SIX BITS: 2010 class, Tebow, Smith, awards

By Adam Silverstein
February 5, 2010

1 » Florida Gators head coach Urban Meyer spoke candidly with The Gainesville Sun’s Pat Dooley after National Signing Day on Wednesday. He was surprised there was not a worse reaction to his temporary resignation but actually had fun dispelling numerous rumors about his next job. “[Five-star defensive end Ronald Powell called me at 3 a.m. and] wanted to know if I was going to ESPN to replace Lee Corso,” Meyer said. That’s what he had been hearing. I just laughed.” Four-star offensive lineman Chaz Green, Florida’s last commitment, had the same question. In the end, for a man dealing with stress, his 2010 recruiting class gave him the best gift of all: relaxation. “I left my phone on (Tuesday) night but I went to sleep,” he said. “I got up, no messages. What is that? That’s the first time since I have been married I wasn’t on the phone at midnight the day before Signing Day. And we were done with the faxes by noon.”

Five more BITS including Tim Tebow’s new organization, Emmitt Smith’s upcoming honor, the women’s basketball team’s loss and much more after the jump!

2 » In a topic OGGOA skipped over because of most important topics the last few days, former quarterback Tim Tebow has begun his own charitable organization – the Tim Tebow Foundation. The vision, according to its Web site, is “to bring faith, hope and love to those needing a brighter day in their darkest hour of need.” It goes on to say that TTF “will utilize the public platform that God has given to Tim Tebow—through media, publishing, speaking engagements, special events and mission trips—to inspire friends and supporters to work with the Foundation as a team in helping to make a difference.”

3 » By Saturday afternoon, former Gators running back Emmitt Smith, an All-American at Florida and the NFL’s all-time leading rusher who spent the majority of his career with the Dallas Cowboys, will likely be announced as the newest member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Smith holds NFL career records for rushing yards, rushing touchdowns and 100+ yard rushing games. He is an eight-time Pro Bowl selection, four-time All-Pro first-team choice, three-time Super Bowl champion, 1993 NFL most valuable player, Super Bowl XXVII most valuable player and member of the Ring of Honor for both the Gators and Cowboys.

4 » Sophomore cornerback Janoris Jenkins and five-star early enrollee safety Matt Elam have both been tabbed as “Athlete of the Year” finalists for the Palm Beach County Sports Commission Awards, according to Jason Lieser of the Palm Beach Post. Jenkins is up for the award as a successful amateur athlete while Elam has been nominated as a high school athlete for his contributions to Dwyer High School football.

5 » Though Florida made a run at the end of the game, the Gators women’s basketball team (12-10, 5-4 SEC) fell to the No. 22 Vanderbilt Commodores (17-6, 6-4 SEC) 66-58 at home Thursday in the Stephen C. O’Connell Center. Florida scored 15 points in the final three minutes and were led by senior forward Sharielle Smith who scored seven of them. Smith and sophomore center Azania Stewart both finished with a team-high 13 points on the evening. The Gators will host the Mississippi State Bulldogs on Sunday as part of WBCA Pink Zone, which raises awareness for breast cancer.

6 » Erick Montoya, a four-year standout cross country athlete from Estero High School, has decided to sign with Florida. Last fall, he won individual titles within his conference, district and region before finishing second in the 2A state championships for the second consecutive year.

5 Comments

  1. Mr2Bits says:

    You should get on the story of Kiffin offering 13 year olds scholarships, great laugh.

  2. I tweeted it. Kind of sick of writing about Kiffin. I had to for the UF/USC recruiting story. But unless it involves the Gators or is something insane (like the stuff with the drunk driving, car wreck and apartment), I’m going to try and stay away from it.

  3. Aligator says:

    you should not write about kiffen for a while, i do not think he will be anything other than a pain in the butt for a while. when his dad retires … look out …

  4. Gatorfan33 says:

    I agree Adam. I am as sick of hearing about Kiffin as I am of the Tebow bashing.

  5. Aligator says:

    on Tim’s foundation, do they have a contact number of whoever will be running his office?

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