FOUR BITS: Harvin, Boynton, Parsons, Spikes

By Adam Silverstein
October 6, 2010

1 » Breaking news Wednesday has future Hall of Fame wide receiver Randy Moss being traded from the New England Patriots to the Minnesota Vikings for a third round pick in the 2011 NFL Draft. One of the players his arrival in Minnesota will help most? Former Florida Gators WR Percy Harvin, who has had a slow start to the season as the team’s primary pass catcher with WR Sidney Rice out of action for more than half of the year. Harvin could flourish in intermediate routes from the slot or opposite Moss on the outside, so keep an eye out for him as the season progresses.

2 » Florida sophomore guard Kenny Boynton was named to the John R. Wooden Preseason Watch List on Monday. The list showcases 50 collegiate basketball players who Wooden Award Committee believes are frontrunners for the group’s player of the year award at the end of the season. Left off of this year’s initial list was Gators senior forward Chandler Parsons who was unquestionably the team’s best player last season and will be an integral piece should the team make the deep NCAA Tournament run predicted for them. Discounted by the committee, Parsons was recently profiled by Dime Magazine, which called him the “leader of the best starting five in America.” Check out this interview with Parsons that covers a number of topics.

3 » Three former Florida stars turned NFL rookies – tight end Aaron Hernandez and linebackers Jermaine Cunningham and Brandon Spikes – have been getting major playing time (most of the time as starters) this season with New England. Cunningham had to overcome injuries during the offseason, but Hernandez and Spikes each had to deal with a different personal matter that cast doubt about them in the eyes of fans and the media. For seemingly the first time in years, Spikes spoke with reporters and tried to clear the air. “I definitely was embarrassed,” he said about the online video released of him. Now his focus is on football, which is getting easier for him week-to-week. “It’s kind of been a big learning process, but I think it’s coming along,” Spikes said. “Every day is a step I need to take to try to get better.”

4 » It has been five years since former Alabama Crimson Tide WR Tyrone Prothro’s career was basically ended when he shattered the lower part of his leg while attempting to make a catch in the end zone at home against the Gators. The best game of Prothro’s career ended up being his last, something he will always remember as being a life-changing event. “I definitely think that if I didn’t get hurt, I’d be in the NFL right now,” Prothro told AOL FanHouse. “I’m not sure if I would have come out early or not, but I might have. I was a junior. Though he is able to walk – and run – again, Prothro’s physicality is not where it needs to be to play professionally. Now he is working as a bank teller at Regions Bank across the street from his former team’s football complex. “People don’t believe it’s me,” he said. “I’ve got a name tag and a nameplate. They look down, then they look back up, and I’m like ‘It’s me.’”

6 Comments

  1. npgator says:

    That was too bad for Protho as he was one heck of a player and would be fun to watch in the NFL. I wish him the best.

  2. Mr2Bits says:

    Funny you talk about Prothro as I mention him what seems like every time we play Bama. He single handily manhandled us that game. Complete shame how it ended as he was destined to be a fantastic WR in the NFL. I still can picture that catch he made earlier in the same year where he snagged it on the guys back and flipped into the end zone.

  3. Gatorbuc15 says:

    Very glad to see that Boynton is on the “John R. Wooden Preseason Watch List”. I am dissapointed that Parsons is not on the list though, he deserves to be on their.

  4. brlgator says:

    Shula should send prothro a check every month and put on the byline apology for ruining your career while attempting to run up the score

  5. Drew 4 Orange & Blue says:

    Most felt the two final straws for Shula was the Prothro injury when no top skill guys should have been on the field and not getting Tebow after going after him so hard

  6. SC Gator says:

    Not getting Tebow hurt, obviously, but that was an uphill fight from the first moment. Losing Prothro was what really did it I think, and the way it was done – running up the score againt a team you had already gobsmacked – made it that much worse.

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