Five-star defensive end Ronald Powell on ESPNU’s College Football Recruiting Insider:

Head coach Urban Meyer on ESPNU’s College Football Recruiting Insider:

On ranking his class: “I don’t rate it as a class yet, I think that’s down the road – three or four years. But there’s certain elements of this class: size and the defensive line. It’s one of the best I’ve ever seen with Ron Powell, Lynden Trail, Leon Orr, Dominique Easley and Sharrif Floyd. Not just great players, but great people. A good work ethic, good leadership qualities. There are certain areas that I like better than others, but I think our defensive front [is one of them]. That’s where college football is played and that’s where you start on defense.”

On who excites him the most: “We got a tailback named Mack Brown – probably the highest-rated tailback we’ve signed here at Florida, in our tenure here. It’s a guy that we needed, a guy that we had to have. He made a commitment. Nowadays, when you make a commitment, at least you know you’re in the top four. He made a commitment to Florida – didn’t take another trip. Really classy family. Hardworker. Has battled some injuries too, but we’re counting on him to be a big-time playmaker sooner than later for us.”

ESPN had 11 more questions for Meyer. Read them all after the jump!
Continue Reading » ESPN’s coverage of Gators’ 2010 recruiting class

Tags: Dominique Easley, Joshua Shaw, Leon Orr, Lynden Trail, Mack Brown, Mark Sanchez, Matt Elam, National Signing Day, NFL, Ronald Powell, Sharrif Floyd, Tim Tebow, Trey Burton, Urban Meyer

Courtesy of the University of Florida’s University Athletic Association:

» The University of Florida football team had 11 student-athletes enroll in January 2010, the highest number in school history.
» The 2010 signing class includes nine players from the South Florida area (Dade, Palm Beach and Broward Counties). In the previous five signing classes combined (2005-09), UF totaled 11 signees from the same area.
» The Gators continued to be a factor on the national stage, signing 12 players from out of state in 2010. Players in the 2010 class are from Alabama, California (3), Connecticut, Georgia (3), Maryland (2), New York and Pennsylvania.
» For the fourth straight year, UF signed a player from the state of California and for the third straight year the Gators signed a player from Alabama. It marked the second-straight year a player from Maryland and Connecticut signed with Florida.
» Of the 12 high school players rated as five-star recruits by ESPN, Florida has signed four. The Gators signed 11 of the top 50 players according to ESPN. Overall, the Gators signed 17 players from the ESPNU 150 list of players.

Check out notes on individual players in the class after the jump…
Continue Reading » Florida Gators 2010 National Signing Day notes

Tags: All-American, All-American Game, Dominique Easley, Gatorade Football Player of the Year, Gerald Christian, Joshua Shaw, Matt Elam, Michael Taylor, Mr. Football, National High School Player of the Year, PARADE, Robert Clark, Ronald Powell, Sharrif Floyd, U.S. Army, Under Armour

1 » Former Florida Gators forward/center Al Horford of the Atlanta Hawks has been named as a participant in the 2010 NBA All-Star Game. Though OGGOA is quite pleased with Horford’s accomplishment, we would be remiss if we did not speak out for fellow former Gators F/C David Lee. Lee, who has played with the New York Knicks his entire career, was snubbed by voters after averaging an impressive 19.4 points per game and 11.4 rebounds per game thus far. To his credit, Horford is averaging 13.6 points per game and 9.8 rebounds per game.

2 » The following commits to Florida’s 2010 recruiting class have been named PARADE All-Americans: five-star defensive end Ronald Powell, five-star defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd, five-star safety Matt Elam and four-star cornerback Joshua Shaw.

3 » One aside from the 2010 Under Armour Senior Bowl is that players from the Gators and the Alabama Crimson Tide are playing together on the South team – and they’re having a good time doing it. “We’re getting along really well,” former Florida quarterback Tim Tebow said. “They’re good guys. We’ve had fun, trash-talking back and forth and giving each other a hard time. It’s been a lot of fun. When we break down (after a play), they say, ‘Go Alabama.’ They’ve been trying to get me to say that, but I haven’t yet. It’s been fun.”

Three more BITS including a Florida Gators bobsledder after the jump!
Continue Reading » SIX BITS: All-Star, PARADE, Donovan, bobsled

Tags: Al Horford, Alabama Crimson Tide, All-American, All-Star, Atlanta Hawks, Billy Donovan, bobsled, Catholic University, Central Florida Knights, David Lee, Joshua Shaw, Linder Stadium, Matt Elam, NBA, New York Knicks, Olympics, PARADE, Ring Tennis Complex, Ronald Powell, Senior Bowl, Sharrif Floyd, Steve Mesler, tennis, Tim Tebow, track, Under Armour, William Donovan

1 » If you were watching the basketball game Tuesday night between the Florida Gators and No. 2 Kentucky Wildcats, you may have seen this clip of head coach Urban Meyer and his wife Shelley smirking while checking their respective phones:

2 » The Tennessean points out that former Tennessee Volunteers head coach Lane Kiffin “decided it was included in his job description […] to annoy Urban Meyer.” Unfortunately, as the article puts it, “a good feud was just ruined.” Similarly, the Orlando Sentinel recounts Kiffin’s top 10 most memorable moments as coach of the Volunteers.

3 » The brand new 2010 ESPNU 150 and 2010 Rivals100 both list Gators five-star defensive end commitment Ronald Powell (Moreno Valley, CA) as their respective No. 1 prospect in the country. Other top Florida recruits ranking high on both lists include five-star DE Dominique Easley (3/7) five-star safety Matt Elam (9/25), five-star defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd (25/4), four-star cornerback Joshua Shaw (28/28), four-star tight end Gerald Christian (35/81), four-star wide receiver Chris Dunkley (37/77), four-star offensive tackle Ian Silberman (41/71), four-star CB Jaylen Watkins (50/47) and four-star DT Leon Orr (81/95). Others who made the ESPNU list but not Rivals’ include: S Jonathan Dowling (10/NR), S Demar Dorsey (12/NR), RB Mack Brown (34/NR), CB Cody Riggs (79/NR), WR Solomon Patton (106/NR). ESPNU ranks four Gators in its top 10.

4 » “If Florida is to be an NCAA tournament team again — if it’s to snap a two-year hiatus after consecutive NCAA titles — the Gators must start a roll Saturday against LSU,” writes ESPN senior college basketball writer Andy Katz. Read his entire blog entry on the Gators and their hopes to earn a spot in March Madness this season.

Tags: Chris Dunkley, Cody Riggs, Demar Dorsey, Dominique Easley, Gerald Christian, Ian Silberman, Jaylen Watkins, Jonathan Dowling, Joshua Shaw, Kentucky Wildcats, Lane Kiffin, Leon Orr, Mack Brown, Matt Elam, Ronald Powell, Sharrif Floyd, Shelley Meyer, Solomon Patton, Tennessee Volunteers, Urban Meyer

The Florida Gators may have lost their prize commitment of the 2010 cycle in five-star safety Matt Elam (West Palm Beach, FL), but the Orange and Blue gained declarations from two of the top players in the country on Saturday during the 2010 Under Armour All-American Game. Four-star wide receiver Chris Dunkley (Pahokee, FL) and four-star defensive end Dominique Easley (Staten Island, NY) both put on Gators hats to the delight of Gator Nation.

Though Dunkley had long been considered a Florida lean and possible silent commitment, he had been toying with the idea of committing to the Alabama Crimson Tide and was slightly taken aback by the announcements from Gators head coach Urban Meyer this week. Instead, he said that he was a mama’s boy, wanted to stay in-state and loved the program. “I was real, real, real happy and revealed to make my decision to play for the University of Florida,” Dunkley said after the game. “There was a moment [I wavered],” Dunkley said. “I know [Meyer]’s working to take care of himself. I’ve got to do what’s right for me.”

“I’ve built a relationship with almost everybody on the team,” Dunkley told ESPN. So it’s like me going, basically, back to a home away from home. All the teammates are like my brothers, so everything feels comfortable there. I have been waiting to get this off of my chest for a long time. I fit in perfect. [Freshman WR Andre] Debose and I both do. I have gotten to know him well and we talk all the time. I talk to John Brantley all the time, too. Like I said, it’s like I’ve been on the team for a while. I am going in to compete. All the coaches at Florida know that. All of the players know that.”

“I knew that no matter what, whether it’s Coach Addazio or Coach Meyer, they’re good coaches and they coach the same way,” Easley told Chris Hays of the Orlando Sentinel. “I’ve known I wanted to be a Gator for a while now.” Easley also spoke with Rivals. “I always wanted to be a Gator,” Easley said. “I always wanted to be a Gator in this recruiting class but something happened but me and the coaches talked through it and I am back where I want to be, where I should be. We are going to do some great things.”

Also participating in the Under Armour game on Saturday were the following Gators four-star commitments: running back Mack Brown (Lithonia, GA), four-star safety Demar Dorsey (Lauderdale Lakes, FL), four-star athlete Jonathan Dowling (Bradenton, FL), four-star defensive tackle Leon Orr (New Port Richey, FL), four-star WR Solomon Patton (Mobile, AL), four-star cornerback Cody Riggs (Fort Lauderdale, FL), four-star cornerback Joshua Shaw (Palmdale, CA) and four-star offensive tackle Ian Silberman (Fleming Island, FL). Dowling nabbed two interceptions in the game, Dorsey grabbed one of his own and Patton scored a receiving touchdown.

Though he has been committed to Florida for a while, Dorsey said earlier in the week that he was only 65 percent going to play for the Gators. That has since changed. “I’m a Gator. I’m a Gator,” Dorsey told Hays. As to the part he played in convincing Dunkley and Easley to join him in Gainesville, Dorsey knew it was a done deal. “Awe we knew [Dunkley] was coming,” he said. “We knew he was going to be a Gator but we were on him hard. And Dominique and me, we became like brothers, we’d be in each other’s rooms and hanging out a lot.”

Five-star DE Ronald Powell (Moreno Valley, CA), who did not participate in the Under Armour game, was planning to commit to the Gators earlier this week on ESPN but decided to postpone his announcement after Meyer’s flip-flop so he could reconsider his options. It is unknown if Easley’s commitment is an indication that Powell is now leaning toward the USC Trojans (his other choice) or if it is mutually exclusive.

Photo Credits: Sun-Sentinel, Davide De Pas

Tags: Chris Dunkley, Cody Riggs, Demar Dorsey, Dominique Easley, Friday Night Lights, Ian Silberman, Jonathan Dowling, Joshua Shaw, Leon Orr, Mack Brown, Matt Elam, Penn State Nittany Lions, Ronald Powell, Solomon Patton, Steve Addazio, University of Florida, Urban Meyer