GAINESVILLE -- OK, first off, the editorial board at Gator Clause wanted to begin this week not by writing about Florida but first writing about a guy from Florida. What a terrible job the Southeastern Conference did this week in selecting its defensive player of the week. Clearly, at no point on Saturday, did the SEC watch LSU's Patrick Peterson, the cornerback from Pompano Beach Blanche Ely.
Speaking of the SEC players of the week, UF kicker Chas Henry was the league's special teams player of the week for his four-punt performance against Vanderbilt. Henry's punt team has allowed just 13 total return yards this season. (That's 13 too many for UF coach Urban Meyer, the special teams coordinator, who told me on Monday that coaching UF's punt team is his favorite part of the job.)
Meyer gushed and gushed about his special teams on Monday during his weekly press conference -- (Good to see you, Urban. We missed you on Sunday.) -- but we won't touch on that here. Not because we don't think it's interesting or important but because we'll probably write about it in the paper this week. One nugget of information you might find interesting, Urban said he only selects "accountable" players for his punt team. Also, Jon Bostic, Will, Adrian Bushell and Cade Holliday are the only Gators on the team who have played on three special teams units at some point during a game season. That's right, Joe Haden is the man.
News to report: Safety Dorian Munroe, torn ACL, done. Munroe's career on the football field has been frustrating but, in the end, Munroe's career on the football field will not define him as an individual. Not one bit. This is one of the coolest cats you'll ever meet and he's currently enrolled in graduate school for sports management. Munroe hopes to be a sports agent.
Something a few people might take for granted when evaluating Florida quarterback Tim Tebow: On Monday, Meyer told me that Tebow was the best short-yardage player he has ever coached. More detailed analysis on this later in the week.
Florida's recurring problem of allowing too many sacks was a talking point on Monday. Tebow said that he's holding on to the ball too long in the pocket at times. Tebow was sacked four times against Vanderbilt. For the year, Tebow has been sacked 21 times. For some reason, I don't think Tebow is totally to blame for that statistic. For what it's worth, Tebow said he is healthier at this point in the season than he has been in the past three seasons.
-jo-
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