Special thanks to OGGOA‘s two intrepid student correspondents Jordan Rothwell and Tiffany Bowers for their significant contributions to the below post.

Florida Gators football opened itself up Wednesday, allowing University of Florida students an opportunity to ask coaches, players and support staff a wide variety of both intriguing and silly questions at the inaugural Student Town Hall Meeting held at the Touchdown Terrace at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.

With over 600 students in attendance, every seat in the house was filled and it was standing room (students were in front of the stadium as early as 4:30 p.m. waiting to get in when the gates opened at 7 p.m.).

On hand were head coach Urban Meyer, offensive coordinator Steve Addazio, defensive coordinator Teryl Austin, strength and conditioning coach Mickey Marotti, director of player and community relations Terry Jackson, redshirt junior quarterback John Brantley, senior safety Ahmad Black and junior running back Jeff Demps.

Each student who attended received a 2008 National Championship DVD, Student Town Hall t-shirt and the opportunity to enjoy pizza and drinks as the event came to a close. Throughout the meeting, the team aired a number of highlight videos for the crowd including the recruiting video shown to some of the top high school players in the country when trying to get them to attend UF.

Read about everything that was said at the meeting…after the break!
Continue Reading » Florida’s inaugural Student Town Hall a success

Tags: Aaron Hernandez, Ahmad Black, Andre Debose, Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Jeff Demps, John Brantley, Maurice Hurt, Mickey Marotti, Percy Harvin, Steve Addazio, Student Town Hall Meeting, Terry Jackson, Teryl Austin, Touchdown Terrace, University of Florida, Urban Meyer

There is no mutiny, there are no threats of transfer and no lockers were cleared out, but Florida Gators five-star freshmen defensive end Ronald Powell and defensive tackle Dominique Easley are each dealing with their own separate issues that came to a head Tuesday. Despite rumors and speculation stating the contrary, Powell and Easley did not rally together to combat rough treatment from veterans and neither wishes to leave the University of Florida, a source close to the program told OGGOA on Wednesday.

Powell, who head coach Urban Meyer said had a “great practice on Monday” and was seen working with the team on Wednesday, simply could not have missed multiple practices, as rumored elsewhere. He even dressed and participated in a portion of practice on Tuesday but did leave the field early after a growing sense of frustration overcame him, our source said.

The No. 1 overall recruit in the country coming out of high school, Powell is having some trouble coming to the realization that he is not the best player on the field each day and has a lot of work to do in order to reach his full potential. This happens often when a player is the best on his team – or perhaps the best in his state – in high school and joins a college program loaded with top talent.

As our source put it, every freshman on the team – at one time or another – has a moment where they get rattled; some deal with it internally or by talking to coaches, others act out and leave practice for a day to clear their heads. It is common and happens more often than you might believe.

Easley, on the other hand, is not dealing with that same frustration – at least not publicly; his problems are not “football-related.” In his case, a “personal issue” is causing him some trouble. He did indeed miss practice on Tuesday, but returned Wednesday and participated in full. Our source added that, due to privacy concerns, he would not get into specifics regarding Easley’s personal issue but did mention that it is something he has to “work out on his own.”

Both Powell and Easley met with coaches about their respective issues.

As far as the comments from senior center Mike Pouncey on Tuesday that the freshman class as a whole needs to “shut their mouths and come play,” that is indeed a sentiment felt throughout the program. There is a sense of entitlement being portrayed by the freshmen as a whole, but it is not something the veteran players or coaching staff have been surprised by. That issue is being dealt with on a day-to-day basis and is being slowly remedied as the youngsters continue to be integrated into the program.

When Florida closed practice to fans and the media a few weeks ago, the main reason stated was to keep out “bad guys” and ensure that the players were safe. Just as important in the decision making was Meyer’s desire to rid the team of the distractions, speculation and media pressure that it felt trying to defend its title last season. As our source put it, if you think Meyer was angry about Jeremy Fowler’s alleged misquote of now-redshirt junior wide receiver Deonte Thompson in the Orlando Sentinel last March, you have no idea how fuming mad he is about these false reports.

“He wants the person whose responsible’s head on a stick,” our source said.

Photo Credit: Heather Riggs/The Independent Florida Alligator

Tags: Deonte Thompson, Dominique Easley, Mike Pouncey, Ronald Powell, University of Florida, Urban Meyer

Multiple outlets are reporting Wednesday that three-star cornerback Valdez Showers (Madison Heights, MI) has committed to the Florida Gators. The 15th commitment for the team’s 2012 recruiting class, Showers was also being heavily pursued by Auburn, Michigan, Michigan State and a number of other schools.

At just under 6’0” and approximately 180 lbs., Showers cited the University of Florida‘s academics and an opportunity to see the field early as his deciding factors.

He is the third CB recruit to commit to Florida for 2012, joining four-stars Nick Waisome (Groveland, FL) and Louchiez Purifoy (Pensacola, FL).

Tags: Louchiez Purifoy, Nick Waisome, University of Florida, Valdez Showers

When most college football fans think about the Florida Gators 1996 season, two names in particular come to mind: head coach Steve Spurrier and starting quarterback Danny Wuerffel. Winner of seven individual awards in 1996 including the Heisman Trophy (and another Davey O’Brien Award in 1995), Wuerffel led the Gators to their first National Championship in his final effort after a four-year career in which he threw for an astounding 10,875 yards and 114 touchdowns.

A first-team All-America selection in 1995 and 1996, many of Wuerffel’s numbers remain the best in Southeastern Conference history and the second-best in national history. In 1995, his efficiency of 178.4 set a single-season collegiate record, and in his Heisman year of 1996, his 3,625 yards (SEC record), 39 TDs (led nation, SEC record) and efficiency rating of 170.6 made him the first QB to ever post a rating of 170 or more in back-to-back years. Wuerffel led the Gators in passing in each of his four seasons (1993-96) and still holds Florida records for most career passing touchdowns and most passing touchdowns in a season (in which he also holds second place). In fact, one out of every 9.74 passes Wuerffel threw in his career would be scored for a touchdown.

Enshrined in the team’s Ring of Honor in 2006 and set to be immortalized in a statue outside of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in 2010, Wuerffel is now the executive director of Desire Street Ministries, which works to revitalize impoverished neighborhoods through spiritual and community development.

OGGOA spoke to Wuerffel on Tuesday and, even though our interview was feared lost by a technical difficulty, it was recovered at the end of the day. How lucky are we?

ADAM SILVERSTEIN: Coming out of Fort Walton Beach, was attending the University of Florida an easy choice for you – something you always knew you wanted to do?
DANNY WUERFFEL: “Actually, we were living close to Florida State and my sister was attending Florida State. By default, I was more of a Seminole fan in high school. I took three visits – one to Alabama, one to Florida State and one to Florida. At the end of the day, the two things that drew me to Florida were, firstly, the quality of the education with so many different directions – I wasn’t centered or decided on a major and Florida just had so many highly respected colleges and majors to choose from – I was really impressed with the school, and then secondly, the opportunity to play for coach [Steve] Spurrier – too much to pass up.”

AS: When deciding on Florida, did you know your high school coach wanted to eventually go back to the Gators, or did that happen afterward?
DW: “Coach [Jimmy Ray Stephens] – he played at Florida and had coached at Florida and he was always hoping to get back there – I think that was one of his goals. It was a year or so after I got signed, a year or so after that, coach Spurrier gave him the opportunity to come.”

AS: You played four years at Florida – which is not something a lot of quarterbacks really get the chance to do – but obviously broke out in your final two seasons in 1995 and 1996. Was there a particular switch that turned on for you, was it a measure of the talent around you – what was the difference?
DW: “Practically what happened – both my freshman and sophomore year I was splitting time with Terry Dean – so in terms of snaps and reps, [I] didn’t get as much. For both the 1995 and 1996 team[s], there were some really, really dynamic players and folks that came along and we had two really good teams those two years. And it just happened those were the two years I was in the driver’s seat. When you’re in the right place at the right time with the right coaches and the right players, a lot of cool things can happen, and those were definitely some good years.”

Read the rest of our exclusive interview with Danny Wuerffell…after the break!
Continue Reading » QB Danny Wuerffel: “The opportunity to play for coach Spurrier – too much to pass up.”

Tags: All-American, Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Campbell Trophy, Chicago Bears, Desire Street Ministries, Draddy Trophy, Florida State Seminoles, Heisman Trophy, Houston Texans, Hurricane Katrina, James Bates, Jarvis Moss, Jimmy Ray Stephens, John Brantley, Kerwin Bell, Lawrence Wright, Mike Ditka, MVP, National Championship, New Orleans Saints, NFL, NFL Europe, Ring of Honor, SEC, SEC Championship, Shane Matthews, Steve Spurrier, Terry Dean, The Promise, Tim Tebow, University of Florida, Urban Meyer, Washington Redskins, World Bowl

While the media and Florida Gators fans spent their days and nights concerned about whether or not then-senior quarterback Tim Tebow would fully recover from a concussion suffered during the Kentucky Wildcats game in Oct. 2009, OGGOA informed its readers that then-junior cornerback Moses Jenkins was having an even more difficult time coming back from his.

Barely even mentioned last season, Jenkins’ concussion occurred at the start of the Kentucky game; he suffered whiplash as well and should have been yet another player Gators fans were seriously concerned about at the time.

Here are the details OGGOA exclusively reported on Oct. 28:

According to a source close to Jenkins, the special teams star encountered complications following the whiplash and concussion he suffered against the Kentucky Wildcats. Because of the extreme trauma caused by the hit, Jenkins experienced a cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak that was causing his brain to literally tilt inside the cranium. [CSF acts as a "cushion" and allows the brain to "float."] This left him with headaches, blurry vision and pain on one side of his face.

Jenkins underwent surgery [for clarification purposes, we'll call it a "procedure"] at Shands Hospital at the University of Florida on Monday to replace the CSF that was being lost and not reproducing fast enough. He stayed overnight for observation and was visited by head coach Urban Meyer on Tuesday. The source said he is recovering nicely and getting extensive treatment to help the CSF begin circulating properly.

Fast forward 10 months: the mainstream media has finally picked up on Jenkins’ suffering – now that the senior finally decided to talk about it.

“It was a bad deal,” Jenkins told reporters Tuesday. “It was about six weeks [before I started feeling better]. I’d get headaches, my eyes would swell. A lot of light and noise irritated it and my head would just pound, pound, pound. I remember I tried to walk fast or jog and my head would spin. It was crazy. […] They pounded right here in the side of my head, sharp pounding. The sad thing is you can’t take medication for it. You can’t take Advil or Tylenol. You have to rest in dark areas.”

Now fully recovered, Jenkins is “ready to go” and hopes to earn a starting job with Florida – something that has eluded him over his three-year career in which he primarily saw time on special teams. Add redshirt sophomore Jeremy Brown, who is recovering from an injury of his own (back), to the mix and you have a duo of CBs angling for a starting job who both deserve to be rooted for this season.

Tags: Jeremy Brown, Moses Jenkins, Shands Hospital, Tim Tebow, University of Florida, Urban Meyer

Offered a scholarship to the University of Florida by Florida Gators head basketball coach Billy Donovan just over a month ago, four-star 2012 shooting guard Michael Frazier (Tampa, FL) decided to commit to the team even though he is two years out from heading up to Gainesville, FL.

“I chose Florida because of Coach Donovan and the outstanding staff,” Frazier told ESPN. “Coach Donovan has a proven history of winning national championships and excels in player development. UF is an excellent academic school as well. It’s always been one of my favorite schools.”

Frazier, who boasted offers from 20 other schools ranging from Michigan to Harvard at the time his conversation with Donovan, has a 4.0 GPA and is considered to be both a bright student and extraordinary shooter.

“He’s the best shooter ever to come out of our program,” Florida Elite AAU coach Conrad Foss told The Gainesville Sun. “And with those perimeter skills he’s become much better at putting the ball on the floor and getting to the basket. He’s becoming a complete player.”

Here is what ESPN has to say about Frazier’s abilities:

Frazier’s ability to shoot the ball makes him special because he has two of the greatest qualities a shooter can have: great self-confidence in his stroke and a short memory to focus on the next shot. He rarely misses open shots when his feet are set. He shoots over smaller defenders with ease and is a willing passer when he draws an extra defender. Frazier is also smart at moving without the ball and creating clean looks at the basket. Opponents must find him immediately in transition because he will spot up on the break and knock it down from beyond the arc. While he can knock it down from 3, his midrange game (15- to 18-foot jumpers) is most efficient. Defensively, he needs to be more committed and engaged as an on-ball defender, but Frazier and his coaches — H.B. Plant coach Mike Phillips and his Florida Elite U-17 USSSA coach, Conrad Foss — are committed to getting him ready for his first day of practice at Florida.

Tags: AAU, Billy Donovan, Conrad Foss, Florida Elite, Michael Frazier, University of Florida

1 » Opening the University of Florida’s 2010-11 athletic season on Friday, No. 11 Florida Gators soccer (1-0) defeated the Miami Hurricanes (0-1) 2-1 in a double-overtime match at James G. Pressly Stadium in Gainesville, FL. Scoreless in the first half, redshirt sophomore midfielder McKenzie Barney kicked the ball across the goal to the far post at 49’ to put Florida ahead. In the blink of an eye, Miami’s Blake Stockton hit an equalizer at 53’. Almost an hour of game time later, now in the match’s second overtime, freshman forward Taylor Travis put the Gators ahead for good with a seven-yard golden goal into the far post at 107’. Florida will need to regroup quickly as the ladies will travel to Orlando, FL, for an away game against the Central Florida Knights on Aug. 22 at 7 p.m. The match will air live on FOX Sports Florida.

2 » The defending National Champion Alabama Crimson Tide earned the No. 1 spot in the Associated Press Top 25 preseason poll released Saturday with the Gators coming in three slots behind at No. 4. In between the two are the No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes and No. 3 Boise State Broncos; Alabama was awarded 54 of 60 possible first-place votes. Other Southeastern Conference teams ranked by the AP this preseason include Arkansas (No. 17), LSU (No. 21), Auburn (No. 22) and Georgia (No. 23). Florida finished last season listed No. 3 in the USA Today and Associated Press polls, also earning the No. 3 spot in the USA Today preseason poll released on Aug. 6.

Photo Credit: University of Florida/GatorZone.com

Tags: Alabama Crimson Tide, Blake Stockton, Boise State Broncos, McKenzie Barney, Miami Hurricanes, Ohio State Buckeyes, SEC, soccer, Taylor Travis, Top 25, University of Florida