Reports from Rivals Tuesday night had four-star athlete recruit Christian Green (Tampa, FL) dropping the Florida Gators from his final three and narrowing his focus to two teams – the Florida State Seminoles and Georgia Bulldogs.

The St. Petersburg Times spoke with his father, Hiram Green, who confirmed his son’s latest decision. “It’s between those two,” he said. Lifelong Seminoles fans, Green and his family always considered Florida State as his top option, but a push from Georgia head coach Mark Richt could sway him North.

Green’s older brother Brandon committed to the Florida A&M Rattlers on Sunday. Florida A&M is also located in Tallahassee, FL, and Green will take an official visit to FSU this weekend. He checked out Florida two weeks ago.

“They’re an excellent program,” Hiram Green said of the Gators. “They’ve got an excellent coaching staff and [head coach] Urban Meyer is a first-class person. It was tough for [Christian].”

Photo Credit: BallHype.com

Tags: Brandon Green, Christian Green, Florida A&M Rattlers, Florida State Seminoles, Georgia Bulldogs, Hiram Green, Mark Richt

1 » Battling back from what was a potential career-ending back injury in 2007 and a torn knee ligament in 2008, Florida Gators redshirt junior defensive tackle Brandon Antwine is facing a long recovery once again. Antwine re-injured his shoulder against the Mississippi State Bulldogs two weeks ago and is considering season-ending surgery. “Your heart bleeds for him because he’s all Gator, he’s 100 percent in and he’s a really good player,” coach Urban Meyer said. “He’s fighting like a maniac.”

2 » Drawing the attention of Meyer this week is Vanderbilt Commodores kick returner Warren Norman. Norman, who as a freshman became only the second player in Southeastern Conference history to record three touchdowns on kickoffs in a season, can break the SEC all-time single-season kickoff return yardage record with just 51 more. “I’ve never seen a freshman return three kickoffs for touchdowns and it’s not against one of those smaller schools. It’s against SEC opponents,” Meyer said. Meyer wants to prevent that from happening, though considering the Gators are giving up 19.5 yards per kick return, he should be able to pass it in two or three attempts.

3 » In the opening round of the 2009 SEC Championship Tournament in Orange Beach, AL, the No. 8 Florida soccer team (15-4-2, 8-1-2 SEC) defeated the Tennessee Volunteers (8-9-3, 4-5-2 SEC) 1-0 in two overtimes. The one-seed in the tournament, the Gators will move on to face the the No. 15 South Carolina Gamecocks (16-3-1, 7-3-1 SEC) on Friday, Nov. 6 at 8:30 p.m.

Three more BITS on Kiffin, Georgia and Harvin after the jump…
Continue Reading » SIX BITS: Antwine’s injury, Vandy KR, soccer wins, Kiffin runs mouth (again), Harvin develops

Tags: Brad Childress, Brandon Antwine, Brandon Spikes, Georgia Bulldogs, Lane Kiffin, Mark Richt, Minnesota Vikings, Mississippi State Bulldogs, NFL, Nick Williams, Percy Harvin, SEC, soccer, South Carolina Gamecocks, Tennessee Volunteers, Tim Tebow, Urban Meyer, Vanderbilt Commodores, Warren Norman

Each week following a Florida Gators game, ONLY GATORS Get Out Alive will grade the team position-by-position based on each unit’s performance. This week, we look at how the Gators fared against the Georgia Bulldogs in Jacksonville, FL, at the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party.

QUARTERBACK: A+
After two consecutive weeks of below-average play, Tim Tebow came back big against Georgia in his hometown of Jacksonville. Four total touchdowns including two on the ground as well as 85 rushing yards helped Tebow secure two all-time SEC records (rushing touchdowns, rushing yards by QB). 15-of-21 passing was respectable, though Florida seemed to shy away from putting the ball in the air in the second half. All-in-all, this was one of Tebow’s career-best days and the leader of the Gators offense deserves kudos for a great performance.

RUNNING BACKS: B
It is tough to expect this unit to make an impact when the three main players combined for 16 total attempts. Jeff Demps averaged 6.2 yards per carry while Emmanuel Moody had 3.7 and Chris Rainey had 3.0. Four-star freshman Mike Gillislee got some playing time late in the game and exploded on a 49-yard run but was injured on the play. For avoiding mistakes and contributing when given the opportunity, these guys played just fine.

Continue Reading » Grading the Florida vs. Georgia game

Tags: A.J. Green, A.J. Jones, Aaron Hernandez, Ahmad Black, Aron White, Brandon James, Brandon Spikes, Caleb Sturgis, Carlos Dunlap, Charlie Strong, Chas Henry, Chris Rainey, Dan Mullen, David Nelson, Deonte Thompson, Emmanuel Moody, Georgia Bulldogs, grading, Janoris Jenkins, Jaye Howard, Jeff Demps, Jermaine Cunningham, Joe Haden, Lawrence Marsh, Major Wright, Mark Richt, Michael Moore, Mike Gillislee, Riley Cooper, Ryan Stamper, The Swamp, Tim Tebow, Urban Meyer, Will Hill, World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party

Location: Jacksonville Municipal Stadium – Jacksonville, FL [Capacity: 84,000]
Time: 3:30 p.m. (EST)
Weather Forecast: 83°F – Partly Sunny

TV: CBS
Online: Live for FREE at CBS Sports.
Sirius: 217; XM: 200

Odds: Florida -14.5, O/U 48
Head-to-Head Stats: Gainesville Sun

KEEP AN EYE ON…
- Florida Gators quarterback Tim Tebow…who is currently tied with former Georgia Bulldogs running back Herschel Walker in all-time Southeastern Conference rushing touchdowns with 49. He needs one more to break Walker’s record.
- Georgia wide receiver A.J. Green vs. Florida cornerback Joe Haden…whose battle could be the highlight of the game. Haden will try his best to match-up with the Bulldogs’ greatest weapon who has already caught 41 balls for 682 yards and six touchdowns on the season including individual performances of 137 and 152 yards. Green has scored touchdowns in five of Georgia’s seven games.
- Florida’s kicker…as Caleb Sturgis has missed two 37-yard field goals and an extra point combined over the last two weeks. Jonathan Phillips could step in for Sturgis and take his job back.
- The I-formation…which the Gators worked on all summer and found success with last week against the Mississippi State Bulldogs. Florida may use it more extensively this week, especially in the red zone where the team needs to be more efficient.

STREAKS:
- The Gators are in the middle of the longest winning streak in school history with 17 consecutive victories. They also hold the longest active winning streak in the NCAA and the longest of any SEC team since the Auburn Tigers won 20 straight from 1993-94.
- The Bulldogs are 6-1 when playing the defending national champion, including victories over Florida in 1997 and 2007.
- Meyer is 13-1 in rivalry games against Georgia, Tennessee Volunteers, Florida State Seminoles and Miami Hurricanes. His sole loss came against Georgia in 2007.
- Georgia leads both the all-time series against Florida (46-38-2) and all games played in Jacksonville (40-35-1).
- Florida leads the SEC in total offense (457), rushing offense (258.3), scoring offense (36.3) and third-down efficiency (.460). The Gators have converted 48.6% of their offensive drives into points including 34.7% into touchdowns and have 33 runs of 10-plus yards on first down, including 13 for 20 yards or more – all tops in the SEC.
- On defense, the Gators have only surrendered six touchdowns all season (fewest of any team in the nation) and average 10.1 points per game (No. 2 in the nation). Florida has held its past three opponents to a combined 16% on third down conversions and have forced opponents into a three-and-out on 57.3% of their drives – best in the SEC.

Read OGGOA’s complete Florida vs. Georgia preview after the jump…

Continue Reading » Week 9: No. 1 Florida Gators vs. Georgia Bulldogs

Tags: A.J. Green, Brandon Antwine, Brandon Spikes, Caleb Sturgis, Georgia Bulldogs, Herschel Walker, Jacksonville Municipal Stadium, Jaye Howard, Jeff Demps, Joe Haden, Jonathan Phillips, Justin Trattou, Lawrence Marsh, Mark Richt, Moses Jenkins, OKefenokee Oar, SEC, Tim Tebow, Urban Meyer, Wondy Pierre-Louis

1 » A Jacksonville, FL, native, Florida Gators linebacker Ryan Stamper is being inundated with ticket requests for Saturday afternoon’s game against the Georgia Bulldogs. Stamper has already acquired 20 tickets for the game, including four from wide receiver David Nelson who lent a helping hand. “They said I had the Florida-Georgia game ticket record last year, but I’m about to break that this year,” Stamper said. Some other Gators who may need tickets for the game include defensive end Jermaine Cunningham, punter Chas Henry, guard Maurice Hurt, defensive tackles Lawrence Marsh & Omar Hunter and three others – all of whom are Georgians.

2 » Two legitimate concerns the Bulldogs have going into Saturday’s game are the tackling ability of their linebackers and inability to stop premier tight ends. A weakness throughout the offseason, tackling was worked on extensively during camp and at practice on the order of head coach Mark Richt. Seven games into the season, it is still something Georgia is struggling with and could pose a major problem when they face the speed of Florida. “It’s been something that’s been inconsistent,” linebacker Rennie Curran said. “We’ll have good games where we’re tackling well; then there’s times we miss tackles in the open field, which leads to those extra yards that kill us.” Expect the Gators to use tight end Aaron Hernandez both on straight pass plays and toss plays in order to capitalize on his size and strength.

Tags: Aaron Hernandez, David Nelson, Georgia Bulldogs, Mark Richt, Rennie Curran, Ryan Stamper

1 » Updating a previous report on the injury sustained by defensive tackle Brandon Antwine (shoulder), it looks as if he could be sidelined for the season, according to Ben Volin of the Palm Beach Post. Antwine is deciding whether or not to undergo surgery on his shoulder, which would be the second time in his career an injury would sideline him for the season (torn ACL, 2008). The Florida Gators have struggled to keep the interior of their defensive line healthy this season, relying on back-ups and third-stringers to fill in for most of the games. However, starters Lawrence Marsh (ankle) and Jaye Howard (knee) are both expected to return Saturday against the Georgia Bulldogs.

2 » Fans and media have been frustrated with the production from wide receiver Deonte Thompson this season, but it is actually Thompson who is frustrated with the lack of opportunities he has had to produce for the Gators. Several times on Saturday, Thompson was wide open and visibly seen trying to get quarterback Tim Tebow’s attention. When Tebow did not look his way, Thompson “was seen making hand gestures […] as if to say, ‘forget it.’” Head coach Urban Meyer plans to speak with him about his frustrations. “I’ll have a little chat with Deonte about that,” Meyer said. “Because we don’t need that. We need to go as hard as we can, and that’s what we do right now. I don’t mind guys that play very hard, and I think they share their frustration that competitors have. He plays very hard, he blocks well, he runs good routes. That’s fine. But if you ask (about it) again next week, there’s a chance Deonte won’t be playing.”

Two more interesting BITS after the jump…
Continue Reading » FOUR BITS: Antwine done. Marsh, Howard back. Deonte frustrated. Three Hadens? UGA game.

Tags: Boston College Eagles, Brandon Antwine, Deonte Thompson, Georgia Bulldogs, Jaye Howard, Joe Haden, Jordan Haden, Josh Haden, Lawrence Marsh, Mark Richt, Tim Tebow, Urban Meyer

1 » After his performances the last two weeks, Florida Gators senior quarterback Tim Tebow has raised doubts in the media and among fans whether or not he deserves consideration for the Heisman Trophy. There seem to be three prevailing thoughts on this issue. One that wants to play a wait-and-see approach, another that looks at the big picture and realizes the Heisman is about more than just a statistics, and a third that thinks he should not even be in contention for the award. Be sure to read the first article in full if you are a doubter.

2 » On that note, some Florida fans have actually expressed their desire to see what this team would be like with John Brantley at the helm instead of Tebow. Two ESPN columnists apparently received numerous e-mails and comments displaying this exact sentiment. I suppose I can see where fans would have this curiosity. But at the same time, it is a pretty ridiculous ideology to have at this point in time.

Two more BITS and a little extra after the jump…
Continue Reading » FOUR BITS: Tebow for Heisman? Brantley better? Bye good for Georgia? Kiffin/Mullen reprimanded.

Tags: Dan Mullen, Georgia Bulldogs, Heisman Trophy, John Brantley, Lane Kiffin, Mark Richt, Mike Slive, Mississippi State Bulldogs, SEC, Tennessee Volunteers, Terron Sanders, Tim Tebow

1 » OGGOA has been reporting all week on the match-up of Florida Gators head coach Urban Meyer and new Mississippi State Bulldogs head coach Dan Mullen, Meyer’s former offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach. Florida Today points out that most are overlooking another familiar face, Bulldogs assist. coach/running game coordinator and former Gators tight ends/asst. offensive line coach John Hevesy. “I was real close to Hevesy,” Gators tight end Aaron Hernandez said. “We basically consider each other as family. It will be a little weird, but we won’t be thinking about it when we’re playing.”

2 » While Florida concentrates on Mississippi State this week, another set of Bulldogs are already setting their sights on the nation’s No. 1 team. On a Bye, the Georgia Bulldogs‘ next opponent is the Gators at the World Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party in Jacksonville, FL. Talking about the game, quarterback Joe Cox said his team has not planned any excessive celebrations like two years ago. “No,” Cox said smiling, “I don’t think we want to kick off from the 7.” On potentially beating Florida, Cox said Georgia needs to show “passion.” He continued, “We need to get a couple of big plays as a spark and then keep it going.” On stopping the Florida offense, defensive tackle Jeff Owens said the Bulldogs must hit Gators quarterback Tim Tebow low. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution says Owens was more colorful but decided not print his quotes as head coach Mark Richt “was nervous about them providing bulletin board material.”

Tags: Aaron Hernandez, Dan Mullen, Georgia Bulldogs, Joe Cox, John Hevesy, Mark Richt, Mississippi State Bulldogs, Tim Tebow