1 » Former Florida Gators quarterback Tim Tebow does whatever he can to make his fans happy. Unfortunately, he had to prioritize his health on Friday and miss the Meet the Players event at the 2010 Under Armour Senior Bowl, even after fans waited hours to meet him. Tebow, who practiced all week while under the weather, was still “very sick” on Friday, according to the Orlando Sentinel. Speaking of Tebow, the Montreal Gazette reports that the Montreal Alouettes of the CFL hold the first option to his rights should he decide, for any reason, to head North and not play in the NFL. Tebow and wide receiver Riley Cooper will participate in the Senior Bowl on Saturday at 4 p.m. The game will air live on NFL Network and OGGOA will have live coverage on Twitter.

2 » No. 4 Florida gymnastics (3-1, 3-0 SEC) took down the No. 13 LSU Tigers (3-3, 1-2 SEC) in a 196.725-195.05 victory Friday during the Fourth Annual Gators Link to Pink meet. While raising awareness about breast cancer, Florida put up its season-best total and set or matched 11 collegiate-best marks. The Gators hop on the road for their next meet, taking on N.C. State Wolfpack and George Washington Colonials in a triangular meet on Feb. 5 at 7 p.m. in the Reynolds Coliseum.

3 » Florida basketball will face them on Sunday, but the Gators’ men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams each took down the Tennessee Volunteers on Friday to conclude their 2009-10 dual meet schedules. On the road at the Allan Jones Intercollegiate Aquatic Center in Knoxville, TN, the No. 6 men (9-0, 4-0 SEC) took a 164-133 decision over the No. 11 Volunteers on the heels of eight individual event victories. The No. 7 women (10-2, 4-1 SEC) won nine of 16 individual events to claim victory over the No. 12 Lady Vols 170-130. Florida handed Tennessee’s men’s team its first loss in the two-year history of the building.

4 » The Gators baseball team held its first practice of the 2010 season Friday, and No. 7/9-ranked Florida is ready to defend its 2009 SEC East division title. Players and coaches hope to improve on last season’s 42-22 record, which brought them ever so close to a berth in the College World Series. For quotes from the team and some more information on baseball’s first practice, read Jim Harvin’s story in The Gainesville Sun.

Tags: Allan Jones Intercollegiate Aquatic Center, baseball, CFL, College World Series, diving, Gators Link to Pink, gymnastics, LSU Tigers, Montreal Alouettes, NFL, Riley Cooper, SEC, Senior Bowl, swimming, Tennessee Volunteers, Tim Tebow, Under Armour

Analysts, commentators and NFL Draft experts have been critical of former Florida Gators quarterback Tim Tebow‘s release for the last year, and the evaluations have been even tougher over the last week. But what is it exactly that is wrong with Tebow’s release? Fans have heard that it is “too low” and “too slow. ESPN‘s Todd McShay recently had this to say in his Tebow progress report: “[It] takes [him] entirely too long getting the ball out. It will be difficult to succeed in the NFL with the elongated, three-quarters delivery he has shown during his career at Florida.”

During the 2010 Sugar Bowl against the Cincinnati Bearcats, color man and former Baltimore Ravens head coach Brian Billick broke down Tebow’s throwing motion.

What is even more interesting is the fact that Tebow’s arm action did not always look like this. Back in high school, he kept the ball up near his shoulder and had a more “professional” follow-through. Take a look at his release over time. (h/t SmartFootball)

The positive? If he’s done it before, he can likely do it again.

Tags: Brian Billick, Cincinnati Bearcats, Draft, NFL, Senior Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Tim Tebow

Former Florida Gators defensive end Carlos Dunlap entered a plea of no contest to driving under the influence in a Gainesville courthouse Friday. Dunlap, who was arrested in the early morning of Dec. 1, was given the minimum mandatory sentence for a first-time DUI offender.

His license was suspended for six months, he must complete 50 hours of community service, serve a year of probation, pay approximately $1,000 in fines and court fees and participate in a victim’s impact panel, Spencer Mann with the State Attorney’s Office told The Gainesville Sun.

Dunlap, who was found asleep at the wheel of his vehicle while it was in-gear and stopped at a traffic light, was suspended by head coach Urban Meyer for the 2009 SEC Championship. Meyer, athletic director Jeremy Foley and University of Florida president Bernie Machen mutually agreed to reinstate him for the 2010 Sugar Bowl.

After the conclusion of the season, Dunlap, 20, decided to forgo his final year of college eligibility and declare for the 2010 NFL Draft. He is projected to be a first-round pick.

Tags: Bernie Machen, Carlos Dunlap, Draft, Jeremy Foley, NFL, SEC Championship, Sugar Bowl, University of Florida, Urban Meyer

1 » While former Florida Gators quarterback Tim Tebow is dealing with strict evaluations from seemingly every direction, one person at the 2010 Under Armour Senior Bowl who is squarely in Tebow’s corner is Miami Dolphins and South team head coach Tony Sparano. “I thought it was outstanding, I really did,” Sparano said of Tebow’s work ethic. “In the meeting room he’s been super, spending extra time. He’s been great to coach. One of the nice things with him is, you’ve got somebody lining up in the wrong spot, he’s got it, he can get them lined up right. He sees somebody maybe not run the right route or in the wrong place, he’s got it. This whole thing has really slowed down for him. He has great command for what we’re trying to do.”

2 » Also on Tebow’s side, not surprisingly, is his high school coach at Nease, Craig Howard. “He’s the most scrutinized quarterback I’ve ever seen,” Howard told The Gainesville Sun’s John Patton. “It seems like so many people want to pick out what they find to be wrong with him. […] There is more to a quarterback than throwing motion and whether he plays primarily out of a shotgun or under center. […] He was the most dominant high school quarterback I have ever seen. [...] When he was being recruited, multiple coaches told me he cannot play the way he did at Nease in the SEC. How right were they? It’s the same deal now. […] It’s the same thing I told Urban Meyer. You aren’t just getting a quarterback, you are getting a guy who will change your program. He will change you. He made me a better coach. I wanted to be a better coach because I didn’t want to let him down.”

Two more BITS on Tim Tebow (documentary, mock draft) after the jump!
Continue Reading » FOUR BITS: Former QB Tim Tebow’s NFL future

Tags: Arizona Cardinals, Bill Heavener, Chase Heavener, Craig Howard, Draft, Miami Dolphins, Nease, NFL, Senior Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Tim Tebow, Tony Sparano, Under Armour

Responding to questions about his health Wednesday, former Florida Gators quarterback Tim Tebow answered without hesitation. “Let’s just say I needed to see some doctors for a little bit,” he quipped. “I’m feeling a lot better now. But you don’t want to touch me, I’ve got strep throat.”

Though he is sick, Tebow has progressed each day he has practiced with the Miami Dolphins coaching staff in Mobile, AL, while preparing for the 2010 Under Armour Senior Bowl. Reports from the practices have Tebow getting more comfortable taking snaps from under center and showing increased fluidity in his drop-backs. He only lost one snap Wednesday and has been throwing a nice deep ball.

“I’ve been impressed with what he’s done,” Dolphins head coach Tony Sparano, said of Tebow’s performance during South team practices. “He’s getting better and better. Has a real good handle of the offense right now, the package going into this ball game.”
“I think his fundamentals and mechanics are really good, really solid,” Sparano continued. “They do a great job of coaching them at Florida, without a doubt. I think he’s done some really good things and his delivery is fine. Our job is to help these kids as much as we possibly can during the course of the week, give them the tools in their tool box to go forward. Anyway we can help him fundamentally this week, we will.”

VIDEO: NFL Network’s scouting report of Tebow at the Senior Bowl

Everyone seems to have an opinion about Tebow and plenty of general managers, head coaches, college scouts and “experts” have said one thing or another about his future in the NFL after evaluating him over the last few days: [...read all 13 after the jump!]
Continue Reading » Tebow better but can’t escape criticism on Day 3

Tags: Miami Dolphins, NFL, Senior Bowl, Tim Tebow, Tony Sparano, Under Armour

1 » In the immediate aftermath of dropping four-star safety Demar Dorsey (Lauderdale Lakes, FL), the Florida Gators contacted three-star tight end commitment Michael McFarland (Tampa, FL) and informed him that they no longer need him to grayshirt for the 2010 season as an additional scholarship has opened up. Instead, assistant head coach and defense/defensive line coach Dan McCarney told McFarland that the Gators want him to enroll with the rest of his 2010 class. OGGOA believes McFarland will likely redshirt his first season.

2 » Freshman guard Kenny Boynton has the star power, sophomore point guard Erving Walker is hitting daggers from downtown, junior forward Chandler Parsons is nailing remarkable buzzer-beating game-winners and junior transfer center Vernon Macklin brings the size…so what exactly is junior F Alex Tyus’ role? Tyus is, simply put, the most consistent player on the team. He has scored double figures in 11 straight games with 15+ points in six of those contests all while being a terror in the paint and averaging almost eight rebounds per game. Through the ups and downs of the season, Tyus has been the constant either keeping the Gators in games or helping them pull off routs. He’s even been hitting three-pointers. “I feel like I’m understanding my role a little more,” Tyus told Pat Dooley of The Gainesville Sun. “I’m more comfortable.” If Tyus continues playing at this level, a triumvirate of himself, Boynton and Walker could very well propel Florida to its first March Madness birth in three seasons.

Four more BITS on Corey Brewer, Tim Tebow and more after the jump!
Continue Reading » SIX BITS: McFarland, Tyus, Brewer, Tebow

Tags: Al Horford, Alex Tyus, Atlanta Hawks, baseball, Chandler Parsons, Chicago Bulls, Corey Brewer, Dan McCarney, Demar Dorsey, Donovan McNabb, Erving Walker, Focus on the Family, grayshirt, Joakim Noah, Kenny Boynton, March Madness, Michael McFarland, Minnesota Timberwolves, NBA, NFL, Philadelphia Eagles, Sarah Palin, Super Bowl XLIV, Tim Tebow, Vernon Macklin

Former Florida Gators quarterback Tim Tebow was hospitalized Monday night after the first day of practices for the 2010 Under Armour Senior Bowl, according to agent Jimmy Sexton. “He’s been sick for two days,” Sexton told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch following practice Tuesday afternoon. “He had a 103 temperature.”

Reports throughout the day stated that Tebow has been suffering from strep throat since Saturday, and high fevers are commonly associated with that illness. Robby Tebow, Tim’s brother, told Jeremy Fowler of the Orlando Sentinel that Tebow had a 103.5-degree fever Monday and barely got any sleep as he sweated throughout the night. He has been on IV for the last two days but has not missed a single Senior Bowl event.

Tebow struggled during Monday’s practice, by all accounts, with most of the criticism centered on his fumbling of snaps from under center. He also had some footwork issues and kept bringing the ball down to his waist when winding up to throw. However, Tebow appeared to rebound Tuesday by using his legs and making some nice deep passes, though two tosses late in practice were considered dropped interceptions and he had one fumbled snap during 11-on-11 drills.

Fowler also reported that Tebow has already sat down with representatives from the Kansas City Chiefs and Minnesota Vikings and had a more formal meeting with the entire coaching staff of the Carolina Panthers.

VIDEO: NFL Network’s interview with QB Tim Tebow after Day 2 of Senior Bowl.

Tags: Carolina Panthers, Jimmy Sexton, Kansas City Chiefs, Minnesota Vikings, NFL, Robby Tebow, Senior Bowl, Tim Tebow, Under Armour

1 » Senior Bowl Practice Day 1:
By all accounts, former Florida Gators quarterback Tim Tebow did not have a great day practicing in Mobile, AL. Most of the criticism surrounding Tebow Monday centered on his fumbling of multiple snaps from under center. However, he did put together some good throws and showed nice arm strength. Wide receiver Riley Cooper proved to be one of the best in his position and showed a nice combination of size and quickness.

“I feel like it was good. Kind of back to the basics,” Tebow said after practice. “Gotta get the timing down, gotta get the snaps down, everything, so it’s like you’re back in junior high.” He also explained some of his early struggles. “I think it has to do with getting used to a new [center]. They are rotating in three quarterbacks, rotating in three centers, so that’s something you have to get used to and it takes a little time.”

Five more BITS including Tebow’s Super Bowl ad, a TMZ piece, Cooper’s agent, Harvin’s Pro Bowl, Parsons’ Facebook friends and Tebow on ESPN…after the jump!
Continue Reading » SIX BITS: Tebow, ad, TMZ, Cooper, Harvin, Parsons

Tags: Ben Troupe, Chandler Parsons, Channing Crowder, Ciatrick Fason, Focus on the Family, Joel Segal, MLB, NCAA Tournament, NFL, NIT, Pam Tebow, Percy Harvin, Pro Bowl, Riley Cooper, Senior Bowl, Super Bowl, Texas Rangers, Tim Tebow, Under Armour