Florida Gators Thoughts of the Week: June 9 – June 14

We are in the final week (or so) of collegiate sports for the year.

The Florida Gators’ Track and Field season is now officially over with the men coming in a very respectable second place and the women ended up in eighth. While, the Gators men’s team was ranked number one in the country going into the National Championships, dethroning the defending National Champions on their home track (Oregon) was always going to be very difficult.

But even though the Gators did not win a team National Championship, a huge congratulations to Marquis Dendy (long jump and triple jump) who has now won seven NCAA titles and has swept the triple jump and long jump for the last three seasons (including indoor). Simply incredible.

The last hope the Gators have for another National Championship, lies with the hottest baseball team in the country – by far.

 

Baseball Continues to Impress

The Gators baseball team has now outscored their opponents (some very good teams) in the SEC Tournament, Regional Tournament, Super Regional Tournament, and game one of the College World Series – 104-28. That includes wins over three SEC teams that are in the tournament, as well as, a top-10 team in FSU, and the number five overall seed Miami.

The 11 run fourth inning was something magical and was fueled by the lower half of the Gators line-up, but the team as a whole is playing incredible.

The Gators have won 10 games in a row, the team is batting .338 in the post-season, the Gators still have the number one defense in the country, the depth of the pitching staff is evident, and Coach Kevin O’Sullivan seems to be coaching very well.

We could be witnessing one of best finishes in NCAA baseball history if the Gators can keep it up.

 

Mason Halter Will Play

The addition of Mason Halter is huge for the Gators offensive line and, in my opinion, is not a bench guy. After watching as much grainy tape as I could from his time at Fordham, I saw a guy that moved well, had great form, and was fundamentally sound with good pad level. Now I know it was against Division IAA talent, I believe in the work of offensive line coach Mike Summers to improve some of the things that he needs help with – particularly speed and strength.

At 6-foot-8, 300 pounds, Halter has the size that you desire in a tackle (although I see him playing guard at Florida, simply because of speed, and seemingly moves better than Trenton Brown, who was about the same size.

As a two-time All-American, Halter has done just about everything one could do at his level to prove his worthiness and he is worthy of this opportunity – and trust me, it’s not just about depth – this staff believes in Halter.

 

CBS Ranks Gators for 2016 NFL Draft

 CBS Sports has updated their rankings for the 2016 NFL Draft. While only seniors are listed, the Gators have only one player ranked by their position:

  • Jon Bullard – 4th best DE

While there is still a long time to go before the NFL Draft, the fact that the Gators only have one player ranked in the top-10 of their draft class (which doesn’t include juniors), shows that the Gators truly do have some talent deficiencies and I am not sure that the Gators have another senior that could climb into the top-10 of their position group.

 

What Happened to Tyler Moore?

 He is playing for the Tampa Bay Storm of the Arena Football League.

 

Florida Recruiting Remembering they are in Florida

A common gripe I had under the Will Muschamp era was that they failed to truly recruit Florida well. Well, looking at the current players that have offers from Florida you see a major change.

Of the 229 self-reported Florida offers for the class of 2016, 82 are from people from Florida. Compare that to Will Muschamp’s last full recruiting class in 2014 had only 62, and we still have eight more months to go in this recruiting cycle.

 

Must Read Articles of the Week

 

Song of the Week

I am curious to know your thoughts on this song. Thomas Rhett, son of famous Nashville singer/songwriter Rhett Akins, is one of the hottest names in country music right now.

This song is quite a bit different than anything else he has released, so I am curious to hear your thoughts. Not necessarily country, but I do not know what I would classify it as. I personally enjoy it.

Daniel Thompson
Dan Thompson is a 2010 graduate of the University Florida, graduating with a degree in Economics and a degree in Political Science. During this time at UF, Dan worked three years for the Florida Gator Football team as a recruiting ambassador. Dan dealt daily with prospects, NCAA guidelines, and coaching staff. Dan was also involved in Florida Blue Key, Student Government and Greek Life. Currently, Dan oversees the IT consulting practice of a Tampa-based company. Dan enjoys golfing, country music, bourbon, travel, oysters, and a medium-rare steak. Dan can be found on Twitter at @DK_Thompson.

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