12 Gator Bites for Friday, May 31

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. When stories like these fall through the cracks, we catch and wrap them all up with Gator Bites.

» Despite signing a National Letter of Intent in February and expecting to be a member of the Class of 2013, three-star defensive tackle Jarran Reed (Scooba, MS) will not be joining the Florida Gators this season. Reed was hoping to obtain his associate degree from East Mississippi Community College in one year but fell about 25 credits short. Instead, he will continue playing for EMCC in 2013 with hopes of completing his coursework and departing before the spring semester starts…though he may no longer be heading to Florida. According to The Gainesville Sun, Reed has decided to reopen his recruitment but does have the Gators at the top. “Florida is my favorite school,” he said. “But at the same time, I don’t want to close any doors just in case something crazy happens. I’d like to go on [official] visits. Who doesn’t want to take free trips?”

» South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier was honored Thursday at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium with the state of Florida’s Great Floridian Award, presented to him by Governor Rick Scott. Also in attendance were Gators head coach Will Muschamp and athletic director Jeremy Foley. Former Florida quarterback Tim Tebow received the honor just one month ago. Check out the local news report by GTN’s Julie Quittner.

» Former Gators cheerleader Caroline Davidson, who concluded her run with the spirit program in 2010, had successful brain surgery to completely remove a tumor on Thursday. Her mother, Kimberly Davidson, posted on Facebook that Caroline was in ICU recovering after the surgery but all signs were positive.

Check out nine more interesting bites of Florida Gators news…after the break!

» Golden State Warriors power forward David Lee underwent surgery Thursday on a torn right hip flexor and will begin rehabilitation in approximately two weeks. According to the Associated Press, Dr. William Meyers of the Vincera Institute performed the surgery in Philadelphia, PA, though no timetable for Lee’s return to the court has been established. He sustained the injury during the first game of the 2013 NBA Playoffs but refused to sit down for the season, dressing out each remaining game and even playing sparingly. Lee led the NBA in double-doubles during the 2012-13 season, averaging 18.5 points and 11.2 rebounds per game. He was the second player in school history to be named to the All-NBA third team and was chosen as an NBA All-Star for the second time in his career.

» Washington Redskins head coach Mike Shanahan announced Thursday that guard Maurice Hurt was having a scope of his knee performed and would miss some time. The length of his absence is yet to be determined, but he should be fine to play in 2013 as a reserve offensive lineman.

» Former Florida linebacker Byron “Bam” Hardmon, who got his coaching career started as an assistant at Illinois under Ron Zook, spent the 2012 season serving as outside linebackers coach and special teams coordinator for Charleston Southern. According to CoachingSearch.com, Hardmon was hired Thursday as the defensive line coach at Idaho under head coach Paul Petrino.

» Linebacker Brandon Spikes has been skipping New England Patriots organized team activities not as a protest over his contract (which expires in 2013) but rather to “prove that he can be a three-down linebacker” and “ensure he’s in optimal physical shape,” according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport. Spikes is currently in North Miami Beach, FL working out with hopes of improving his strength and conditioning so he can show out in what may wind up being his final season with the Patriots. Rapoport reports that Spikes “plans to attend June’s mandatory minicamp” but will then return to Florida to continue training before going back to New England.

» Cleveland Browns cornerback Joe Haden is still bothered by his four-game drug suspension in the middle of the 2012 season and plans to make amends for his mistake this year. “This year, starting off fresh, I’m just trying to show just a new Joe,” he told 850 WKNR. “I feel with what I’ve been through – what I wanted to do last year and I had a setback – this year’s going to be my year. I just want to bring the team with me.” After nabbing six interceptions as a rookie, Haden did not haul in any during the 2011 season and brought down just three in 2012. He believes he is talented enough to be one of the top cornerbacks in the league and plans to prove it in his fourth season.

» Could the Southeastern Conference be adopting a uniform drug testing and substance-abuse policy? Georgia athletic director Greg McGarity (a former assistant under Foley at Florida) said Wednesday that may very well be the case as the first-of-its-kind concept will be brought to a vote by the league’s presidents on Friday. Each SEC member institution currently enforces its own testing procedures and punishments for recreational drugs with some schools viewed as too soft (Missouri) and others too strict (Vanderbilt). The Gators do not hand down a suspension for a first offense but do for second and third positive tests. If a student-athlete tests positive for recreational drugs a fourth time, they are dismissed from the school.

» Though Jeff Demps has not stepped on a football field in months and is not expected to any time soon, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers still believe he can contribute in 2013 and plan to at least give him the opportunity when his track season comes to an end. “They’re being very supportive about it,” Demps’s agent Daniel Rose told SportsTalk Florida. “We’ll probably sit down and talk about it some more. With him being only an hour away [in Clermont], he can always come visit the facilities and sit and meet with them, which is nice.” New England signed Demps as an undrafted free agent in 2012 and stashed him away on injured reserve before trading him in April.

» TMZ recently pestered future Hall of Fame running back LaDanian Tomlinson with a number of questions while he was leaving an airport. This is what Tomlinson had to say about Tebow: “Tebow can play football, man. He will find a home somewhere. I can’t tell him [to change positions]. If he wants to be a quarterback, that’s his prerogative.”

» Speaking of Tebow, ESPN The Magazine this month takes a look into why Tebow can no longer find a job in the NFL. Some may find the article bothersome but there is a lot of truth in what was written here.