For the fourth-straight year, ONLY GATORS Get Out Alive continues our coverage of the 10 former Florida Gators participating in the 2013 NFL Scouting Combine (National Invitational Camp) at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, IN.

The event, which is held for six days from Feb. 20-26, consists of more than 300 players being put through a series of drills, tests and interviews while more than 600 NFL personnel in attendance (including coaching staffs, executives, player personnel and medical staffs) look on and evaluate each of them. It amounts to the final job interview these athletes will participate in before the 2013 NFL Draft commences on April 25.

Defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd (Group: 7 | Camp: DL11) and linebackers Jon Bostic (Group: 9 | Camp: LB04), Jelani Jenkins (Group: 9 | Camp: LB12) and Lerentee McCray (Group: 9 | Camp: LB20) concluded their four days at the combine on Monday by competing in the full workout (results below).

Safeties Matt Elam (Group: 10 | Camp: DB12) and Josh Evans (Group: 10 | Camp: DB13) completed their tests (results are not officially released) and participated in the bench press (results below). The duo works out and then departs on Tuesday.

2013 NFL Combine: Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday | Tuesday

Check out Monday’s results from the 2013 NFL Combine…after the break!
Continue Reading » Florida Gators at the 2013 NFL Combine: Monday

Tags: combine, Draft, Jelani Jenkins, Jon Bostic, Josh Evans, Lerentee McCray, Lucas Oil Stadium, Matt Elam, NFL, Sharrif Floyd

For the fourth-straight year, ONLY GATORS Get Out Alive continues our coverage of the 10 former Florida Gators participating in the 2013 NFL Scouting Combine (National Invitational Camp) at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, IN.

The event, which is held for six days from Feb. 20-26, consists of more than 300 players being put through a series of drills, tests and interviews while more than 600 NFL personnel in attendance (including coaching staffs, executives, player personnel and medical staffs) look on and evaluate each of them. It amounts to the final job interview these athletes will participate in before the 2013 NFL Draft commences on April 25.

Running back Mike Gillislee (Group: 6 | Camp: RB13) concluded his four days at the combine on Sunday by competing in the full workout (results below).

Defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd (Group: 7 | Camp: DL11) and linebackers Jon Bostic (Group: 9 | Camp: LB04), Jelani Jenkins (Group: 9 | Camp: LB12) and Lerentee McCray (Group: 9 | Camp: LB20) completed their tests (results are not officially released) and participated in the bench press (results below).

Though they arrived Saturday, action began for safeties Matt Elam (Group: 10 | Camp: DB12) and Josh Evans (Group: 10 | Camp: DB13) on Sunday when they were officially measured, completed their medical exams, met with the media and continued the interview process begun the previous day. Elam and Evans will be on the same schedule over the next two days. They continue the interview process on Monday when they also take the Wonderlic and other tests and perform on the bench press.

2013 NFL Combine: Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Monday | Tuesday

Check out Sunday’s results from the 2013 NFL Combine…after the break!
Continue Reading » Florida Gators at the 2013 NFL Combine: Sunday

Tags: combine, Jelani Jenkins, Jon Bostic, Josh Evans, Lerentee McCray, Lucas Oil Stadium, Matt Elam, Mike Gillislee, NFL, Sharrif Floyd

For the fourth-straight year, ONLY GATORS Get Out Alive continues our coverage of the 10 former Florida Gators participating in the 2013 NFL Scouting Combine (National Invitational Camp) at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, IN.

The event, which is held for six days from Feb. 20-26, consists of more than 300 players being put through a series of drills, tests and interviews while more than 600 NFL personnel in attendance (including coaching staffs, executives, player personnel and medical staffs) look on and evaluate each of them. It amounts to the final job interview these athletes will participate in before the 2013 NFL Draft commences on April 25.

Offensive tackle Xavier Nixon (Group: 1 | Camp: OL41), kicker Caleb Sturgis (Group: 1 | Camp: PK12) and tight end Jordan Reed (Group: 3 | Camp: TE15) concluded their four days at the combine on Saturday by competing in the full workout (results below).

Running back Mike Gillislee (Group: 6 | Camp: RB13) completed his tests (results are not officially released) and participated in the bench press (results below).

Though they arrived Friday, action began for defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd (Group: 7 | Camp: DL11) and linebackers Jon Bostic (Group: 9 | Camp: LB04), Jelani Jenkins (Group: 9 | Camp: LB12) and Lerentee McCray (Group: 9 | Camp: LB20) on Saturday when they were officially measured, completed their medical exams, met with the media and continued the interview process begun the previous day. From a scheduling standpoint, Floyd, Bostic, Jenkins and McCray will be on the same schedule over the weekend. They continue the interview process on Sunday when they also take the Wonderlic and other tests and perform on the bench press.

Safeties Matt Elam (Group 10 | Camp: DB12) and Josh Evans (Group 10 | Camp: DB13) arrived Saturday for orientation.

2013 NFL Combine: Thursday | Friday | Sunday | Monday | Tuesday

Check out Saturday’s results from the 2013 NFL Combine…after the break!
Continue Reading » Florida Gators at the 2013 NFL Combine: Saturday

Tags: Caleb Sturgis, combine, Jelani Jenkins, Jon Bostic, Jordan Reed, Josh Evans, Lerentee McCray, Matt Elam, Mike Gillislee, NFL, Sharrif Floyd, Xavier Nixon

Through the 2013 NFL Draft from April 25-27, Florida Gators safety and 2012 leading tackler Josh Evans will be keeping fans up-to-date on his Path to the Draft via a weekly blog entry exclusively here at OGGOA.

Evans’s third entry covers his training regimen over the last two weeks, how he continues to prepare for the 2013 NFL Combine (which begins for him on Saturday), a trip he and Matt Elam took to Gainesville, FL last weekend and how Florida’s defense has prepared him for the next chapter in his playing career.

These last two weeks in training there has been a lot of focus on our 10- and 20-yard splits, seeing how we’ve improved from the start of camp and making some final adjustments to our body positioning. I’ve seen a lot of progress as far as where I was at the first week to where I’m at now. I’m getting off the line a lot quicker with much better form and it is showing up in the final times.

It’s crazy to see how much I’ve improved in the defensive back drills, cone drills, the figure-eight drills and the pro shuttle. Learning the new techniques and being taught how to explode out and plant my foot has really made a difference. In the past, I was just using my speed and talent to do a drill. Proper technique is much more important and can help get time down because you are being more productive in your movements.

It’s totally different doing these drills now then during the course of an offseason program or football practice. Sometimes you end up practicing a bad habit in college because you do it so fast that you don’t pay attention to technique. Repping it day by day has definitely helped me a lot with muscle memory, getting the steps down pat, counting the steps and knowing once I explode out of the gate how to cut and plant.

Last week we had some time to recuperate and get out strength back. The trainers gave our legs and bodies a bit of a break but still made sure we were giving it our all with what they assigned us. Every Wednesday we do warm up stretches and then yoga. I had never tried yoga before doing this training.

Continue Reading » Josh Evans – Path to the 2013 NFL Draft: Two weeks of training and a return to Gainesville

Tags: combine, Draft, Josh Evans, Matt Elam, NFL, Travaris Robinson, Will Muschamp

OGGOA has learned that 10 former Florida Gators players have been officially invited to participate in the 2013 NFL Scouting Combine (National Invitational Camp) at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, IN.

The event, which is held for six days from Feb. 20-26, consists of more than 300 players being put through a series of drills, tests and interviews while more than 600 NFL personnel in attendance (including coaching staffs, executives, player personnel and medical staffs) look on and evaluate each of them. It amounts to the final job interview these athletes will participate in before the 2013 NFL Draft commences on April 25.

The 10 former Gators student-athletes invited to the combine include:

Linebacker Jon Bostic – Group: 9 | Camp: LB04
Safety Matt Elam – Group 10 | Camp: DB12
Safety Josh Evans – Group 10 | Camp: DB13
Defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd – Group: 7 | Camp: DL11
Running back Mike Gillislee – Group: 6 | Camp: RB13
Linebacker Jelani Jenkins – Group: 9 | Camp: LB12
Linebacker Lerentee McCray – Group: 9 | Camp: LB20
Offensive tackle Xavier Nixon – Group: 1 | Camp: OL41
Tight end Jordan Reed – Group: 3 | Camp: TE15
Kicker Caleb Sturgis – Group: 1 | Camp: PK12

Notable names left off the invite list include: wide receiver Frankie Hammond, Jr., WR/TE Omarius Hines, DT Omar Hunter and DT Earl Okine.

Read about each player’s day-to-day schedule in Indianapolis after the jump!
Continue Reading » 10 Florida Gators invited to 2013 NFL Combine

Tags: Caleb Sturgis, combine, Draft, Jelani Jenkins, Jon Bostic, Jordan Reed, Josh Evans, Lerentee McCray, Lucas Oil Stadium, Matt Elam, Mike Gillislee, NFL, Sharrif Floyd, Xavier Nixon

Through the 2013 NFL Draft from April 25-27, Florida Gators safety and 2012 leading tackler Josh Evans will be keeping fans up-to-date on his Path to the Draft via a weekly blog entry exclusively here at OGGOA.

Evans’s second entry is focused on his decision to cut his famous dreadlocks and what he has been doing in his training sessions over the last week as he continues to prepare for the 2013 NFL Combine. He also answered three fan questions.

A lot of fans have been asking me about why I decided to cut my dreadlocks, so I figured addressing that question would be a good way to start this entry. I had my dreads for about seven years, but it came down to a point where I felt like I did not want to be stereotyped as a typical guy from the urban part of New Jersey who had a label to him and a bad image. It was to prove a point that I was willing to take the next step as a player and not give anyone a reason to judge me based on my look.

It’s unfair for guys to be judged on how they look or how they wear their hair. Take a guy like me. I come from a rough place, but I’ve never done anything [negative] for anyone to look at me in a bad way. If you look at the next guy from where I’m from, another African-American with dreads, he might be looked at initially as a drug dealer or some type of bad guy that gets in trouble. A lot of people get the wrong idea about people who look a certain way, so I just wanted to show that I’m different even though it should not matter when I’m being evaluated.

Last time I checked in was right after the East-West Shrine Game. When I got back to my place in South Florida, I immediately began training for the combine once again. Last week, some more defensive backs came in and made things even more competitive. Tyrann Mathieu of LSU and Branden Smith of Georgia just came in and being able to compete with those guys and work on certain drills with them allows you to see how you stack up with the competition.

Continue Reading » Josh Evans – Path to the 2013 NFL Draft: Cutting dreadlocks and combine training continues

Tags: combine, Draft, Josh Evans, Matt Elam, NFL

Through the 2013 NFL Draft from April 25-27, Florida Gators safety and 2012 leading tackler Josh Evans will be keeping fans up-to-date on his Path to the Draft via a weekly blog entry exclusively here at OGGOA.

Evans’s first entry discusses what he has been doing since the end of the season including training in South Florida, preparing for the 2013 NFL Combine and competing in the 2013 East-West Shrine Game on Jan. 19. in St. Petersburg, FL

After the bowl game and everything, I actually went home to New Jersey for two days to spend time with my family before travelling to Boca Raton, FL to begin training with Tony Villani of XPE Sports. He’s a big name in this industry who trains the top defensive backs and some of the fastest guys at the combine.

There are a ton of other draft-eligible players working with me down here including Matt Elam, Rashard Hall (Clemson), Earl Wolff (N.C. State), Ray Ray Armstrong (Miami), Dee Milner (Alabama), Brandon McGee (Miami), Rod Sweeting (Georgia Tech) and plenty of other guys from great programs.

I’ve spent basically all of my time after the bowl game working down in Boca Raton, and I’ve already started learning a lot. Tony has been teaching me how to get more explosive on my starts, improve my leg work and get my core right. I’ve been seeing instant results as far as fixing my technique issues and learning how to push out better.

My first time running the 40-yard dash, the first week I arrived for the pre-test, I ran it in 4.49 seconds with the laser. That was my first time running it raw with no technique taught to me or anything. As far as the guys training down here, I actually ran the fastest time out of any of the safeties.

Tony has already helped me improve on that time but it is a work in progress. My goal is to get to 4.39 seconds, but he’s had guys improve even more than that down into the 4.2-second range. I’m trying to hit that number, and he’s showed statistics where his program has gotten players close to those numbers.

Continue Reading » Josh Evans – Path to the 2013 NFL Draft: Combine training and East-West Shrine Game

Tags: combine, Draft, East-West Shrine Game, Josh Evans, Matt Elam, NFL

1 » According to ESPN insider Adam Schefter, defensive coordinator Dan Quinn’s new contract with the Seattle Seahawks is for three years and $5.7 million, or approximately $1.9 million per season. Quinn was set to earn just over $500,000 with the Florida Gators in 2013 though he likely would have received a raise.

2 » It has long been known that quarterback Tim Tebow will not be with the New York Jets next season. Even with that being the case, everyone involved with the decision to bring him in continues to do whatever is in their power to distance themselves from him. According to ESPNNewYork.com, team owner Woody Johnson – who fawned over Tebow when the franchise first acquired him from Denver – is the latest to pull this maneuver. He reportedly told former Broncos general manager Ted Sundquist, who interviewed for the Jets vacancy, that the trade was “forced” on him and that he only “jumped on board” after the football personnel department convinced him it was a good idea. “They realized it was divisive and hard on the locker room, and they wanted an exit strategy,” he said.

CLICK TO EXPAND and read two more BITS in this post.

Tags: Caleb Sturgis, Dan Quinn, East-West Shrine Game, Jacksonville Jaguars, Jedd Fisch, Jon Bostic, Josh Evans, Lerentee McCray, Mike Gillislee, New York Jets, NFL, Seattle Seahawks, Senior Bowl, Tim Tebow, Xavier Nixon