ONLY GATORS Get Out Alive » Mr. Football

Florida Gators 2010 National Signing Day notes

Adam Silverstein — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 21:25:37 +0000

Courtesy of the University of Florida’s University Athletic Association:

» The University of Florida football team had 11 student-athletes enroll in January 2010, the highest number in school history.
» The 2010 signing class includes nine players from the South Florida area (Dade, Palm Beach and Broward Counties). In the previous five signing classes combined (2005-09), UF totaled 11 signees from the same area.
» The Gators continued to be a factor on the national stage, signing 12 players from out of state in 2010. Players in the 2010 class are from Alabama, California (3), Connecticut, Georgia (3), Maryland (2), New York and Pennsylvania.
» For the fourth straight year, UF signed a player from the state of California and for the third straight year the Gators signed a player from Alabama. It marked the second-straight year a player from Maryland and Connecticut signed with Florida.
» Of the 12 high school players rated as five-star recruits by ESPN, Florida has signed four. The Gators signed 11 of the top 50 players according to ESPN. Overall, the Gators signed 17 players from the ESPNU 150 list of players.

Check out notes on individual players in the class after the jump…

» Florida signed four players from the 2010 Parade High School All-America team: S Matt Elam, DT Sharrif Floyd, DE Ronald Powell and CB Joshua Shaw. The Gators have signed 23 Parade All-Americans under Urban Meyer (2005-10). UF signed 18 Parade All-Americans between 1999-2004.
» Floyd (Philadelphia, Pa./George Washington) was named the 2009 National High School Player of the Year by the Maxwell Football Club.
» Early enrollee Elam (Palm Beach Gardens/Dwyer) was named the Gatorade Player of the Year and Mr. Football for the state of Florida.
» Florida signed both teams’ MVPs from the 2010 Under Armour All-America Football Game: DT Dominique Easley was the MVP for the black team and LB Michael Taylor was the MVP for the white team. The Gators also signed Powell, the MVP from the 2010 U.S. Army All-America Bowl.
» Four signees won state championships as seniors in high school. UF signed three players from Dwyer High School, Florida’s 4A state champion team: Gerald Christian, Robert Clark and Elam. Easley and Curtis High School won the 2009 Public Schools Athletic League championship in New York.

TWO BITS: …on the Gators vs. Gamecocks game

Adam Silverstein — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 17:07:12 +0000

1 » Florida Gators (13-5, 2-2) vs. South Carolina Gamecocks (11-7, 2-2) Pre-Game:
- Florida leads the all-time series 35-20, winning 19 of the last 23 meetings.
- Last season, the Gators and Gamecocks split the series; UF won 97-93 at home while USC took a 70-69 decision in Columbia, SC.
- Florida has won three straight vs. South Carolina in Gainesville and 10 of the last 11.
- Sophomore point guard Erving Walker and freshman guard Kenny Boynton are averaging 38.6 points (more than half of the team’s 76.8) and 7.8 assists per game in SEC play this season.
- Walker and Boynton are 29-for-34 from downtown; Walker is shooting 59.3 percent from three in the last four games and has combined with Boynton to hit 29-of-66 treys (43.9 percent). The rest of the team is struggling.
- After not having a 20-point game in his first 50 games with the Gators, Walker has had three in his last four outings including a career-high 27 points Thursday vs. Arkansas.
- Junior forward Alex Tyus is dominating the front court, averaging 14.3 points and 7.8 rebounds over the last nine contests. He has hit double figures in nine straight games and scored 15+ in five of those nine.
- Gamecocks senior guard Devan Downey, a first-team All-SEC selection, leads his team in points (21.2), assists (3.8) and steals (3.2). He is averaging 30.3 points in conference play and has scored 25 in all four SEC games with two 30-point outings.

2 » Dueling articles were posted by The Gainesville Sun and Florida Today on Walker and Downey, likely the premiere match-up of Saturday evening’s game. Kevin Brockaway explains that size isn’t everything when it comes to Walker and Downey while David Jones tells you that the teams’ little guards look to put up big numbers.

Extra Bit » Florida five-star safety commitment and early enrollee Matt Elam will be presented the state’s Mr. Football award during halftime of the game.

FOUR BITS: Mr. Football, Horford, hockey, Dorsey

Adam Silverstein — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 14:37:13 +0000

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.”