1 » Playing college football at the University of Florida is not the only thing five-star safety Matt Elam (Palm Beach Gardens, FL) and former Florida Gators quarterback Tim Tebow have in common anymore. Elam, like Tebow in 2005, has been named Mr. Football for the state of Florida. He will be presented the award at halftime of the Florida vs. South Carolina Gamecocks basketball game on Saturday at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center in Gainesville, FL.

2 » Averaging career-highs in minutes (34.4), field goal percentage (.584), free throw percentage (.754), rebounds (9.7) and points (13.7), former Gators forward/center Al Horford is tearing it up in the NBA for the Atlanta Hawks. He has already compiled six 20-point games in 2009, and his coaches believe that much of his success can be attributed to the extra work he puts in at practice. “He’s one of those guys that’s going to continue to work and add something to his game every year,” head coach Mike Woodson said. “When you do that, that’s when you become an All-Star and a player in this league that everybody respects.”

3 » The Florida club ice hockey team took home the Thrasher Cup this past weekend after defeating both the Georgia and Florida State club teams. Standing at 8-4 on the season, UF’s squad won the Savannah Tire Hockey Classic in Savannah, GA, for the first time in team history. The club team competes in Division III in the American Collegiate Hockey Association.

4 » Though, as OGGOA previously reported, four-star safety commitment Demar Dorsey (Lauderdale Lakes, FL) has plans to visit both the Florida State Seminoles and USC Trojans over the next two weekends, he told Chris Hays of the Orlando Sentinel that he is just doing his due diligence. “I’ve been to Florida several times on unofficial visits,” Dorsey said, “but I figured I’d take a couple of visits just to make sure Florida is where I want to go to school. [The Gators are] still on top, they’re still my No. 1. They aren’t going anywhere. I’d say right now they’re about 90-95 percent.”

Tags: Al Horford, American Collegiate Hockey Association, Atlanta Hawks, Demar Dorsey, Florida State Seminoles, hockey, Matt Elam, Mike Woodson, Mr. Football, NBA, O'Connell Center, Savannah Tire Hockey Classic, Thrasher Cup, Tim Tebow, University of Florida, USC Trojans

1 » Leading the Florida Gators to back-to-back NCAA Championships in 2006 and 2007, forward/center Al Horford has made great strides in his short time in the NBA with the Atlanta Hawks. Molding his game after that of his father, Tito Horford, Al has the talent and ability to be a “double-double guy in this league for a long, long time,” according to Hawks head coach Mike Woodson. Averaging a double-double through the first eight games of the 2009 season, Horford is also doing his part to help the game of basketball grow abroad.

2 » On Monday, OGGOA reported that five-star defensive end recruit Ronald Powell (Moreno Valley, CA) is still deciding between the Gators and USC Trojans. ESPN’s Greg Biggins said that Florida has been a “heavy leader for some time now for Powell and that remains the case,” going on to say “it will be a pretty big surprise if the talented lineman ends up anywhere other than Gainesville next fall.” Now, Biggins reports Powell may commit to the Gators or Trojans without even making his official visits. “I could commit tomorrow or next month, just whenever it feels right,” Powell said. “I’ve been to Florida three times already and have been to USC a ton of times as well. I’ll probably end up taking the visits, but I don’t know if I really need to.”

Extra BIT » ESPN’s SEC blogger Chris Low posted a solid in-depth interview on Friday with Gators star junior cornerback Joe Haden. Among the topics covered are whether or not Haden misses playing offense, how long it took him to adapt to cornerback and if he and the team are keeping track of the Alabama Crimson Tide on Saturday.

Tags: Al Horford, Joe Haden, Mike Woodson, NBA, Ronald Powell, Tito Horford, USC Trojans