From GatorCountry:

Monday’s practice was the first time he felt like the dominant player he was in high school.

“I had my confidence back going through drills,” Hunter said. “I had my speed and power back.”

We’re going to need you, Big Fella.

I whooped and hollered when I discovered that Meyer and co. were tinkering with a new I-formation set in spring practice. I love the idea of seeing Florida line up old-school on occasion, with a couple of TEs and a FB blocking for a guy like E-Moody. Love it.

Of course, there’s one trick to that idea; you take a team which is accustomed to the spread at all times, then ask them to line up and block in a way that’s relatively foreign to them now, and you might not get the results you wanted.

“I’m not sure how that I-package is going to be sticking around in here,” Meyer said after Monday’s practice. “We want to have it in, but once again I said this four years ago when we walked on this campus, we don’t really have an offense. It’s an offense based on what you have. We can run “I” all you want, but if your players aren’t very good or they’re struggling or they’re young and inexperienced then we’re not going to run that ragged. We’ll go to five-wide and you’ve seen us do that before.”

One issue Meyer’s team is having with the I-package is the youth at certain positions. UF has just two tight ends — junior Aaron Hernandez and freshman Desmond Parks — and no proven fullbacks.

Pridemore looks like a strong kid. Can’t he be taught to block in such a basic package? We’re not talking zone reads here, we’re talking hit the A, B or C gap and block.

In the media there are a wide variety of reporters covering stories. Many are impartial and take their responsibility very seriously. Some are “homers” who are little more than media “shills” or PR men for a specific organization. There are other who do not have scruples, see the people they write about as vehicles to their own success without any sense of sympathy or carry around a degree of bitterness or a “hidden” agenda. It’s becoming clear so far that Mr. Joseph Goodman tends to fall in that last group although we cannot specifically ascertain whether he does so out of hate, callous indifference or ruthless ambition.

The story goes that Joseph Goodman is the beat writer for the Miami Herald for the University of Florida.  Some of Mr. Goodman’s previous work includes writing about the interview with Chris Rainey which eventually led to an investigation of the Lakeland High School by the FHSAA for possibly accepting gifts and/or money from school boosters (High School Boosters, only his high school eligibility was in question).  While one cannot criticize the Herald for bringing this information to light.  The timing of it and the interview is suspicious as the interview with intern Brian Costa occurred 3-4 weeks before it was released and it was released just days before the 5A Championship Game.  Lakeland High was the favorite and the defending champions.  Coincidentally the team Lakeland had beaten the previous two years and would rematch AGAIN was none other than the interviewer Brian Costas alma mater . . . St. Thomas Aquinas of Fort Lauderdale.
 
Recently Goodman has been the author of such innocent quotes (on his Gator Clause Blog) as:

 

– Florida spent $1,097,300 on recruiting in 2002 and $655,000 on recruiting in 1996, according to the report. Of the nation’s top 10 biggest spenders, five are members of the Southeastern Conference: Tennessee, Florida, Auburn, Georgia and Arkansas. . . . Thoughts are welcomed on this subject, people. Is it absurd that schools spend so much money recruiting football and basketball players? Is it justifiable? Should the NCAA make a spending cap? Did I mention that Florida is the No.1-ranked party school in the country?
 
– Gator Clause pulled the report from the Alachua County public records this afternoon. Maurkice Pouncey was issued the citation on Sunday, July 20 at 9 p.m. near 3500 NW 8th Ave. Just four days before Maurkice’s 19th birthday. What a killjoy, right?
 
– Torrey Davis wasn’t at practice today, wasn’t on the roster and appears to be academically ineligible. Florida coach Urban Meyer said on Monday after practice that there is no timetable for Davis’ return.
It seems like just yesterday that everybody (except me) was writing about how hard Davis worked to get into Florida, and blah, blah, blah. Yeah, right. (more…)

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.
(more…)