Staff Writers

Website: http://gatorsportsnation.com

Posts by Staff:

Will Nike Pro Combat uniforms spark another victory over Georgia?

Posted by Staff Writers on October 25th, 2010   No Comment

When the Florida Gators take the field against the Georgia Bulldogs Saturday, they’ll do so in some unusual attire.

They’ll be wearing the Nike Pro Combat uniform, which features a lot of futuristic accents, gator-skin patterns, and new sports apparel technologies.

However, while the Gators’ garments will be different than anything that they have worn before, this isn’t the first time that Nike has used “The World’s Largest Outdoor Gathering of People Who Consume Alcohol” to showcase a new Florida uniform.

During Urban Meyer’s first season in Gainesville, Nike introduced the jersey known by many Gator fans as simply “The Sleeve.”

Nike basically took Florida, Miami, and Virginia Tech, and slapped a solid orange sleeve on the uniform of each school, experimenting with three of their marquee schools.

And while the “The Sleeve” never really had much success in terms of merchandise sales (I’ve only see one fan wearing the infamous jersey), it did give the Gators a boost on the field.

Coming off a tough loss to LSU, an orange-sleeved Florida football team defeated the previously unbeaten Georgia Bulldogs 14-10, ending the ‘Dawgs’ bid for perfection and catapulting themselves back in to the SEC East race.

While the Gators ultimately failed to capitalize on their chance to go to Atlanta, the end of the 2005 season played a huge role in gaining momentum for the following 2006 season, which produced the school’s second national title.

So, while wearing these uniforms will probably just create a mild media buzz and help Florida sell a few more hats and shirts, there is an outside shot that they could serve as motivation for a team that is down in the dumps.

Sounds dumb, you say? We’ll just have to wait and see.

Post to Twitter

Will a jersey change spark another victory over Georgia

Posted by Staff Writers on October 25th, 2010   No Comment

Simply put, this season’s offense looks very similar to the 2005 version.

Post to Twitter

TE recruit A.C. Leonard recommits to Gators, then receives season suspension

Posted by Staff Writers on October 20th, 2010   No Comment

Four-star tight end recruit A.C. Leonard made news two weeks ago when he withdrew his commitment from Florida and left “The Swamp” early during the Gators’ 33-29 loss to the LSU Tigers.

However, after some flirting with Nebraska, Alabama, and Miami, Leonard reaffirmed his desire to suit up as a Gator Monday and said that his recruitment was over.

“Lately people have been coming into my life for the wrong reasons,” Leonard told Scout.com. “They have been giving me bad advice, but now I have had time to sit down and think things through. I am a Gator and I am shutting the whole process down.”

Leonard apologized to the Florida coaches, fans, and other recruits for his wavering commitment and plans to enroll at UF in January.

While Urban Meyer is probably thrilled to have an athlete of Leonard’s caliber, recent events have brought on some cause for concern.

The FHSAA announced Wednesday that Leonard would be suspended for the rest of the season due to an on-field altercation with an opposing player Oct. 15.

According to The Gainesville Sun, Leonard “took a swing” at an opponent, which led to his second ejection of the season.

While Leonard will be just the latest top-notch football player to lace up his cleats in Gainesville, he brings an unwelcome attitude to the Gators’ locker room.

The nation’s No. 5 tight end recruit not only displayed selfish behavior by wavering on his commitment to Florida so extremely in the media the past two weeks, but he apparently also has quite a temper.

Chris Rainey’s legal trouble earlier this season resulted in arrest No. 30 during Meyer’s tenure and if the Gators’ head coach wants to reverse that trend, he shouldn’t be recruiting problematic players like Leonard.

Even though the season suspension may humble the Jacksonville University Christian tight end and help him mature, Meyer and Florida are taking a risk by giving a scholarship to an unpredictable guy like Leonard.

Post to Twitter

Should Trey Burton Start at QB?

Posted by Staff Writers on October 17th, 2010   No Comment

Post to Twitter

The Gators Need Andre Debose on the Field

Posted by Staff Writers on October 13th, 2010   No Comment

In perhaps the most inspired play of Florida’s 33-29 loss to LSU, redshirt freshman Andre Debose returned a kickoff 88 yards for a touchdown, cutting the Tigers’ lead over the Gators to 26-21.

For Debose, who has yet to live up to the endless Percy Harvin comparisons that have been thrust upon him, that touchdown could not have come at a better time.

After recovering from his season-ending hamstring injury in 2009, the Gator Nation expected big things from the prized recruit of Urban Meyer’s 2009 recruiting class.

However, Debose was given very limited playing time and had only six catches for 66 yards in Florida’s first five games.

Luckily for No. 4, the left foot injury to junior running back Jeff Demps’ forced Debose into service on kickoff returns and each game quickly became a “do or die” scenario for the young Florida speedster.

And in a big moment against the Bayou Bengals, Debose “did and didn’t die,” and if that isn’t enough for Meyer and Steve Addazio to make him an integral part of the offense, then the Florida faithful should prepare for continued offensive woes.

While he may not be the second coming of Percy Harvin, Debose is still very quick, can find holes easily, and will make defenders look silly in the open field.

“We identified an electric playmaker tonight,” Meyer told The Gainesville Sun. “Now we need him to do that more consistent and more often.”

If Meyer keeps giving Debose opportunities to make plays with the football in his hands, he will do just that and give Florida a much-needed home run threat.

Post to Twitter

Florida Secondary Will Make Passing Tough for LSU

Posted by Staff Writers on October 7th, 2010   No Comment

As if the LSU Tigers haven’t had enough trouble in the passing game, this week’s matchup will make matters worse for their quarterback situation.

Junior Jordan Jefferson has barely completed half of his passes (51.7 percent completion percentage) while throwing six interceptions and fellow junior Jarrett Lee, who lost the job to Jefferson, has thrown 18 career picks.

Granted, the Jefferson-Lee duo led the Tiger offense to a 434-yard performance in last week’s 16-14 win against Tennessee, but the Bayou Bengals face a completely different animal in “The Swamp” this Saturday.

The Florida Gators defense has been the team’s strength so far in 2010, limiting opponents to just 291 yards of total offense and 17.6 points per game.

However, the stat that should concern LSU the most about the Gator defense is their 12 interceptions this season, the highest total in the FBS so far this season.

Jefferson and Lee will share time at quarterback this weekend and in one of the nation’s toughest environments at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, they will have keep their composure and lead the Tiger offense on efficient scoring drives, things that they both failed to do in their home victory against the Volunteers.

If the Tigers can manage to have at least some success passing the ball, it will keep Ahmad Black and the Florida defense honest and allow them to rely on the SEC’s leading rusher in running back Stevan Ridley.

However, if LSU falls behind early and are forced into a pass-first game as a result, it will be a long day for the Mad Hatter and the No. 12 Tigers in Gainesville.

Post to Twitter

Jeff Demps is Still Very Dynamic, Even at “90 percent”

Posted by Staff Writers on October 4th, 2010   No Comment

Following Florida’s 31-6 loss to Alabama, junior running back Jeff Demps told Antonya English of TampaBay.com that he was just “90 percent” during the Gators’ defeat in Tuscaloosa.

Demps, who sprained his left foot against Tennessee September 18, has accumulated 735 all-purpose yards for Florida this season and serves as the unofficial spark plug for the Gator offense.

That being said, having him out of the regular rotation really hampered the Florida rushing attack against the Crimson Tide defense Saturday, which racked up only 79 yards on the ground (47 by Demps).

First of all, Demps’ injury stems from the fact that Urban Meyer and Steve Addazio are using their top speedster the wrong way.

Instead of accepting the fact that Demps thrives when he gets the ball in open space and faces defenders one-on-one down the field, they instead choose to run him between the tackles, which led to him spraining his foot.

In the future, the Gators should resort to using Emmanuel Moody and Trey Burton for up-the-middle runs and let Demps do what he does best–get around the edge and burn defensive backs.

Additionally, Florida underused Demps against the Crimson Tide and it significantly hurt the offense.

Even at just “90 percent,” Demps is still one of the best playmakers on the field and even though he told English that the injury bothers him when he runs and tries to cut, run, or come back, a gimpy Demps is still mighty quick.

The coaching staff’s hesitance to use Demps while he is nursing a foot injury is understandable, but giving him a few more carries creates just that many more opportunities for the Gators to break a potential game-changing play.

Post to Twitter

Do the reloading Gators deserve a No.3 ranking?

Posted by Staff Writers on August 7th, 2010   No Comment

Lower expectations for the Florida Gators football team this year? Evidently that’s not the case. According to the USA Today Top 25 coaches preseason poll, the Gators will open the 2010 college football season exactly where they finished – ranked #3 in the nation.

Due to the fact that Florida lost several great players to the draft, many analysts and scouts expect UF to have somewhat of a reloading season this year. In order to live up to their #3 position, Florida’s underclassmen must step up. Meyer will have to find players that can fill the void of Tim Tebow, Joe Haden, Maurkice Pouncey, Aaron Hernandez, Carlos Dunlap and Brandon Spikes. There are a lot of talented players on the squad to choose from but, the players lack experience which could cause trouble down the road – especially when the Gators face the defending champions on October 2. Since the players are unproven, UF is definitely not worthy of such a high ranking. If the voters based their votes on each teams’ potential, then Florida is very much worthy of their position. Urban Meyer has done nothing but attracted top talent. Year after year Meyer and the Gators have had one of the top recruiting classes in the nation.

The coaches’ poll makes up one-third of the Bowl Championship Series calculation. The talent is there, no doubt. The problem is, the players are totally unproven. With that said, for the orange and blue, a No. 3 ranking is very surprising. This just goes to show how much respect the coaches have for Urban Meyer and the Florida Gator football organization.

Post to Twitter