For a young kid growing up in certain areas of Shelby, NC, dreams of playing college football – let alone someday in the NFL – can seem entirely impossible.

Throw in the fact that his brother was sentenced in 2003 to life in prison without parole on first-degree murder charges stemming from a drug deal gone wrong in 2001 and many expected Brandon Spikes to go down with the ship.

“There was a lot of negative people who said, you won’t do this, you won’t do that because he didn’t do this, he didn’t do that,” Spikes told USA Today in 2008 about his neighborhood growing up. “You won’t ever get a scholarship, you won’t go to Florida and play as well as you did. My whole career has been about proving people wrong.”

He started on that path during his time in Gainesville, FL with the Florida Gators. Spikes went from five-star recruit and the No. 13 prospect in the nation to a player who looked like he might be underwhelming after the Gators’ defense struggled mightily in 2007.

Months after the season ended, Spikes sat down with then-Florida head coach Urban Meyer, shed some tears, and told him he had no choice but to succeed going forward.

“I let him know this is my life. Without this, I don’t know where I would be. Football has been everything. It was my way out; it was my way here,” he said. “I just told him this is what I do. I wake up in the morning and I breathe, and this is the first thing on my mind.”

Spikes became the defense’s leader that season, the parallel to quarterback Tim Tebow and what he did for the Gators’ offense.

His hit on running back Knowshaun Moreno at the start the 2008 Florida-Georgia game is one of the most famous tackles in school history, and it fueled a 49-10 victory that helped propel the Gators to another win in the 2008 SEC Championship over Alabama and eventually to the 2009 BCS Championship.

Spikes promised when leaving for college that he would make his mother proud. His second national title in three years undoubtedly put a smile on her face, but his decision to stay a fourth year and graduate rather than leave early for the NFL likely made that smile grow exponentially wider.

There was something else he said to his mother, a promise he told the Boston Herald that he made to her when he was a child. Spikes said one day he would play professional football and support their family, reiterating that promise after his brother was incarcerated because his sibling had made a similar pact with the family.

“The promises he made to my mom – he was going to get us out of our situation and he didn’t,” Spikes said in a story published by the Herald on Thursday. “He fell off the road. I couldn’t do that to her. She’s everything.”

So when Spikes came across as a dirty player during his senior season after being caught eye-gouging during a game, he stood up and increased his coach-mandated suspension from a half-game to a full game.

“I accept responsibility for my actions and I accept the consequences of my actions. I would like to apologize to my team and the coaching staff and Washun Ealey. Football is a very physical and emotional game, but there is no excuse for my actions.”

When draft analysts said Spikes was too slow to be picked high in the 2010 NFL Draft, he ignored them, kept his head down, continued working hard and wound up being selected with the No. 62 overall pick in the second round by the New England Patriots.

When he made what he called a stupid decision and was caught having sex with a girl on an Internet stream before his rookie season, he stayed out of the spotlight and concentrated on becoming a better football player.

When he was suspended four games by the NFL for allegedly violating the league’s banned substances policy, he explained that it was due to a particular ingredient in his ADHD medication but still issued an apology:

“I’ve been contacted by the NFL and informed that I will be suspended four games for the detection of an illegal substance in a drug test. The substance was a medication that I should have gotten clarification on before taking. It was not a performance enhancer or an illegal drug. The integrity of the game is very important to me. I understand the league’s ruling and apologize to my teammates, the fans and the Patriots organization for this mistake.”

And when he learned seven games into his second season that a knee injury would force him to miss the majority of the year, Spikes worked hard in rehab and returned in Week 17, earning back his starting role with the team.

Three weeks later he led New England in tackles in the AFC Championship, a game in which he also grabbed an interception in the fourth quarter.

The Herald also spoke this week with Spikes’s mother, Sherry Allen, who not only took care of her son during his time in Shelby but even wound up moving to Gainesville while he was in college after being laid off from her old job as a factory worker.

“I feel like I’m living in a dream,” she told the paper.

A true football player at heart, her son has “I love this game” tattooed above his left wrist and stands not only as a favorite of Gator Nation but also of his teammates (past and present), Patriots fans and New England’s owner.

“Do you know how lucky we are to have Brandon Spikes on the team?,” owner Robert Kraft exclaimed two weeks ago. “He’s the man. He’s the man. He told me we were going to win that game and when he made that interception that was so cool. He told me he was going to do it for Myra [Kraft’s deceased wife]. I love having this man on our team.”

On Sunday, Allen’s dream comes true and Spikes’s hard work will be realized when he steps on the field as the starting inside linebacker for the Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI.

Photo Credit: CBS Boston

It has been a long ride through college for center/guard Dan Wenger, who spent five years with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish before receiving a waiver to spend his sixth year of college playing football for the Florida Gators.

His sights now set on the NFL, Wenger sat down with me for a pair of interviews before and after he participated in the Battle or Florida showcase in Boca Raton, FL. We discussed his time playing for Florida, his thoughts about the Gators program and what he hopes to accomplish in the future.

Check out Part One of my interview with Dan Wenger.

ADAM SILVERSTEIN: Going into the bowl game there appeared to be two main motivations for the team: finishing the season above .500 and sticking it to Urban Meyer. Some guys were a bit vocal about this to the media but for the most part it was kind of it in the background. Which motivation do you think fueled the team more – avoiding the losing season or showing Meyer that Florida was still the better team?
DAN WENGER: “For me that whole Urban Meyer thing wasn’t an issue. I know guys that were upset about the situation and wanted to kind of prove their point – whether it be that they didn’t want Urban to leave or they had something against him for leaving. Whatever the case may be that was never an issue for me. It was one of those things that’s talked about in the locker room but it was a conversation I didn’t get involved in. I had no experience playing under him. He recruited me but at the same time I didn’t spend five years at Florida before Coach Muschamp came in. That was not even a thought in my head. As far as the whole losing season, I’ve been 6-6 going into a bowl game at Notre Dame – once we went to a bowl game and won and the other time we didn’t go to a bowl game. There’s something about going into a bowl game and winning and coming out at that 7-6 and ending with a winning season. That sparks the fire again and the drive and the energy to be better and work harder going into the offseason. When we were 6-6 at Notre Dame in 2009, we didn’t go to a bowl game. Staying stagnant at 6-6, knowing that we couldn’t do anything else about it was terrible. We felt deflated. It was only the second time I had a full winter break. It was something I wasn’t used to and I didn’t know what to do with myself with that time. I was used to watching film and getting ready to prepare and fight that fight one more time. To me, it’s very important and I think that was mostly my motivation going into that game against Ohio State. To come out on top and more than anything I wanted to do whatever I could to help the other guys be ready and prepare them for the game.”

AS: Well I know it wasn’t a motivation for you, but Meyer taking the Ohio State job before that bowl game had to be on the mind of a lot of the other players. Was it something they just brought up here and there or was it a topic that you heard plenty about and thought was a real motivator for the other players?
DW: “You could say there was all of that going on. It was on everyone’s mind. Guys wanted to see if he was going to be there or on the sideline. It was very evident that it was going on in the locker room, all of that talk. A lot of those guys just had a point to prove. That’s fine. Everyone is motivated by different things. Whatever gets you going and gets you ready to give your best effort in a game, by all means use it. It might not be what motivates me, but hell, if it motivates you then let’s go into this game together both highly motivated and play to the best of our abilities.”

Read the rest of Part Two – for FREE – on InsideTheGators.com.

Photo Credit: Associated Press

1 » While the Florida Gators wait to figure out which scholarship quarterback to bring in as part of their 2012 recruiting class, the team has offered a preferred walk-on role to three-star Jacob Guy (Dade City, FL). According to the Tampa Bay Times, Guy has scholarship offers from Massachusetts, Ohio and Western Michigan and is also being considered by Memphis and Miami (OH). He is unlikely to make a decision before National Signing Day on Feb. 1, probably in order to see how the situations shake out at all of his potential destinations.

2 » Former Florida golfer Gary Koch will be inducted into the Florida Sports Hall of Fame as part of the 2012 class on March 19-20 in Tampa, FL. He is one of 14 athletes to be included in the ceremony and will be inducted alongside names like Charlie Ward, Alonzo Mourning and George Smith. A four-time All-SEC first team member, three-time All-American, two-time SEC Champion (1973-74) and NCAA Champion with the Gators, Koch won six PGA Tour events but never finished better than tied for fourth at a Major Championship (The Open Championship, 1988). He also spent time on the other tours and has worked for both ESPN and NBC Sports as a sportscaster.

Click to expand and read four more BITS in this post.

Haskins, who served as director of player personnel for the Nevada Wolfpack in 2011, spent four years at Stanford prior to that as assistant director (2007) and director of player development (2008-10). He worked as assistant head coach and defensive coordinator for Pace (2010) and the managing editor of Rivals.com affiliate Cardinal Report (2010-11) in the 19 months between those positions.

A four-year Cardinal starter from 1994-97, Haskins went on to spend three years in the NFL with San Diego and Philadelphia (1998-2000) before playing in the first and only season of the XFL for the San Francisco franchise (2000-01). After hanging up his cleats, he took a graduate assistant role at Duke, helping coach the offensive line, special teams and tight ends from 2002-04.

He also served as the assistant general manager and director of football operations for the Sarasota (his hometown) Arena2 football franchise (2005-06) and spent nearly two-and-a-half years away from the game before being hired by Stanford in 2007.

In his role with Florida, Haskins will primarily be counted on to coordinate the Gators’ recruiting efforts and help run football operations (among other responsibilities). The classes he helped recruit at Stanford finished 50th (2008), 20th (2009) and 26th (2010) nationally according to Rivals‘ final rankings.

Three of Haskins’s four years with the Cardinal were spent with current UF linebackers/special teams coach D.J. Durkin, who was a defensive ends/special teams coach at Stanford from 2007-09.

He replaces Mark Pantoni, who left the Gators’ following the 2011 season to join former head coach Urban Meyer‘s new staff at Ohio State.

ESPN spent the vast majority of the 11 a.m. edition of its flagship program SportsCenter taking a look at Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow from a number of different angles on Thursday. The network spoke about Tebow for approximately 50 minutes while covering the some other news of the day in between his segments.

The show began with a highlight package of clips from Denver’s victory over Pittsburgh in the wild card round of the 2011-12 NFL Playoffs, capped by Tebow’s 80-yard touchdown pass in overtime to ice the game.

Read the rest of this TebowCenter post…after the break!

Then the network went live to Denver, CO and spoke with reporter George Smith, who addressed a number of topics including the Broncos’ practice schedule and how Tebow is handling “Tebowmania.”

After a quick look at Denver’s failings against New England in week 15, ESPN explained how Tebow was burned by the blitz a few weeks ago, something his team will likely try to adjust for during Saturday’s game.

NFL analyst Herm Edwards joined the set in the following segment and discussed what adjustments the Broncos will have to make offensively, whether or not he’s ever seen so much hype and scrutiny for one player and a number of other topics.

“I like the way he handles himself,” Edwards said. “He handles the criticism with a smile, and he handles success with humility. He drives down the road of humility when you think about this guy. And the last time I checked, this road he’s driving on – [there’s] not a lot of traffic.” Edwards continued, “He doesn’t take himself too seriously. He’s a football player. He’s not the best quarterback; he’s just a football player. People respect that. They respect how he handles his life. At the pro level anymore, we put these guys on a pedestal and we want to see how they handle it. He’s handled both situations – criticism and success – with a lot of class.”

ESPN then aired comments from Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer and Mississippi State head coach Dan Mullen, both of whom commented on their concerns about Tebow after leaving Florida. “Tim can’t play quarterback in a tradiational setting,” Meyer said. “Tim’s not the lone solider there. There’s very few quarterbacks that are really any good in those traditional systems. To try and force a guy like that, with his skill level, to play in a traditional pro offense, I was very much worried about that. And then is aw the evolution of the offense at Denver, utilizing his school. I was not worried if he would be successful but if he would [have] a system that would allow him to play.” Mullen agreed by adding, “The belief that I had was if he ever went to a system that would try to build around his strengths, they would get themselves a winner. But if you tried to change who Tim is, he’s not going to be as successful. Certianly I never had a concern about his competativeness, his intensity, his willingness to learn and his effort. Those were always the things – the mental, physical toughness that he has – that you never dobuted. You buid around the strengths of your players, and if you build around the strengths of Tim Tebow, you’re going to have a winner at any level.”

For a slant on Tebow’s future with Denver, ESPN turned to insider Adam Schefter, who said it would be “hard to believe” that he will not return as the incumbent starter with the Broncos in 2012. “At this point in time, with all that he’s done, he has to be the starter in 2012,” he quipped, adding that executive vice president of football operations John Elway obviously has a “new respect” for Tebow, who has made the team relevant for the first time in a while.

After the commercial break, Tebowmania was put up against other national phenomenons like Beatlemania, Fernandomania and Hulkamania. ESPN MLB insider Tim Kirkjian joined the program to compare Tebow’s sudden rise with that of Fernando Valenzuela’s in the 1980s. “The biggest difference is how great Fernando Valenzuela was. In football terms, his first eight starts he through for 300 yards and four touchdowns in every game. His first eight starts in 1981, he won them all, he completed them all, he threw five shutouts, he allowed four runs in 72 innings,” Kirkjian explained.. “He wasn’t just some novelty act. He wasn’t just some colorful character that won games. He shut people out every single game. To me, that’s the difference between Fernando and Tim Tebow. People are wondering can Tim Tebow play in this league? If you saw Fernando Valenzuela pitch, you said, ‘This is one of the best pitchers I’ve ever seen already.’”

ESPN then ran an encore presentation of Tebow’s journey throughout the 2011-12 season beginning with his detractors coming down on him and moving on to Tebow taking over for Kyle Orton, Elway saying after four wins that he was no closer to knowing Tebow was “the guy” going forward, him continuing to play solid before struggling in the last three games of the regular season, and Tebow throwing the game-winning touchdown last week.

Next up was a look at the business side of Tebow with sports business analyst Rick Horrow, who discussed television ratings, tweets, Google hits and how big of a mistake it would be (from a financial perspective) for the team to go with a different quarterback.

ESPN then aired their favorite clip – Tebow pumping up the College Basketball GameDay crew with a pre-game speech back in 2008 – before showing other athletes Tebowing. One was Cincinnati Bengals safety Reggie Nelson, who performed the move after grabbing an interception against Arizona in week 16 action. There were also audio clips of former NBA player turned analyst Charles Barkley saying he has had enough of the “national nightmare” of Tebow hype and was just interested to see if he could continue to be productive long-term.

Then the network transitioned into a roundtable discussion hosted by Mike Greenberg with panelists Hugh Douglas, Trevor Matich and Herm Edwards. The foursome talked about why Tebow is so polarizing, the hype surrounding him and whether or not he can succeed long-term (all three panelists said ‘yes’ to the final question). “I think for people who dislike him as a person, they ought to check themselves a little bit. Why do they dislike him as a person? Because he doesn’t wear it on his sleeve from a standpoint of making speeches about his lord and savior every three minutes,” Matich said. “He’ll say, ‘I thank the lord,’ and then he’ll move on. He’ll do a quick ‘Tebow’ and then he’ll move on. But he doesn’t make lengthy demonstrations about it. I think that people who find that to be offensive need to ask themselves why is it that’s offensive. Is it something about Tebow that they wish maybe that they were more like or makes them look bad by comparison? I’m not saying it does; I’m just saying they should ask.”

Edwards continued to be outspoken about Tebow just as he was earlier in the show. “If you don’t like Tim Tebow, what you’re really saying is you don’t respect people with integrity,” he said. “The one thing I know about this young man, and I’ve been around him, his words and his life match up every day. So if you don’t like that something’s wrong with you, because this guy lives a life of integrity. Whether or not you like him as a football player or anything else, as a person – as a human being – he has integrity.”

The second edition of TebowCenter concluded with a ‘You Don’t Know Tebow!’ game show with guests Douglas and NBA insider Ric Bucher answering questions about the former Heisman Trophy winner. After some more Tebow statistics and tweets and a video of Phoenix head coach Alan Gentry spending his entire post-game press conference talking about Tebow, the show was over.

OGGOA will update this post with footage from the ESPN program if the network releases individual clips on its own website later in the day.

1 » One of the most famous moments in professional wrestling history actually occurred outside of the ring as “Stone Cold” Steve Austin was being coronated King of the Ring in 1996. As he was being interviewed, Austin caught a glimpse of a John 3:16 sign in the crowd and spouted, “You talk about your Psalms, talk about John 3:16, Austin 3:16 says I just whopped your ass!” The “Austin 3:16” phrase immediately became a hit in what is now known as WWE and spawned signs from fans, T-shirt sales and plenty of other merchandise. With Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow throwing for exactly 316 yards and averaging 31.6 yards per completion on Sunday against Pittsburgh (the final quarter-hour rating of the game was also a 31.6 overnight), Austin was asked by TMZ if he minded that it was being used with Tebow nowadays. “Austin 3:16 still rules,” he told the website. “If Tebow can throw for 316 yards again this weekend then hell, he can have the numbers and I’ll have no problem with it. A guy named John was using it before me so if Tebow can do it again, more power to him! I wish him all the luck in the world. [...] I’m not a Denver fan but Tim’s a great role model for kids.”

2 » In the final USA Today Coaches Top 25 poll of the 2011-12 season, the Florida Gators earned a single vote, meaning the team was listed at No. 25 by one participating coach. The final rankings had Alabama as the unanimous No. 1 (59 first-place votes), four Southeastern Conference teams in the top eight and eight SEC teams receiving at least one vote. Missouri and Texas A&M, the two teams joining the conference next year, each received votes though neither finished in the top 25. The Associated Press Top 25 had Alabama as the overwhelming No. 1 (55 of 60 first-place votes) with LSU in second (one first-place vote) and Oklahoma State in third (four first-place votes). Four SEC teams were ranked in the top nine and six received votes with Auburn the only one unranked. Missouri got 23 votes in the AP poll, but Texas A&M did not receive any.

Click to expand and read two more BITS (and an extra Tebow BIT) in this post.

11 » JOHNSON, BRANTLEY, KITCHENS SUFFER SCARY INJURIES
Plenty of Florida student-athletes suffered injuries in 2011 but three in particular caused fans to gasp and remain worried about the future of said player. Participating in the semifinals of the 2011 SEC Tournament, Gators baseball wound up dropping a close game 4-3 to Georgia, a loss that forced an elimination game which Florida would later win. However, UF sophomore right-handed pitcher Brian Johnson was taken off a stretcher in the top of the first inning after giving up two earned runs and accidentally being beaned in the back of the head with the baseball by sophomore catcher Mike Zunino. Trying to pick off a runner stealing second, Zunino got his leg tangled with the batter, tripped and flung the ball into the head of a crouching Johnson. He was quickly stabilized, brought to the hospital and deemed responsive though he had a massive headache and was diagnosed with a minor three concussion (no skull fractures or bleeding). Johnson missed the entire Gainesville Regional but returned to action in the Super Regional after being sidelined for more than two weeks.

Redshirt senior quarterback John Brantley was in the middle of playing the best game of his collegiate career (despite throwing a costly pick-six) when he went down with an ugly lower leg injury at the end of the first half against Alabama. Brantley had thrown a pretty 65-yard touchdown pass to redshirt sophomore wide receiver Andre Debose on the first play of the game and was in the middle of driving Florida in for another score before being sacked twice and having his lower leg contorted the second time. Brantley was nearly immediately ruled out of the team’s next game against powerhouse LSU with a high-ankle sprain, and UF was forced to start a true freshman who had not even taken a snap in the team’s first five games in consecutive road contests against LSU and Auburn. Needless to say, the Gators lost both of those contests.

Brantley was never the same after the injury. He nearly helped Florida beat Georgia but was pretty much immobilized in the pocket and threw three interceptions in the team’s first five possessions against Florida State before being knocked out of the game with a head injury that was equally painful to watch. However, that was not the Gators’ only major injury in that game. Perhaps the scariest incident of the year came on kickoff coverage when sophomore linebacker Darrin Kitchens was hit hard from his blindside and laid motionless on the field while trainers attended to him. To this day Kitchens does not remember anything about being hit. Lucky for him, he was cleared that evening with “just” a concussion, released from the hospital and allowed to return to practice with the team just before Christmas. He is expected to play in the 2012 Gator Bowl.

10 » LACROSSE WINS FIRST CONFERENCE TITLE, REACHES ELITE EIGHT

The Florida lacrosse program has been making history since the day it signed the nation’s No. 1 ranked recruiting class prior to the team’s inaugural season in 2010. The Gators were a young but talented group and won over the school even if falling short of some of their goals one year ago. Florida took the next step in 2011, ending the regular season with an 11-0 record at home and on a 13-game winning streak. The Gators capped their stellar regular season by defeating Northwestern for the 2011 ALC Championship just 419 days after the team played its first game in school history. Florida would fall to Northwestern just over three weeks later in the finals of the 2011 ALC Tournament, splitting the season’s conference title down the middle, but took home a number of awards from the league. Sophomore midfielder Kitty Cullen won Player of the Year honors while head coach Amanda O’Leary was named Coach of the Year in just her second season. Two more players were All-ALC first team selections and three others earned spots on the second team. The ladies made it all the way to the Elite Eight of the 2011 NCAA Tournament as well before being taken down 13-9 by Duke, their only loss at home on the season. The Gators were the first program in the history of the sport to earn a berth in the NCAA Tournament in only their second year of existence and defeated some of the top teams in the country on the way to an unforgettable season that sets Florida up as a favorite heading into 2012.

9 » 10 NAIL-BITER FINISHES FOR GATORS BASKETBALL
Florida basketball had some struggles at the start of the 2010-11 season, dropping two games to unranked non-conference opponents but things appeared to be heading in an upswing for the team when UF defeated Tennessee 81-75 in overtime on Jan. 11 even after allowing UT to score the last four points in regulation and force the extra period. However, just four days later, the Gators suffered another upset by blowing a six-point lead at home and allowing South Carolina to earn a 72-69 win on the back of Bruce Ellington. Instead of getting down on themselves, Florida regrouped and pulled off three close victories (two against ranked opponents) in 12 days against some of the best competition in the SEC. The Gators started with a nail-biter on the road against Georgia that was forced into a second overtime after junior point guard Erving Walker hit a three-pointer from about 30 feet out at the end of the first extra period (UF wound up dominating the second OT and winning 104-91). Florida then hosted Vanderbilt at home and was forced into another overtime; sophomore guard Kenny Boynton‘s heavily contested trey with 1:04 left gave the Gators another win. UF was forced into another tight spot at home against Kentucky, down one with just under four minutes to play. Florida hit three clutch free throws in the waning seconds and senior forward Alex Tyus made a nice hook shot to give the Gators a 70-68 win over their SEC East rivals. UF did not have to wait too long for another opportunity to stun their fans, utilizing a go-ahead layup from Walker with 14 seconds remaining to defeat Tennessee 61-60 on Feb. 12.

Florida had a bit of a break from nailbiters until the NCAA Tournament, which saw them go into overtime against BYU for the second-straight year. This time the Gators got a measure of revenge as Tyus led them with 19 points and 17 rebounds as UF triumphed 15-6 in extra time and 83-74 in the game. Florida, however, would suffer its most crushing defeat of the season in the very next game, blowing a late lead against Butler in regulation and missing three shots at the end of overtime to be eliminated from the Elite Eight. With the new season still young, the Gators have already seen two close calls. Florida beat Arizona 78-72 in overtime after a questionable foul call gave their opponent a chance to tie the game at the end of the second half (they did). UF also suffered a shocker on Dec. 29, losing in two overtimes on the road at Rutgers. The Gators had a seven-point lead with 2:06 to play but turned the ball over twice in under 30 seconds, allowing RU to keep the pressure on and eventually pull out a win. With the entire SEC slate ahead of them in 2012 and high expectations once again, Florida basketball is sure to provide plenty of breathtaking moments in the new year.

8 » BASEBALL, SOFTBALL REACH CWS CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES; TEAMS PRODUCE PLENTY OF EXCITING MOMENTS, BIG ACCOMPLISHMENTS
So much happened in 2011 that the baseball and softball teams are forced to share a spot here on the countdown but that should not at all lessen the achievements of both squads this past year. The regular season saw its share of prime performances. Senior pitcher Stephanie Brombacher tossed the second perfect game of her career in just 67 pitches on Feb. 14 as the softball team won an astounding five games in three days. Almost one month later to the day, Gators baseball rallied back from a four-run deficit as a walk-off single by junior left fielder Daniel Pigott propelled Florida to a 5-4 extra innings win against in-state rival Florida State. Gators baseball also swept LSU on the road for the first time in school history in March and swept Alabama on the second-to-last weekend of April though something else even more notable occurred over the course of a two-day stretch. Senior LF Kelsey Bruder, leading a scorching hot softball team, hit a walk-off three-run homer that Saturday against No. 3 Alabama and followed it up with a walk-off infield single in extra innings the next day to send her squad to consecutive wins.

Florida cleaned up the annual SEC awards to end the regular season. For softball, Bruder earned Player of the Year honors, while head coach Tim Walton was named Co-Coach of the Year. Three Gators earned spots on both the All-SEC first and second team, while two more made the Freshman All-SEC team and a pair earned SEC All-Defensive team honors. Zunino captured Player of the Year honors for baseball and was one of three placed on the first team. Three more Florida players made the second team with a pair each being placed on the freshman and defensive teams. It was the first time in school history that student-athletes representing the school won Player of the Year honors in baseball and softball. Baseball began its postseason by blanking Vanderbilt 5-0 to win UF’s first SEC Tournament title since 1991. It was then softball’s turn to shine, staving off elimination in the 2011 Women’s College World Series with a 5-2 victory over California. The Gators went on to stun the Crimson Tide 16-2 and 9-2 in consecutive wins on June 5 to advance to the WCWS Championship Series, reigning victorious in three consecutive elimination games on their way to the title series. Unfortunately things did not go swimmingly for Florida after that. The Gators were left questioning the officiating in their first game against Arizona State and wound up being swept in consecutive games to lose the championship for the second time in three years. Florida’s path on the baseball diamond was a bit more dominant but nonetheless ended with the same result. The Gators walked off in the bottom of the ninth with a 5-4 win over rival Miami in the Gainesville Regional and crushed the Canes 11-4 the next day to advance to the Super Regional. Florida then fought off Vanderbilt 6-4 to advance to the 2011 College World Series Championship Series but was similarly silenced when playing for the title. SEC rival South Carolina swept UF in consecutive games, giving the Gamecocks 16-straight NCAA Tournament victories and their second national championship in as many seasons. The Gators head into the 2012 campaign considered the No. 1 team in the country but have the ‘Cocks firmly nipping on their heels hoping to square off once again late in June.

7 » RYAN LOCHTE SETS WORLD RECORD IN 200-METER IM

Already gaining the upper hand on 14-time Olympic gold medalist and U.S. teammate Michael Phelps at the World Swimming Championships in China earlier in the year, former Gators standout Ryan Lochte continued his efforts to become the face of USA Swimming with a world record performance on July 28. Previously the owner of four world records, Lochte added a fifth by topping Phelps for the second-straight race and finishing the 200-meter individual medley with a world-best time of 1:54.00 in Shanghai, China. Lochte shaved 0:00.10 off his previous best and set the first world record since high-tech bodysuits were banned at the beginning of the year. “I wanted to do something that everyone thought was impossible,” he said after the race. “Since they banned those suits, everyone thought a world record would never get touched again. I just wanted to show everyone that can happen. That’s why we have records — they’re meant to get broken. Hopefully everyone now can start realizing that, ‘Hey it’s possible,’ so hopefully a lot more records will fall.” Lochte will represent his country and Gator Nation at the 2012 London Olympics next summer and will have plenty of opportunities to win more gold medals and set additional world records.

6 » MEN’S TRACK AND FIELD WINS NCAA, SEC INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS

Ranked as the top team in the country all season and attempting to continue dominating both their league and the nation, the Gators men’s track and field team captured their sixth conference title and first since 2004 in February, winning the 2011 SEC Indoor Championship. Sophomore sprinter Jeff Demps won the SEC 60-meter dash championship with a 6.55 (one-hundredth of a second faster than his record-setting time a year ago), and seven other Florida athletes captured individual titles, too. Junior Gray Horn won the first heptathlon title in school history, junior Christian Taylor earned his third-straight triple jump crown, and junior Dumisane Hlaselo won the 3,000-meter run for the first time since 1993. (Florida also finished 1-2-3 in the triple jump with Gators taking home the silver and bronze). Just over two weeks later, Florida went on to win the 2011 NCAA Indoor Championship and became just the fourth different program in event history to win back-to-back national titles. Demps (60 meters) and junior Will Claye (triple jump) each won individual titles, while Taylor ended up grabbing the silver in the latter event. Though Demps may not compete in 2012 and Hlaselo was dismissed from the team after the season, the Gators have a number of seniors looking to make it three-straight national championships for Florida next year.

5 » BASKETBALL TAKES HOME SEC TITLE, LONG OVERDUE YEAR-END AWARDS; BILLY DONOVAN WINS CAREER GAME NO. 400

The storybook season for Florida basketball had its share of bumps in the road but in the end the Gators still captured their first SEC regular season title since 2007 by dominating Alabama 78-51 on Senior Night. Fittingly, Florida’s trio of senior forwards – Tyus, Chandler Parsons and Vernon Macklin combined to score 50 of the team’s 78 points in the game. The Gators won the SEC title outright just a few days later and earned a No. 1 seed in the SEC Tournament by taking down No. 20 Vanderbilt 86-76 on the road. All five of Florida’s starters scored in double figures in the game and the team was obviously motivated to prove their worth with an impressive 11-3 offensive rebounding margin. Florida’s impressive – and to many somewhat unexpected play – landed head coach Billy Donovan the first SEC Coach of the Year award of his career despite the fact that he had coached in three national championship games, won two titles and been victorious in three prior SEC Tournaments. The Gators’ team leader in rebounding and assists as well as a double-digit point scorer, Parsons became the first UF men’s basketball play to ever win the SEC Player of the Year award, learning about the honor the same day Donovan received his. Though the 2010-11 season ended in disappointment, Donovan has already gotten Florida out to a hot start in the 2011-12 campaign. Two of the Gators’ three non-conference losses have come to two of the top three teams in the country, and the Florida coach added another notch to his quickly expanding belt. On Nov. 28, Donovan picked up the 400th victory of his head coaching career as UF routed Stetson 96-70 in Orlando, FL. He became the youngest active coach with at least 400 Division I victories but lauded his players for his success. The Gators were sure to reward Donovan with a Gatorade shower in the locker room and hope to thank him further as they try to win another conference and national title in 2012.

4 » TEBOWMANIA DOMINATES THE NFL, ESPECIALLY ON THE FIELD

A Heisman Trophy winner and two-time national champion with the Gators, Florida fans already knew what quarterback Tim Tebow could do and hoped that the Denver Broncos and the rest of the NFL would realize the same as the year went on. Tebow was the talk of the league all year long for plenty of off-the-field reasons. His religion is always a topic of conversation, his legions of fans posted billboards trying to get him to replace Kyle Orton as Denver’s starting quarterback, his book became a New York Times’ bestseller and his pre-darft documentary was well-received both on ESPN and DVD. However, Tebow’s on-the-field accomplishments were undeniable as well and are what landed him on this particular list. Finally named the Broncos’ starter on Oct. 11, Tebow had a tall task ahead of him trying to rescue Denver from a 1-4 start. He started that journey by leading an improbable come-from-behind 18-15 victory against the Miami Dolphins on the road in his first game at the helm. Tebow’s team was down 15-0 when he engineered an eight-play, 80-yard touchdown drive. After the Broncos recovered an onside kick, he led a 10-play, 56-yard scoring drive that ended in a two-point conversion to tie the game. Denver eventually won with a field goal in overtime. All of this occurred, ironically enough, as Miami hosted Gator Day at Sun Life Stadium. After a tough loss to Detroit the following week, Tebow led the Broncos on a six-game winning streak including five-straight close victories. A fourth-quarter touchdown pass led Denver over Kansas City 17-10 on Nov. 13, and Tebow really became the talk of the sports landscape the following week after his 20-yard rushing touchdown with just 58 seconds left sent the Broncos to an upset victory over the New York Jets. Tebow kept Denver in a shootout against Minnesota and led consecutive field goal drives in the fourth quarter for a 35-32 win, and his kicker again helped him lead another victory after a fourth-quarter touchdown pass and two 50+ yard kicks gave the Broncos an overtime win at home versus Chicago. Tebow ended 2011 with back-to-back losses including the worst performance of his career against Buffalo but can begin 2012 on a high note by beating Kansas City and sending Denver to the playoffs.

3 » BLACK’S PICK-SIX ENDS OUTBACK BOWL, SENDS MEYER OUT SMILING; GAME BALL PRESENTED TO LOCKWOOD IN PRESS CONFERENCE

A play, victory and moment that occurred on Jan. 1, 2011 stood for months as the likely No. 1 moment of 2011; in fact it took two pretty amazing accomplishments to knock it all the way down to No. 3 on this list. With former Florida head coach Urban Meyer looking to go out with a bang and the Gators in desperate need of a victory to end an underwhelming 2010 season, senior safety Ahmad Black truly came through in the clutch. With Penn State threatening to score a potential game-winning touchdown late in the fourth quarter of the 2011 Outback Bowl, Black intercepted QB Matthew McGloin and returned the ball 80 yards for a touchdown to ice a 37-24 win for Florida. The Gators celebrated on the field, Meyer got a Gatorade shower prior to his wife joining him to cheer the team on and chants of “Urban Meyer, Urban Meyer” rained down from Florida’s side of the stadium during the post-game interview and as the team walked off the field.

Black, the team’s leader all season and Meyer’s favorite player on the squad, was named the game’s Most Valuable Player. Meyer said after the game that he felt it was “rather appropriate that Ahmad Black, the best safety in college football, won that award.” He also called Black “one of my closest friends” and a “family” member who has “turned into a grown man, a grown man who is going to pay taxes some day, a grown man who is going to have a family some day. He’s going to be a great father and a great husband because Ahmad Black is a grown man now.” Meyer continued to wax poetic about Black after the game, again calling him the “best safety in college football,” and Black responded in kind saying that the most important thing about the game was Meyer going out with a victory. “I just wanted to go out there and do it for him,” he said. In perhaps an even more touching moment following the bowl win, Meyer and Black presented the game ball to Ian Lockwood, a high school football player who had to stop playing on Oct. 8 and became patient at Shands Hospital who was receiving treatment for brain cancer. Black gave Lockwood the very ball he intercepted to ice the game and said “it was our goal and objective to win the game for Ian.” Lockwood embraced Meyer and Black after saying a few words, capping a day that could not have gone any more perfect for either of the three men or any member of Gator Nation. Lockwood passed away later that month at the all too young age of 18.

2 » EMBREE’S LATE-MATCH HEROICS PROPEL WOMEN’S TENNIS TO NCAA TITLE

Florida women’s tennis, from a national standpoint, is the most accomplished program in school history, and sophomore Lauren Embree ensured that the Gators added a school-high fifth national championship to their catalog with a heroic and historic performance on May 24. After four hours of action between No. 1 Stanford and No. 2 Florida, the Gators defeated the Cardinal 8-6 following Embree’s third-set come-from-behind victory against Mallory Burdette. Florida defeated Stanford on their home court and served the Cardinal a loss for the first time in 12 years; Stanford had been undefeated at home over 184 matches dating back to Feb. 27, 1999. The Gators took the doubles point right away but fell behind 2-1 with a pair of singles defeats. The Cardinal then brought UF to the limit in three matches that all advanced to a third set. Each took one victory and Stanford held a 3-2 lead but as Embree and Burdette were doing battle, freshman Olivia Janowicz won her match to tie the contest up 3-3.

No. 22 Burdette had fought back from a 5-1 deficit in the first set to win 7-3 but gave up the second set 6-3 to No. 17 Embree. The former had a 4-0 advantage on the latter in the third, but Embree turned the tide by winning five-straight games to take a 5-4 lead. Attempting to break Burdette’s serve and win the match, Embree had double match point with a 40-15 lead but gave it up as Burdette powered her way to deuce and then to victory tying the third set 5-5. Embree answered back to take a 6-5 lead, but Burdette responded by winning the next game to once again tie the match 6-6 and force a tiebreaker. Burdette started with two quick points but the duo kept trading pairs of makes and found themselves knotted up at 6-6. With the home crowd and history against her, Embree forced Burdette into consecutive errors and watched the ball sail long as she won the third set 6-6 (8-6) and clinched the title for the Gators. Not only did Embree pull out the victory for UF, she also earned a measure of revenge for former teammate Marrit Boonstra, who was in a similar situation as Embree one year ago facing Burdette with the national title on the line. Boonstra fell to Burdette 6-4, 6-7(4), 7-5 and was devastated by the loss but was on the court as a student coach that Tuesday, smiling as Embree redeemed her failure one year prior. Florida finished 31-1 on the season and handed Stanford (28-1) their first loss of the year, all while winning a national title and completing a mesmerizing match that will be remembered for years to come.

1 » WAMBACH SHOCKS WORLD, LEADS U.S. IN WOMEN’S WORLD CUP

There is only one way to a pair of moments that make an entire fan base scream in delight and cry in happiness – making an entire nation (and most of the world) do the same. That is why former Gators striker Abby Wambach’s run with the U.S. Women’s National Team in the 2011 Women’s World Cup is OGGOA’s top moment of 2011.

On the brink of the earliest elimination from a World Cup in U.S. history, the Americans were snatched from the jaws of defeat on July 10 as Wambach directed a sharp header into the net two minutes into injury time during extra time to tie the match with Brazil 2-2 and force a penalty kick finish. The USA made all five PKs to complete the incredible come-from-behind victory and remain alive in the World Cup, and Wambach (along with teammate and fellow former Florida player Heather Mitts) celebrated with Gator Chomps after the match. Wambach, however, was far from done.

Just three days later with the United States facing elimination once again in a 1-1 match with France, Wambach again saved the day with a deft header from the far post to give the Americans a 2-1 lead and propel her team to a 3-1 victory that sent the U.S. to the finals of the World Cup for the first time since 1999. Later that evening, Wambach’s header against Brazil from three days prior won the ESPY award for Best Play. A late entry into the category, the play was voted by sports fans as the winner, immediately jumping all of the other accomplishments that year.

Four days later, Wambach nearly did it all again. For the third time in as many matches she appeared to be the savior for the United States, heading in a goal 14 minutes into extra time to put the Americans ahead 2-1 on Japan in the World Cup finals. Unfortuantely, for the second time in the match, the U.S. squandered its lead and allowed Japan to score an equalizer. The Americans eventually fell 3-1 to the Japanese in a highly-contested penalty kick finish, losing the World Cup in Germany. Wambach earned both the Bronze Boot and Silver Ball Awards for her amazing effort and left the event with 13 World Cup goals, more than any other American in the history of the sport.

The United States’ run was fueled by Wambach’s passion and desire, and she took the entire nation on a roller coaster of emotions as she did everything she possibly could to help bring a victory home to the U.S. No one had as many “I can’t believe that just happened” moments on the field in the whole year as Wambach did in the month of July and there is no denying that her efforts in Germany placed her firmly at No. 1 on this list.

Photo Credits (in order): Matt Stamey/The Gainesville Sun, USA Swimming, University of Florida, Associated Press, Rob C. Witzel/Matt Stamey/The Gainesville Sun, University of Florida, Unknown, Martin Meissner/Associated Press

INJURIES AND ABSENCES

Four Florida starters were notable absent or hobbled during the team’s first practice since Christmas break on Monday. Muschamp explained that senior running back Jeff Demps had a “personal matter” to attend to and will be with the team Tuesday morning. Additionally, redshirt senior wide receiver Deonte Thompson was missing from the field due to being stuck in the hotel with an illness.

Two Gators – redshirt senior offensive lineman Dan Wenger (ankle) and redshirt junior Sam linebacker Lerentee McCray – are injured heading into the game. Wenger is “still struggling,” according to Muschamp, who said that he took some practice reps in Gainesville, FL and is expected to play in the game. McCray, on the other hand, is doubtful for the contest with a bad shoulder. “We’ve exhausted about every measure we can as far as the shoulder is concerned, trying to work to get total range of motion and strength back,” he said.

NO JOBS OFFERED, NO HIRINGS COMPLETED

Despite a report that Muschamp has zeroed in on his next director of strength and conditioning, the coach said Tuesday that nothing could be further from the truth at this time. “I haven’t hired anybody. I’ve talked to a lot of people at the strength position and the offensive coordinator position, and when I make the hire everybody will know,” he said. “No one has been hired. No one has been offered a job yet. So that’s it.”

The primary reason Muschamp indicated for not having made a hire is that he is not done with the interview process. Though he has spoken with a number of candidates for both positions, he plans to continue doing so throughout the week and insisted that Florida will not make an announcement until after the bowl game.

“I still have people I want to talk to. I’ve talked to probably six, seven, eight people so far and some people over Christmas and some people this week I plan to talk to and then after the bowl game,” he said. “I’ve never put a timetable on it because it’s [what is] the right fit for Florida. It’s going to be the best decision for Florida. It’s an important hire – obviously both of them are – and I’ve talked to multiple people [for] both situations.”

Click to expand and read the remainder of this post.

PLENTY OF ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT

There is no questioning that Florida’s offense in 2011 left a lot to be desired. Just because it struggled at times during the year – especially when redshirt senior quarterback John Brantley was out of action or limited – does not mean it cannot improve before the bowl and heading into the 2012 season, redshirt sophomore tackle Matt Patchan said Wednesday.

“Obviously we have to get a lot better. Everybody has to get a lot better,” he noted referring to how the offense played through the first 12 games. “We’re going to see a marked improvement here after a short while for sure.”

Patchan also explained why the Gators’ offense struggled this season and how he thinks things will get better sooner than later.

“There’s lots of room for improvement all over the board. It’s only going to get better as long as everything stays the same. The mark of a good offense is it gets better as time goes on – the more consistency and fluidity within it,” he said. “Also there’s timing issues involved and everything, and you’ve really got to communicate well with the line of scrimmage as far as calls and everything and knowing exactly what each call means.

“In our playbook we’ve got like 20 pages worth of just calls – like a call sheet – that we have to audible at the line as far as the way we’re going to attack a defense. If everybody’s not on page with that – meaning all five offensive linemen along with the tight ends and the fullback that’s doing it – then the littlest difference, that six inches makes the biggest difference in the play. That’s been the result that we’ve seen so far with the six losses this season.

“It’s easy to sit here and say there’s going to be a lot of improvement next season, but we still have to put the work in [during] the offseason obviously. But there’s a lot of room for improvement.”

NOTES AND QUOTES
Click to expand and read the remainder of this post.

FLOYD DID “WHAT’S BEST FOR THE TEAM”

A career defensive tackle, sophomore Sharrif Floyd moved to defensive end before the season began at the request of head coach Will Muschamp, who was searching for a capable starter and depth at a very shallow position. “It was good on my part because it shows that I can do more than just what I’m here for. I can do what’s best for the team and learn things the best I can. I think it was a good fit for my resume this year,” Floyd said, putting a positive spin on the move.

With redshirt senior Jaye Howard and sophomore Dominique Easley manning the inside, Floyd played out of position on the end but still finished sixth on the team (and second on the defensive line) in tackles with 44 (18 solo, five for loss). “As I started to progress at D-end, I started noticing more teams just not coming my way. It was frustrating but at the end of the day it was make a play however it happens,” he said. “It was frustrating at the beginning until I started talked to my coaches about it. They told me to just hang in there and work with them. I did what was best for the team and came out as one of the leaders in tackles.”

That is exactly what Floyd did and though the plan was always for him to move back inside in 2012, Easley tearing his ACL has prompted that move to occur one game earlier. “[I’m] definitely more comfortable,” Floyd said of moving back to tackle. “Don’t like the way it happened or the reason why I went back in[side], but it happens in the game of football. I can’t be more excited. Three-technique is definitely my position now and until I’m done. Since I’ve been playing over eight-nine years now, I’ve been at D-tackle. I know it. I know all the blocks. I know what’s coming at me. There’s no thinking, there’s just going. I understand it a little more and there’s no need to be patient at D-tackle.”

PLAYERS ONLY SLIGHTLY FAZED BY DEPARTURES
Click to expand and read the remainder of this post.