1 » Hiring George Edwards as the Florida Gators defensive coordinator may or may not determine current assistant defensive coordinator and safeties coach Chuck Heater‘s future with the team. Will Heater share the role with Edwards, take on other responsibilities with the team, have his job remain the same or even leave for another opportunity? Right now, Gator Nation does not know. What is apparent is that Heater openly campaigned for the defensive coordinator position prior to the 2010 Sugar Bowl. “I’m interested in having a leadership role, whatever it might be,” Heater said in December. He reportedly turned down an offer to join Doc Holliday‘s Marshall Thundering Herd staff as defensive coordinator – does that become a more attractive option for the 33-year coaching veteran?

2 » Losing four assistant coaches (and one graduate assistant) after the 2009 SEC Championship, head coach Urban Meyer has replaced all of them post-haste. Even so, his cornerbacks coach position apparently remains vacant and additional coaching turnover in Heater and/or assistant head coach and defense/defensive line coach Dan McCarney (whose name has popped up as a candidate for the recently available head job with the USF Bulls) may very well occur. Perhaps McCarney would even take Heater as his defensive coordinator? There is still a ways to go before this situation is settled.

3 » Florida women’s basketball (9-6, 2-0 SEC) turned in a thrilling 71-68 double-overtime victory against the Auburn Tigers (9-6, 0-2 SEC) Thursday evening in the Stephen C. O’Connell Center. Senior guard Steffi Sorensen began the second overtime without a point in the contest but drained three treys to lift her team to victory. The Gators led by 20 points in the first half but gave up the lead in the second half as the Tigers won the rebound (58-46) and turnover (22-15) battles. Sophomore center Azania Stewart led Florida with 21 points and 11 rebounds.

4 » Football has the Swamp Things, basketball has the Rowdy Reptiles, but baseball’s student section remains unnamed – until now. The baseball team is set to throw its first pitch of the 2010 season in just over a month’s time, and the University of Florida is looking to the student body for suggestions on what to name McKethan Stadium’s student section. The winning entry will receive a baseball autographed by head coach Kevin O’Sullivan, Nike Gators gear and the opportunity to throw out a first pitch before a game this season. Submissions are being accepted through Jan. 15 with the voting lasting from Jan. 19-22. An announcement will be made on Jan. 25. Only students are able to apply – visit GatorZone.com for more information.

Tags: Auburn Tigers, Azania Stewart, baseball, Chuck Heater, Dan McCarney, Doc Holliday, George Edwards, Kevin O’Sullivan, Marshall Thundering Herd, McKethan Stadium, O'Connell Center, Rowdy Reptiles, SEC Championshiop, Steffi Sorensen, Sugar Bowl, Swamp Things, University of Florida, Urban Meyer, women's basketball

1 » Though juniors cornerback Joe Haden and tight end Aaron Hernandez have declared for the 2010 NFL Draft, the decision is not an easy one for defensive end Carlos Dunlap. Once considered a top-five talent, Dunlap’s arrest and subsequent suspension for DUI prior to the 2009 SEC Championship had him fall down draft boards. “The feedback that he’s gotten is that he will go late in the first round or early in the second round,” Dunlap’s father told Rivals on Tuesday. “Staying to get a degree isn’t going to be an issue because he’s on track to graduate in December. He’s close enough to getting his degree that he can do it anytime. So does he want to come back to finish up his education and maybe be the top overall draft choice next year or does he want to come out right now and start working on his NFL career?” Dunlap’s father will also consult former Florida Gators defensive coordinator Charlie Strong for advice. “We value Charlie’s opinion. We value Charlie’s evaluation. We value Charlie’s leadership. So if Charlie tells us this is how he thinks it should be, I trust he is going to tell us what is best for Carlos based on the evaluations and feedback he has received.”

2 » JC Shurburtt of ESPN is reporting that Gators quarterbacks coach Scot Loeffler has extended an offer to five-star 2011 QB recruit Jeff Driskel (Oviedo, FL). “I was real excited about the offer,” Driskel said. “I have been talking to Coach Loeffler just about once a week, and he told me that he was ready to offer me. When I got it, obviously I was real excited.” He has also received offers from Auburn, Virginia Tech, Ole Miss and Florida International. Driskel also told Shurburtt that while he does currently live in Florida, location won’t factor much in his final decision. “When I was younger, we moved around a lot because my dad was in the Navy,” he said.

Four more BITS including recruiting and NFL Draft news after the jump!
Continue Reading » SIX BITS: Dunlap’s future, QB offered, DT Floyd, Big Board, Smith and Holliday, Lewis

Tags: Aaron Hernandez, All-American, Amelia Lewis, Army, Brandon Spikes, Carlos Dunlap, Charlie Strong, Curtis Cup, Doc Holliday, Draft, Jeff Driskel, Joe Haden, Las Vegas Collegiate Showdown, Marshall Thundering Herd, NFL, Scot Loeffler, SEC, Sharrif Floyd, Tim Tebow, U.S., Zach Smith

From time to time, OGGOA will come across a plethora of news and notes that we wish to share with our readers. In those instances, we present a special post: Gator Bites. Enjoy.

» A rumor making its way around the Web over the last few days states that former Florida Gators running backs coach Stan Drayton may return to the program if Kenny Carter bolts for the Louisville Cardinals. This is the same Drayton that left Florida for the Tennessee Volunteers and took this shot at the Gators and head coach Urban Meyer on his way out the door: “If you’re going to be a running backs coach, you want to be part of a system that involves the running back.” Not gonna happen.

» Another option at running backs coach could very well be former Florida RB Terry Jackson. A Gator great who was a member of the 1996 National Championship team and played seven years in the NFL, Jackson was named Director of Player and Community Relations at UF in March 2008. Jackson, whose father Willie Sr. and brother Willie Jr. also played at Florida, has thought about getting into coaching since finishing his pro career. Hiring Jackson could be a very smooth transition for the Gators.

» Speaking of Carter, four-star RB commit Mack Brown (Lithonia, GA) made news last night when he told two reporters that Carter was leaving the program for Louisville. However, Jeremy Fowler of the Orlando Sentinel also spoke with Brown, who told him that Carter did not say he was leaving and that he “didn’t talk to him about it.” Perhaps Brown said something he wasn’t supposed to and is now being sush-ed about it?

» UPDATE: Brown provided more information about his feelings on Carter’s switch to Rivals Monday night. “I understand he had to do what he had to do,” he said. “I know he has a good relationship with coach Strong and he’s going to have a better position with more money coming in for his family. I’m still committed to Florida. I’m going to wait it out and see what happens. I’m confused. You’re supposed to commit to a school, but you get to know the coaches and they feel like family. All the coaches that I got to know over the last year, that I dealt with over the summer, they’re all leaving. I don’t know what I’m going to do. I’m going to have to talk about it with my family.”

» Brady Ackerman is reporting that Gators assistant defensive coordinator and safeties coach Chuck Heater turned down an offer from new Marshall Thundering Herd head coach Doc Holliday to be his team’s defensive coordinator. Heater wants the UF job badly. OGGOA continues to project him as the team’s next defensive coordinator.

» Ackerman also confirmed an OGGOA report that assistant head coach and defensive line coach Dan McCarney would only leave Florida if he was offered a head coaching position – presumably with the South Florida Bulls. Jim Leavitt has not been removed from his position there, and McCarney told reporters last week that he is not interested in the Gators’ defensive coordinator position.

» Five-star safety recruit Matt Elam (West Palm Beach, FL), a former Gators commit who spurned the team for the Florida State Seminoles, ignored two phone calls placed from Meyer last week. However, Elam finally picked up recently and said Meyer attempted to sway him back to UF. “He tried, but it didn’t work,” Elam said. Elam is expected to make his announcement at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl on Saturday.

» OGGOA has heard a rumor from two very different sources that Meyer was either offered a contract or spoken to by ESPN about working for the “Worldwide Leader in Sports” should he eventually decide not to return to coaching. Not a shocker.

» Think Florida losing to the South Alabama Jaguars last week was a tough pill to swallow? Try being the No. 9 North Carolina Tar Heels who fell Monday night to the College of Charleston Cougars.

Tags: All-American, Army, Chuck Heater, Dan McCarney, Doc Holliday, Florida State Seminoles, Jim Leavitt, Kenny Carter, Louisville Cardinals, Mack Brown, Marshall Thundering Herd, Matt Elam, NFL, South Alabama Jaguars, South Florida Bulls, Stan Drayton, Syracuse Orange, Terry Jackson, Urban Meyer, Willie Jackson

For some high school football players, a college team losing its recruiting coordinator can change their mind on what school they wish to attend after graduation. Florida Gators fans know this well, especially considering the recent news about the departure of wide receivers coach Billy Gonzales has been met with some interesting reactions from recruits across the country. However, it seems like the West Virginia Mountaineers losing associate head coach and top recruiter Doc Holliday to the Marshall Thundering Herd may have done a lot to help the Gators land three-star DB/WR/KR Robert Clark (West Palm Beach, FL) from Dwyer High School. Clark, who committed to head coach Urban Meyer on Wednesday while the coach was visiting Dwyer’s practice, had previously been committed to the Mountaineers and was also considering the Tennessee Volunteers.

“[Holliday] was my recruiting coordinator,” Clark told the Palm Beach Post. “We were really close. It changed my decision a lot.” Also affecting Clark’s decision was his official visit to Gainesville, FL, last weekend and the commitment status of his teammates five-star safety Matt Elam and four-star tight end Gerald Christian. “[Meyer] asked me how much I love Florida,” Clark said. “I told him I’m going to end up committing. I love Florida. Gerald and Matt are there and I already know them.”

OGGOA reported Tuesday that Clark seemed to be all Orange and Blue when he donned a No. 4 Gators jersey in the team’s locker room this past weekend. He plans to enroll at the University of Florida in January for the spring semester, along with Elam and Christian, in order to get a leg up on 2010. Clark is expected to officially announce his commitment to Florida before the Class 4A championship game on Saturday.

Tags: Billy Gonzales, Doc Holliday, Dwyer, Gerald Christian, Marshall Thundering Herd, Matt Elam, Robert Clark, Tennessee Volunteers, University of Florida, Urban Meyer, West Virginia Mountaineers

1 » West Virginia Mountaineers associate head coach Doc Holliday will become the next head coach of the Marshall Thundering Herd, according to a report from The Reigster Herald. Holliday, who was an associate head coach, safeties coach and recruiting coordinator during his time with the Florida Gators from 2005-07, will be accepting his first head job after almost three decades as an assistant coach. Holliday’s contract is said to be a five-year deal worth $650,000 (plus incentives) annually.

2 » Volleyball’s sophomore right-side setter Kelly Murphy and senior libero Elyse Cusack have earned 2009 All-America honors from the American Volleyball Coaches Association. Murphy, already a second-team All-SEC selection for 2009 and AVCA National Freshman of the Year in 2008, was named a second-team All-American while Cusack earned an All-American honorable mention for the third straight season. The Gators volleyball team finished the 2009 season 25-6, losing to the No. 1 Penn State Nittany Lions in the 2009 NCAA Tournament round of 16.

Extra Bit » Sophomore first baseman Preston Tucker was named to the 2010 National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Pro-Line Athletic Preseason All-America Team on Wednesday. Tucker, who batted .364 with 15 home runs and 85 RBI as a freshman to capture the Gators’ Triple Crown, is the first player in University of Florida history to win the NCBWA Freshman Hitter of the Year Award. He was also co-SEC Freshman of the Year, a unanimous selection to the SEC’s All-Freshman Team, invited to the 2009 USA Baseball National Team trials and was selected as a Freshman All-American by Baseball America, Louisville Slugger, Rivals and the NCBWA. He also led the Florida baseball team with a .628 slugging percentage, 152 total bases, 27 multi-hit games and 23 multiple-RBI outings. His 85 RBI broke the single-season school record.

Tags: All-American, AVCA, Doc Holliday, Elyse Cusack, Kelly Murphy, Marshall Thundering Herd, NCBWA, University of Florida, volleyball, West Virginia Mountaineers