1 » Former Florida Gators cornerback Joe Haden has been announced as one of 12 players selected to be featured on ESPN‘s three-time Emmy Award-winning program Sport Science. All 12 special segments will air throughout the network’s coverage of the 2010 NFL Draft from April 22-24. Other big names who will be featured include Nebraska defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh and South Florida defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul.

2 » Palm Beach Autographs will host another University of Florida-themed signing session this weekend in Jacksonville, FL. Featured at the event will be Haden; center Maurkice Pouncey; wide receivers Riley Cooper, David Nelson and Brandon James; linebackers Brandon Spikes, Dustin Doe and Ryan Stamper; and cornerback Wondy Pierre-Louis. Autograph prices range from $10-$50, or you can buy a combo package for $145. For more information, check out their Web site.

Two more BITS on the Jacksonville Jaguars’ interest in Tim Tebow, a new NCAA eye black rule and an honor for A.J. Jones…after the break!
Continue Reading » FOUR BITS: Haden, Tebow, eye black rule, Jones

Tags: A.J. Jones, Brandon James, Brandon Spikes, David Nelson, Draft, Dustin Doe, ESPN, Gene Smith, Jacksonville Jaguars, Joe Haden, John Brantley, Lott Trophy, Maurkice Pouncey, NCAA, NFL, Riley Cooper, Ryan Stamper, Sport Science, Tim Tebow, University of Florida, Wondy Pierre-Louis

1 » Florida Gators senior middle linebacker Brandon Spikes has been left off of the final ballots for the Bronko Nagurski Award (nation’s best defensive player) and Lott Trophy (defensive IMPACT player of the year). Limited playing time is surely the reason Spikes’ was left off the former, while his eye gouging incident is certainly why he was left off the latter. IMPACT is an acronym used by the Lott Trophy community for integrity, maturity, performance, academics, committee and tenacity.

2 » One of OGGOA‘s twitter followers forwarded us a rumor that the Notre Dame Fighting Irish flew into Gainesville, FL, Thursday and offered Florida head coach Urban Meyer a $50 million guaranteed contract. Our immediate responses? (1) Hogwash. (2) That’s not enough. Meyer recently agreed to a six-year, $24 million contract with UF. An additional $1 million is not going to pull him away from a program that has finally been built and filled with “his” players (along with the multitude of other reasons why he would stay). What could potentially grab Meyer would be the allure and history of Notre Dame, not that I believe it will. Let’s not forget, Meyer chose the Gators over the Irish once already – he had the option. Yuck, I just gave the rumor credence.

3 » Steve Eubanks of FOXSports.com questions why the Gators and Alabama Crimson Tide are playing “cupcakes” this week. “I think this is a good football game. I think [FIU] is a team that is going to be in a bowl game within a couple of years, a lot like FAU a few years ago,” Meyer said.

4 » Gregg Doyel, a UF alum who writes for CBSSports.com, believes fans should not be blaming Tennessee Volunteers head coach Lane Kiffin for his player’s legal issues. “How was he supposed to know that those guys would — allegedly — behave so criminally?” And Meyer was supposed to know that the players he recruited were going to — allegedly — behave criminally? Seems like a pretty ridiculous hypocritical stance to take on Doyell’s part, especially considering he trounced Meyer this summer for the Gators’ prior arrests (even though many weren’t recruited by Meyer).

Tags: Alabama Crimson Tide, Brandon Spikes, Bronko Nagurski Award, Florida International Golden Panthers, Lane Kiffin, Lott Trophy, Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Tennessee Volunteers, Urban Meyer

1 » Florida Gators senior middle linebacker Brandon Spikes was announced as a quarterfinalist for the Lott Trophy honoring the nation’s Defensive IMPACT Player of the Year. The Lott Trophy is the first college football award to equally recognize athletic performance and the personal character attributes of the player. Attributes associated with this award include (I)ntegrity, (M)aturity, (P)erformance, (A)cademics, (C)ommunity and (T)enacity. Spikes has a legitimate shot to win this honor, his second nomination after being named a Butkus Award semifinalist last week.

2 » Mississippi State Bulldogs beat writer Kyle Veazey, of The Clarion Ledger, will speak with OGGOA later in the week. Today, he posted a story going in-depth on the relationship between Bulldogs head coach Dan Mullen and Gators senior quarterback Tim Tebow. In fact, while at Florida, Mullen had an open door policy at his home with Tebow; the quarterback was over his house often playing games and eating dinner. On Sunday, Mullen called Tebow “the greatest player in the history of the game.” He continued, “I think Tim Tebow is someone who lives his life trying to improve the lives of people around him. That’s what makes him special.”

Tags: Brandon Spikes, Butkus Award, Dan Mullen, Lott Trophy, Mississippi State Bulldogs, Tim Tebow