Florida Gators head coach Urban Meyer, offensive coordinator Steve Addazio, defensive coordinator Teryl Austin and a number of players represented the team at the 2010 Florida Media Day on Tuesday in Gainesville, FL. After the break…are some of the biggest stories and most interesting quotes coming out of the event.
1 » Preseason watch lists for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy (nation’s top defensive player) and the Outland Trophy (nation’s top interior lineman) were released by the Football Writers Association of America on Monday, and four Florida Gators football players made the respective lists. Junior cornerback Janoris Jenkins (Nagurski), senior center Mike Pouncey (Outland), redshirt senior guard Carl Johnson (Outland) and redshirt sophomore defensive tackle Omar Hunter (Outland) are just a few players initially being considered for the awards.
2 » Former Florida All-American linebacker Scot Brantley, the uncle of redshirt junior quarterback John Brantley, was honored by the Tampa Gator Club at their 16th annual scholarship dinner on Tuesday. Head basketball coach Billy Donovan was the guest speaker at the event.
3 » Gators four-star athlete De’Ante “Pop” Saunders did not waver much when initially deciding to commit to the team. Now, months later, he remains just as solid and is happy that the recruiting process is not annoying him like it is some of his friends. “My phone doesn’t ring at all,” Saunders told the Orlando Sentinel’s Andrew Carter. “It’s perfect. Because I see other guys that don’t know where they’re going when it’s about time to sign. Like last year, I had a few friends that didn’t know where they were going but it’s good for me since I already knew.”
4 » Former Florida defensive end Thaddeus Bullard (ring name Titus O’Neil) continued his mission to become World Wrestling Entertainment’s next breakout star on Tuesday by making his third appearance on WWE NXT on SyFy. O’Neil, whose background as a football player and master’s degree recipient from the University of Florida is played up heavily by the producers/announcers, does a Gator Chomp when at the top of the entrance rap and is quite powerful in the ring. Even his assigned professional mentor, Zack Ryder, sported the orange and blue on Tuesday, though it did not help O’Neil who lost his second-straight match. OGGOA will follow along with Bullard’s journey over the next few months as he attempts to “win” a full-time contract and pay-per-view title match.
With the Florida Gators 2010 spring practice now in full swing, there is plenty of newsworthy information around the program. Rather than publishing it all in long form, OGGOA thought it would be best to lay it out piece-by-piece. We continue this series with a look at a team scrimmage from Sat., April 3.
Absences/Injuries:
» Redshirt senior running back Emmanuel Moody was injured for the second time this spring. Having just returned after missing two practices due to an ankle injury, Moody hurt his right quad, left the field in pain and did not return to action. Initial thoughts are that the injury is not serious.
Scrimmage happenings:
» In the team’s second scrimmage of the spring, the defense one again outshined the offense with a 41-35 “victory.”
» Freshman quarterback Trey Burton dominated the scrimmage with two touchdown passes to redshirt senior wide receiver Carl Moore including a 64-yarder at the end. As OGGOA wrote Friday, it appears as if QB coach Scot Loeffler has really fine-tuned Burton’s throwing motion in a very short period of time. Backing up redshirt junior John Brantley is less and less of a concern with each passing practice.
» Speaking of Brantley, he threw an interception to senior safety Ahmad Black. He was rushed in the pocket all day due to a weak offensive line that is missing a few starters who are sitting out for mostly precautionary reasons.
» Redshirt sophomore defensive linemen Omar Hunter and Earl Okine and junior William Green all sacked Brantley.
» “The defense is playing disruptive football under new defensive coordinator Teryl Austin. Linebackers [redshirt sophomore] Brendan Beal and [sophomore] Jon Bostic each recorded rather loud hits on a running back. Black’s interception was reminiscent of his play against Oklahoma when ripping the ball from a receiver’s hands.” (Fowler/OS)
Other notes:
» Former center Maurkice Pouncey attended practice.
Special thanks to the Orlando Sentinel for the information above.
1 » ESPN’s SEC blogger Chris Low is reporting that Ole Miss Rebels defensive coordinator Tyrone Nix has already met with Florida Gators head coach Urban Meyer and is the front-runner to replace Charlie Strongat his old position. Though OGGOA learned Wednesday night that Meyer was considering looking outside the program for Strong’s replacement, we were not informed that a meeting had already taken place with a candidate (unless said meeting occurred Thursday).
2 » Freshman left tackle Xavier Nixon and redshirt freshman defensive tackle Omar Hunter were named to the 2009 Freshman All-SEC Team on Thursday by the Southeastern Conference’s head coaches. Nixon, who played in nine games, started the last four games of the season for the Gators and is the first true freshman to start at left tackle for Florida since 1992.
No. 1 Florida Gators players and coaches have spoken with the media extensively over the last two days regarding the 2009 SEC Championship game on Saturday against the No. 2 Alabama Crimson Tide. You can find choice quotes and notes from the press conferences and interviews in no particular order after the break… Continue Reading » Quotes & notes from UF on SEC Championship
1 » The 2009 Southeastern Conference Championship Tournament begins Wednesday as one-seed Florida Gators soccer (14-4-2, 8-1-2 SEC) faces the eight-seed Tennessee Volunteers (8-8-3, 4-5-2 SEC) at 6:00 p.m. in Orange Beach, AL. Meeting earlier this season in Knoxville, TN, Florida and Tennessee tied 2-2 after two overtimes. The game may be heard live on 850AM in Gainesville, FL, and online HERE.
2 » Junior cornerback Joe Haden has been named as one of 12 semifinalists for the Jim Thorpe Award given annually to the nation’s best college defensive back. Three finalists will be named on Nov. 23 and invited to the ESPNU College Football Awards Show on Dec. 10 when a winner will be announced.
Over the last two weeks, OGGOA has reported on the slow and steady depletion of starters on the Florida Gators defensive line. The unplanned lack of depth is getting increasingly worrisome with senior middle linebacker Brandon Spikes hampered by groin and Achilles tendonitis injures, further softening the middle of the defense.
Defensive tackles redshirt junior Lawrence Marsh (ankle), redshirt sophomore Jaye Howard (knee), junior Justin Trattou (biceps tendon) and redshirt junior Brandon Antwine (shoulder) lead the interior of the line – and all four are either questionable or doubtful for Saturday evening’s Mississippi State Bulldogs game. In their stead, redshirt freshman Omar Hunter and junior Terron Sanders filled in admirably against the Arkansas Razorbacks, both being named to head coach Urban Meyer’s Champions Club.
With four of six tackles potentially out for the game Saturday, Florida has scratched and clawed in order to find some depth in senior Troy Epps (who has played so rarely it took me five minutes to find a picture of him in action), redshirt defensive end Earl Okine and junior DE Duke Lemmens. Egads!
Defensive line coach Dan McCarney updated the status of his unit: “It’s day-to-day on Howard, don’t know on him. Marsh is day-to-day, I’d say he’s doubtful. I’m hoping he gets back next week. Earl Okine, we’re working in at tackle. Omar Hunter or Tank Epps can play in there at nose or tackle. Duke Lemmens can jump in there at tackle if we needed him to. I can only coach the guys who practice. We’ve got to get those guys ready. We’re thin right now, but we were still able to win an SEC game here (last Saturday) with four of my six guys that didn’t play.”
The best part of that quote, unfortunately, is that Epps’ nickname is “Tank.”
1 » In his weekly Monday afternoon press conference, Florida Gators head coach Urban Meyer named his Champions Club for the Arkansas Razorbacks game. On offense, linemen Mike and Maurkice Pouncey, Carl Johnson, Marcus Gilbert were honored, as was quarterback Tim Tebow, running back Jeff Demps and wide receiver Deonte Thompson. Defense received less accolades, with linemen Omar Hunter and Terron Sanders and safety Major Wright getting praise. WR Riley Cooper was named offensive player of the game while CB Joe Haden brought home the defensive player of the game honors.
Taurean Green (@TaureanJGreen):
"Yes yes....my #GatorBoys in the Elite 8. All u jive time turkeys that thought Marquette was gonna win can sit down and go to sleep!"
The Silver Lining is an exclusive column written by Adam Silverstein of OnlyGators.com for Yahoo! Sports and Rivals.com affiliate InsideTheGators.com. OGGOA readers can receive a special discount on a subscription to InsideTheGators, which can be accessed by clicking the image above!
With four of six tackles potentially out for the game Saturday, Florida has scratched and clawed in order to find some depth in senior Troy Epps (who has played so rarely it took me five minutes to find a picture of him in action), redshirt defensive end Earl Okine and junior DE Duke Lemmens. Egads!
