1 » Just days after being selected with the No. 15 overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft, former Florida Gators center Mike Pouncey went on the Joe Rose Show on 560 WQAM in Miami, FL to discuss being drafted by the Miami Dolphins. Discussing draft day itself, Pouncey said he was worried when the Dolphins didn’t call him right away as the clock ticked away. “When they was on the clock, I was getting nervous. I leaned over and told my brother, ‘Man, I don’t think they’re going to call me,’” he said. “And they finally called me with like two minutes left on the clock. It was one of the best moments of my life, and I’m so happy to be a Miami Dolphin.”

Waiting to hear from Miami left tackle Jake Long so he can begin practicing with his teammates, Pouncey also talked to Rose about his bad snaps with Florida in 2010. “It was my first year playing center. As the season went on, I got better and better,” he said. “At the end of the year, it wasn’t even a problem. When I went out there the first game, I just let it get in front of me. I took shotgun snapping for granted basically.”

2 » Former Gators safety Ahmad Black may not been picked as early as he wanted (or should have been), but things worked out in the end as his favorite team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, decided to give him a chance to succeed in the NFL. Speaking with his hometown paper, the Lakeland Ledger, over the weekend, Black was excited. “This is a blessing,” he said. “A lot of people have asked me where I wanted to go, and Tampa was always my first pick. That’s my favorite team. I didn’t really want to say I just want Tampa because there was always a chance I would go somewhere else.”

Tampa Bay head coach Raheem Morris won’t label Black position-wise, though he thinks he can assist in a number of ways. “He is a safety that has the ability to play corner [and is a] hybrid athlete that can do multiple things because of [his] instincts and awareness,” he said.

1 » In a Q&A session on Rivals Thursday, recruiting analyst Jamie Newberg addressed the Florida Gators’ needs at wide receiver by mentioning that five-star safety Jonathan Dowling (Bradenton, FL) has requested that the catch instead of defend passes while wearing the Orange and Blue. Dowling, assumed to be playing free safety, is listed as an athlete by many recruiting services, could find a spot in Florida’s receiving corps, though he should also see an opportunity to get some time on the field in the secondary.

2 » Though he was not focused on former Gators quarterback Tim Tebow at the 2010 NFL Scouting Combine, Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Raheem Morris praised the signal caller and believes there will be plenty of teams interested in his services. “Teams will be fired up to get him,” Morris told The Tampa Tribune. “He’s won at every level. His teammates love him. They’ll let you know they love him. [...] Those are the kind of guys you look for to involve in the character, leadership and also the winning of your football team.”

Two more BITS on Joe Haden and UF award-winners after the break!

3 » One of the biggest stories coming out of the combine are the 40-yard dash times of former Florida cornerback Joe Haden. Running a high of 4.57 seconds, Haden’s time was “slow” and he “did not look fluid when opening his hips and changing directions” in other drills, according to ESPN‘s Todd McShay. “He looked quick and explosive out of his backpedal at times in Indianapolis but teams are no doubt poring over his game film to see if there is something they missed, and unless Haden proves the combine was a fluke he risks his stock taking another hit.”

4 » Three University of Florida student-athletes have been awarded weekly honors due to outstanding performances in tennis and golf, respectively. Men’s tennis player Bob Van Overbeek won SEC Freshman of the Week for the second-straight time, marking the third consecutive week UF has brought home the award. On the women’s side, Lauren Embree was awarded the same honor – she is the third different Gators tennis player to earn the weekly honor this season. Freshman golfer Isabelle Lendl was named the SEC’s Women’s Golfer of the Week award due to her performances at the Central District Invitational and Kinderlou Forest Challenge, where she led Florida with scores of 212 and 227, respectively.

Photo Credit: Davide De Pas