Show of colors 
Florida quarterback Tim Tebow (center) prepares to take a snap as coach Urban Meyer (left) looks on during the Orange and Blue Debut on Saturday in Gainesville.
JENNIFER CHASTEEN/Lake City Reporter
Gators show off for fans, coaches at scrimmage game. By CHRIS WHITE
cwhite@lakecityreporter.com
Published: Sunday, April 13, 2008 6:07 AM EDT
GAINESVILLE — Florida quarterback Tim Tebow was college football’s leading man last season. His teammates made their first push for best supporting role on Saturday at the annual Orange and Blue Debut scrimmage.
The game offered fans a chance to punctuate the offseason monotony and
gave Florida coach Urban Meyer and his staff a chance to see what they have to work with and how many of the players would react in front of 60,000 people for the first time.
The Gators had been plagued by fumble-prone running backs in the past few seasons, and a handful of young players showed signs of making a transition into the feature back coaches have been hoping to groom.
Running back Chris Rainey stood out, particularly in the first half, scoring his first of two touchdowns on a 65-yard pass from Tebow. The redshirt freshman made the grab over the shoulder and juked defensive back Ahmad Black before sprinting the final few yards for the score.
“That was a tough catch, I don’t know how I caught that,” Rainey said. “When I caught it, I saw Ahmad coming at an angle, and I cut back, and he didn’t cut back.”
The former Lakeland High star played the role of injured wide receiver Percy Harvin, who underwent ankle surgery last week. Like Harvin, Rainey was able to catch the defense off guard by playing multiple positions.
“I don’t know if Percy-ish is a word, but he has some of those qualities,” Meyer said of Rainey.
On the long pass play, Rainey went completely uncovered and exploited more than half a field of open sideline.
“That was a bad idea,” said Rainey, who would score again in the second half on a 1-yard run. He led the Blue team with 75 yards rushing on 11 carries and the 65-yard touchdown haul was his only reception.
Florida junior running back Kestahn Moore, who was troubled by fumbles last season, is the top running back heading into summer, according to Meyer, but Rainey will receive ample playing time.
“Kestahn Moore and Chris Rainey will start the game at tailback,” Meyer said. “A lot of that depends on the play.”
Moore had only two carries in the game for a combined 13 yards.
Southern California transfer Emmanuel Moody, playing in his first Orange and Blue game, has been shaking things up at spring practices, and had a game-high
111 yards rushing for the Orange team. He had one reception for two yards, and scored on a 10-yard run with just under two minutes to play in the game.
Moody came close to scoring earlier in the game, but fumbled the ball into the end zone on his final push for a score. The drop limited his playing time after that and drew criticism from Meyer.
“He’s not very good with ball security,” Meyer said. “He won’t play tailback at Florida unless he has more ball security. He’s very talented he’s had some great runs, that run going into the end zone before he got hit was a great run.
“He’s got talent, but there’s no chance to see him play here... if there’s a chance that ball will hit the ground.”
Mon Williams, who has spent the spring battling it out with Moody for a spot on the depth chart, scored the first touchdown of the game on a 9-yard run, but was held to short yardage most of the game. He finished with 16 yards rushing on seven
carries for the Blue team.
Meyer said he was encouraged by the progress and competition he saw at the
position and said he felt confident without one when asked if the Gators could compete without a feature back.
“We won a national championship two years ago without one, and we led the SEC in offense a year ago without one,” Meyer said. “So to answer that, it’s a little hard on a coach, so you have to be creative.”
Tebow, who blazed a path for the Gators on the ground last season en route to becoming the first-ever sophomore to win the Heisman Trophy, tried to let his arms speak Saturday.
The junior quarterback was 13-of-21 for an even 200 yards with a pair of interceptions including one by freshman linebacker Lorenzo Edwards for a 50-yard touchdown.
Tebow got in a good hit on the play — he sent Major Wright sprawling to the
sidelines with a mere flick of the shoulder as the defensive back tried to block on the interception return — but almost didn’t play. The quarterback recently came down with a case of food poisoning or the flu, and said he had a fever and been vomiting since Friday.
“I probably shouldn’t have played him,” Meyer said. “That’s Tim, so he’s going to go play.”
Tebow did not score a rushing touchdown on Saturday — the first time he has failed to do so in a game since last year’s scrimmage — but his determination to improve continues to impress coaches.
“He’s one of the greatest competitors I’ve ever been around,” Meyer said. “He could be the greatest. He’s one of the best players of our era. Not of Florida, but of our era. What makes him such a great player is that trend of holding down and going.
“He’s not necessarily the best quarterback, but the best competitor.”
Tebow’s understudy, Cameron Newton, proved he, too, could scramble. The soon-to-be sophomore made his case for Meyer to continue with his plans to implement a two-quarterback system with 20 yards rushing on 10 carries and 53 yards passing. Backup John Brantley is nursing a shoulder injury and did not play Saturday.
Harvin already has garnered Heisman hype from teammates and is expected to break out as a full-time receiver next season, but his heel injury allowed the rest of the receiving corps a chance to make a play for the No. 2 spot.
Brandon James had a pair of receptions for 27 total yard to lead the Orange team, and Riley Cooper had five catches for 67 yards, including a 14-yard touchdown, to lead the Blue team.
Deonte Thompson had two catches for 18 yards, freshman Justin Williams had one catch for six yards and Moody’s two-yard grab to complete the receiving for the Orange team. Tight end Aaron Hernandez had three catches for 26 yards, David Nelson had two catches for 22 yards, Butch Rowley had two catches for 20 yards and Rainey had a single 65-yarder for the Blue team.
With Tebow and Harvin still at the helm, the Gators hardly can get worse offensively. But after winning a national championship with an overpowering defense, Florida spent last season trying to fill holes left by graduation and the NFL draft.
Enter the replacements.
Meyer criticized freshman defensive end Carlos Dunlap’s positioning after the game, but lauded his pass rushing ability. He sacked Newton four times for a spring game record, including three in the first half.
Defensive back Joe Haden picked up speed on his pass coverage and cornerback Wondy Pierre-Louis had his hands in passing lanes all afternoon, with both drawing praise from Meyer.
“Wondy and Joe are the first two, but not the last,” Meyer said. “We have about seven guys that can play. Behind them, we have Jacques (Rickerson) Markihe Anderson, we’ve got two freshman (Black and Wright) and we’ve got Moses Jenkins. So you have seven athletes that are all freshman and sophomores. That’s a unique thing that we have.
“So if one guy decides to have a bad day, like we had last year and no one to put in behind them, we can put someone in behind them. And they all want to play.”
Some defensive veterans left the play-making to the young players.
Middle linebacker and defensive leader Brandon Spikes had only two tackles, and both were assisted. But with more of the young players finally living up to their recruiting hype, success should come easily, Spikes said.
“There are a lot of our guys who are more comfortable,” Spikes said. “When you’re like that, you’re going to make the plays.”
The Gators would shake up their play book again this season to accommodate the specific talents they had, Meyer said, and would implement some new formations, including a two-tight-end lineup.
“You’re going to see some two-tight-end sets here soon with the University of Florida Gators,” Meyer said. “How about that? Our goal is to be 3 yards and a cloud of dust.”
The 28-14 victory was the second in a row for the Blue team, which was led by Tebow both years.