1 » Though he has told the media and his players that he plans to return to the Florida Gators on March 17 for the beginning of spring practice, head coach Urban Meyer will not be speaking at a Gator Gathering in Jacksonville, FL, on April 21. Instead, interim head coach and offensive coordinator Steve Addazio will fill in. Over the last few years, Meyer made an exuberant number of Gator Gathering stops throughout the state of Florida during the offseason. Curtailing those appearances is a step in the right direction in limiting his travel and responsibilities. UPDATE: Addazio will also take Meyer’s place at the same event on April 30 in Atlanta, GA.

2 » In his latest Big Board, ESPN NFL Draft analyst Mel Kiper, Jr. dropped former Gators cornerback Joe Haden seven spots from No. 5 to No. 12 overall. Kiper still lists Maurkice Pouncey, who he calls an “athletic, versatile interior lineman [who is] rising quickly,” at No. 18 – the top center/guard on his board.

Extra Bit » Reports have the Washington Redskins showing a strong level of interest in former Florida quarterback Rex Grossman. OGGOA will update.

Tags: Joe Haden, Maurkice Pouncey, NFL, Rex Grossman, Steve Addazio, Urban Meyer, Washington Redskins

Though he was offered a scholarship and grayshirt by the South Florida Bulls, three-star kicker Marvin Kloss (Naples, FL) had decided to accept a walk-on offer from the Florida Gators pending his admission. Unfortunately for Kloss and the Gators, the University of Florida decided not to grant him admission due to his grades and test scores; he will now be a preferred walk-on with the Bulls.

“If [Florida] can get me in, I’m going up there,” Kloss said earlier in the week. “I want to play right away, and they’re a lot better [than USF] scholarship-wise with just one kicker and one punter on scholarship.” His tune obviously had to change on Thursday. “It wasn’t that hard a decision,” Kloss told the St. Petersburg Times. “I thought about it, sat down with my coach and my parents, and overall, I just had a better feel about USF.”

His grade point average and test scores already earned him a Florida Bright Futures scholarship, though they were obviously not high enough to get him into UF. Kloss had previously told the Times that Gators interim head coach and offensive coordinator Steve Addazio would be taking his paperwork to the admissions office on Wednesday.

Kloss had scholarship offers from the Purdue Boilermakers and Marshall Thundering Heard before National Signing Day, both of which he declined in order to attempt a walk-on. He is not guaranteed a scholarship from USF, especially since he will be competing with the six kickers already on the team’s roster this spring.

Photo Credit: David Albers/Naples Daily News

Tags: Marvin Kloss, National Signing Day, South Florida Bulls, Steve Addazio, University of Florida

From time to time, OGGOA will come across a plethora of news and notes that we wish to share with our readers. In those instances, we present a special post: Gator Bites. Enjoy.

» Florida Gators associate athletics director Steve McClain spoke with The Florida Times-Union about head coach Urban Meyer’s leave of absence. He had this to say: “If you compare [what Meyer is doing now] to what he was usually doing, it was very different. He [has] made a lot of changes.”

» In a meeting with the media today, running backs coach Stan Drayton told reporters that redshirt sophomore Chris Rainey will be both a rusher and slot receiver next season. While this may seem like big news to some, it is important to realize that former kick returner Brandon James technically held this job last season and amassed a grand total of 24 catches for 215 yards. Obviously Rainey is more talented offensively, but the “change” in position is less important than an increase in production would be.

• Expect redshirt junior RB Emmanuel Moody to see a big increase in carries.
• Freshman RB Mike Gillislee could see more game action, too.

Plenty of additional news and notes are available after the break! Keep reading…
Continue Reading » Gator Bites for Wednesday, February 17

Tags: Allie Will, Carlos Dunlap, Chris Rainey, D.J. Durkin, Draft, Emmanuel Moody, George Edwards, Joe Haden, Maurkice Pouncey, Mike Gillislee, National Signing Day, NFL, SEC, Sekou Bangoura Jr., Stan Drayton, Steve Addazio, Steve McClain, Teryl Austin, Tim Tebow, Urban Meyer

1 » Former Florida Gators All-American center and NBA first-round draft pick Dwayne Schintzius is in the middle of an extensive battle with leukemia. Schintzius, 41, is the Gators’ fifth all-time leading scorer (1,624 points); the team’s career blocks leader; the only player in SEC history with more than 1,000 points, 800 rebounds, 250 assists and 250 blocks; and a nine-year NBA veteran who was drafted No. 24 overall by the San Antonio Spurs in 1990. He received a bone marrow transplant on Jan. 12 from his brother Travis, and his family prays each day that his condition will improve. You can read more about his past career and present condition here and here.

2 » Florida sophomore running back Jeff Demps, a freshman as a track and field sprinter, was awarded his second SEC Male Freshman of the Week award by the conference on Tuesday. Demps, who won the men’s 60-meter dash at the Tyson Invitational last week, set a NCAA automatic-qualifying time of 6.59, tying teammate Terrell Wilks for the school record. His time in the 60 is the fastest in the nation so far this season and ranks 15th in the world.

Two more BITS on Erving Walker and Steve Addazio after the jump!
Continue Reading » FOUR BITS: Schintzius, Demps, Walker, Addazio

Tags: Dwayne Schintzius, Erving Walker, Jeff Demps, Jeff Driskel, Junior Day, NBA, NCAA, San Antonio Spurs, SEC, Steve Addazio, Terrell Wilks, Urban Meyer

Recruiting contributor Zach Abolverdi takes a look at Junior Day for OGGOA…

The Florida Gators’ first Junior Day of the 2011 recruiting cycle was a successful start to the season, despite the absence of head coach Urban Meyer. By all accounts, interim head coach and offensive coordinator Steve Addazio was firing on all cylinders, doing a good job selling the program to the prospects in attendance. He emphasized how coaches, players and recruits united when uncertainty surrounded the program just over a month ago and claimed it was a testament to the resiliency of Gator Nation.

Recruiting requires many crucial components and qualities, one of which is developing relationships early in the process. Addazio and the coaching staff got that chance this past Saturday, when they saw familiar faces mixed with some brand new ones. There were no drills, workouts or whistles, just an opportunity for prospects to take in the city, campus and everything the University of Florida has to offer.

Find out who visited and what their impressions were of the Gators after the jump!
Continue Reading » Florida impresses recruits at first Junior Day

Tags: A.C. Leonard, Anthony Chickillo, Brian Randolph, Chuck Heater, D.J. Durkin, Dan McCarney, De'Ante Saunders, Florida State Seminoles, Garrett Clark, Gator Nation, James Vaughters, Jeff Driskel, Junior Day, LaMichael Fanning, Louisville Cardinals, Miami Hurricanes, Steve Addazio, Troy Pettis, University of Florida, Urban Meyer, Vance Bedford

UPDATE: Florida does not grant K Marvin Kloss admission

Though he was offered a scholarship and grayshirt by the South Florida Bulls, three-star kicker Marvin Kloss (Naples, FL) has decided to accept a walk-on offer from the Florida Gators and expects to make an impact right away, according to the St. Petersburg Times.

“If they can get me in, I’m going up there,” Kloss said of his pending admission status at Florida. “I want to play right away, and they’re a lot better [than USF] scholarship-wise with just one kicker and one punter on scholarship.”

His grade point average and test scores have already earned him a Florida Bright Futures scholarship, so it is likely that UF will grant Kloss admission soon. In fact, he told the Times that interim head coach and offensive coordinator Steve Addazio would be taking his paperwork to the admissions office on Wednesday. If Kloss shows promise on the field, he should have no problem earning a scholarship with the Gators.

UPDATE: The Naples Daily News reports that a low SAT score caused UF to initially decline Kloss’ enrollment application. “The only thing holding me back from making a clear-cut decision is that I got declined,” he told the paper. “[The Gators’ coaches] said it’s up to admissions to decide based on the number of students they have next year.”

Kloss had scholarship offers from the Purdue Boilermakers and Marshall Thundering Heard, which he declined in order to walk-on at Florida (or USF).

“With Marvin’s talent, if he does anywhere close to what he should do next year, he will [earn a scholarship],” Barron Collier High School coach Mark Ivey told the paper. “He has the opportunity if he performs to help on kickoffs next year at a minimum.”

ESPNU Evaluation: “Kloss has FBS leg strength and he has shown this at multiple camps. He is a very competitive athlete who gets great height on both his kickoffs and field goals. He has special leg speed and the ball comes off his foot very fast with a slow rotation. His control and accuracy on field goals are impressive. He is college-ready off the ground. […] Coaches will like his confident attitude.”

Photo Credit: David Albers/Naples Daily News

Tags: grayshirt, Marvin Kloss, South Florida Bulls, Steve Addazio, University of Florida

1 » Though he had to postpone his leave of absence due to former defensive coordinator George Edwards departing for the Buffalo Bills, Florida Gators head coach Urban Meyer has finally taken a step back, according to Jeremy Fowler of the Orlando Sentinel. Interim head coach and offensive coordinator Steve Addazio took the lead at UF’s Junior Day on Saturday as dozens of high school juniors visited Gainesville, FL, to learn about the football team. Meyer was nowhere to be found and has “a couple of getaways planned” before spring practice begins on March 17.

2 » Those down in the dumps about Gators basketball recently have reason to look forward to next season as two four-star forwards, Patric Young (Jacksonville, FL, No. 14 ESPNU) and Casey Prather (Jackson, TN, No. 32 ESPNU), are headed to Gainesville. Prather erupted for 43 points Saturday as his North Side High School defeated crosstown rival Jackson Central-Merry High School. In fact, he scored all but two of his team’s 17 third-quarter points and consistently got his squad out of jams.

Tags: Casey Prather, Junior Day, North Side, Patric Young, Steve Addazio, Urban Meyer