Out of Orlando, FL, Channel 6 sports director David Pingalore is reporting that No. 1 Florida Gators quarterback Tim Tebow will start against No. 4 LSU Tigers on Saturday. The Gators arrived in Baton Rouge, LA, at 5:00 p.m. Friday and Tebow was expected to undergo additional testing following the flight.

Pingalore cites University of Florida sources that say Tebow took 100 percent of the snaps during practice on Thursday while back-up John Brantley only worked with the second team. Pingalore’s sources told him Tebow is “completely healthy” and “definitely will” start Saturday. Neither head coach Urban Meyer nor UF has made any official announcement regarding Tebow’s status and may not until late Saturday.

[UPDATE:] As of 10 a.m. Saturday morning, OGGOA has yet to confirm this report. Meyer stated late in the week that Tebow’s status would truly be a game-time decision, and it is looking like that will be the case. OGGOA will post an update when more information is available.

[UPDATE 2:] According to Jeremy Fowler of the Orlando Sentinel, Gators spokesman Steve McClain denied this report.

Tags: John Brantley, Tim Tebow, Urban Meyer

I had the pleasure of speaking with Adam Abramson of Newsday yesterday, who asked me to break down Saturday night’s game between No. 1 Florida Gators and No. 4 LSU Tigers. Featured in Campus Confidential, I discussed the health of quarterback Tim Tebow, how the Gators offense would change with John Brantley behind center, what LSU needs to do in order to be victorious and how the game will play out.

Campus Confidential: What are you hearing about the status of Tim Tebow?
Adam Silverstein: Tebow practiced in full pads Tuesday for the first time since suffering his concussion on Sept. 26 in Lexington. Team doctors apparently felt he was healthy enough over the weekend to begin doing cardio and weight training work, so technically he was active before he stepped on the practice field Tuesday. He has been cleared to return in a limited capacity, basically meaning that doctors must give him approval every day before he can practice. With that being said, the doctors have been pleased with his testing, and Tebow is consistently achieving the benchmarks required in balance, equilibrium and memory. Head coach Urban Meyer stated that Tebow went through approximately 80% of practice on Tuesday, running set plays with the first team. Meyer had mentioned that he wanted to give Tebow light chest contact on Wednesday, but I have not been able to find out if that occurred or not during practice, though I do know Tebow split reps 50/50 with John Brantley. I would call him questionable for Saturday with his status truly being a game-time decision.

Read the rest: Florida-LSU Through the eyes of a Gator

Tags: Adam Silverstein, John Brantley, Newsday, Tim Tebow, Urban Meyer

1 » Prior to the season, one of the biggest stories was the Florida Gators potentially using cornerback Joe Haden at quarterback in a Wildcat-like formation. While UF’s ability and lack of fear to use the Wildcat with wide receiver Percy Harvin last season was well documented, I held (and hold) the opinion that Haden plays extensively enough on defense and special teams – that using him on offense as well would be overkill.

While talk about Haden’s role in the formation seems to have died down, usage of the Wildcat as a whole has not. Head coach Urban Meyer said Monday that tight end Aaron Hernandez, running back Jeff Demps and wide receiver Brandon James could all get direct snaps against No. 4 LSU Tigers. While an occasional direct snap may be called, I see this as more of a diversionary tactic to get LSU thinking about more than just “Tim Tebow or John Brantley” but rather “Tebow, Brantley or the Wildcat.”

2 » In an effort to gain prestige within the state of Florida, the USF Bulls have marketed themselves as one of the “Big 4″ along with the Florida Gators, Miami Hurricanes and Florida State Seminoles. This new billboard, located at I-275 near I-4 has, to his credit, drawn the ire of Bulls head coach Jim Leavitt. “I had nothing to do with (the billboard), I don’t know how it got up, and I don’t know who put it up,” Leavitt said Tuesday. “We have not won national championships, and we have not won conference championships. What gives us the right to sit there all of a sudden like we’ve won all these championships and done all this stuff?” Looks like the USF marketing department should have checked with Leavitt first.

Continue Reading » FOUR BITS: Will Wildcat be used? USF uses UF in ad. Tigers ready for QB. Recruiting update.

Tags: Aaron Hernandez, Booker T. Washington, Brandon James, Chris Dunkley, Christian Green, Florida State Seminoles, Ivan McCartney, Jeff Demps, Jim Leavitt, Joe Haden, John Brantley, John Chavis, Les Miles, LSU Tigers, Lynden Trail, Miami Hurricanes, Percy Harvin, Quinton Dunbar, Solomon Patton, Tim Tebow, Urban Meyer, USF Bulls

1 » Florida Gators sophomore quarterback John Brantley was apparently in a joking mood today while writing his facebook status update, being sure to mention LSU Tigers fans who have been razzing and taunting him since receiving his cell phone number. “Like to thank all the LSU fans for such encouraging phone calls,” Brantley wrote. Whatever you need to get the juices going, John!

2 » Based on performance during the 2009 season, ESPN’s SEC blogger Chris Low has ranked his top five running backs in the conference. A single Florida Gators RB among the names? Of course not. Never mind the fact that Jeff Demps has 28 rushing attempts for 304 yards and four touchdowns this season. That is only a paltry 10.9 yards per carry average. My point? If you are basing your rankings on “what they’ve done this season,” Demps is easily in the fold. Maybe in a typical power running back sense Demps would not make the cut, but I did not set the parameters, Low did.

Tags: Jeff Demps, John Brantley

1 » Tim Tebow, star quarterback of the No. 1 Florida Gators, is scheduled to be held out of practice for the second consecutive day this week, a source close to the team told OGGOA. Reports state Tebow attended practice yesterday as a spectator and continues to be asymptomatic following a concussion suffered during Florida’s 41-7 win over the Kentucky Wildcats on Sept. 26. Should Tebow continue to show progress throughout the day, I predict we will see him on return to practice in an active role on Wednesday.

With that being said, Ben Volin of the Palm Beach Post made an interesting report today. Apparently, UF officials believe even if Tebow is medically cleared to play Saturday, he will sit and back-up John Brantley will start in his place.

2 » Running backs coach Kenny Carter made some interesting comments regarding Tebow’s playing status for Saturday night’s game against No. 4 LSU Tigers. “It’s rather presumptive to think that Tim’s not playing,” Carter said. “He may be playing.” Joseph Goodman of the Miami Herald reiterated that Carter said the team was doing its best to get him ready to go for the game. “When you have a concussion, they have to do tests and make sure you’re ready to go,” Carter said. “I’m very confident. He’s Tim Tebow. All I know is he’s Tim Tebow, and my money is on him.”

3 » While no players were officially classified as H1N1 swine flu cases, the bug that ran rampant through the Gators locker room over the last few weeks seems to have dissipated for the time being. According to Jeremy Fowler of the Orlando Sentinel, the only remaining Florida player with a bug is freshman offensive lineman Nick Alajajian. The team has no plans to take separate planes to Baton Rouge, LA, later this week, and the Gators trainers are eagerly awaiting the government-issued H1N1 vaccine when it is released in the next month or two.

4 » Head coach Urban Meyer continues shows respect and support for Florida State Seminoles head coach Bobby Bowden, who is seemingly walking the plank with his own boosters and trustees. “I have great respect for coach Bowden, and we’ve become pretty good friends,” Meyer said Monday. “It’s the nature of the beast. It’s not the positive part of this coaching profession. There are so many positives, and that’s the back end of the negative. I just have a lot of respect for him.” Since Meyer took the Florida job, the Gators are 4-0 against Bowden and the Seminoles, beating them by a combined score of 90-27 in the last two games.

Tags: John Brantley, Kenny Carter, Nick Alajajian, Tim Tebow, Urban Meyer

LSU Tigers fans are famous (make that “infamous”) for acquiring the cell phone numbers of opponents’ players and leaving messages on said players’ voicemails. Florida Gators quarterback Tim Tebow knows this well; he was the victim of numerous prank calls the week before UF visited Tiger Stadium in 2007. In fact, you may very well have seen him dial on his hand and put it up to his ear after he scored a rushing touchdown during that game.

In what should come as a surprise to no one, LSU’s fans are at it again, prank calling head coach Urban Meyer, offensive coordinator Steve Addazio, wide receiver Riley Cooper, QB John Brantley and others.

While I see this as good-hearted fun, it is a bit disturbing how easily these fans (or one fan in particular) seem to be acquiring these numbers. More importantly, I am quite sure that the messages left on these players’ phones are “Go Tigers.” Instead, they are most likely vulgar and profanity filled.

So I ask you, the OGGOA reader, to be unbiased and comment below. Is this phone call prank fair or foul?

Tags: John Brantley, Riley Cooper, Steve Addazio, Tim Tebow, Urban Meyer

1 » In the first OGGOA poll, we asked you point blank: “Will Florida Gators QB Tim Tebow play vs. LSU?” While a total 79% of you (194 votes) believe Tebow will play Saturday, the 46% majority (81 votes) think he will do so while splitting time with sophomore back-up John Brantley. Only 21% (53 votes) are of the impression Tebow will be inactive against the Tigers. The next Tebow health update should be available around noon Monday, when head coach Urban Meyer holds his press conference.

2 » No. 1 Florida Gators have opened up as a nine-point favorite in Las Vegas, NV, over No. 4 LSU Tigers. Most betting services do not have a playable line as of Monday morning. As the week goes on, expect the line to shift depending on Tebow’s health. Should you be inclined to bet on the Tigers (why would you?), this is probably the best line you will get all week as (in my opinion) the odds makers are projecting that Tebow will play. Should Brantley be announced as the starter, I would expect the line to drop to around -7.5 for the Gators.

3 » ESPN’s Monday Night Football is set to kick off tonight from the Metrodome in Minneapolis, MN, as the Minnesota Vikings host the visiting Green Bay Packers. While the storyline of this game for most fans is Vikings quarterback Brett Favre going against his old team, for Florida Gators fans, Vikings wide receiver Percy Harvin is the one going after some sort of history.

Lenny Moore of the Baltimore Colts (1963-65) and LaDanian Tomlinson of the San Diego Chargers (2004-05) currently hold the NFL record of consecutive games with a touchdown at 18. Larry Fitzgerald, formerly of the Pittsburgh Panthers (2002-03), holds the NCAA record of consecutive games with a touchdown catch at 18. While Harvin is not going after these specific records, he has also scored a touchdown in 18 consecutive games, dating back to Nov. 3, 2007. Scoring a touchdown in the NFL is certainly tougher than college football, but Harvin scoring one tonight would be impressive nonetheless.

4 » Fans in the state of Alabama are ecstatic over the start their Auburn Tigers have gotten off to this season (5-0). After a solid outing against the Tennessee Volunteers this weekend, some including The Huntsville Times are trying to draw comparisons between these Tigers and the Florida Gators…at least statistically.

Tags: Brett Favre, John Brantley, LaDanian Tomlinson, Larry Fitzgerald, NFL, Percy Harvin, poll, Tim Tebow

1 » Just moments after a come-from-behind 20-13 victory over the Georgia Bulldogs, the LSU Tigers already had the No. 1 Florida Gators on their mind. “We’ll feel great for another hour or so and then we’ll start thinking about Florida,” running back Charles Scott said. (Scott won the game for LSU on a 33-yard touchdown run with 46 seconds left on the clock.) “We’re right where we wanted to be, undefeated and going back to our house,” cornerback Patrick Peterson said. “Florida’s coming to town, and nobody is going to want to miss this game.” Stomping the Tigers 51-21 last year in Gainesville, the Gators are squarely in the LSU players’ sights. “Florida put it on us last year, and we’re holding a grudge,” quarterback Jordan Jefferson said. “They were disrespecting us, doing stuff like punting the ball in the stands. We’ve been looking forward to this.” For what its worth, LSU players fully expect quarterback Tim Tebow to play next Saturday.

2 » Heaps of praise has been thrown the way of Gators back-up quarterback John Brantley since he had to take over for Tebow last Saturday in Lexington against the Kentucky Wildcats. While he may not have expected to play this season, the old mantra that a back-up is just “one play away” from entering the game rang true this season. Despite his lack of experience, Brantley’s teammates have shown confidence the young quarterback can keep Florida on the right track. “I trust him for the future now,” guard Mike Pouncey said. “I told him, ‘You do this all the time. You’re a Florida quarterback. You don’t got nothing to worry about.””

3 » Gainesville Sun staff writer Robbie Andreu looks at five keys to a Florida Gators run at the SEC Championship. Among them: protecting Tebow, getting and staying healthy, re-discovering the passing game, putting pressure on opposing quarterbacks and keeping the mental and physical edge in each game. After a lackluster (and under-the-weather) showing against the Tennessee Volunteers, Andreu believes the Gators got the edge back against Kentucky. Now the question is: Can they sustain it the rest of the way?

4 » Undefeated and maintaining their No. 1 ranking in the country, the Florida Gators‘ bye week could not have come at a more perfect time. While the team waits to find out if quarterback Tim Tebow will be able to play next Saturday in Baton Rouge against the LSU Tigers, David Jones of Florida Today believes it is not just the Bayou Bengals that UF needs to worry about. Instead, it is the entire SEC West. In fact, over the last decade, Florida has lost to at least one SEC West team every single season.

Tags: John Brantley, Tim Tebow