A day that began with a surprise trip to Wild Waters at Silver Springs will end with the second annual Champions Night for the Florida Gators. Sandwiched in between was a productive and spirited practice, the kind that had Coach Urban Meyer feeling upbeat as he left the field Thursday evening.
The Wild Waters trip was a surprise for his team. They came to the football facilities expecting a hard practice in the hot morning sun but instead they got to cool down at the water park in Ocala. They came back to Gainesville and gave good effort on the practice field in the afternoon, setting up the Champions Night which features Florida basketball coach Billy Donovan. At last year’s Champion’s Night, Donovan challenged the team to think and play like champions, even to the point of letting the Gators know exactly how many days it was until the BCS national championship game. The speech must have worked because the Gators not only played in the national championship game but they hosed Ohio State to win the second national football championship in school history.
In addition to the Donovan motivational speech, the Gators will watch a video of various champions including the 2007 Florida basketball team, which became one of the few teams in NCAA history to repeat.
“We have a video staff, the best video staff in America,” said Meyer. “They’ve put one together and it’s terrific, then Coach Donovan will speak. It’s one of my favorite nights.”
Meyer said he’s already seen the video which also includes some NFL champions and Tiger Woods from the PGA Tour.
“It’s the true champions, the best at what they do,” said Meyer. “It’s about a 20-minute video. It’s about as good a video as I’ve ever seen and obviously, I’ve got great respect and admiration for Coach Donovan.”
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Two years ago, Meyer wouldn’t have even considered a surprise trip to Wild Waters.
“The first year was a bad deal,” he said. “If I had a bye week I would rather practice seven days.”
What has changed since then is the focus of the team. Meyer is a master at team-building and that starts with getting his entire squad focused and fully invested in the program.
“Good practice teams are the key … to be able to give them some time off and be able to re-focus,” said Meyer.
The Wild Waters trip was perhaps a test to see how this team, made up mostly of freshmen and sophomores, could get away from football then come back the same day to have a good practice. Knowing how they react helps Meyer plan into the future.
“That effects how I handle bowls, that affects how I handle bye weeks,” he said. “If it’s a team that can handle it then I can trust these guys. This was a good day today.”
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The two positions that were decimated by graduation and the NFL Draft were the defensive line and cornerback. The Gators lost five of the six players from their defensive line rotation and both starters at corner leaving mostly freshmen and sophomores to fill those vacancies.
About the defensive line, Meyer said, “I think we’re all right … our D-line” but with a smirk added, “as soon as you give them praise they have an awful day the next day.”
Coach Greg Mattison has been working his young guys hard and now has his group close to a two-deep all the way across the line.
“He’s rolling two sets in right now,” said Meyer. “Go three plays as hard as you can and then get out. That’s the way he coaches. That’s what he expects. That’s the way they played last year.”
Although he didn’t name starters and backups at every position, Meyer said that the “top eight we have a good idea who they are.”
At corner, sophomore Markihe Anderson seems to have locked down one starting position while the second spot seems to be settling into a fight between sophomore Wondy Pierre-Louis and fourth year junior and converted tailback Markus Manson.
“Wondy and Markus had a good day today,” said Meyer. “I think Wondy has a little bit of the upper hand and there’s Joe Haden. It’s a street fight for that position.”
Meyer said the corner position is “improved … certainly nowhere near where we need to be but much improved. Corner and D-line the last two days … if we can keep going the next week and a half we’ll be functional.”
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Chris Jones, the walk-on wide receiver from Jacksonville Bolles who was one of the standouts of the first two or three days of August practice, has been diagnosed with a medical condition that will prevent him from ever playing football again. That doesn’t mean he won’t be a Gator, however.
“He’s still a Gator and he’s going to be around,” said Meyer. “I’m doing everything I can to keep him around. I love him. He’s a great young man.”
Meyer said that the news that his football career is over hit Jones hard.
“It’s horrible because he loves football,” said Meyer. “He’s devastated but I think he just wants to be around the Gators and we’re going to do the best we can to keep him here.”
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Percy Harvin, who has Achilles tendonitis, didn’t practice much on Thursday but Meyer says he’ll see more activity in Friday and Saturday practices.
“I think tomorrow we’ll get more,” said Meyer, who added that senior wide receiver Bubba Caldwell was slowed with a strained groin.
“He’ll be fine,” said Meyer, who said that the training staff is playing it smart with players like Harvin and Caldwell. The rest they’re getting now will save them for a regular season which starts two weeks from Saturday.
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There were no de-stripings of freshmen to announce Thursday afternoon but Meyer indicated that three would be losing the black stripe on their helmets at the Champions Night.
Meyer wouldn’t say who but most speculation centers around tailback Chris Rainey, safety/linebacker Jeremy Finch and defensive end Justin Trattou.
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Asked if the competition for the backup quarterback had clarified any, Meyer said, “We had one and then he didn’t perform so we’re back to square one.”
With that, he broke off the afternoon press briefing, leaving everyone to speculate whether he was talking about freshman Johnny Brantley or juco transfer Bryan Waggener, who have been practicing all along, or perhaps freshman Cameron Newton, who was the number two in the spring. Newton returned to practice this past weekend after missing a few days while recovering from soreness in his back.