Farewell, gentlemen. You’re Great Gators, all of you, now to be remembered and cherished as part of the greatest era of Florida football to date.

Percy Harvin did indeed go in the first round, despite the “pot” thing. As a Florida fan, it’s weird to see phrases like “character issues” associated with Percy. Are you kidding me? This kid was perfect at the University of Florida. Not only was he the most spectacular athlete in Gator history to don the orange and blue, he was also a humble guy, a great teammate, and responsible for zero “off-field incidents” in his career.

How he ended up testing positive for Marijuana is beyond me, but I’ll bet he was at the wrong place at the wrong time. I find it hard to believe he would have knowingly inhaled an illegal substance prior to the NFL Draft. No way.

Louis Murphy: possession receiver, downfield burner, and absolutely one of the most physical wide receivers I can remember at Florida. That’s not to say he’s the strongest or the biggest — he’s not. But in terms of sheer physicality, whether it was beating his man or blocking downfield, Murphy truly gave it his all on every play. #9 also had just the right amount of “mean streak” you want to see in a football player, and he was a great leader. A winner. Two national championships. Yeah, I’d say he had a good career. Remember when he caught that wobbly touchdown pass from Tim Tebow in 2006? History, man, history.

Cornelius Ingram: surely this guy possesses the prototypical superhero body. Is it possible to have a more freakish frame? 6′4, hands like butter, and looks more imposing out of his pads than in them. Runs like the wind. Tons of power. Maybe he’s not exactly the right build for an NFL Tight End, but something tells me CI will do just fine in the League. Ingram also suffered through a senior year devoid of playing time, thanks to an ACL injury, with aplomb and grace. Ingram is soft-spoken, honest, and humble. A gentle giant.

I would have liked to see CI taken higher. He deserved it. It was bad luck to go down in fall practice without ever enjoying one on-field snap in his senior year. And think what we missed as fans: how would you have liked to see those 2-TE sets featuring Ingram and Hernandez? My goodness, that would have been a thing of beauty.

I will be tuning in to watch the Vikings, the Raiders and the Eagles, to watch “my boys” as they embark upon what I hope will be long and productive careers in the NFL. Three cheers for Percy, Louis, and CI!

As we reflect upon our upcoming game against the hated Seminoles of Florida State, let former Gator great Emmitt Smith guide you on a journey into pro football… one which I am sure you will enjoy. Watch until the very end.

Three touchdowns, all passing, no rushing, and a 148.8 passer rating.

Last year, those would have been below average stats in a game for Tim Tebow. Instead, they’re his total first the first two games.

Apparently, when Urban Meyer said that he wanted to used the star QB less, he meant it. And that’s a good thing for Florida.

But Tebow is on a pace to account for fewer touchdowns this season than he scored in rushing alone in ‘07. By stats alone, he looks a shadow of his former self.

But more disconcerting is what he’s doing on other plays. Yes, there has been improvement, but I’m seeing a Florida offense that looks vaguely familiar to the one last season. As in, Tim Tebow taking the ball to get things going for three quarters when Florida only leads 9-3. As in receivers not catching wide-open balls. As in the lack of an every-down TAILback. You dig?

To outsiders, the Gators are the Denver Nuggets of college football, beating teams by offense alone. The defense has made major strides, no doubt. The team looks more dangerous than ever.

But if these Gators are to make strides toward greatness, they must stop trying to feed off of the accomplishments of the 2006 championship season and run their own race. There are so many differences from just two seasons ago that comparing the two squads ultimately does neither justice. This team has its own battles to fight. Tim Tebow has morphed from a highly touted backup to a Heisman winner. Major Wright, not Reggie Nelson, is the hard-hitting sheriff in town. Dan McCarney stepped in for Greg Mattison, Kenny Carter for Stan Drayton. And so on, and so forth.

This team has the opportunity, not only to win the SEC, and the national title, but also become the winningest squad, and consequently, the best team, in school history.

And that isn’t going to happen unless some players not named Tebow, Harvin, or Spikes gain enough confidence in their own abilities to star in their own right.

As a journalist, I hate to criticize the character of athletes. I really do. But this team has too much potential for greatness to not address these issues.

And if Florida doesn’t address its own issues, someone else will. Someone like Tennessee, or Georgia, or LSU.

The team had a high-powered offense.

The sophomore at quarterback was a legit Heisman contender.

The coach was a success, if not somewhat controversial.

Caldwell was one of the top receivers on the team.

Sound familiar? It should. Only this time, these words do not describe the Florida Gators of 2007.

Instead, they describe the Florida Gators of six seasons prior, in 2001. The signal-caller was Rex Grossman, a kid from Indiana who picked UF over IU, the school of his forefathers. It was Steve Spurrier’s last season behind our sidelines; the visor on his head had Gator insignia. And Reche Caldwell was a top option on the receiving corps - kid brother Andre would sign in ‘03.

How powerful was this edition of the Fun-n-Gun? It scored 538 points in one season, a school record that stood until last year’s team notched 552. Grossman, a pocket passer, threw for 3,896 yards, which remains the school record. His 3,904 yards in combined yardage was a school record that stood until Tebow had 4,181 last year. He had 34 passing touchdowns, third in school history behind Danny Wuerffel’s 1995 and 1996 seasons. And his 39 passing and rushing touchdowns that year trail only Tebow’s and Wuerffel’s Heisman-winning seasons in 1996 and 2007.

But, as with USC, they were plagued by teams that scored enough points on them to make life uncomfortable. Only this time, the magic number was 20.

In a scene eerily reminiscent of last season, the Tigers were tied with the Gators, with the ball in their hands on the last touchdown drive. Then, as Wes Byrum would do six years later, Damon Duval kicked the game-winning field goal.

Incidentially, Byrum split the uprights from 43 yards, just 1 yard shy of Duval’s mark.

Then, in a game that was postponed due to the 9/11 attacks, Tennessee won a wild shootout 34-32 after Grossman failed to convert a two-pointer on the final play of the game. The win snapped the Vols’ seven-game losing streak at the Swamp, gave Tennessee the SEC East title, and effectively killed Grossman’s Heisman campaign.

That he lost by 62 points to Nebraska’s Eric Crouch in the Heisman race underscores just how close he came to a stiff-arm, and possibly more.

By the time it was all said and done, another Sunshine State team stole the show. Miami won their fifth national title with the most dominant team in school history.

One month, folks! One month, I tell ya! Okay, so it’s actually five weeks. But with Hawaii edging closer and closer, I have an overactive imagination.

From a statistical perspective, where will Tebow’s numbers stand with the greatest Gators in history? These predictions assume that Tim stays through his senior year and plays 26-28 games in his two remaining seasons.

Starting with the most important left arm in Gainesville.

Passing

Career yards: Tim already has 3,644 in two seasons (358 as a freshman, 3,286 as a sophomore) Regardless of his PR with students, Chris Leak leads with 11,213.

Thus, in order to break his record, Tim will need to average 3,785 yards over his next two seasons. Which probably isn’t happening, especially not in the SEC. And throwing an average of 3,616 to pass Danny Wuerffel (10,875) for second doesn’t look all too feasible, either.

However, with two good 3,000-yard seasons, he could very well pass Shane Matthews for 3rd on the list. And he only needs 2,761 each year to pass Rex Grossman for 4th. In other words, barring injury, he is a near lock to be one of the Gators’ five greatest passing QBs, but that’s not all.

Remember, Leak and Wuerffel were four-year starters. So Tebow’s place on this list is all the more impressive considering the year he spent as Leak’s understudy.

Touchdowns: Wuerffel is first with 114 bombs, and Leak is a distant second with 88. Tebow has 37 in two years, including 32 last season. Rex Grossman and Shane Matthews have 77 and 74.

He’ll need to throw 34 over each of the next two seasons to pass DW, which is a stretch. But he only needs 52 (26 each year) to pass Leak for second, which is realistic.

I call 2nd place when it’s all said and done. Remember, Wuerffel had four years.

Efficiency: He hasn’t had enough completions yet, but it’ll be a close one between him and Wuerffel.

What the heck, he’ll probably finish on top. Thirty-two touchdowns to only six interceptions speaks for itself.

Interception percentage: Leak has the lowest number with 2.88%. Tebow’s in really good shape with 1.83%, even without the 500 attempts. He’s doing so well that he could have 4 more picks and still remain on top.

Maybe my vision is faulty, but I just don’t see him not finishing on top. After all, he’s never had multiple interceptions in a single game.

And now for something completely different. Something all you chaps will love.

Rushing

Yardage: Whaddaya lookin’ at me for? He’s already UF’s career leader in rushing yards by a QB! (Really.)

He’s got 1,364 through two seasons. At that rate, Errict Rhett (4,163) is hopelessly out of reach. He’ll need 796 to pass Jimmy DuBose for 10th. Otherwise, he ain’t makin’ a serious dent at the record.

Thank goodness. It’s about time somebody made a ruckus about it!

Touchdowns: Entirely different story. He’s broken the plane so many times on the ground that he’s already tied with Fred Taylor for fourth on the career list. Yes, that Fred Taylor.

He only needs two more scores to tie Earnest Graham for 3rd, three more to match Rhett for 2nd, and six to break Emmitt Smith’s record of 36. Since he still has at least two dozen games left in his Florida career, he’ll likely break the record by the time he graduates, even with the Gators’ tailback problem solved.

And chances are good that he’ll break it this year.

Yup, that’s it for rushing. All together now!

Rushing and passing

Yardage: It’s no accident that Florida’s top four passers are also their top four yardage gainers. Chris Leak leads with 11,350, Danny Wuerffel has 10,500, Shane Matthews has 9,241, and Rex Grossman has 9,031. Tebow is 10th with 5,008.

With two good 3,000 yard seasons, look for him to pass Wuerffel for 2nd and pose a serious threat to Leak’s record soon afterward.

Touchdowns: Wuerffel has 122 (114 pass, 8 rush), Leak has 101 (88 pass, 13 rush), Grossman 83 (77 pass, 6 run), and Matthews 82 (74 pass, 7 run, 1 receiving)

Guess who’s in fifth and poised to beat the last two guys this season? Yup, he could finish at the top of this list if he gets 55 more by his last game.

Conclusion: Are you thinking what I’m thinking?

Ed Stefanski has brokered a deal with his first-round pick. I quote Steve Karp from the Las Vegas Review Journal:

Shortly before he drafted Marreese Speights with the 16th overall pick in last month’s NBA Draft, Philadelphia 76ers president and general manager Ed Stefanski decided it was time to make a pact with the 6-foot-10-inch forward from the University of Florida.

Not a financial deal but a philosophical one.

It was fairly simple: Speights would play hard every time he stepped onto the court, then come over to Stefanski, look him in the eye, shake his hand and let him know he gave his best effort.

That might sound corny. But Stefanski’s point was to let Speights know he can be a great player if he’s willing to work at it.

At first glance, this sounds great. Since he left the Gators, Mo has averaged 18 points and 10 rebounds in 5 NBA Summer League games. Topping it off, he’s averaging 33 minutes per contest; at UF, he clocked 33 only once in his career - a February 5 loss at Tennessee. That he’s getting close to 20 and 10 attests to his potential.

(more…)

I haven’t had any access to the Web in several days. Ideas for blogs just suggested themselves. Watching “Around the Horn” on ESPN just got to me.

Okay, got that out of my way. Unlike in some of my previous blogs, I’m taking a more generalized approach to my topics today. We start in Kobe Bryant’s birthplace.

(more…)

Former Florida Gator Teddy Dupay was charged with rape stemming for an incident in Deer Valley, Utah at the Stein Eriksen Lodge.  According to the Park City newspaper Park Record (http://www.parkrecord.com/):

“[She] stated that Mr. Dupay took her by force and raped her on the floor of Room 119-2,” charging documents state. “Prior to raping [her,] Mr. Dupay kicked and struck [her] numerous times.”

The woman had bruises on her arm, shoulder and thigh, scratches on her back and a swollen left eye, investigators claim, adding that the victim also suffered two fractured ribs.

“Additionally, there was dried blood around her lips,” charging documents state.

She accused Dupay of hitting or kicking her about 150 times.

“Mr. Dupay forced her under the desk in the room and would not let her leave and told her that if she attempted to leave he would catch her and kill her and her family,” according to Summit County prosecutor Paul Christensen.

Dupay was a star guard at Florida and part of Billy Donovan’s first Final Four in the 1999-2000 season.  He was later dismissed from the team for gambling.  He was caught in a police sting as being involved with a bookie, although he claims he never placed any bets or fixed any games.  Dupay says he just gave a friend inside information about the state of his own team (still an NCAA violation). 

Dupay was later arrested by University Police for Battery and Disorderly Intoxication in July of 2002.  Florida kept Dupay on scholarship after his suspension.  Dupay, who once dreamed of coaching someday, ended up playing on exhibition teams, the ABA and eventually in South America.  His ultimate goal of coaching was essentially crushed with his dismissal from the Gators.  Eventually, Teddy ended up as a telemarketer in Utah.

With two years like these, it’s bound to happen.

After Florida fans (and LSU, Georgia et al.) watched the pastings that the Gators and Tigers gave Ohio State, they saw the reputation of the Southeastern Conference validated on the BCS stage.

However, I want to look at some basic assumptions that fans of SEC schools have as a whole. Mark my words, this probably isn’t going to be the last post that I do on the subject.

(more…)

We all know the Holy Trinity of Florida Football: Urban Meyer, Tim Tebow, Percy Harvin. These three characterize the type of football that has been massively successful since Ron Zook left for another breed of Orange & Blue.

But what of those who have helped Tebow win the Heisman and helped Meyer earn respect in the tough SEC? After all, every successful play has its stars and supporting actors.

With that in mind, it’s time to salute ten noble warriors who could help the Gators garner more hardware for the still-in-progress Gator Room in Gainesville. Please note, these are in no particular order.
(more…)