Florida Gators head football coach Will Muschamp met with the media on Friday to wrap up the 2012 season, look ahead to the upcoming spring practice and discuss some of the recent changes and issues within the program.

PUNISHMENT HANDED DOWN

Muschamp announced Friday that freshman offensive lineman Jessamen Dunker has been suspended indefinitely from all team activities pending the outcome of his legal affairs. Dunker was arrested Monday on a third-degree felony charge of grand theft of a motor vehicle as well as a second-degree misdemeanor charge of driving with a suspended license. He was released on his own recognizance on Thursday and claims that he paid $600 for the scooter not knowing it had been reported stolen.

“I met with Jessamen Dunker [Friday] morning. I have suspended him from all team activities until we get more information,” he said. “I just met to him face-to-face [Friday] morning for the first time for 15 minutes. Once we get a little bit more information, then we’ll move forward, but he’s suspended from the team at this time. We’ll address that further when I know more.”

THREE MORE GATORS LEAVING PROGRAM

It was also announced Friday by Muschamp that redshirt juniors wide receiver Stephen Alli and defensive lineman Kedric Johnson will both be graduating in the spring and moving on from the Florida football program.

Muschamp said that Alli plans to go to graduate school; should he remain at UF, he will have the opportunity to join the team as a graduate assistant. Johnson “may play somewhere [else] next fall,” Muschamp said, and the two are planning to discuss it.

Furthermore, redshirt freshman offensive lineman Tommy Jordan, who never stepped on the field for the Gators due to nagging shoulder problems, has applied for a medical exception to remain on scholarship but no longer play football.

CLEANING UP SOME INJURIES

Muschamp once again noted that redshirt junior right guard Jon Halapio (knee), redshirt sophomore right tackle Chaz Green (ankle) and redshirt sophomore linebacker Neiron Ball (ankle) all had scopes on their various injuries this month.

“We expect all three of those [players] to participate at some point in spring. I don’t know when that will happen, how much contact there will be. I’ll know more as we move forward,” he said.

Junior WR Solomon Patton (broken arm) is “doing really well,” according to Muschamp. He has already been cleared for non-contact work during the spring.

Additionally, sophomore punter Kyle Christy had minor shoulder surgery and will be fine for spring football. “He played pretty well with it. I don’t know why we did surgery, but they felt like he needed it,” Muschamp said.

Read the rest of what Muschamp had to say…after the break!
Continue Reading » 1/18: Dunker suspended, more Gators leave, injury updates, Sugar Bowl review, 2013 preview

Tags: Andre Debose, Bernie Machen, Chaz Green, Cody Riggs, D.J. Durkin, Damien Jacobs, Darious Cummings, Dominique Easley, Draft, Jabari Gorman, Jacoby Brissett, Jaylen Watkins, Jelani Jenkins, Jessamen Dunker, Jon Halapio, Jordan Reed, Kedric Johnson, Kyle Christy, Leon Orr, Louisville Cardinals, Marcus Maye, Matt Elam, Neiron Ball, NFL, Omar Hunter, Quinteze Williams, Rhaheim Ledbetter, Sharrif Floyd, Skyler Mornhinweg, Solomon Patton, Stephen Alli, Sugar Bowl, Tommy Jordan, Tyler Murphy, Valdez Showers, Will Muschamp

Florida Gators sophomore quarterback Jacoby Brissett, embroiled in transfer rumors after losing the starting job to classmate Jeff Driskel in September, decided to leave the program immediately and transfer to another school.

Florida officially announced Brissett’s transfer on Sunday, confirming an initial report released Saturday evening by GatorCountry.com.

Brissett originally committed to the Gators late in the 2011 recruiting cycle after the team had already secured a pledge from Driskel. Then-offensive coordinator Charlie Weis went after Brissett personally and convinced him to commit to Florida over Miami, a move that went against his mother’s wishes.

Third on the team’s depth chart at the start of his freshman season as he enrolled in the summer and not early in the spring, Brissett was thrust into a starting role in 2011 after starter John Brantley and second-stringer Driskel both got injured against Alabama in the fifth week of the season. The following week, he became the first Gators freshman to start at quarterback since Chris Leak and went 18-of-39 for 206 yards with two touchdowns and four interceptions in two consecutive starts.

Brissett and Driskel battled for the starting job over the spring and summer with both players earning the start (Driskel at wide receiver) in the 2012 season-opener against Bowling Green. Driskel took the majority of the snaps in the game and was named full-time starter after the contest, leaving Brissett in a back-up role. Coaches pointed to Driskel’s mobility as the tipping point in their decision-making process.

When Driskel injured his ankle against Louisiana-Lafayette on Nov. 10, Brissett came on to finish the game. He returned as starter the following week against Jacksonville State, combining to go 20-of-30 for 218 yards with one touchdown in the two contests.

It now appears that he will not see the field again until 2014 as he will likely transfer to another Division I program and use 2013 as an NCAA-mandated redshirt year.

According to the Orlando Sentinel, Arkansas, Duke, Louisville, N.C. State and West Virginia are the five leading candidates for Brissett’s services. He has long considered WVU an option and had the school as part of his final four with UF, Miami and Wisconsin during his recruitment. Then-UW head coach Bret Bielema accepted the Arkansas job on Dec. 15, 2012.

With Brissett no longer in the fold, Florida is set to have four scholarship quarterbacks on the roster in 2013. Backing up Driskel will be redshirt sophomore Tyler Murphy, freshman Skyler Mornhinweg and incoming three-star Max Staver (Brentwood, TN). Murphy played sparingly in 2011 but has not thrown a pass in his collegiate career. Mornhinweg did not play in 2012 and will take a redshirt to preserve his full eligibility.

Likely fueled by Brissett’s decision, the Gators appear to have recently made an inquiry about four-star 2013 QB recruit Asiantii Woulard (Winter Park, FL). UF already has four-star QB Will Grier (Davidson, NC) committed for 2014.

Photo Credit: Jonathan Bachman/Associated Press

Tags: Asiantii Woulard, Charlie Weis, Jacoby Brissett, Jeff Driskel, Max Staver, Skyler Mornhinweg, Tyler Murphy, Will Grier

With the 2011-12 athletic season now in the books and the 2012-13 season about to begin, the focus has shifted to the return of Florida Gators football. For the second-straight year, OGGOA will take a look at every player of substance on the roster, counting down by jersey number, in this series: The Countdown.

19 – Caleb Sturgis (St. Augustine, FL)
Redshirt senior kicker
5’11” 184 lbs.

Quick Bio: An Under Armour High School All-American entering his fifth and final year at Florida, Sturgis was a kickoff specialist as a freshman but became the team’s primary place kicker in 2009, when he hit 73.3 percent of his field goals (long: 56) and 44-of-47 extra points. He suffered through back pain early in the 2010 season and was forced to undergo surgery after just four games, being awarded a medical redshirt by the NCAA.

Career Stats (45 games): 46/60 (76.7 percent) on field goals with a long of 56 yards, 96/101 (95.0 percent) on extra points – 234 career points; 274 kickoffs for 17,726 yards (average: 64.7 yards), 36 touchbacks

2011 Season: One of three kickers in the nation to convert on three or more field goals of at least 50 yards, Sturgis was a finalist for the Lou Groza Award and arguably the most consistent player on the Gators. He was 22/26 on field goals and perfect with 31 extra points over the course of the season.

2012 Outlook: Sturgis returns as the starter for the fourth-straight season and is already second on Florida’s all-time list for made field goals (22 away from passing Jeff Chandler with 67). He has already kicked three of the four longest field goals in school history and is the only player on the roster to receive unanimous preseason recognition nationally.

18 – Kent Taylor (Land O’Lakes, FL)
Freshman tight end
6’5” 223 lbs.

Quick Bio/2012 Outlook:A four-star prospect, Taylor was widely considered the top tight end in the country last year and committed to the Gators despite having offers from every major school. He has impressed coaches this offseason with his hands and should play as a freshman mostly as a pass catcher because he still needs to add some size to be an effective blocker. “Kent catches the ball extremely well. He’s very athletic. I mean, very athletic. That’s another guy that you have to decide what he can do at this point,” head coach Will Muschamp said recently. “Obviously he’s a guy that needs to gain some girth and some strength as far as the blocking is concerned. Let’s don’t ask him to do something he can’t do. I know one thing – he can go get the football down the field. He can catch the ball. He can do some of those things. So let’s identify what he can do and what he can handle in those situations.”

Check out 10 more players in this edition of The Countdown…after the break!
Continue Reading » The Countdown: Florida Gators roster (19-10)

Tags: Antonio Morrison, Austin Hardin, Brad Phillips, Brent Pease, Caleb Sturgis, Dan Quinn, Darrin Kitchens, Jacoby Brissett, Jaylen Watkins, Jeff Driskel, Jordan Reed, Kent Taylor, Latroy Pittman, Loucheiz Purifoy, Neiron Ball, Skyler Mornhinweg, Tyler Murphy, Valdez Showers, Will Muschamp

Florida Gators head coach Will Muschamp has already received some criticism for his decision to play one of his two sophomore quarterbacks in the first quarter and rotate in the other in the second quarter before reevaluating the situation at halftime of the season opener on Saturday against Bowling Green.

But the way his offensive coordinator Brent Pease and signal callers all tell it, the decision is at least fair to all parties involved even if it is a not typical.

“I think it is a little bit [unusual]. I think in this circumstance, because of how they both progressed and how they’ve shown their leadership skills, I’m not really worried about it right now,” Pease said on Monday. “In some situations I’ve been in before, I’d say, ‘Yeah.’ I don’t think it is [a problem for] this team because of their maturity and how they’ve kind of come along.

“I think when the lights come on it’s going to be different for each kid. Hopefully they’re both prepared and they accept the challenge.”

Pease said Jacoby Brissett and Jeff Driskel both deserve the opportunity to play in the first game because of how hard they have practiced throughout the offseason and the level of improvement that each has shown over the last few months.

“They have both really done a good job in how they’ve handled the situation and how they progressed,” he said. “I think it would be hard to name a starter right now because what would you be telling the other kid? If they had separated from each other, yeah, but they both have really made major progress and they both have really done good things. We got a situation in a game where we can play them. There’s been situations in college football and even in the NFL where both guys have played.”

Driskel, who of course wants the starting job all to himself just like Brissett does, explained that there is not much more he or his teammate can ask for then a fair shot to compete for the full-time job.

“I thought they were going to name a starter,” he said, “but I knew it was going to be difficult for them, and I wouldn’t want to be the guy to have to pick between us two because, like I said, we’ve both been performing so well.

“Obviously I’d like to play the first but that doesn’t matter. We’re both going to play and we’re both going to try to do the same thing. We’re on the same team, so I’ll be cheering for him and he’ll be cheering for me.”

Driskel added, “Ever since the spring, [a fair shot is] what we’ve both wanted and that’s what we’ve both got. We both took advantage of our opportunity and this Saturday is just one more chance.”

Read the rest of this story…after the break!
Continue Reading » Split unusual but quarterbacks will get fair shot

Tags: Brent Pease, Jacoby Brissett, Jeff Driskel, Jessamen Dunker, Mack Brown, Skyler Mornhinweg, Tyler Murphy, Will Muschamp

The competition to earn the starting quarterback job for the Florida Gators is alive and well, according to head coach Will Muschamp, who explained on Wednesday that sophomore Jeff Driskel has a contusion on the scapula of his left, non-throwing shoulder, which he does not consider to be a significant injury.

In fact, Muschamp said that Driskel, after sitting out practice on Monday and Tuesday due to shoulder soreness, was back in action Wednesday. He will, however, be wearing a non-contact jersey for a week in order to ensure that the injury heals fully.

“Sunday night Jeff got a pop on his shoulder; it was no big deal, thought it was a bruise. We all get bruised when you’re in camp and you play football. Iced it Sunday night, it was no big deal,” he said.

“He’s going to practice [Wednesday]. He’s out of contact for a week. Period. End of sentence. I don’t know what else to say. I don’t know how some of these things get caught like wildfire and travel. But that’s it.

“The competition is ongoing. It hasn’t affected anything we’re trying to do or how we’re trying to prepare our football team.”

After The Gainesville Sun reported that Driskel had suffered “significant” shoulder injury during practice on Tuesday, USA Today‘s Rachel George spoke with Driskel’s mother, who confirmed that her son was indeed injured but noted that it actually occurred on Sunday and was relatively minor in nature.

Mary Driskel told USA TODAY Sports her son told her he injured his left, non-throwing shoulder in drills on Sunday and woke up sore on Monday.

She said Driskel did not practice on Monday or Tuesday but is expected to return on Wednesday.

Florida confirmed in a brief statement that Driskel would be “taking reps at practice Wednesday” but did not provide any additional information until Wednesday when Muschamp spoke with the media prior to a scheduled players-only media availability.

It is currently unknown how Driskel got injured during practice; however, Muschamp mentioned on Monday that the coaching staff decided to remove the red non-contact practice jerseys from the quarterbacks beginning on Sunday in order to help them get more comfortable taking “thuds” in live action.

“We went to a tempo [Sunday] where we thud a little bit on them, made them a little live,” he said. “We didn’t take them to the ground, but I think it’s important for them to feel the presence of the pocket. [...] For those guys, we need to thud and hit them a little bit, so we took the red [practice jerseys] off after Saturday, started that [Sunday].”

Muschamp has since placed the red jerseys back on both players (at least temporarily), noting Wednesday that he does not regret making that decision.

“That’s football. It’s football. Everybody is sore right now. Everybody is sore. It’s camp. That’s part of the deal. It’s part of working through it,” he said.

With the Gators’ season opener against Bowling Green just 17 days away on Sept. 1, the quarterback competition between Driskel and fellow sophomore signal caller Jacoby Brissett will be drawing to a close sooner than later. Muschamp said Driskel’s minor injury has not and will not affect his opportunity to win that job.

Photo Credit: Phil Sandlin/Associated Press

Tags: Jacoby Brissett, Jeff Driskel, Skyler Mornhinweg, Tyler Murphy, Will Muschamp

Athletes care about their uniform numbers and now that Florida Gators football team is days away from returning to the practice field in preparation for the 2012 season, it was time for the team’s newest members to choose theirs. Below is the full list of additions and changes, according to the University of Florida‘s latest roster:

TRANSFERS
» No. 4 – Damien Jacobs (Scooba, MS), JUCO transfer defensive tackle
» No. 76 – Max Garcia (Norcross, GA), redshirt* junior transfer offensive lineman

FRESHMEN
» No. 6 – Dante Fowler, Jr. (St. Petersburg, FL), five-star Buck linebacker
» No. 12 – Antonio Morrison (Bolingbrook, IL), four-star linebacker
» No. 13 – Latroy Pittman (Citra, FL), four-star wide receiver
» No. 16 – Austin Hardin (Atlanta, GA), three-star kicker
» No. 17 – Skyler Mornhinweg (Philadelphia, PA), three-star quarterback
» No. 18 – Kent Taylor (Land O’Lakes, FL), four-star tight end
» No. 20 – Marcus Maye (Melbourne, FL), four-star safety
» No. 24 – Brian Poole (Bradenton, FL), four-star defensive back
» No. 24 – Matt Jones (Seffner, FL), four-star running back
» No. 27 – Willie Bailey (Hallandale, FL), three-star defensive back
» No. 28 – Jeremi Powell (Largo, FL), four-star linebacker
» No. 29 – Rhaheim Ledbetter (Shelby, NC), three-star safety
» No. 70 – D.J. Humphries (Charlotte, NC), five-star offensive tackle
» No. 74 – Jessamen Dunker (Boynton Beach, FL), four-star offensive lineman
» No. 84 – Colin Thompson (Warminster, PA), four-star tight end
» No. 86 – Raphael Andrades (Tallahassee, FL), three-star wide receiver
» No. 90 – Jonathan Bullard (Shelby, NC), five-star defensive end
» No. 94 – Bryan Cox, Jr. (Fort Lauderdale, FL), three-star defensive lineman
» No. 95 – Alex McCalister (Clemmons, NC), three-star linebacker
» No. 96 – Jafar Mann (Stone Mountain, GA), three-star defensive lineman
» No. 98 – Quinteze Williams (Tyrone, GA), three-star defensive lineman

NUMBER CHANGES
» No. 1 – Jon Bostic, senior linebacker (formerly No. 52)
» No. 1 – Quinton Dunbar, redshirt sophomore wide receiver (formerly No. 84)
» No. 6 – Jeff Driskel, sophomore quarterback (formerly No. 16)
» No. 9 – Josh Evans, senior safety (formerly No. 24)
» No. 10 – Valdez Showers, redshirt freshman defensive back (formerly No. 20)
» No. 12 – Jacoby Brissett, sophomore quarterback (formerly No. 17)
» No. 20 – Omarius Hines, redshirt senior tight end (formerly No. 82)
» No. 32 – Chris Johnson, sophomore running back (formerly No. 33)
» No. 88 – Clay Burton, sophomore tight end (formerly No. 86)

» Sophomore Tevin Westbrook remains listed as No. 97 on the latest roster despite moving from defensive end to tight end.

* Garcia is ineligible for the 2012-13 season due to NCAA transfer rules; he can practice with Florida and will be allowed to play beginning in 2013-14.

Tags: Alex McCalister, Antonio Morrison, Austin Hardin, Brian Poole, Bryan Cox, Chris Johnson, Clay Burton, Colin Thompson, D.J. Humphries, Damien Jacobs, Dante Fowler, Jacoby Brissett, Jafar Mann, Jeff Driskel, Jeremi Powell, Jessamen Dunker, Jon Bostic, Jonathan Bullard, Josh Evans, Kent Taylor, Latroy Pittman, Marcus Maye, Matt Jones, Max Garcia, Omarius Hines, Quinteze Williams, Quinton Dunbar, Raphael Andrades, Rhaheim Ledbetter, Skyler Mornhinweg, Tevin Westbrook, Valdez Showers, Willie Bailey

After seemingly striking out again and again when it came to bringing in a quarterback as part of the 2013 recruiting class, the Florida Gators received some good news on Monday when three-star signal caller Max Staver (Brentwood, TN) officially received his offer and committed to join the program on the spot.

Listed as the 27th-best quarterback available by Rivals but ranked as the No. 251 overall recruit in the nation and a four-star prospect by ESPN, Staver’s size (6’5″ 235 lbs.) and arm are two of his major strengths. He will have plenty of time to improve as a reserve with the Gators seeing as UF currently has at least four players in front of him – sophomores Jacoby Brissett and Jeff Driskel, incoming freshman Skyler Mornhinweg and redshirt sophomore Tyler Murphy.

Head coach Will Muschamp and offensive coordinator Brent Pease both said separately this offseason that they plan to gain a commitment from at least one quarterback each cycle. Despite the fact that some of Florida’s top prospects at the position decided to commit elsewhere for a variety of reasons – an occurrence that led many to believe the Gators should hold off on adding a quarterback this year – the coaching staff persisted and came away with a solid player.

Staver chose Florida over over Mississippi State and Memphis. He is the 18th member of the team’s 2013 class and sixth offensive playmaker (three wide receivers, two running backs) but just the fifth overall to commit from outside the state.

Staver is the seventh QB the Gators have earned a pledge from since 2009 though two are no longer playing the position. His commitment was first reported by ESPN.

Tags: Brent Pease, Jacoby Brissett, Jeff Driskel, Max Staver, Skyler Mornhinweg, Tyler Murphy, Will Muschamp

Florida Gators head coach Will Muschamp held a press conference after his coaching staff received 23 National Letters of Intent on National Signing Day.

Opening statement:

“I’m real pleased with how recruiting went. Any time you get to this day, it’s a combination of a lot of hard work and effort by our staff. I think our staff did an outstanding job. You got to improve your program where you know you need to improve your program. Of the 23 players that joined our program today, 14 are line of scrimmage players – mid-skill and big-skill guys. We saw very easily in our season this year we struggled on both lines of scrimmage consistently being able to run the ball and stop the run. I certainly feel like we’ve addressed our most pressing need on both lines of scrimmage. We’ll develop playmakers and depth on both lines of scrimmage.

“I’m really excited about the guys we’ve got in that group and also eight skill guys, which includes a quarterback. We’d like to sign a quarterback every year. I think that’s important. A kicker, Austin Hardin, a guy that came in and did an outstanding job for us. We’re real pleased about him.

“We’ll know about this class in two or three years. I’ll tell you the same thing I did last year: Football is a developmental game, and you got to develop he players. I’m really excited about Jeff Dillman and Jesse Ackerman and our strength staff, our coaching staff – the job that they do in getting our players in here and doing a nice job with them. We’ll know a lot more about this class in two or three years. At the end of the day, this is a developmental game. We’ll be able to address that. It’s not about winning in February. It’s about winning in the fall and developing your football team and addressing your needs, and I think we’ve done that.”

» On Florida recruiting so well in the state of North Carolina: “D.J. Durkin, first of all, is our area recruiter for that area. He does a really nice job of recruiting, period. It was a full team effort. [...] We honed in on the guys we want and the guys we feel like can come and make a difference in our program, and we go after those guys.”

» On three/four-star defensive end Alex McCalister: “Alex McCalister is a guy that came to our camp, he broad jumped over 10 feet, close to a 40” vertical leap. A guy that is 6’6” and 220 lbs., his best football is ahead of him. That’s a very, very explosive athlete and a guy that hasn’t played a whole lot of football.”

» On flipping five-star DE Dante Fowler: “You recruit through this process and sometimes when you get there on signing day, you’re leaving it up to the young man and his family to make a decision. I think Dante had a good fit here at Florida as far as his position was concerned, his opportunity was concerned. We’re excited to add another good pass rusher to our program.”

Continue Reading » Will Muschamp on Florida’s 2012 recruiting class

Tags: Alex McCalister, Austin Hardin, Brent Pease, Brian Poole, Brian White, Bryan Cox, Bryant Young, Colin Thompson, D.J. Durkin, D.J. Humphries, Dan Quinn, Dante Fowler, Jafar Mann, Jeff Dillman, Jeremi Powell, Jessamen Dunker, Jesse Ackerman, Jonathan Bullard, Kent Taylor, Latroy Pittman, Marcus Maye, Matt Jones, National Signing Day, Quinteze Williams, Raphael Andrades, Skyler Mornhinweg, Will Muschamp