MrSEC » Florida

UF’s Donovan Likes The Cut Of UK’s Jib

John — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 17:23:49 +0000

After seeing Kentucky up close and personal in a 78-58 loss last night, Florida’s Billy Donovan has high praise for John Calipari’s team:

“The one thing I like about their team is I love their disposition on the floor. There’s a certain disposition you have to have and I’m not talking about an arrogance or a cockiness, but there’s like a focus level in terms of what really goes into winning at that level. There’s a mentality there.”

Donovan — whose Gators lost to #2 Syracuse earlier this season — also said #1 Kentucky has a bit more talent than the Orange in that they have six future NBA first-round picks on their roster. Still, “it would be a heck of a game,” he said.

UF Not Awed By UK’s #1 Ranking

John — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 16:06:06 +0000

Kentucky is the top-ranked team in the country. They’ve lost just one game all season (by one point at Indiana). They’ve won 15 in a row overall. They’ve won 48 in a row at home.

So?

Florida’s Kenny Boynton says the Gators aren’t awed by the Wildcats success:

“At the end of the day, they’re just another SEC team to us. No different than Tennessee or South Carolina. I think if we go out there and play the way we’ve been playing lately, I think we’ve got a great chance at winning.”

Perhaps. But it’s worth noting Florida lost at Tennessee when they played there.

The Gators shouldn’t be scared of going into Lexington to face Kentucky. Upsets happen and if anyone can steal one at Rupp it’s probably Florida. But UF’s players hopefully have at least some awareness of what the Cats are capable of on their home court.

The average score at Rupp this season: UK 83, Visitors 60.

As far as the matchup is concerned, the Wildcats are #1 in the league in scoring offense in SEC contests (71.9 ppg) and scoring defense (56.4 ppg). The Gators are #4 in both categories (69.7 ppg versus 61.0 ppg).

UK should hold an edge outside the arc (they’re second in 3-point field goal percentage while UF ranks 11th in 3-point field goal percentage defense) and on the glass (the Cats are third in rebounding margin while the Gators are eighth).

Here’s hoping for a fun one tonight at Rupp.

UF’s Quinn Turns Down NFL’s Bucs

John — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 17:29:15 +0000

Will Muschamp has been maintain stability in his program this offseason. He got good news on that front today.

The Gainesville Sun reports today that Gator defensive coordinator Dan Quinn has passed on an offer to join Greg Schiano’s new staff with the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He served in the NFL with the 49ers, Dolphins, Jets and Seahawks from 2001 through 2010 before joining Muschamp’s first staff in Gainesville.

The Gators will return 10 starters on defense this fall. Last season they ranked fifth in the SEC in scoring defense, fifth in rushing defense, third in passing defense, and fifth in total defense.

Nike Ready To Debut Ugly Hoops Uniforms At UF, UK

John — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 17:36:33 +0000

If you thought Nike only made a mockery of traditional football uniforms, boy, are you in for a surprise. The global sports manufacturer will outfit Florida, Kentucky and a number of non-SEC schools in a new wave of silver unis, featuring half-hidden logo patterns and just a hint of school colors in the coming weeks.

The new duds from Nike’s Hyper Elite Platinum series were unveiled today. And the word “duds” was chosen for a reason. They’re sci-fi, right down to the lone padded arm band. (Click the headline for a better look.)

Look, this writer isn’t 20, he’s 40. So the target audience I’m not. And it’s likely that many teens will go coo-coo for Nike puffs once again. But personally, I like Nike’s designs when they provide tweaks to past uniform designs.

Not when they look like they’re one step removed from what Starbuck and Apollo would wear in the Colonial Triad League.

UF’s Donovan Not Happy About Thursday-Saturday Turnarounds

John — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 15:37:44 +0000

Kevin Stallings, you’ve got company. Yesterday, Florida’s Billy Donovan voiced his concerns about the quick Thursday-Sunday turnarounds that some league teams are having to deal with this season. Rather than suggest that his team is at a disadvantage, Donovan used another team as an example of the difficulties of the turnarounds (possibly because he’s 9-1 in such back-to-backs).

Donovan specifically mentioned Alabama — a team that hosted Vanderbilt at 7pm last Thursday before facing Kentucky at noon on Saturday.

“If you’re trying to get more teams into the NCAA tournament, don’t put the teams inside your league into a competitive disadvantage. That’s my only problem with it, where teams are at a competitive disadvantage…

There’s got to be some level of balance there. The league needs to look at those situations where maybe there’s a clear, distinct advantage. I think an advantage sometimes is if a team’s playing a late-night game on Thursday night, there should be some rule put in that you’re not going to play Saturday until after 4 or 5 o’clock. I’m using Alabama because it just happened.”

We’ve got no problem with Donovan’s suggestion that the league try to implement rules regarding start times. We’d suggest going to a pure 48-hour rule. If a team plays at 7pm Thursday, it couldn’t tip before 7pm Saturday.

Unfortunately — and we’ve said this before — that’s not what television executives want. And while TV execs may be paying for Alabama, Florida, LSU, Georgia, Tennessee, Auburn, Arkansas during football season… they’re paying for Kentucky’s brand name during hoops season. Like it, don’t like it, that’s a fact. Kentucky versus anyone is likely a better ratings draw national than any other SEC school versus any other SEC school.

Donovan knows this. “Kentucky’s program is extremely valuable and important to our league and their success is important to our league. There’s no question about that. And I’m sure ESPN wants (them), but ESPN also has a Thursday night game, too.”

Sadly, what coaches and fans seldom realize is just how difficult in-conference scheduling can be. Until every team plays every other team at home and on the road, you’re always going to have complaints. And even then some would bark about who’s facing who early in the season, late in the season, in back-to-back games, etc.

SEC spokesperson Craig Pinkerton told The Gainesville Sun that the league has certain parameters it must live within regarding Thursday-Saturday turnarounds. But, “While we make our best efforts to balance out the Thursday-Saturday tandems amongst all of the team, we can’t always make it perfectly balanced.”

Of the major BCS leagues, only the Big East requires its teams to face fewer two-day turnarounds than the Southeastern Conference.

(For some reason I’d initially headlined this piece “Thursday-Sunday Turnarounds. Obviously, it’s Saturday as is written throughout the piece.)

UF’s Orr Busted For Weed

John — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 14:08:36 +0000

Every year it’s like clockwork. The BCS Championship Game is played. A week later, the arrests begin. Ex-Alabama star Dre Kirkpatrick was the first to be popped for possession of marijuana. Now it’s a Florida Gator.

Sophomore defensive tackle Leon Orr faces misdemeanor marijuana possession charge after less than 20 grams were found in his on-campus dorm room by UF police. He’s also being charged with possession of drug paraphernalia thanks to a pipe and rolling papers that were also found in the room.

For those thinking that Will Muschamp would be able to clean up the Gators’ marijuana culture, that’s a no-go. Orr is the eighth Florida player arrested under Muschamp and six of those arrests have been pot-related.

Smoking marijuana in college isn’t as rare as it used to be and from the 60′s on it hasn’t been that rare to begin with. But if Florida were to strengthen its drug policy, it might lead one or two Gators to occasionally put down their pipes.

So Much For The Rumors, Meyer Introduces Family At Ohio State

John — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 15:22:21 +0000

There are two things that are said about 99% of the college football and college basketball coaches in the country — they’re having an affair or they drink too much.

Whenever a coach leaves a school, jilted fans — who get their info from an “insider” or “big booster” — always say “Coach left because his wife gave him an ultimatum” or “Coach left because the school was tired of his drinking.” It happens so often that those of us who cover multiple schools usually roll our eyes as soon as someone starts down that path.

I can tell you that I don’t believe a single one of these negative rumors about coaches when I hear them or have them emailed to the MrSEC.com inbox. Not when I see ‘em on Twitter or messageboards.

When it comes to rumors, there have been many surrounding Urban Meyer’s departure from Florida. Many, many, many. His health is bad, NCAA investigations are on deck, and worse. One recent one bit of gossip making the rounds had the coach’s family telling him to get lost, that they weren’t going to be moving to Columbus with him.

Well, maybe they were just putting on a good show, but Meyer’s whole family was in Columbus yesterday. His wife and his progeny. They were on hand to be introduced to a cheering Ohio State crowd at a Buckeye basketball game.

Believe and pass rumors and gossip if you like. Just know that Coach X in your hometown isn’t the only one “insiders” claim to be boozing it up or messing around with a coed or a secretary. That’s said about coaches all across America… just as soon as they leave or another job. And the stories are always ridiculously similar.

That’s why this writer doesn’t buy it when he hears such chatter. It’s ugly and it’s nonsense 99.9% of the time.

After all, the Meyers sure looked happy in Columbus yesterday just as they did on the day Papa Urban was introduced as OSU’s new coach back in November.

UF, VU Take Care Of Business On The Hardwood; Fox, Horn

John — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 15:46:07 +0000

The SEC’s first “Super Tuesday” of the season has come and gone and the favorites easily took care of business. Which is bad news for Darrin Horn and Mark Fox.

Florida 78, Georgia 48

So much for Bradley Beal’s slump. So much for Florida not playing defense. The Gators bounced back from a surprising loss at Tennessee on Saturday with a thorough beatdown of Georgia in Gainesville. The Dawgs have now lost 10 straight at the O’Connell Center.

Beal — the top signee in the country — connected on 4 of 6 shots from 3-point range to tally 17 points. He also added 10 rebounds for his third double-double of the season.

The Bulldogs fell to 0-2 in the SEC, 9-7 overall. For Fox — who was hailed as a savior following his first season in Athens — the natives might soon start to turn restless. The coach went 14-17 in Year One and then led UGA to the NCAA tourney with a 21-12 record last season. But he’s now just 14-20 in SEC play and 18 of those losses occurred with NBA’ers Trey Thompkins and Travis Leslie on his squad (holdovers from the Dennis Felton era).

Fox deserves time to turn around a long-troubled program at Georgia, but dealing with SEC fans we’ve come to know one thing for sure: They have zero patience.

Vanderbilt 67, South Carolina 57

The sands in Darrin Horn’s coaching hourglass continue to run out at South Carolina. Vanderbilt — behind 13 made 3-pointers — opened up a 24-point lead late before allowing the Cocks to notch the game’s final 14 points.

Bruce Ellington had 20 points to lead Carolina, but USC is now just 8-8 overall and 0-2 in the SEC. Granted, they’ve opened against NCAA tourney sure-things Kentucky and Vandy, but blowout home losses like last night’s won’t help Horn keep his job at year’s end.

Meanwhile, after a so-so non-conference start to the season — due in part to injuries — the Commodores are off to a blistering start in league play. Taking into account VU’s 65-35 demolition of Auburn on Saturday, Kevin Stallings’ team has won its first two SEC contests by a combined 40 points. And as we noted above, the score at Carolina could have been worse.

Down To 3: Pease, Schottenheimer And White In Running For UF OC Job

John — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 15:12:49 +0000

It looks like the Florida offensive coordinator search is down to three candidates: Brent Pease, Brian Schottenheimer and Brian White. But question marks have to be placed beside all three men’s names.

Pease — the offensive coordinator at Boise State — is reportedly mulling offers from both Florida and Alabama. It is believed he will meet face-to-face with Nick Saban in New Orleans tomorrow.

Schottenheimer — the New York Jets’ offensive coordinator and former Gator backup quarterback — was thought to have removed his name from Will Muschamp’s hat late last week. But yesterday, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that Schottenheimer had not pulled his name from consideration.

Finally, White — UF’s current running backs coach — handled the offensive coordinator duties leading up to the Gators’ bowl win, but things looked much like they did under Charlie Weis (263 total yards, one offensive touchdown. White is a former offensive coordinator at Wisconsin and UNLV and his promotion would provide the Gators some much-needed continuity on the coaching staff.

Meyer Says He’s Really Not Interested In The Gator Bowl

John — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 17:20:54 +0000

Nothing’s more important than spending time with his wife and kids. He never wanted to coach anywhere else after wearing the orange and blue. He wasn’t going to raid Florida’s football program for staffers.

By now, it’s become pretty clear that what Urban Meyer says and what Urban Meyer does can be two completely different things. So prepare for the coach’s latest canard:

“I’m sure I’ll watch some (of the Gator Bowl between Florida and Ohio State). It’s hard or me to sit and watch a whole game. I think people are making more of it than I would. At some point, that story is going to go away.”

Uh, yeah. As soon as the fourth quarter ends on January 2nd in Jacksonville. Until then, the 2012 Gator Bowl is in reality the Urban Meyer Bowl.

And if you think the head coach at Ohio State won’t be watching his new squad battle his old squad — if for no other reason than to simply gauge his new troops’ abilities against athletes he’s familiar with — then you’ve probably believed every other fabrication Meyer has spun in the past 24 months.

“I want to form my opinions after we coach them,” Meyer said of his new Buckeye players. “It’s a great opportunity for these players to push restart. I’m not going to develop an opinion based on this game.”

Maybe not, but the idea that he won’t be watching the game from start to finish is downright laughable.

Muschamp Needs To Take A Good Look At White For OC Job

John — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 18:17:26 +0000

Charlie Weis may be gone to Kansas, but Will Muschamp says his offense — or something very close to it — will remain at Florida.

“We’re not going to come in here and change what we’re doing,” Muschamp told The Gainesville Sun. “I don’t think that it’s smart to hire a guy and have 40 guys learn as opposed to one guy learning. Obviously, will he tweak some things? Certainly. Will he change some things? Maybe.”

“We’re not going to just take a playbook, throw it out the window and bring another one in. We’ve got a young football team and I think continuity is the most important thing at this point with our football team. That’s really the parameters I’m looking for right now.”

Weis’ offense — if it’s the same one he used in the NFL and it likely is — uses terminology that many other offenses do not. Most college playbooks include everything under the sun at this point — spread passing plays, option running plays, Wildcat packages, etc — but it’s the verbiage involved in calling those plays that makes each offense a bit different. And Weis’ is believed to be more unique than most.

With that in mind — and knowing that the clock is already ticking on him in Gainesville — Muschamp sounds like he’s about to make a very wise decision. Better to teach the next offensive coordinator a new vocabulary than all the players on the offensive roster.

Further, the coach says current UF assistant and former Wisconsin offensive coordinator Brian White is a candidate to fill Weis’ shoes. White’s handling of the Gators’ bowl work will serve as part of his evaluation, according to Muschamp. Obviously, going with a man on the current staff would ease the transition a bit more for the Gator players.

But Muschamp said once again yesterday that he plans on talking to multiple candidates and will not make a hire until after the Gator Bowl against Ohio State.

For stability’s sake — and that’s something the coach desperately needs in Year Two — we believe Muschamp should take a long, hard, fair look at White. Fans might not be wowed by his hiring in the short term, but if White can do the job, that’s all that will matter in the long run.

Remember, Weis was a splashy, fan-pleasing, outside hire last offseason… but Gator fans sure aren’t cutting Muschamp any slack right now because he “won the press conference” with that move.

If White can do the job, the fact that he knows the players and Weis’ offense (and its terminology) should give him a leg up on the competition.

ACC Goes To 18 Game Sked; UF-Miami Hoops Revival Unlikely

John — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 15:57:43 +0000

The ACC plans to go to an 18-game basketball schedule next season and according to The Gainesville Sun that’s likely to prevent Miami from scheduling Florida in basketball anytime soon.

“Certainly, you need to look at what is best for our team in terms of your schedule,” Hurricane coach Jim Larranaga said. “You’ve got to balance home and away and strength of opponents.”

In other words, The U will already be playing 18 games against ACC foes… so why toughen up the schedule further by adding an SEC power?

When the SEC expands to add Missouri and Texas A&M next season, we expect the league to follow the ACC’s lead and move to an 18-game schedule. There was momentum for such a move earlier this year when the league decided to scrap its two-division format.

Gator Fans Not Snapping Up Bowl Tickets

John — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 15:05:03 +0000

The folks in Jacksonville surely expected a better fan response when they matched Urban Meyer’s old school against Urban Meyer’s new school in the Gator Bowl. Unfortunately for the selection committee, like Meyer, it seems many UF fans won’t be in the stadium for the game.

The Gainesville Sun reports that Florida has sold just 8,000 of its allotted 15,000 tickets to the January 2nd bowl game.

For all the talk of “best fans in the world” — and every SEC school claims that — the reality is that the majority of fans won’t spend, attend, or travel unless their school is winning. That’s true all across the league.

And at Florida, 6-6 is not considered winning.

UF’s Weis Going To Kansas As Head Coach

John — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 22:30:17 +0000

So much for sticking around for the long haul. For owning property in Florida. For being besties with head coach Will Muschamp. Gator offensive coordinator Charlie Weis is on his way to Kansas as the Jayhawks’ new head coach.

The school announced the move this afternoon and plans to introduce Weis tomorrow. When Weis took the job at Florida, we figured he’d have eyes for a return to the NFL or for another head job in the college ranks. It was the latter.

Weis had a short but successful run with the Kansas City Chiefs — just down the road from Lawrence — before joining Muschamp’s first staff in Florida. Now Muschamp is back in the market for a coordinator to oversee the implementation of his pro-style offense with what he hopes will be actual, real-life, pro-style players… a commodity he and Weis were short on in 2011.

Polling Suggests Muschamp Losing Some Fans In The Sunshine State

John — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 16:55:25 +0000

When you go 6-6 at Florida, you’re probably not going to be on many Man of the Year lists. Now polling data — yep, just like the polling numbers run for politicians — suggests Sunshine State residents are indeed down on first-year football coach Will Muschamp.

Duh.

A group called Public Policy Polling asked Floridians for their take on Muschamp. The results:

* 24% of Florida fans approve of the job Muschamp is doing

* 28% disapprove

* 48% gave no opinion

So why is this news? Only because a group has now decided to do public polling on football coaches. You can bet other groups will follow suit soon enough.

And for the record — keep this little nugget in mind — Muschamp was in his first year playing with someone else’s roster. Yeesh. Can we give a guy two years before we start to judge him?

Meyer Looking At Two Aides From UF

John — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 15:10:30 +0000

WKMG-TV in Orlando reported before Urban Meyer’s acceptance of the Ohio State job that he would make a run at two Florida staff members once he finally admitted he was taking the job. The station said strength and conditioning coach Mickey Marotti and linebackers coach DJ Durkin would be at the top of the list.

Today The Columbus Dispatch says Meyer is indeed eyeballing two UF aides, but it lists receivers coach and recruiting coordinator Aubrey Hill as a Meyer target along with Marotti, not Durkin.

Hill is an interesting choice for Meyer. Taking over a program that’s currently awaiting NCAA sentencing on two fronts, one might think he would steer clear of anyone with any smudge of trouble on his resume. But Hill was named in Yahoo! Sports’ report on Miami booster Nevin Shapiro earlier this year. Florida backed him in full and Shapiro’s allegations could be poppycock, but it’s worth noting just the same.

UF athletic director Jeremy Foley told The Orlando Sentinel’s Mike Bianchi on WYGM-AM 740 earlier this week that he didn’t think Meyer would take any Gator assistants to Columbus.

“I don’t think so. He and I talked the other day and he didn’t mention that,” Foley said. “He and I talked the morning before his press conference and I wished him well, but I don’t think that’s gonna happen.”

Meyer Changes Direction With Move To Ohio State

John — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 17:36:50 +0000

A tip of the cap to Mike Bianchi of The Orlando Sentinel today for digging up the following quote from Urban Meyer, given during the 24-hour period of his first “retirement” from Florida in December of 2009:

“I made this clear to Jeremy Foley, if I am able to go coach, I want to coach at one place, the University of Florida. It would be a travesty, it would be ridiculous to all of a sudden come back and get the feeling back, get the health back, feel good again and then all of a sudden go throw some other colors on my shirt and go coach. I don’t want to do that. I have too much love for this university and these players and for what we’ve built.”

Uh, well, er, uh…

Florida officials like Foley continue to say the right things regarding the ex-Gator coach. And even a prominent UF booster — who is still friends with Meyer — says the coach appears to be in good health again. He also said that he believes Meyer “has always acted up front.”

Maybe so. But it’s going to be a bit odd this fall when Meyer throws some other colors on his shirt and goes back to coaching.

UF’s Donovan Goes For Win #400 Tonight

John — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 18:56:01 +0000

Tonight when Florida faces Stetson, Gator coach Billy Donovan will be going for the 400th victory of his career. The 46-year-old coach has been a head coach since 1994 and has served in Gainesville since 1996. It’s hard to believe that Donovan has been in the SEC that long.

In 16 years at Florida he’s won two national titles, been to three Final Fours and cranked out eight NBA first-round draft picks.

For comparison’s sake, Mike Krzyzewski is now the game’s all-time winningest coach with 907 wins at the age of 64. If Donovan continues to coach into his 60s and continues to enjoy his current level of success, it’s likely he’ll finish his career ranked among the top four or five winningest college basketball coaches ever.

Good luck to Donovan tonight.

Meyer To Be Announced At OSU This Afternoon

John — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 17:11:44 +0000

Urban Meyer to Ohio State is indeed dunzo.

According to The Columbus Dispatch, “a source inside the current OSU coaching staff said the assistants were informed this morning there will be a change at head coach.” Ohio State is expected to announce Meyer’s hiring today at 5:15pm ET.

Reports Finally Confirm Meyer To OSU; Might He Coach In Bowl Vs UF?

John — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 14:24:33 +0000

ESPN — Urban Meyer’s employer for the last few months — is reporting today that the ex-Florida coach has indeed been hired as head coach at Ohio State. Forget the talk of family and health, Meyer is heading back to the sideline and he’s going to do so at a program that’s about to be bombed by the NCAA. (OSU has already sacrificed 5 scholarships over the next three years as a self-induced, “please don’t hit us anymore” penalty. It’s likely the NCAA will take away several more scholarships.)

We finally went with the “done deal” view on Meyer-to-OSU when The Columbus Dispatch reported the matter closed last week. The reason: Yours truly once worked for The Dispatch Broadcast Group and having lived in Columbus, I know there are three mega-boosters of the Buckeye program: the Wexners, the McConnells, and the Wolfes. The Wolfes own The Columbus Dispatch. If the Dispatch reported Meyer was all but hired by OSU, then you can bet the paper’s source was one of three folks in Columbus who knew for sure. Thus, we bought that paper’s story immediately.

Meyer had denied a deal with OSU for more than a week. But anyone familiar with coaching searches knew that the coach’s claims that no deal was in place and that he hadn’t interviewed were likely a matter of semantics only. Is a lunch an interview or just a lunch? Depends on the person telling the story.

At 6-6 following a loss to Michigan, OSU is expected to fall no lower than the Gator Bowl in the Big Ten’s bowl pecking order this holiday season. Guess who’s expected to land in the Gator Bowl from the SEC’s side of things? Yep, Florida.

WKMG-TV in Orlando reported last week that Meyer was planning to take UF’s current linebacker coach DJ Durkin and strength and conditioning coach Mickey Marrotti to Columbus with him in new roles. So the love in Gainesville for Meyer already might be dimming just a bit. If the ex-Gator coach takes over OSU and coaches against Florida in a bowl game, you can bet Meyer’s popularity in the Sunshine State will take another hit.

Will Muschamp — the man who led Florida to a 6-6 record with Meyer’s leftovers this year — said, “It’s good for college football” that the ex-coach is dropping the “ex.” “If it’s what Urban wants, I’m happy for him.”

And if Meyer and OSU whip Muschamp and Florida in the Gator Bowl, just how happy do you think he and Gator Nation will be?

New Report: Meyer To OSU Next Week

John — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 18:51:37 +0000

Well, forget the health and the family. All the tears of joy reportedly shed when papa retired from coaching… just bottle ‘em up, kids. Urban Meyer is heading back to the sideline at much-troubled Ohio State.

At least that’s the latest report from The Columbus Dispatch. The paper states that “two well-placed sources at Ohio State University” have confirmed that Meyer will take the OSU job though the final terms of a deal have not been decided upon yet.

Many at Florida have said that they expected Meyer to coach again someday. They’ve publicly wished him well in his future ventures. But that might change if Orlando television station WKMG has its story straight.

Last night, that station claimed that Meyer was set to take the Ohio State job and had already agreed to a seven-year, $40 million contract. The station also reported that “Meyer will bring several current UF assistant coaches with him to Columbus, including DJ Durkin, the Gators’ linebackers coach, who will be the OSU defensive coordinator.”

The station also claimed that Florida strength and conditioning coach Mickey Marotti would become the director of football operations at Ohio State.

If Meyer raids the Florida athletic department it’s likely Gator AD Jeremy Foley, new coach Will Muschamp, and many UF fans won’t look quite as favorably upon the man who won two national crowns in Gainesville.

Ironically, there’s a chance Florida could face Ohio State next month in the Gator Bowl.

If this story turns out to be true — and it sure looks to be true at this point — you can color us suckered. We’d stated numerous times that we believed Meyer would remain out of coaching for more than a year (a la Jon Gruden). After reading and watching behind-the-scenes family pieces like these from SI.com, we fell for the notion that Meyer cared more about his family than football.

We were wrong.

Meyer, Nutt Deny Coaching Rumors

John — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 17:33:15 +0000

Two ex-SEC coaches — well, one’s about to be an ex — are denying rumors and reports that they are set to become coaches elsewhere.

Despite multiple reports claiming that Urban Meyer has agreed to a $40 million deal to coach Ohio State, the ex-Florida coach continues to deny that any job has been offered or accepted.

“I have not been offered any job nor is there a deal in place,” he said in a statement. “I plan on spending Thanksgiving with my family and will not comment on this any further.”

Meyer is not scheduled to work a college football game this weekend for ESPN, however. It’s believed he will be at network headquarters instead.

Meanwhile, as Houston Nutt prepares to coach his last game at Ole Miss, rumors are swirling that he will wind up as the next head coach at Memphis. A Rivals.com report suggested yesterday that a deal was already in place for Nutt to move the 85 miles up I-55 from Oxford to the Bluff City.

Yesterday, Nutt was asked if he’d been talking to officials from the Tiger program:

“No, I have not. No contact whatsoever. They got a head coach. Strictly a rumor. I have not talked to anybody there with Memphis. That’s really unfair to Coach (Larry) Porter. He’s the coach there. Everybody needs to respect that and let me finish this game here.”

Apparently no one asked him if his agent, Jimmy Sexton, had been talking to Memphis’ brass.

UF’s Muschamp Takes The Blame For His Team’s Shortcomings

John — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 18:55:00 +0000

Florida is mired in its second-consecutive five-loss season. Gator fans, naturally, are having a tough time accepting that fact. So at whom should they direct blame? Will Muschamp… according to Will Muschamp:

“At the end of the game, I’m not like a lot of coaches. I’m not going to come in and blame all of our players. There’s a lot of coaches that do that, and I’m not going to do that. When we play well it’s because our players played well, and when we don’t it’s my fault. And that’s just been my approach all the time. The players understand that, too. I’m the first one that’s going to stand up and say I need to do a better job. I think it’s really unprofessional for a grown man to come up here and blame a 19-, 20-, 21-year-old kid for a mistake. I think that’s ridiculous. And I’m not going to do that. So if it makes somebody made, let me know.”

Interesting. While I support the idea of a coach taking blame and giving credit, it would probably be better received if the coach didn’t make a big point of how he won’t blame his players. By saying that, it sends the message: “Even if it was Joe Freshman’s fault, I wouldn’t tell you… so it might just be Joe Freshman’s fault.”

Muschamp sounds particularly touchy on that subject as well. Across the SEC, two coaches point out their players flaws more than most others — Steve Spurrier and Derek Dooley. Might Mushcamp have had one of those coaches in mind? Someone else?

Meyer Says He Hasn’t Interviewed With OSU, But What’s The Real Story?

John — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 18:23:37 +0000

If you flipped by ESPN this weekend, you likely saw reports that “sources close to Urban Meyer and Ohio State” had told the network that the former Florida coach — and current ESPN employee — had been talking with OSU officials about their head coaching position.

But Meyer told The Gainesville Sun today that that’s just not true.

“The concerns are still there,” he said. “Number one, my health. Number two, my family. Number three, the state of college football.” But then he told the paper the following:

“I’ve done some research into the second one. I’ve found that it is possible to have balance between your job and your family, that there are coaches out there who are doing it.

I’m in a good place right now mentally and physically. So if something happens with Ohio State, I’ll have a decision to make. But there has been no interview. There has been no offer to make s decision about.”

Well that’s as clear as mud. We find it hard to believe that ESPN would run a story about one of its analysts before actually checking with that employee.

So it’s possible the Meyer has spoken with OSU and he’s simply splitting hairs as to what should and should not be considered an “interview.”

It’s also possible that word got out before Meyer told his family of his talks. That’s pure speculation, of course, but Meyer decided — before speaking with his family — to return after a one-day retirement from Florida in December of 2009.

Regardless of what Meyer specifically says, it certainly sounds like he’s getting that old coaching itch again… and that if Ohio State makes him an offer he’ll strongly consider it.

We wonder, however, if OSU officials have paid attention to:

1. What Meyer did at Florida without Tim Tebow (not much)

2. What Meyer left behind at Florida (a team capable of struggling with Furman)

Writer: Meyer To Blame For Florida’s Woes

John — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 22:57:42 +0000

Matt Hayes of The Sporting News won’t be getting a Christmas card from Urban Meyer this holiday season. Hayes has decided that it’s time for Will Muschamp to come right out and say what’s wrong with the Gators’ program as it suffers through its second-straight five-loss season. That being — in Hayes’ words – that it’s all Urban Meyer’s fault:

“That’s right, the guy who won two national titles in six years at Florida left Muschamp with a heaping pile of I’m getting out of Dodge before it gets really bad.

– Florida has two (constantly injured) 180-pound tailbacks in a physical, grinding league.

– Florida doesn’t have a wide receiver that can get open, beat coverage and consistently makes plays. Much less catch the ball.

– Florida doesn’t have a true defensive end on the entire squad.

– Florida doesn’t have a legitimate offensive tackle; a significant issue since the new pro-style offense is built around throwing off play-action.

– Florida has 65 scholarship players (20 under the NCAA limit).”

Ouch. Of course, it’s hard to argue with anything Hayes writes. Since Tim Tebow’s senior season, we’ve been writing on MrSEC.com that the Gators have been unable to develop skill players to put around their signal-caller.

This year, it’s become clear that skill players weren’t the only problem in Gainesville.

Meyer Says He Has No Plans To Coach Again

John — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 17:47:01 +0000

Former Florida coach Urban Meyer has become the most talked about potential coach at two of America’s top football programs — first Ohio State and now Penn State.

But Meyer poured a sprinkle or two of cold water on such talk yesterday when he released this very short statement:

“I am very happy with my role at ESPN. I have no plans to return to coaching at this time.”

The “At this time” part will definitely get cause the most talk.

We at MrSEC.com have maintained that we do not believe Meyer will immediately jump back into coaching next season. We could be wrong — as we were in expecting a half-game suspension for LSU’s Tyrann Mathieu this week — but Meyer’s comments regarding his family and their reaction to his departure from coaching suggest he’ll spend at least one more season at home.

We shall see.

Let The Meyer-To-Penn State Rumors Begin

John — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 16:32:26 +0000

Under normal circumstances, it’s not wise to try and follow a legend. But replacing Joe Paterno might not be as tough now as it always appeared that it would be. And whoever steps in at State College will inherit a team that’s currently got just one loss on its record (to Alabama). In other words, the cupboard won’t be bare and there are no NCAA vultures circling overhead (as would be the case at Ohio State).

So guess whose now being mentioned as Paterno’s successor by anyone and everyone today? Yep, former Florida coach Urban Meyer.

The Philadelphia Inquirer: Who will take the reins of Penn State’s football program?

“Former Florida coach Urban Meyer appears to be the overwhelming favorite to become the new head coach.”

The Gainesville Sun: Could Meyer go to Penn State?

“I do miss (coaching). I miss a lot of things about it, but I also am really enjoying another part, that’s I get to watch my kids play sports.”

The Orlando Sentinel: Could former Florida coach Urban Meyer replace Joe Paterno at Penn State?

“Surely, Meyer will be high on Penn State’s list. But with a scandal unlike any seen before in college sports, will replacing Paterno be something that Meyer wants?”

That is a key point.

Students rioted last night over the news that Paterno had been fired (and they should have been tear-gassed and billy-sticked as a result of flipping a news van over and endangering lives over a football issue). But students would forget JoePa in heartbeat and profess their undying loyalty to Meyer if he signed on with the Nittany Lions. Such is youth.

The big issue for Meyer might be the administration. Who will be the new athletic director? Who will be the new president? When will those jobs be filled permanently and what will Meyer know of the men hired as his superiors.

From purely a football standpoint, Penn State appears to be in better shape than Ohio State. But in terms of who Meyer would be working for… well, that’s a bit more murky.

Muschamp A Fan Of The Pistol

John — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 18:42:59 +0000

This past week, Florida rolled out a new offensive weapon – the Pistol formation. In it, a quarterback lines up four yards behind the center and the tailback lines up directly behind the quarterback. In the Shotgun, the quarterback is seven yards behind the center and the tailback lines up beside him.

So what does Will Muschamp think of Charlie Weis’ latest move?

“It gives you a downhill running game. You can get out of the lateral run game. You can run the off-tackle power and the leads inside as opposed to sitting east and west. It’s a downhill north and south. We’re a different offense when we’re about to run the play-actions off of that.

We were unable to get to it against Georgia (because of John Brantley’s ankle injury). It helps us in protection with our offensive line. When you’re able to do those things it gets the defense off kilter a little bit. That’s where it’s been good for us.”

Here’s a look at how one offense used the Pistol:

Weis Disappointed In UF’s Offense; Danielson Says Muschamp’s Got Little Talent To Work With

John — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 17:30:28 +0000

Mired in a four-game losing streak — the program’s longest since 1988 — folks in Florida are wondering who to blame. On Halloween, Mike Bianchi of The Orlando Sentinel — a provocateur on par with Woody Woodpecker — asked Gator fans to blame Urban Meyer, Will Muschamp or Charlie Weis for UF’s many offensive woes. (The fans who voted saddled the ex-Gator head coach with the blame.)

In Weis’ case, the offensive coordinator was realistic about his team’s chances against Alabama and LSU… it’s the last two games against Auburn and Georgia that have bothered him most:

“I thought the rest of that Alabama game (without an injured John Brantley in the second half) was going to be a bit of a struggle. And going into LSU I thought that would be a bit of a struggle, especially when young Jacoby (Brissett) was dialed up after he hadn’t had a snap, I thought that would have been a bit of a struggle. … I’m probably most disappointed that in the last two weeks, we didn’t make enough plays on offense to win the last two games.

I think that’s probably my biggest disappointment. They were two games that you can’t say were mismatched opponents. That’s the thing I’m discouraged about the most.”

Should he be disappointed? It doesn’t sound like Gary Danielson believes so. The CBS analyst just doesn’t think the Florida’s staff or its head coach has a whole heckuva lot of talent at their disposal:

“I believe Will Muschamp is doing about as good as he can. To me, I really think Will Muschamp has a butter knife, basically a dull butter knife of talent in a league that everybody else has steak and you need a steak knife to win in this league. He has no chance. He does not have a team put together to compete at the highest level at this league, especially with an injured quarterback.”

Somewhere, Meyer is muttering, “But they’re loaded, I tells ya.”

Muschamp Says Gators Lack Players For Power Run Game

John — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 19:09:55 +0000

Leading up to the season, former Florida coach Urban Meyer put a little pressure on his replacement when he said that the Gators would be “loaded” in 2011.

Now at 4-4 and trying to run a pro-style offense with spread-option players, that replacement — Will Muschamp — is saying he’s not “loaded” when it comes to people who can carry out a power run game:

“I think we’ve got to build our numbers back. We’ve got to get better on the line of scrimmage. It’s very difficult to try and run a power running game… right now with who we have. And I like the guys we’ve got, but it’s just the bottom line of — you look at some situations of where we are. It doesn’t take anybody real educated to figure it out right now.”

Muschamp may have said he likes the guys he’s got, but if you were a Gator O-lineman or running back, would you be pleased to hear those comments?

Barnhart: UGA’s Richt Can’t Lose To UF Again

John — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 15:42:02 +0000

On a couple of radio shows this week I’ve been asked if Mark Richt faces a must-win game in Jacksonville this Saturday. I’ve said no, because technically — given the way the East’s teams are playing and the injury to Marcus Lattimore — the Bulldogs could lose to Florida and still win their division.

If Georgia somehow wins the East and reaches Atlanta, it would be hard to fire Richt… even with another loss to Florida.

But the fact of the matter is, that’s a technicality. If UGA loses Saturday, it’s doubtful they would win the East.

Perhaps that’s why longtime SEC columnist Tony Barnhart believes Richt faces a must-win scenario in this year’s Florida game. At least the headline at CBSSports.com says it’s a must-win game: “Losing another Cocktail Party would be last straw for Richt.”

So does Barnhart believe it’s win or else?

“Let’s just put it this way: Richt is 2-8 in his 10 meetings with FLorida and it would really, really help his quality of life if the Bulldogs did not stumble to the Gators again…

So Richt needs to win against a Florida team that is limping into Saturday’s game. It doesn’t matter how good or bad Florida is. It’s Florida. Richt can’t go to 2-9 against the Gators. He just can’t.”

While he doesn’t flat-out state that Richt’s goose would definitely be cooked with a loss (as the headline does), Barnhart clearly believes that would likely be the case.

And isn’t it Richt’s luck that UF had an open date to heal up and get their starting quarterback back?

UF’s Brantley To Play Unless Somthing “Shocking” Happens

John — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 20:15:23 +0000

Gamesmanship or just a new, more open policy regarding injuries from Florida coach Will Muschamp? We won’t really know until Saturday, but the Gators’ coach shed more light on quarterback John Brantley’s health during today’s SEC teleconference:

“John Brantley has continued to progress pretty well through the week. I expect him, obviously, to play Saturday unless something shocking comes up here in the latter part of the week…

He’s throwing it well. We’ll progress through today and Thursday and the walk-through on Friday and see how he continues to improve.”

Brantley has missed two consecutive games after suffering a high ankle sprain during UF’s Alabama contest on October 1st.

The Gators meet Georgia in a key SEC East battle Saturday in Jacksonville. Muschamp said getting his starter back could provide a psychological lift for his team.

UGA Alum Muschamp Says He’s Loyal To UF Now

John — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 21:24:17 +0000

First-year Florida coach Will Muschamp says the Georgia game is no big deal to him, even though he once wore the red and black:

“This profession is different than a lot of professions. You do your job for the school that you’re working for. It’s my job to do a great job for the University of Florida, and that’s what I’m trying to do. Again, I talked about it earlier, I don’t mean disrespect to anybody, but I’m loyal to people, not places. I work for Jeremy Foley and Dr. Bernie Machen, and those are the peole I need to do a good job for and this football team and staff. That’s how I view things. I’ve worked at Auburn, LSU and Texas — I’ve worked a lot of different places, and this isn’t the first time I’ve played against Georgia.”

And what if Muschamp did have feelings for UGA on Saturday? Would he be more emotional on the sideline? I understand why this is an ongoing story, but I don’t see how it could manifest itself during the game in such a way that it would impact the game.

UF’s Muschamp Apologizes For Cursing During AU Game

John — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 21:35:12 +0000

Yesterday, we showed you the much talked about clip of Florida’s Will Muschamp going nuclear following a bad call in last Saturday’s loss to Auburn. The word “profane” comes to mind.

Well, today, Muschamp apologized for his choice of words, but not his emotion:

“Just the language. It’s hard when you’ve got a 6-year-old and a 10-year-old at home and you’ve got to go home and explain to them what you said. So that’s not good and that’s not how we’re going to run our program. That’s it. Again, as far as the sideline stuff’s concerned, we’re going to be who we are. I’m just apologizing for the language, nothing else.”

He also added that curse-filled rants are not “going to be tolerated” at Florida. “That’s certainly not representative of what this program and this university is about.”

We wish a man known as “Coach Boom” lots of luck in his attempt to change who he is. We’re guessing we haven’t seen the last obscene tirade from the fiery Gator coach.

Muschamp Summons Inner-McGavin, Weaves Tapestry Of Obscenity On National TV

John — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 13:53:14 +0000

So that’s why they call him Coach Boom. He drops F-bombs that explode on national television.

Florida’s Will Muschamp — known for his intensity — did more than stare when SEC officials royally botched a call in Saturday’s game between the Gators and Auburn. He let loose with a long barrage of screams and expletives for the ESPN cameras to capture.

(NSFW. While this is a tape of a tape — and will likely stay available longer — the audio isn’t great. But beware to all lip-readers, too.)

As you can see from the tape, the refs should’ve flagged Auburn for interfering with a fair catch. Instead, they ruled the play a fumble and gave Auburn the ball at the Gators’ 32. Three plays later the Tigers had a touchdown in their 17-6 win.

Following the game, Muschamp said, “I can’t comment on that,” when asked about the play/tirade.

While UF fans will likely back their coach — especially since he was correct in his assessment of the call — it’s doubtful that Florida president Bernie Machen wants his coach to get a reputation for being the Old Man Parker of the SEC.

“In the heat of the battle, my father wove a tapestry of obscenity, that as far as we know, is still hanging in space over Lake Michigan.”

Ex-UF Coach Meyer: “I Went Off The Deep End”

John — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 19:48:17 +0000

Former Florida coach Urban Meyer is a much-talked about man these days. His name has popped up in connection with jobs at Ohio State, Penn State and Texas. Most believe he’ll be back on a college sideline next year.

But if he does return, he says he won’t let the game consume him the next time around:

“If I ever went back, I’d have to get back a little bit of balance I used to have. I don’t know if I’m there yet. I went off the deep end. When I first went to Florida, my first Tennessee game, first SEC game, my son was playing that (Friday) night (in a baseball game), was going to pitch. I’m in a hotel. I looked at the police officers: “I can’t take this. Will you get in a car and drive me to go watch my son pitch?” Everybody thought I was nuts. I’m not going to let a job consume me. I think it did. I would have never done that (go to see his son’s game) at the end. I was so consumed about perfection. We created a monster. If I ever did get back, I would not let that control my life.”

We continue to say what we’ve been saying for months — we believe Meyer will be in the ESPN broadcast booth for more than a year. Super-intense Jon Gruden was expected to return to the pro game after a year of announcing games, but he found he could make good money and keep one foot in the game while not be owned by the game.

Meyer’s latest statements do nothing to change our take.

And he’s pretty good as a color analyst, too.

UF Reinstates Hoopster Larson

John — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 18:37:49 +0000

Redshirt freshman forward Cody Larson has been reinstated to Florida’s basketball team today. “I wanted to get the legal process resolved before I commented on it,” Billy Donovan said.

Larson and teammate Erik Murphy were arrested in April for attempting to break into a car. The charges against them were lessened over time and Murphy was eventually reinstated to the team.

But the April arrest meant that Larson had violated the terms of a previous suspended drug-related sentence in his home state of South Dakota. On Friday, a judge there gave him two years probation for that violation.

And now, he’s back on Florida’s squad.

Muschamp Accentuates The Positive In Gainesville

John — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 15:24:02 +0000

Following consecutive beatdowns by Alabama and LSU, Florida fans are getting a little bit hot under the collar. They’re not used to getting steamrolled. As The Gainesville Sun notes, it’s been 40 years since the Gators were whipped so soundly in back-to-back games. With backup quarterbacks on the field, or not.

But Will Muschamp wants everyone to know that his team (and program) is still moving forward:

“Our team has got to persevere through this time. We have a good, young football team. I’m excited where we are, not necessarily from the outcome of both games, but where we’re headed…

We are going to move forward with the guys who are going to work hard and are going to be dedicated to getting this to a championship level…

We need to keep this bunch together. Sometimes adversity can cause two things: you can divide or you can unite. We’re going to united and we’re going to move forward.

We have to rebuild some guys. But we have competitive guys, guys who want to win. They understand what it takes to win. We’re going to be fine. There are better days ahead.”

Muschamp also said that his team didn’t play as well as it was capable of playing and “that falls on my shoulders.”

LSU Won’t Change Plan Due To UF QB Change

John — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 19:00:28 +0000

John Brantley is out with what’s believed to be a high ankle sprain. Will Muschamp and Charlie Weis haven’t said for sure which of Florida’s three remaining quarterbacks will get the start at LSU on Saturday. Most assume the starter will be freshman Jeff Driskel.

But according to defensive tackle Michael Brockers, that doesn’t matter to the Tigers:

“We’re preparing to take care of the offense. It really doesn’t matter who plays. We’re preparing for the offense in general. Brantley, Driskel, whoever.”

Les Miles doesn’t sound overly concerned about the Gator quarterback situation either:

“Playing different quarterbacks gives you certain things and challenges that must be met. I think that we’re very comfortable. We’ve faced a number of offenses to this point. Our defense has been tested against a wide range of attacks and can easily make an adjustment that fits the opponent.”

If so, the UF’s gamesmanship with its QB situation is nothing more than wasted time.

It’s Official: UF’s Brantley Is Out For LSU Game

John — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 16:41:06 +0000

A hat tip to ESPN’s Joe Schad who reported earlier today that John Brantley would miss Florida’s game with LSU on Saturday.

Will Muschamp announced today that his senior quarterback will indeed be unavailable, though he would not confirm or deny reports that Brantley has a high ankle sprain.

Freshman Jeff Driskel now moves into the #1 quarterback slot, but Muschamp said he could be passed in practice this week by Jacoby Brissett or Tyler Murphy.

Best of luck to whoever draws Saturday’s assignment. It’s a toss-up as to which SEC defense is scarier — Alabama’s or LSU’s.

Herbstreit Intrigued By UF/UT Matchup

John — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 18:42:27 +0000

ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit will be in Tallahassee on Saturday night for the major showdown between #1 Oklahoma and #5 Florida State… but earlier in the day he’ll be keeping track of what’s going on down US-19.

Like most folks around the SEC, Herbstreit views Saturday’s Florida-Tennessee game as a chance for both programs to prove where they stand on their road back to national prominence.

“Man alive, Tyler Bray is lights out. This guy doesn’t throw many incompletions, he doesn’t make many mistakes. Right now he has seven touchdowns and hasn’t thrown a pick. He has (Da’Rick) Rogers on the outside to go with (Justin) Hunter. They look like old school Tennessee wide receivers where they are long and lean and athletic and get downfield in a hurry…

I still think (Tennessee) is a year or two away with Derek Dooley, at least at the beginning of the year I felt that way, I thought maybe some of their inexperience would come into play against Cincinnati, where they might be peeking ahead to Florida. This is where we’re going to find out, is Tennessee really this improved, or is it because of who they’ve played? Same with Florida…

(Florida) lost so many guys in the secondary from a year ago… this will be their first real test. In a game like this where Tyler Bray has had a lot of success getting the ball downfield, how will those corners hold up? Will Florida be able to get pressure, to disrupt the rhythm, which not many people have been able to do against Bray?

I want to see if Will Muschamp, who’s probably about as creative as any coach you’re going to find because of his days with Nick Saban, is he able to rely on the defensive front where he doesn’t have to leave those corners out there by themselves, or is he going to have to get pretty creative with his blitz package to try to disrupt Tyler Bray and what they are doing?”

The Knoxville News Sentinel reports that Bray and ex-Gator coach will be featured in a film breakdown segment during ESPN’s “College GameDay” on Saturday morning.

UF’s Finley Arrested After Scooter Incident; That’s At Least 7 Arrests Under Muschamp

John — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 14:35:04 +0000

Across the SEC, football programs have been learning of the dangers of on-campus scooters. Georgia had two players injured in scooter accidents this past offseason. And now Florida has found out that scooters can lead to non-health-related problems, as well.

Sophomore linebacker Dee Finley was arrested yesterday afternoon for driving with a suspended license. But when a UF police officer told Finley to stay put, things went downhill. According to “The Independent Florida Alligator:

“When (officer William) Sasser told Finley he could not leave, Finley started his scooter and tried to take off, but Sasser grabbed his left wrist. Finley than snatched his hand away and ‘squared’ to Sasser while still straddling his scooter, according to the (police) report.”

Finley didn’t back down until the officer pulled out his Taser. Those actions led to a charge of resisting an officer with violence. And that’s a third-degree felony charge for Finley.

That’s also quite stupid.

Now, when I was in college — and we walked uphill both ways to class — no one zipped around campus on motorized scooters. So perhaps a few of these schools could require their football players to get around campus by foot, like the majority of students.

Also, while there are two sides to every story, not doing exactly what a police officer tells you to do — no matter your age — is boneheaded. Say, “yes, sir,” follow orders, and then let your lawyer handle things. I find it hard to believe that Florida officials haven’t had that chat with Gator athletes.

But Finley has now been charged four times for driving with a suspended license. So if UF athletic department officials have been so lax as to not walk Finley down to the local DMV by this point, perhaps they really haven’t taken the time to teach Athlete-Police Relations 101.

They should start.

“Coach (Will) Muschamp is aware of the incident and will handle the matter,” a UF spokesman said.

In case you’re wondering, this is the seventh known arrest of a Florida footballer since Muschamp took over the Gator program. Heck, those are Urban Meyer-type numbers.

Muschamp Not Happy With Floyd Suspension

John — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 17:00:16 +0000

Florida sophomore defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd is going to have to sit out one more game and repay approximately $2,700 to charity before hitting the field for the Gators this season. So ruled the NCAA yesterday.

UF coach Will Muschamp was furious with the NCAA’s decision and let the governing body have it via press release:

“I’m angered, disgusted and extremely disappointed that Sharrif will have to miss two games. …

I want to make it clear that this issue is not about sports agents, Florida boosters or his recruitment to Florida or anywhere else. The issue is about his survival and the only reason the NCAA, the SEC and the University of Florida were aware of these issues is because Sharrif brought them to our attention last February. He came forward because, as I said before, he is honest and because of his integrity.

The toughest day that I have had as a head football coach at Florida was the day that I had to tell Sharrif that he could not play in our game vs. FAU last week. I took away part of his family.

He had teams in his eyes and said, ‘What have I done wrong?’ I told him he did nothing wrong. It wasn’t any easier to tell him today that he would be missing Saturday’s game.

I have two sons at home — if they end up like Sharrif I will consider myself a successful father.”

Wow.

In his first few months on the job, Muschamp has shown that he will a) dismiss a player for repeatedly violating team rules and b) defend a player who he believes to be innocent. As a result, Florida’s football coach comes across as quite fair. His predecessor could almost always be counted on to deliver a defense of his players (as Muschamp has with Floyd), but his discipline for players like Janoris Jenkins left something to be desired. (Even the thrice-arrested Jenkins has said he would still be on UF’s team if Urban Meyer were still the coach.)

Our view: When it comes to running a football program with discipline and caring for his troops, Muschamp is an upgrade. Now, will that lead to a pair of national titles? The jury’s clearly still out.

But UF fans should like the way their fiery new coach is handling his team off the field.

For the record, Floyd’s suspension stems from the fact that he received more than $2,500 in cash over several months (that he used for living and transportation expenses) as well as additional improper benefits prior to enrolling at Florida.

Report: Texas Lawmakers About To Get Involved In SEC Expansion

John — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 04:00:14 +0000

According to Orangebloods.com — the Rivals site covering the University of Texas — lawmakers in the Long Star State are on the verge of involving themselves in Expansionpalooza 2011. If they do, that could potentially be bad news for the SEC.

Until late last week, Texas politicians had given Texas A&M a free-pass to exit and head east to the Southeastern Conference. But now legislators are worried that Texas and Texas Tech could bolt from the Big 12 and race west to the Pac-12. Some/many/most politicos in Texas don’t want to see that happen. So…

According to Orangebloods:

“Sources said the reason lawmakers are hot is that they received assurances from the Big 12, including (UT president Bill) Powers, that the Big 12 would survive without Texas A&M.

And because of those assurances, lawmakers did not take an aggressive stand against Texas A&M withdrawing from the Big 12. But that may be changing.

Sources said members of the Legislature are or will be reaching out to Texas A&M president R. Bowen Loftin to tell him the Aggies may no longer have the blessing of lawmakers to leave the Big 12, especially if it looks like the Big 12 will collapse.”

In addition the site claims that Big 12 sources have said there is “an increasing likelihood of litigation” against the SEC.

Good luck to the Big 12 on that front.

The Big Ten began the expansion craze last summer. The Pac-10 then began flirting with Texas and others in an effort to swipe four- to six-teams from the Big 12, which would have extinguished the conference in one push. The Pac-1o was conducting an all-out raid last summer. By comparison, the SEC simply answered a phone call this July.

When the smoke cleared in 2010, Nebraska had left for the Big Ten and Colorado had departed for the Pac-12 (as it’s now called).

Unless the judge overseeing such a silly case attended Baylor, the Big 12 would have a hard time convincing any sane person that it was actually the third school out the door that destabilized the league. Especially when Oklahoma president David Boren has been making comments like this to the press:

“The Big 12 is not the same Big 12. I was extremely disappointed when Nebraska departed. Disappointed when Colorado departed.”

Missouri football coach Gary Pinkel also stated last week:

“Obviously we have some issues in our league… When Nebraska leaves one year, Colorado leaves and then also now Texas A&M. So it’s three real good football teams (that) are leaving.”

Do a Google search and you’ll find countless other Big 12 figures who’ve been publicly stating the obvious — that Nebraska and Colorado exited and hurt the league a full year before A&M started looking for an escape hatch.

But while a tortious interference case would likely be hard to prove, that doesn’t mean such a lawsuit still couldn’t gum up the works for Mike Slive and the Aggies. The mere threat of a lawsuit could cause SEC presidents to slow down out of fear that the person hearing such a case really would be a Baylor grad… angry that his Bears are in danger of being left for dead in this round of realignment. (Nevermind the fact that the Bears left TCU, SMU, Houston and Rice for dead when Baylor jumped to the Big 12 without remorse in the mid-90s.)

Back in 2003, several Big East schools filed suit against the ACC for a raid that netted the Southern league Boston College, Miami and Virginia Tech. In 2005, the ACC settled that suit for a grand total of $5 million. Pocket change.

But television contracts have jumped to another level since 2005 and the Big 12 — whoever’s left of the Big 12 — would likely ask for a cool billion of SEC cash. Well, even if there were just a 1% chance of losing that kind of cash, the SEC would need to do some serious risk/reward analyses. Perhaps the league would decide to stand pat and not offer A&M a landing spot. If that were to happen, would the Big 12 then be forced to re-admit a suddenly homeless Texas A&M? Now that would be a happy, long-lasting marriage, to be sure.

Bottom line? This thing isn’t over, folks. In some ways, it may just be getting started.

Oh, boy. Great. ’Cause who wants to talk about football?

UPDATE — Pete Thamel of The New York Times reports that Judith Zaffirini — the chairwoman of the Senate Higher Education Committee in Texas — claims the state senate has no intention of getting involved in conference expansion and realignment.

Muschamp Says Brantley’s Ready To Go

John — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 19:40:31 +0000

Earlier this week, Florida quarterback John Brantley said that his sore back is fine and that he’s A-OK to start for the Gators on Saturday. Now Will Muschamp is saying the same thing:

“John’s had a good week, and I’m really pleased with his progress. He’s responded well to the treatments and the different things we’ve done. We’ve got an outstanding medical staff here.”

Luckily for the Gators and Brantley, it’s not likely the Florida Atlantic pass rush will be putting much pressure on the senior Saturday night. Of course, if FAU can get heat on the Gator signal-caller, that’ll be bad news for Muschamp’s squad on a number of levels.

UF’s Brantley Says His Back Is Fine, But What About When He Gets Hit?

John — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 18:48:28 +0000

Over the past few weeks, John Brantley has been dealing with a sore lower back. Even his practice load has been lessened at time as a result. But Florida’s quarterback says he’s A-OK and ready for action:

“I’m feeling good. I’ve been in that training room a lot lately just trying to make it feel good. It’s just been a bunch of little soreness and tightness, nothing major at all.”

Raise your hand if that’s the kind of comment you want to hear your QB making just days before the season opener. Anyone?

Obviously, the big question will come when Brantley takes a hit… especially if it’s a blindside hit. Will he bounce right back up, or will soreness impact his passing mechanics?

Backs can be notoriously slow to heal. Just ask anyone who’s ever dealt with back pain. So for a starting SEC quarterback to be dealing with a sore one before the season even starts, well, it’s far from ideal.

Still, Brantley believes “UF fans are going to like” Charlie Weis’ new offense. “We’re ready to show everybody what we’ve got.”

The senior also says he learned a lot while struggling through a disappointing 2010 campaign. “I definitely learned last year that when things aren’t going right or when things are just going wrong you need to forget about it and just move on.”

Brantley will be working in a new system Saturday against Florida Atlantic. He’ll be hoping that the skill players around him can pick up more of the slack in Weis’ offense than they were able to in Urban Meyer’s spread last season. The last thing he needs to be worried about is his sore back.

Yet as the season opener approaches, that’s a topic he is still having to discuss.

Meyer Keeps Ramping Up The Pressure On Muschamp

John — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 14:56:42 +0000

Urban Meyer’s last Florida team went just 8-5. Now the remaining players from that team are prepping for all new offensive and defensive systems. So what does Meyer think of their chances this fall?

“I think Florida is going to be one of the most underrated teams to come out because I think they’re loaded.”

And that’s why you never ask an ex-coach about the team he left behind. You’ll always hear how there’s talent everywhere. Even if the last coach lost five games with — if anything — a slightly deeper version of that same roster in his final go-round.

“(If they answer questions on) the offensive line and John Brantley gets some help at receiver and their running backs stay healthy, I think they’ll be very good. Their defense is going to be outstanding with those young defensive linemen.”

We don’t disagree that Florida may turn out to the be the biggest surprise in the conference… if you can ever call Florida a “surprise.” But it shouldn’t be Meyer who’s saying that. By doing so, he’s simply upping the pressure on the guy who replaced him.

As for his future, Meyer told The Gainesville Sun that he does miss coaching “very badly” and that he’s currently in an “evaluation phase.” But he also added that it’s the right time to be “working at ESPN and watching my kids play.”

No One’s Job Is Safe After Poor Scrimmage At UF

John — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 14:39:26 +0000

From the sound of it, Will Muschamp is finished trying to ac-cent-tchu-ate the positive in Gainesville. Following a disappointing scrimmage last night, Florida’s new coach said that all jobs are now open.

“We’re going to figure it out tonight. We’re going to look at the tape and get the guys who want to compete and play hard. The ones that don’t… we’re going to go to the next guy…

It was not a lack of effort. It was a lack of focus on what you’re supposed to do and how you’re supposed to do it. During the two-minute drills guys were walking around. There was no sense of urgency about what we were doing and how we do it and how we approach it.

Very frustrating. It’s not everybody. We got a bunch of guys that do it the right way, but not enough. There were not collectively enough guys doing it right.”

Quarterback John Brantley — who missed a scrimmage on Saturday with a sore back — did take part last night, but not fully. Muschamp said he’s expects his QB to be ready for Florida Atlantic next Saturday.

Is Muschamp Spreading Misinformation?

John — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 19:42:39 +0000

Last week Florida running back Chris Rainey and Jeff Demps talked to the press about running the Wildcat package. When Will Muschamp was asked about it yesterday, he sounded like a man who’d simply put out some misinformation to toy with his opponents:

“That’s why we’ve closed everything. I do think it’s an advantage for us this season not to show. What is Charlie (Weis) doing? Is he doing what he did at Notre Dame? Kansas City? New England? How is he using this guy? This guy? This guy? This guy? We put a wild rumor out there about Wildcat. So defensively, are we doing Dan Quinn or Will Muschamp? Are we 3-4 or are we 4-3? I don’t know. That’s why we’ve closed things.”

Then again, all the cloak and dagger talk could have just been a cover for the fact that his running backs really did spill the beans on his super secret Wildcat plans.

Ailing Punter Praises Muschamp For His Support

John — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 16:41:30 +0000

Late last month, senior Florida punter David Lerner was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease, a serious inflammatory disease of the intestines. When Will Muschamp called him to check up on him, Lerner says he told his coach, “My insides feel terrible, but my leg still works.”

As it turns out, Lerner never had to worry about his place on the Gator team:

“Two days after I was diagnosed, Coach called me and said, ‘Whatever you need, we’ll get for you. We want you.’ He was very supportive.

I was definitely depressed with everything that was going on. That kind of gave me hope. That was really helpful and nice of him.

I was definitely worried at first. The doctors and Coach Muschamp and the training staff and all the coaches were very supportive. They said, ‘We’ll get you through this. If you can’t practice, that’s fine, we want you here.’ It was very emotionally helpful.”

Muschamp has equally warm comments for Lerner. “He has never asked to leave the field,” the coach said. “He certainly is an inspiration to me just watching him and how he’s handled himself.”

Lerner is currently battling true freshman Kyle Christy for first-team punting duties.

Our best wishes go out to the young man.