going look at the coaches right in the face and square and tell them that I’m going to provide energy to the team, be a team player and try to compete to earn a spot on the team.”

Click to expand and read two more BITS in this post.

Tags: Antonio Morrison, Brent Pease, Damien Jacobs, Dan Quinn, Draft, Jabari Gorman, Janoris Jenkins, Jaye Howard, Jaylen Watkins, Joshua Shaw, NFL, North Alabama Lions, USC Trojans

1 » Following up on the Sporting News report published Monday on the end of head coach Urban Meyer’s tenure in Gainesville, FL, The Gainesville Sun’s Pat Dooley dedicated the opening segment of his most recent column to dropping a few tidbits corroborating the investigation done by Matt Hayes. In the paragraph, Dooley calls former wide receiver Percy Harvin “the most coddled athlete in the history of Florida football” and provides one damning detail about the meeting between new head coach Will Muschamp and former cornerback Janoris Jenkins following his second arrest for possession of marijuana in less than 90 days last summer.

When Muschamp told Jenkins he would have to be suspended, Jenkins replied, “Do you know who you’re talking to?” And that was the end of his career at UF.

2 » Something that is probably either a promotional video by or class project at the University of Florida, a new clip appeared Monday on YouTube called “The Gator Grind – Day In the Life.” It depicts a number of Florida Gators athletes including sophomore center Patric Young, junior running back Trey Burton and senior centerfielder Michelle Moultrie (among others) basically doing what they do during a normal day set to music. You can check it out below:

Tags: Janoris Jenkins, Michelle Moultrie, Patric Young, Percy Harvin, Trey Burton