Florida Gator recruit, Matt Elam, was planning on enrolling to school early, but after hearing about Coach Meyer taking a leave of absence, he has decided to remain in school through the spring season to make his decision.

Elam is a five-star Running Back who is expected to make a big splash on the college football scene. Hopefully, he makes the splash as a Gator, but there’s still a chance that he could change his mind.

Gators Sports Nation will keep track of Elam’s decision, as well as the rest of the Gator recruits. Stay tuned.

Just 24 hours after Urban Meyer chose to resign as the Gators head coach, he has changed his mind to take an indefinite leave of absence which will now leave Offensive coordinator Steve Addazio as the interim head coach.

Meyer spilled out the news to the team before they boarded their flight to New Orleans, where they will play Cincinnati in the Sugar Bowl on January 1. Sources said that Meyer will coach in the Sugar Bowl but Steve Addazio will take over until he is ready to come back. Addazio did confirm that he will serve with the interim-coach duties.

Sources stated that Urban broke down emotionally several times when telling the Florida players that he was resigning. But apparently he had a long talk with the team during the plan ride to New Orleans that must of given him second thoughts.

It’s going to be pretty awkward around without coach Meyer. I wonder what Meyer’s role will be during his absence and also how much or will he be involved at all? Also, what about coach Addazio? He is already the offensive line coach and offensive coordinator, and now named the interim head coach. How will he react with all of this on his plate?

Just one day since Meyer has talked about how he has bad health and the risk he would be at if he remained the Florida head coach, he has just decided to take a leave of absence instead of resigning. What could have been said?

Meyer has led the Gators to BCS National championships in 2006 and 2008 will be speaking to the press live on ESPN at 4:30 in New Orleans, shortly after the team arrived.

In a shocking revelation, Florida Gators Head Football coach, Urban Meyer, has announced his departure from coaching. In what is being declared a medical reason, it was recently revealed that Urban Meyer will be done with his coaching career. What a major blow to the Florida Gator program. Meyer is 42 years young, which means that whatever the medical cause is, it must be serious enough to put an end to his Gator coaching days. If you remember, Urban Meyer was transported to the hospital following the SEC Championship Game. It was announced that he was dehydrated, but could there be more to what happened that night?

A slew of assistant coaches, including Defensive Coordinator Charlie Strong, have left Florida to coach elsewhere, and Meyer’s departure will give Florida an even bigger hole to fill in the coaching staff. Well, I guess that Meyer can now walk away with the greatest Gator in history, Tim Tebow, who will head onto the NFL Draft following this season.

More news on this story will be unveiled when more information is released. Stay tuned to GSN as we will be providing updates all night!

7:28 PM EST: I was just thinking about what this could do for Florida’s recruiting. There certainly will be some prospects cutting Florida off there list, hopefully no one will transfer or switch campuses now.

7:30 PM EST: Cincinatti Bearcats coach, Butch Scott, posted this on his twitter: “Our collective thoughts and prayers go out to UC alumnus Urban Meyer and his family”.

7:41 PM EST: Just heard that Bob Stoops may be a candidate. Very interesting.

7:47 PM EST: Just checked out Rich Eisen’s twitter (NFL Network host), and he mentioned what this means for some NFL coaches: “Let the Shanahan (Gator alum) and Gruden speculation begin.” Interesting thought, I love Jon Gruden, who was a coach in Tampa Bay, but could he transition to college football? That’s the big question.

7:50 PM EST: I didn’t know that Charlie Strong only signed a term sheet, so technically he can still change his decision. Highly unlikely in my opinion, but there’s still a chance.

The #5 rated prospect in the country, Ronald Powell, has been getting the attention of many top notch colleges in America. From UCLA to Miami, Powell has seen it all. Originally, USC was leading the way for Powell’s decision, but now a new team has quickly stolen the spotlight. Guess who? That’s right, the University of Florida.

Powell’s decision on putting Florida on top of his list is simply based on, “What haven’t they done?”. Think about it. Florida has been at the top of the rankings all season, and even with their devastating loss to Alabama, Florida is still one of the best programs in all of college football. So why wouldn’t Powell consider the Gators? Powell hasn’t taken an “official” visit to Gainesville, but in his multiple “unofficial” visits, Powell seems to think that Florida could soon be his “home”.

He will be taking part in the Army All-American game on January 9th, 2010. If he is still undecided by then, he could possibily make his decision during the game, or even after the game. But be sure to check him out when he steps onto the field.

More info on Ronald Powell:

• 6’4″, 240 lbs
• High school: Moreno Valley (Calif.) Rancho Verde
•  Five-star prospect, #5 overall
• Possible schools: Florida, USC, UCLA, Miami
• Defensive End

Florida Gator senior Brandon James played his last game of his Gator career against Alabama and will not play against Cincinnati in the Sugar Bowl on January 1.

James injured his right foot against Alabama in the SEC championship game on December 5 and underwent surgery last week. He missed the whole second half of the Bama game and said after the game that he didn’t know how bad it was or how long he would be out for but hoped he would be ready for the Sugar Bowl. But it’s not happening and it’s tough to hear.

“James is a heck of a player, especially in the return game,” UF coach Urban Meyer said. “But the good thing is (Chris) Rainey and (Jeff) Demps are also very capable guys. I’m kind of excited to watch them go get it.”

CB Joe Haden may also see some time with Demps and Rainey on the Return unit against the Bearcats.

James is UF’s all-time punt return leader in yards with 1,371 which is the seventh in the NCAA among all active players in their career punt return average (11.7) and is also in second for punt return yards. James is also second among all active players with four punt returns for touchdowns. It’s so sad to hear this about Brandon, he is such a good kid and his final game as a Gator comes to an end a little earlier than he pictured, it is just a bummer. We wish Brandon the best of luck and hope to see him on the sidelines cheering on his teammates.

(Quote gathered from Antonya English/Gator Report)