Gator Clause

REPORT CARD: After further review, everyone is to blame except Brandon Spikes

GAINESVILLE -- As most of you know, we here at Gator Clause like to wait a few days after a game to hand out our weekly report card. One reason, we like to watch the game's replay a few times. (Talk about dedication. It was tough to watch Ole Miss 31, UF 30 the first time around.) Another reason, fewer knee-jerk reactions.

A few examples of a knee-jerk reactions have been filling up my inbox. Some are demanding that Florida offensive coordinator Dan Mullen be fired or demoted. (Check out this website.) Some want UF quarterback Tim Tebow to be benched. Others think redshirt freshman running back Chris Rainey and redshirt freshman receiver Deonte Thompson should both transfer.

Step away from the edge of the cliff, Gators fans. This loss was not unprecedented. Florida has never gone undefeated in the history of the program. No. 12 Florida (3-1) can still win the SEC East and still play for the SEC championship.

Now, I understand why Florida fans are upset. The Gators lost on Saturday to an Ole Miss team that hadn't won an SEC game since November of 2006. What I don't understand, why so much lack of faith in the Gators' offense? Florida gained 443 yards of total offense and did it despite three turnovers and only converting 1-of-11 third-down attempts. That's pretty remarkable.

Of course, that stat was only one of the confusing numbers produced from Saturday's upset. The most bizarre: Ole Miss beat the No.4 team in the country despite accumulating just as many penalties (10) as first downs.

ANYWAY, before we get to the report card, there is an injury report for today.

INJURIES
Running back Emmanuel Moody (high-ankle sprain) is doubtful for Saturday's game against Arkansas and so are left guards Marcus Gilbert (ankle) and Jim Tartt (shoulder). Carl Johnson is the projected starter at left guard for Saturday's game followed on the depth chart by James Wilson and Ronnie Wilson.

REPORT CARD
QUARTERBACKS C
Tim Tebow passed for a season high (319 yards) and led two impressive touchdown drives in the fourth quarter. The quarterback loses points for his fumble in the third quarter and a half dozen poor passes.

RUNNING BACKS C
Percy Harvin averaged 8.2 yards per carry (10-82) and rushed for a brilliant 15-yard score in the fourth quarter. His fumble in the third quarter tempered his excellence, though. Emmanuel Moody left the game earlier with an injury (high-ankle sprain). Chris Rainey had three carries for nine yards. Kestahn Moore had a pair of impressive blocks but didn't do much else.

WIDE RECEIVERS B-
Harvin had a career day with 13 catches for 186 yards and a score. Louis Murphy only had four receptions. Aaron Hernandez's fumble hurt the overall grade. Deonte Thompson and Carl Moore didn't factor into the offense.

OFFENSIVE LINE C
Guards Jim Tartt and Marcus Gilbert left the game with injuries. Ole Miss' talented defensive linemen pressured Tebow consistently and sacked him three times.

PLAY CALLING C-
Florida only converted 1-of-11 third-down chances. I'm no football coach, but that seems like a direct reflection of poor play calling. The coaching booth did well calling plays during the Gators' two fourth-quarter touchdown drives, but on the final drive of the game the decisions were questionable. Tebow was clearly off on his deep passes and by the time the final minute of the game rolled around, the Gators' coaches should have recognized this. Instead, Tebow missed Louis Murphy and Percy Harvin deep and the poor play calling put Florida in a difficult situation, third down-and-10. Rushing Tebow on fourth-and-1 with 55 seconds left was the correct call, by the way. Of course, Arkansas never would have seen the jump pass coming...Err, good thing I'm no coach.

DEFENSIVE LINE B
Ends Jermaine Cunningham and Carlos Dunlap continue to impress. Both players had sacks. Lawrence Marsh had five tackles. Ole Miss quarterback Jevan Snead completed just 9-of-20 attempts.

LINEBACKERS A
Middle linebacker Brandon Spikes might be the best player on the team. He had 13 tackles and stuffed Ole Miss twice on third-and-short opportunities. His pressure of Ole Miss quarterback Jevan Snead forced an interception.

SECONDARY D
One bad play ruined it all.

SPECIAL TEAMS F
Florida should have kicked a field goal in the first quarter instead of going for it on fourth-and-3 from the Ole Miss 30. Why not give kicker Jonathan Phillips a shot from 47 yards? He hasn't missed a field goal this season. The Gators also allowed Ole Miss to convert a 15-yard fake punt, which extended a drive. UF punter Chas Henry was off his game. Lineman Phil Trautwein missed a blocking assignment late in the fourth quarter, allowing Ole Miss' Kentrell Lockett to block Phillips' extra-point attempt.

-jo-

Gainesville church: 'Why I pray for Tebow'

GAINESVILLE -- Just when you thought Florida quarterback Tim Tebow couldn't have anymore pressure dumped upon his shoulders, one Gainesville minister posted this sign less than a mile from the Gators' practice field on Monday morning.

Eric Brown, the 31-year-old minister at Gainesville's Campus Church of Christ, says he hopes Tebow sees the sign while the Heisman Trophy winner drives to and from campus. If you're wondering about the Bible verse, Matthew 6:13, you might already know it. It's the final few lines of the Lord's Prayer: "And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen."

Pause for a moment to let that thought role around in your brain. For some, Tebow is apparently much more than just a leader of the University of Florida football team.

Brown says he has been preparing a sermon for nearly a month about the Bible verse and, after watching ESPN College GameDay a few weeks ago, decided to add a few thoughts about Tebow to his message. Many media outlets have chronicled Tebow's use of fame as a platform for his faith.

While Brown says he did attend Saturday's game between No. 12 Florida (3-1) and Ole Miss (3-2), the minister says the sign, located on S.W. 2nd Avenue only a few blocks west of campus, has nothing do with Florida's 31-30 loss to the Ole Miss Rebels.

"I'm going to pray that [Tebow] is true to his faith because if he falls and gets caught up in some kind of scandal it will be bad for Christianity," Brown said.

Brown doesn't know Tebow but says the quarterback is an important role model. The minister says if Tebow gets into trouble, then the image of Christians could suffer.

"I know the story of David, so we know it's possible for all of us to fall," Brown said.

Brown, a graduate of Texas A&M and a native of Wichita Falls, Texas, is a graduate student studying mental health counseling at the University of Florida when he's not leading worship at Gainesville's Campus Church of Christ. Brown says you can listen to his sermon on the church's website, www.campuscofc.org.

-jo-

What's wrong with Tim Tebow?

GAINESVILLE -- Maybe you guys can help me out today. I'm working on a story this week comparing last year's UF quarterback and the guy under center this season. Obviously, it's the same person, junior Tim Tebow, but not much else is similar about the two players.

What's wrong with Tebow? Maybe nothing. Maybe you think he's better this season. Maybe you've noticed something I haven't.

Now taking suggestions...

Monday-morning links...
Today's story about Florida's emergency practice on Sunday night
My game story from Ole Miss 31, UF 30
Mike McCall's story on UF's turnovers

-jo-

Florida practices for 90 minutes under lights

GAINESVILLE -- In an effort to shake the doldrums of Ole Miss 31, UF 30, the No.12 Florida Gators football team practiced from around 8:30 to 10 on Sunday night. Practicing on Sunday during the regular season is a rarity for the Gators, who normally rest the day after a game before grueling practices on Monday and Tuesday.

Because of NCAA rules limiting the number of hours teams can practice during the week, Florida must alter its practice schedule one day this week to adjust for practicing on Sunday. Expect the change to come early in the week. (Perhaps on Monday.) Florida (3-1, 1-1 in SEC) plays at Arkansas (2-2, 0-1 in SEC) on Saturday.

A few notes from practice...

--Safety Will Hill (hamstring), offensive lineman Maurice Hurt (neck) and receiver Omarius Hines (undisclosed injury) did not practice with the team and instead jogged and worked with trainers.

--Florida's first-team offense and defense went against scout teams. Ball security was a big theme. (Florida fumbled five times, losing three, against Ole Miss.)

--Could offensive linemen Corey Hobbs and Ronnie Wilson get a shot at left guard this week? You better believe it.

--Back-up free safety Justin Williams had an interception.

-jo-

Gators call emergency practice for Sunday night

GAINESVILLE -- Florida coach Urban Meyer isn't wasting any time after the Gators' 31-30 loss to Ole Miss on Saturday. Gator Clause learned today that Florida has called an emergency practice for 8:30 tonight. Florida usually does not practice on Sunday during the regular season.

Is an emergency practice needed? It's a good idea. Meyer wants his team to shake the losing blues as soon as possible. Win out from here and Florida can play for a conference championship in December. The Gators play Arkansas next week and that helps. The Hogs are pretty bad. Florida has a good opportunity this week to focus on its own problems and make some corrections before LSU comes to town.

O-LINE ISSUES
Don't be surprised to see a new starter emerge at left guard this week if redshirt senior Jim Tartt's shoulders do not respond well to treatment on Sunday and Monday. Tartt left the Gators' game in the first quarter with an injured shoulder. He has had four shoulder surgeries in his career at UF.

Tartt's back-up at left guard, Marcus Gilbert, sprained his ankle during the fourth quarter on Saturday. Either Carl Johnson or James Wilson could start against Arkansas. Expect those players to battle Sunday, Monday and Tuesday for the promotion.

TEBOW'S SPEECH
Florida quarterback Tim Tebow apologized to Florida fans for the loss on Saturday and also made some promises. Here's the audio file of Tebow's passionate post-game speech.

SEC EAST STANDINGS
Five weeks into the 2008 college football season and Florida, Georgia, Tennessee and South Carolina are trailing Vanderbilt in the SEC East standings. Yeah, I'd say it's a pretty deep conference. Here's a link the complete SEC standings. CLICK ME!

FLORIDA STILL THE BEST?
Call me crazy, but I still think Florida might have the best football team in the country. The Gators made enough mistakes to lose 10 football games on Saturday and still had a chance to win the game at the end. The sky is not falling, Gators fans. Ole Miss was is a good team with legitimate NFL-caliber talent. Florida does not need to fire its offensive coordinator or bench Tebow. The Gators' coaching staff just needs to restore some confidence this week and maybe next time swallow its pride during a game and make better decisions.

AP TOP 25
The loss to Ole Miss dropped Florida eights spots in the AP poll to No.12.
Oklahoma, Alabama, LSU, Missouri, Texas -- there's your AP top 5. For the rest of the poll...CLICK ME! A few thoughts on the new rankings:
--No. 10 South Florida is ranked ahead of the Gators.
--USC, which lost to Oregon State on Thursday, is highest ranked one-loss team. Thoughts?
--Georgia is No.11, one spot ahead of Florida.
--In just five weeks, Nick Saban's Alabama Crimson Tide has gone from unranked to the No.2 team in the country.

BLOCKED EXTRA POINT ILLEGAL?
Florida coach Urban Meyer complained after the game on Saturday that an Ole Miss' defender hurdled a Florida offensive lineman illegally during the decisive extra-point attempt at the end of Saturday's game. Pushing off the backs of lineman to block kicks is apparently against the rules, but no flag was thrown on Saturday. Here's a picture of the blocked kick from an interesting camera angle. The Ole Miss defender who jumped over Florida offensive lineman Phil Trautwein might have been aided, but this picture doesn't show any proof. It does show, however, that Trautwein isn't blocking a single person. He's just crouched over in his stance. Does anyone find this odd? And what the heck is UF lineman John Fairbanks (No.59) doing? Ole Miss lineman Kentrell Lockett (far left) blocked the kick.

-jo-

UF mistakes lead to Ole Miss' upset

GAINESVILLE -- The Florida Gators made a laundry list of mistakes on Saturday. How bad was Ole Miss 31, UF 30? Let's see...
--The blocked extra point.
--Three fumbles led to 10 Ole Miss points.
--Joe Haden's fourth-quarter error in judgement, leaving UM receiver Shay Hodge wide open for an 86-yard touchdown catch.
--Meyer twice passed on field goals that could have won the game, a 47-yarder in the first quarter and a 49-yarder in the second.
--Ole Miss' fourth-and-2 in the second half led to a 40-yard touchdown run for McCluster.
--Tebow was off on Saturday. He missed Percy Harvin and Louis Murphy on the last drive of the game and missed Riley Cooper and Harvin on the first drive of the game.
--Florida converted just 1-of-11 third downs, and was 0-for-5 in the second half.

Thoughts, anyone? Am I leaving anything out? Oh, yeah, Ole Miss fake punt...Does Florida have any hope of beating LSU in two week? Are the Gators' national title hopes gone?

-jo-

FINAL: Ole Miss 31, UF 30

GAINESVILLE -- A shocker at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.

Ole Miss defender Kentrell Lockett, a 6-5 sophomore, blocked a Florida extra point with 3:28 left in the game on Saturday at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, preserving Ole Miss' lead.

JOE HADEN WHERE ARE YOU?
Ole Miss took a 31-24 lead with 5:26 left in the game when UF cornerback Joe Haden left Ole Miss receiver Shay Hodge uncovered. UM quarterback Jevan Snead found Hodge wide opn for an 86-yard score.

THIRD QUARTER BELOW
Capitalizing on Florida mistakes, Ole Miss has taken a 24-17 heading into the fourth quarter. The Rebels took the lead with 52 seconds left in the third when, facing a fourth-and-2, Ole Miss running back Dexter McCluster rushed for a 40-yard touchdown.

OLE MISS BACK IN IT
Ole Miss tied the game early in the third quarter thanks to two UF fumbles. The second fumble, credited to UF quarterback Tim Tebow led to a Ole Miss touchdown by Cordera Eason to tie the score at 17-all.
Florida turned the ball over for the second time on Saturday when Percy Harvin lost possesion on a run at the beginning of the third quarter. Ole Miss converted the turnover into a 33-yard field goal with 11 minutes left in the third quarter to cut UF's lead to 17-10.

GATORS SPUTTERING
After taking a 17-10 lead into the half, Florida's offense struggled during the third quarter. When the Gators weren't fumbling, they were shanking punts or allowing Ole Miss defensive end Greg Hardy to sack Tebow.

SECOND QUARTER BELOW
Florida quarterback Tim Tebow rushed for his first touchdown of the season with 1:06 left in the first half here at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium to give Florid a 17-7 lead.

Tebow has completed 10-of-15 passes in the first half for 172 yards. His first-quarter touchdown pass to UF receiver Percy Harvin (43 yards) gave Florida a 10-7 lead.

HARVIN BREAKS OUT
Tebow's second-quarter score was set up by an impressive gain from UF receiver Percy Harvin. Harvin out raced one Ole Miss defender on the 24-yard reception and split two more, carrying the ball to the goal line. Harvin has six receptions for 114 yards in the first half. He also lead UF in rushing (25 yards on four carries).

MOODY AND MAJOR BOTH HURT?
Both players limped off the field. Moody (right ankle) went to the locker room early and Major Wright was helped off the field by Dorian Munroe with a trainer by Wright's side.

MAJOR WRIGHT INTERCEPTION
UF's first touchdown drive was set up by an interception from Gators safety Major Wright of Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas. Wright picked off UM quarterback Jevan Snead's pass at the UM 48 and returned it five yards. Wright's second pick of the season.

12-SECOND SCORE
Florida needed just one offensive play following Wright's interception to take the lead, 10-7. Tebow floated a pass into the flat to UF receiver Percy Harvin and Harvin sprinted for a 43-yard score. It was a lucky play for Florida. Not the best pass from Tebow as Ole Miss safety Kendrick Lewis should have picked it off and returned it for a score. Instead, Lewis tipped it right into Harvin's hands.

CUNNINGHAM IN THE GAME
Mysteriously, Cunningham enters the game in the second quarter and makes an immediate impact. He and Spikes combined to sack Ole Miss quarterback Jevan Snead on a third-and-17 on Ole Miss' second drive of the second quarter.

SPIKES LEADING THE WAY
Florida's defense bailed out the Gators' offense in the second quarter when UF tight end Aaron Hernandez fumbled (stripped by Ole Miss' Cassius Vaughn). UM's offense went three-and-punt on the ensuing possessions.
--UF linebacker Brandon Spikes just played the best half of his career at UF. He had back-to-back sacks in the second quarter and is leading UF in tackles.

FIRST QUARTER BELOW
TEBOW OFF HIS GAME
Tebow has thrown deep twice and missed his receivers both times. First Riley Cooper on the Gators' first drive and then Percy Harvin on UF's second drive of the first quarter. 

FAKE THIS
Nice fake punt by Ole Miss kept its scoring drive alive. Ole Miss receiver Lionel Breaux rushed for 15 yards on the fake. Ole Miss later scored on a one-yard run by UM quarterback Jevan Snead. Excellent pass by Snead to Shay Hodge (36 yards) to set up the score. UF cornerback Joe Haden got burned. 

NO CUNNINGHAM
UF defensive end Jermaine Cunningham did not play in the first quarter. Cunningham hyper-extended his knee last Saturday against Tennessee.

NO MOODY?
Florida was third-and-1 at the Ole Miss 28 and handed off to running back Chris Rainey. Of course, Rainey got stuffed. Where is Emmanuel Moody? Moody entered the game on the Gators' second offensive drive and immediately jacked up Ole Miss linebacker Ashlee Palmer for a seven-yard gain. Looked a little like Knowshon.

THE SWAMP WANTS MOODY!
The kid hasn't even scored a touchdown and already The Swamp is chanting "MOOOOOOOODY!"

NO RESPECT
Who does UF think it is, LSU? Instead of attempting a 47-yard field goal on fourth-and-3 from the UM 30, UF went for it on fourth down and Tebow tossed an incompletion. Good pressure from UM lineman Lawon Scott.

JENKINS STARTS
UF freshman cornerback Janoris Jenkins started at cornerback. Markihe Anderson at nickel. No sign of Wondy Pierre-Louis.

PREGAME NOTES
--UF freshmen in street clothes: cornerback Jeremy Brown, receiver Frankie Hammond Jr., defensive lineman Earl Okine, cornerback Adrian Bushell, lineman Byran Jones in street clothes. These guys will redshirt.
--UF captains: receiver Louis Murphy, O-linemen Jason Watkins and Jim Tartt and long snapper James Smith.
--Gators won toss and differed.

-jo-

GAMEDAY: Egos abound for UF vs. Ole Miss

Saturday morning links...

GAINESVILLE -- What's the one thing strong enough to keep the egos of Tim Tebow, Percy Harvin, Emmanuel Moody and Louis Murphy in check on a weekly basis? CLICK ME! to find out.

--Want to know where to find a live blog of today's game between No.4 Florida (3-0) and Ole Miss (2-2)? CLICK ME! We'll start the live blog about an hour before kickoff. That's in less that two hours, if you're counting.

--Want the ultimate preview of today's game at The Swamp? CLICK ME!

--Who's the Mighty Mouse of the Gators' stingy defense? CLICK ME!

--Want to know what UF coach Urban Meyer thinks about Ole Miss quarterback Jevan Snead? CLICK ME!

-jo-

No.1 USC loss signals statement weekend for UF

Twenty-three years since a No.1 lost to an unranked team. That is, until Oregon State 27, No.1 Southern Cal 21 on Thursday night ... Thoughts? I got a couple: How does Penn State vs. Florida sound? What about Missouri vs. Georgia?

GAINESVILLE -- Speaking of unthinkable upsets. Ole Miss nearly upset Florida in 2007. This happened for two reasons.

1. Tim Tebow
2. Seth Adams

Tebow, of course, is the Florida quarterback who rushed for two scores and 166 yards on 27 carries last year against the Rebels. He prevented the upset and is back for Round 2.

Anyone remember Seth Adams? Didn't think so. Seth Adams, not back for Round 2, was the Ole Miss quarterback in 2007. He wasn't anything special, but he was nearly good enough to beat Florida last season. Ole Miss racked up nearly 400 yards of offense against the Gators. Let's you know how bad UF's defense was last season.

Round 2 of this wonderful SEC East vs. SEC West Raycom special features a new Ole Miss quarterback. His name is Jevan Snead and he must be good. He was once committed to Florida.

Snead is apparently better than Adams. I'm not convinced -- never really a fan of players who de-commit from one school (Florida) and then later transfer from another (Texas). Ole Miss seems like the college football haven for quarterbacks who think they're better than they really are. (See Brent Schaeffer of Deerfield Beach). Come to think of it, it all makes perfect since. Ole Miss always thinks it's better than it actually is.

ANYWAY, everyone keeps telling me that Snead is a great quarterback. At first, I believed them. I'm not convinced anymore. Snead has thrown seven interceptions in his last three games. He's an inexperienced quarterback and now he's playing at The Swamp against a Florida team that is plus-nine in turnover ratio. This is the fourth game this season Florida has faced an inexperienced quarterback.

THE DETAILS
Ole Miss (2-2) at No.4 Florida (3-0)
When: 12:30 p.m.
TV: Raycom
Series history: Ole Miss leads 11-10-1

INJURY REPORT
OLE MISS
DL Greg Hardy (foot, out)
FLORIDA
DE Jermaine Cunningham (knee, questionable)
LB Ryan Stamper (ankle, questionable)
QB Cam Newton (ankle, questionable)
OL Maurice Hurt (neck, questionable)
DT Torrey Davis (disciplinary, out)
DT John Brown (hand, out)
TE Cornelius Ingram (knee, out)
SS Dorian Munroe (knee, out)

STATEMENT GAME
Any Gators watching TV late last night? The No.1 team in the nation lost. OK, but on a Thursday night? I thought Thursday nights were reserved for bingo. ANYWAY, the significance of Southern Cal's epic collapse Part II (Stanford in 2007 was Part I) should not be lost on any team in the AP Top 10. With the No.1 ranking up for grabs, this weekend is all about making a statement to national voters. Let's take a look at the match-ups this weekend for teams in the AP Top 5.

No.1 USC (Believe it or not, USC could still be in the national title picture at the end of the season. USC losing was good news for any one loss team. Auburn?)
No.2 Oklahoma vs. No.24 TCU: Game against ranked opponent comes at great time for Oklahoma to make a case for being No.1.
No.3 Georgia vs. No.8 Alabama: A big win in Athens could vault Georgia into the No.1 spot. AP voters are apparently in love with Bama.
No.4 Florida vs. Ole Miss: Voters not sold on Gators yet. Florida fans apparently no sold on Gators yet. I think I'm the only person in the country that thinks Florida is the best of the best.
No.5 LSU vs. Mississippi State: A letdown game? Not a chance.

It is conceivable that Florida could be the No.1 team in the country on Sunday. TCU is a quality football team and many believe Alabama is going to upset Georgia (for the record, I am not one of those people).

RANDOM THOUGHT
Does ESPN's Kirk Herbstreit have a man-crush on Georgia quarterback Matt Stafford?

RANDOM THOUGHT NO.2
I'm sure Jevan Snead is upset he has to miss tonight's presidential debate. Ole Miss is hosting a presidential debate tonight (Friday) between U.S. Senators and Presidential candidates John McCain (Ariz., R) and Barack Obama (Ill., D).

OLE MISS BETTER THAN TENNESSEE?
According to UF defensive line coach Dan McCarney, it's a no brainer. He says Ole Miss' offense is much better than Tennessee's. Florida beat Tennessee 30-6.

"I thought Tennessee had a heck of an offensive line -- I think Mississippi is better," McCarney said. "[Tennessee] had a good solid quarterback. I think this one is better. Running backs, they're using four of them. I like them all."

SPEAKING OF FOUR RUNNING BACKS...
Four is exactly the number of running backs that Florida has at its disposal. (Five if you include receiver Percy Harvin.) Emmanuel Moody was the featured back against Tennessee? Who gets the call against Ole Miss? How would you break down the carries? Here's what I would shoot for if I'm Florida OC Dan Mullen...

UF BACKFIELD BREAKDOWN (projected number of carries)
RB Emmanuel Moody: 12
WR Percy Harvin: 10
RB Chris Rainey: 8
QB Tim Tebow: 8
Others (Jeff Demps/Louis Murphy/Aaron Hernandez) 5
RB Kestahn Moore: 0

REAL TALK
Florida coach Urban Meyer made a point to complain and complain and complain about the NCAA's new clock rules this week. (Cheating the players, he says...please.) Some reporters took the bait and wrote about the new clock rules like they're killing college football. Here's a thought: Just shut up and play football. If college football is going to sell its soul to the television networks, then the TV networks are going to be able to dictate how the game is played. (ESPN is going to be dictating a whole heck of a lot more in the future, so get used to it.) If Meyer wants more plays, then his offense needs to be more efficient and better prepared to run more plays. Quicker substitutions, better play calling (Mullen should always be two plays ahead of his offense) and a no-huddle offense should allow for more chances for Florida to run up the score on people. (And isn't that what it's all about?)

BIG TEST FOR JOE HADEN
Ole Miss' best player is receiver Mike Wallace. He toasted Florida's secondary last season and just last week Wallace returned a 98-yard kickoff for a touchdown. Meyer says that Joe Haden is turning into an All-SEC cornerback. We shall see.

5 KEYS TO VICTORY FOR UF
5. Pressure the quarterback. Ole Miss quarterback Jevan Snead is apparently still adjusting to the speed of the SEC. He tossed four interceptions against Vanderbilt last week. If UF defensive end Carlos Dunlap has a big day, then that will go a long way towards Florida beating Ole Miss. (We're assuming UF defensive ends Jermaine Cunningham and/or Justin Trattou will line up opposite Ole Miss offensive tackle Michael Oher.)

4. Contain Ole Miss receiver Mike Wallace. Wallace is averaging 136.3 all-purpose yards in his last three starts.

3. Keep an eye on the battle between UF guards and Ole Miss defensive tackles Peria Jerry and Ted Laurent. If these players get in the backfield consistently, it could be a long day for the Florida offense. Both Jerry and Laurent have 4.5 tackles behind the line of scrimmage. Strong efforts from UF guards Jim Tartt and Mike Pouncey and center Maurkice Pouncey are critical.

2. Score touchdowns in the red zone. Florida settled for field goals last week against Tennessee. If Florida's offense continues to be limited by the new play clock rules, then the Gators need to score touchdowns. Tebow is money from inside the red zone. I repeat: Let Tebow run the ball inside the red zone.

1. Get one big play from either special teams or the defense.

THE CORNERBACK SITUATION
Is Wondy Pierre-Louis or Janoris Jenkins starting at cornerback? My guess is both players will see significant amounts of playing time. Expect a lot of 3-3-5 from Florida with Janoris and Wondy at cornerback and Joe Haden at the nickel. If Florida doesn't trust Wondy to perform, expect more playing time for Markihe Anderson if the Gators stick with the 3-3-5. Anderson will play the nickel and Haden will move back to the edge. (This is what I would do.)

BIG PREDICTION
UF is a 22-point favorite. Sounds about right to me. Ole Miss' close losses to Wake Forest and Vanderbilt were devastating for an emotionally vulnerable program. If Florida goes up early, then expect a blowout. UF 42, Ole Miss 17

-jo-

BENCHWARMERS: Long list of redshirt-eligible UF frosh

GAINESVILLE -- Good news for the future, Gators fans. A couple of this preseason's most impressive freshmen appear to be in line for a redshirt. Who else gets an extra year of eligibility? Three games into the season here's my list. Thoughts? Meyer says he doesn't like to redshirt players, but it seems unavoidable this season.

NO REDSHIRT
DE William Green: Participated in the first three games. Could see action along the defensive line on Saturday.
FS Will Hill: Ranked eighth in tackles (9).
RB Jeff Demps: 5 carries, 75 yards, TD
DT Matt Patchan: Two tackles in three games
CB Janoris Jenkins: 1 interception, 1 fumble recovery against Tennessee. Could start on Saturday.
K Caleb Sturgis: He does kickoffs.
DT Omar Hunter: Didn't play against Tennessee

(Players listed below haven't played yet.)
NEEDS TO REDSHIRT
DT Bryan Jones: Interior defensive lineman usually take one to two years to be successful in the SEC.
WR Omarius Hines: Needs to bulk up and take the offseason seriously.
WR Frankie Hammond Jr.: Showed promise during the preseason but hasn't sniffed the field.
LB Lerentee McCray: Plenty of depth at LB
DE Earl Okine: Separate Okine from Trattou, Lemmens and Dunlap.
LB/FB T.J. Pridemore Who is this?
OL Sam Robey: Get him healthy
OL David Young: Like Robey, should be 100 percent by next spring
CB Jeremy Brown: Injured his back this offseason. Could start at nickel next year.

REDSHIRT
LB Brendan Beal (medical)
DB Adrian Bushell

NEEDS TO PLAY
WR T.J. Lawrence: No need to redshirt three receivers.

-jo-

INJURY REPORT: UF defenders still gimpy

GAINESVILLE -- Florida defensive end Jermaine Cunningham practiced on Wednesday but was limited, according to UF coach Urban Meyer. Cunningham hyper-extended a knee early during the Gators' 30-6 win against Tennessee. He did finish the game, though. (He's from Atlanta. Those kids are tough.)

If Cunningham can't play on Saturday, UF defensive coordinator Charlie Strong said Duke Lemmens, Justin Trattou and even true freshman William Green could see action.

Florida redshirt junior linebacker Ryan Stamper did not practice on Wednesday. Stamper injured an ankle against Tennessee and wore a protective boot earlier this week. If Stamper can't play on Saturday expect more playing time for Brandon Hicks.

'WILD GATOR' OFFENSE
Here's a random thought that popped into my head this morning. Florida has prepared for Ole Miss coach Houston Nutt's 'Wild Rebel' formation this week, but is Ole Miss ready for Florida's 'Wid Gator' formation? This is formation that features Percy Harvin at quarterback and Tim Tebow lined up at wide receiver. It would be just like Florida to try and out-Rebel the Rebs.

BOOKMARK THIS BLOG!
The Miami Herald's new redesign looks pretty good but there's only one probem: There's no link to the UF page. What the heck, right? While the Herald's website folks work out the problem, here's a link to the UF page. Bookmark this page right now, college football fans! NEW UF PAGE LINK.

-jo-

Ahmad Black gives hope to the small fries

GAINESVILLE -- I don't have time to blog much right now (working on a story) but I will share some numbers and information I've been researching this morning. Ahmad Black was a third-string cornerback last season and now he is the Gators' starting strong safety. He's listed at 5-9, 190 pounds, but his actual numbers are more like 5-8, 185 pounds (and that's being generous).

Did you know, Black is not only the smallest starting strong safety in the SEC, he's also the smallest starting strong safety among teams in this week's AP Top 25. Here's the breakdown.

AP TOP 25 STARTING STRONG SAFETIES
No.1 USC, Kevin Ellison (6-1, 230)
No.2 Oklahoma, Nic Harris (6-3, 230)
No.3 Georgia, C.J. Byrd (6-2, 198)
No.4 Florida, Ahmad Black (5-9, 190)
No.5 LSU, Harry Coleman (6-2, 205)
No.6 Missouri, Justin Garrett (6-2, 200)
No.7 Texas, Blake Gideon (6-1, 197)
No.8 Alabama, Justin Woodall (6-2, 220)
No.9 Wisconsin, Jay Valai (5-9, 197)
No.10 Texas Tech, Daniel Charbonnet (5-11, 203)
No.11 BYU, David Tafuna (6-1, 211)
No.12 Penn State, Mark Rubin (6-3, 216)
No.13 South Florida, Danny Verpaele (5-11, 207)
No.14 Ohio State, Jermale Hines (6-2, 210)
No.15 Auburn, Zac Etheridge (6-0, 206)
No.16 Wake Forest, Kevin Patterson (5-10, 191)
No.17 Utah, Joe Dale (5-11, 197)
No.18 Kansas, Darrel Stuckey (6-1, 205)
No.19 Boise State, Ellis Powers (5-1, 200)
No.20 Clemson, Michael Hamlin (6-3, 205)
No.21 Vanderbilt, Ryan Hamilton (6-2, 210)
No.22 Illinois, Bo Flowers, 6-2, 218)
No.23 East Carolina, J.J. Milbrook, 5-9, 191)
No.24 TCU, Stephen Hodge (6-0, 212)
No.25 Fresno St., Moses Harris (5-11, 205)

OTHER SEC STARTING STRONG SAFETIES
Arkansas, Dallas Washington (6-0, 210)
Kentucky, Ashton Cobb (6-0, 208)
Ole Miss, Jamarca Sanford (6-0, 200)
State, Keith Fitzhugh (5-11, 205)
South Carolina, Emanuel Cook (5-10, 214)
Tennessee, Eric Berry (5-11, 195)

Hey, kids. Don't ever let anyone tell you you're too small to play football. Just look at Ahmad Black. Through three games, Florida has one of the best defenses in the country and Black is not only a starter, but he is tied for second in the Southeastern Conference in interceptions (two).

-jo-

Grothe, not Tebow, on my All-Florida ballot

GAINESVILLE -- The Miami Herald's college football writers will pick an All-Florida team after the bowl games. Here's my ballot through four weeks.

OFFENSE
QB: Matt Grothe, USF
RB: Graig Cooper, Miami
RB: Phillip Sylvester, Florida A&M
OT: Jason Watkins, Florida
OT: Jason Fox, Miami
OG: Matt Huners, USF
OG: Rodney Hudson, FSU
C: Maurkice Pouncey, Florida
TE: Jamari Grant, FAU
WR: Taurus Johnson, USF
WR: Percy Harvin, Florida

DEFENSE
DE: Carlos Dunlap, Florida
DE: George Selvie, USF
DT: Antonio Dixon, Miami
DT: Lawrence Marsh, Florida
SLB: Tyrone McKenzie, USF
MLB: Brandon Spikes, Florida
WLB: Colin McCarthy, Miami
CB: Joe Haden, Florida
CB: Tony Carter, FSU
SS: Myron Rolle, FSU
FS: Nate Allen, USF

Specialists
Punter: Chas Henry, Florida
Kicker: Maikon Bonani, USF
Kick return: Brandon James, Florida

Here's the team-by-team breakdown: Florida (9), USF (7), Miami (4), FSU (3), FAU (1), Florida A&M (1)

-jo-

REPORT CARD: Don't knock Mullen; Play calling grades an 'A'

GAINESVILLE -- I've decided to post my weekly Gators' report card on Tuesday. I know most reporters and websites do this right after the game, but I like to watch the replay on Monday night, eat a plate of nachos and then give my full opinion on the game. I feel like this way the review will be more complete. And we won't forget to leave out the receivers this time.

QUARTERBACKS ... B
Florida quarterback Tim Tebow had one of his puniest games statistically on Saturday in the Gators' 30-6 win against Tennessee. Cause for concern? Of course not. This is a different Tebow this year, folks. Get used to it. He's bulked up a bit this season, he's a step slower and he's being asked to play a different role. (At least so far.) Tebow completed just 8-of-15 passes for 96 yards and rushed for 26 carries on 12 attempts on Saturday but he did toss two touchdowns and, for the third game, didn't throw an interception or lose a fumble. He didn't get an 'A' because some of his rushes could have been passes and he didn't see a wide open Percy Harvin in the third quarter. It would have been a touchdown.

RUNNING BACKS ... A
Emmanuel Moody averaged 6.1 yards per carry and was a much better back than Tennessee's Arian Foster. I spoke wth Moody on Monday and he told me his playing weight is up five pounds this season (to 205) in order to take the pounding from SEC defenses. Moody got a taste of what SEC defenses are like on Saturday. He wouldn't exactly say that Tennessee's defense played dirty, but Moody did say there were plenty of extra-curricular activities going on at the bottom of the dog piles. Chris Rainey ran well at times but missed a few reads. Percy Harvin looked like his usual explosive self.

WIDE RECEIVERS ... B
Paging Louis Murphy. Louis Murphy where are you? Tight end Aaron Hernandez seems to be Tebow's favorite target these days. And what was up with that shovel pass to Hernandez on the first drive of the game? It worked, but I wouldn't call that play very often.

OFFENSIVE LINE ... B
Those option plays didn't go so smoothly. Other than that, the O-line played well. Tebow was pressured a few times but wasn't harassed. Jim Tartt played looked good in his return to the starting line-up.

PLAY CALLING ... A
Everyone needs to lay off Florida offensive coordinator Dan Mullen. What's the problem, folks? Ever watch a football game? When your team goes up 20-0 at the half against a team as bad as Tennessee, the last thing you want to do is help that bad team score points. Florida didn't throw the ball downfield much. It was a shrewd decision. Why? Because that kept the ball far away from the one Volunteer who could have changed the game quickly, Tennessee safety Eric Berry. Mullen was wise in letting Moody, Tebow, Harvin and Rainey rush the ball and get the game over with as quickly as possible. Sometimes less is the correct call.

DEFENSIVE LINE ... B
Sophomore defensive end Carlos Dunlap is gradually improving. He had five tackles, recovered a fumble and deflected a pass at the line of scrimmage. Junior defensive end Jermaine Cunningham was limited by a knee injury. Did anyone see Terron Sanders chase down Tennessee quarterback Jonathan Crompton. Gotta be embarrassing for that guy.

LINEBACKERS ... A+
Florida's best unit on Saturday. Brandon Spikes talked a big game and backed it up with 10 tackles (seven solo). A.J. Jones had seven tackles and a pass break-up. He might be the defenses most improved player. Ryan Stamper shined as well with five tackles, a tackle for a loss and a fumble recovery.

CORNERBACKS ... B
Janoris Jenkins was excellent. The true freshman had an interception and also forced a fumble. Those were game-changing plays. Joe Haden is playing like an all-SEC corner. He had eight tackles and a pass break-up. Wondy Pierre-Louis missed tackles and just looked out of place among Florida's other defenders.

SAFETIES ... A
Major Wright had eight tackles and a pass break-up. Ahmad Black continues to impress. He assisted on four tackles and also broke up a pass. Will Hill is Florida's special teams dynamo.

SPECIAL TEAMS ... A+
Brandon James scored a touchdown and returned the opening kickoff more than 50 yards. Chas Henry had one punt for 57 yards. Major Wright had an incredible play on punt coverage. Kicker Jonathan Phillips made 3-of-3 field goals.

-jo-

Hernandez, Cunningham nursing injuries

GAINESVILLE -- A quick post here. Gator Clause observed several injured players limping off the practice field today.

--Junior defensive end was in crutches with his left leg immobilized in a soft cast/brace.

--Sophomore tight end Aaron Hernandez also appeared to be suffering from a leg injury. His right leg was bandaged extensively, preventing him from bending his knee.

--DL Ronnie Wilson had his right arm in a sling.

--LB Ryan Stamper had his left foot in a protective boot.

--Janoris Jenkins' nickname is jackrabbit, in case anyone was wondering. CB coach Vance Bedford came up with the nickname because Jenkins bounced around a lot when he first showed up on campus last spring. Of course, Jenkins used to catch rabbits with his bare hands while living in Pahokee.

True story: Jenkins can kill and clean (gut) rabbits. He used to get $3 a rabbit back home in The Muck (west Palm Beach County).

"That's a good hustle," said Jenkins, who had an interception against the Vols and also forced a fumble.

This is what Pahokee told Jenkins to do on Saturday night after his big game against Tennessee: "Never look back," Jenkins said.

-jo-

NOTEBOOK: I'll be the first to say it, Florida should be No.1 in the country

GAINESVILLE -- Florida is No.4 in the latest AP poll. This is an absolute joke. Florida should be No.1. Here's why.

Statistics don't lie. As Florida coach Urban Meyer would say, stats are "real."

Everyone reading this blog will agree that the SEC is the best league in the country, right? No argument there. OK, with that in mind, know that Florida is leading the SEC in scoring offense (37.3 points per game), scoring defense (6.3 points per game), total defense (213 yards per game), kickoff returns (27.6 yards per game), punt return average (24.6 yards per game), third-down conversions (53.8 percent) and Florida is tied for first with Vanderbilt in field goal accuracy (4-of-4).

After knowing that, I challange anyone out there to argue that another team -- USC, Oklahoma, LSU, Georgia, Alabama, whoever -- is better than Florida at this point in the season. Even if you tried, here's my ace in the pocket, the clinching fact for my argument, the biggest stat of all: Florida is the only team in the country that hasn't allowed a turnover. Florida is plus-nine in turnover margin.

(FYI: Ole Miss quarterback Jevan Snead has tossed six interceptions in his last two games.)

SURPRISING DEFENSE
The early season dominance of the Gators' offense and special team comes as no surprise to Meyer but the coach did admit that he is pleasantly surprised by the Gators' defensive play. If you're counting at home, Florida started SEVEN (1-2-3-4-5-6-7; CB Joe Haden, FS Major Wright, SS Ahmad Black, SSL A.J. Jones, DE Carlos Dunlap, DT Lawrence Marsh and DT Terron Sanders) SOPHOMORES on defense against Tennessee.

Meyer tempered his excitement by telling reporters that "I don't think we've been challenged yet" by an experienced quarterback. "That's what I'm anxious to see," Meyer said.

MEYER HATES NEW CLOCK RULE
Florida coach Urban Meyer has a message for the NCAA: Get rid of the new clock rule. His offensive players aren't getting enough touches.

Meyer made a point on Monday to explain why he hates the new clock rule. According to Meyer, Florida's offense only had 46 "competitive" plays. Florida had 54 total offensive players but Meyer contends that nine of those were throw-away plays while Florida was trying to run out the clock.

Florida scored on five of its six offensive possessions but was out gained by Tennessee's offense by 18 yards. Don't look to much into this fact, folks. Florida smoke Tennessee and Meyer is upset about the clock rule because last year the score would have been 60-6 instead of 30-6.

MEYER HAS ZINGER FOR MIAMI'S SHANNON
The stats sheet reads that Florida's offense only scored three of the four times it was in the red zone on Saturday. Meyer says it should be 4-of-4. On the Gators' final drive, Florida took a knee instead of kicking a field goal. Meyer received criticism against Miami for kicking a late-game field goal.

"People get upset around here with field goals, so we were 4-of-4," Meyer said.

JAMES NAMED SEC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
UF return specialist Brandon James was named special teams player of the week on Monday by the conference's sports information staff. James accounted for 144 yards on kick returns, including a 78-yard punt return for a score. James also had a 52-yard kickoff return on the opening kickoff, which led to a quick Florida score.

Here's a link to the rest of the SEC players of the week. CLICK ME!

MAJOR'S MISSED TACKLE
Major Wright had a great game against Tennessee. He was second on the team with eight tackles and graded out at "champion" status (94 percent), according to UF coach Urban Meyer. Still, I had to ask him about that one missed tackle, the one which allowed UT running back Arian Foster an apparent big gain. (The play was called back because of a UT penalty and Wright's mistake went unnoticed.)

"I was trying to make the perfect tackle," Wright said. "[Foster] got me."

Don't sweat it, Major. Gator Clause still thinks you're the best safety in the SEC. Just had to ask.

JANORIS COULD START AGAINST OLE MISS
Major had good things to say about UF freshman cornerback Janoris Jenkins and so did Florida coach Urban Meyer. Meyer said that Jenkins could start against Ole Miss and that it will be a game-to-game decision whether Jenkins starts at cornerback or Wondy Pierre-Louis.

Pierre-Louis had a terrible game on Saturday while Jenkins had an interception and a forced a fumble. Meyer said that Pierre-Louis will get every chance to keep his position because Wondy is an "invested player." Meyer said the same thing about former Florida safety Kyle Jackson last season. Everyone remembers what happened there. Wright was starting by LSU.

Will Jenkins be starting by LSU?

TEBOW RECRUITED AS A LINEBACKER?
Florida's coaching staff began recruiting Ole Miss quarterback Jevan Snead when Meyer and OC Dan Mullen were at Utah. When Meyer and Mullen moved to Gainesville, Snead was still at the top of Mullen's recruiting board as one of the best quarterbacks in the country. Snead initially committed to Florida before changing his mind.

According to a book published last year about college football recruiting, Snead said Florida wanted him so badly that the Gators' coaching staff actuall told him that Florida was recruiting Tebow as a linebacker. On Monday, Tebow said Florida never tried to recruit him as a linebacker and Meyer refused to address the claim.

Recruiting is a dirty business ... but it's supposed to be. Get over it, people.

FINAL: UF 30, UT 6

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Tennessee certainly helped UF today, giving the ball away twice on the goal line. Still, UF's defense played exceptionally well for the third-straight game and Florida quarterback Tim Tebow managed the game.

--Thoughts? I'll give you mine before I start writing for tomorrow's paper:

1. Emmanuel Moody led UF in rushing (55 yards). He should get more carries.

2. CB Janoris Jenkins should start next week.

3. Miami Herald correspondent Mike McCall spoke with UF linebacker Brandon Spikes as he walked off the field and this is what Spikes said: "They're not tough enough. They don't work as hard as us."

--Thoughts, anyone?

-jo-

3rd Q: UF 27, UT 0

KNOXVILLE, TENN. -- UF receiver Percy Harvin with a 15-yard touchdown catch. Harvin with five carries for 26 yards and two receptions for 49 yards through three quarters.

--Brandon James for Heisman.

-jo-

2nd Q: UF 20, UT 0

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Meet Wondy Pierre-Lewis' permanent replacement. His name is Janoris Jenkins and he's a true freshman.

--Janoris ended the first half with an interception in the UF end zone. He had a key forced fumble in the first quarter.

--Meanwhile, starting cornerback Wondy Pierre-Louis has been dreadful. He has missed several tackles and hasn't looked sharp.

--UF kicker Jonathan Phillips' 40-yd field goal gave UF its 20-0 lead. Phillips is 2-of-2 today. Credit Phillips' confidence to UF coach Urban Meyer, who elected to kick a field goal late in the game against Miami to give Phillips experience.

--UT should have a pair of scores but two turnovers inside the UF 5 have kept Tennessee off the scoreboard. Neyland Stadium booed the Vols as they ran into the locker room, and rightfully so, in my opinion.

--UF running backs not including Percy have combined for four carries. RBs Chris Rainey and Jeff Demps haven't played yet.

-jo-

1st Q: UF 17, UT 0

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Is it over already?

-- Three major highlights from the first quarter...

1. UF freshman CB Janoris Jenkins forcing a fumble at the UT 23.

2. UF's defense forcing UT to three-and-out after second-and-1 from UT 42.

3. Brandon James' 78-yard punt return for a touchdown.

A few 1st Q notes...

--UF RB Emmanuel Moody rushed for a nine-yd gain on the second play of the game.

--Will Hill has two great special teams tackles.

--UF TE Aaron Hernandez ran a shovel pass from Tebow for a 13-yd gain on the Gators' first scoring drive.

--Nice form on Tebow's jump pass to Hernandez for the first score.

-jo-

UF-UT PREGAME: Ahmad Black looking good

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Tennessee taking the field in Neyland Stadium is really something to see. Love how the blue-tick hound leads the way.

--About 30 minutes to warm-ups and UF strong safety is Ahmad Black is listed as a starter and showing no signs of an injured right ankle...

--The rumors are true. Neyland Stadium is enormous...

--UF OG Marcus Gillbert is still listed as a starter ... Jim Tartt appears to be second string, according to the pregame depth chart...

--Tennessee OG Vladimir Richard of Sunrise is listed as a starter...

--Former Miami prep star Demetrice Morley is starting a strong safety for UT ...

--Former Boyd Anderson star Gerald Williams is a third-string linebacker for UT...

--Herald columnist Israel Gutierrez, seated next to me, and myself have a pregame bet: How many carries will UF running backs combine for. Closest to the correct number without going over wins. I say 12 carries. Israel says 8 carries. At stake is a beer. (FYI: Percy Harvin does not count as a running back.)

-jo-

PREGAME PODCAST: Will Hill starting at strong safety?

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Find out what Gator Clause learned today about late changes to the Gators' secondary before Saturday's game with Tennessee. Also, what exactly does it mean to be a Tennessee Volunteer? Maybe it has something to do with why Knoxville was so upset about UF middle linebacker Brandon Spikes' comments earlier this week. Lastly, Gator Clause takes a look at UF quarterback Tim Tebow's stats this season. Run time is five minutes and 30 seconds.

-jo-

Produced by Joseph Goodman, The Miami Herald

ULTIMATE PREVIEW: A healthy Harvin and Tartt should make all the difference

GAINESVILLE -- There is a dry-erase board outside the Tennessee locker room this week reminding the team that its next opponent thinks the Volunteers are a bunch of quitters.

Responding to a question about last season's game against Tennessee, UF middle linebacker Brandon Spikes [PICTURED] told reporters earlier this week that Tennessee "quit" during last season's 59-20 Florida win at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. As if this rivalry game wasn't big enough already, Spikes' controversial recollection of events has touched a nerve in Knoxville, Tenn., just in time for the Gators' trip to Neyland Stadium.

The Vols have latched onto Spikes' statements this week, drawing motivation from Spikes' claims -- one being that Tennessee players aren't as tough as Florida players.

"It was probably (said) to provoke and get a rise out of us,” Tennessee running back Arian Foster told reporters earlier this week. "It's complete disrespect."

While Tennessee is using Spikes' statements to get fired up for Saturday's game, Florida is doing the same in Gainesville with its own motivational bulletin board [PICTURED, EXCLUSIVE PHOTO ONLY ON GATOR CLAUSE]. Tennessee is a permanent fixture of the Gators' bulletin board, located in the back of Florida's locker room. Florida's support staff has been adding articles and quotes from Tennessee players to the board since the preseason.

PERCY IS BACK
While bulletin boards and dry-erase boards are fun to write about, all that nonsense (false motivation) will only last about five minutes once the game begins. One of the most important storylines of this game is the full return of Florida receiver Percy Harvin, who had offseason surgery to his right heel.

Harvin [PICTURED] sat out the Gators' season opener against Hawaii and only touched the ball six times against Miami. The junior expects to be more involved this Saturday. In 2006, a freshman Harvin was only involved in a few plays before injuring his ankle against the Vols.

"All I can remember is the stadium shaking," Harvin said. "That was my first road game, my biggest game coming into that season. I can just remember the crowd and it shaking and not being able to hear Tebow call the plays in."

TEBOW LOVES NEYLAND STADIUM
Florida quarterback Tim Tebow told reporters earlier this week that Tennessee's Neyland Stadium is one of his favorite away venues in college football. (LSU's Tigers Stadium is the other.)

"I love playing at The Swamp but it is better playing on the road for me," Tebow said. "When you are playing at Neyland Stadium or at LSU or those stadiums that gets your blood going and that gets you excited and ready to play. For me, it is exciting and I enjoy it. The two probably loudest and most hostile are probably Tennessee and LSU."

Tebow [PICTURED] was a back-up quarterback to former Gator Chris Leak in 2006 but still had an impact in the Gators' win against Tennessee. It was the first road game of his career. Tebow, then a freshman, rushed for a two-yard gain on fourth down-and-one during the Gators' game-winning drive.

Harvin still remembers the look in Tebow eyes when UF coach Urban Meyer asked the freshman quarterback if he was ready to make the play.

"Coach came to Tebow on the sidelines," Harvin said. "Tebow kept telling [Meyer] to give him the ball and Coach said, 'If I put you in you better get this.' Tebow looked at him with this crazy look and he went in there and got it."

THE RUNNING GAME
Tebow will certainly get his carries on Saturday but Florida's offensive coaches will first try and involve the Gators' traditional running backs. That was a problem against Miami. Tebow led the Gators with 55 yards rushing. Harvin had five carries for 27 yards and three Florida running backs -- Chris Rainey, Jeffrey Demps and Kestahn Moore -- combined for seven yards on nine carries.

TRENDS IN THIS SERIES
The team with the most rushing yards has won 16 of the last 18 meetings between these two teams. Like Miami on Sept.6, Tennessee will focus on establishing the running game on Saturday and dominate time of possession. Tennessee senior Arian Foster is one of the best backs in the SEC and Tennessee's chances of winning the game will increase dramatically if Foster logs over 25 carries and grinds down the clock.

SPOTLIGHT ON SOPHOMORE STRONG SAFETIES
One key to Florida stopping Foster will be the play of Florida strong safety Ahmad Black, a sophomore. Florida has held Tennessee to 66, minus-11 and 37 yards rushing in each of the last three contests. Florida coach Urban Meyer, who has never lost to Tennessee while at Florida (3-0), says there is no secret to stopping Tennessee's running game -- just overload the box. Black will be the extra man in the box when Tennessee runs the ball.

While Foster will help with run support, Tennessee's strong safety, sophomore Eric Berry, will help shut down Tebow and Florida's lethal passing attack. Berry [PICTURED] has two interceptions already this season and picked off Tebow last season and returned it for a long touchdown.

WILL STAN DRAYTON HAVE AN IMPACT?
To remind everyone, Stan Drayton is the running backs coach who left Florida for Tennessee during the offseason. This is a big week for Drayton, who expressed his displeasure with Florida's running game shortly after being hired by Tennessee. Drayton is familiar with Florida's personnel, something that worries Meyer.

WHAT'S AT STAKE?
This is the first conference game for both teams. While a loss won't kill either teams' hopes for an SEC East title, starting the SEC schedule with a win is very important.

Also at stake is Tennessee's all-time lead in this series. Tennessee leads the series 19-18. The rivalry started in 1916 and Florida has always trailed the Vols.

FIVE KEYS TO VICTORY FOR FLORIDA
5. Score first. Catching up will be a lot harder for Tennessee.
4. Limit Tennessee RB Arian Fosters' carries early. If Foster gets into a rhythm, keeping Tebow and Company off the field, the Gators could be in for a slugfest.
3. Tight end Aaron Hernandez will be open. Get him the ball.
2. Keep Tebow healthy. Tennessee will be looking to knock the Heisman Trophy winner out of the game.
1. Force Tennessee quarterback Jonathan Crompton to win the game. Crompton [PICTURED] is inexperienced. He couldn't beat UCLA and had trouble at times with UAB's secondary last week.

FLORIDA INJURY REPORT
PROBABLE
WR Carl Moore (hip pointer)
OG Jim Tartt (shoulder)
WLB Dustin Doe (groin)
QUESTIONABLE
TE Tate Casey (arm)
QB Cameron Newton (ankle)
OUT
OL Maurice Hurt (neck)
DT John Brown (hand)
DT Torrey Davis (disciplinary)
DT Brandon Antwine (back)
TE Cornelius Ingram (ACL)
LB Brendan Beal (ACL)
SS Dorian Munroe (ACL)
OL Jim Barrie (ACL)

TENNESSEE INJURY REPORT
PROBABLE
QB Jonathan Crompton (ankle)
QUESTIONABLE
S Daryl Vereen (knee)
OUT
RB David Holbert (knee)
TE Jeff Cottam (leg)
DT Chase Nelson (knee)
P  Britton Colquitt (suspended)

SERIES BREAKDOWN
Florida has won three in a row and five of its last seven games at Neyland Stadium.

BY THE NUMBERS
5: The number of times Tennessee has lost to a ranked opponent at home in the last nine games against teams in the AP Top 25.
3: The number of interceptions Vols' QB Jonathan Crompton has thrown in his first two starts.
75: The number of times Tennessee has rushed and passed in the Vols' first two games. A pretty balanced offense.

RECRUITING
This game isn't nearly as important to recruiting as Florida's games against Miami or Florida State but Tennessee and Florida will still be battling for some of the same high school players. Tennessee has seven Floridians on its roster, including two starters, free safety Demetrice Morley (Miami) and kicker Daniel Lincoln (Ocala).

PREDICTION
Florida is a 7 1/2-point favorite, according to online sports betting websites. This seems like a pretty low number considering Tennessee lost to UCLA and struggling to put away UAB. With UF starters Percy Harvin and Jim Tartt back in the line-up, I expect Florida to cover the point spread and beat Tennessee 30-21.

-jo-

SPIKES: Tennessee "not as tough" as Gators

Thoughts on UF linebacker Brandon Spikes' bulletin-board material ...

GAINESVILLE -- Brandon Spikes has no friends in Knoxville, Tenn., -- not after his comments earlier this week about the Tennessee Volunteers.

Spikes told reporters on Monday that Tennessee "quit playing" during last season's rivalry game against Florida. Florida won 59-20.

"They kind of gave up," Spikes said. "Our whole program is about, backed up against the wall, you've got to keep fighting. We saw them give up. ... They quit playing."

Want to add a little spice to a local pick-up basketball game? Call your opponents quitters. Want to set off a raging firestorm of hate before one of the biggest Southeastern Conference college football games of the season? Call Tennessee a bunch of sorry quitters.

And you thought LSU's Tigers Stadium was a hostile crowd last season. Ha! In all my years, I've learned two certainties of life.

1. Women.
2. Call a redneck a redneck and he takes it as a compliment. Call a redneck a quitter, and you might as well have spit on his momma.

Spikes ended his brilliance with this: "I know they are going to be pretty jacked up."

What Spikes meant to say: "I know they are going to try and jack me up."

OK, to put this whole controversy into some kind of perspective, you've got to know the context of Spikes' remarks. The story begins with a dude by the name of Derek Baldry.

Derek Baldry was pretty much the toughest son of a gun to ever play football in the SEC. How can I possibly write such a statement about a walk-on? Well, Baldry was a journalism major and ... OK, that Baldry majored in journalism has nothing to do with this story.

Baldry didn't know much about football before he walked on the team in 2006. Here's what Baldry did before he walked on the team: Fought in the mountains of Afghanistan as an Army Ranger. (I wrote a story about this last year.) Quitting really isn't an option for those guys.

Now, knowing Baldry's background, you can fully appreciate the surprise he felt last year when a Tennessee lineman told Baldry not to bother blocking him on an extra point attempt late in the game. The Tennessee lineman told Baldry he had no intention of trying to block the kick.

Baldry relayed this message to his teammates and reporters last year and reporters brought the story up again on Monday. (As good reporters are prone to do.) Spikes obliged by talking about Baldry's story. (Tennessee, by the way, denied that this happened.)

"That kind of surprised me, for him saying I don't want to rush," Spikes said. "But I know they are not really as tough as us."

That a Tennessee player would actually quit trying was a big topic among the Gators last season, according to Spikes. Especially since the story came from Baldry, who is pretty much the essence of toughness and integrity.

Spikes said he had never experienced anything like that, especially "at this level." Of course, Spikes also told reporters that he has observed Tennessee quitting before and he really wasn't that surprised. (No clue what Spikes meant by that statement other than to inflame this rivalry.)

OK, now for some real talk. I don't really think it matters much that a Tennessee player told Baldry last year that he wasn't going to try and block an extra point. Not a big deal, as far as I'm concerned. Tennessee was losing badly and the extra point didn't matter.

And if you try and tell me some cliche like, "Goody, all plays matter and Florida Gators never quit on any play," I'll just have to remind you that Tennessee won the SEC East last year and nearly beat LSU in the SEC championship game.

What is interesting about all this? For the second game in a row, a Florida "team leader" talked some major smack before playing a rival. (I have nothing against this but I don't think UF coach Urban Meyer likes it much.) Receiver Louis Murphy called out Miami in similar fashion two weeks ago.

Murphy got the muzzle but his teammates apparently didn't get the message.

-jo-   

Percy Harvin clarifies his position; Hernandez plays coy; Meyer bites my head off

FIRST, UF-related links in today's sports section of The Miami Herald:
LINK: UF's Harvin fully healthy for SEC opener
LINK: UF's Moody speaks about lack of playing time

GAINESVILLE -- One of the most interesting things from Monday's interview with UF receiver Percy Harvin that didn't make the newspaper was Harvin's clarification of his position. Harvin is listed as a "slash" player on the Gators' official roster (RB/WR), but Harvin told me on Monday that he still considers himself a receiver.

Harvin had five carries and one catch against Miami. Thoughts?

ROCKY WHO?
When asked on Monday if he was getting annoyed with Rocky Top, UF tight end Aaron Hernandez said, "Who's Rocky Top?"

Come on, Aaron. We know you don't like giving credit to an opponent for anything but at least act like you know Tennessee has a very famous fight song entitled Rocky Top. As is the custom every year, Florida's football support staff is blaring Tennessee's fight song inside the Gators' football facility all week.

"They play Rocky Top probably 100 million times before we play the game," UF cornerback Joe Haden said. "The whole week that's all that's on and we just listen to that song. When we get there, I'll know the song by heart. I'll probably start singing."

MOODY PERSEVERING?
Can we have a little perspective, people? Several media outlets are covering the story about UF running back Emmanuel Moody not playing against Miami like it's some kind of personal tragedy for Moody.

The guy is going to play. He's too good to be left out of the line-up much longer. The Miami Herald wrote last week that Moody will get his big shot against Tennessee. Florida must out rush Tennessee to win the game. No one expects running back Kestahn Moore to establish a running game. Pretty sure Moody will have to help out on Saturday.

OLE MISS GAME
Good news for sports writers and bad news for fans: UF's home game against Ole Miss in two weeks will begin at 12:30 p.m. and air live on Raycom Sports.

ANXIOUS URBAN
Urban Meyer, always terse with reporters, was particularly brusque on Monday. He reminded beat hacks that he didn't like answering questions from the media, especially the week before playing a big SEC rival.

Here's the answer I received when I pointed out that 10 SEC defenses are allowing 17 points or less through the first three weeks of the season and, related to that fact, I asked Meyer about the importance of attention to detail in this league.

"We got a game to play here. That's why sometimes I'm short with your questions," Meyer said. "Because, really, if you spend any amount of time even thinking about, like, the gentleman's question here (Not me, someone else). Come on. Let's go. Let's go. ... We got enough things to worry about. The key to winning this game is what I told you: Play great defense. You got to be tough. And you got to take care of the football. If there's any focus on anything else other than that, then there is a chance we'll fail. And that's a bad job on me. So, let me answer your question: That's great about all the defenses. I just told you what our focus is going to be. I made it real clear today."

Well, coach, at least you made one thing crystal clear.

-jo-

Percy Harvin says he's ready to be cut loose

GAINESVILLE -- Percy Harvin spoke with reporters for more than 10 minutes on Monday during the Gators' weekly media day. Harvin says his doctor "cut the chains loose" on his playing time, so expect a full dose of Harvin on Saturday against Tennessee.

Harvin said that his limited role against Miami was planned by coaches and doctors to see how his surgically repaired heel performed. The heel responded well and Harvin says he feels healthier right now than he has since his sophomore year of high school.

So, basically, if you thought Harvin was pretty good before the surgery just wait until Saturday. Florida coach Urban Meyer said that Harvin had a great week of practice last week.

"I think six touches was to see if I still had my explosiveness," Harvin said. "Was it going to ache after the game and things like that. So, I think I'm ready to go."

-jo-

Top 25 breakdown: Five SEC teams in Top 10

QUESTION: In two more weeks, will the Sunshine State have four teams ranked in the Top 25?

GAINESVILLE -- The Week 3 AP poll features five SEC teams in the top 10. That's a record, according to the public relations people at the SEC headquarters. Florida remains at No.4. (Here's the poll. Gator Clause added comments only where we found it was completely necessary...That means everywhere.)

1. USC (2-0)
QB Mark Sanchez passed for four touchdowns against Ohio State.
2. Oklahoma (3-0)
Is QB Sam Bradford this year's Tebow? Bradford accounted for five touchdowns (four passing) in the Sooners blowout of Washington.
3. Georgia (3-0)
South Carolina had its chances on Saturday against Georgia but the Bulldogs held on. Did anyone see that seven-yard touchdown run by Knowshon? Simply amazing.
4. Florida (2-0) idle
5. Missouri (3-0)
QB Chase Daniel threw for 407 yards and four touchdowns in less than three quarters.
6. LSU (2-0)
Is Trindon Holliday a better kick returner than UF's Brandon James?
7. Texas (2-0)
Game vs. Arkansas postponed due to Hurricane Ike.
8. Wisconsin (3-0)
Bye week for Badgers before gauntlet of Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State. OK, maybe these days that's not much of a gauntlet.
9. Alabama (3-0)
What?
10. Auburn (3-0)
Great defense but Tigers have some serious concerns on the other side of the ball.
11. Texas Tech (3-0)
Receiver Michael Crabtree had eight receptions for 164 yards and three touchdowns.
12. South Florida (3-0)
QB Matt Grothe was spectacular in the second half.
13. Ohio State (2-1)
Without Beanie Wells, average 2.1 yards per carry in loss to Trojans.
14. Brigham Young (3-0)
Shock and Awe. QB Max Hall tossed seven touchdowns in historic 59-0 win against UCLA.
15. East Carolina (3-0)
Can Pirates spoil the party. Greenville Boys must run the table.
16. Penn State (3-0)
Three different QBs combined for five touchdown passes against 'Cuse. Poor 'Cuse.
17. Oregon (3-0)
Team Nike got the most out of their collective swoosh. The Ducks rushed for 307 yards (7.1 yards per carry) in overtime win against Purdue.
18. Wake Forest (2-0)
Big test next week waiting in Tallahassee.
19. Kansas (2-1)
QB Todd Reesing looked great but KU's offense was too inconsistent for a road win against a good team.
20. Utah (3-0)
Utes' defense held Utah State to 116 yards of total offense.
21. West Virginia (1-1)
Could impress voters (or fall out of poll) next week against Colorado.
22. Illinois (2-1)
Did the Illini look past Louisiana-Whoever or is Illinois just overrated?
23. Clemson (2-1)
Forget Spiller and Davis. Just hand the ball off to receiver Jacoby Ford (2 carries, 48 yards).
24. Florida State (2-0)
Hey, hey. Look who's back.
25. Fresno State (1-1)
Like Kansas, a tough loss to a great opponent.

-jo-

BYE WEEK GAMEDAY: Open forum today on Gator Clause; comparing Grothe to Tebow

GAINESVILLE -- Bye weeks are great for college football sports writers. It means we get to sit at home on Saturday, relax and watch football in a calm and stress-free environment all day. No deadlines!

Most Gators beat writers won't be blogging today, but since I'm neurotic about my job I'll be checking the blog throughout the day and leaving random comments and thoughts about the games on television. If you stop by, leave me a comment and let me know what you think about today's college football match-ups.

This a great Saturday for college football but the best game of the weekend might have already happened. No. 19 South Florida 37, No. 13 Kansas 34 on Friday night was a classic game. I drove over to Tampa last night and covered the game. Here's a link to my game story. CLICK ME!

USF quarterback Matt Grothe was brilliant, rushing for a 28-yard touchdown and passing for 338 yards and two touchdowns. Kansas quarterback Todd Reesing was great as well but it was Reesing's late mistake -- an interception by USF safety Nate Allen -- that was the difference in the game. USF converted the interception into a last-second field goal to pull the upset.

Grothe might not be as good a quarterback as Florida's Tim Tebow but the South Florida passer is certainly one of the best players in the Big East. With a pair of dramatic comeback wins in consecutive weeks, Grothe should be on everyone's early season Heisman Trophy list.

HERE'S A LIST OF TODAY'S SEC GAMES
UAB at Tennessee, 12:30 p.m., Raycom
Georgia at South Carolina, 3:30 p.m., CBS
Auburn at Mississippi State, 7 p.m., ESPN2
Middle Tennessee at Kentucky, 7 p.m.
Samford at Ole Miss, 7 p.m.
Rice at Vanderbilt, 7 p.m.
Western Kentucky at Alabama, 7:07 p.m.
North Texas at LSU, 8 p.m.
Arkansas at Texas - Postponed to Sept. 27

Today's upset special: Tulane over East Carolina.

Goody's absolute locks: Florida Atlantic (+18 1/2) vs. Michigan State; Tulane (+12) vs. East Carolina; UCLA (+8) vs. BYU.

-jo-

Five questions with UF's Emmanuel Moody

First, the link to my story on Emmanuel Moody in today's sports section of The Miami Herald: Florida Gators football still waiting for Moody to produce

GAINESVILLE -- Now for the online supplement: Five questions with Coppell, Texas, native and Southern Cal transfer Emmanuel Moody. (Obviously, these questions and answers were asked during the preseason. Moody did not speak with the media this week.)

GATOR CLAUSE: What have you done to prepare for the season?
MOODY: "I've been spending time in the playbook. The more reps I get the more I get used to all the schemes. I'm taking rep after rep in practice."

GATOR CLAUSE: How does the talent at Florida stack up to the talent at USC?
MOODY: "There's talent at both schools. No matter what school you go to, if it's a school like Florida or USC, there's going to be competition there."

GATOR CLAUSE: Your main competition for playing time is Kestahn Moore. What have you learned from Moore since you've been at Florida?
MOODY: "I give him a lot of respect for working hard. He works hard every day, so I kind of just see what he does and just try to pick it up to his tempo."

GATOR CLAUSE: You don't sign autographs with your name, could you tell me a little bit about that?
MOODY: "I [write] a cross and I [write] Jesus and I [write] my number under Jesus. The cross represents the crucifixion that the Lord died for us. I put my number under His name because I count myself less and he's my savior. So my identity is in Christ and that's why I [write] Jesus, because I no longer live for myself. I live for Christ."

GATOR CLAUSE: When did you become so religious?
MOODY: "When I was 16 at a church retreat. Before then I was a totally different person but it changed my life for the better. I was getting into a lot of trouble and I was the complete opposite of what I am today, sinners of sinners. But I had an encounter with the Holy Spirit and became saved."

-jo-

UF isn't getting the job done; Put me in charge of Percy Harvin's Heisman campaign, please

GAINESVILLE -- Florida has only played two games and already Percy Harvin's Heisman campaign is on life support. Bring in the doctor ...

That's me. I'm the marketing genius that is going to resurrect Harvin's Heisman hopes. Here are 10 steps to getting Harvin to New York. And that's what Florida really wants, right? That's what Florida quarterback Tim Tebow has said several times. Tebow wants to cast his vote in December for his good buddy Percy Harvin.

10. Call an emergency meeting with every member of Florida's sports marketing team. It's almost like Florida wants everyone to think Tebow is the best player in college football. It's almost like Florida wants Tebow to win back-to-back Heismans. What happened to the Percy-in-2008 campaign?

9. Percy Harvin is the best player in college football. Direct and to the point. Slap it on a poster.

8. Percy has only spoken with reporters one time this season. One........stinking........time! That's no way to pimp a Heisman hopeful. Note to Percy: Reporters vote for the Heisman.

7. Let Harvin play his real position. And by real position we mean the position Harvin will play in the NFL. Harvin is a receiver yet he only had one reception against Miami. It's a nice gimmick when Harvin lines up in the backfield, but he should never have more rushing attempts than receptions.

6. Percy Harvin should be returning kickoffs. Nothing says Heisman moment like a kickoff return for a touchdown against Georgia.

5. Every time Tim Tebow opens his mouth during a press conference, he should be praising Percy Harvin. "Percy won the game tonight," Tebow said. "Percy is the hardest working man on the team," Tebow said. "Percy is the greatest player in college football," Tebow said. "I'm naming my first born child after Percy Harvin," Tebow said.

4. Everyone knows what Tebow did last summer. What type of charitable work did Percy do? Donate blood, perhaps? Adopt a dog? ESPN College GameDay needs to know!

3. Speaking of ESPN ... Why is Erin Andrews doing a feature on Tebow lifting weights? Harvin is the real story. He's a college receiver who can bench press 400 pounds. As a professional journalist and Heisman Trophy marketing genius, I'm volunteering my services to do an in-depth story on exactly how Harvin got so big and strong this offseason.

2. Talk to reporters, Percy.

1. Repeat after me, Percy. Reporters are my friends.

-jo-

AROUND THE SEC: Former 'Cane Warren Sapp hating on UF coach Urban Meyer

GAINESVILLE -- Plenty of news around the Southeastern Conference this week. In a related topic, the Miami Hurricanes have officially traded in their Army fatigues for handkerchiefs.

--Tennessee running back Arian Foster doesn't have a fumbling problem, says Tennessee coach Phil Fulmer. Foster has a ball security problem.

--Could embattled South Carolina quarterback Stephen Garcia play against Georgia this weekend? It seems like a possibility, according to Joe Person of The State.

--Warren Sapp called Florida coach Urban Meyer a "classless dirtbag" on Tuesday during a media conference call for Showtime's Inside the NFL.

--Ole Miss is still sulking after its loss to Wake Forest.

--Arkansas' special teams needs work after the Hogs' 28-27 win against Louisiana-Monroe.

--Injured Alabama O-line star Andre Smith is ready to return.

--Auburn's new offense is still influx. Tigers quarterback Chris Todd, the transfer from Texas Tech, will start on Saturday's game against Mississippi State.

--Kentucky offensive coordinator Joker Phillips says Wildcats quarterback Mike Hartline will start on Saturday against Middle Tennessee State. Kentucky coach Rich Brooks isn't too sure.

--LSU is staying home. With Hurricane Ike drifting south towards Texas, school officials have decided not to move LSU's home game against North Texas on Saturday night.

-jo-

EMAILS I GET: Cris Carter says Riley Cooper will leave UF to play professional baseball

Per the custom here on Gator Clause, if we receive a quality email, then we share it with everyone. (email in blue; Gator Clause's answer in black) ...

This email comes to us from Todd of Columbus, Ohio. Todd writes:

Jo:

I'm a Gator alum living in Columbus, Ohio, and yes I do have a great time poking my co-workers and neighbors with my Gator/SEC stick. I was listening to the local talk show and Cris Carter was on talking about the USC/OSU game. The conversation turned to his son, who appears to be a highly regarded receiver from Fort Lauderdale and has committed to the Buckeyes. Carter stated that Urban Meyer is trying to get him to de-commit because he is going to lose Riley Cooper and another receiver to baseball.

Does this story have any legs? Or is Carter's son that good?

I enjoy your articles and blogs.

Take care,

Todd

Interesting email, Todd. Thanks. Here's what I found out for you this morning. I phoned Larry Cooper, Riley's father, who said his son might leave Florida for next summer's MLB Draft but any talk of that was "all speculation at this point."

Riley Cooper participated in a summer baseball league for college players a few months ago and apparently impressed a few people with his speed, arm strength and improved power. Larry Cooper said that of all the college baseball players who participated in summer leagues, his son was rated the highest by PGCrosschecker.com. This website is basically like Rivals.com but geared specifically to baseball.

Cooper, UF's receiver who also played baseball for Florida last spring, played in the Valley League this summer and batted .231 with three home runs and seven stolen bases. The website does rate Cooper as the top prospect of last summer's Valley League. I couldn't find any information about Cooper being the top-rated project of all the leagues, as his father claimed. (He might be but I wasn't about to pay the fee for this website to find out.)

ANYWAY, Riley Cooper is eligible for next year's draft because he recently turned 21. College baseball players must be 21 years old or a junior in school to be drafted. If Riley is drafted high enough in the MLB Draft next June, then the receiver might take his chances in professional baseball, according to his father. If Riley isn't drafted high enough, then he will return to Florida for another season and play baseball and football. Cooper was drafted by the Phillies in the 15th round of the 2006 MLB Draft.

"It's all speculation right now," Larry Cooper said. "Riley is playing football. Where it goes, nobody knows."

As for the other UF receiver Cris Carter claimed will leave UF to play baseball, I know of no other player on the Florida football team who fits that description.

Duron Carter (Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas) is a fundamentally sound high school receiver who should fit in well with the OSU offense. I would be slightly surprised if Duron signed with Florida next February and not OSU (Cris Carter played at OSU). It should be noted that Cris Carter is close friends with Florida coach Urban Meyer.

TATE CASEY INJURED
Just passing along some information from Miami Herald correspondent Mike McCall. Mike was eating at a Gainesville restaurant on Monday night and spotted UF tight end Tate Casey with his right arm in a sling.

-jo-

Gators Report Card: Good teams win in the 4th

GAINESVILLE -- We're looking back one final time (we think) at Florida's 26-3 win against Miami. Overall it was an excellent effort by the Gators, who held Miami to 140 yards of total offense, forced a safety on special teams and scored 17 points in the fourth quarter.

Good football teams win games in the fourth quarter. OK, on to the report card.

OFFENSIVE LINE: C+
This preseason, Florida coach Urban Meyer called his offensive line the Gators' best unit. It sure didn't look that way against Miami, which held Florida's running backs to 34 yards combined. The Hurricanes' blitz packages also disrupted UF quarterback Tim Tebow, who only had 150 yards passing entering the fourth quarter.

RUNNING BACKS: D-
Tebow led the Gators in rushing. A receiver, Percy Harvin, out gained the Gators' traditional running backs and Harvin only had 27 yards on five carries. Running backs Chris Rainey, Jeffrey Demps and Kestahn Moore combined for seven yards on nine carries. Anyone see Emmanuel Moody lately?

QUARTERBACKS: A
Without Tebow, Florida might have lost this game. The junior completed 21-of-35 passes for 256 yards and two touchdowns, rushed for 55 yards on 13 carries and Mr. Heisman was at his best in the fourth quarter.

DEFENSIVE LINE: A+
Florida coach Urban Meyer chuckled on Monday when he announced that redshirt sophomore Terron Sanders had the best game of his career. Yes, it was that kind of game for the Gators' D-line, which held Miami running backs to 1.6 yards per carry. Defensive end Jermaine Cunningham had nine tackles and a sack. Defensive end Carlos Dunlap had two sacks.

LINEBACKERS: B+
MLB Brandon Spikes led the Gators in tackles with 11 and reserve linebacker Ryan Stamper had five tackles despite a broken hand. Special teams dynamo Brandon Hicks earned playing time against Miami and had three tackles. WLB Dustin Doe was limited with a groin injury.

SECONDARY: A
Two impressive games in a row for the Gators' secondary. And to think this unit was one of the worst in the SEC last season. It seemed Miami's offensive coordinator was so intimidated by Florida's cornerbacks and safeties that he only chose to throw downfield a few times. UF free safety Major Wright only had to make two tackles and Gators strong safety Ahmad Black held his own against Miami's athletic receivers and running backs.

SPECIAL TEAMS: A+
Punter Chas Henry netted an average of 40 yards on seven kicks and freshman Jeffrey Demps forced a Miami safety with a blocked punt in the end zone. Florida return specialist Brandon James led the Gators in all-purpose yards with 49 yards on punt returns, 82 yards on kickoff returns and 30 yards receiving.

COACHING: A-
Florida defensive line coach Dan McCarney is proving to be an excellent offseason hire. Florida's offensive coaches made the proper adjustments in the fourth quarter, scoring 17 points. Had to cringe a little bit when the Gators threw for the end zone late in the fourth quarter with an insurmountable lead. Would hate to see someone injured in a situation like that.

RECRUITING: A+
Much to the chagrin of UM coach Randy Shannon, Florida's 26-3 win showcased the best of Florida football for about 75 recruits.

BY THE NUMBERS
Florida's sports information staff was quick to respond to Miami's claim that the Hurricanes were the younger team on Saturday. The Gators sent out this text message to beat writers and reporters who cover the Gators: "Interesting nugget about UF youth -- 60 of 85 players are frosh or soph and we started 10 jr/sr and Miami started 13."

FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Here's what I think: College football programs must think high school recruits are stupid. Are they? Football teams try to make such a big deal about playing young players. The reason football teams do this is to make high school recruits believe they have a chance at playing time as freshmen. Here's the funny thing about that: If a team plays a bunch of young players one season, doesn't that mean that the next season those same young players will still be starting, meaning it will actually be harder for incoming freshmen to get playing time?

INJURIES
WLB Dustin Doe has an injured groin muscle and will miss practice this week. Receiver Carl Moore will miss practice this week due to the hip injury he suffered against Miami. Walk-on safety Cody Worton of Miami Homestead tore a knee ligament against Miami and will miss the rest of the season.

-jo-

Meyer and Tebow respond to Shannon's comments, here are the audio files

GAINESVILLE -- It was anything but boring on Monday here in hogtown. Miami coach Randy Shannon's comments on Sunday about Florida coach Urban Meyer fired up UF quarterback Tim Tebow. Gator Clause is the only place you're going to hear the audio file for free.

Just like Shannon chose not to call out Florida's coach by name, Florida's coach played along and did the same. Meyer and Tebow praised Miami's defensive coordinator, which has been Meyer's less-than-subtle way of giving Shannon no credit for Miami's impressive defense. Tebow followed suit.

This is all very silly, folks. Enough with the backhanded compliments. I wish these guys would just kiss and make up...And I sooooooo hope that Tebow sticks around for another season. If he does, I'm calling it right now. Florida vs. Miami in the 2010 national championship game. We'll dredge up these quotes if that happens.

(The quote from Tebow about jail is pretty funny.)

-jo-

1.Tebow defends Meyer, gets fired up about Shannon comments.

2.Tebow talks about Miami defensive coordinator.

3.Meyer credits Miami's talented players.

4.Meyer: "I learned a long time ago to just coach your team."

5.Meyer on the proper way to "communicate."

Emails I get: UF's offense is inconsistent; Thoughts on late field goal

From time to time, Gator Clause publishes emails that come our way. Here's one that caught our attention ... (email in blue; To get an email published on Gator Clause you have to leave your name and your email must make sense.)

DeVontae Brooks of parts unknown writes:

Hey Jo,

That was a great game Saturday night and Miami's defense is very good already and will be great by the end of the season. Although I'm a big Gator fan, I always give respect when it is due and they have a [heck] of a team to build the future with. What's up with [Florida offensive coordinator] Dan Mullen he can call a good game sometimes and others times like Saturday look awful? He and [Florida coach] Urban Meyer need to quit all the cute [stuff] and not run every play out of the spread trying to get outside.

You would think they would learn that after so many years that it is OK to line up in the I-formation or a single-back formation and run it straight at people. This is why Florida will have problems recruiting 5-star backs because they are too [dang] prissy on their offense. I have no problem with them running the spread offense, but please try having the quarterback under center sometimes. Look at Oklahoma's success on offense over the years. I think they have the perfect offensive scheme because they always mix it up. It is painful to watch the Gators sometimes because they try to run around people a lot when sometimes you just need to knock the [heck] out of somebody and run right at them.

Sounded like you had a great weekend, though that podcast says it all for me. I know you had more than just some barbecue to get you sick. LOL! What did you think about Florida kicking that field goal on fourth down with a few minutes to go? Randy Shannon was [PO'd] about that and was out of his mind on the sideline. What else did he expect them to do? It is in the rules of the game and I didn't think too much of it. He barely shook Urban Meyer's hand. It wasn't like Georgia's celebration after they scored. He even made a comment about it on Sunday. Keep up the excellent work.

DeVontae,

At first I thought UM coach Randy Shannon might have gotten caught up in the moment, but after he had a few hours to cool off he was still upset about Florida's late field goal. Here's what Shannon said in his Sunday press conference:

''I'll just say this one statement,'' Shannon said. "Sometimes when you do things, and people see what type of person you really are, you turn a lot of people off. Now, whatever you want to get out of that, I won't say it again. But it helped us. It helped us more than you'll ever know.''

Clearly, Shannon is drawing a line in the sand. He got beat and he is looking for something, anything, to take away from the game as leverage. (Of course, there's nothing wrong with that. Gotta do what you gotta do, right?) It should be noted that Meyer said repeatedly last week that Miami has the most talented team in the country. Some interpreted this to mean that Miami should be better, a shot at UM's coaching staff.

Personally, I could care less. It's a football game. You play football games to score points.

-jo-

The Day After: Gators-Canes still on the brain

Florida coach Urban Meyer did not have a Sunday teleconference today. A spokesman for the Gators told me receiver Carl Moore's diagnoses on Sunday is still a "hip pointer."

GAINESVILLE -- Here are some random thoughts popping into focus as I watch the NFL today, reflect on last night's game and flip through the pages of my reporter's notebook...

--I used to like Brett Favre.

--Why was Florida tackle Phil Trautwein flagged for that personal-foul penalty? I couldn't figure it out from the press box. Whatever the reason, it ruined the Gators' momentum in the first quarter.

--Trautwein's personal-foul penalty wasn't as costly as the one charged to UM lineman Orlando Franklin at the end of the first half. It led to Jeffrey Demps' blocked punt.

--Florida receiver Louis Murphy apologized after the game for his smack talk earlier in the week. I don't know what to think about this. On one hand, it seems commendable. On the other hand, it's not like Murphy called out someone's mom. Whatever...

--Florida free safety Major Wright only had two tackles.

--Florida strong safety Ahmad Black appeared to hold his own against Miami's athletic skill players.

--Miami's only scoring drive featured a Wondy moment. Does anyone remember this? I had to chuckle a little bit in the press box.

--Florida tight end Aaron Hernandez said after the game that he was benched for the season opener because he didn't practice hard enough the week before Hawaii. Yeah, right...

--Linebackers: How many future first-round picks were on Florida Field last night? Two, I say. Florida middle linebacker Brandon Spikes and UM freshman reserve linebacker Sean Spence.

--The fourth quarter was Tebow time. That's a good sign for the Gators.

--Several reporters who cover Miami keep telling me that Florida will lose at least two games this season. Doesn't say much for Miami, I guess. I thought the Canes were pretty good.

--UM quarterbacks Robert Marve and Jacory Harris are both going to be excellent. Will one transfer?

--Tebow has 130 pass attempts without an interception, a new Florida record. Danny Wuerffel held the previous record at 121 pass attempts.

--Florida has not committed a turnover in each of its last four games.

--Florida had five penalties for 35 yards. Not bad for the Gators. One of those penalties was on redshirt sophomore guard Marcus Gilbert (Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas), who filled in for Jim Tartt. Meyer said he wants to get Tartt back into the line-up as soon as possible.

--The Gators started the second half with two fruitless offensive drives. Tebow appeared to be pretty frustrated after the second drive. He was seen on the sidelines screaming at Meyer to leave the offense on the field for a fourth-and-two from the UF 48. Meyer punted.

-jo-

UF 26, UM 3: Post-game thoughts and notes

FIRST, UF-related links in The Miami Herald...All these stories in today's paper. This is why the Herald is the best of the best, folks...

GAME STORY LINK: Chomped in The Swamp
MAIN UF SIDEBAR LINK: Special teams delivers for Gators
MAIN UM SIDEBAR LINK: Hurricanes hang tough with Gators
UF NOTEBOOK: Big recruiting night in Gainesville; SEC commish talks TV
UM NOTEBOOK: UM-UF discuss keeping rivalry alive
Greg Cote's column: What's the difference between UM-UF? One great quarterback
Israel Gutierrez's column: Despite the loss, Miami Hurricanes show promising signs

GAINESVILLE -- Top 5 things to think about after UF 26, UM 3. By me, Joseph Goodman, and the fearless Mike-Mike McCall (Miami Herald correspondent).

5. The defensive line played extremely well. The Canes only rushed for 61 total yards. Miami had 140 total offensive yards.

4. Do people still think Florida's offense is unstoppable? Tebow said the last time the Gators offense had to rely on the defense was his freshman season. And we all know what happened that year.

3. Should Harvin have had more touches or considering his offseason surgery was his limited role appropriate? Meyer said he knew he could do more with Harvin and Meyer says he will. Harvin rushed for 27 yards on five carries and a touchdown and had one catch for 12 yards. He only touched the ball twice in the first half.

2. Urban Meyer is 11-0 at Florida when the Gators' block a punt and 18-2 overall. Florida has blocked 39 kicks since 2001. What's more, Florida blocked eight kicks in 2006 when the Gators won the national title. Saturday was certainly a good start. Jeff Demps block at the end of the first half swung the momentum in the Gators' favor for the rest of the game.

On the blocked punt: “We called (the play) once earlier and they kept screaming at me to run it again because it was wide open,” said Meyer, who cited Demps’ and Chris Rainey’s 100-meter times. They did a great job with that.”

1. Let's hope Carl Moore is not severely injured. Moore left the game with an apparent hip pointer (according to Meyer) after his incredible reception at the end of the third quarter.

“[Moore] is not used to running that route," Florida quarterback Tim Tebow said. "I don’t think it was actually planned for him to be there. I wasn’t really expecting him to be there, so it was a little bit of a miscommunication. I just waited for him to turn so I could throw it.”

-jo- and mike-mike

GameDay podcast: Who has more motivation today, Canes or Gators?

GAINESVILLE -- It's a combined effort today, boys and girls. Miami Herald blogs Gator Clause and Eye On The U joined forces a few minutes ago to produce a rivalry podcast you won't want to miss. Click the play button and enjoy.

-jo-

It's going to be closer than you think ...

FIRST, your daily UF-related links in sports section of The Miami Herald...
LINK: Ex-Aquinas star gets rare start against his boyhood team
LINK: Marve has UF football in the dark
LINK: UM defense not afraid
LINK: UM players expect taunts from UF fans

GAINESVILLE -- Here's a reassuring fact for Gators fans: Since Florida coach Urban Meyer took over the helm in Hogtown, he has never lost to an instate rival, 5-0. On the other hand, Florida hasn't beaten Miami since 1985. The Gators have lost six straight to the Canes since then.

At least one thing is for sure on the eve of this important rivalry game, one of those streaks will be broken.

And don't think for a second that this rivalry has lost luster because it's not played every year. Actually, it seems like quite the opposite is true. UF-UM is kind of like anticipating the World Cup or the Olympics. It only happens once every four years or so.

According to Rivals.com, more than 30 recruits are traveling to Gainesville on Saturday for this rivalry game. Many of those players are from South Florida. Florida's new $28 million Gateway of Champions is in place to wow those recruits. The Gators are ranked No.5 in country and are favored to beat Miami by three touchdowns. If ever there was a year the Gators could make a major dent in recruiting Miami-Dade County, then this seems like the year.

FRIENDS AND FOES
Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas features four players in this rivalry game: From Uf, safety Major Wright and offensive lineman Marcus Gilbert.  From UM, safety Anthony Reddick and receiver Leonard Hankerson. Reddick, a senior, was a mentor to Wright, a sophomore, when Wright transferred from Tallahassee Godby to St. Thomas his sophomore year.

What's more Wright and Hankerson, a sophomore, are very good friends. The two buddies carpooled to high school together and hung out together on the weekends and summers while in high school.

Wait ... there's more. Gilbert, a redshirt sophomore, is very good friends with Reddick. Reddick grew up behind Gilbert's grandmother's house and, according to Gilbert's older sister, Reddick basically taught Gilbert how to play football when the two were young.

RANDOM THOUGHT
Did anyone watch Vandy vs. South Carolina last night? Stunning. (By the way, Vandy has the best uniforms in the Southeastern Conference.)

THE QUARTERBACKS
There isn't much of a connection here other than UM redshirt freshman quarterback Robert Marve broke all of Tim Tebow's high school records one year after Tebow graduated from Ponte Vedra Beach Nease. Tebow chuckled and then looked like he wanted to rip out my throat when I reminded him of this fact earlier in the week.

While Tebow was busy winning the Heisman Trophy last season, Marve was recovering from surgery to his left (non-throwing) wrist and also getting in trouble with the Coral Gables police for breaking a car's mirror (girl problems). We bring up the surgery and Marve's run-in with Johnny Law to remind everyone why Saturday is the first start of Marve's career. UM coach Randy Shannon suspended Marve for the Canes season opener because of the mirror thing. Now Marve is starting the first game of his career in The Swamp against the No.5 team in the country. Talk about trial by fire.

RUSHING THE QUARTERBACK
Florida played some three-linemen sets in the season opener against Hawaii. Don't expect that hybrid stuff on Saturday against The U. Miami's running backs, Javarris James and Graig Cooper, are both talented football players and Miami's offensive line is a formidable. This will be the first test of the season for Florida's defense. The Gators looked great last week against Hawaii (six turnovers) but, let's face it, Hawaii was absolutely terrible.

Stopping Miami's running attack is all Florida needs to do to win this game. I'll repeat that: Stopping Miami's running attack is all Florida needs to do to win this game. Florida will force Marve to throw. That's the plan.

PREDICTION
I posted this yesterday. UF 31, Miami 28. A Miami defensive touchdown here, a UF fumble there and this ball game goes undecided until the fourth quarter. Good thing the Gators have that guy named Tim Tebow. Leadership and one year of starting experience pays off for Tebow against the Canes.

LOUIS MURPHY DISSES THE U
Just to remind everyone why we love rivalry games, we'll post the infamous Louis Murphy-dissing-The-U audio file one last time. Everyone has been talking about it, and this is the only place in the world you can listen to it. AND IT'S FOR FREE!

Produced and edited by Joseph Goodman of The Miami Herald 

Check back tomorrow for the PREGAME PODCAST! Me and my buddy Manny Navarro (UM beat writer) will preview Gators vs. Canes with our first co-podcast since we both covered high schools together in South Florida.

-jo-

GameDay is here! And meet Senator Ahmad

GAINESVILLE -- ESPN GameDay in da' house! I snapped this picture a few minutes ago after listening to UF coach Urban Meyer address the press one last time before Saturday.

No Lee Corso sighting on Thursday afternoon.

Ahmad Black calls himself The Senator. Click the play button.

Girls, nice coconuts.

Check back tomorrow for THE ULTIMATE PREVIEW!

-jo-

Keys to victory against the Canes; Plus a bold prediction

FIRST, your daily UF-related links in today's sports section of The Miami Herald...
LINK: Top Florida Gators booster has unique link to Tebow family
LINK: Tackle this, UM: UF has the fastest skill-position players in the country
LINK: The War Canoe Trophy is at stake on Saturday
LINK: Canes have attitude; Just need the game

GAINESVILLE -- Let's dispense with the needless formalities. Here are 5 keys to victory for the Gators on Saturday:

1. Hit UM quarterback Robert Marve early. Marve, a redshirt freshman, hasn't played in game since a high school state championship two seasons ago. On Wednesday, UF defensive coordinator just smiled and said the Gators "have a game plan" when I asked him if the defense wanted to rattle Marve on the first drive.

2. Hold UM's running backs to under 150 yards combined. Saturday is the first big test for the Gators' defense. Limiting UM running backs Javarris James and Graig Cooper will be a challenge for the Gators' linebackers. Miami coach Randy Shannon calls James and Cooper the best running back tandem in the country.

3. Score first. Miami's young quarterback and the Canes running game aren't built for a comeback.

4. Special teams. In the last meeting between the Gators and Canes (2004 Peach Bowl), UF's special teams were awful. If Miami's talented defense can limit Florida's offense, Florida's sound special teams play might be the biggest key to victory.

5. Don't make UF quarterback Tim Tebow win the game. Tebow managed the game against Hawaii and the Gators looked pretty good. Tebow's job this season should be simple against favored opponents: Get the ball into the hands of the playmakers.

PREDICTION
UF 31, UM 28: I'm not expecting a blowout. Are you?

-jo-

MESSAGE FROM THE GATOR CLUB OF MIAMI
The Gator Club of Miami's email to fans about viewing parties for UF vs. UM: "We will be at Shula's Steak 2 in Miami Lakes. Come early to find a seat. If you can't make it to Shula's then go to our second location on South Beach at BBQ Beach (1555 Washington Avenue). East location will have 15 percent off on food and beverages once you provide your UFAA membership card. If you are not a member please go to www.miamigators.com to join today. Don't forget that this game is a "blue" out. Come on Gators! Get up and go!"

FROM Florida's UAA ...
LINK: Gator great Wilbur Marshall to be honored on Saturday
LINK: Broadcast information for UF vs. UM
LINK: No.22 Florida soccer defeats Nebraska 6-1

Don't expect UF safety Wright to take it easy on his friend, UM receiver Hankerson

Today's UF-related links in The Miami Herald ...
LINK: The Wright decision: University of Florida's Major Wright finds a safe haven in Gainesville
LINK: After long wait, UM football's Marve ready to make first start

GAINESVILLE -- UF safety Major Wright and his journey to the University of Florida is the cover story in today's sports section of The Miami Herald. Wright's decision to attend Florida was influenced by his mom, Andrea Eluett. Eluett didn't want her son going to Miami after the death of Hurricanes lineman Bryan Pata.

The article is pretty lengthy but there's some great stuff that didn't make the paper. Good thing I got this blog. (It gets me in trouble sometimes, but I love it!)

Wright [PICTURED] and Hankerson are great friends. They played high school together at Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas, they hung out together on the weekends and after school and in the summer months crashed at each other's house from time to time. But of all the time Wright and Hankerson spent together, never once did Wright tackle Hankerson. That's the story, according to Hankerson and Wright. [UM beat writer Manny Navarro interviewed Hankerson this week about his friendship with Wright.]

"[Wright] has never hit me before, honest," Hankerson said. "There was one time in practice where he had a chance to, but he let up on me because we were friends."

That will change on Saturday when Wright, a safety, lines up against Hankerson, a receiver. For about three and hours on Saturday night, Wright and Hankerson will put their friendship on hold. And just to make sure Wright doesn't think about taking it easy on Hankerson when the possession receiver comes ventures across the middle of the field, Wright's mother made a point, recently, to address the topic.

"I told Major to have no mercy on Leonard," said Eluett, Wright's mother. "I know Leonard. Leonard has never gotten hit by Major, even in high school. "Well, see what happens. I told Major, 'I know you don't like to hit your friends, but you've got to hit your friends this time or you won't be playing.

"I guess they understand each other. We'll see."

That's a priceless quote, folks. Before we go any further, I've just got to say that Major's mom, Mrs. Eluett, is a great person. Like Major, his mom is funny and charismatic and witty. She doesn't won't Major to hurt Leonard. She just wants to make sure that Major plays to the best of his ability and doesn't get distracted.

While Hankerson doesn't know personally what it feels like to get hit by Wright, the UM receiver has seen enough to know it probably hurts. [Check out these photos Rivals.com took of Wright and Hankerson when they were in high school. They even had similar hairstyles back then! Major is on the left.]

"When he goes at full speed, he's an amazing hitter," Hankerson said. "There are so many hits that stand out to me. I remember my senior year we were playing our spring game. Major was in Cover 2. [A receiver] came over the middle and Major just laid him out. It was the loudest bang I've ever heard on a football field. He did it again in a playoff game when they played Ely. He smacked this guy head on and just jarred the ball loose. He's a hitter."

Major forced three fumbles in 2007. He had an interception return for a touchdown in the No.5 Gators' season opener against Hawaii, a 56-10 win. [Now check out these photos of the two friends. The college boys clean up well, I'd say. Major, again, on the left.]

Hankerson isn't the only person to shutter when thinking about Wright slamming his body into an opponent. St. Thomas head coach George Smith once told me that Wright was one of the most vicious hitters he has ever coached.

On Tuesday, Florida redshirt freshman receiver Deonte Thompson put it best when he said that Wright "will kill himself trying to kill you."

Be afraid, Leonard. Be very afraid.

-jo-

Percy breaks his silence...no kidding, we've posted the entire audio file just to prove it

GAINESVILLE -- Florida receiver Percy Harvin spoke with reporters today, something that hasn't happened since 1983. (No one really actually remembers. 1983 is just a guess.) I know, I know. Prove it, you say. OK...CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON BELOW! 

Percy Harvin speaks on Sept. 2, 2008 A.D.

(In a related story, white smoke was seen billowing from the Vatican ... I mean Gateway of Champions.)

Here are some of the highlights from Percy's chat:

1. Percy says he has participated in full contact drills for two days (Monday and Tuesday).
2. He's not sure if he'll play on Saturday but if he keeps progressing then he likely will.
3. Percy has a few aches and pains "but nothing significant."
4. Percy wanted to play against Hawaii but Florida coach Urban Meyer said no.
5. Percy weighs 202 pounds.
6. Percy says there were no setbacks with his rehabilitation. He wasn't cleared to begin running at full speed until mid August.
7. "If I had to redo it all over, I would do it the same way," Harvin said. [Wonder if NFL general managers will feel the same way come April?]
8. Doctors drilled holes in Percy's heel and shaved off some bone. "It was pretty nasty," Harvin said.
9. Percy says "maybe" he would have liked to have the surgery sooner. [Yeah, like in high school.]

--Meyer said on Tuesday that Harvin still isn't back to his old self but is a dynamic player nonetheless.

--Meyer said sophomore tight end Aaron Hernandez was "full go" during practice on Tuesday. No word if Hernandez is playing on Saturday. Meyer told me on Monday that redshirt senior tight end Tate Casey will start in some packages. [I asked Meyer about Casey because, on Sunday, Meyer didn't want to talk about Hernandez.]

--LB Ryan Stamper (broken thumb) and OG Jim Tartt (shoulder) remain questionable for Saturday's game.

-jo-

RECRUITING: If the Gators can land Patchan they can land anyone

Today's UF-related links from The Miami Herald ...
LINK: UF football hopes to make strong impression with recruits
LINK: UF's Hicks proves to be a special player
LINK: Aubrey Hill, once a Gator, thriving as UM receivers coach

GAINESVILLE -- UF defensive lineman Matt Patchan grew up a Miami Hurricanes fan. His dad played for the 'Canes and so did his uncle. Why, then, did Patchan end up a Florida Gator? Maybe it had something to do with Miami's embarrassing 48-0 loss to Virginia last season in the Hurricanes' last game at the Orange Bowl.

I bring this up only to supplement my story in today's Miami Herald about how the Gators plan on impressing recruits from South Florida this weekend when the football team hosts Miami. Most recruits will tell you that when they attend a game as a guest of the home team, it doesn't matter if the team wins or loses. Guess what, folks? That's bologna!

About a dozen high-profile recruits from South Florida are attending Saturday's game as guests of the Florida Gators. You better believe it matters who wins and who loses. A Florida blowout WILL sway recruits. A Miami upset WILL sway recruits.

Florida coach Urban Meyer refers to the recruitment of Patchan as one of the most intense battles of his career. Patchan was such a Miami Hurricanes fan that it pained him to watch the 'Canes get blanked by Virginia last season. Everyone remembers these quote, right?

"There's too many guys that it doesn't bother them that they lost the game," Patchan told the Internet fan website, canesport.com. "There's too many guys now at the U that [say], `It's OK we lost. Well, what am I going to do tonight?' Like it doesn't mean anything. They need to get rid of those types of guys. Half those guys in Miami uniforms shouldn't be there -- they physically don't cut it.''

With that in mind, landing Patchan would have helped the 'Canes. The Gators' coaching staff is in love with the kid and his effort level. Patchan played more than 20 snaps in the Gators' season opener and Meyer said on Monday that Patchan deserves even more playing time against the 'Canes. Besides that, Meyer said that Patchan is "out of his mind" with emotion this week to play Miami.

Florida defensive line coach Dan McCarney didn't help recruit Patchan but he certainly appreciates him. McCarney is one of the guys who helped morph South Florida defensive end George Selvie into one of the best players in the country. McCarney thinks he can do the same with Patchan.

“If we could bring four Matt Patchans into the program every year, if I’m guaranteed four Patchans, then I’ll promise you we will be making a run at the national championship on the defensive line,” McCarney said.

If Florida can successfully recruit the Matt Patchans of the world, then why can't Florida make a dent in UM coach Randy Shannon's recruiting monopoly in Miami-Dade County? A shutout on Saturday certainly would help the cause. Miami is starting a freshman quarterback with no experience. It could happen.

And you can go ahead and mark down a 15-yard penalty for excessive celebration if Patchan sacks Robert Marve.

-jo-

Here's a list of South Florida recruits who are expected to attend Saturday's game, according to Rivals.com recruiting expert Adam Gorney: Denard Robinson (senior quarterback, Deerfield Beach), Jared Wheeler (senior offensive tackle, Plantation American Heritage), Jaamal Berry (senior running back, Miami Palmetto), Eugene Smith (senior quarterback, Miramar), Antwan Lowery (senior defensive tackle, Miami Columbus), Michael Carter (senior cornerback, Pompano Beach Blanche Ely), Rantavious Wooten (junior receiver, Belle Glade), Korvin Lamb (junior running back, Miami Northwestern), Todd Chandler (junior defensive tackle, Miami Northwestern), Eduardo Clements (junior receiver, Miami Booker T. Washington), Frankie Telfort (senior linebacker, Miami Gulliver Prep).

THROWBACK PHOTO: Not long ago, UM's Leonard Hankerson and UF's Major Wright were teammates; They're still friends

GAINESVILLE -- I've been saving this picture for a few years. Back when I was covering preps in Broward County, one of my favorite days of the year was driving around the county on National Signing Day and covering (celebrating) the big day with all of Broward's college-bound football players.

Every year, my trek around Broward would end at Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas. The Raiders wait until the end of the school day to have their signing ceremony, which allows all the reporters to attend.

Check out this classic photo from the Raiders' 2006 signing-day ceremony: Pictured are UM receiver Leonard Hankerson, UF safety Major Wright and Mississippi State quarterback Wesley Carroll -- all 2007 graduates of St. Thomas. (Yes, the dork in the middle of the photo is me.)

-jo-

AUDIO: Listen to WR Louis Murphy call out 'The U'

GAINESVILLE -- In Sunday's paper, Gator Clause and The Miami Herald was the first to bring you UF quarterback Tim Tebow's and receiver Louis Murphy's impressive display of proper pregame smack talk. For a link to that story CLICK ME!

Now Gator Clause is the first to bring to you the audio file of Murphy's diss on The U. Murphy says Florida is the real 'U.' CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON BELOW!

Produced and edited by Joseph Goodman, The Miami Herald

In today's Miami Herald, read how the Gators are preparing to crush the Canes in The Swamp.

Also in today's Miami Herald, the Miami Hurricanes set their sights on a Swamp battle (by Manny Navarro) and a history of the UF-UM series (by Jeff Shain).

-jo-