1 » X&O Labs, a football research company for coaches, took a special look on Tuesday at the Florida Gators offense and how the team’s downhill running game was able to dominate the LSU Tigers last Saturday. Noting that new offensive coordinator Brent Pease has “has implemented some of the same heavy, unbalanced formations that he used at Boise to gash defenses,” senior research manager Mike Kuchar outlined five of the different formations and went into even greater detail in the video below.

2 » Asked to explain this week why they were so gassed on Saturday in Gainesville, FL, LSU players told the Shreveport Times that heat-related fatigue was at fault. “It is Florida,” said linebacker Kevin Minter, who cramped up in the third quarter after dominating the first half and still finished the game with a school-record 20 total tackles. “The humidity is ridiculous. [...] We had a lot of miscues when we were breathing hard. You can’t let fatigue take over.”

CLICK TO EXPAND and read two more BITS in this post.

Tags: Christian Taylor, Conor Dwyer, field, LSU Tigers, Ryan Lochte, swimming, track, University of Florida, Urban Meyer, Will Muschamp

Eight former letterwinners – including Gator Greats Rex Grossman (football), Heather Mitts (soccer), Mike Pearson (football) and Josh Fogg (baseball) – and one honorary letterwinner will be inducted as the UF Athletic Hall of Fame‘s 2013 class.

The F Club and Gator Boosters, Inc. announced Monday that the honors will be bestowed upon these former players at the Hall of Fame Banquet on April 5, 2013 in the Holloway Touchdown Terrace at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.

Inductees are normally divided into three categories: Gator Greats, Distinguished Letterwinners and Honorary Letterwinners. The remainder of the 2013 class includes Gator Greats Jeff Davis (wrestling), Riko Higashio (women’s golf) and Chrissy Van Fleet (gymnastics) as well as Distinguished Letterwinner Larry Morris (football) and Honorary Letterwinner Ernestine Russell Weaver (gymnastics).

Read more about each inductee and their career accomplishments…
Continue Reading » Grossman, Mitts, Pearson, Fogg headline UF Athletic Hall of Fame class of 2013 inductees

Tags: baseball, Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Chrissy Van Fleet, Ernestine Russell-Weaver, F Club, Gator Boosters, golf, gymnastics, Hall of Fame, Heather Mitts, Holloway Touchdown Terrace, Jeff Davis, Josh Fogg, Larry Morris, Mike Pearson, Rex Grossman, Riko Higashio, soccer, University of Florida, wrestling

1 » With renovations to Ben Hill Griffin Stadium almost consistently occurring since 2003, it was only a matter of time before the University of Florida also decided to make some changes inside the bowl. In June the Florida Gators completely removed the playing surface and installed a new field of Celebration Bermuda grass, a renovation that takes place once every 7-10 years, according to Florida’s senior associate athletics director of internal affairs Chip Howard. OGGOA learned late Tuesday evening that what is being painted on that new grass will also be changing. According to information obtained by this website, the Gators will be removing the block “F” from midfield and replacing it with a Gator Head, the school’s primary athletic logo. Additionally, Florida will replace the Gator Head logos that were previously found on the 35-yard lines with the slanted “F” that is steadily being used more and more including in the end zones.

UF has also begun the process of changing the font adorning The Swamp‘s famous orange walls (see the picture above from July 27). It is believed that all four will retain their respective sayings – “This is…The Swamp,” “This is…Gator Country,” “Home of the Florida Gators” – in the new lettering. Making adjustments to the walls and field are not new for the Gators. The block “F” at midfield at one time replaced the intertwined “UF” that is still used occasionally by the baseball team. The walls were previously painted blue with orange letters in a different font prior to being repainted orange with the lettering that many have grown used to over the last few decades. One of the walls also used to read “This is…Florida Field” before former head coach Steve Spurrier coined the term “The Swamp” in the 1990s and the school decided to make a change.

Read three more BITS of Gators news…after the break!
Continue Reading » FOUR BITS: Florida Field, Bullard, Pease, Donovan

Tags: Ben Hill Griffin StadiumS, Brent Pease, Florida Field, Jonathan Bullard, NCAA, Steve Spurrier, The Swamp, University of Florida

Just one day before hosting Friday Night Lights, one of their biggest recruiting events of the year, the Florida Gators received a huge verbal commitment from five-star cornerback Vernon Hargreaves III (Tampa, FL), who officially announced his decision via his Twitter account Thursday evening while on a visit to the University of Florida.

I can officially say I am committed to THE University of Florida ! #GoGators CHOMP CHOMP

— Vernon Hargreaves (@VHargreaves24) July 26, 2012

Ranked as the No. 9 player in the nation and No. 2 at his position by Rivals, Hargreaves (5’11″ 185 lbs.) is an immensely important commitment for the Gators, which brought in just two cornerbacks as part of their 2012 recruiting class.

Despite recently taking a trip to the West Coast in order to visit Oregon, Southern California and Stanford, Hargreaves released a top five last week that included Florida, Clemson, Vanderbilt, Miami and Notre Dame (in that order). He was previously high on USC and was also considering South Florida, where his father is an assistant coach.

Hargreaves is now the Gators’ top-ranked commitment both on Rivals and ESPN, where he is listed as the No. 4 overall player and top-rated cornerback. He is so talented, in fact, that he could push for a starting job the day he steps foot on a college field.

Florida’s top-ranked commitment, Hargreaves is the fourth defensive back to make a pledge for the Gators this recruiting cycle. He is the ninth defensive commitment overall and 13th (out of 18 total) from within the state.

Hargreaves visited Florida on Thursday to commit to head coach Will Muschamp because he will not be in attendance at FNL; instead he will be participating in the Champion Gridiron Kings 7-on-7 event from July 27-29 in Lake Buena Vista, FL.

His father is South Florida assistant coach Vernon Hargreaves II.

Tags: Champion Gridiron Kings, University of Florida, Vernon Hargreaves, Will Muschamp

1 » The University of Florida Fightin’ Gator Marching Band will be in the air on Monday as they travel to London, England to represent the United States in ceremonies preceding the 2012 London Olympics. According to Florida, the band will be dispersed over 10 different planes (more than 245 people will be travelling abroad) and will be spending a full week in town both playing music and taking in the sights and sounds. To see the band off, Florida Gators head football coach Will Muschamp and head soccer coach Becky Burleigh gave them a pep talk (video via GatorVision); former softball player Jenn Brown (now a sideline reporter for ESPN) also sent in a video message to the band. The Gainesville Sun reports that the total cost of the trip is nearly $1 million. “The band received about $100,000 from the UF provost’s office and $25,000 from the Univeresity Athletic Association” but raised the vast majority of the money privately.

2 » New York Jets quarterback Tim Tebow – for the third consecutive offseason – is working on his throwing motion, doing so this time with a “throwing guru” and former minor league pitcher who had previously worked with Tom Brady and Drew Brees among others. According to ESPNLosAngeles.com, Tebow spent five days last week tweaking his delivery with Tom House on campus at USC but has since flown back to New York.

The typical quarterback’s schedule is a weeklong program at the Rod Dedeaux Research and Baseball Institute on the USC campus, where 3D video analysis is used in coordination with traditional drills to break down individual motions to a thousand frames per second and discover small inconsistencies or errors.

House said Friday he believes Tebow benefited from the week’s worth of workouts. “I think he’s getting better, but the proof is in the pudding,” House said. “Being out here at USC is different than being with the New York Jets.”

Tags: Becky Burleigh, Fightin' Gator Marching Band, Jenn Brown, University of Florida, Will Muschamp

Former Florida Gators wide receiver Carlos Alvarez was officially inducted into the prestigious College Football Hall of Fame as a member of the 2012 class in a ceremony held Saturday in South Bend, IN.

One of 79 All-American players and nine coaches made eligible for selection by the voting committee last year, Alvarez was voted in May 2011 to be one of 16 inductees (14 players, two coaches) enshrined in July 2012.

He played on the Gators for three seasons (1969-71) and still holds three school records for career receiving yards (2,563), receptions in a single season (88) and receptions in a game (15). Alvarez also set the then-University of Florida and Southeastern Conference career receptions mark with 172 catches in 1971.

“I’m hardly ever speechless, but I am,” he said in May when he learned of the honor. “When you look at college football and the number of people who have played…I feel honored just to be mentioned.”

Alvarez is the third Florida player elected to the Hall of Fame since 2006.

He is also the ninth overall representative of the Gators to be enshrined in the hall, joining coaches Charlie Bachman (1978), Doug Dickey (2003) and Ray Graves (1990), and players linebacker Wilber Marshall (2008), running back Emmitt Smith (2006), quarterback Steve Spurrier (1986) and defensive ends Dale Van Sickel (1975) and Jack Youngblood (1992).

“Carlos is a great example of all that is good in college athletics. His tireless work and commitment to excellence translated into success both on and off the field,” athletic director Jeremy Foley said in a school release. “He has maintained his level of commitment and success in his professional career as well. I’ve had the opportunity to see Carlos a number of times when he visits Gainesville and he remains a tremendous ambassador for our program. The honor is well deserved.”

Photo Credit: University of Florida archives

Tags: Carlos Alvarez, Charlie Bachman, College Football Hall of Fame, Dale Van Sickel, Doug Dickey, Emmitt Smith, Jack Youngblood, Jeremy Foley, Steve Spurrier, University of Florida, Wilber Marshall

For the second time in as many years, a report released Friday by Yahoo! Sports concerning potential recruiting violations occurring within the Miami Hurricanes football program includes the name of current Florida Gators wide receivers coach Aubrey Hill.

Writes Yahoo! Sports’ Charles Robinson:

Less than one week after the University of Miami hired Al Golden as coach, members of Golden’s coaching staff began using Sean “Pee Wee” Allen – a then-equipment manager and onetime right-hand man of convicted Ponzi schemer Nevin Shapiro – to circumvent NCAA rules in the recruiting of multiple Miami-area players.

He adds that Golden “had direct knowledge of Allen’s improper involvement with Miami recruits” and that “Allen has become a focal point into the [NCAA’s] probe into Miami athletics” with a focus on how he provided “impermissible benefits to Hurricanes players, as well as his contract with Miami recruits.”

One of those so-called “recruiting infractions” took place with the assistance of Hill, according to Robinson’s report.

On Dec. 17, 2010, five days after Golden was hired as Miami’s coach, Allen testified that he was summoned to the restaurant Dan Marino’s in South Miami to pick up Miami Northwestern High school quarterback Teddy Bridgewater. [...] Allen testified that Bridgewater, Golden and other Miami coaches were at the restaurant during an unofficial visit and that a member of the coaching staff asked Allen to pick Bridgewater up. [...] Allen’s phone records show eight calls exchanged with Bridgewater that afternoon and early evening, as well as four calls exchanged with Hill. The former Miami staffer told Yahoo! Sports that Hill, a then-Miami assistant, was present at the restaurant and arranged for Allen to pick Bridgewater up and transport him home – a violation of NCAA rules.

Hill was one of seven coaches specifically named in Robinson’s 2011 report on the Miami football program being infiltrated by booster Nevin Shapiro. He was accused of ushering recruits (including eventual Gators commitments wide receiver Andre Debose and offensive lineman Matt Patchan) to “Shapiro’s home or luxury suite so the booster could make recruiting pitches to them.”

Hill coached the Hurricanes wide receivers from 2008-10 and added the role of recruiting coordinator in his final season. He was hired away from Miami by Florida head coach Will Muschamp just three weeks after Golden took the job in South Florida.

Neither Hill, Debose nor Patchan suffered any penalties or punishments after being named in the 2011 report. Hill, through the University of Florida, declined comment prior to the publication of both the 2011 and 2012 reports.

Tags: Andre Debose, Aubrey Hill, Matt Patchan, Miami Hurricanes, University of Florida

1 » St. Louis Rams second-round draft choice, cornerback Janoris Jenkins, remained unsigned as of Wednesday, and Yahoo! Sports’ Jason Cole explained that there is “one major hurdle to clear” before the process can be completed. “The Rams…[are] asking for safeguards in Jenkins’s rookie contract,” Cole reports. “According to two sources close to the situation, the Rams have proposed a deal to Jenkins’s agent Malik Shareef that features the signing bonus being split into four equal parts over the course of the contract – protection against Jenkins not panning out with the club.” He goes on to note that Shareef has declined the deal ($5 million total, $2 million signing bonus) because “according to sources, Shareef is concerned about how he will be viewed by other potential clients (and how he’ll be criticized by other agents) for taking such a deal.” Sources close to the team also told Cole that the Rams will give Jenkins interest in the held over money and that St. Louis eventually expects to consummate the deal.

2 » A Florida Gators spokesman on Thursday confirmed to OGGOA that the team will no longer be holding the annual Gator Charity Challenge (which was put on four-straight years including last year on July 29) but plans to replace it with another event in the future. “Although the Florida football program will not host the Charity Challenge event this fall, the program remains committed to charity work and serving the community through the efforts of the Goodwill Gators initiative,” Florida explained. “The Goodwill Gators program is active year-round and allows UF student-athletes to build a strong relationship with the Gainesville community. The football staff is also looking into alternative events for future years in place of the Charity Challenge. Student-athletes on the football team volunteered a total of 475 hours of community service during the 2011-12 year, working with 8 schools, 12 non-profit organizations and 3 civic organizations. Since the new coaching staff took over in January of 2011, the football program has tallied 778 hours of community service to date working with 37 unique entities, including 14 schools, 18 non-profit organizations and 5 civic organizations. Every football student-athlete volunteered during the 2011-12 year, highlighted by the St. Augustine Thanksgiving Food Distribution in which the entire team participated.”

3 » The University of Florida Fightin’ Gator Marching Band is scheduled to leave Monday to represent the United States at the 2012 London Olympics. According to UF’s itinerary for the event, the band (more than 230 members strong) will spend a full week in London, hold three performances (including one just before the Opening Ceremony) and take in plenty of sights and sounds. “The Gators have been raising funds and working intensely to make this dream a reality for six months, and for many it is the pinnacle of their performance career to date,” said Jay Watkins, associate director of bands. “The band is deeply honored by the unique invitations they have received.”

4 » Four-star defensive tackle and Gators 2012 commit Dante Phillips (Venice, FL) has found a new home after the admissions board at UF denied his enrollment this summer. Phillips on Wednesday announced that he signed his scholarship papers to play for Tennessee, meaning he will be going head-to-head with Florida each season.

Tags: Dante Phillips, Fightin' Gator Marching Band, Gator Charity Challenge, Janoris Jenkins, Olympics, St. Louis Rams, University of Florida