Harvin is still limited but Javy is back

Gator Clause caught up with UF strength and conditioning coach Mickey Marotti last night and talked Florida Gators football for about 30 minutes. For the next few days, Gator Clause will post segments of the interview. (Also, it's time to start leaving comments, Gators Fans!!! If we want this blog to continue, my editors have to know that people are interested and are leaving comments. So join the conversation, folks.)

GAINESVILLE -- Mickey Marotti and his strength and conditioning staff is every bit as important to the Gators' success as head coach Urban Meyer and his assistant coaches. Meyer has said several times this offseason that championship teams are formed in the summer. As early as summer workouts last year, Meyer knew the 2007 season was going to be a challenge. There were just too many youngsters on the team and not enough leadership.

The NCAA limits the amount of time coaching staffs can spend with their teams over the summer. That's where Marotti comes in. Technically, strength and conditioning staffs aren't considered football coaches. Marotti is with the team nearly every day of the summer. That makes Marotti a very important person. Florida's football players lift weights five days a week, run four days a week and compete in agility drills four days a week.

OK, now that we've established the importance of Marotti's role, let's start this blog off with the news EVERYONE wants to know about. How's Percy Harvin? Harvin, of course, had offseason surgery to correct chronic discomfort in his heel. Basically, Harvin is too athletic for his own good and his heel was wearing down under the tremendous strain of all those fast-twitch muscle fibers.

GATOR CLAUSE: How is Percy coming along? Is he full speed?
MICKEY MAROTTI: Nah, but he's progressing where he needs to be. He's full speed ahead but he'll be ready when it's time to be ready.

Harvin's heel isn't near 100 percent, apparently, but Marotti raved about Harvin's upper-body strength. Harvin did a lot of bench pressing this summer (upper body is basically all he could do) and his max is now above 400 pounds. That's pretty remarkable for a guy that weights 198 pounds. Marotti calls Harvin, pound-for-pound, one of the strongest players on the team and says Harvin has the strength of someone that is 250 pounds.

Will Harvin be ready to practice by the end of this month? Doubt it. The coaching staff is not going to hurry Harvin back from his heel surgery and risk further complications. Remember, Harvin started to feel discomfort in his knee last season because he was compensating for his injured foot. Any podiatrist will tell you that a chronic foot injury can work its way up the body. Expect Harvin to be limited this preseason.

We'll end today's post with some brighter news. Miami native Javier Estopinan, the Gators' senior defensive lineman, is working out and conditioning at full speed. Estopinan tore his anterior-cruciate ligament in the first half last season against Georgia. It was Javy's third torn ACL. Instead of giving up on football, Javy endured another painful rehabilitation to be ready for this season. Javy graduated this winter and now he's enrolled in graduate school. That's a pretty good deal, getting your undergraduate degree and most of your graduate degree paid for in full.

Marotti says that Javy's strength is still a little limited because of the injury but Javy remains one of the strongest players on the team. That's pretty impressive for a guy who was recruited out of South Miami as a linebacker and worked his way to starting defensive tackle.

"Javy is coming around great," Marotti said. "He's doing a great job and I'm really excited where he is at right now. He's full go in the weight room, agility drills and running. He's kind of the leader of the defensive line. We're really excited about what he is doing."

Javy told me the weekend of his graduation that he hopes to be a captain this season. He deserves the honor after everything he's given to the University of Florida football team. Here's hoping the coaching staff agrees. I'm guessing they do. Expect Javy to be a captain this year.

Opinion Polls & Market Research

While we're on the topic of defensive line, Marotti said that defensive tackle Torrey Davis is working out with the team every day and is now one of the strongest players on the team, along with Troy Epps. Davis is presumably working just as hard in the classroom this summer to remain academically eligible for this season.

-jo-

Comments

[John Ewing]

Thanks for the updates Joe. Fall practice is only three weeks away, and things will pick up.

[rumcaypete]

Love the Blog, keep it up.

[Cisco Merrill]

Thanks for the updates Joe, I grew up in Miami and therefore follow most of the Miami teams (Heat, Dolphins) but went to Florida so I bleed Orange and Blue. My wife and I now live in Atlanta where a story about a Florida team is about as hard to come by as a Dolphin victory. So I get my updates on my boys down in the Sunshine State from the Herald and your articles. So thank you.

Cisco Merrill
UF Grad

[DeVontae Brooks]

Please tell your editor to lay off your the only person that is giving quality updates. Do you have anymore news on Torrey Davis and do you believe he has a good chance of starting and having a breakthrough season.

[Happiness]

What is the series record between UM and UF please? Thanks

[Goody]

28-25 for Miami, duh. But Miami won't play Florida anymore, so that's at least three losses for UM right there.

-jo-

[-g-]

Great blog! Just found it a couple of weeks ago, but now I check it out every morning. Keep up the great work let you editors know we love it!!

[Gator fan]

Love the blog. As the season nears, I'm sure Gator Clause will have great stuff for us to read. This blog is bookmarked. Thanks, Joe.

[UF Peru]

Any news on Patchan's injury?

[davey]

Nice read on Meyer. When is he coming to ATL?
Anybody got tickets to the miami/FLORIDA game?

Lived in Miami (Kendall) and Ft Laud (Cooper City/Pembroke), WPB, leasing agent for Pembroke Lakes Mall and Broward Mall and 163rd and Westland....so I really appreciate info on So Fla.

GO GATORS.

[davey]

When there is no college football to watch, Cards Of The Bible are great and really inspire me and help me to get my focus right.

[Andrew]

I love Gator Clause. Im not sure that I could live happily ever after without this blog.
Hurricans = Gator Bait!

[GatorBud]

I love this stuff. You better not quit printing info about the Gators! There's too much about Miami, FIU, etc. in the Herald.

[Raj]

Thanks for the update! We Gator fans in South Florida appreciate any Gator coverage we can get.

I hope Javier can finish off his career on a positive note. He has been through a lot.

[Gary W.]

Great information, I have added it to my Google Reader!!!

The news has been spread on Gatorcountry, you will have plenty of readers now.

Gary

[R M]

Finally! Some Gator info amongst the overwhelming 'Cane coverage. Keep it up!

[GatorAngler]

Keep up the good work, really enjoyed the article with MM...

[Texigator]

Thanks for the great update. That is AWESOME news about Estop. Torrey Davis should have a break out year this year. Can't wait until the Miami game. Series will be 28-26 after this year. The worm has turned.

[Will Rees]

Thanks for the update, Joe! Great stuff to know. I'm excited about Torrey Davis and I think it's great Estop is going full speed. Estop deserves to be a Captain IMHO.

[Bill Maxwell]

Great read. Love what he said about T.Davis. I got a feeling he is going to end up being a stud. The potential is there.

[1gatorbear]

Good information, looking forward to more.

[Gatormann]

Good stuff! Love Gator Clause! Go Gators! South Florida is Gator Country!

[Mr.Smart]

Thanks VERY much for the updates Joe! Here's to hoping Javy has a good Sr. campaign.

[Rico Pallazzo!]

Just learned of this blog, count on more posters to the blog, particularly if you can provide daily updates. Great to hear that Esto is ready to go, had no idea Harvin was that strong, the next Stacey Simmons in the weight room. With Hornsby gone (good), Finich transfering, Finley's NQ and injury to Munroe, will hope to see an article on the precarious safety position. How bout getting the skinny on why Finich transferred. Dam you, Cookie Buchannon!!

[Rico Pallazzo!]

Forget what I said, just saw (and devoured) the blog entry on the safety situation from last week. Lots of UF fans seem newly obsessed with the "Cookie Siuation" right now, I'm curious if Buchanan AND Finich are themselves lamenting their respective decisions. I know Finich was already an OLB last year, but he would have made a mean, mean pairing with Major, like having Louis Oliver and Adrian White back there.

Nice work Joe, I'm hooked on the blog.

FORZA GATORS