Gator Clause

Suspended Florida OL Jessamen Dunker again in legal trouble

Florida sophomore offensive lineman and Boynton Beach High alum Jessamen Dunker was cited last week by Gainesville police for speeding and unknowingly driving with a license that is suspended or revoked, according to Alachua County Court records.

Already indefinitely suspended from all team activities because of a Jan. 16 arrest on charges of grand theft of a motor vehicle and driving with a suspended license, Dunker's offenses from last week appear to violate the terms of his release from jail following the January arrest. According to court records, Dunker was released under the provision that he would not drive a motor vehicle without a valid driver's license, among other conditions.

Asked Tuesday about Dunker's status with the team, Florida coach Will Muschamp said: "He’s been suspended. I haven’t had any communication with him."

A team spokesman confirmed Muschamp was aware of the most recent incident.

Dunker is represented by attorney Huntley S. Johnson, who entered a plea of not guilty on Dunker's behalf in response to the January charges. According to Johnson, Dunker maintains he bought the scooter legitimately for $600 and did not know the scooter was stolen.

More information coming soon.

Gators Spring Football Update: Muschamp provides early depth chart; Purifoy at WR; Riggs, Gorman starting

Florida football coach Will Muschamp met with the media Tuesday on the eve of spring practice, providing a preliminary depth chart and addressing several issues as the Gators head into their first practice of 2013 on Wednesday.
The full depth chart is below, but one of the big highlights is the listing of cornerback Loucheiz Purifoy as a starting wide receiver. Purifoy is not listed at all on the defensive side of the ball.
According to Muschamp, Purifoy will remain a cornerback but he will also spend the first week of spring practice working exclusively with the offense in order to further develop his skills at a position of weakness for Florida.
“He (Purifoy) will still be a corner on our football team,” Muschamp said. “Y'all know me. Spring is about experimenting and looking at different things.”
While the Gators have plenty of depth at cornerback to allow Purifoy to experiment on the offensive side of the ball, there is uncertainty at the safety position, where both spots are wide open after the departures of Josh Evans and Matt Elam. The competition will be considerable.
As of now, two area players appear to be the frontrunners for starting spots.
Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas alum Cody Riggs is listed as a starter at safety alongside Monsignor Pace alum Jabari Gorman. Depending on packages, cornerback Jaylen Watkins can also be used at safety.
Riggs redshirted last season after breaking a bone in his foot in Week 2 against Texas A&M, but he has the most experience at the position and will be the man to beat in spring.
Right tackle Chaz Green, the starter at the position last season, will miss all of spring after ankle surgery. Buck defensive end Ronald Powell will also miss the spring as he is still recovering from a torn ACL suffered during last year’s spring game. Freshman linebacker Matt Rolin (knee) and offensive lineman Ian Silberman (shoulder) will also miss spring.
Right guard Jon Halapio (knee), wide receiver Solomon Patton (arm) and linebacker Neiron Ball will be limited.

OFFENSE

QB – Jeff Driskel, Tyler Murphy, Skyler Mornhinweg
RB – Matt Jones, Mack Brown, Kelvin Taylor
FB – Hunter Joyer, Rhaheim Ledbetter OR Gideon Ajagbe
WR (X) – Quinton Dunbar, Andre Debose, Demarcus Robinson
WR (Z) – Loucheiz Purifoy, Solomon Patton, Raphael Andrades
F Position – Trey Burton, Latroy Pittman, Mike McNeely
TE – Clay Burton, Tevin Westbrook, Kent Taylor, Colin Thompson

LT – D.J. Humphries, Trip Thurman
LG – Max Garcia, Kyle Koehne
C – Jonotthan Harrison, Kyle Koehne
RG – Jon Halapio, Kyle Koehne
RT – Tyler Moore, Quinteze Williams

DEFENSE

DE – Dominique Easley, Jonathan Bullard, Bryan Cox, Jr.
NT – Leon Orr, Darious Cummings
DT – Damien Jacobs, Joey Ivie
Buck DE – Dante Fowler, Jr., Alex McCalister
SLB – Darren Kitchens, Neiron Ball, Jeremi Powell
MLB – Antonio Morrison, Alex Anzalone
WLB – Michael Taylor, Daniel McMillian

CB – Marcus Roberson, Jeremy Brown
CB – Jaylen Watkins, Brian Poole
Nickel CB – Brian Poole, Cody Riggs, Jaylen Watkins
Dime CB – Marcus Maye, Valdez Showers
S – Cody Riggs, Marcus Maye
S – Jabari Gorman, Valdez Showers

SPECIAL TEAMS

K – Brad Phillips OR Austin Hardin
P – Kyle Christy, Todd Fennell
H – Trey Burton, Tyler Murphy
LS – Drew Ferris, Kyle Crofoot
KR – Andre Debose OR Loucheiz Purifoy
PR – Marcus Roberson, Trey Burton

Donovan named SEC Coach of the Year; Boynton, Gators rack up awards

For the second time in his career, Florida basketball coach Billy Donovan was named Tuesday the Southeastern Conference Coach of the Year.

Donovan led the No. 10 Gators (24-6) to an undefeated 15-0 mark at home this season with a 14-4 record in conference play. Florida cut down the nets Wednesday following its win against Vanderbilt that clinched the SEC regular season championship, the fourth under Donovan and fifth in UF history.

The All-SEC teams were also announced Wednesday with Gators senior forward Erik Murphy earning First-Team honors. Pompano Beach native and senior guard Kenny Boynton was named to the Second Team alongside senior guard Mike Rosario and junior center Patric Young.

Young also took home the SEC's Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award for the second straight year. Majoring in telecommunication, Young holds a 3.38 GPA and is averaging 10.5 points and 6.2 rebounds this season.