Florida Gators thread

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Top talent works out for Meyer


By John Patton
Sun high school sports editor



Published: Friday, July 18, 2008 at 6:01 a.m.

In what was Florida's biggest recruiting day until the football season begins, the Gators welcomed a couple hundred of the nation's top recruits to The Swamp for Friday Night Lights.
An event that serves a dual purpose — evaluation of players by UF coaches and a close-up look at Florida by prospects — saw the athletes test themselves against each other in what was essentially a spirited three-and-a-half-hour practice.
"I like going against the best," said Hollywood Hills junior-to-be cornerback Tony Grimes. "That's why I'm here."
The evening began at 6:30 with a pep talk from Gator coach Urban Meyer.
In addition to introducing his staff and pumping up his program, Meyer also told the prospects that no walking, yawning or slacking of any kind would be tolerated.
"If a team comes in here without energy and togetherness, we'll beat them by three touchdowns," Meyer told the assembled players.
Words like that from Meyer's assistants got the attention of one elite quarterback prospect.
"I like the coaches here a lot," said Deerfield Beach quarterback Denard Robinson, who counts UF among his 30-plus scholarship offers. "They are great. I love the facility, too."
Like many players, Robinson said he won't make a commitment until late in the recruiting process, but added he does plan to make an official visit to Gainesville during the season and has UF in his top-5.
One player who has made a commitment is Dixie County running back Rodney Scott, who pledged to Auburn earlier this summer.
He worked out with other elite backs in hopes of gaining a UF offer. After the event was over, he said he hadn't had a chance to talk with coaches, but felt good about his effort.
When asked his favorite part of the night, he said "going 1-on-1 against linebackers."
In addition to Meyer's talk and individual drills, the players watched a video highlighting the Gators' 2007 season and quarterback Tim Tebow's successful Heisman Trophy campaign.
"It was good," said Ocala Trinity Catholic junior-to-be running back Kedrick Rhodes. "I had a good time."

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UF secondary breakdown


By Robbie Andreu
Sun sports writer



Published: Sunday, July 20, 2008 at 2:37 p.m.

PROBABLE DEPTH CHART
Cornerback
12-Joe Haden
23-Jacques Rickerson
29-Janoris Jenkins
Cornerback
4-Wondy Pierre-Louis
14-Markihe Anderson
36-Moses Jenkins
28-Jeremy Brown
Strong safety
35-Ahmad Black
22-Cade Holliday
Free safety
21-Major Wright
-- Will Hill
31-Bryan Thomas
The upside
For the first time in the Urban Meyer era, the Gators have sufficient numbers (and, perhaps, experience) at the cornerback positions. Pierre-Louis started all 13 games last season, while Haden started 12 as a true freshman. Both played with more confidence in the spring. Rickerson and Moses Jenkins got valuable playing time down the stretch a year ago, and true freshmen Janoris Jenkins and Jeremy Brown showed some skill in the spring and should give UF much-needed depth at corner. After playing in all 13 games (with seven starts) as a true freshman in 2007, Wright appears poised to emerge as a player at free safety. The depth at cornerback probably will diminish some in August as the coaches try to find players to replenish the depleted safety positions. At least two corners might get a look at safety.
The downside
The Gators looked stacked at the safety positions in the spring, but that has changed dramatically since. UF is now possibly one injury away from a disaster. The Gators learned last week that starting strong safety Dorian Munroe and backup safety John Curtis will miss the season with knee injuries. Earlier this summer, Jamar Hornsby was booted from the team after being charged with felony theft, Jerimy Finch decided to transfer back home to Indiana and Thomas continues to be plagued by a knee problem that has put his UF career in jeopardy. The departures have put UF in a tenuous situation at the positions. The coaches might consider moving a wide receiver over to defense, possibly Justin Williams, who played defense (and wide receiver) in high school. The Gators are hoping true freshman Will Hill is as good as they think he is, because he's probably going to be battling for a starting role at one of the safety positions.
Young guy to watch
Rated the No. 1 safety prospect in the nation by several recruiting services, Hill is probably the most gifted athlete in the 2008 recruiting class — and probably the freshman with the best chance to have the biggest impact this fall. Hill played quarterback and safety in high school, but given UF's lack of players at the safety positions, he'll probably be asked to focus mostly on defense. His size/speed combination has drawn comparisons to former UF All-America safety Reggie Nelson. Given the dearth of talent at safety, he'll have a chance to start.

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Ten Gators on preseason all-SEC teams

By JOSEPH GOODMAN
University of Florida coach Urban Meyer said last week that he expects his offensive line to be one of the nation's best units. Southeastern Conference coaches aren't too sure about that predication.
The SEC coaches' preseason all-SEC football teams were released Monday, and UF's best returning offensive linemen, seniors Phil Trautwein and Jim Tartt, were voted to the third-team offense. No other Florida lineman were honored. Five Gators made first team offense or defense: quarterback Tim Tebow, wide receiver Percy Harvin, tight end Cornelius Ingram, return specialist Brandon James and middle linebacker Brandon Spikes.
Perhaps the most interesting selections of the three teams were the three Florida defensive backs named to the third-team defense: safety Major Wright (Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas) and cornerbacks Wondy Pierre-Louis and Joe Haden. Wright, Pierre-Louis and Haden are returning starters but UF's poor secondary was a major reason why the Gators' passing defense was the worst in the league last season (258.5 yards per game). Florida trailed only LSU (14) in total number of players selected to the teams. Ten Gators, second only to LSU's 14, were named to the teams. The SEC media days begin on Wednesday in Hoover, Ala. Meyer, Tebow and Trautwein will represent the Gators.

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Gators fill up All-SEC preseason team


By Robbie Andreu
Sun sports writer



Published: Monday, July 21, 2008 at 5:17 p.m.


One of the first signs that the college football season is near arrived Monday, with the release of the coaches' preseason All-SEC team by the league.
The Florida Gators placed five players on the first team — Heisman-winning quarterback Tim Tebow, wide receiver Percy Harvin, tight end Cornelius Ingram, middle linebacker Brandon Spikes and return specialist Brandon James.
UF, which is expected to have one of the most explosive offenses in school history, is the only school with three offensive players on the first team.
Overall, the Gators have 10 players represented on the coaches team. Senior offensive linemen Phil Trautwein and Jim Tartt are on the third team, along with three-thirds of the Gators' starting secondary — cornerbacks Joe Haden and Wondy Pierre-Louis and free safety Major Wright.
The media's preseason All-SEC team will be announced later this week at SEC Media Days in Birmingham.

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Florida Gators: The Scariest Team In College Football

McLeod Neale explains why the Florida Gators are the scariest football team coming into this season.
by McLeod Neale (Scribe)
569 reads
July 22, 2008






It is human nature to be scared of the unknown. I am pretty sure that everyone can agree with that statement.
Do you remember when you were afraid of the dark?
Point proven.
There is no doubt about it. Florida is by far the scariest team coming into this college football season. That is because the Gators have so much talent and it is impossible to know how good this team is going to be this year.
Some of the early preseason magazines predict that the Gators will go all the way, while others point to the four losses that Florida suffered through last season and say that it is ludicrous to think that the Gators could make a run at the national championship.
All I have to say is that Florida was coming off of a nine-win season in 2005 as well, and the defense got significantly better during that off-season. The same logic says that the Gators would not win the national championship in 2006. Go figure...

Offense
Last season the Gators had arguably the most explosive offense in the nation. They finished third in the nation as a scoring offense only behind Kansas and Hawaii. The reason why Florida is so scary is that as good as the Florida offense was last year, it should be significantly better this year.
Most people would refuse to believe that the best offense in the country last year could improve significantly, but with a close up look it is very possible. The Gators add Chris Rainey, Emmanuel Moody, and Mon Williams to the third-ranked rushing attack in the SEC.
I do not think that people realize how much talent that is. Moody was the Pac10 freshman of the year at Southern Cal and is in the mold of a feature back. He brings a nice combination of size and speed.
Chris Rainey is now up to 180 pounds, and he is receiving Percy Harvin comparisons. Harvin averages over nine yards a carry, by the way.
The overlooked guy here is Mon Williams, who was slated to be the starter last year before he tore his ACL. Mon will give the Gators a viable goal-line option from the running back position. That is a whole lot of talent to add to what was already one of the best rushing offenses in the SEC.
The Gators will be better on offense because Tim Tebow will be significantly improved. That is another idea that lots of people would find to be crazy, but it could happen.
Just because Tim Tebow won the Heisman trophy it does not mean that he cannot improve as a quarterback. People seem to forget that Tim was a first-year starter last year as a sophomore. He still has plenty of things to work on.
If you watched Tim Tebow last year in high pressure situations, he had the tendency to zone in on Percy Harvin; if he was not open, then Tebow would tuck it and run. That rendered all of Florida's weapons useless due to the fact that Tebow was not looking for them.
Tebow should be a more seasoned and poised quarterback and he should take his game to another level simply by maturing mentally as a quarterback. Tebow will have better vision this year and now all of the options should be a threat on every play.
Tebow should scramble a lot less, because he will have more confidence and he will not panic and run with the ball as much. Due to the fact that Tebow is a dual threat as a QB, it really did inflate his numbers a little bit as a passer.
In situations where a conventional pocket passer would throw the ball away because they waited too late to throw the ball or because they did not see their receivers, Tim was able to gain yardage on the ground and preserve his passing efficiency and completion percentage numbers because he had the tools as a runner to bail himself out.
I think the fact that Tebow was the leading rusher and only threw two more passes than Matthew Stafford last year proves that point.
This is something that I have not heard anyone mention, but I am going to throw the idea out there that if the order of the games on Florida's schedule were reordered then Florida would have had a 11-2 record last year.
The Gators were on top of the world after defeating Tennessee 59-20 in one of the most lopsided wins in the history of the Florida-Tennessee rivalry. The spread option looked impossible to stop, and Urban Meyer looked like the return of the evil genius himself.
The biggest changing point in Florida's season last year was the Auburn game, though. I will argue that Florida would have beaten Michigan and Georgia if Florida had played those two teams before they played Auburn.
I give credit to Will Muschamp, the best defensive coordinator in college football, for winning those games for Michigan and Georgia. Muschamp found out a way to attack the spread offense that sent a thundering message to the rest of the country in the romping win over Tennessee just a few weeks prior to that game.
That gave Georgia and Michigan the blueprint that they needed to stop Florida's spread attack. If the order of the games had been switched so that the Georgia and Michigan games preceded the Auburn game, then Michigan and Georgia would have been just as helpless as the Tennessee defense because they would not know how to attack the spread.
So why does all of this matter?
Urban Meyer and Dan Mullen have changed the offense in big ways this off season. I will explain that in more detail down below, but the important thing is that Will Muschamp is gone from Auburn and Auburn is not on Florida's schedule. That is a HUGE factor.
So with the Florida offense tweaked to account for the weaknesses that Muschamp was able to point out, will the other defensive coordinators be able to adjust and slow down the Florida offense? I am not so sure that Willie Martinez will be so successful without seeing Muschamp give it a shot before he does.
So what changes is Florida making to the offense that will give defensive coordinators nightmares the night before the game?
Well I believe that the offense is going to be more centered around using Cornelius Ingram and Aaron Hernandez, who form the best tight end tandem in the country. These guys are going to cause all sorts of problems next year due to the fact that they are both athletic enough to line up at WR.
Cornelius was the best two-sport athlete in the nation coming out of high school, and he would probably be starting as a small forward for the Gators if he had stuck with basketball.
Cornelius runs a 4.5 and he is the Gators best red zone option. If he becomes a solid blocker this off season he could be the best TE in the country. He is already regarded by many to be the best TE in the SEC.
Aaron Hernandez has not seen an incredible amount of action, but the fact that he holds the Connecticut record for receiving yards in one season with 1,346 tells you everything that you need to know about his ability to catch the ball. Hernandez also has pretty good speed, as he runs a 4.6.
Urban Meyer wants to take advantage of the talent that he has at TE, so now he has installed a two tight end set that can help with running the ball from the running back position.
The thing that is scary about this tandem is that when they both come in the game and they can both line up on the line as blocking TE's or they can split out wide as WR's and create mismatch problems for linebackers.
It is a nightmare for defensive coordinators because if you put an extra defensive back in the game, then the offense can go into their two tight end package at the line of scrimmage, which can cause problems for the defense, but at the same time if you trade that extra defensive back out for a linebacker, then you have a possible mismatch if the TE's all of the sudden split outside as WR's.
To sum it up, the defensive coordinator is in a lose-lose situation. He can't win this battle because the offensive coordinator has a counter move for every personnel set that he sends out onto the field.
The other thing that could take the Florida offense to another level is if Chris Rainey can live up to the hype. This will solve the problem that Florida had last year: Percy Harvin cannot play RB and WR at the same time.
So with Chris Rainey and Percy Harvin on the field at the same time, the problem is potentially solved. You will now get burned if you overanticipate Percy Harvin running the ball when he is lined up as a running back.
Rainey and Harvin pose the same type of problems that Aaron Hernandez and Cornelius Ingram do. They can line up at multiple positions on the field and depending on where they line up that changes the personnel that the defensive coordinator wants in the game.
If one of the two lines up RB, then you want a linebacker in the game, but if both split out wide, then you want a defensive back in the game. Again, the defensive coordinator is in a lose-lose situation.
Now the defensive coordinator is already fighting an unwinnable battle, but there is one more thing that makes every decision that the defensive coordinator makes of the utmost importance. That is the new clock rules.
The new rules do not allow the defense to substitute when the offense goes into no-huddle mode. So consider this scenario. The defensive coordinator puts his personnel in the game, but then he realizes that he needs to substitute because his personnel does not match up well with the offense.
Well the offensive coordinator sees the same thing, so he signals down to the quarterback to institute the no huddle. Now the defense cannot substitute, and the offense is able to march down the field and score because of one substitution mistake the opposing defensive coordinator made. Ouch!
I think that this offense has the potential to be the best that college football has seen, but only time will tell. All this offense needs is a decent defense and it should be good enough to win a national championship and beat any team in the country.

Defense
The Gators allowed more points than any other Gator defense since the '60s last year. It is hard to see the defense not improving significantly just because it was so bad last year.
The Gators had nine new starters on defense last year, and they were considered to be the youngest and the most inexperienced team in the country. Well, Florida is still the youngest team in the country this year, but they return a boatload of starters this year.
They lose Tony Joiner and Derrick Harvey. Both will be missed, but they should not be too difficult to replace.
The expectations for Carlos Dunlap are higher than any other defensive end to come to Florida and deservedly so. Dunlap stands 6-foot-7 and weighs 290 pounds. He clocked a 40 time of a 4.6.
NFL scouts drool when they look at this guy. Many people that follow the Gators closely believe that Carlos Dunlap will be the greatest defensive end ever to step on the field at Florida.
Things have been become more complicated for the Gators at the safety position. You can read all about it in one of my other articles. This is the position of concern, but the Gators could have the answer in the super-phenom Will Hill.
He was a consensus All-American at multiple positions coming out of high school. He may be able to step in right away just like Major Wright did last year. The two could end up being the best safety tandem in the history of the program.
These are the types of question marks that make the Gators a scary team. If it works out for the Gators, then it is the best thing that could have happened, but if it does not then the Gators could be in trouble.
The CB's supposedly played very well in spring practice. Wondy Pierre-Loius has shutdown capabilities and all-freshmen Joe Haden will man the other side.
Florida is being lead by the best middle linebacker in the country in Brandon Spikes. He can do it all.
Also, Florida is looking for five star defensive tackles John Brown, Torrey Davis, and Omar Hunter to give that dominant pressure in the middle of the line to help Spikes roam free.
The talent is there on defense, but will it step up?
Everyone in the country besides the Florida faithful is hoping not, because if it happens, Florida could be a nearly impossible team to beat.

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Gators get 15-year-old's verbal pledge for 2010 class


By Edward Aschoff
Special to The Sun



Published: Tuesday, July 22, 2008 at 5:17 p.m.


Florida has a reputation of snatching up recruits shortly after their last and biggest camp of the year – Friday Night Lights.
This time around, the coaches didn’t have to wait until the end of camp.
Shortly before the camp began, 2010 offensive line recruit Ian Silberman gave a verbal commitment to the UF coaching staff.
Silberman, a tackle out of Fleming Island, is the first 2010 commit for the Gators. And here’s a twist: he’s only 15. He also stands at 6-foot-5 inches and weighs 257 pounds.
"He's a tremendous kid," said Fleming High football coach Neal Chipoletti, "a hard worker, good student, very involved parents. His mom and dad are both tremendous people.
"Believe it or not, he's only been playing organized football for a little over a year. We snatched him off the basketball courts when he was a freshman and from there he's gone from the JV to varsity.
"I've never seen a kid pick up as much from one year to the next. When you're playing tackle, and you don't execute, the quarterback can get killed. We didn't expect him to contribute as much as he did as a sophomore. Obviously, he has great size but he's worked very, very hard.
"Just based on what he's done through his sophomore year, the kid is one of the best around. It's not just what I think but it's also the recruiters because he's received offers from about 15 of the major programs throughout the country. If he continues to work I think he has a chance to be one of the best to ever come out of here."
Silberman says he eats everything he can these days, and while his body might be young, he’s old enough to realize that Gainesville is right for him.
“I’ve known (that he could commit) for about two or three weeks now and it was great because now I feel I have a home at Florida and all the coaches love me and I love the coaches,” Silberman said. “It just feels like a big family environment right now.”
Silberman, who was offered by the staff during the spring, said he delayed his commitment until Friday because he wanted to do it when the coaches returned from their vacations so that the entire staff could hear it.
Even with such an early commitment, Silberman said he’s seen enough and has no plans of visiting other schools this year or next year.
To current 2009 offensive lineman commit Jon Halapio, of St. Petersburg, getting a commitment from a player like Silberman is a great thing for UF because of Silberman's age and potential.
“I didn’t expect that anytime soon,” Halapio said of Silberman’s commitment. “He’s 15 years old and he’s that big for his age? That’s great. Good job for him. He’s set; he doesn’t have to worry about anything anymore.”
But all of this is still kind of a blur to Silberman. He said he never really gave UF much thought when he was first offered. In fact, he was a “die-hard LSU fan” growing up.
“I’ve spent so much time with the coaches,” he said. “They're great. It’s just a loving environment. The education is crazy, and I’m staying in the state of Florida, and Gator Nation – you just can’t beat it.”
Silberman looked like one of the more polished linemen at the camp Friday, prompting offensive line coach Steve Addazio to use him to display proper technique before for many of the drills players went through.
There was even a chance to see to future Gators go at it when Silberman lined up opposite 2009 commit and defensive tackle Gary Brown.
“Gary’s great,” Silberman said. “Gary’s the best defensive lineman in Florida and I hope to have some great battles with him in the future.”
With his commitment out of the way, Silberman now turns his focus to school, his football career at Fleming Island High and also helping to get more prospects on board the UF bandwagon.
“(The coaches) said I’m going to pretty much do what Tim Tebow did recruiting his class and (what) the Pouncey twins did recruiting their class,” he said. “I’m hoping to start out and go recruit.”
Sun staff writer Kevin Brockway contributed to this report.

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Crowds flock to UF's Tebow, Meyer during SEC press conference

By JORGE MILIAN
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow and Florida coach Urban Meyer kicked off SEC Football Media Days on Wednesday afternoon by meeting with more than 750 reporters here at the Wynfrey Hotel.
Hotel security was called in to help whisk Tebow past approximately 200 fans in the hotel's lobby before speaking to the media.
Meyer took the podium first and addressed the following issues:
- On whether he's ever been around a player as popular as Tebow: "No, I haven't. I loved it when I was getting pushed in the back by security at Times Square (prior to the Heisman Trophy presentation in December)... because they thought I was hanging around Tim trying to get an autograph or something. I hate to say this, (but) I was. I wanted a Christmas present for my son."
- On Meyer previously saying Tebow could be the best college player ever: "I've got to watch what I say. I really get excited about great players. I get even more excited about great players that are great people. I love watching Tim play. I believe he's one of the best players I've seen play."
- On keeping Gators' fans expectations within reality: "That's not gonna happen. To even concern yourself with that, you're wasting brain cells and time.
- On the attrition at safety: "Right now, Will Hill and Ahmad (Black) are battling for (one vacant starting job.) Behind Major Wright, you have Cade Holliday and another guy. We'll probably bump another good freshman player over from offense to defense and let him compete for one of those spots as well."
- On the status of receiver Percy Harvin: "Harvin is doing good. I'd say he's close to 80, 90 percent, which is still a little bit ahead of schedule."
Tebow spoke to reporters for 10 minutes following Meyer. Among the topics he discussed:
- On his off-season activities: "I have been a lot of places this offseason. A little bit of a whirlwind, but at the same time a lot of fun. We had three breaks. I went to the Philippines, Croatia and Thailand on three mission trips. All three of those places I got to do a lot of very neat things, preaching in prisons, in schools, in hospitals, in marketplaces."
- On talking to former Heisman winners on handling the pressure that goes with the award: "I have gotten to talk to a few. I got a lot of great advice. A lot of people ask me about the pressure. I don't buy into it. At the University of Florida, every year there's gonna be pressure. No matter what happened the previous year, what trophies you won, it's the University of Florida. The quarterback's always gonna have pressure."
- On his many obligations and whether they wear him down: "You know, to be one hundred percent honest, some days, yes sir. Some days you don't feel like doing everything. Those are just the pros and cons that come with what you do and how you do it. But when I really sit down and think about it, I want to do those things because those things are more important than playing football for me. Going and speaking in a prison is more important to me than winning or playing a game."
- On strange encounters with fans: "There's been some interesting experiences, some inappropriate as well that I can't really mention. Definitely a handful of them that you kind of just got to prepare yourself for and get used to because some people are willing to do anything."
- On what he can do to become better: "My biggest goal this year as far as football goes (is) becoming a better decision maker. What that entails is... recognizing defenses faster, getting us into plays faster."
- On being recognized in foreign countries: "I was walking through the Germany airport, some guy who couldn't even speak English was, 'Tim Tebow.' I was like, " 'What?' "

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Meyer: Rainey outran Demps


By Robbie Andreu
Sun sports writer



Published: Wednesday, July 23, 2008 at 4:48 p.m.


HOOVER, Ala. — Jeff Demps is history's fastest high school athlete.
But he's not the fastest Gator, apparently. That honor belongs to redshirt freshman tailback Chris Rainey, who took down Demps in a recent head-to-head race behind a dorm on campus.
Florida coach Urban Meyer revealed the race — and the result — at SEC Media Days on Wednesday when he was asked if the Gators were achieving his goal of becoming America's fastest college football team.
"The fastest 18-year-old to ever run track, his name is Jeff Demps, he's on our campus now," Meyer said. "I don't know if he can catch a ball, but he can run like hell. Chris Rainey beat him in a race the other day.
"Here are these two catting it. We don't condone that. Everyone was saying how fast (Demps) is, so they said, ‘Let's go in the back of the dorms, let's figure this thing out.’ I guess Chris nudged him out, so we've got some speed."
Quarterback Tim Tebow said Rainey and Demps raced in a 40-yard dash, and it's been the talk among the players on the team the past few days.
"I didn't witness it, but I've heard a lot about it," Tebow said. "It was interesting, they said. There were several false starts. From what I hear, Rainey did win in the 40. It's pretty unbelievable because (Demps) is one of the fastest in the world (in the 100-meter dash)."
This past spring, Demps ran the fastest 100 in the history of high school track, burning up the UF track in 10.17 seconds at the Pepsi Relays. Demps beat that time with a 10.01 at the U.S. Olympic Trials earlier this summer and is now enrolled at UF for the Summer B semester.
Rainey has a history of taking on speed challenges like this one with Demps.
When Rainey was at Lakeland High School, he was challenged to a race by legendary high school star Noel Devine (now at West Virginia). The two raced in a shopping mall parking lot, with the victory going to Rainey.
Meyer said he wished he'd seen the Rainey-Demps duel.
"You probably could have sold about 10,000 tickets for that, and ESPN GameDay probably would have been there as well," Meyer said.
Rainey is more than just fast. He's also going to play a vital role in the UF offense, Meyer said.
"He's a dynamic player," Meyer said. "I hope Chris can give us a little bit of flexibility (in a dual role similar to Percy Harvin), as well as in the return game. If he stays healthy, Chris will be a big part of this offense."

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Meyer, Tebow open hearts on missionary trips

By Antonya English, Times Staff Writer
In print: Thursday, July 24, 2008


[BRIAN CASSELLA | Times]
UF coach Urban Meyer with Tim Tebow last season, says the quarterback inspired him to take his family to the Dominican Republic on a missionary trip this summer. Tebow took three trips.
Sports News Video



HOOVER, Ala. — In Tim Tebow's eyes, his greatest victories will never be won on the football field.
"Taking my platform as a football player and using it for good, using it to be an influence and change people's lives, that's more important to me than football," Tebow said Wednesday afternoon in front of a hotel ballroom filled with reporters.
That devotion has had a profound effect on many, including his coach, Urban Meyer. Tebow's willingness to dedicate his spare time participating in missionary work was part of the Florida coach's decision to do the same this year.
"Tim has had an impact on me," Meyer said of his 20-year-old quarterback after a 45-minute address at the SEC Media Days. "He has done a lot of things to open my eyes and that's one of them. To hear what he does on his time off, and we're sitting on a cruise or sitting on a beach. My kids live in a very nice home, so my wife and I both felt it was something we wanted to do."
Meyer, who became more interested in the idea after a close family friend returned with pictures from a similar trip last summer, decided this was the year to do it. Meyer, wife Shelley and children Nikki (18), Gigi (15) and Nathan (9) spent time last month in the Dominican Republic on a missionary trip.
"It was a life-changing experience," Meyer, 44, said. "It's something we're going to, if possible, do every year. In your own little way you made an impact on some people."
For Tebow, the offseason included just three breaks, and he spent them all on mission trips in Croatia, Thailand and the Philippines.
"All three of those places, I got to do a lot of very neat things, preaching in prisons, in schools, in hospitals, in market places," said the 2007 Heisman Trophy winner. "I'm sure I'll get asked about the circumcisions and helping perform surgeries (in the Philippines), but it (mission work) was a great experience for me. It's something I enjoyed doing, I love doing. It's something I'm very passionate about."
During the Meyers' trip, they helped feed about 100 families daily, assisted in the construction of a medical center and visited an all girls orphanage and a leper colony.
"Pictures are different than actually going," Meyer said. "And the one thing I'll tell you that I didn't understand: When we came back from three or four villages that we went to, people were very happy. I mean, they didn't have a dime and they had struggled putting food on the table. And there wasn't a whole lot of MTV going on, and certainly no video games. But all the families were pretty much intact, mother, father, children. We fed families and I actually went out to the stores, bought the food with my kids. It was unbelievable, for an hour we went shopping, grabbing rice, beans and oil. I could do it all in my head because we did it so much. Our family walked away saying it was unbelievable to be able to help them. … But it's not like they are not happy, that was what I didn't expect. I expected extreme poverty and unhappy people. That wasn't the case."
Although Tebow was influential, Meyer said what he wanted most was a unique experience to remind his children how blessed they are. It worked.
"I've never been more proud of my children," he said. "To see them for four hours carry buckets of cement, in real hot weather, and they are covered in it and just going and going. And then they were praying with some young person who was not doing real well healthwise, I've just never been more proud of them."
Antonya English can be reached at english@sptimes.com.

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Tebow ready for next challenge -- his junior seasonJuly 23, 2008
By Dennis Dodd
CBSSports.com Senior Writer
Tell Dennis your opinion!

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HOOVER, Ala. -- At 4 p.m. Wednesday, the toothy grin that inspired a nation -- Gator Nation -- was still pasted (permanently?) to Tim Tebow's face. Those bright, happy eyes stared straight ahead through the tinted windows of a luxury SUV. That cheerful faceplate, robotic arm and limitless future being whisked to the airport.
Even Urban Meyer sought out Tim Tebow's autograph following the QB's Heisman win. (Getty Images) Was that an...entourage with Florida's quarterback leaving the Wynfrey Hotel? Well, yes, if you consider a teammate (offensive lineman Phil Trautwein), an assistant SID and an SEC staffer part of the Florida quarterback's group of handlers. Actually, they were all just looking for an exit strategy after one of the wildest afternoons in the SEC media days history. They settled for two policeman, hotel security and a velvet rope to keep drooling fans away from Tebow for the 50 feet it took to walk from the Wynfrey elevator to the curb.
"It's crazy," Trautwein said. "All these people here just to see him."
Something like it had happened before, hotel security explained. Bill and Hillary were here when they were presidents but they brought their own muscle. The Secret Service.
This time you were likely to get your hand slapped by the SEC's Tammy Wilson who is in charge of such things as keeping autograph hounds away from players and coaches. Last year, she and some helpers surrounded Nick Saban with a phalanx of humanity to escort him through the lobby and up the escalator to answer questions from 700 scraggly hacks.
Saban returns on Thursday. But from now on, the Wynfrey lobby might as well be measured by the Tebow Scale. As in: Saban arrived at the Wynfrey to face a crowd judged to be three-fourths of a Tebow. There were autograph seekers and just plain seekers of truth. If 22-year-old Chris Gregory, a Gator fan from nearby Hueytown, Ala., had spent any more time waiting for Tebow, he would have been judged to be jobless.
How long have you been here?
"Three hours."
Why?
"Cause it's Tim Tebow."
Yeah, and ...
"He's a great Christian man, he's just humble and he's the Florida quarterback."
Just so we have our priorities straight.
When it was somewhat safe to leave after an afternoon round of interviews, Tebow just shrugged and moved smartly through the crowd as the recently christened, "greatest player from our era." That label came from his coach Urban Meyer and wasn't exactly meant for widespread consumption. The Miami Herald reported the statement after Meyer spoke to a South Florida group in the offseason.
"I've got to watch what I say," Meyer said.
Why stop now? Luxury sleds. Police escorts. Fawning fans. This must be what life would be like for 50 Cent, Barack Obama or the Dalai Lama. If only they were this successful.
Mr. Rogers In Cleats' mere presence caused the first day of the three-day event to run 20 minutes behind. Tebow has been many things in his two short years at Florida -- blue-chip recruit, super-sub, champion, heart throb, Heisman winner. Next up: His junior season!
This has to end at some point but it doesn't seem like it's really begun. The kid has literally been around the world spreading the gospel and throwing passes from his home base in Gainesville. With his dad's ministry in the Phillipines and Thailand, the only reason he's noticed is because he is "a white man. That's pretty cool."
But while in a German airport, a local who didn't speak English suddenly pointed to him and blurted, "Tim Teeeebow."
"I love it when I was getting pushed in the back by security in Times Square," Meyer said of the Heisman Trophy trip to New York. "Physically I was getting pushed in the back because they (security) thought I was like hanging around Tim trying to get an autograph or something. I hate to say this, I was. I wanted to get a Christmas present for my son."
The kid's exploits seem to top each other. You probably heard about those mission trips overseas. Tebow helped out in the Phillipines this summer by snipping sutures at the end of circumcisions.
If that's unsettling try this little anecdote. Tebow brought along two friends. One is going into medical school. The other is going into dental school.
"They were pulling teeth and doing surgeries, pretty much by themselves," Tebow said. "They've never done that before."
When he runs into actual licensed doctors around Gainesville, Tebow says that 99.9 percent of them are supportive of his medical work with the poor. We can only assume that the other one-tenth of one percent are Georgia fans.
"There are leaders," he said, "Unfortunately, there are not a lot of good ones."
This one is so good that when death threats come over his cell phone from LSU fans as they did last season, Tebow diffused the situation. After his first touchdown pass against the Tigers, Tebow looked up to the Death Valley crowd and playfully pretended to dial his cell phone.
"I mean, you know, some of it's inappropriate as far as death threat or whatnot," Tebow said.
Like, yeah, those can be, like, you know, really a drag.
"We always say to him, 'What do you think in your head?'" Trautwein said. "'Do you think of cuss words? Do you think, like, anger?' He says, 'I don't know. I don't really think about that.' That's his mindset."
Sometimes we forget he isn't even 21 yet. Not that it matters. He has been to more places and snipped more sutures than any of us ever will. The closest he has come to alcohol is the stuff trainers rub on his scraped elbows.
"The difference is," he explained, "not many people want to wake up at 5 a.m. go through workouts, go speak to young kids, go back, eat lunch, go to class, go to tutoring, go to speak at a prison at night, come back. I mean, more people would do those things. They just don't want to sacrifice."
You don't give your fellow man enough credit, Tim. Give us until at least 7, 7:30 to sleep in. Some of us would give it a shot. For a day.

[azuquita8]

Gators could move a receiver to safety




By MIKE McCALL,
The Times-Union

HOOVER, Ala. - With Florida's safety ranks depleted, coach Urban Meyer is starting to get a bit creative to fix his depth problem at the position.
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The Gators have lost six safeties from last year's roster to graduation, transfer, injury and legal troubles, and prized recruit Dee Finley failed to qualify academically, leaving Meyer with limited resources in an already-troubled secondary.
On Wednesday, Meyer said he was considering moving an offensive player to safety to shore up the position, but he declined to specify who.
"We already met with a player," Meyer said. "I don't want to release it yet, but we'll probably bump another good freshman player over from offense to defense and let him compete for one of those spots as well."
T.J. Lawrence - a 6-foot, 185-pound wide receiver from Lakeland Kathleen High School - is the likely candidate. He's a solid athlete at the bottom of the receiver depth chart, and with lots of talent above him, a move to safety could put him on the field faster. Meyer also said incoming freshman Will Hill - one of the top players in the 2008 high school class - and sophomore Ahmad Black would fight for the safety spot opposite sophomore Major Wright.