Alligator Army: FanPosts

Why did Sharrif Floyd fall in the first round?

2013-04-30T20:19:31Z

How does a consensus top five pick plummet to 23rd overall? By @AJDownattheOne

General Manager Rick Spielman summed it up perfectly; "With Sharrif Floyd, I went through 1,000 scenarios with that 23rd and 25th pick," he said, "and I can just tell you honestly that he was not [available] in one of those scenarios".

I too can’t quite get my head around Floyd’s plummet. I can’t understand how this isn’t something more are talking about. He was the second best player available on our final draft board and I even went so far as to say that I wouldn’t be surprised if the Chiefs took him first overall! I’m not alone either; ESPN’s Todd McShay and Mel Kiper Jr. also had Floyd similarly as high on their boards and NFL Networks Mike Mayock had Floyd as the second best player available too. Here’s what I said about Floyd in his draft profile:

"…On the field, Floyd has the body of a tackle but the quickness and strength of an end which allows him to sniff out plays in the backfield and make a play on the runner. He's relentless in his efforts to get after the passer and frequently looks to swat the ball at the line. He has a rare combination of explosive power, quickness and agility that separates him from any other defensive tackle in the draft. He doesn't come with a great number of starts but has unquantifiable potential to transition to the next level as a lineman in either the 4-3 or 3-4. He could very well be the best player in the draft and will be very tempting for those selecting with the first two picks."

So what happened? How does a consensus top five pick fall to 23rd overall? Normally when a player plummets on draft day it’s due to characters flaws, whether they be run-ins with the law, failed drug tests or a bad attitude in team interviews. In the 24-hour news cycle of 2013 however, nothing is secret and if a player comes under the header of any of the aforementioned, it’s reported. As far as I can tell, there have been no reports publically of any character concerns. Alternatively, injuries can cause draft stock to fall faster than the value of Enron shares. Floyd’s durability is unquestioned; no red flags were reported at the Combine upon medical evaluations and he played in all 36 games in which he was eligible at Florida.

The best reasoning I’ve come across for Floyd’s fall is due to a lack of statistical output from a pass rush perspective and apparently shorter-than-average arm length. As ESPN’s Kevin Seifert said "…if you're drafting a player in the top 5, you want him to be as close as perfect as possible from a physical and résumé standpoint" but that still doesn’t explain why he plummeted to 23rd overall.

For me, neither of those two justifications are good enough to justify Floyd falling as far as he did. One thing I’ve always worked by is that college production statistic wise should be looked at with a pinch of salt; it’s the film and tape that matters most – that’s the greatest indicator of talent and how it might translate at the next level. Statistics only tell half the story and can be misleading; Player X might rack up 15 sacks in his junior year before declaring for the draft but 6 of those sacks might have come against McNeese State and Northern Arizona, 4 could have come in blitz packages and 2 might have occurred because Player X was unblocked for whatever reason. That leaves only 3 sacks that were earned the way they will be in the NFL; through technique and psychical ability, by beating the lineman in front of you. What you’re left with is a player that looks great on paper but might not have the necessary skill set to translate at the next level.

It’s a two way street. Floyd might have only got 4.5 sacks in his two years starting in Gainesville but who were they against? Did they come in blitzes? Was he double teamed often? Were they actually sacks or are they sacks only on paper? (i.e. a fumbled quarterback/center exchange that the QB fell on and Floyd consequently jumped upon will be recognized as a sack statistically but he was just in the right place as a defensive tackle) Well seeing as I asked, his sacks came in three games, two of which were bowl games which says to me that Floyd isn’t fazed by playing on the biggest stage. He recorded 1.5 sacks against Ohio State in the 2012 Gator Bowl, 1 sack in a rivalry game against 10 Florida State last season (a 16 yard loss might I add, good pursuit of 16th overall pick EJ Manuel there) and 2 sacks in the Sugar Bowl against Louisville. According to ESPN Stats & Information, two of those three sacks last season came against double-teams when the Gators were rushing only four men. Players that don’t offer a threat aren’t double-teamed. Additionally, nine other players on Florida's defense had at least two sacks last season, tied for the third-most in the FBS. Whilst it would be an overstatement to attribute Floyd full credit for that stat, his presence up the middle undoubtedly contributed to others being able to find their way to the passer. So although Floyd didn’t fill the box score, he created opportunities for others and when he did find his way to the quarterback, it was against quality opposition and he fought through double teams on the way.

At the NFL Scouting Combine in February, Floyd's arms measured 31 3/4-inches. That’s shorter than your average defensive tackle and raises concerns that Floyd might struggle to get leverage against longer-armed NFL offensive lineman. The two defensive tackles selected before Floyd – Sheldon Richardson and Star Lotulelei at 13th and 14th respectively – both unsurprisingly had longer arms. Richardson’s measured at 34 1/2-inches and Lotulelei measured at 33 5/8-inches. For me, yes Floyd does have shorter arms but this is just another example of the over-analyzing of everything that happens at the NFL Combine and pro-days. His arms are 1 7/8-inches shorter than Lotulelei’s – NOT EVEN TWO INCHES! If this was a genuine reason that teams passed on a top five talent, the NFL has a big problem. It’s ludicrous.

Six teams that could have easily justified drafting Floyd and would have upgraded their current talent at tackle each passed on him. Tennessee at 10, Oakland at 12, New York at 13, Carolina at 14, New Orleans at 15, and San Francisco at 18 all let Floyd slip by. That so many teams passed on Floyd, including the likes of San Francisco and New Orleans causes alarm bells to ring for me. That in fact might be why he fell; when teams kept passing on him it caused teams to second guess their evaluation of him and opt to go elsewhere. There must be something that caused him to fall but I don’t know what. Statistical production and arm length just don’t cut it for me. Vince Wilfork hardly puts up magnificent sack figures but he sure makes the Patriots pass rusher better. As Kevin Seifert said; "A disruptor can do his work in many ways while falling short in sack totals (and arm length)." The Vikings landed a heck of a player. Time will tell if those teams were wrong to let Floyd slip by. Time might also tell what caused teams to shy from a consensus top five talent. In the meantime, who knows?

If you have any comments or feedback for AJ Young, e-mail AJ@downattheone.com with your thoughts or follow him on Twitter @AJDownattheOne

Gators/Muschamp Release Summer Two-Deep Depth Chart

2013-04-24T21:27:32Z

I wouldn't put a ton of stock into this, as it's more of a formality to release the depth chart before summer practices, but cool/interesting to see how things panned out after Spring:

- OFFENSE -

QB - Jeff Driskel > Tyler Murphy

RB - Matt Jones > Mack Brown

WR1 - Quinton Dunbar > Demarcus Robinson

WR2 - Latroy Pittman > Andre Debose

TE - Clay Burton > Tevin Westbrook OR Kent Taylor OR Colin Thompson

FB - Hunter Joyer > Gideon Ajagbe

F Option - Clay Burton > Latroy Pittman

LT - DJ Humphries > Trenton Brown

LG - Max Garcia > Ian Silberman

C - Jonotthan Harrison > Kyle Koehne

RG - Jon Halapio > Trip Thurman

RT - Tyler Moore OR Chaz Greene

- DEFENSE -

DE - Jonathan Bullard > Bryan Cox Jr.

NT - Damien Jacobs > Leon Orr

DT - Dominique Easley > Darious Cummings

SLB - Ronald Powell > Neiron Ball

MLB - Antonio Morrison > Michael Taylor

WLB - Darrin Kitchens OR Michael Taylor

BUCK - Dante Fowler Jr. > Ronald Powell

RCB - Louchiez Purifoy > Cody Riggs

LCB - Marcus Roberson > Brian Poole

Nickel - Cody Riggs OR Brian Poole

Dime - Marcus Maye > Valdez Showers

S - Jaylen Watkins > Valdez Showers

S - Marcus Maye OR Jabari Gorman

- SPECIAL TEAMS -

K - Brad Phillips > Austin Hardin

P - Kyle Christy

KR - Andre Debose OR Louchiez Purifoy OR Solomon Pittman

PR - Marcus Roberson > Trey Burton

Some interesting things to note/opinions:

Murphy slides in as Driskel's backup (hopefully never seeing playtime) and Mack Brown beat out freshman Kelvin Taylor, which makes sense but I think Taylor will still get some snaps here and there.
WR's are still a toss up at this point, regardless of what the depth chart says. I like that Robinson cracked the front two for the WR1 spot, and I truly believe he'll be the starter by early-mid season.
Offensive line looks solid this year, and hopefully guys can stay healthy. I think Green will out battle Moore for the starting RT spot.
Powell moves over to the SLB spot, looking to make a strong comeback this year. I think he and Fowler Jr. will be battling all year for that BUCK position.
Purifoy is back at the CB positon... I'm confident it won't be the last time we see him line up on the offensive side of the ball.
I think Maye will end up beating out Gorman by the start of the season for the open S slot.
Phillips looks to be go-ahead starter for kicker... I miss Sturgis already...
I could definitely see Hargreaves III pushing some guys for that starting CB spot. Roberson and Purifoy look locked in, but Vernon will get some snaps, possibly at Nickel here and there.

What do you guys think? Is it August yet?!?!

I wouldn't put a ton of stock into this, as it's more of a formality to release the depth chart before summer practices, but cool/interesting to see how things panned out after Spring:

- OFFENSE -

QB - Jeff Driskel > Tyler Murphy

RB - Matt Jones > Mack Brown

WR1 - Quinton Dunbar > Demarcus Robinson

WR2 - Latroy Pittman > Andre Debose

TE - Clay Burton > Tevin Westbrook OR Kent Taylor OR Colin Thompson

FB - Hunter Joyer > Gideon Ajagbe

F Option - Clay Burton > Latroy Pittman

LT - DJ Humphries > Trenton Brown

LG - Max Garcia > Ian Silberman

C - Jonotthan Harrison > Kyle Koehne

RG - Jon Halapio > Trip Thurman

RT - Tyler Moore OR Chaz Greene

- DEFENSE -

DE - Jonathan Bullard > Bryan Cox Jr.

NT - Damien Jacobs > Leon Orr

DT - Dominique Easley > Darious Cummings

SLB - Ronald Powell > Neiron Ball

MLB - Antonio Morrison > Michael Taylor

WLB - Darrin Kitchens OR Michael Taylor

BUCK - Dante Fowler Jr. > Ronald Powell

RCB - Louchiez Purifoy > Cody Riggs

LCB - Marcus Roberson > Brian Poole

Nickel - Cody Riggs OR Brian Poole

Dime - Marcus Maye > Valdez Showers

S - Jaylen Watkins > Valdez Showers

S - Marcus Maye OR Jabari Gorman

- SPECIAL TEAMS -

K - Brad Phillips > Austin Hardin

P - Kyle Christy

KR - Andre Debose OR Louchiez Purifoy OR Solomon Pittman

PR - Marcus Roberson > Trey Burton

Some interesting things to note/opinions:

Murphy slides in as Driskel's backup (hopefully never seeing playtime) and Mack Brown beat out freshman Kelvin Taylor, which makes sense but I think Taylor will still get some snaps here and there.
WR's are still a toss up at this point, regardless of what the depth chart says. I like that Robinson cracked the front two for the WR1 spot, and I truly believe he'll be the starter by early-mid season.
Offensive line looks solid this year, and hopefully guys can stay healthy. I think Green will out battle Moore for the starting RT spot.
Powell moves over to the SLB spot, looking to make a strong comeback this year. I think he and Fowler Jr. will be battling all year for that BUCK position.
Purifoy is back at the CB positon... I'm confident it won't be the last time we see him line up on the offensive side of the ball.
I think Maye will end up beating out Gorman by the start of the season for the open S slot.
Phillips looks to be go-ahead starter for kicker... I miss Sturgis already...
I could definitely see Hargreaves III pushing some guys for that starting CB spot. Roberson and Purifoy look locked in, but Vernon will get some snaps, possibly at Nickel here and there.

What do you guys think? Is it August yet?!?!

anonymous scout Hatin on Shariff Floyd

2013-04-22T22:07:22Z

According to rivals.com on inside the gators, a nfl scout spoke to Bob Mcginn of the Milwaulke sentinel about Floyd. After knocking his arm length with two other scouts, the hater went on to say that tv blew him up and then said the guy was not that good. Hold up! Not that good? Seriously? First of all how does this guy have the guts to say hes not that good, but remained anonomous? He probably knew if his GM found out, he would b fired for not being able to judge great talent and huge nfl upside. Smh. Wat ya think gatornation?

anonymous scout Hatin on Shariff Floyd

2013-04-22T22:03:46Z

will muschamp is not the man for the job.

2013-04-21T23:13:02Z

Ok, please forgive me but in my opinion muschamp is not the man for thid job. Im a gator livin here in louisville ky. Before charlie took over from kragthorpe this program had lack of discipline and no sense of urgency. Strong turned that around immediately. Yes they went 6-6 and won a mediocre bowl game but you can tell this guy showed major impact on the program. Florida is not disciplined most penalized and show no sense of urgency. Louisville should not have beat us in the sugar bowl with our athletes. Like it or not but i dont care he went 11-2. Look at the big picture, fans are not really rallying behind him. Just look at the attendance at the sugar bowl and spring game. It was pitiful. The only reason why our offense is hanging on by a thread is because of brent pease. Muschamp may just be a dc not head coach. Im surprised we won that many games last year. His system will not work. You may not agree but trust me, i told you so will be my next post. Bad days ahead for sure

App to track Gators in NFL & NBA

2013-04-19T17:39:58Z

Hey all,

A buddy of mine recently created an app called "Draftpedia" that tracks NBA and NFL draft data, rosters, and statistics from the last 40+ years. It lets you sort the data in a lot of different ways - one way is by college so you can see and track every pro that attended Florida in a single list (which then allows you to see year-by-year stats for every player). It should be a great reference tool for sports history and random trivia.

If you're interested, here's the download link for iPhones/iPads (it's free):
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/draf...562159411?mt=8

----------------------------------------------------------

Here's a press release from the Wall Street Journal (http://online.wsj.com/article/PR-CO-20130417-908281.html?mod=googlenews_wsj):

Draftpedia's iPhone App Launches for All NBA & NFL Draft Fans

SANTA MONICA, CA--(Marketwired - April 17, 2013) - Draftpedia, the only iPhone app with NFL & NBA draft history, is now available free in the App Store. Built exclusively for mobile, Draftpedia has 30+ years of draft history, past team rosters, draft info for every player's alma mater and statistics for every current player.

Roommates David Rabie and Joe Sarafian hatched the idea for Draftpedia on the couch during a Clipper game. Discussing Kenyon Martin's historically poor draft class, Joe asked why consumers had to rely on searching Wikipedia for the answer. "As Gen Y sports enthusiasts, what has driven us this entire time is to build an app that makes our lives easier," said David Rabie, Co-Founder.

"Given the competition, we knew that our edge would come with speed, efficiency and design. We built a database of information that is stored within the app -- eliminating any loading time between screens and allowing the app to function offline," said Co-Founder Joe Sarafian. The information is presented in clear, easy-to-use tables and is all linkable, offering multiple ways for users to navigate within the app.

Launching just in time for the 2013 NFL Draft, Draftpedia is the ultimate reference guide for any sports fan looking for historical data including:

-- 40+ Years of Past Drafts

-- 30 Years of Team Rosters

-- Every Division 1 College's NFL/NBA Alumni

-- Breakdown by Nationality (NBA) and Pick (NFL)

-- Statistics for Every Current Player

"Next time you're debating a player's alma mater or comparing draft classes, Draftpedia is your best solution," said Rabie.

About Draftpedia

Draftpedia consolidates information about past NFL & NBA drafts in a convenient and fast iPhone app. It has every draft year of the modern era, lists of professional players from every D1 College, past rosters for every team and statistics for every current player. Founded in 2012, Draftpedia is based in Santa Monica, CA. For more information, visit www.draftpedia.com.

Hey all,

If you're interested, here's the download link for iPhones/iPads (it's free):
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/draf...562159411?mt=8

----------------------------------------------------------

Here's a press release from the Wall Street Journal (http://online.wsj.com/article/PR-CO-20130417-908281.html?mod=googlenews_wsj):

Draftpedia's iPhone App Launches for All NBA & NFL Draft Fans

SANTA MONICA, CA--(Marketwired - April 17, 2013) - Draftpedia, the only iPhone app with NFL & NBA draft history, is now available free in the App Store. Built exclusively for mobile, Draftpedia has 30+ years of draft history, past team rosters, draft info for every player's alma mater and statistics for every current player.

Roommates David Rabie and Joe Sarafian hatched the idea for Draftpedia on the couch during a Clipper game. Discussing Kenyon Martin's historically poor draft class, Joe asked why consumers had to rely on searching Wikipedia for the answer. "As Gen Y sports enthusiasts, what has driven us this entire time is to build an app that makes our lives easier," said David Rabie, Co-Founder.

"Given the competition, we knew that our edge would come with speed, efficiency and design. We built a database of information that is stored within the app -- eliminating any loading time between screens and allowing the app to function offline," said Co-Founder Joe Sarafian. The information is presented in clear, easy-to-use tables and is all linkable, offering multiple ways for users to navigate within the app.

Launching just in time for the 2013 NFL Draft, Draftpedia is the ultimate reference guide for any sports fan looking for historical data including:

-- 40+ Years of Past Drafts

-- 30 Years of Team Rosters

-- Every Division 1 College's NFL/NBA Alumni

-- Breakdown by Nationality (NBA) and Pick (NFL)

-- Statistics for Every Current Player

"Next time you're debating a player's alma mater or comparing draft classes, Draftpedia is your best solution," said Rabie.

About Draftpedia

Draftpedia consolidates information about past NFL & NBA drafts in a convenient and fast iPhone app. It has every draft year of the modern era, lists of professional players from every D1 College, past rosters for every team and statistics for every current player. Founded in 2012, Draftpedia is based in Santa Monica, CA. For more information, visit www.draftpedia.com.

2014 Football Recruiting

2013-04-07T02:22:27Z

So far, as of April 6th 2013, the Florida Gators have 9 Recruits committed and all look to be great recruits.

5* Dalvin Cook (RB)
4*'s Will Grier (QB), Ryeshene Bronson (WR), Duke Dawson (DB), Christian Miller (LB/DE) and Anthony Moten (DT)
3*'s Travaris Dorsey (G), Joseph Paul (G/OT), and Benjamin Knox (OT)

I'm not sure if any would decommit, but my money would be one of the offensive lineman if a guy like David Sharpe commits, but after this spring game nightmare I hope to God not.

Sharpe is giving a lot of interest to Florida, and Kentucky commit Denzel Ware (DE) is apparently close to flipping. Here's hoping and here's hoping for another great recruiting year. Go Gators!

So far, as of April 6th 2013, the Florida Gators have 9 Recruits committed and all look to be great recruits.

5* Dalvin Cook (RB)
4*'s Will Grier (QB), Ryeshene Bronson (WR), Duke Dawson (DB), Christian Miller (LB/DE) and Anthony Moten (DT)
3*'s Travaris Dorsey (G), Joseph Paul (G/OT), and Benjamin Knox (OT)

I'm not sure if any would decommit, but my money would be one of the offensive lineman if a guy like David Sharpe commits, but after this spring game nightmare I hope to God not.

Sharpe is giving a lot of interest to Florida, and Kentucky commit Denzel Ware (DE) is apparently close to flipping. Here's hoping and here's hoping for another great recruiting year. Go Gators!

Why is there no Baltimore Gator Club?

2013-03-26T20:09:49Z

The DC Gator Club covers all of Maryland, including Baltimore. In all the other cases where a Gator Club covers multiple large cities close together, the name reflects that. The San Francisco Bay Area Gator Club cover San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose. The Triad Gator Club covers Greensboro, Winston-Salem, and High Point. The Triangle Gator Club covers Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill. They didn't just call the Triangle, the Raleigh Gator Club.

So what's the deal with DC and Baltimore?

March Madness General Thread

2013-03-24T01:53:39Z

As noted elsewhere by davidkennedy5250, comments for non-UF games are scattered throughout several threads so here's a place to keep them all together.

I'd envision this thread as a forum for trash talking about bracket standings, pot shots at UK for losing to Robert Morris, derogatory comments concerning Marshall Henderson, moaning about flagrant foul review lengths, freedom from toddler twins, etc... Let the Doug Gottlieb bashing begin in 5...4...3...2...1...

As noted elsewhere by davidkennedy5250, comments for non-UF games are scattered throughout several threads so here's a place to keep them all together.

Burn the Orange "Cousin Oliver" Jerseys!

2013-03-16T03:15:01Z

Just in case you needed to see the cold, hard numbers, here they are, courtesy of GatorZone:

WHITE OUT

Fans love to talk about uniforms, certainly more than the players and coaches.

This is a stat both will like: Florida improved to 19-0 this season when wearing its white uniforms. The Gators are 6-4 in their blue uniforms and 0-2 in their orange.

0-2 in the orange. As in, we lose 100% of the time we wear those dud duds.

Stop the insanity and stop wearing orange.

Go Gators!

Just in case you needed to see the cold, hard numbers, here they are, courtesy of GatorZone:

WHITE OUT

Fans love to talk about uniforms, certainly more than the players and coaches.

This is a stat both will like: Florida improved to 19-0 this season when wearing its white uniforms. The Gators are 6-4 in their blue uniforms and 0-2 in their orange.

0-2 in the orange. As in, we lose 100% of the time we wear those dud duds.

Stop the insanity and stop wearing orange.

Go Gators!

Early Preview of The 2013 Florida Gators: The Running Backs & Fullbacks

2013-02-25T01:15:02Z

I'm back, I apologize for taking a while to get this post published. I've been profoundly occupied with school work this week, unfortunately. However, I'm thrilled to talk about this year's group of running backs and fullbacks. Florida's only significant departure from this year's group is Mike Gillislee. Gillislee became the first Florida running back since 2004 (Ciatrick Fason) to have ran over 1000 yards (finish with 1152 rushing yards). I knew Gillislee would accomplish this feat when I was a 13 year old that's why I had him as my user name ("Gillislee23"), it was just a matter of when. Gillislee is projected to be a 3rd-5th round draft pick in this year's NFL Draft (ranked #6 RB via ESPN). However, this particular departure doesn't mean we don't have something to anticipate for going into this year.

We also lost Omarius Hines and Chris Johnson as well. Omarius Hines graduated with an anthropology degree. Although his NFL future is somewhat unlikely, he should still be remembered as a true Florida Gator. He's been with the program for five years, and his playing time was pretty marginal for most of his career due to his lack of ability to find his permanent position. The fact that he never quit nor transfer to another program for playing time will always be appreciated by me and my peers. I began rooting for him to get more playing time as I did for Gillislee, because he earned it and made plays. Omarius Hines will be solely missed for his efforts.

As for Chris Johnson, he transferred from Florida after two years. He was a three-star prospect from Trinity Catholic High School in Ocala, FL. This guy was in a similar situation as Omarius Hines, but worse. This kid is too slow to play safety (the position he started out as), and too small to play linebacker, so that left him one position for his frame. That position is running back, but he couldn't bypass the 4th spot on the depth chart. So he made the wise decision to transfer to a program where he can make an impact, because he's still a good athlete with potential.

We return Matt Jones, Mack Brown, Trey Burton, and Hunter Joyer to the backfield for this year. We also add a superb running back in Kelvin Taylor and an underrated back in Adam Lane. I expect a competition in the spring or in fall camp for every spot on the depth chart for the running backs. As for the fullbacks, everything should be the same as last year. I expect Trey Burton to change positions before the season starts.

I predict that Matt Jones will take over as the starting running back of the Florida Gators. Jones is now a sophomore, who struggled in the beginning of his freshman year, but steadily improved late in the season. Jones is a massive 6'2 and 230lbs running back, who could also run a 4.5 in the 40yd dash. So not only does Jones have power, but he also has an exceptional speed burst and lateral quickness. In my opinion, I believe Matt will eventually surpass the legacy of any running back that has ever played for Florida in the 21st century thus far (remember I said 21st century). He has all the talent to do so it's just a matter of his maturity and the talent around him. He already has one of the best fullbacks in the nation in Hunter Joyer. The offensive line was pretty mediocre last year, but I believe we've gotten rid of all the weak spread lineman that Meyer recruited. So we should be better this year on the line of scrimmage, now Matt Jones has to take advantage of it. He reminds me much of a Stephen Jackson of the St.Louis Rams.

As for Mack Brown, I have serious questions about this guy. He has been in this program for three years now, yet he still hasn't met the expectations coming out of Martin Luther King High School in Lithonia, GA. Mack Brown is now a redshirt junior, during his three previous years he had never ran over 40yds in a game. Now he's in serious trouble, because he got beat by Matt Jones for the 2nd spot last year, this time he has to hold off a more talented running back in Kelvin Taylor. Mack Brown needs to either do everything he can to outwork the freshman or transfer to another program. Due to his lack of consistency in practice (according to Coach Muschamp) and in games, I see Kelvin Taylor taking the 2nd spot in the depth chart.

The fullback trio of Trey Burton and Hunter Joyer may not last long. Trey Burton may be making a switch to wide receiver, if the freshmans don't pan out their first year. Hunter Joyer in my opinion is arguably the 2nd best fullback in the nation (behind Trey Millard of Oklahoma), so why not make him the permanent fullback ? I understand Trey Burton plays a countless number of positions, but he's also taking reps from Joyer as a fullback. I would consider Trey at tight end if anything, due to the fact they have no proven players at tight end. I expect another great season from Hunter Joyer as he takes over as the permanent fullback.

Now as for the newcomers, or freshmans. Kelvin Taylor is a prestigious running back out of Belle Glades, FL. Kelvin is the son of the former great, Fred Taylor, who went on to be the State of Florida's leading rusher in history. Kelvin doesn't inherit great break away speed, only running a 4.63 in the 40yd dash in high school. However, he does inherits phenomenal lateral quickness which allows him to be very elusive in open space. He also possesses the ability to read a hole or open gap pretty expeditiously, which allows him to gain more yards expected. He may be the quickest on the team when it comes to reading a hole, which why I compared him to Mark Ingram. Both guys are small and built, lacking great burner speed, but both excellent at reading a hole and have exceptional lateral quickness. Kelvin also possesses the power to break arm tackles and run it right through you. He has great hands as well and a pretty good blocker as well. His only weakness is his speed burst, which is why he's been rated the #1 running back by ESPN. These are his highlights http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYpYkJaxgdI

As for Adam Lane, he's an underrated running back from Winter Haven High School in Winter Haven, FL. This guy looks like a beast, I mean the dude is massive. He's 5'8 and 218lbs of full muscle. He only runs a 4.7 in the 40yd dash, but he can also run that speed in pads which is pretty fast. Don't take my word for it,just watch his highlights yourself (At the end of the paragraph) and you tell me. He tore his ACL during his junior year which slowed him down a bit, but he responded with a splendid senior season. He managed to play all 12 games in the season and ran for 1624yds and 12TDs in his senior season. Adam has excellent power and he has pretty good lateral quickness as well. His best asset would be his vision, he can read a hole almost as fast as Kelvin Taylor, but he can read his next tackler approaching faster than Kelvin can. Adam reminds me of a Ray Rice, stocky and small built, doesn't impress you with his measurables but gives you lots of production. I still question how good of a blocker Adam Lane is, but I'm sure that will improve once he gets coached up by our staff. These are his highlights http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbBKufwSL_4

For some reason the site won't let me link the highlights so just copy and paste it to a new tab to watch.

My Running Back Depth Chart Projections

1. Matt Jones

2. Kelvin Taylor

3. Adam Lane

4. Mack Brown

My Fullback Depth Chart Projections

1. Hunter Joyer

2. Trey Burton

My Season Projections

Matt Jones: 12GP, 12GS, 268 carries, 1718 rushing yards, 6.4 ypc, 21 TDs, 3 fumbles, 143.16 ypg, 14 catches, 153 receiving yds, 10.92 ypc 1 TDs, 5 drops.

Kelvin Taylor: 11GP, 0GS, 152 carries, 678 rushing yards, 4.46 ypc, 10 TDs 1 fumble, 61.63 ypg, 25 catches, 284 receiving yds, 11.36 ypc, 3 TDs, 2 drops.

Adam Lane: 8GP, 0GP, 34 carries, 217 rushing yards, 6.38 ypc, 1 TDs, 1 fumble, 27.1 ypg, 1 catch, 2 receiving yards, 2.0 ypc, 0 TDs, 0 drops.

Mack Brown: 9GP, 0GS, 21 carries, 97 rushing yards, 4.62 ypc, 0 TDs, 2 fumbles, 15.8 ypg, 0 catches, 0 receiving yards, 0.0 ypc, 0 TDs, 1 drop.

Hunter Joyer: 12GP, 12GS, 8 carries, 15 rushing yards, 1.88 ypc, 1 TDs, 0 fumbles, 1.25 ypg, 4 catches, 21 receiving yards, 5.25 ypc, 0 TDs, 2 drops.

Trey Burton: 12GP, 0GS, 32 carries, 236 rushing yards, 7.38 ypc, 4 TDs, 1 fumble, 19.67 ypg, 31 catches, 423 receiving yards, 13.65 ypc, 5 TDs, 3 drops.

Look I know the numbers look ridiculous and I know it seems impossible. How do I know you guys will say this? Because I said as a 13 year old in 2009 that Mike Gillislee was the best running back on the team and the only one on that team who had a chance to touch a 1000 yards. When I said that, everyone laughed at me and said "that's a typical comment for a 13 year old". I don't sound so dumb now do I ? Most Gator fans were surprised of how well Gillislee played last season. I wasn't, I expected this for the past 4 years, but Chris Rainey and Jeff Demps got in the way of that. I also predicted a 10-2 regular season, we went 11-1 when most fans wanted to play it safe and predict an 8-4 or 9-3 season. I don't just go by the skills of the players, I also look at who we play and schemes of the opposing team, there are numerous amount of reasons for why I predict these numbers. So let's not be so quick to judge, let's just see what happens first. Thank you for reading, I'll try to get the post on the wide receivers & tight ends as soon as I can. Remember you can follow me on twitter, @QUAY4MVP, I will follow back.

Poll

Who would you start at running back ?

Matt Jones

31 votes

Kelvin Taylor

4 votes

Adam Lane

1 votes

Mack Brown

0 votes

36 votes | Poll has closed

Mid-Late Season Gator Basketball Review Podcast

2013-02-19T05:33:13Z

So, yes. I did not do a game review of the Sugar Bowl. Do you blame me? Instead I have decided to come back to review the Gator's Basketball Season up to this point. Since I know way less about basketball than I do about football (I really don't know that much about basketball,) I brought in Andy to talk us through the season thus far. We'll probably be back next month to preview the tournament and do a review of the SEC tournament and Florida's full basketball season. You can also listen to me mispronounce Nerlens Noel's name.

Until then, you can listen to our review of Florida's season thus far on the hardwood (that's the right basketball term right?)

Show notes:

Roster review: We cover pretty much all the major contributors.

Recruiting: Why Florida does it differently than Kentucky.

Past game coverage: We talk about Florida State's hilarious loss to us at the beginning of the season, and other things.

Future game coverage: Andy gives us his guess of each game going forward.

In any case, it was a lot of fun to do, and I hope you guys enjoy listening to it.

Check GatorPodcast on YouTube for past episodes!

Until then, you can listen to our review of Florida's season thus far on the hardwood (that's the right basketball term right?)

Show notes:

Roster review: We cover pretty much all the major contributors.

Recruiting: Why Florida does it differently than Kentucky.

Past game coverage: We talk about Florida State's hilarious loss to us at the beginning of the season, and other things.

Future game coverage: Andy gives us his guess of each game going forward.

In any case, it was a lot of fun to do, and I hope you guys enjoy listening to it.

Check GatorPodcast on YouTube for past episodes!

Gators Enjoy Weekend Full of "Winning"

2013-02-11T05:14:17Z

Kim Klement-US PRESSWIRE

Charlie Sheen jokes aside, this weekend was a pretty glorious one for our guys and girls teams donning orange and blue.

GYMNASTICS jump started the weekend in grand fashion by avenging its narrow 2nd place finish to Alabama in last year's NCAA Super Six Championships. The Gators were eager to face the defending national champs and didn't disappoint, scoring its second highest team total in school history in the 198.10 - 196.850 victory over Alabama Friday night in Gainesville. Freshman Bridget Sloan (the youngest member of the 2008 US Olympic silver medal team) paced the Gators by winning the all-around title with 39.675 - her collegiate best. But the entire Gators squad was so good Friday that the team dropped 9.8s as low scores on two different events. The Gators head up to Athens next Saturday where they will face the UGA Gymdogs at 4pm. I'll be there cheering on our girls, while the rest of my family will be pulling for the home team (Boo).

MEN'S TENNIS improved to 6-0 on the season as the No. 11 Gators defeated FSU 5-2 in Tallahassee on Friday, which is always a reason to celebrate. I often give the men's tennis team a hard time in my posts, but I think it's just because the women's team makes them look bad.

SOFTBALL began this weekend as the No. 14/15 Gators participated in the Kajikawa Classic, hosted by Arizona State in Tempe. The Gators are ranked a little lower than we're used to as there are seven newcomers on Florida's 16 player roster this season - six freshman and a transfer. The Gators were picked to finish 4th in the SEC East this season in what appears to be a rebuilding year. But the Gators jelled quickly as they defeated Creighton 13-3 Friday afternoon, before taking out No. 5/6 Oregon in the nightcap 1-0. Sophomore and Arizona native Lauren Haeger picked up the Creighton win, while junior Hannah Rogers hurled a five hit shutout to earn the win against the Ducks.

The fast start continued Saturday as the Gators downed Cal State Northridge 7-0 before upsetting No. 3 Cal 7-3. Sophomore Alyssa Bache tossed a 4 hit shutout to earn the victory in the Northridge contest while Rogers earned the win against Cal. And to finish off a perfect weekend, the Gators wrecked No. 13/14 Arizona 13-4 on Sunday as Haeger earned her second win of the weekend.

On offense, Florida was led by freshman Kelsey Stewart who batted .556 (10 for 18) with a 1.111 slugging percentage, 10 runs, two doubles, a triple, two home runs, five RBI and five stolen bases throughout the three-day tournament. Not a bad start to a collegiate career, is it? I think we might want to get to know these ladies. Early indications are that they can play some ball.

LACROSSE also played its season opener this weekend as the No.5 Gators traveled to Chapel Hill Saturday to face No.3 UNC (this is the fourth straight year the Gators have had to face UNC in Chapel Hill - are we ever going to get a home game in this rivalry?!) The fourth time proved to be the charm though, as the Gators finally beat the Tar Heels 5-3. Florida was forced to come from behind facing a 3-1 deficit at the half, but Senior Goalie Mikey Meagher blanked UNC in the second half. It was the first time that Gators won a match it trailed at halftime. This is the fourth year of the UF lacrosse program, so the roster contains twelve seniors who have helped build the program from scratch (along with twelve freshman eager to take the reigns and continue building). Wouldn't it be fitting for this senior class to bring Florida its first national title?

WOMEN'S HOOPS also got in on the winning ways Saturday, as Florida defeated Auburn 65-57 in Auburn - it's first road win against the Tigers since 2004. Freshman Christin Mercer led the Gators with twelve points.

MEN'S HOOPS got back to their winning ways with a 83-58 drubbing of Mississippi State in Gainesville. You can read all about it here, as well as Florida's injury concerns with Kentucky coming to town this Tuesday.

TRACK AND FIELD teams did their thing as a split squad in Blacksburg and Seattle as FlaGators so eloquently reported here, breaking records in the process (the Gators T&F athletes broke the records, not FlaGators).

MEN'S GOLF ruined what could have been a perfect weekend for Jeremy Foley's sports program. The Gators finished a disappointing fourth in the SunTrust Gator Invitational it hosted in Gainesville this weekend. As if the fourth place finish wasn't bad enough by itself, FSU won the tournament, and FSU wins in Gainesville are always a bad thing.

So seven of our eight teams did us proud this weekend. Come on golf - get with the program!

Kim Klement-US PRESSWIRE

Charlie Sheen jokes aside, this weekend was a pretty glorious one for our guys and girls teams donning orange and blue.

So seven of our eight teams did us proud this weekend. Come on golf - get with the program!

I'm back. Early preview of the 2013 Florida Gators of future and the quarterbacks.

2013-02-10T20:51:59Z

Its been a while since I last posted on this site. We'll hit on the Gators in just a second, but I just want to re-introduce myself. My name is Qualand Holland, I was posting on this site as a 14 year old (now 17), because I wanted to pursue a career in sport journalism or analyst. I used to be logged in as "Gillislee23", I'm not sure anyone remember me and my post but that doesn't matter I'm just happy to be back and excited to talk about the Florida Gators.

Now enough about me and now we move on to the Florida Gators. We had a pretty efficacious season for the most part. I predicted the Gators would finish 10-2 in the regular season with losses to LSU and South Carolina. I wasn't off by much, except the South Carolina game (44-11, South Carolina simply was no match for the Gators). This brief turnaround from a 7-6 season to a 11-2 season is an encouraging sign of how Will Muschamp will lead this team from this point on. Florida finally has a consensus first-team All-American in the stout safety Matt Elam, first since 2009 (Brandon Spikes, Aaron Hernandez, Joe Haden, Maurkice Pouncey). Its also been reported that 10 former players were invited to the NFL combine this year, thats an improvement from only three being invited last year.

Next years team should be good as well, but I don't know if we can repeat the 11-2 performance that we did this past year. Why ? Well we were relying on our defense this past season because of our atrocious offense, and now most of our playmakers on that defense are gone along with our only offensive weapon Mike Gillislee. We lost Sharrif Floyd, Matt Elam, Jelani Jenkins, and Jordan Reed left early for the draft. We also lost Omar Hunter, Mike Gillislee, James Wilson, and Josh Evans due to finished eligibility. Well with these players gone I'm somewhat worried, because I can't believe nor expect Jeff Driskel to improve as a passer. With a young defense learning and gaining experience, Jeff Driskel can't afford to be throwing a mediocre 126.61 passing yards per game.

With Muschamp's decision to have no QB competition this spring, it looks like we'll have to stick with Jeff Driskel unfortunately. The other QBs are Tyler Murphy, Skyler Morningweg, and incoming freshman Max Staver. Tyler Murphy is now a redshirt junior from Wethersfield, CT. With Jacoby Brissett's transfer, Murphy is now the favorite to be the 2nd string QB but he'll have to fight off redshirt freshman Skyler Morningweg. Morningweg, is a redshirt freshman from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He's also the son of the New York Jets new offensive coordinator Marty Morningweg. Skyler carries the skills of being about to read a defense quickly, his delivery is the quickest on the team, and some athleticism, not like Jeff Driskel, but he was capable of running a 4.68 in the 40yd dash during high school. This is his high school highlights http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNwuXnqnwWc. I really like Skyler he has some deficiencies with accuracy and footwork, but I believe he'll ultimately win the backup job behind Jeff Driskel.

As for Max Staver, he's a big 6'6 and 238lbs freshman from Brentwood, TN. This guy has a pretty powerful arm and acceptable accuracy as well. He makes very brilliant reads as well maybe just as good as Skyler. However, Max lacks any athleticism what so ever only running a 5.12 in the 40yd dash in high school. Due to what happen this past season and our offensive line, his lack of athleticism can probably stall his chances of going anywhere but 4th on the QB depth chart this season. I know he ran a spread option and a little bit of a pistol formation in high school, but he simply won't be agile enough to elude pressure in the SEC at his speed. His high school highlights http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60qjw58NCBw.

My Depth Chart Projections

1.Jeff Driskel

2.Skyler Morningweg

3.Tyler Murphy

4.Max Staver

My Stats Projections

Jeff Driskel: 12 GP, 12 GS, 65.8%, 2456 passing yds, 19 TDs, 8 Ints, 204.66ypg, 99 carries, 341 rushing yards, 8 TDs, 4 Fumbles lost, 28.41ypg.

Skyler Morningweg: 3 GP, 0 GS, 75.5%, 212 passing yds, 0 TDs, 0 Ints, 17.66ypg, 2 carries, 6 rushing yards, 0 TDs, 0 Fumbles lost, 0.5ypg.

Tyler Murphy: Won't play, will be scouting like usual.

Max Staver: Redshirt

Alright, thats all for the QBs. If you are interested then catch my next article about the running backs soon. Feel free to comment I like hearing opinions and constructive criticism. Any questions ? then comment I will reply within 24 hours or you can follow me on twitter: QUAY4MVP. Thanks for reading.

My Depth Chart Projections

1.Jeff Driskel

2.Skyler Morningweg

3.Tyler Murphy

4.Max Staver

My Stats Projections

Jeff Driskel: 12 GP, 12 GS, 65.8%, 2456 passing yds, 19 TDs, 8 Ints, 204.66ypg, 99 carries, 341 rushing yards, 8 TDs, 4 Fumbles lost, 28.41ypg.

Skyler Morningweg: 3 GP, 0 GS, 75.5%, 212 passing yds, 0 TDs, 0 Ints, 17.66ypg, 2 carries, 6 rushing yards, 0 TDs, 0 Fumbles lost, 0.5ypg.

Tyler Murphy: Won't play, will be scouting like usual.

Max Staver: Redshirt

Poll

Who do you believe should be the second strng QB ?

Skyler Morningweg

11 votes

Tyler Murphy

5 votes

Max Staver

3 votes

19 votes | Poll has closed

Michael Frazier Emerges As Yet Another Explosive Player, Lost In Blowout

2013-01-31T18:40:46Z

With the Gators' starting five getting most of the love, freshman reserve Michael Frazier chipped in what might have been his best effort as a Gator, or at least one of them.

The best part: nobody around the country noticed, because all everybody was talking about was how Florida doubled up a team from its conference for the third time in school history, and how Florida once again proved that they are the class of the SEC by near record proportions.

Nobody cared to mention Frazier, who was Florida's third leading scorer and second leading rebounder despite not playing as many minutes as four of the five starters. Simply put, Frazier may have had the best game ever for somebody who didn't even rate a mention in the ESPN.com game recap (written by the Associated Press).

That's fine with me, and I'm sure with Frazier and Billy Donovan, too.

Frazier adds another dimension to the Gators that could ultimately be the difference in March: depth. It's one thing for a team to have five players who can do damage; it's quite another to have somebody on the bench who is capable of inflicting the same damage with a fresh pair legs. The Gators have two such players on the bench: Will Yeguette and Frazier. Yeguette is an excellent backup to Patric Young (he actually has more rebounds than Young), but we knew about him already. He has already established himself in Gainesville. There was even an entire section in the O'Dome wearing mohawks to pay tribute to Yeguette (and I guess Scottie Wilbekin, who also sports a mohawk). Meanwhile, aside from a 17 point explosion against Marquette, Frazier has done little to suggest that he is just as much of a threat as Kenny Boynton or Mike Rosario... until last night.

Hitting on four of six attempts from beyond the three point line and pulling in seven rebounds definitely qualifies Frazier as a threat. Now Florida (and South Carolina) fans know what he can do off the bench, just in case they missed the Marquette game. Yeguette and Casey Prather (when healthy) give the Gators great depth in the paint, and now Donovan has discovered (or at least verified) another proven option to go to on the perimeter.

That's going to be a serious problem for opponents in the NCAA Tournament, because for every threat wearing orange and blue, the other team has to have an answer. Otherwise, Florida is going to have a mismatch- either on the floor or on the bench. No matter the situation, this is critical.

There could be a day when Boynton, Erik Murphy and Rosario combine to go two for fifteen from beyond the arc, or maybe one of them is sick or hurt. None of us have even considered such blasphemous thoughts, because of the complete and utter dominance Florida has displayed. Most of the people who do know of Frazier just think of him as yet another guy to help pour it on an overmatched opponent. But he could also prove to be the Gators' savior should the starters not play well. It's a percentage game; of the men on the Gators' 12 man roster, add one to the list of players you feel comfortable with making big plays. Whether in a blowout or an emergency, it's always great to have that extra guy be ready to contribute.

But again, much in the same way people don't notice Erik Murphy, nobody is going to know Michael Frazier based off of last night's performance. It was good, but not good enough to be showered with attention, which actually works out better for the Gators.

Next up for the Gators: a showdown in the O'Dome with Mississippi that admittedly lost some of its luster after Kentucky beat up on Ole Miss. The way the Gators are playing, it's likely going to be another episode of the (insert player here) Show. The Rebels, who were unceremoniously torched for 87 to Kentucky (and 50 in the second half), may be desperate to keep from entering a free fall, but the Gators have to be hungrily licking their chops after seeing the Rebels' lack of depth get exposed in the second half of their loss to the Wildcats.

Ask Billy Donovan. His favorite matchup is a team without depth. It's what builds confidence in Michael Frazier, which will pay dividends in March.

With the Gators' starting five getting most of the love, freshman reserve Michael Frazier chipped in what might have been his best effort as a Gator, or at least one of them.

That's fine with me, and I'm sure with Frazier and Billy Donovan, too.

Ask Billy Donovan. His favorite matchup is a team without depth. It's what builds confidence in Michael Frazier, which will pay dividends in March.