Gator Country

Florida head coach Urban Meyer points to the referee during the Gators' third day of spring practice on Saturday at the Sanders Practice Fields. / Gator Country photo by Tim Casey

Hope you enjoyed the run, because it’s over for the Florida Gators. Finito. Gonzo.

Tim Tebow’s departure will spell the end of the program’s competitive excellence. And all the good prospects will be scratching UF off their list because of Urban Meyer’s debilitating health, or maybe even because he’s leaving to coach elsewhere. And, besides, Urban’s staff is falling apart.

How do I know? I read it on the Internet and heard it on sports talk radio.

However, I went to spring practice a couple times last week and there was no evidence of that gloom and doom. Meyer wasn’t in a wheelchair. He was out there working, looking pretty much fit, talking about all the talent around him, how he was in it for the long haul and looking very eager about the next few months.

Seemed to me a full complement of assistant coaches was with him, industriously putting a group of fine-looking athletes through the paces.

And some guy named John Brantley was creating a buzz with his missiles.

Perhaps all that hasn’t reached Birmingham or Bristol or Baton Rouge yet. They seemed to prefer to hold on to the notion that Urban is wishy-washy and that his flip-flopping will eventually spell the demise of the Florida program.

Funny thing about the reputations of coaches: They seem to blow in the wind – one minute a genius, the other a blind man who can only be directed back to the path of success by the wisdom of the blogging community and the fringe media. Speculation, you see, is far more titillating than straight news.

Having to prove himself over and over is nothing new to the head coach. Meyer came to Florida with something of a Rube Goldberg-contraption-offense that few people thought would work, let alone dominate, in the Southeastern Conference. In his first season Chris Leak struggled with weak cast around him and the Florida Gators were more pretenders than contenders.

Then something weird happened the next season: Meyer made a decision that flew directly in the face of the coaching manual logic. He used two quarterbacks. One a senior right-handed African-American who was a pocket passer. The other a left-handed Caucasian freshman more suited to the single wing. I only mention the year of the player and their race because some coaches believe that kind of thing can create a rift on your squad. Neither did.

Behind a splendid defense, Florida won a national championship with that drop-back passer, Chris Leak, running a spread. Meyer was a genius.

The next year with gaping holes created by recruiting deficiencies, Meyer built his whole offense around Tim Tebow, whose individual numbers were so staggering they couldn’t keep the first sophomore from winning the Heisman Trophy. Of course when Florida only won nine games, the critics began to rumble about Meyer riding a recruiting gravy train left behind by Ron Zook.

“Yeah, but let’s see what he can do with his own players,” said the wise guys.

Urban and his staff did manage to fill those holes with people like Percy Harvin and Louis Murphy and Riley Cooper and Janoris Jenkins and Joe Haden and Carlos Dunlap, etc. And with an extreme makeover of their offense, the Gators won their second BCS title in three seasons.

Yeah, but this wouldn’t last much longer, because there were no challenges remaining for Meyer, who no doubt was going to take his “dream job” and head off for South Bend. So why would any top prospects want to come to Gainesville?

Besides, even with the entire offense and defense returning intact, nobody was going to repeat as BCS champion. Well, the critics were right about that one – all Meyer’s Gators did was go 12-0 on the regular season before losing to Alabama in the SEC title game.

But hold on here: A bulletin came across ESPN the night of Christmas stating that Urban Meyer was resigning as coach at Florida. He did, in fact – for about 24 hours. His decision was induced by a health scare when he had awakened in the middle of the night by symptoms of a heart attack.

Now, for certain, all those prized recruits were history.

After thinking it over, however, Meyer took the mulligan offered to him by boss Jeremy Foley and decided to try out a leave of absence. He would put Steve Addazio in charge while he took a few weeks off. First, though, Meyer would coach his team to a 51-24 Allstate Sugar Bowl victory over the No. 3-ranked Cincinnati Bearcats.

Then Meyer reeled in the No. 1 recruiting class in America, went off to Hawaii with his wife Shelley just in time to be evacuated for the tsunami that never hit and returned to Gainesville to go back to work.

On March 17, Urban Meyer showed up for spring ball.

Yeah, I know – it sounds like I made all this stuff up.

* * *

Some of us can’t wait to see what Urban has up his sleeve this season. Whatever it is, Johnny Brantley is heavily involved, because the new offense is being built around him. The Gators are about to transition from a single wing team to a pro-style passing attack.

Early in spring we can see some signs of it, but this is only phase one. Since Florida will be less of an option team now, the Gators will take to the air horizontally.

Brantley and backup Trey Burton have spent an inordinate amount of time throwing short out-routes to speedy receivers like Deonte Thompson, Chris Rainey, Frankie Hammond Jr., Solomon Patton, etc. who get into open space. This, remember, was the basic premise of The Spread which Urban semi-invented. It becomes a key staple, because the horizontal pass is a weapon for spreading the field and opening up the middle for running and passing. And with Tebow having to wind up like he often did, that route was somewhat abandoned, but Brantley gets it out quicker.

Next comes stretching the middle of the field with crossing routes, slants, skinny posts and the like, using bigger receivers like Carl Moore, Omarious Hines, Stephen Alli, Justin Williams as well as tight ends Desmond Parks, Jordan Reed and possibly Gerald Christian.

And, finally, comes the running game – but not necessarily with any less emphasis. With an assortment of backs like Jeff Demps, Emmanuel Moody, Mike Gillislee and Mack Brown running behind a stout offensive line, offensive coordinator Steve Addazio will be in attack mode.

Last week when I interviewed Moody, there was a sense of ownership about him not present before. That is exactly what running back coach Stay Drayton is hoping for. Like everybody else, Drayton sees unrealized potential in Moody, whose injuries and inconsistent play have kept him off the field. “If he wants to play at the next level, he’s got to step up and improve,” said Drayton, who is teaching Moody the technique of getting under the pads to block an oncoming defender.

We will see a little of Moody in the spring, although probably only about at 90 percent due to recovery of ankle surgery.

“It’s been a bit of a roller coaster here because of injuries,” said Moody, “and sometimes with injuries you can become the forgotten guy. Sometimes you have to work your way back up. And sometimes it can be humbling.”

Moody says he has reached a point where it is rote: If you are injured, you rehab and get back in line. Coaches are hoping for far more than that from their talented senior tailback. As the same time, Moody sees openings not only for a running back, but also for new leaders.

“This is a new beginning for the whole team,” said Moody. “Tebow is gone. Spikes is gone. A lot of leaders are gone. And we feel like certain guys have to step up. And a lot of new guys are in the lineup now. We’re really going to enjoy the team now. We feel like we have a lot of new friendships on the team.”

Moody said he’s attempting to develop “chemistry” with Brantley. That means helping protect his quarterback. He knows to make the field he is going to have to do a better job at pass blocking and picking up the blitz.

At the same time, Moody’s combination of speed, elusiveness and power are just what Dr. Addazio has ordered for the running game. And should Moody become a weapon as a receiver – something he did well in high school – there is yet another dimension to the developing offense.

* * *
There is still so much we don’t know about this 2010 Gator team. Seventeen more talented players are yet to arrive and some of them will step right in and play (See Ronald Powell).

What we do know, however, is that a very good quarterback is going to be playing for a very good coach with a very good surrounding cast.

Spring is a time for hope eternal. It is with some justification that a ray of optimism has come beaming through with the warm sunlight which feels so good on our shoulders these days after a long, cold winter.

But, then, let’s just keep that among ourselves. If it gets out there to the naysayers in the blogosphere, it might possibly ruin a perfectly good lie.

About the author

BuddyShow

Buddy Martin is the author of seven books, including Urban Meyer's authorized biography, and was a recipient of an Emmy while working for CBS Sports on "The NFL Today." The native son of Ocala and Florida-educated journalist is the former sports editor of the New York Daily News, Denver Post, St. Petersburg Times and Florida Today. He has won more than 165 state and national awards for writing and editing. "Urban's Way" (St. Martin's Press) is now out in paperback. It can be purchased at all major book stores or by writing Buddy at buddyshow@aol.com.

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