1 » It has been a busy last few days in Gainesville, FL for Florida Gators hoping to continue their football careers and be selected in the 2013 NFL Draft. On Friday, defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd, linebacker Lerentee McCray and wide receiver Omarius Hines (who just ran the 40-yard dash in an effort to improve his time) participated in a private Pro Day on campus. Floyd and McCray both sat out Florida’s first Pro Day on March 12. According to NFL.com, 14 teams were in Gainesville to watch Floyd including the Oakland Raiders (No. 3 overall pick) with general manager Reggie McKenzie. NFL Network was there to watch Floyd; this report (which was followed by a lengthy discussion) was aired on Friday. ESPN’s Adam Schefter added that, on Monday, a collection of officials from the Kansas City Chiefs (No. 1 overall pick) – including general manager John Dorsey – held a private workout with Floyd.

New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick was also in Gainesville over the weekend first to watch his daughter (an assistant coach for Ohio State’s lacrosse team) on Saturday and then to hold a private workout with five Florida players on Sunday, OGGOA has learned. Participating in Sunday’s private workout were McCray, linebackers Jon Bostic and Jelani Jenkins, safety Josh Evans and defensive lineman Earl Okine. The only other person in attendance to watch the workouts was Belichick’s right-hand man, New England director of player personnel Nick Caserio.

Read three more BITS of Florida Gators news…after the break!
Continue Reading » FOUR BITS: Floyd, NFL, Demps, WWE, Lee

Tags: David Lee, Draft, Earl Okine, Golden State Warriors, Jeff Demps, Jelani Jenkins, Jon Bostic, Josh Evans, Kansas City Chiefs, Lerentee McCray, NBA, NFL, Oakland Raiders, Olympics, Omarius Hines, Pro Day, Sharrif Floyd, Thaddeus Bullard, Titus O'Neil, track, WWE

Former Florida Gators defensive end Thaddeus Bullard, a reserve member of the football team from 1997-2000, played in 44 games over the course of his career and was a true student-athlete on campus at the University of Florida.

Bullard won consecutive Goodwill Gator awards in 1998 and 1999, was the primary backup at defensive end in 1999 and 2000 and registered totals of 56 tackles, six sacks and three forced fumbles in his four years. He also served as UF Student Body Vice President beginning in the spring of 2000 through the summer terms.

He then played for four separate Arena Football League teams from 2003-07 before deciding to retire from the game and focus on his family. Two years later, he took up professional wrestling and soon established himself as Titus O’Neil.

O’Neil quickly rose through the ranks of the WWE and is now a featured superstar on the company’s roster and one half of the popular Prime Time Players tag team. Partnered with Darren Young, he hopes to one day become a champion and earn millions of dollars while holding a belt.

Bullard has visited Gainesville, FL twice over the past year, most recently stopping by during the first week of February. He met with the football coaching staff during National Signing Day, hung out with the basketball team and even attended Florida’s big 83-58 win over Mississippi State on Feb. 9.

Bullard sat down with OGGOA for a half hour last month to discuss his most recent stay in Gainesville, his love for the Gators and what fans can expect to see from him in the near future as he continues rise in the WWE.

ADAM SILVERSTEIN: What does it feel like for you when you come back to Gainesville now that you have a family to bring with you?
THADDEUS BULLARD / TITUS O’NEIL: “I’ve been back there before with them – to football games and stuff – but now at this point in my career with the WWE, being able to come back is special. I come back as a different person to many that see me, and it’s a great feeling. It’s fun for my kids, too, since they were involved in the process of me coming back as Titus O’Neil on the big stage. They obviously see their dad every week and they have to share me with the world. It’s a different life for us now going out to eat and going different places. Everyone knows dad as ‘Titus O’Neil’ whereas four years ago, daddy was just ‘daddy.’”

Read the rest of OGGOA’s exclusive interview with Thaddeus Bullard…
Continue Reading » Florida Gators DE Thaddeus Bullard making his mark as WWE superstar Titus O’Neil

Tags: Abby Wambach, Billy Donovan, Gator Chomp, Heather Mitts, National Signing Day, Patric Young, Stephen C. O'Connell Center, Thaddeus Bullard, Titus O'Neil, University of Florida, Will Muschamp, wrestling, WWE

1 » According to the Bradenton Herald, the Florida Gators are still waiting to hear from one recruit though it is currently unknown when he will actually make a decision. Three-star offensive lineman Trevon Young (Bradenton, FL), who was planning to play Division II basketball at Eckerd College, was reportedly a secret visitor at the University of Florida on Saturday and picked up an offer to play tight end for the Gators. With a first love of basketball, Young is faced with a difficult decision despite the fact that playing his favorite sport at the Division II level or his second-favorite sport for a top-tier program like Florida seems like an easy choice for most. “I just don’t know,” he told the paper. “I might not know until I wake up [on National] Signing Day, and I might not even sign on Wednesday. I don’t know. If I decide to play football, my favorite is Florida. It’s great getting an offer from them. It makes you feel all the hard work you put in was worth it. But I love basketball.”

2 » WWE wrestler Titus O’Neil, previously known as former Gators defensive end Thaddeus Bullard was on campus in Gainesville, FL on Wednesday and had the opportunity to meet with both basketball coach Billy Donovan and football coach Will Muschamp. Below are a pair of video Touts from Bullard that he posted online shortly after his meetings with the coaches.

Tags: Billy Donovan, Thaddeus Bullard, Titus O'Neil, Trevon Young, University of Florida, Will Muschamp, WWE

1 » New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, whose team now has six former Florida Gators on its roster after signing running back Jeff Demps last week, explained Thursday why he has picked up so many players from the team over the years.

Via the Boston Herald.

“First of all, obviously, Florida has a lot of good football players. It’s a great football state. The University of Florida has great athletes and great players at their school, as do a lot of the other Florida schools. I had a good relationship with Coach [Urban] Meyer, as I do with Coach [Will] Muschamp, so maybe we had a little more insight or opportunity to evaluate or whatever. And we felt like those particular players that we drafted there fit our system and what we were doing. Now, not everybody worked out. Some worked out better than others. But that particular class — the [Jermaine] Cunningham, [Brandon] Spikes, [Tim] Tebow, [Aaron] Hernandez, [Percy] Harvin the year before that, [David] Nelson, the receiver [Riley] Cooper — those guys in those couple years there. For whatever reason, [Meyer] asked me to speak at a clinic. Charlie [Weis] was there last year.

“So I just had a little more opportunity to interact with those players in that school, and they were available at the particular times that we were drafting and so forth. Some of it was coincidence. Some of it was maybe a little more homework in a player like Aaron Hernandez, that talent-wise obviously should have been drafted a little higher than what he was, but we were comfortable with Aaron and taking him the time we did. That’s worked out pretty well for us, so sometimes that little bit extra getting to know the player, the person and so forth can come into play. You never know in the draft process. You just never know how it’s going to go.

“Certainly, coincidence is a part of it. Demps, we didn’t really — the guy was running track, so the way it turned out this year, a lot of that was coincidence. It wasn’t that big of a plan, but we’re happy we have the opportunity to work with Jeff and see how it goes.”

2 » On the latest edition of the WWE’s YouTube program Outside the Ring, former Florida defensive end Thaddeus Bullard (known by his wrestling name of Titus O’Neil, one half of The Prime Time Players) takes tag team partner Darren Young on a tour of UF. The duo check out some major sites on campus, visit the athletic facilities, meet with Muschamp and Billy Donovan and do some Gator Chomps along the way.

Click to expand and check out two more BITS in this post.

Tags: Aaron Hernandez, Bill Belichick, Billy Donovan, Brandon Spikes, Charlie Weis, David Nelson, Gator Chomp, Jeff Demps, Jermaine Cunningham, New England Patriots, NFL, Percy Harvin, Riley Cooper, Ryan Lochte, swimming, Thaddeus Bullard, Tim Tebow, Titus O'Neil, Urban Meyer, WWE

From time to time, OGGOA will come across a plethora of news and notes that we wish to share – too much to fit into one of our truncated BITS segments. In these instances, or when stories fall through the cracks, we catch and wrap them all up with Gator Bites.

» A rough senior season at the center position made many Florida Gators fans skeptical that Mike Pouncey could play the position as well as his twin brother. But after one year as the starting center for the Miami Dolphins, those questions no longer exist as Pouncey has proven that he can perform at a Pro Bowl level (though he did not make it to the game in 2011). Now he is focused on getting even better and told the Sun-Sentinel it all starts with eating better. “I can get away with [eating fast food], but I changed it up this year just trying to eat more leaner stuff,” he said. “I hired a chef, so it’s been working well for me.” Pouncey also feels the zone blocking scheme the Dolphins will be employing in 2012 and beyond will benefit him and the offense; he expects a breakout season for himself. “They say your second year is supposed to be your best year,” he said. “I’m hoping for big things. I’m coming out as hard as I can. I want to take on more of a leadership role this year.”

» Florida head basketball coach Billy Donovan has been working with the United States U18 National Team over the last few weeks and began action in the 2012 FIBA Americas U18 Championship with his squad on Saturday. Donovan’s young squad is already 2-0 in international competition with a 105-42 victory over the Virgin Islands on Saturday and a 110-59 win over Mexico on Sunday. The U.S. will take on Brazil on Monday to conclude first-round action with the semifinals taking place Tuesday and the championship being held on Wednesday. Donovan’s squad needs to place in the top four teams at the end of the event in order to advance to the 2013 FIBA World Championship next summer. “I told them there are three things we want to accomplish. First and foremost, win a gold medal. Second, we’ve got a lot of guys on our team going into college and we want them to get maybe a bit more prepared than some other incoming freshmen for what they’re going to face in college. And third, we want to help them get better as players,” Donovan told the Sporting News before leaving for Brazil.

» Gators linebacker Neiron Ball, who missed the entire 2011 season after a blood vessel burst in his brain and he was diagnosed with a hereditary vascular condition, was officially cleared to participate in all football activities by team doctors on Friday. Ball had previously announced on March 1 that he had medical clearance from doctors to return to action, but head coach Will Muschamp cautioned in April and May that while he had returned to work out with the team that he was not a full participant and was still awaiting an additional clearance. Now that Ball is good to go, he will compete for immediate playing time at Buck linebacker, a position with a major depth issue now that junior Ronald Powell is out until at least mid-October with a torn anterior cruciate ligament.

» Florida track & field coach Mike Holloway was awarded his first Coach of the Year honor for the outdoor season by the USTFCCCA on Thursday. He had previously won the award in consecutive years for the indoor season (2010-11). Holloway’s men’s team swept the 2012 NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships this season.

Read six more Gator Bites…after the break!

Continue Reading » Gator Bites for Monday, June 18

Tags: Abby Wambach, baseball, Billy Donovan, Bradley Beal, Brent Pease, CFL, Coach of the Year, Dallas Baker, Dee Webb, DeShawn Wynn, Draft, Duke Lemmens, Dustin Doe, Eric Wilbur, Erik Murphy, Erving Walker, FIBA, FIBA Americas Championship, field, Heather Mitts, Houston Astros, Joe Cohen, Kenny Boynton, Lance McCullers, Max Staver, Miami Dolphins, Mike Holloway, Mike Pouncey, Mike Rosario, MLB, NCAA, NCAA Indoor Championship, NCAA Outdoor Championship, Neiron Ball, New York Jets, NFL, Olympics, Patric Young, Ronald Powell, soccer, Thaddeus Bullard, Tim Tebow, Titus O'Neil, Toronto Argonauts, track, USA Basketball, USTFCCCA, Will Muschamp, WWE

1 » Florida Gators senior right-handed pitcher Greg Larson became the ninth member of his team selected in the 2012 MLB Draft when he was chosen on Wednesday with the No. 631 overall pick in the 20th round by the Boston Red Sox. Larson is the third Florida thrower to be picked by Boston in the draft after the Red Sox chose junior lefty Brian Johnson with the No. 31 overall pick in the first round and junior righty Austin Maddox with the No. 118 overall pick in the third round. It is the second time in team history that Boston has picked three players from UF (1979).

2 » Former Gators linebacker Brandon Siler signed a one-year deal with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2011 with hopes of proving that he could be the full-time starter and deserved a multi-year contract. Unfortunately for Siler, he tore his Achilles and never stepped on the field for the team in a regular season game; fortunately Kansas City decided to give him a second chance and signed him to a one-year extension in January. “It’s been frustrating,” Siler told the team’s website following the Chiefs’ seventh organized team activity practice. “My momma brought it to my attention that I haven’t been out of football this long since I was seven years old and that kind of puts everything in perspective. Football is what I do. [...] It’s my job to go out there and do what I do, and I can’t do that right now, so I shouldn’t be talked about. I plan on getting back out there and showing what I can do. [...] I’m just going to keep working with the trainers and follow what they have me doing. I want to get back out there immediately, of course, but they have a plan for me and I’m just going to follow that.”

Read four more BITS (and watch a video interview)…after the break!
Continue Reading » SIX BITS: Larson, Siler, Beal, Harvin, Mather

Tags: Austin Maddox, Boston Red Sox, Bradley Beal, Brandon Siler, Brian Johnson, combine, Draft, Joanna Mather, Kansas City Chiefs, Minnesota Vikings, MLB, NBA, NFL, Percy Harvin, Roland Thornqvist, tennis, Thaddeus Bullard, Titus O'Neil, WWE

1 » New York Jets signal caller Tim Tebow made headlines – again – this week when mentioning on 1050 ESPN Radio that he’s “not sure” if he will ever be a starting quarterback again in the NFL. Honest as always, Tebow was sure to mention that it was not something that concerned him because, in his mind, it was not something he could determine. “I don’t know what the future holds, but I know who holds my future,” he said. “That’s something that has always given me peace and comfort. That’s why I don’t have to worry about the future. I can just worry about today and worry about becoming better as a football player and a person.” Tebow spoke about a number of other topics on The Michael Kay Show (listen here) including how the way he will be utilized this season compares to what he did for the Florida Gators with QB Chris Leak.

2 » Speaking of Tebow, he received plenty of support and praise recently from a former teammate as safety Will Hill was interviewed by the Newark Star-Ledger for a story published on Saturday. Hill, who recently participated in a Pro Day in Martinsville, NJ hoping to catch on with a NFL or CFL team, spoke in depth on what drives Tebow, how hard he tries to motivate his teammates and why Hill believes he is a special player. “I had arguments with people, tons of arguments, about how well Timmy was supposed to do in the league,” he told the paper. “They criticized his throwing. Alright, what do you want? A winner, or do you want just a pretty quarterback? You’ve got pretty quarterbacks that can throw the ball and never win – like the guy that was there before Tim [in Denver]. But Tim know[s] how to win and that’s what the league needs: A person that knows how to win, and he knows how to win.”

3 » Life-long professional wrestling fans, former Gators offensive linemen Maurkice and Mike Pouncey will have a chance to live out their childhood dreams on Sunday night as they form a tag team to compete in WrestleMania XXVIII in Miami, FL. Mike Pouncey, the Miami Dolphins‘ starting center, even spoke at a recent WWE press conference promoting the event. Since he was already set to attend the show as a fan, Pouncey suggested bringing his brother in as the duo forms a tag team that will don orange and blue tights while fighting WWE Tag Team Champions Primo and Epico. April Fools!

In actuality, WWE Champion C.M. Punk did recently joke that the Pouceys could make a good tag team due to their size, strength and the fact that they’re twins. “Well, we have the Bella twins, and the Bellas look a lot better than the Pounceys,” he told ESPN.com. “But, you know what, I’m always for celebrity involvement. If they want to get in the ring, clearly they’re good athletes. I’d love to see a twin tag team. That would be something. That would be cool.” The brothers may be in attendance at the event due to it being held where the Dolphins play at Sun Life Stadium. One former UF football player that will certainly be there is Thaddeus Bullard, who will work a dark match as Titus O’Neil.

4 » Florida women’s and men’s tennis each swept the Auburn Tigers 7-0 on Friday. The No. 2 women (14-1, 7-0 SEC) took down Auburn (8-8, 3-4 SEC) on the road behind plenty of solid play. The Gators won 14 of 15 combined sets (singles and doubles) as well as a tiebreaker with every ranked player and pairing winning except the No. 1 duo of junior Allie Will and sophomore Sofie Oyen; they did not participate in the match as a doubles team. The No. 11 men (11-7, 4-3 SEC) were equally impressive, toppling the Tigers (14-6, 3-4 SEC) at Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex in Gainesville, FL by winning 15 of 16 combined sets. Both teams will face Alabama on Sunday as the women remain on the road and the men once again host another opponent.

Tags: Allie Will, Auburn Tigers, CFL, Chris Leak, Maurkice Pouncey, Miami Dolphins, Mike Pouncey, New York Jets, NFL, SEC, Sofie Oyen, Sun Life Stadium, tennis, Thaddeus Bullard, Tim Tebow, Titus O'Neil, Will Hill, WWE

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.

Tags: Adam Sitter, Charlie Weis, Denver Broncos, Kansas Jayhawks, NFL, Scott Holsopple, Scott Vestal, Steve Austin, Tim Tebow, Top 25, Urban Meyer, WWE, Zach Azzanni