1 » Florida Gators head coach Urban Meyer reached out to redshirt junior quarterback John Brantley’s father recently to let him know that his son has really impressed him. “I said, ‘Enjoy the ride. Your son has grown up to be a man,’” Meyer explained. “I hope I get that same text some day from someone. That’s really cool. It’s the truth. What he’s done here in the last year has been exactly what we needed to have happen, and that is he’s grown up. He’s the leader of this team, and he’s Johnny Brantley. That’s good enough for us.” John Brantley III, a former Florida quarterback himself, was certainly proud.

2 » Saturday’s game against the Miami (OH) RedHawks is big for a number of Gators but perhaps no one is relishing the moment more than redshirt sophomore cornerback Jeremy Brown. “Words can’t explain. It’s a very special moment for me and my family because two years ago, I ran out the tunnel and couldn’t play. I wasn’t officially a Gator. To be able to contribute is a special moment,” Brown said. “A lot of times I feel like some people take football and the opportunity to be at a prestigious program like Florida – they take it for granted. They take practice for granted. Workouts, things you get every day – they take stuff like that for granted. When you’re on the verge of not playing football gain, you learn to appreciate things a lot more. You learn to appreciate the uniform. I was close to losing everything.”

3 » Two Florida women were honored with Southeastern Conference Offensive Player of the Week honors for their respective sports. Volleyball’s junior right-side/setter Kelly Murphy and soccer’s redshirt sophomore midfielder McKenzie Barney were each awarded Monday for their outstanding performances in their teams’ first week of 2010 action.

4 » Providing opportunities for kids to play organized sports, The C.I. Foundation (sponsored by Philadelphia Eagles tight end Cornelius Ingram) is attempting to raise money by giving way a fantastic seven-day, all-inclusive vacation (including airfare) to Sandals Resort in Montego Bay, Jamaica. Their newest campaign, called “$10.00 for C.h.I.l.dren,” allows for fans and generous individuals to donate as little as $10 for the opportunity to win this fantastic trip. A winner will be announced on Sept. 15. For more information on how you can donate and enter, you can click right here.

Tags: C.I. Foundation, Cornelius Ingram, Jeremy Brown, John Brantley, John Brantley III, Kelly Murphy, McKenzie Barney, Miami RedHawks, NFL, Philadelphia Eagles, Player of the Week, SEC, soccer, Urban Meyer, volleyball

1 » Moving up two spots after an opening week in which they went 2-0, No. 9 Florida Gators soccer (3-0) remained undefeated after taking down the Florida Atlantic Owls (0-2) 3-0 Friday night at James G. Pressly Stadium in Gainesville, FL. Redshirt sophomore midfielder McKenzie Barney (4’), junior MF/forward Tahnai Annis (7’) and sophomore F/MF Natalia Torosian (14’) all scored for the Gators within the first 14 minutes, forcing the Owls to concentrate on defense the remainder of the match. Florida looks to continue their winning streak on Sunday against San Diego State at home.

2 » Former Gators quarterback Chris Leak will be making his first CFL start next Friday, filling in for Montreal Alouettes starting quarterback Anthony Calvillo. For the first time in his career, Leak will be able to practice as the team’s starter for a week rather than be thrown into the game in a back-up role. “It’s good. It gives the coaches a chance to tweak things to my strengths and see what things we can do offensively to help us win the game,” Leak said in a media availability. “It’s going to be a fun week and we’re going to work hard and get the game plan in and just go out there and execute.”

Tags: Anthony Calvillo, CFL, Chris Leak, Florida Atlantic Owls, Florida Gators, James G. Pressly Stadium, McKenzie Barney, Montreal Alouettes, Natalia Torosian, soccer, Tahnai Annis

1 » Opening the University of Florida’s 2010-11 athletic season on Friday, No. 11 Florida Gators soccer (1-0) defeated the Miami Hurricanes (0-1) 2-1 in a double-overtime match at James G. Pressly Stadium in Gainesville, FL. Scoreless in the first half, redshirt sophomore midfielder McKenzie Barney kicked the ball across the goal to the far post at 49’ to put Florida ahead. In the blink of an eye, Miami’s Blake Stockton hit an equalizer at 53’. Almost an hour of game time later, now in the match’s second overtime, freshman forward Taylor Travis put the Gators ahead for good with a seven-yard golden goal into the far post at 107’. Florida will need to regroup quickly as the ladies will travel to Orlando, FL, for an away game against the Central Florida Knights on Aug. 22 at 7 p.m. The match will air live on FOX Sports Florida.

2 » The defending National Champion Alabama Crimson Tide earned the No. 1 spot in the Associated Press Top 25 preseason poll released Saturday with the Gators coming in three slots behind at No. 4. In between the two are the No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes and No. 3 Boise State Broncos; Alabama was awarded 54 of 60 possible first-place votes. Other Southeastern Conference teams ranked by the AP this preseason include Arkansas (No. 17), LSU (No. 21), Auburn (No. 22) and Georgia (No. 23). Florida finished last season listed No. 3 in the USA Today and Associated Press polls, also earning the No. 3 spot in the USA Today preseason poll released on Aug. 6.

Photo Credit: University of Florida/GatorZone.com

Tags: Alabama Crimson Tide, Blake Stockton, Boise State Broncos, McKenzie Barney, Miami Hurricanes, Ohio State Buckeyes, SEC, soccer, Taylor Travis, Top 25, University of Florida

Earning a No. 3 regional seed in the 2009 NCAA Championship, the Florida Gators soccer team (16-5-2, 8-1-2 SEC) took down the Illinois State Redbirds (12-7-1, 5-1 MVC) 2-0 in the first round of the tournament Friday night at the Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium in Columbus, OH. Going scoreless in the first half, the Gators turned it on after the break as sophomore Tahnai Annis and redshirt freshman McKenzie Barney scored two goals in a seven-minute span. Florida has advanced in the tournament and will face the Oregon State Beavers (13-7-1, 4-5 Pac 10) on Sunday at 1 p.m. in second round action.

Coming off an eight match streak where they swept each opponent in straight sets, the No. 10/11 Florida volleyball team (20-4, 14-3 SEC) was taken to task by the No. 19/17 LSU Tigers Friday evening in the Stephen C. O’Connell Center. The Tigers beat the Gators 3-1 (24-26, 25-23, 25-19, 25-17), sweeping the regular season series between the two teams. LSU’s Brittnee Cooper and Marina Skender combined for 36 of 52 kills while Florida was led by sophomore outside hitter Kristy Jaeckel and her team-high 18 kills. Sophomore right-side/setter Kelly Murphy recorded her nation-leading eight triple-double of the season and the 14th of her career with 13 kills on .333 hitting with 29 assists and 15 digs. The Gators hit the road next weekend, traveling to Knoxville, TN, to face the Tennessee Volunteers on Friday, Nov. 20 at 7 p.m. Florida swept Tennessee in straight sets on Oct. 4.

Tags: Brittnee Cooper, Illinois State Redbirds, Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium, Kelly Murphy, Kristy Jaeckel, LSU Tigers, Marina Skender, McKenzie Barney, NCAA Championship, O'Connell Center, Oregon State Beavers, soccer, Tahnai Annis, Tennessee Volunteers, volleyball

The University of Florida‘s men’s basketball team began their 2009-10 season Monday night, defeating Saint Leo 95-46 in an exhibition game at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center. Gators freshman guard Kenny Boynton led the team with 22 points on 7-of-14 shooting while going 5/9 from three-point range. Boynton also contributed six rebounds, two assists and three steals and appeared to tweak his knee at some point in the second half. The extent of the injury is not known, though it did not look serious to those in attendance and it is believed he will be fine to play in Florida’s next exhibition game.

Junior forward Alex Tyus recorded a team-high nine rebounds and added 10 points on 5-of-11 shooting, while sophomore point guard Erving Walker was good for 16 points and led the way with nine assists. Redshirt junior transfer center Vernon Macklin grabbed four rebounds and seven points. Also of note is that Israeli freshman PG Nimrod Tishman wants to be known as “Rod” (good choice) during his Gators career.

Football’s sophmore kicker Caleb Sturgis, volleyball’s senior libero Elyse Cusack and soccer players Lauren Hyde and McKenzie Barney all took home individual awards from the Southeastern Conference on Monday. Sturgis was named Special Teams Player of the Week, Cusack and Hyde both earned Defensive Player of the Week honors for their respective sports and Barney won Freshman of the Week. Sturgis kicked a 56-yard and 44-yard field goal in the Gators win over the Georgia Bulldogs.

Tags: Alex Tyus, Caleb Sturgis, Elyse Cusack, Erving Walker, Georgia Bulldogs, Kenny Boynton, Lauren Hyde, McKenzie Barney, Nimrod Tishman, O'Connell Center, Rod Tishman, Saint Leo, SEC, soccer, Vernon Macklin, volleyball

No. 10 Florida Gators soccer (14-4-2, 8-1-2 SEC) shut out division rival No. 13 South Carolina Gamecocks (15-3-1, 7-3-1 SEC) 3-0 Friday night at James G. Pressly Stadium to win the Southeastern Conference regular season title. The win came off a tenacious performance by the ladies in front of an excited home crowd in Gainesville, FL, and marks the Gators’ 10th SEC title in the sport.

Redshirt freshman midfielder/defender McKenzie Barney scored at 19′ to give Florida an early lead and followed up her goal with another at 24′ to put the Gators up 2-0 at the end of the first half. Florida rode Barney’s two goals and played stifling defense in the second half, adding an insurance goal by freshman midfielder Holly King who put the match out of reach at 87′.

The Gators are now off until Nov. 4 when they travel to Orange Beach, AL, for the SEC Championship tournament where they will certainly be the No. 1 overall seed.

Tags: Holly Kings, James G. Pressly Stadium, McKenzie Barney, SEC, soccer, South Carolina Gamecocks