Apparently, the latest from the college football rumor mill has Florida’s 20.5-year-old legend slated to take a cue from Joe Montana. It seems that Urban Meyer and Dan Mullen want the Teebster to improve in the two-minute drill. The move makes sense for a number of reasons:

*Admit it, Florida fans. As much as you want #15 to walk on water, heal the incurably sick, and lay down vigilante justice against FSU, you know he’s not perfect. He’s a human being who makes human mistakes, and working on the two-minute drill provides a good dose of perspective.

*A further investigation in UF’s losses reveals that in spite of Florida’s youth, atrocious secondary, and lack of a true runner, most of the Gators’ woes came from ineffective final scoring drives. Consider Tebow’s failed Hail Mary pass against LSU and the two turnovers on down against Michigan. So in theory, if the Gators become more effective at closing the deal, they become much tougher to beat. The better the quarterback is at the end, the more margin for error during the game itself.

* Tebow will have to run less and rely more on short West Coast-style passes. In other words, he’ll be doing the kinds of things that make draft scouts feel better about his chances in the pros.

Make no mistake about it. Tebow may have won a championship in his first year and a Heisman in his second, but his junior year will undoubtedly be his most important yet. From a career perspective, he’s beginning to prepare himself for his NFL career, should he choose to go that route. From an SEC point of view, he’s beginning his second year as a starter. And in the way of accolades, he can add to his trophy case and increase his hero status in Gainesville. But I’m getting off-topic.

Here’s an example of how a skilled two-minute QB can change a franchise: A perennial backup quarterback was selected as a compensatory pick in his particular NFL draft and only threw three passes in his rookie year. He initially spent time buried in the back of the depth chart, but he worked really hard at improving; the two-minute was an integral part of his preparation. When the original starter was injured and out for the season, the guy stepped in and helped his team win all of its playoff games and make the Super Bowl, albeit with a lot of grit and a little luck. In the big game, he kept it close against the most prolific NFL offense of its day. But it all came down to one final touchdown drive. And much to everyone’s surprise, he kept cool and led his team down the field for the game-winning score, netting him his first Super Bowl ring and MVP award.

The quarterback who went from zero to hero: Thomas Edward Brady, Jr. Turns out, he was a big Montana fan as a kid growing up in the Bay Area.

And in a twist of irony, his opposite in Super Bowl XLII would win the Super Bowl by beating him at his own game.

Okay, so the spring game is still five and half weeks away, and the first regular season football game isn’t until August 30. But it’s not too early to look at what made Florida a great sports school in the first place. Besides, everyone around here could use a short break from basketball and all of the nervous tension it entails.

Here is a breakdown of the team, position by position. Be warned, this might be a bit lengthy.

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I usually don’t care to comment on other bloggers negatively but I couldn’t resist with this.  Kevin Donahue of FanBlogs has a post (HERE) where he takes shots at Urban Meyer for what he said at a post Capital One Bowl press conference.

“Well, for those guys who just put in their time and didn’t make any real contributions, it’s time for you to go. It won’t be hard to say goodbye to some of those guys who just went through the motions. Now for those kids who actually bought into the program, and who made some sacrifices and contributions - you know, like Bubba Caldwell… he’s a graduate of UF and had a great career - you”ll really miss those guys. But just because you’re a senior doesn’t mean you have any value.”

Kevin goes on to end his diatribe with the great closing line “just because you’re a [coach], doesn’t mean you have any value.”  Not bad prose . . . powerful stuff right?  Well it might have been had the above quote attributed to Meyer actually been said.  Mr. Donahue had to be CORRECTED by posters in his comment section.  I have seen that quote before and I knew it wasn’t accurate, it was a tainted “interpretation” by a rival.  And by failing to double check his facts, the primary piece of evidence of his article and the setup for his closing statement looks . . . well pretty pathetic.

The actual quote by Meyer (as Donahue would later admit and correct) was . . .

“Let’s make this clear,” Meyer said. “It’s not difficult to say goodbye to a senior. A senior that maybe just put in time and didn’t do a whole lot…no, it’s time for you to go and move on. It’s really hard to say goodbye to seniors that are invested in your program and jumped in with both feet and graduated. Bubba’s (Caldwell) a graduate and (Clint) McMillan’s a graduate of Florida and they were a part of the national championship team, part of a team that played in a January 1 bowl. It’s hard to say goodbye to those guys and so when you say ’seniors,’ just because you’re a senior doesn’t make you a value to the team. A value to the team means that you contribute and you’re part of the team and I’m going to really miss some of those guys.”
 

OUCH!!!  I’d say that version is has a COMPLETELY different tone than the former.  In fact, instead of insulting his seniors (as suggested by the first version) he’s actually PRAISING Caldwell and McMillan in the second (actual) version. 

I have to say I’ve seen a few of Donahue’s posts and he’s a blogger not a journalist and shouldn’t be held to the same standards as such.  But from now on every time I read his writings I’ll wonder in the back of my mind - is this accurate or just some inaccurate nonsense he swiped from someone else without bothering to check his sources???  Why bother basing your opinions on facts?  Who said quotes attributed to people need to be accurate?  The truth is overrated.

Congratulations Kevin Donahue, you traded your credibility and integrity for a quick zinger.   I look forward to reading more of your compelling posts in the future.  However now I will have understanding the that you don’t blog sports but rather you blog fiction.

I’ve been harboring a secret feeling of frustration, as yet unvoiced. I saw someone put it into words on, of all places, an FSU blog.

Scalp ‘Em writes:

I get it… football is a team sport… but when you’re hounded by reports about Tim Tebow’s Heisman potential, give the kid a little bit more support. The SunSports postgame press conference was amusing, when Urban was all too happy to talk about everything but Tim-may winning a Heisman. Why not say something like, “The stats speak for themselves, or of course I think he’s had the best season.”

If Tebow really is Superman, there’s no reason to think he’d slack even if Coach Urban Meyer proclaimed him great.

Well, yeah. What’s so wrong about saying just a few positive words about your Heisman candidate quarterback?

Urban Meyer gets a lot of credit for an innovative offense and making a football program click on all cylinders. He’s the “Star Wars” foil to Phil Fulmer’s “Deliverance”. An energetic young coach who seems to have all the answers both on the recruiting trail and on the football field.

But he isn’t often recognized for the “old school” aspect of his personality. Make no mistake about it, there’s a lot of Woody Hayes and Earl Bruce built into Meyer’s football DNA.

Meyer has been asked for the past month about the “H”-word and Tim Tebow. And his answer has always been to shrug it off, talk about the fact that Tim Tebow couldn’t be Tim Tebow with his supporting cast, etc.

Which is true, of course. Absolutely true. And I really don’t have any problem with that… but after whipping FSU, after completing your regular season, with a bowl game at least a month away? Just what’s the harm of tooting Tebow’s horn once or twice?

The closest Meyer would come to endorsing the Heisman talk was to say that “If I had the number one draft pick, I like who I’ve got” or somesuch.

It’s not like Tebow’s the kind of player who would let it get to his head.

And surely his teammates want him to win the award.

This is one area what you don’t need to be a curmudgeon anymore, Coach. No one will think poorly of you for saying your quarterback is the best in the country. He is — it’s quite obvious.

As a member of Football Writers of America, I regularly receive promotional packages from schools pushing their candidate. Early in the season I received packages from Rutgers (Ray Rice) and Arkansas (Darren McFadden). Two weeks ago I received a nice mailer from Mizzou touting their Heisman Hopeful, Chase Daniel. At Florida, meanwhile, we do nothing?

Times have changed. Student-athletes need to keep doing what they’re doing — playing well and making the grades. The SID and his crew, however, can feel free to start promoting their candidates (so says Heisman Pundit, aka Chris Huston, former USC Sports Information Director).

And the least our head coach can do is say the words “Heisman” and “Tebow” in the same sentence.

In the fall of 2005, I had high hopes for Kestahn Moore. Moore brought a blue collar work ethic with him to Florida which outshone DeShawn Wynn, Marcus Manson and Skyler Thornton on the practice fields. (”He taught those kids how to work,” said running backs coach Stan Drayton at the time.) And I liked Moore’s ability to travel north and south without D. Wynn’s stutter-stepping and Marcus Manson’s trippability. But during his two years in Gainesville, Moore has seen only limited action at tailback, carrying for less than 280 yards in both ‘05 and ‘06. He’s rarely been exciting to watch, and most would agree that he’s yet to give any indication that he’s potentially a feature back.

In 2007, DeShawn Wynn has graduated, Skyler Thornton has transferred and Marcus Manson is now playing cornerback. A new crop of young players are competing with Moore, now a junior, for touches at the position: Mon Williams (out with an ACL injury this year), Chevon Walker (great spring scrimmage), Chris Rainey (fast, but short and thin) and even our beloved midget punt returner, the 4′ 3″ Brandon James.

But I look at all of those players and want to like Moore the most. He outworks the field. He’s a sinewy mass of muscle. Although he’s not a 230+ lb. bowling ball like DeShawn Wynn, he’s by far the biggest and toughest of the current corps. He has handled two moderately disappointing years with nary a complaint. He’s done well as a lead blocker for B. James on punt returns and is definitely the best backfield blocker among the RB corps, good at picking up the blitz as well and gluing himself to his guy. And of course, in his third year as a Gator, he brings the most experience to the position.

Season’s almost here. Where does he stand?

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If you didn’t already know, the Gators’ Friday Night Lights (FNL) is a hugely popular one-night football camp for recruits.

FNL is still new. It is a tradition started by Urban Meyer. It takes place in the Swamp, the nation’s best football stadium, and gives the Gator coaching staff a chance to evaluate talent and impress recruits at the same time.

When FNL started, an FSU fan site denigrated the concept, calling it a “desperate move” by the Florida coaches. Two years later, Meyer and his Gators have an SEC championship and a national championship ring while the S.OW. is coming off a 7-6 season and an Emerald Nuts Bowl appearance. And FNL is a premier recruiting event in the state of Florida. Recruits come from far and wide — as far as California and New York. It has directly contributed to Meyer’s ability to land the #1 recruiting class in ‘07, and it has been an unqualified success.

And now the ‘Nolies have decided if you can’t beat ‘em (something they’ve never been able to accomplish against Meyer), join ‘em.

They call it the “Seminole Showtime” and is a weak imitation of the Gators’ successful version. Of course, you wouldn’t know that if you read the “spin” version of Semi-Showcase:

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Endless promise. A huge, infectious smile. A young man brought up, by all accounts, to be the polite, respectful kid you were proud to know.

A total team player in high school. A lock-down cornerback who had “Future in the NFL” stenciled on his helmet.

We’ve lost him; Avery Atkins is no longer with us. Somehow, it was all short-circuited by a seemingly endless train of bad decisions followed by a steady descent into the dark world of drug abuse.

I wrote just last week about the Sad Saga of Avery Atkins not knowing how sad the ending would truly be. Losing a future in football and possibly the NFL is a huge disappointment, but it doesn’t even register on the scale compared to losing a family. And that is what Avery Atkins lost — himself, his family, his future days with his son, named Avery Atkins Jr. The exact cause and reason for death is not yet known, but it seems that whether Avery intended to end it all on purpose, or by accidental overdose, the cause was still the same. Avery’s bad decisions, and his inability to cope with their consequences, led to his death.

I never knew Avery Atkins. I followed his story from the time he was recruited, which seems like yesterday. I watched him play in the ‘05 spring game, and watched him step in as a freshman for an injured Vernell Brown and make big plays against Florida State later that season. I watched him whoop and holler and beat his chest and hug his teammates as the Gator offense strapped on their helmets and ran back on the field. It might have been one of Avery’s best moments; certainly one of his best as a football player, although hopefully the moment he first met his son was his best as a man.

I’m angry at Avery Atkins. Angry that he could squander so much. Angry that he didn’t have the strength to get his life on track, to take care of his family, to take care of himself. I’m angry that a young man with so much potential — not just in football, but in life — fell down, couldn’t get back up, and for all I know, didn’t even try — despite the help of so many around him, including Urban Meyer and the coaching staff, even after Atkins’ days as a Gator football player were done. I’m angry that a young man who had a chance to graduate with a University of Florida diploma threw that amazing opportunity away. I’m angry that a little boy will grow up never knowing his father and will likely watch that FSU game fifteen or twenty years from now, watch his father leap up and make an amazing play which brought 90,000 people to their feet, practically feeling the cackling energy flowing through his young and athletic body like an electric current, full of life, full of hope, full of promise, and wonder how he could be found dead in a garage less than two years later.

I’m angry. But Avery Atkins was a kid. Kids do stupid things.

And sometimes kids aren’t strong enough to get back up.

Kids are supposed to get a few chances to get on track, to get things sorted out, to re-prioritize, to focus. To grow into adults. To become parents. To live their lives.

Avery ran out of chances. That’s no one’s fault but his own. But he was just a kid. Don’t lose sight of that fact.

I didn’t know Avery Atkins. But I’ll remember that improbable leap, defying gravity as he soared skyward to pick off an errant pass, and remember how happy a young future father-to-be was, staring into the yawning gape of a brilliant future, on a beautiful fall day in Gainesville, Florida, in 2005. And I hope that is how you’ll remember him too.

Our personal shame for the Gators’ less-than-sterling offseason knows no bounds. Where once we engaged in merciless and rousing schadenfreude (FSU, Miami), absolute in our certainty that under Urban Meyer our boys would BEHAVE THEMSELVES GODDAMNIT, we are now reduced to a wet noodle spinal column, bowed head, puckerfish-expression’d existence, shielding our eyes from view with the hand-visor of vexation and pudency. The summer of 2007, championship fever aside, has not been kind.

WHAT… THE… HELL?

The mug above — yes, the disproportionately small head attached to that bulging horseneck — belongs to none other than kickoff/punt return specialist Brandon James. The diminutive speedster was responsible for some of the most electrifying returns in the country last year (too bad most were callled back on cheesy penalties) and was a source of much satisfaction and pride to Gator Nation after years of anemic punt return specialists. James was one of two Gators caught buying marijuana from, of all places, the Gainesville Police Department evidence vault. The second perp? Another Brandon… Brandon Powell from the Gators basketball team. From AM850: (more…)

Looking ahead now towards football, which is still the feel-good cauldron that Gator basketball was until Black Thursday…

How about Tebow for Heisman in 2007? It’s not impossible, according to Lindy’s, a popular publisher of preseason sports annuals. From the Gainesville Sun:

Even though he hasn’t even started a game, sophomore quarterback Tim Tebow is No. 4 on Lindy’s preseason Heisman list.

“That’s premature. He knows that. Everybody knows that,” Meyer said. “Lindy’s? I’m sure the guy has watched a lot of film. Maybe this guy was at practice (in the spring) because Tim has improved.”

I think putting Tebow, who scored more touchdowns in last year’s BCS national championship game than any other player, is a perfectly realistic addition to the Heisman Watch. Early favorite Darren McFadden will likely be hard to usurp as the frontrunner, but if anyone can screw up a good thing, it’s Head Hog Houston Nutt — whom I still haven’t forgiven for losing to Wisconsin despite rushing 232 yards to the Badgers’ -5. (Seriously, how is that possible?)

Knowing Nutt, it wouldn’t surprise me at all to see him turn to Casey Dick to open up his new no-huddle, spread passing attack… then again, Tebow probably won’t need much help to move into the Top 3 for college football’s most prestigious individual award.

I sat at the 50-yard line for the Orange and Blue Debut, Florida’s Spring Scrimmage. Tebow looked every bit the polished, ready-to-go, pro-style quarterback we hoped he’d be as a sophomore. He threw pinpoint passes, both long and short, in addition to running the option with perfect timing. The game didn’t seem to receive too much attention on a national level, so perhaps there are still people out there in football-land who think Tebow hasn’t proven he can pass the leather. Trust me, the boy has a rocket arm in addition to being a bulldozer on the ground. He could very well be the best quarterback in the SEC this year.

Why is it that Urban Meyer and his Florida Gator team is always compared to some military operation? We have seen the Urban stare, the pointing, and earlier this year the folks at RollBamaRoll went on to compare Coach Meyer to Napolean Crossing the Alps:

I’m not saying that I think Meyer is arrogant, I’m saying I think he literally envisions himself as a general of sorts that can get the job done. He’s all about efficiency, precision, discipline, complex maneuvers and high-powered offensives.

If that was not enough, now comes suggestions on how Gators take care of the Mighty Ohio State :

Prior to the outbreak of World War II French military planners were convinced The Maginot Line, a long reinforced wall with heavy gun emplacements, would afford the military time to repel German invaders. The Germans knew about the formidable structure and simply went around it and in some cases, after gaining entrance to rear areas, allowed units to move through it.

Will this work?