1 » All it took was a short car ride from Gainesville, FL, to Jacksonville, FL to earn senior linebacker Ryan Stamper’s commitment to the Florida Gators. Stamper wasn’t even a consideration until head coach Urban Meyer got his hands on some game film. After a quick meeting with Stamper’s mother, who was all about her son staying close to home and playing for a man like Meyer, well, the rest is history. “I decided to come to Florida,” Stamper said. “Best decision I made in my life.” Nicknamed “Old Man Stamp” and “Dad” by his teammates, the monikers are more about respect than they are his lack of speed (off the field). “”He has game speed,” sophomore safety Will Hill said. “If you’re in the game, it’s a whole different mentality. If you just run the clock in the 40, yeah, he’s slow. But if there’s a ball on the field and he’s going after a player, he’s far from slow.” Defensive coordinator Charlie Strong recognizes Stamper’s impact on the team. “He takes his job very seriously,” Strong said. “He studies the game and is one of the most dependable guys on our defense. I would go as far as to say that of all our defensive players, he’s probably been the most consistent.” Maybe that’s why Meyer said Stamper could very well coach the Gators some day.

2 » While we are talking about recruitments, senior kick returner Brandon James has a story of his own. Growing up in St. Augustine, FL, James was a Florida State Seminoles fan and hoped throughout high school that his local team would recruit him. Now all James wants is to beat his former favorites for the fourth time in his Florida career. “Definitely there’s extra motivation, especially when you know you were good enough to play somewhere,” James said. “So when you play them, you just try to do your best and just try to make plays when you are on the field. I know every time I’ve played against them since I have been here, you come out with a little bit more extra juice and a little more fired up, ready to get at it. Through the years I’ve made a couple of plays against them so I’m sure Saturday I’ll be ready to go.’ Coach Meyer is real big on beating your rivals and to be undefeated against them is real big. It’s real big for me because after growing up with Florida State my team or whatever and not getting recruited by them and now, coming to college and being undefeated against them is real good.”

Two more BITS on a women’s basketball win and lacrosse signing after the jump…
Continue Reading » FOUR BITS: Stamper’s impact, James wants revenge, women beat UAB, Grabher signs

Tags: Brandon James, Charlie Strong, Florida State Seminoles, Krista Grabher, lacrosse, O'Connell Center, Ryan Stamper, UAB Blazers, University of Florida, Urban Meyer, Will Hill, women's basketball

Each week following a Florida Gators game, ONLY GATORS Get Out Alive will grade the team position-by-position based on each unit’s performance. This week, we look at how the Gators fared against the South Carolina Gamecocks Saturday afternoon on the road in Columbia, SC.

QUARTERBACK: B
Grading Tim Tebow week-in and week-out has proven to be a difficult task. He was good for 199 yards passing and two touchdowns, including a deep bomb to wide receiver Riley Cooper and a record-breaking run. Tebow had Cooper open in the end zone on two other occasions; once he slightly overthrew the ball, but the second one have been caught by the receiver. On the ground, he averaged only 1.6 yards on 16 carries, the second consecutive game he has totaled less than two yards per carry on average. That is worrisome. I originally had Tebow graded a little lower but gave him a little boost for what could should have been. He still needs to get the ball out sooner, especially with the offensive line struggling in protection (two more sacks).

RUNNING BACKS: B-
Why does Emmanuel Moody continue to get single-digit carries each week? This game he received three which were turned into 35 yards and a touchdown on an 11.7 average. Jeff Demps and Chris Rainey were less impressive, averaging 3.6 and 4.6 yards respectively while gaining a combined 85 yards. Running backs need to get into a rhythm. Short dive plays (which are easily being schemed against) and limited attempts impede that from happening. Moody is adoubtful this week with an ankle injury.

Read the rest of Florida’s grades from the South Carolina game after the jump…
Continue Reading » Grading the Florida at South Carolina game

Tags: Aaron Hernandez, Brandon James, Brandon Spikes, Caleb Sturgis, Carl Johnson, Charlie Strong, Chas Henry, Chris Rainey, Deonte Thompson, Emmanuel Moody, Janoris Jenkins, Jaye Howard, Jeff Demps, Jermaine Cunningham, Joe Haden, Justin Trattou, Mike Pouncey, Omarius Hines, Riley Cooper, Ryan Stamper, Tim Tebow, Urban Meyer, Will Hill, Xavier Nixon

1 » In news that can only be classified as expected, Florida Gators junior cornerback Joe Haden told the Orlando Sentinel this weekend that he will file paperwork with the NFL Draft Advisory Board in order to receive an evaluation of where he, theoretically, would be picked if he was to enter the 2010 NFL Draft. A likely first-round selection who could quite possibly be the best CB available, Haden has received lofty praise from head coach Urban Meyer and NFL experts over the past year.

2 » Sophomore safety Will Hill watches the Cartoon Network, not ESPN. Meyer avoids the Internet. The entire Gators team is keeping the word “Alabama” off their lips. All of this to make sure the group stays even-keel, not letting the highs get them too high or the lows take them too low. “If I don’t listen to it, it can’t bother me,” Hill said. With the Florida International Golden Panthers next on the docket, Florida’s players know that you cannot overlook any opponent. “FIU is a pretty good team, despite what people think of them,” junior safety Ahmad Black said. “Michigan lost to Appalachian State before, so we learned you can’t take anyone lightly.” Even so, a big win is expected by fans who have been clamoring for signs of life from the offense. “They want us to beat every team by 102 and give up no yards and score every time we touch the ball,” Black said.

3 » Want a unit to thank for the Gators’ 10-0 record and perfect 8-0 Southeastern Conference slate? Look to the defense, which has not allowed a touchdown in the fourth quarter in more than a month Florida’s offense is also outscoring opponents 71-20 in the last 15 minutes of each game. It is rare that defensive coordinator Charlie Strong’s unit is not dominant all game long. On Saturday, Strong had to make some halftime adjustments and stress how much an improvement was needed in the second half. “He tried to let us hear it,” Haden said. “He said we weren’t playing like a gator defense, and I knew for a fact that we weren’t – just don’t stuff we don’t normally do and people messing up on their assignments.” The Gators shut out the Gamecocks the rest of the game, turning a 17-14 halftime lead into to a 24-14 victory.

4 » Freshman left tackle Xavier Nixon was given the chance to start on Saturday by Meyer and offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Steve Addazio, but he was sworn to secrecy. While Nixon played well, he did make a few mistakes – nothing that cannot be corrected with practice and game experience. He even received advice from Haden, who started as a true freshman for the Gators in 2007. “It was a crazy experience,” Nixon said of starting against the South Carolina Gamecocks. “I was thinking about starting when I first got here and realized it’s a lot harder than I thought it was going to be.”

Tags: Ahmad Black, Charlie Strong, Draft, Florida International Golden Panthers, Joe Haden, NFL, South Carolina Gamecocks, Steve Addazio, Urban Meyer, Will Hill, Xavier Nixon

Each week following a Florida Gators game, ONLY GATORS Get Out Alive will grade the team position-by-position based on each unit’s performance. This week, we look at how the Gators fared against the Georgia Bulldogs in Jacksonville, FL, at the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party.

QUARTERBACK: A+
After two consecutive weeks of below-average play, Tim Tebow came back big against Georgia in his hometown of Jacksonville. Four total touchdowns including two on the ground as well as 85 rushing yards helped Tebow secure two all-time SEC records (rushing touchdowns, rushing yards by QB). 15-of-21 passing was respectable, though Florida seemed to shy away from putting the ball in the air in the second half. All-in-all, this was one of Tebow’s career-best days and the leader of the Gators offense deserves kudos for a great performance.

RUNNING BACKS: B
It is tough to expect this unit to make an impact when the three main players combined for 16 total attempts. Jeff Demps averaged 6.2 yards per carry while Emmanuel Moody had 3.7 and Chris Rainey had 3.0. Four-star freshman Mike Gillislee got some playing time late in the game and exploded on a 49-yard run but was injured on the play. For avoiding mistakes and contributing when given the opportunity, these guys played just fine.

Continue Reading » Grading the Florida vs. Georgia game

Tags: A.J. Green, A.J. Jones, Aaron Hernandez, Ahmad Black, Aron White, Brandon James, Brandon Spikes, Caleb Sturgis, Carlos Dunlap, Charlie Strong, Chas Henry, Chris Rainey, Dan Mullen, David Nelson, Deonte Thompson, Emmanuel Moody, Georgia Bulldogs, grading, Janoris Jenkins, Jaye Howard, Jeff Demps, Jermaine Cunningham, Joe Haden, Lawrence Marsh, Major Wright, Mark Richt, Michael Moore, Mike Gillislee, Riley Cooper, Ryan Stamper, The Swamp, Tim Tebow, Urban Meyer, Will Hill, World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party

Each week following a Florida Gators game, ONLY GATORS Get Out Alive will grade the team position-by-position based on each unit’s performance. This week, we look at how the Gators fared against the Arkansas Razorbacks in The Swamp.

QUARTERBACK: B
It is tough to evaluate Tim Tebow week-in and week-out, because you feel tempted to grade him an A every time. In looking at Saturday’s game, you see Tebow led the Gators on a 14-play, 69-yard drive at the end of the fourth quarter that resulted in a 27-yard, game-winning field goal by Caleb Sturgis. You also see that he went 17-for-26 for 255 yards passing, one touchdown (the longest of his career) and added 69 more yards on the ground. But that would be looking over the two fumbles he had in the first half, the fact that it took him 27 carries to get those 69 yards and the six sacks he suffered – a handful of which he could have avoided by throwing the ball out of bounds when he was outside the pocket.

RUNNING BACKS: C-
For most of the game, the entire Florida rushing attack was averaging 1.2 yards per carry. For a unit that led the nation most of the year in rushing, that is simply unacceptable. Arkansas game-planned for the dive play, and offensive coordinator Steve Addazio kept calling it – so it is hard to put all the fault on the backs. Even so, 3.5 yards per carry on 19 attempts is just not acceptable. Jeff Demps saved the unit from complete failure with his run and touchdown in the fourth quarter.

Continue Reading » Grading the Florida Gators vs. Arkansas game

Tags: A.J. Jones, Aaron Hernandez, Ahmad Black, Arkansas Razorbacks, Brandon James, Brandon Spikes, Caleb Sturgis, Carlos Dunlap, Chas Henry, David Nelson, Dennis Johnson, Deonte Thompson, grading, Greg Childs, Janoris Jenkins, Jaye Howard, Jeff Demps, Jermaine Cunningham, Joe Haden, Justin Trattou, Lawrence Marsh, LSU Tigers, Major Wright, Ole Miss Rebels, Riley Cooper, Ryan Mallett, Steve Addazio, Tim Tebow, Urban Meyer, Will Hill

Much has been made over the last week about prized Florida Gators commitment, five-star safety/athlete Matt Elam of Dwyer, wavering on his desire to attend the University of Florida this spring. A source close to Elam told OGGOA early Wednesday that his commitment to the Gators is solid, regardless of what he is telling reporters. Elam is simply doing his due diligence and taking his official visits before signing at the deadline to enroll early in the spring.

Nevertheless, Elam’s comments over the past week have ruffled the feathers of some Florida coaches and players, who have taken it upon themselves to indirectly answer some of the questions that were brought up. Chief among those is the contention that increased positional depth in the secondary will inhibit young players from getting playing time as freshmen.

[Read Florida's responses after the jump...]

Continue Reading » Gators five-star commit Matt Elam is solid

Tags: Chuck Heater, Janoris Jenkins, Joe Haden, Matt Elam, Will Hill