From the NFL Combine.

Hope he ends up with an in-state team… Bucs, Jags or Dolphins would be okay with me. That way I can watch him on TV.

Surprising no one, Percy Harvin announced today his intention to forego his final year of NCAA eligibility in favor of the NFL Draft.

Florida loses one of the most dynamic playmakers in school history, but Gator Nation sends Percy Harvin onward with love and appreciation for all that he’s done for his University.

Simply put, it is not possible to ask more of a player. And it is not possible for a player to give more than Percy did during his time in Gainesville.

Percy Harvin terrorized the SEC from the moment he stepped onto the field wearing orange and blue. As a true freshman, he quickly became the centerpiece of Florida’s spread option attack, rushing and receiving for 855 combined yards and 5 total TDs. As a sophomore he nearly doubled those numbers, catching 59 passes for 858 yards and 4 TDs, while rushing for an additional 764 yards and 6 TDs. Harvin’s stats in 2008 dipped slightly due to a combination of injury and defenses keying in on the talented junior, but was absolutely crucial to Florida’s championship bids and was the difference in the Florida’s BCS national championship victory over Oklahoma.
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This concerns your immediate futures as far as playing football is concerned. There has been rampant speculation that the three of you might try to copy Al Horford, Joakim Noah, and Corey Brewer in the stay-another-year-and-win-another-title-department.

If any one of you, two of you, or heck, even all three of you decide to come back (particularly you, Tim), your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to accomplish a feat that no champion in the BCS system or in the state of Florida has ever done.

Back-to-back national championships.

Granted, you have just come off winning it all already, and if you decide to leave, we won’t fault you for taking NFL money while the opportunity is available; you have proven everything to your university that you needed to prove, and we commend you for it. But if you choose to build upon your success, it will come at a hefty price, and not just in money.

If you thought the expectations last season were big, you ain’t seen nuthin’ yet. You’ve weathered a schedule that includes 11 bowl teams and 9 games in the toughest conference in college football. You went from a season on the brink of disaster following Ole Miss to one of the most dominating stretch runs in history.

But this season, everybody knows you can do it again. You’ll have to handle the risks of a championship swoon and the potentially overinflated egos that go along with it. In all likelihood, it will be championship or bust in Gainesville.

Your relationship with the other league teams is a complicated one. As the defending SEC and national champs, league teams will give you their best shot week after week. But if you can successfully navigate all of the challenges en route to Pasadena, you will go with the respect and support of the other 11 fanbases in the conference.

If you get hurt and your stock slips, millions of future earnings are on the line.

And there will be moments of self-doubt where you wonder if you made the right choice.

But if you can handle everything with aplomb and achieve the repeat, you will already take the dynasty you are in and push it into truly rarefied air.

No active coach in college football will have three titles - except Urban Meyer.

No Big Six conference will have back-to-back-to-back-to-back titles - except the SEC.

Heck, I wouldn’t be able to name a college football player with three titles save you guys.

One way or the other, your legacies have been cemented. But if you so choose, you can build upon them, and perhaps enjoy football immortality among an even greater group of fans.

It’s your choice. But regardless of if you stay or go, make the most of it.

Sincerely,

O&B Hue

PS: This message will self-destruct in five seconds.

PPS: Not really.

We’re hearing unconfirmed reports that Percy Harvin is progressing well and is “almost 100 percent certain” to play in the SEC Championship Game this Saturday. He is also moving with “limited to no pain” according to one insider report. Godspeed, Percy!

There are many corroborating reports of FSU fans descending to new lows in the course of the Florida-Florida State rivalry game. From ESPN:

[FSU fans] cheered wildly when Harvin, the team’s leading receiver, left the game in the second quarter with a sprained right ankle. He limped off the field with the help of trainers and didn’t return.

I’m finding it very difficult to comment on this rationally. I’ve tried, but I can’t find the words to express how despicable this is — it feels like a gut punch. Not from FSU; they’re harmless. But rather that in a game which cherishes sportsmanship, a group of people — any people — could cheer injury to their fellow man.

Luckily for the Gators, there’s one man out there who doesn’t need words.

Tebow was incensed by the reaction.

“That kind of irritated me,” Tebow said. “I told the coach to give me the ball because I really wanted to hit somebody.”

Meyer obliged, and Tebow carried several defenders into the end zone from 4 yards out two plays after Harvin’s injury.

Add another chapter to the legend that is Tim Tebow. And add reason #9924 to hate FSU.

Let’s be honest: this is really bad. As Urban Meyer would say, this is a big deal. It’s hard to fathom cheering a kid getting injured on a football field. Even in the nastiest college rivalries, this is something that just isn’t done. For example, it’s hard to believe that Georgia fans would have done the same if they were in FSU’s shoes. Say what you will about Georgia and their fans — they’re far from perfect — but they wouldn’t do that. O&B Hue has received reports from Gator fans in Doak Campbell indicating that grown men cheered as the nation’s greatest playmaker was helped off the field, while their young children watched them, mystified.

Kids knew better.

Before this incident, I could have understood if flames of this rivalry began dying down. It’s hard to maintain a red-hot blood rivalry when two teams are so obviously speeding in opposite directions — FSU is years away from competing with the Gators. I could have understood if, next year, Urban Meyer was forced to dig deep into his bag of tricks to get the Gators up for yet another mediocre FSU team visiting in the Swamp. But now… ?

Now I think we aim to drop 100 on their sorry asses next November. Welcome to the Swamp, you sorry sacks of sh*t.

When he’s healthy, #1 is peerless in college football.

Granted, Harvin forms one of the cornerstones of a potentially explosive offense. He can change a game even when he never touches the ball.

But I’m doubtful that he should start against the Tigers after missing two practices with an ankle injury (By the way, unrelated to the latent heel injuries that he has suffered throughout high school.) And it’s not the first time he’s garned the start after missing a practice earlier in the week.

That doesn’t mean he should be on the practice field in spite of all his injuries. Far from it.

But one can only wonder if having such a sporadic schedule is good for Harvin, and by extension, Florida as a whole.

I don’t think it was an accident that he had three fumbles against Ole Miss. He had a great game, but it was the first time he had gotten significant touches since last season. That, plus the possibility of limited contact earlier in the week, and, in hindsight, his troubles with carrying the ball should have been a latent concern.

For the Bayou Bengals, I would favor an approach similar to Tennessee, where he had a limited number of touches after the surgery.

Opposing defenses will still have to plan around and respect him, which opens up a world of potential for spreading the ball.

And if Harvin were to get fewer touches, somebody else *has* to step up in his place, which could help the offense execute like it was supposed to all along.

Again, this is not ranting on Harvin in spite of everything he has done for Florida in two and a half seasons.

But if Florida executes the offense like it did to the Rebels, one can only wonder if it is best for the team…

It’s a game where UF wins, no matter what. It’s the prelude to a season. The results have no effect on our championships, no matter what.

Welcome to the Spring Game, that fun intermission that comes right after basketball, right around the start of baseball, and several months before real football.

UF is one of the favorites to win the national championship; that much we know. In all likelihood, the Gators will have to beat Georgia to do so, also trite. But we don’t know what to expect in mere weeks.

Here’s what I want to see in order to feel comfy about our chances in the fall:

1. Quality rushing

I need to see one or two every-down types taking the ball 12-15 times during a standard full-length football game; which sounds more than reasonable. For my mental health, please don’t carry the ball more than five to ten times a game, Tim Tebow. And hold on for dear life, Kestahn Moore! Even if you don’t get 4-5 yards a game, at least protect that pigskin!

2. Balanced passing

If Tim has worked on the two-minute drill like Coach Meyer said he would, we should see a nice mixture of short-yard passes and long bombs. It’ll be interesting to see how the offense fares without Percy Harvin in this one. In that case, Carl Moore will be the primary target. Who knows, maybe Jeff Demps will step in and provide that extra dimension of speed? In the fall, with the mess at the tailback position and Harvin’s potential injury problems, freshmen Jeff Demps will have an opportunity to step in and be the new speedster.

3. How the defense will react

Will we see low rushing numbers for the second-team offense? Will there be some pass breakups? What about tackles and sacks? Here’s a prime opportunity for Florida’s defense to show us what they’ve got after a demanding offseason.

That’s why scheduling Hawaii for the season opener was actually a prudent decision. With the offensive system June Jones has left over there, the Gator defense will be the X-factor. If they manage to rip down 2 or 3 balls in August, it could be a positive sign for the team’s season.

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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Here’s another guest appearance from renowned O&B Huer Vince Gagliano.

With a few days before Kentucky, let’s talk gridiron.

I am frequently amazed at the number of sportswriters who have Percy Harvin winning the 74th Heisman Trophy. This is going to be a bitter pill for Florida fans to swallow, but #1 on the field probably won’t be #1 in the votes.

Here are 8 reasons why, in memory of his old number.

1. Wide receivers have a tough time winning the Heisman, period.

Even though the trophy goes primarily to offensive players, quarterbacks and running backs take the lion’s share of the trophies (page Barry Sanders) With the exception of Reggie Bush, quarterbacks have won every year in the 2000s.

Nevertheless, it’s not impossible. Notre Dame’s Tim Brown and Michigan’s Desmond Howard staked claims to the trophy in 1987 and 1991.

It could have been worse. When Howard won, the runner-up was FSU’s Casey Wheldon.
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59-20. BOOM!

Anyone see that coming? Yeah, me neither.

This most glorious of days was historic for many reasons.

1) It’s the most lopsided Vols loss in the series.

2) Tim Tebow and Percy Harvin’s Heisman campaigns were launched.

3) Florida will never again ‘rebuild.’ We reload.

The defense, comprised mostly of freshmen and sophomores, was far better than anyone expected. The Vols were stuffed for 37 rushing yards (17 of which came against the second team in garbage minutes) and held to one offensive touchdown and two field goals. They were also held to multiple 3-and-outs, a 4th-down stop and made their footsteps felt by UT’s receivers.

The offense? Best we’ve seen since #7 last lined up under center.

Maybe — dare I say it — better.

Folks, this team isn’t about being ready for another title run next year. They’re about winning it again now.

The gulf between Tennessee and Florida is huge.

Tennessee’s junior defensive tackle, Demonte Bolden said it all after the game.  From InsideTennessee.com:

“Our pride was left on that field,” said Bolden, who was visibly shaking. “My pride was hurt. My pride is hurt – period. I hate losing. I came to Tennessee to win. Coaches get me prepared to win. I came here to win, man. I want to win. I’m sorry. That’s all I’ve got to say.”

He stopped briefly, but couldn’t hold back.

“I hate (bleeping) losing, just to be real honest,” Bolden fumed. “I hate (bleeping) losing. I can’t lose no more.”

Ouch.  My heart goes out to the kid.  Sort of.

Anyway, I expect we’ll see similar disparities when Florida plays Georgia and South Carolina.

This team is good, folks, on both sides of the ball. Scary good.

We are just beginning to scratch the fine surface of domination, as Trev Alberts said. More breakdown of the game later.