In an offseason where individual Pro Day workouts have been the talk of the 2010 NFL Draft, the last major one is set to take place Friday when Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Jimmy Clausen (and his teammates including wide receiver Golden Tate) work out for representatives from every NFL team in South Bend, IN.

However, one head coach who consciously decided to skip the event altogether is Brad Childress of the Minnesota Vikings. Instead, he will be in Gainesville, FL, as the featured speaker at a Florida football coaches clinic Friday; he will also stick around to workout draft-eligible players on a one-and-one basis.

According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Childress is set to meet with quarterback Tim Tebow, center Maurkice Pouncey, linebacker Brandon Spikes, wide receiver Riley Cooper, safety Major Wright and defensive ends Carlos Dunlap and Jermaine Cunningham during his time in Gainesville.

Childress has already gone on record in regards to his respect and admiration for Tebow. He has also had both WR Percy Harvin (whom he drafted with the No. 22 overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft) and head coach Urban Meyer in his ear about the former Heisman Trophy winner. No wonder Childress has been seriously considering drafting Tebow.

With Brett Favre‘s NFL career in limbo (he’s coming back) and Harvin already on his roster, Childress and the Vikings may very well believe that Tebow is their quarterback of the future and worthy of their No. 30 overall first-round pick. (Especially if Pouncey is selected before they are on the clock.)

Minnesota’s vice president of player personnel, Rick Spielman, was in attendance at the Gators’ Pro Day in March, and offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell will represent the team Friday at Notre Dame.

Photo Credit: Matt Sullivan/Getty Images

Tags: Brad Childress, Brandon Spikes, Brett Favre, Carlos Dunlap, Darrell Bevell, Golden Tate, Heisman Trophy, Jermaine Cunningham, Jimmy Clausen, Major Wright, Maurkice Pouncey, Minnesota Vikings, Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Percy Harvin, Rick Spielman, Riley Cooper, Tim Tebow, Urban Meyer

1 » Sunday night, the Philadelphia Eagles traded star quarterback Donovan McNabb to the Washington Redskins for two draft picks. Monday, Florida Gators fans are trying to connect the dots to Tim Tebow and the 2010 NFL Draft. Here is what you need to know: (a) The Redskins acquiring McNabb makes it unlikely they draft Tebow, even after paying him plenty of attention. (b) The Eagles, with two QBs on one-year deals, are more likely to consider Tebow or any available passer for that matter – but not likely until the second round. (c) Notre Dame’s Jimmy Clausen may fall in the first round, potentially pushing Texas’ Colt McCoy and Tebow into later draft selections.

2 » Looking to salvage a road season in which they already lost the first two games, No. 20/17 Vanderbilt Commodores baseball (24-6, 5-4 SEC) shutout the No. 8/11 Gators (20-7, 5-3 SEC) 7-0 on Sunday in the series finale at McKethan Stadium. Starter Jack Armstrong (4-0) tossed six innings of four-hit ball for Vanderbilt, which also benefited from a pair of solo home runs by third baseman Jason Esposito (2-5, three runs). Freshman Hudson Randal (2-3) earned the loss for Florida, giving up two earned runs and seven hits in 5.2 innings with six strikeouts.

Two more BITS on Gators softball and tennis’ weekend sweeps…after the jump!
Continue Reading » FOUR BITS: McNabb, baseball, softball, tennis

Tags: Aja Paculba, Alexandre Lacroix, Anastasia Revzina, Antoine Benneteau, baseball, Boone Tennis Center, Brittany Schutte, Colt McCoy, Donovan McNabb, Draft, Ensley Gammell, Hudson Randal, Jack Armstrong, Jason Esposito, Jimmy Clausen, Kentucky Wildcats, Lauren Embree, Linder Stadium, LSU Tigers, Marrit Boonstra, McKethan Stadium, NFL, Philadelphia Eagles, Ring Tennis Complex, softball, Stephanie Brombacher, tennis, Tim Tebow, Vanderbilt Commodores, Washington Redskins

Those following the path of former Florida Gators quarterback Tim Tebow to the 2010 NFL Draft are well aware that ESPN analyst Todd McShay has been less than complimentary to the former Heisman Trophy winner throughout the process. Along with McShay, ESPN‘s NFL Draft expert Mel Kiper, Jr. and NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock have raised their doubts about Tebow, albeit in a less antagonistic manner.

In fact, if you had to rank the three premiere television analysts on their confidence in Tebow’s ability to succeed at the next level, your list would probably look like this:
(1) Mayock, (2) Kiper, (3) McShay.

This makes Pro Football Talk‘s latest piece on the extreme level of backlash against McShay quite interesting. Speaking with a veteran NFL scout, PFT reports that McShay is a target of criticism around the league. Check out the statement from the scout below:

“Most people at my level feel [McShay] is a joke. People in the league respect Kiper. He is not a true scout but he does work at it. A lot of his info he gets from connections in the league, and over the years he has made quite a few. When he was younger he used to burn some bridges. He doesn’t do that any more.

“McShay does not have any good connections. Higher-ups in the league think he is an arrogant asshole. A know-it-all. And he really knows nothing. Whatever he says about a quarterback, take it to the bank, it will be the opposite. [...] McShay is a pretty face who comes across like he knows what he is talking about. He does have good presence, but knows nothing.

“The best guy in the amateur scouting/draftnik business in Mike Mayock. Mike does more film work then any of those other guys put together. He is the only one who has access to the NFL dub center where all the college tapes go before they get distributed to the teams. He watches hours and hours of tape. You might not always agree with his evaluations but he works hard at it and you have to respect that.”

Whether or not McShay is right or dead-wrong with his opinion of Tebow (or any other player for that matter) remains to be seen. However, his history of incorrectly projecting quarterbacks does raise a few eyebrows. Considering McShay has been so adamant that Tebow will fail and has recently railed against Notre Dame QB Jimmy Clausen, this year’s draft could be a career-defining (or -ending) moment for the analyst.

Tags: Draft, Jimmy Clausen, NFL, Tim Tebow

Following a rousing win against the Georgia Bulldogs where he accounted for four touchdowns, Florida Gators senior quarterback Tim Tebow regained the top spot in the Scripps Howard Heisman Trophy poll that he had previously held for the entire season. Earning three of 10 first-place votes, Tebow jumped Alabama Crimson Tide running back Mark Ingram (4), Houston Cougars QB Case Keenum (3), Notre Dame Fighting Irish QB Jimmy Clausen (0) and Texas Longhorns QB Colt McCoy (0). Voting tabulations are made on a 5-4-3-2-1 basis, with each voter ranking a top five.

OGGOA readers can cast their vote for Tebow to win the Heisman Trophy by visiting THIS LINK! Fans receive one official vote as a group in the selection process.

Tags: Alabama Crimson Tide, Case Keenum, Colt McCoy, Heisman Trophy, Houston Cougars, Jimmy Clausen, Mark Ingram, Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Texas Longhorns, Tim Tebow

In this week’s Scripps Howard Heisman Trophy poll, Florida Gators senior quarterback Tim Tebow fell out of the top spot he has held since the beginning of the season. Earning only two of 10 first-place votes (he had six last week), Tebow fell to fifth behind Alabama Crimson Tide running back Mark Ingram (4), Notre Dame Fighting Irish QB Jimmy Clausen (1), Houston Cougars QB Case Keenum (1) and Texas Longhorns QB Colt McCoy (1). Voting tabulations are made on a 5-4-3-2-1 basis, with each voter ranking their own top five. This is the closest the Heisman race has been in the Scripps straw poll all season.

Tags: Alabama Crimson Tide, Case Keenum, Colt McCoy, Heisman Trophy, Houston Cougars, Jimmy Clausen, Mark Ingram, Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Texas Longhorns, Tim Tebow

In this week’s Scripps Howard Heisman Trophy poll, Florida Gators senior quarterback Tim Tebow earned six of the 10 first-place votes. Alabama Crimson Tide running back Mark Ingram followed him with three votes while Notre Dame Fighting Irish QB Jimmy Clausen received one vote. Houston Cougars QB Case Keenum and Texas Longhorns QB Colt McCoy did not receive a single first-place vote. Voting tabulations are made on a 5-4-3-2-1 basis, with each voter ranking their own top five. This is the closest the Heisman race has been in the Scripps straw poll all season.

Tebow won another poll this week, OGGOA‘s, which began on Sunday and asked who your MVP was for Saturday’s game against the Arkansas Razorbacks. 183 of you registered votes and the results are in. Tebow narrowly defeated kicker Caleb Sturgis who (after missing his first attempt) nailed three consecutive field goals including a 51-yarder and game-winning 37-yarder. I was actually surprised by this result as I figured Sturgis would have earned the gratitude of Gator Nation for his game-winning kick. This was Tebow’s first OGGOA weekly MVP award.

Be sure to vote in the new poll up now!

Tags: Alabama Crimson Tide, Caleb Sturgis, Case Keenum, Colt McCoy, Heisman Trophy, Houston Cougars, Jimmy Clausen, Mark Ingram, MVP, Notre Dame Fighting Irish, poll, Texas Longhorns, Tim Tebow

University of Florida men’s basketball head coach Billy Donovan will be honored with the John R. Wooden “Legends of Coaching Award” in April 2010. This award recognizes successful coaches who exemplify Wooden’s high standards of integrity on the court. Winners are selected based on character, success, student-athlete graduation rate and coaching philosophy. Donovan will be one of only four active coaches who have both guided teams to multiple NCAA National Championship titles (20006, 2007) and received this honor. The others are the Duke Blue Devils’ Mike Krzyzweski (3), North Carolina Tar Heels’ Roy Williams (2) and Connecticut Huskies’ Jim Calhoun (2). Donovan is 310-126 (.711) in 13 seasons as coach of the Gators with 11 consecutive 20-win seasons, nine NCAA tournament appearances and three SEC Championships.

Two Florida Gators defenders have been nominated for the 2009 Rotary Lombardi Award. Given annually to the nation’s top college football lineman, the trophy is awarded for not only on-field ability but also discipline resembling that of Vince Lombardi. Middle linebacker Brandon Spikes and defensive end Carlos Dunlap were nominated this year in a group that is very defense-heavy. Nebraska Cornhuskers defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh is considered the overwhelming favorite to win.

In this week’s Scripps Howard Heisman Trophy poll, senior quarterback Tim Tebow earned eight of the 10 first-place votes. The rest of the top five – Texas Longhorns QB Colt McCoy, Cincinnati Bearcats QB Tony Pike, Notre Dame Fighting Irish QB Jimmy Clausen and Houston Cougars QB Case Keenum – did not receive a single first-place vote. Scripps is simply a straw poll conducted to determine the sentiment among college football writers throughout the country.

Tags: Billy Donovan, Brandon Spikes, Carlos Dunlap, Case Keenum, Cincinnati Bearcats, Colt McCoy, Connecticut Huskies, Duke Blue Devils, Houston Cougars, Jim Calhoun, Jimmy Clausen, John Wooden, Mike Krzyzweski, Ndamukong Suh, Nebraska Cornhuskers, North Carolina Tar Heels, Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Rotary Lombardi Award, Roy Williams, Texas Longhorns, Tim Tebow, Tony Pike

1 » Five-star high school swimmer Jon Nunez has committed to the Florida Gators for 2010. Nunez, considered one of the best young swimmers in the country, joins fellow five stars Kaitlin Frehling and Alicia Mathieu at Florida under coach Gregg Troy. “I chose the Gators for many reasons,” Nunez told Swimming World. “The overall environment and atmosphere of the school and team is great. The academics are the best, bar none. Last and certainly not least, the work ethic at Florida is one I feel will push me to be the best I can be.”

2 » Gators beat writer Jeremy Fowler of the Orlando Sentinel spoke with Dr. Bayard Miller, neurologist for Shands at the University of Florida, who is one of at least five doctors assigned to quarterback Tim Tebow‘s concussion recovery. One statement Miller made that I found to be of interest is that, “Once someone is fully recovered, the risk is not significantly different whether they return in two weeks after the concussion or one month. The issue is anybody who has had a concussion has increased risk whether it’s 10 days after or six months after.” Check out the rest of Fowler’s article for more.

3 » Tebow is still leading the ScrippsNews Heisman Trophy poll, followed by four other quarterbacks: Texas’ Colt McCoy, Notre Dame’s Jimmy Clausen, Cincinnati’s Tony Pike and Houston’s Case Keenum.

Continue Reading » SIX BITS: Swimmer commits, five bits on Tebow

Tags: Alicia Mathieu, Case Keenum, Colt McCoy, Dr. Bayard Miller, Gregg Troy, Jimmy Clausen, Jon Nunez, Kaitlin Frehling, swimming, Tim Tebow, Tony Pike