A few post-Sugar Bowl thoughts to jump start your Sunday morning.
1. THE FINAL NUMBERS FOR TIM TEBOW: Here are a few things to savor as we remember the greatest Gator ever and the greatest college football player of the modern era. Record — 48-7 (87.2 percent) overall, 35-6 as a starter (85.3 percent); Passing — 661-995 (66.4 percent) for 9,285 yards and 88 touchdowns, only 16 interceptions; Rushing — 692 attempts for 2,947 yards (4.3 per carry) and 57 touchdowns; Total offense — 12,232 yards; Touchdown responsibility — 145. Tebow is the all-time leader in the SEC in total offense, rushing yardage by a quarterback, rushing touchdowns, total touchdowns and touchdown responsibility. He ranks 11th all-time in the SEC in passing yardage and is tied with Chris Leak for third place all-time in touchdown passes.
2. THE FUN CAME BACK: In New Orleans several players told me that from the midpoint of the season until the loss against Alabama, the fun disappeared. By midseason, they told me football became too much like a job and not enough like the game that it is. It’s easy to say the pressure got to them, but if you think about it, there’s a reason the all-time SEC record winning streak is just 28 (Florida made it to 22 games, fourth best in SEC history) and that’s the combination of the toughness of playing in the SEC and the pressure that comes with sitting on top of the mountain. The Gators were devastated after the loss to Alabama, but they regrouped and refocused quickly and with the pressure off, the fun came back. What we saw Friday night was the loosest the Gators have been since the 2008 season. Standing behind the bench as the final minutes ticked off the clock, I had starters who were out of the game come up to me and tell me that this was the most fun they had all season. It showed in the way they played.
3. KEEPING IT FUN: I think the challenge for the coaching staff is to keep the game fun. There is an enormous amount of talent stockpiled and the recruiting class — don’t buy into the gloom and doom — is going to be extraordinary. All the elements to continue at a championship level are in place. You have to have intensity in the program but there is a way to keep the intensity level at a peak while keeping the game fun. I think Florida’s coaching staff has already figured out that they made critical mistakes in making practices and the approach to each game a little too business-like in 2009. My guess is they have already begun to re-evaluate what they did and that won’t happen again.
4. A GREAT FIT: New wide receivers coach Zach Azzanni is a terrific fit and we saw it with the best game the receivers have had in a long, long time. The routes were precise and there wasn’t a single drop. Did you see the catch David Nelson made on that 30-yard seam route and the touchdown pass to Deonte Thompson? Those were NFL routes and catches (and the throws from Tebow were NFL quality, too). This is the first game I can remember when we didn’t have at least three or four throws when there were receivers bunched too close together and I can’t remember the last game when there wasn’t a single dropped pass. I always liked Billy Gonzales, but if what I saw Friday is an indicator of things to come, then Urban has made a serious upgrade in the coaching staff.
5. THE GAME PLAN: I am told that the cooperative effort of offensive coordinator Steve Addazio, quarterbacks coach Scot Loeffler and tight ends coach Brian White in devising the game plan for Cincinnati was extraordinary. I don’t want to seem like I’m piling on a departed coach, but everything I’ve been told by three different sources is that there were no egos in the offensive room for a change and it showed in the plan and the way the game was called. Remember, the way Florida devises its game plans (both offense and defense) and play calling is with input from all the coaches. I can’t go into a lot of detail here, but there was a freer flow of information and ideas the last three weeks than at any time during the entire season.
6. WATCH FOR THIS: Addazio is extremely comfortable with both Loeffler and White so watch for these guys to have an increased role in the game planning and the play calling. There is a reason why NFL quarterbacks come to Loeffler for help and not just on their mechanics. He really understands how the position is supposed to be played. Brian White called the plays for a Heisman Trophy winner (Ron Dayne) at Wisconsin. The Badgers weren’t just a three-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust team in those days. They had a great over the top passing game to balance out the run. With the Gators tailoring the offense next season to fit the extraordinary passing talents of Johnny Brantley, you’ll see far more input into the offense from Loeffler and White.
7. THE COACHING STAFF: Vance Bedford has been offered the defensive coordinator’s position and it’s probably 90 percent that he’s gone although Florida has made a counter offer. If Bedford goes, I think former Georgia defensive coordinator Willie Martinez will get be coaching the corners next year. Martinez is an extraordinary position coach. I keep hearing NFL when it comes to the linebackers coach/defensive coordinator. I think Urban wants to shake up the defense a bit and bring in someone with a serious attack mentality. I’ve heard a couple of names that I like but I can’t get enough confirmation to know if they are real candidates or just folks on a wish list. I think whoever comes in will share the coordinator’s job with Chuck Heater. I know there is an offer extended to Kenny Carter both by LSU and Louisville, but I believe he is staying. Watch what happens at South Florida in the next few days. Although there are reports that Jim Leavitt will be retained (there was a report that he punched out one of his players in the locker room a few weeks back), friends down in Tampa say the investigation isn’t over and that Leavitt isn’t out of the woods. If he goes, Dan McCarney will be a viable candidate for that job.
8. RAINEY TO THE SLOT: Following his best overall game as a Gator in the Sugar Bowl (124 return yards, 71 receiving yards, 27 rushing yards) Chris Rainey told me he is going to be moving to the slot in the spring, a move that really makes sense after watching him catch the ball both Friday night and in the last few games of the season. Chris has the best open field instincts of any back on the team and he’s a threat to go the distance every time he’s got the ball in his hands. He’s become a competent enough blocker on the perimeter that the coaches trust him to play the slot. This is a move the Gators can afford to make not only because of the explosive dynamic that Rainey brings to the offense but because the backfield is going to be running over next season with Jeff Demps, Emmanuel Moody, Mike Gillislee and prep hotshot Mack Brown.
9. A FEW OTHER ITEMS: Matt Patchan says his knee is coming along nicely. He won’t participate in any contact in the spring but figures he will be at full strength by June or July and ready to go in August. He also said there is a very good chance he will be playing tight end next year at something like 6-6-1/2 and 280 pounds. He can run like a gazelle when he’s healthy … Almost no chance Aaron Hernandez is coming back. He wants to help his mom out financially … I think Major Wright is as good as gone … If he’s not hearing top 10 or top 15, I wouldn’t be surprised if Carlos Dunlap comes back. He says he’s haunted by the memory of his DUI and suspension for the Alabama game … The Pouncey Twins will be back if they hear too much third or fourth round from the NFL people Urban Meyer will have them talking to this week. If one hears second and the other one hears third or fourth, they’ll be splitting up. “We’re already getting ready for that … I live next door to him [Maurkice],” Mike told me earlier in the week. Mama would be very happy if they stay and get their degrees but she knows they would be foolish to stay if there is first or second round money on the table … Emmanuel Moody will have surgery this week to remove some bone spurs from his ankles. If successful, he could be playing pain free for the first time in a long time and I think it will give him a chance to be the back we always thought he would be.
10. A FEW THOUGHTS ABOUT URBAN: I think Urban is going to be fine. He’s got a heart condition that isn’t life threatening but if he let it go on, it could develop into something serious. Better to handle it now than later. I think he will use the time away to rest up and re-invent himself as a coach. Remember this — the greatest coach of all time (Bear Bryant) re-invented himself at least five times during his career and with each re-invention, Bryant got better as a coach and in the way he handled his players without sacrificing winning. Urban Meyer is a very smart guy and I believe he knew before this situation happened that at some point in his career he would either have to change the way he does things or get out of the profession altogether. He’s decided to stay in coaching and the Florida Gators are going to be the beneficiary. Watch in the next few weeks as he helps solidify another incredible recruiting class — it WILL happen, folks — and then he’ll get his health in order. When he returns, I don’t think we’ll see a dip in the results but I do believe we’ll see a new and improved Urban Meyer.
QUOTE OF THE DAY: Asked about his reaction when he heard that Urban Meyer would be retiring a week ago, Chris Rainey said, “You heard (Tim) Tebow talk about some guys who were crying a lot? Well, I was the one crying the most. Coach Meyer is like my daddy.”
QUOTE OF THE DAY, PART II: Asked about his leap over a Cincinnati defender into the end zone for a fourth quarter touchdown, Rainey explained, “I thought about doing a flip but then I remembered Jahvid Best so I thought I better just jump over the guy.”
Have a great day.
Franz