Aside from having to hire a new head coach after Urban Meyer‘s shocking resignation, one of the most immediate issues facing the Florida Gators football program in 2010 is retaining recruits from one of the top incoming classes in the country. With 20 recruits currently verbally committed to the Gators and plenty more considering their commitment one way or another, losing Meyer will almost certainly a blow to the team’s recruiting – how big of a blow is yet to be determined. Numerous sources including Rivals, GatorCountry, the Palm Beach Post, the Orlando Sentinel, the Gainesville Sun and the Sporting News have spoken with these recruits over the past few hours, and OGGOA has compiled some information on where each of them stand.

Because the list is so long, it is best to view it after the jump!!!
Continue Reading » Meyer’s decision stuns Gators 2010 recruits

Tags: Chris Dunkley, Christian Green, Cody Riggs, Demar Dorsey, Gerald Christian, Gideon Ajagbe, Ian Silberman, Jack Daniels, Jaylen Watkins, Jordan Hicks, Joshua Shaw, Kenny Carter, Lynden Trail, Mack Brown, Matt Elam, Quinton Dunbar, Robert Clark, Seantrel Henderson, Solomon Patton, Trey Burton, Urban Meyer, Vance Bedford

1 » Four-star offensive tackle Morgan Moses (Fork Union, VA) has narrowed his college choices down to the Florida Gators and Virginia Cavaliers, according to JC Shurburtt of ESPN. A prep school standout, Moses has been committed to Virginia for some time but decided to open up his recruitment after head coach Al Groh was fired. He visited Gainesville, FL, this past weekend and came away impressed with what the experience. Moses will announce his decision within the next week and could be a monster get for the Gators.

2 » Solomon Patton, a three-star wide receiver commit from Mobile, AL, speaks with The Birmingham News about his commitment to Florida and his plan to enroll early for the spring semester in January.

Extra Bit » Former five-star Notre Dame Fighting Irish defensive end commit Chris Martin has given his pledge to the California Golden Bears. Though Martin’s choice was thought to be between the Gators and the Oklahoma Sooners, his decision to commit to Cal came after a recent visit and some encouragement by his parents.

Tags: Al Groh, California Golden Bears, Chris Martin, Morgan Moses, Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Oklahoma Sooners, Solomon Patton, Virginia Cavaliers

From time to time, OGGOA will come across too many news items we want to share with our readers. In those instances, we present a special post: Gator Bites. Enjoy.

- Reports were released early Sunday that Florida Gators head coach Urban Meyer was hospitalized late Saturday night with chest pains. However, Meyer actually checked himself into Shands hospital in Gainesville, FL, early Sunday morning. He was treated and released for dehydration. The Orlando Sentinel reports that Meyer “worked late recruiting Saturday night after the Southeastern Conference Championship game loss to Alabama, which may have contributed to his dehydration.” ESPN has the story:

- Four-star linebacker Jeff Luc (Port St. Lucie, FL), a recruit who was highly coveted by the Gators, committed to the Florida State Seminoles on Saturday according to Aaron Shepard, one of his high school coaches. “He said he’s been a fan since he’s been a little kid and it just felt like home since he went up there this weekend,” Shepard told The Orlando Sentinel on Sunday.

- Defensive coordinator Charlie Strong told reporters on Saturday that he has not yet spoken to the Louisville Cardinals and had no planned meeting with the school on Sunday. Sunday morning, the Cardinals spoke with Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley and received permission to speak with Strong about the job opening. According to ESPN’s Joe Schad on twitter, Strong and Louisville AD Tom Jurich have plans to meet Sunday night in Gainesville, FL.

- The Gators will likely face the Cincinnati Bearcats in the Sugar Bowl. Meyer played defensive back for the Bearcats from 1983-1986.

- Former Alabama Crimson Tide running back Shaun Alexander, a close friend of senior quarterback Tim Tebow for some time, was seen consoling him late after the game in the Georgia Dome.

– Prior to the Miami Dolphins game on Sunday, former middle linebacker Channing Crowder ran out of the tunnel and gave a huge Gator Chomp to the crowd (which received a surprising ovation). Crowder was responsible for the game-clinching interception with 0:35 left in the fourth quarter as the Dolphins defeated the New England Patriots.

- Also a huge day for former Florida wide receiver Louis Murphy with the Oakland Raiders. Murphy caught four balls for 128 yards and two fourth quarter touchdowns against the Pittsburgh Steelers to give his team a 27-24 win.

- Competing in the 2010 Under Armour All-American Game are the following Florida commitments: Joshua Shaw (CB; Palmdale, CA), Jonathan Dowling (S; Southeast, FL), Demar Dorsey (S; Boyd Anderson, FL), Solomon Patton (WR; Murphy, AL), Leon Orr (DT; Gulf, FL), Mack Brown (RB; Martin Luther King, GA), Ian Silberman (OT; Fleming Island, FL). These recruiting prospects (among others) will also be playing in the game: Chris Dunkley (WR; Pahokee, FL), Kadron Boone (WR; Trinity Catholic, FL), Lamarcus Joyner (CB; St. Thomas Aquinas, FL), Cody Riggs (CB; St. Thomas Aquinas, FL), Chaz Green (OT; Tampa Catholic, FL), Devin Gardner (QB; Inkster, MI), Eric Mack (OG; Calhoun County, SC). For the star ratings of the Gators commits found in this list, visit OGGOA‘s recruiting page.

OGGOA will continue to update you with news throughout the day, so stay tuned.

Tags: Alabama Crimson Tide, Channing Crowder, Charlie Strong, Chaz Green, Chris Dunkley, Cincinnati Bearcats, Cody Riggs, Demar Dorsey, Devin Gardner, Eric Mack, Florida State Seminoles, Ian Silberman, Jeff Luc, Jonathan Dowling, Joshua Shaw, Kardon Boone, Lamarcus Joyner, Leon Orr, Louis Murphy, Louisville Cardinals, Mack Brown, Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots, Oakland Raiders, Pittsburgh Steelers, SEC Championship, Shands, Shaun Alexander, Solomon Patton, Sugar Bowl, Tim Tebow, Under Armour All-American Game, Urban Meyer

While No. 1 Florida Gators football prepares to close out its regular season against the in-state rival Florida State Seminoles on Saturday, three other UF teams want to set the stage for a week of Gators domination. It begins Tuesday night at 5 p.m., when the swimming & diving teams square off against FSU in the Stephen C. O’Connell Center Natorium. The day’s events do not stop there as Florida basketball (3-0) takes on Florida State (3-0) immediately after the swimming & diving match-up at 7 p.m.

The 61st meeting between the two teams, Florida leads the all-time series 38-22 though Florida State has won three straight and four of the last five meetings. FSU won 57-55 last year in Tallahassee, FL with now-senior forward Ryan Reid scoring 13 points. Reid now has a chance to become the first Seminoles basketball player in school history to beat the Gators four straight times. “That would be a good thing,” Reid said. “But it’s just another opportunity to play basketball and also get a good win on the road. I’m not really trying to get caught up in beating them four years in row. We’re just going to try to go hard.”

In order to pull out a much needed victory against FSU, Florida must play physical. The Seminoles bring one of the biggest frontcourts in the nation into the O’Dome, led by center Solomon Patton (7’1” 251 lbs.). “They are probably going to be one of the biggest and longest teams we will have played against,” head coach Billy Donovan said. “We have some guys who can hopefully match up. We don’t have anybody the size of those guys or the length of those guys, but neither do most teams in the country so it’s not like we’re drastically undersized playing against them.”

For Florida State, the key will be scoring on the gators defense, which has carried it to three straight wins so far this season. Florida is holding its opponents to just 51.0 points per game and held its first two opponents under 50 points for the first time since the 1949-50 season. The Gators finished 18-2 at home last season and are 72-8 in the House of Horrors over the past five years. This is good for second in the nation behind the Memphis Tigers (77 wins).

The Seminoles return three starters from last year’s team that advanced to the first round of the NCAA Tournament. FSU head coach Leonard Hamilton was named ACC Coach of the Year and has a chance to improve his team to 4-0 on the 2009 season.

Junior forwards Alex Tyus (sprained ankle) and Chandler Parsons (hip flexor) are expected to play Tuesday night, though Donovan said Parsons does have a chance of being held out on a game-time decision. Parsons has been the spark the Gators needed off the bench this season, averaging 14.3 points and a team-high 8.3 rebounds.

Tags: ACC, Alex Tyus, Billy Donovan, Chandler Parsons, diving, Florida State Seminoles, NCAA, O'Connell Center, Ryan Reid, Solomon Patton, swimming

1 » Prior to the season, one of the biggest stories was the Florida Gators potentially using cornerback Joe Haden at quarterback in a Wildcat-like formation. While UF’s ability and lack of fear to use the Wildcat with wide receiver Percy Harvin last season was well documented, I held (and hold) the opinion that Haden plays extensively enough on defense and special teams – that using him on offense as well would be overkill.

While talk about Haden’s role in the formation seems to have died down, usage of the Wildcat as a whole has not. Head coach Urban Meyer said Monday that tight end Aaron Hernandez, running back Jeff Demps and wide receiver Brandon James could all get direct snaps against No. 4 LSU Tigers. While an occasional direct snap may be called, I see this as more of a diversionary tactic to get LSU thinking about more than just “Tim Tebow or John Brantley” but rather “Tebow, Brantley or the Wildcat.”

2 » In an effort to gain prestige within the state of Florida, the USF Bulls have marketed themselves as one of the “Big 4″ along with the Florida Gators, Miami Hurricanes and Florida State Seminoles. This new billboard, located at I-275 near I-4 has, to his credit, drawn the ire of Bulls head coach Jim Leavitt. “I had nothing to do with (the billboard), I don’t know how it got up, and I don’t know who put it up,” Leavitt said Tuesday. “We have not won national championships, and we have not won conference championships. What gives us the right to sit there all of a sudden like we’ve won all these championships and done all this stuff?” Looks like the USF marketing department should have checked with Leavitt first.

Continue Reading » FOUR BITS: Will Wildcat be used? USF uses UF in ad. Tigers ready for QB. Recruiting update.

Tags: Aaron Hernandez, Booker T. Washington, Brandon James, Chris Dunkley, Christian Green, Florida State Seminoles, Ivan McCartney, Jeff Demps, Jim Leavitt, Joe Haden, John Brantley, John Chavis, Les Miles, LSU Tigers, Lynden Trail, Miami Hurricanes, Percy Harvin, Quinton Dunbar, Solomon Patton, Tim Tebow, Urban Meyer, USF Bulls