MILLER REPORT: My Christmas wishes

There just isn’t much to talk about right now with the Gator program. When they said “dead period” they meant it. I will be glad when this period is buried. Things are brutally quiet around the football team right now which made a fairly minor indiscretion by Treon Harris and two fellow players the topic for much discussion this week. The incident should be next to meaningless in the overall scheme of things although I would caution Harris to put a little more thought into his actions in the future. Coaches want a starting quarterback that they feel they can rely on and it would be best to keep out of conflicts with authorities if possible. Still, this was about as minor an incident as it can be.

So, while things are slow and quiet around the Gator athletic department, let me list a few things I would like for my Gator Christmas gifts.

I would like this to be the beginning of a football team that appears at least moderately competent in all three facets of the game, defense, offense AND special teams. I want an offensive coaching staff that seems to have an idea of what they want the Gators’ offensive identity to be week in and week out. As much fun as it is to play “guess the scheme” every game, I would prefer just a little comfort zone. While I’m at it can I also have a group of players who grasp that they are fortunate to have the opportunities that being a scholarship athlete provides and behave accordingly? I realize that is a stretch. And I would also like a season where it doesn’t seem like every player with any remote possibility of playing in the NFL bolts early while our rivals somehow keep the bulk of their talent for four and five years. I get that I am being selfish on that one, but I stand by the request.

As long as we are talking about college football here, would it be too much to ask for both Florida State and Ohio State to lose on New Year’s Day? I am as sick as everyone else of Alabama winning so much but the idea of an FSU-OSU national championship game is nauseating. And let’s face it, Florida stands to reap the benefit of the doubt in the future if the SEC continues to win championships.

Santa, while you are in a giving mood, can I also have February signings for the good guys by CeCe Jefferson, Byron Cowart, Martez Ivey, three great wide receivers, two mean linebackers, and a partridge in a pear tree. We could also use a few added offensive linemen, a future star quarterback and at least one elite running back. While we’re wishing I guess we should throw in a walk-on long snapper.

Now, let’s talk basketball Santa. You gave me the best coach in all of college basketball years ago and for that I thank you. However, can we discuss injuries here? It would be nice if I could see all of the Gator basketball team healthy and ready to play for at least one game this season. I’m thinking that would be quite a team. I am growing concerned that Eli Carter is going to come and go without me ever getting to see him play in a handful of consecutive games. Just saying.

Let me close by saying that I would like to ask for health, happiness and peace of mind for all of my Gator Country friends. We have lost a few to mortality over the last couple of years and I miss them. Is it within your ability to fill the hearts of those of us left with a little friendship, compassion and understanding for 2015? We should probably try to remember that we are all on the same team so to speak. And to all of my fellow Gators everywhere, Merry Christmas (or whatever your holiday may be) and here’s to a wonderful New Year. Thanks for taking the time to read the weekly ramblings of someone you’ve never even met. I truly do appreciate it.

Mark Miller
Mark Miller's bravery knows no limits. He's a Gator living deep in the heart of Georgia. Mark's weekly columns appear in the Coosa Valley News in Rome, Georgia, where Gators are few and Bulldogs are many. His updates about football and life among the heathens will appear in Gator Country on a weekly basis.

5 COMMENTS

  1. Mark, thanks for the Christmas/Holiday blessings. It is an exciting time in Gator Country, and yes, the dead period and associated silence is deafening. I’m trying to relax but the wait is killing me! A few more crumbs, please? I feel like that scene in Oliver: “could I have a little more?” Your requests are not unrealistic. Unless Santa is a real downer, some semblance of that wish-list group would be most appreciated. I think there has been a chronic and toxic subliminal-offensive-reverse-mojo funk lurking in the minds of the coaches and players. It already feels better knowing it’s being addressed. Here’s to the new coaches and our players success on the field and on the recruiting trail. Go Gators.

  2. Come on Snowflake….a pretender, really? Winston is an incredible talent, makes a lot of throws that others can’t and will probably be the first QB taken in the draft if he can refine his image in an interview. You can’t deny that he has earned a terrible reputation off the field and seems to have no self awareness. I didn’t think it was possible, but he’s more of a douche than his Heisman predecessor – Manziel. Mariotta clearly distanced himself from the pack this year and he was a class individual while doing it. For the first time in 3 years he’s brought honor back to the Heisman.