We at O&B Hue don’t often comment on the writings of other blogs or beat sites, but we’ll take exception today with a quick excerpt from the cream of the crop in Gator fansites, Gatorcountry.com.

Franz Beard writes ($) :

It is a battle of perceptions that Urban Meyer has had to deal with the last few days. It started this past Thursday when Jamar Hornsby was arrested and charged with fraudulent use of a credit card and extended into the weekend when freshman defensive lineman Matt Patchan was shot in the shoulder in Tampa. If you judge by the reaction of some in the media and read the message boards of some of Florida’s rivals, then you might come to the conclusion there is an out of control element at work among the Gators.

In Beard’s article, Meyer is quoted as saying that assailants unknown to Patchan fired shots into the crowd in which he was standing. Patchan “had no involvement whatsoever” and had no idea who fired the shots. That’s good enough for me.

Hornsby’s foul deed will unfortunately follow us around for awhile. Gator Nation wanted him gone when we learned of the crime and within 24 hours, he was. Fast actin’ Tinactin.

… The news of these two incidents has taken the attention away from the recent announcement that the Gators put together a team grade point average of 2.86 in the spring, marking the seventh straight semester that the team GPA has risen since Meyer became the head coach at Florida in December of 2004. The 2.86 team GPA is the highest of any Florida football team since they began keeping records of such things.

Hay-soos, am I glad someone finally wrote this. Not only does the team GPA rock, but 32 scholarship players have earned a 3.0 or higher GPA in the spring semester. That’s quite an achievement.

However, one thing missing in this analysis is that we’re one season away from one of the worst off-seasons on record in terms of Gator players getting in trouble. Ronnie Wilson’s assault rifle incident… Brandons James and Powell in the poorly-executed GPD sting… Avery Atkins… Marcus Thomas from 2006… Jermaine Cunningham throwing a sandwich at a restaurant employee… Dorian Munroe cutting a boot off his car (bravo, I say)… the list goes on.

Hornsby is a black mark, but Patchan shouldn’t be. From here on out, we need our kids to keep their noses clean and our coaches to safeguard the honor of Florida football.

This summer will go a long way toward how Gator athletics are viewed by the public at large. Perceptions, smerceptions? Well, they say perception is reality.

The legendary QB could face some troubled times ahead.

However, let’s be overoptimistic here about the 2008 season. Florida, a preseason top-5 pick, wins the national championship by season’s end. Gator Nation is ecstactic; Tim Tebow’s legend status cemented with his second ring, his first as a starter.

But behind the tough-guy jokes and record-setting statistics is the offensive coordinator who made it all happen. Being the coach who helped Tim Tebow win multiple rings, maybe even multiple Heismans, makes for quite a resume. And thus, Florida fans should ask themselves not if Tim or Percy will stay, but if Coach Dan will.

All of this directly impacts Mr. Tebow’s decision whether to leave for the NFL or stay all four years then leave. Try this for a senior season: a new offensive coordinator, the loss of your favorite offensive target, and the heavy expectations of a fan base that expects you to do otherworldly things on and off the football field. Not the most appetizing incentives.

Don’t think Dan’s departure is that big of a deal? Alex Smith, a former Meyer product and #1 overall draft choice, is struggling in San Francisco; the 49ers’ problems with their offensive coordinators have been well documented. Danny Wuerffel’s coordinator was his high school coach, Jimmy Ray Stephens; his chemistry with the man helped him out on the field. There is a direct coordinator with USC’s dip in dominance and the departure of Norm Chow.

And QB/WR tandems are some of the most famous duos in the NFL. Peyton Manning and Marvin Harrison. Rice and Montana. Brady and Moss. Aikman and Irvin. The list goes on.

Of course, Tim is entitled to his decision and I respect that. But he may very well find himself falling on draft should he choose to stay and get his degree in Family, Youth, and Community Sciences. And chances are, his Gators may struggle in 2009. Besides, he doesn’t really have that much more to prove on the college level.

Oh well, life goes on. By the way, I still hope that Tebow is successful in whatever he does.

I covered this with the grey-colored hat over at FanHouse. But our friend Senator Blutarsky has a little fun at our expense by pointing at Vince’s Moody for Heisman post (which I quite liked, by the way) when the news of the day is, of course, Hornsby’s felony theft of a dead girl’s credit card.

I’m at a loss over this one. Truly. The best case scenario here is so bleak that it’s not even worth considering. Somehow Hornsby ended up with a teammate’s dead girlfriend’s credit card and then used it. For. Six. Months. First use was the day after her death. Proceeded to use it another 69 times. Rang up $3,000 worth of debt.

Help me understand Hornsby’s thought process here. Let’s be wildly optimistic and say that via some kind of sketchy arrangement Jamar had “permission” from Ashley Slonina to use the credit card, given that his financial scenario — a crappy one — was well known to his teammates and coaches. Hell, homeboy sold his BCS ring and got stung last year for selling his free football tickets. So maybe she was trying to help him out in some way by lending him her card. Yes, that’s probably off by 100%, but I’m just setting up stage two, so bear with me.

Now Slonina dies tragically in a motorcycle accident with walk-on Michael “Sunshine” Guilford. Hornsby allegedly accompanies Joe Haden — Slonina’s boyfriend — to her apartment to clean out her stuff. Had to be a rough moment, to say the least, for Haden — and in theory, for Hornsby as well, given that they’d both lost a teammate and a friend. The credit card was either in Hornsby’s possession prior to this sad errand (using our wildly optimistic scenario above) or it wasn’t, in which case Hornsby actually stole it when this opportunity presented itself. Either way, at this moment, surely a scholarship athlete attending the University of Florida is smart enough to recognize that he can’t use this card because he’ll almost certainly get caught. For christ’s sakes, it belongs to a dead woman.

In the background, grieving families. Grieving teammate. Grieving team.

Stealing her credit card? Going on a six-month spending spree across the state of Florida? Using it in such excess that he racked up a felony theft charge?

Sorry, Hornsby can’t be that “poor.” He’s on scholarship. Plenty of students get by on less.

Sickening.

There’s really only one way to handle moral turpitude of this caliber and that’s to remove Hornsby permanently from the team, say “good riddance,” and never look back. Hopefully this character spends some time in jail while he’s at it. There you have it — O&B Hue’s take. Hopefully we can move past this, but make no mistake about it, this is dreadful first and embarrassing second. And probably will be for awhile. How awful.

Update… Statement from Urban Meyer on Hornsby on Friday afternoon: “He is not a part of our program.”

Thank you, Coach.

Look, I know he had the goal-line fumble at the spring game. But we’ll assume he’ll have that corrected and will start when the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors come to town.

Obviously, no Gator tailback has won the award. Emmitt was always in the discussion, but he really wasn’t there. Blame mediocre Florida teams and a merry-go-round of offensive coordinators for that. But why has this trend occurred? Class, let’s look at Gator football, circa mid-1960s.

The Ole Ball Coach is the starting QB for the team, coached by Ray Graves. With his accomplishments in a very wide variety of sports before coming to UF, he provides a precursor to Tim Tebow 40 years later. Some lab coat types interested in exercise physiology have invented a cocktail of water, salt, sugar, and electrolytes designed to stop muscle cramping and dehydration; they strike a deal with Stokely Van Camp, and the Gatorade marketing machine is born.

But in spite of Steve Spurrier’s considerable talent, the true Heisman favorite lives over 900 miles away. Six years before leading Miami to a perfect record and a Super Bowl title, Robert Griese takes snaps in spring practice at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. He’s got the arm and the leadership to succeed.
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Tim Tebow gave an interview to First Coast News’ Dan Hicken over the weekend. Tebow spoke of his faith, how the Heisman has changed his life, and… dun-dun-DUN!… whether he’ll be suiting up in ‘09 as a Gator.

Hicken: “We were talking earlier about those mock drafts that are coming out. Your name is at the top of a lot of them for next year, so people are going to start asking you about your future even though I know you’re just focused on this season.”

Tebow: “I am. I’m focused on this season. After the season, we’ll talk to Coach Meyer and everything, but I love being a Gator and I want to stay there as long as I can. I’m just blessed to be in that position.”

So… not an iron-clad “will return” response, but I have to admit, I feel pretty comfortable with the notion that Tim will be back for his senior season. There are many factors contributing; perhaps most importantly is his emphasis on outreach and using his college football fame as a platform. Can NFL millions lure him away from that opportunity? Never say never, but I think a combination of his love for the University of Florida, his unique situation as perhaps the most beloved player ever to wear orange and blue, and his faith will keep him here.

It’s an amazing ride, the ride of a lifetime. When you hop off that train, you’re done forever. Tebow knows that.

The post-Tebow era is a dark and depressing thought. I dare not tread too far down that path. Just knowing that, at best, we have two additional seasons max to watch this brilliant athlete play quarterback is somewhat sobering. The sheer joy of watching Tebow command the Gator offense made a 9-4 season bearable. And with an upgraded defense, it’s Tim’s turn to win an MNC as the greatest Gator quarterback in the history of Florida football.

Say it with me: 2 more years! 2 more years!

In one of the most surprising and controversial moves of the NFL draft, the Jacksonville Jaguars traded most of their picks to the Ravens to grab Gator defensive end Derrick Harvey 8th overall. The move was surprising, not only because Harvey was projected to Carolina at 13th, but also because Jacksonville staked a heavy portion of their future on the star prospect.

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One of the more interesting debates on the Gator roundtable is whether Tim Tebow can join Ohio State legend Archie Griffin in the Multiple Heisman club.

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Alright, alright, Florida’s got a ridiculous amount of talent, and I don’t have the head for offense that Dan Mullen has.

But isn’t it worth at least a little bit of time determining the best players for the best positions? Why not try to get the most out of your guys that you can?

Well, at least it’s not last year, when Superman and The Flash (Tebow & Harvin) were the only good options for the offense.

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Based on reports from Spring Practice and the 2008 Orange and Blue game I have some observations I’d like to share regarding Gator football.  In an attempt to lend some cohesion and organization to my thoughts I will separate each rumination by section.  In this section I will look at the Running Back situation.
 
GATOR RUNNING BACKS
 
What a difference a year makes.  Last year being a running back at Florida carried about as much importance as being a paramedic at an ER Physicians convention - if something needed to be done it seemed like everyone else would be doing your job.  Of course it’s not like Florida was devoid of a running attack.  Tim Tebow rushed for a bruising 895 yards and 23 touchdowns while averaging 4.25 yards per carry while Percy Harvin rushed for 764 yards on a spectacular 9.2 yards per carry.  While impressive statistically it can’t be stated enough that neither of these players was a “running back” per se.  In fact you had the dilemma of either risking your Heisman Trophy winning quarterback by sending him up the middle or taking your most explosive and big play wide receiver out of the passing game by lining him up in the backfield and handing him the ball.
 
This dilemma exists no longer.  I expect both Tebow AND Harvin to continue to carry the ball but I also expect their attempts to be nearly halved making BOTH more effective weapons.  The first game breaker I’d like to see on the field is Chris Rainey.  There isn’t much left to say about Rainey as he put on a show during the Orange and Blue game.  His combination of speed and elusiveness make him a game breaking back in the mold of Noel Devine of West Virginia or C.J. Spiller of Clemson.  In other words the kid is a big play threat who will get the ball in a variety of ways.  He’s essentially another Harvin (though not as big) that allows you to play while keeping Harvin in the pattern as a receiving threat.  Look for Rainey to deliver a lot of big plays if he can remain healthy.
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Cameron “Cam” Newton has thus far had a relatively unspectacular career as a quarterback at the University of Florida.  Of course we are talking about a player who was thrust into the backup role as a true freshman so expecting him to have performed like a veteran would be a ridiculous assumption.  With only some mop up duty on his resume his career stats are a paltry 40 yards passing (5 of 10) and 103 yards rushing (16 attempts).  Cam has the size and strength to be a Tim Tebow-like runner but unlike Tebow he has yet to significantly upgrade his passing form from his first season.  Tebow was also a fastball type thrower in his freshman campaign but Tim significantly improved his passing skills in subsequent years while Newton seems to have flatlined in that regard.
 
Behind Newton is redshirt freshman Johnny Brantley who many have declared as the best passer on the team.  The major knock on Brantley thus far seems to be his fragile nature.  His career thus far has been marred by several unrelated injuries.  In fact usually when Brantley’s name is mentioned in a major publication it’s only to declare his most recent injury.  So where does that leave Newton?  Basically Cam Newton is Florida’s number two quarterback by default.
 
In the past two Orange and Blue games (aka the Florida Spring Football game) Newton has struggled.  In 2007 Newton looked jittery and unsettled in the first half as he ended up going 7-13 for 78 yards and dropped several shotgun snaps.  In that year he was able to calm down and go 13 for 17 for 197 yards in the second half as he led the Orange team to two second half scores before falling short 27-20.  This year Newton’s performance did not have the late improvement as he finished the 2008 spring game 6 of 18 for 53 yards.  While it seems that Newton has regressed and is not effective as a quarterback let us keep a few things in perspective.
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