|
|
-
-
By now, the Lightning are ready to take the ice against Philadelphia. For a brief moment, the focus will
be on the team, not Vinny Lecavalier. For the first time since the rumor mill heated up about a
potential trade to Montreal involving Vinny, we had our chance to ask questions first hand.
The entire Tampa Bay media along with a couple of Canadian reporters fired away at Vinny and GM
Brian Lawton. I came away with the distinct feeling that all was not said today. For one, I was thoroughly
unconvinced that the Lightning are not at least thinking about moving forward without Vinny. Lawton
said the team was not shopping Lecavalier, nor are they looking to trade him, anytime soon. What does
anytime soon mean? I'll tell you. It was a statement for management to buy time as they explore and
discuss life without Vinny. The boys in the Ivory Tower have yet to come to a conclusion. Or perhaps,
all the hub-bub that has fired up since the rumors started is all the barometer Lightning owners will need.
Then again, there is this thing called the economy. It stinks. And the Lightning are feeling it, as is
every other franchise outside of baseball, which apparently is immune to such a thing. Listen, 10M a
year is a heck of a lot of money for this franchise, but then again, Vinny Lecavalier is the face of this
franchise. You would think by now that the NHL owners would get their senses in order. These long
term deals ( 11-years for Vinny) are idiotic. The league can't sustain those kind of numbers, and certainly
not this franchise. Remember, the Lightning only made money one year, the Stanley Cup year. That's
a recipe for bankrupcy, unless your billioniare Bill Davidson, who could sustain those losses for a time,
and then said, the hell with it.
Lawton also told us today that he sat down with Vinny and told him he was not on the market. When
Vinny was asked if he had spoke to Lawton about this, he said, "not really." There was a discussion,
but by Vinny's tone, not much was accomplished. That tells me Lecavalier is not exactly convinced he
won't be dealt, or he just didn't want to say anything.
This trade rumor will not go away until the Lightning come out and say Vincent will not be traded.
Lawton would not commit to that, saying ' who knows what will happen in 10 years." Fair enough. But
this decision will not be made in 7-8-9 years, it will be made soon, perhaps by season's end.
Here's where it gets dicey. Should the Lightning trade Vinny, my guess is the lockeroom will deflate
like a balloon, no matter who the Lightning get in return. V is well liked, but there is something he needs
to do to be the complete franchise player. He needs to take a more active leadership role. If all he
wants to do is play the game at the highest level he plays at, fine. But, if I was his owner, I want him to
be a guy like Dave Andreychuk. Andy was the single most reason why this franchise won a Cup. He
brought leadership, he brought a presence on the ice and in the room, and he taught the team how to
respect the crest. I would have thought Vinny would have developed into that guy by now, but he
hasn't. Marty St. Louis has, who at this given time, is the MVP of this team.
The one person who I'm am growing ever more impressed with is Interim Head Coach Rick Tocchet.
I like the way he is dealing with this situation. I like the way he teaches these players. I like the way
he delivers his message to the youth and vets alike. He's a keeper.
The question now - Is Vinny a keeper?
Tom Korun
|
-
We know this much about the Baltimore-Pittsburgh matchup, it will likely not even be a contest. I have all the respect in the word for the Baltimore defense. In fact, they’re tops as far as I’m concerned. But I think the fairy-tale ride of a rookie Quarterback and rookie Head Coach ends in Pittsburgh.
What HC John Harbaugh has done this season, along with QB Joe Flacco has been nothing short of sensational.
Again, they will have to do it on the road, against a Mike Tomlin team well positioned for a trip to Tampa.
What concerns me is that the Steelers beat the Ravens twice in the regular season. Beating a team three times in one year is no easy feat. What the Steelers seem to have now is a running game with Willie Parker as the wheels. They did not have that earlier this season. QB Ben Roethlisberger was trying to do too much. He doesn’t need to now.
Baltimore’s defense will have plenty say about whether Parker is affective. The Ravens D allowed almost 400 yards of offense last week against Tennessee, but they did create three turnovers, which is the name of the game.
If Roethlisberger doesn’t screw this game up, and plays within himself, Steelers win easily. I’m banking on BR to manage the game, a low, low, low scoring game at that. One of these two teams might not even hit double digits……that would be Baltimore.
TK’s AFC Championship game prediction is: Pittsburgh 20 Baltimore 9
Tom Korun
|
-
It took a little time to get over the shock of Arizona and Philadelphia in the NFC Championship game. After therapy, we are now ready to short out this matchup.
Let’s see, we have an Arizona Cardinals team that hasn’t been on NFL radar screen for at least five decades, maybe six. Oh, there were times the Arizona version had a defense that could carry them places, but an offense that held them back. Now, it appears they have both, and are not remotely listening to the experts who think they have little chance against Philly, even at home.
It’s hard to side with the Cardinals in this game. After all, Philadelphia has been to the NFC title game five times in the last eight years. Second, the Eagles spanked Arizona on Thanksgiving Day by 28 points. If this game was played in Philly, the Eagles could make their reservations for Tampa. But it not, which definitively gives Arizona an advantage. You are looking at a franchise that is starving to become a brother in the post-season fraternity. They have a seemingly ageless Quarterback in Kurt Warner who has experience, and has tasted the SB serum. To count on Warner making the same mistakes he did the last time these two teams played (three interceptions), would be a mistake. Their defense made a grown man cry (Jake Delhomme). You know Arizona will let it all hang out Sunday. Nothing to lose, but they have certainly gained plenty of respect lately.
Do I think Arizona has a chance to win this game? I do. Same goes for Philly. Personally, to make Philly a 3 ½ point road-favorite in this game was a mistake. If Philly wins, it will be by less than 3.
My NFC Championship Game prediction: Arizona 21 Philadelphia 20
Tom Korun
|
-
LB DERRICK BROOKS
“I'd first like to congratulate Coach Dungy on a great career and wish him well moving forward. I certainly look forward to partnering with him on various community projects in Tampa. He certainly meant a lot to me as a role model; displaying high character, great integrity and consistency as a man. We cannot ask for a better ambassador for the game of football than Coach Dungy as he has always lived his life by faith, family and football, in that order.”
RB WARRICK DUNN
“The good news is that Coach Dungy may leave football but what he's really doing is moving his extraordinary influence to other places. Just like he did for me and for countless other players - he will always be able to help teach young men how to be grown and able men. And we need this - not just in football but in the bigger game of life.”
|
-
On upcoming game versus Auburn:
"This is our first SEC road game for us against a team that is very quick and very athletic. Last year they played a good portion of the year without their center, Korvotney Barber, who is back and is having a great year. They have added some different pieces to their team and they are a team that shoots the ball from behind the line very well. They also are a team that changes defenses and tries to give you a bunch of different looks. Going on the road, I think us handling the ball will be critical. I think we will see some full court pressure and some changes in defense in the half court so our ability to continue to do a good job on assist to turnover ration will be very important. Another big key to the game will be those quickness plays and loose ball plays because they are so quick to the ball. They are a unique to team to defend because they do have the ability to play five guys in the perimeter and put five three-point shooters out there, so that will be a challenge!
. We have a lot to get ready for because they are a complex team that is consistent and somewhat experienced and older. They have guys that have been around for a couple of years."
On Gator's need for consistent play:
"You would always like to see the consistency get better. We have had some great shooting games and some awful shooting games. That is what you are always looking for in a young team, player development and growth."
On Billy Donovan inching in on 300 Gator victories:
"In today's day and age of coaching, it is really hard to stay at a place for a long period of time. I appreciate everyone in the administration for the opportunity they provided for me. In 13 years here going back to Greg Stolt and Eddie Shannon to Mike Miller and Udonis Haslem to Matt Walsh, David Lee and Anthony Roberson, and then to this last group, I have been very fortunate to have had some really good players to coach. I think when you see that number there, it takes me back to when it first started and believing in those guys that changed me as a coach."
On Billy Donovan's first year coaching at UF:
"We were not the most talented group but they played really hard and gave me everything they had. Certainly there were some frustrating games but I give that team a lot of respect. Because they really overachieved. It is always special when you get a chance to be apart of something, impact from the ground floor and be a part of the building process. There is definitely an appreciation for when it all started and everything that went into it."
On being out-rebounded against Ole Miss:
"It is always bad when you get out-rebounded by 24. It is no question a challenge for our frontcourt because they are not physically imposing. We have some guys like Allan Chaney , Kenny Kadji and Eloy Vargas that could help in that department but are deficient and behind in some other areas. Sometimes our players are very much consumed with trying to block out and in trying to do so physically, when the ball comes off the rim, a lot of times, we are not a great team at reacting to the ball. Those are plays that we have to get better in, where a shot is getting ready to go up and you see our guys trying to block out and are under contact and when the ball comes off and they are tangled up. That is one area that we have to try to get better in. The other area is what I call rotational block outs. Our guards sometimes on the perimeter get hammered way too much off the dribble and what happens is the ball enters the paint and we get caught with a big man providing help and the!
shot goes up and our guards have got to do a better job in rotating down to rebounders that are left open in the middle lane or on the weak side. Our guards contribute to being out-rebounded by 24 as much as our frontcourt did. Nick Calathes ended up having seven rebounds in the game and that is great for a point guard but in retrospect, he probably should have had 12 to 15. He needs to get down inside and rotationally block out. A problem is that our guys don't quite see the play developing in the middle of the play. They react after the play, and that is something they need to get better in. Hopefully through practice, we can try to put them in those situations where we can expose it to them and make them address it."
On Freshman guard Ray Shipman:
"Ray did a pretty good job while he was in there (Ole Miss game). More than anything else, when we play a team that plays zone like they did, Ray still needs to understand his niche on offense. In time, I think that he can be a very good three-point shooter. Most freshmen that come and play in the backcourt, we are not relying on their shooting but on their defense. His understanding in the game on Saturday on how we could utilize his skill set against a zone and be effective is something that will be important to him going in to the rest of the season. He is a guy that could help on the boards but I would not classify him as a great rebounder. He is an active rebounder, especially on the offensive glass, but Ray needs to be the type of player we can put on someone where he can play a defense and put pressure on his opponent and slow somebody down."
On this year's team compared to last year's:
"Last year, they did not know really how to practice. I don't know if Dan Werner, Marreese Speights, and Jonathan Mitchell, who were sophomores, saw the beginning product. To go all the way back to losing to Manhattan in the NCAA tournament and really being dominated in that game and the work that went in to becoming better defensively and getting better, there was a lot of hard work that went in there. Last year on our team, our players just did not know and we didn't have anybody who could really show them the way. At the end of last season, they started to see some of the areas where they needed to get better and saw the correlation between practicing well and having consistency in practice. The next step that comes from practice is the level of commitment on things that we need to get better at as a team. They have gotten better in a lot of different areas. I think we are a better transition defensive team than we were a year ago. There is definitely some deficiency in t!
he things we have and I think every team has it. There is no pure team but the good teams identify what their problems are and what they have to do then find a way to overcome them or really confront them. Some of those things on our team have been exposed to us and now we have to see if can confront them."
On Auburn's Junior guard Tay Waller:
"He is a deep three-point shooter. He has had games where he has taken over 10 three-point shots. He has the green light to shoot and has great range, which is going to be a real challenge for us. This team has a lot of great three-point shooters and we have to be able to block out against this team. We also do not want to give them open, uncontested threes as they really thrive on that."
On Alex Tyus's recent production:
"We have got to understand his game and how to get him the ball and identify where he needs to get the ball. In his first few games, a lot of his points came on transition and in the open court. He did start the Ole Miss game that way as he got a dunk in transition and then Nick (Calathes) made a nice pass behind the defense and he got a layup. He got off to a good offensive start but in the SEC now, he is not going to be able to out run or sneak behind players and get those baskets he had early on. There were some times however, where we could have thrown him the ball and used his quickness and we missed him. I don't think that is anything other than the fact that I have to point that out to the team. Alex has got to find a way to get rebounds and be much more aggressive when he is posting up. I don't think he is ever going to be the smash mouth, post-up, physical guy but there are sometimes when we are coming down in transition and the ball gets past out to the wing and in!
stead of passing it to the top, the guy on the wing should pass be able to pass the ball to him, even if he has a man on him, and let Tyus use his quickness."
|
-
Reports out of Seattle say that Gus Bradley has been hired by Seattle as Defensive Coordinator. So, the Bucs defensive staff continues to deplete beginning with the exit of Monte Kiffin. There is also a report that former Bucs linebackers coach Joe Barry is headed to the Seahawks in the same capacity. Barry was thought to be up for the linebackers job in Tampa if Bradley moved on. I never got that logic. Why would Barry want to come back to a franchise that ticked him off before his departure in the first place.
Now we wait and see if Raheem Morris is in play as Denver's Head Coach. We should hear something there soon.
Oh, by the way, Former Lions Head Coach Rod Marinelli was hired by the Bears as their Defensive Line coach.
Tom Korun
|
-
After listening to Gators Head Coach Urban Meyer today, Tim Tebow will defintely be surrounded by people who will help the lefty make the right decision. Tebow will get input from several people around the NFL who Meyer trusts, including Jaguars Head Coach Jack Del Rio.
I noticed something today when Tebow disembarked the plane upon the teams arrival in Gainesville. He looked like a man in deep thought, almost anguished with something, and that might be the decision he faces. Or could it be Tebow is leaning towards the NFL already and felt the effects of his final trip with the Gators. I don't think I've ever seen Tebow look so serious, especially after coming off another national championship.
If Tebow does go pro, I would not be surprised in the least if former Miami QB Robert Marve from Tampa heads to Florida. Of course, he'll have to enroll as a regular student, and pay tuition, and walk-on. I am convinced that Florida is Marve's first choice, and may opt for this move to work around Miami's hard stance to not allow the former Plant High QB to play for Florida. Keep in mind, tuition to Florida for in-state students is not that expensive, likely within the affordability of his family. If his intent to play for Urban Meyer, I think this move is a slam-dunk. But it all looms on Tebow's decision. I ask you - would Marve be a good fit for the Gators?
Tom Korun
|
-
|
Bruce Allen opening statement.
"We are evaluating the season. When I am talking about the season it is really starting February 15 last year through the end of the Raider game. We are very pleased with some of the accomplishments this year. We are awfully disappointed in the end, and it makes it a very interesting project.
"It is a 9-3 team that put itself in position to make a strong run in the playoffs. It has players that you all were recognizing as potential Pro Bowl players. It is a team that finished 0-4. All in one, all in one locker room, same coaches and same players. It makes it very important that we do an honest assessment of what took place this season and that is what we are doing right now."
The Buccaneers have struggled in December in the past few seasons and Allen was asked about the late season woes.
"It is really hard to compare one season to another. You have a different cast of players and coaches from year to year. There are different circumstances. We are analyzing the way we practice, and everything, from the medical health of our players to what we can do. Although we are pleased that 9-7 is not a poor record. We are not satisfied with where we ended up this season. It is disappointing, and we are going to correct it."
Tampa Bay had over $20 million under the cap during last season, and Allen was asked if that money could have been spent to give the team better depth to withstand the injuries that impacted the Bucs down the stretch.
"The reason we have cap room is we've been able to carry over cap room from the 2006 season to the 2007 season, and from the 2007 season to the 2008 season, and we are going to that again this year for the 2009 season. We did that because our intention is to spend the cap room. We never want it to go to waste and we are allowed to do that according to the collective bargaining agreement.
"As far as depth, when we went out into free agency last year we looked at the players that were going to be available. We looked at the draft obviously to build some depth on the football team. Our free agents class has some really good success when you compare it to the other free agents that were available. Antonio Bryant as you all know had a spectacular season. He was better then any other free agent production wise at wide receiver. [Defensive lineman Jimmy] Wilkerson was third or fourth in sacks among the free agents available. Jerramy Stevens was second I believe in receptions among free agent tight ends. [Center Jeff] Faine was a Pro Bowl alternate, so we addressed a lot of the needs in free agency.
"At the end of training camp you have to cut your team to 53 players. You are allowed to put guys on your practice squad. Your depth has to come from within there. If there was a great free agent available December 15th who demanded or commanded a high salary, yes we would have signed him. The players available December 15th are not the players that command that type of salary, so our depth is based on where you are at the beginning of the year. I am not going to just bury by any means injuries, but everybody has to manage their injuries any way they can during the season. I don't think there was a player that we felt could really help this team in December that we didn't go after, or would not have gone after. If the trading deadline was December 15th, we would have tried to trade for someone immediately to sure up some of the holes."
With the Buccaneers owners, the Glazer family, taking on a big purchase of the English soccer club Manchester United, some have theorized that as a reason why the Bucs have not spent as much money on player salaries. Allen was asked if Tampa Bay has the money available to sign any player that he and the front office would want for the Buccaneers.
"Oh yeah, that has never even been a question," Allen said. "What I want to do is make sure that we spend on it on people who are going to be apart of the Buccaneers for the 2009 season and beyond. It doesn't make sense to bring in some of the players that will be available in free agency and have them play next to players that are more worthy of them then their reward. When you talk about the cap room understand that where we spend is different then the cap. The fact that we utilize the collective bargaining agreement to our benefit, and some teams don't do that. We carry over to make sure that every cap dollar we have is never wasted."
Allen was asked again if he feels limited in what he can spend in free agency because of Glazer's pouring millions of dollars into Manchester United.
"No. Manchester United, there's a reason why it's the most valuable sports franchise in the world," said Allen. "It's very successful. That has nothing to do with us. The Glazers have given us every opportunity to sign anybody that we elect to sign. In fact, they very much would like us to make sure we do improve the football team. It's never once been brought up. First of all, they are two totally separate companies completely, but the Glazers have been very strong in wanting us to be aggressive, but picking the right people. We've signed a few free agents I'm not real proud of, and I probably feel worse about it. You aren't going to hit 100 percent in free agency or the draft. We have been aggressive and we plan to be aggressive. A player like Jimmy Wilkerson, I'm sure he didn't get the headlines when we signed him, but his production was very good. His special teams contributions were outstanding and he showed up in the sack department. He's part of the reason why we were 9-3 at one point. We will continue to be aggressive."
Allen was asked about the departure of defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, and how that affected the team. After the rumors of Kiffin leaving became public the Bucs defense struggled mightily in the final four games, and Kiffin confirmed his leaving the organization with two games remaining in the season.
"Obviously that has been discussed and bantered around," said Allen. "When I think of Monte, I think of someone who has had a tremendous career here, and going into this season we had a conversation that if Lane Kiffin (Monte's son) got fired by Raiders, and if Lane did ‘x' what he was going to do, and he has earned the right to make that decision. To say that is the reason why we missed a tackle in the Oakland game I think that would be shallow. I don't think we are going to face that situation again, so I don't know what I can learn from last year that will help us in the future. I am certain we won't face that situation. All the other (coaches') kids are too young and won't be coaching for along time."
Kiffin is not the only coach that is leaving Tampa Bay. Allen discussed the changes and potential changes in the staff.
"[Tight ends coach] Bob Casullo and [assistant head coach] Larry Coyer are looking at other opportunities. [Linebackers coach] Gus Bradley has interviewed for the defensive coordinator job in Seattle. When I came down here there was no decision yet from Seattle in terms of who they are going to hire. I'm not aware of how many people they're going to interview. [Defensive coordinator] Raheem [Morris] has interviewed with the Denver Broncos for their head-coaching job. He has not had any conversations with the Rams."
Allen was asked about who is accountable for the Bucs missing the playoffs in 2008.
"First of all, we are all in this," said Allen. "We win as a team and we lose as a team. Do I share the responsibility? I do more then share the responsibility. I wish there was something I could have done different. I don't know what we would have done differently at the time. Once again we were in a very unique and enviable position of being ahead at home. In our stadium with our fans, going nuts, after Sabby's (Piscitelli) interception there was electricity running through everybody's bones, but we didn't finish.
"To feel the fans pain, we feel it. We are fans we are big fans. We want to see the Bucs win also. Not to steal anybody's line but ‘I feel their pain' is easy because it has been tough. It is tough to watch the playoffs. You had an opportunity. It is not like we were 8-8, we had put ourselves from the hard work of our players and our coaches in good position after 12 games. To be in a strong position for the playoffs, and for that to be taken away is hard."
Allen answered what direction has the Glazers instructed him and Gruden to go in for the season ahead, and how has that changed from years in the past.
"No different than the feelings of the fans. There was hurt at the end of the season. We're going to make sure we correct it for them, and we have to correct it for them. We just have to come up with the right plan, and catch some breaks in free agency and the draft. They feel confident that this team is going to be better next year and better in the future because we do have a core that is quite exciting for us of young players. They're going to be better in '09, better in '10 and even better in '11. That's what we have to build around because that's what we have."
Allen was asked if the Glazers have mandated that organization go in a different direction or have they put any extra pressure on you to get that done quicker?
"They live in championship world, and they want us competing, but that hasn't changed since the first time I met them."
Allen also took a question about the fans that want Gruden fired. Gruden is Tampa Bay's all-time winningest head coach, yet there are fans that want him fired.
"I'm happy people care. I love the passion that the Buccaneers bring on from our fans. They want us to do well and they want the Bucs to win. The fans that want to second guess us or second guess Jon as a coach want us to win. That's the most important part of it. This season as it sits in our stomachs doesn't taste very good. It's a very sour taste. I love that we are in a results-based business. I love that we keep score every week, and I love the win-loss record. That's what makes this so great and that's what creates the passion. Our job is to do better than we did last year, and that's what we're going to work at."
Allen was asked if he feels that he is on the hot seat after what developed over the past season.
"I don't look at it that way. I know it doesn't make sense to some people, but there's nothing that drives me more than the desire to win. The end was disappointing, but it is also what gives you motivation. We also know a lot of what went wrong is correctable. We're going to work within to make sure it's corrected.
"I've seen my father fired enough to understand what the business is. He got fired for being 10-4. He got fired for winning. I understand the business, and I love the business. I love the game."
One of the final questions to Allen pointed out that the Bucs have the best practice facility in the league, and what Allen has called the best coaching staff in the league and now a favorable salary cap situation. But looking back at the past five years this team hasn't won a playoff game and is under .500. Allen was asked how does that sit with him.
"Unsatisfied. We've had opportunities. You fight to get yourself in position in November and December. We have had opportunities, but we haven't closed. It's not acceptable, and we've got to figure out a way to get this team better."
|
-
JOHN HUMENIK: The first trophy
presentation we have this morning with Coach
Meyer, representing the Bowl Championship
Series, is the administrator of the Bowl
Championship Series, Mr. Bill Hancock.
BILL HANCOCK: Good morning,
everybody. I want to thank the Orange Bowl crew,
Danny and Larry and Eric for a great job, and on
behalf of the 11 conference commissioners and
the AFCA, we want to present the Coaches'
Trophy to Coach Urban Meyer and the Florida
Gators.
JOHN HUMENIK: Now we have the
Football Writers Association Grantland Rice
National Championship trophy, which is being
presented by George Schroeder, who's the
president for 2009 of the Football Writers'
Association for the Eugene Register Guard.
GEORGE SCHROEDER: On behalf of the
Football Writers' Association of America this has
been awarded since 1954, and it's the second time
in three years for Florida, third straight time for the
SEC. That's the second time that's happened -
1978 to '80 Georgia did that. I'd like to present you
with the Grantland Rice Award from the Football
Writers Association of America.
JOHN HUMENIK: The next trophy
presentation is being made by Steve Hatchell,
who's the president and CEO of the National
Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame.
STEVE HATCHELL: On behalf of the
National Football Foundation, our 12,000
members, our chairman Archie Manning and our
board of directors, vice-chairman George Weiss,
we are really proud to present this trophy to Urban
Meyer, second time in three years, which is really
special. This trophy has been awarded since
1959. It was started by General Douglas Mac
Arthur, Grantland Rice, the great sports writer and
legendary coach red Blake, and etched on the side
of this replica of the stadium in all silver are all of
the champions since 1959. And as the keepers of
the history and the legacy of the sport of football,
we are really proud to give this to Urban, who not
only is a super coach and a great job, but the
wonderful things he does for the sport. So we're
very honored to be able to give this to you today,
Urban.
JOHN HUMENIK: Our final trophy
presentation this morning is from the Associated
Press, John Affleck, who's the sports enterprise
editor of the Associated Press, is here to present
that trophy.
JOHN AFFLECK: The AP Poll has been
around since 1936, and this is the third time we've
stood on a podium with the University of Florida's
coach, and on behalf of the Associated Press and
our 65 media writers who voted late last night, I
want to offer a hearty congratulations to the
University of Florida as our 2008 national
champion.
JOHN HUMENIK: Coach, I know you
didn't sleep last night but just some general
comments on the evening and this morning, and
then we'll turn the floor over to questions.
COACH URBAN MEYER: I said this last
night. I'd like to thank Danny Ponce and Eric
Poms for the hospitality. I can't imagine a better
week as far as the hospitality and the people in
south Florida taking care of us, Howard
Snellenberg at FAU did a tremendous job. A team
that prepares like we do and take the seriousness
of our practice routine, he went above and beyond
what we asked him to do to make sure the fields
were right. A lot of people to thank, but most
importantly I'd like to thank our players, and this is
all about them. I want to make sure that our
players, this team goes down as one of the great
teams in Florida football history. It's one of the
greatest group of young people I've ever been
around, and I'm starting to get a little bit of
experience behind me now, 20-something years,
and that's saying a lot because I've been around
some great young guys.
Everything they have coming to them, they
January 9, 2009
visit our archives at asapsports.com
$ASQ921-6206 2
deserve it. The team fought through our last two
ballgames, was the epitome of college football.
They fought through adversity, played two
excellent teams coached by -- I'm going to go back
to the Alabama game, by Nick Saban and a
tremendously talented team and then to go against
Coach Stoops, who's one of the best coaches in
the business, and have a great group of very
experienced -- I saw today in the paper how
experienced, just the offensive line and the
veterans they had. My heart is out to our plays. I
know our coaching staff feels the same way, but
this is as good a group of young people as I've
ever been around, and I want to thank them for
that.
Q. How much sleep did you get? And
also, as you hear those names called out over
there on the trophies, people like red Blake and
Grantland Rice, you're a historian of the game.
How does it make you feel to know you have a
secure place in history?
COACH URBAN MEYER: It's very
humbling, and two years ago when it all happened,
I really can't remember much about it. But I just
asked the gentleman that gave us the Mac Arthur
trophy, I said, I'd like to read about this because
our name is on it twice. I think I owe that to them
and I'm going to read it to our team. I am a fan of
college football. I think college football is the
greatest venue going, and to think that our name is
forever etched on that great trophy, it's my
responsibility to learn more about it and make sure
our players learn it because they're on it.
That's why we did that. If you ever come
to Florida, our administration was good enough to
put a lot of money into a front door window to let
people see the history of Florida football when it
was never there before. You walk in there now
and it's legitimate. It's one of the great programs in
college football history. We're going to continue to
make sure that thing grows and grows and grows,
so it is the best place in college football.
Q. Last night Tim said after the game
that fans were chanting "one more year" in
celebration. He said if were to go to the NFL,
one of the things preventing him are
relationships that he's built with teammates
and with you. What will you advise him on
those two things? Will you advise him to take
the emotion from that standpoint out of it, or
deep down in your own heart do you think that
those things will help out?
COACH URBAN MEYER: This is going to
be a little harder. There's not much difference than
Nathan, my son. Nate, my son, and Tim. I love
Tim. He's family. He's everything. At some point
I'll get blasted for it, but I think he's one of the best
players to ever put on a helmet. I don't know if
he's the best quarterback, that's all relative and in
people's eyes they can choose whoever they want.
Tim will make a very well educated decision. I'm
going to put him on the phone with people I trust. I
did that with Alex Smith, I've done that with some
other players; they've made some great decisions.
So rest assured, and Gator Nation needs to know
Tim will make the right decision. I have no idea
what it is, and out of respect to Tim and his family it
hasn't even been discussed. I'm sure over the
next few days it will.
Q. Will Jack Del Rio be one of those
people?
COACH URBAN MEYER: Yeah, I have
great respect for Coach Del Rio and he has
opened his program to us and we have opened
ours to him. I have great respect for his opinion,
and I'm hoping Tim will talk to him.
Q. Your team is built on great
recruiting, obviously. I know you're expecting
a recruiting bounce. Have you had contacts
with recruits and have they been emailing you
already this morning? And what kind of
bounce do you expect out of this?
COACH URBAN MEYER: Well, we only
have about four left, five left, so we expect to close
this thing. Be we just want to make sure it's the
right four because usually recruiting classes are
made with your last four or five that you pick up.
The last week has been really good for Florida and
recruiting. Yes, we were on the phone actually the
day of the game, had many phone calls with top
recruits, and then I've heard from several today.
So this will be a tremendous boost, and obviously
the celebration on Sunday -- I made a comment
yesterday, what Florida has to offer a young man,
let's compare us against any other school,
academically, lifestyle, the location, and it's going
to be good. We're going to have a very good
recruiting class.
Q. If I recall correctly, when you won it
two years ago, you felt like you had a great
team, not necessarily a great program. I think
visit our archives at asapsports.com
$ASQ921-6206 3
you might feel a little bit differently now, and
what I'm curious about, although I don't want to
put the "dynasty" word in your mouth, do you
feel Florida is poised to make that kind of a
statement?
COACH URBAN MEYER: I'm not sure
what the word "dynasty" means. I'm very confident
now. I wasn't two years ago, that's why I made
that comment. We all saw what was coming. Our
coaching staff knew exactly if those young players
decided to come out early, the four guys on
defense, that means we lost basically our entire
defense. We knew the backups were not ready to
play. Deep in my heart when I knew Brandon Siler
came in to see me two days after the
championship, "I want to go to the NFL," Ryan
Smith, I had that feeling in my stomach, oh, boy,
we're going to have a hard time stopping anybody.
I don't feel that way this year. I see some
good players, I see a program that's set now.
We're good. I didn't feel that way two years ago. I
felt that was just an unbelievable effort by some
very good players and a 21-group senior class.
This is a 13-member senior class. Next year is
going to be a very good senior class, but behind
them is another group, another group. We don't
have that void is my point. Two years ago we had
a void in recruiting and it showed. Certainly it
showed last year in the Bowl game.
Q. Thinking back to the day you were
introduced as coach you came out and were
looking at the stadium and smiling, can you
envision what's been going on? Has there
been a lot of reflection for you in the 12 hours
since the game has been over?
COACH URBAN MEYER: There's more
this time than two years ago because two years
ago was just running from here to there, and once
again, I knew what was coming. Do we take junior
college players to fill this void? And the panic that
our program was in.
I want to make sure, most importantly, our
players enjoy this and our coaching staff. I have
the best coaching staff in America and I want to
make sure they enjoy this. I'm in awe of Florida, I
really am. I was in the '90s when I watched them
play. Now that it's our program and we're playing
and we're doing -- our players are doing what
they've executed the last two or three years. I walk
in that stadium, and I told Jeremy last night, every
once in a while when I'm having a bad day I'll walk
in and stare at that wall. It's got to be one of the
great walls in college football history, and to know
that our team is forever a part of that.
It's a little bit like those bricks we put in
there for the All-Americans. We're not done with
that stadium. We're going to make that the kind of
place where everybody walks in and you kind of
take it in and you're in awe of that place. We're
going to make sure that we do that right, from the
Emmitt Smiths to the Jack Youngbloods to the
Chris Leaks to the Tim Tebows, those players are
going to be treated like they're supposed to be
treated.
Q. Can you tell what happened in
retrospect between last year's team and this
year's team since you have spoken of this
year's team with so much affection, how much
more they've bought in and how that
happened?
COACH URBAN MEYER: Just great
people. It's a people business, college football, it's
not Xs and Os. I actually get a kick out of it when I
hear about the gurus, west coast versus the
spread, and that has absolutely zero to do with
winning football games. I love when I hear that.
It's a people business, and this team -- I
don't want to get too much into last year's team,
but this year's team was far superior than most
teams we've been blessed to have in the last
several years. The '04 Utah team, the way the '06
team finished, and really pretty went much the way
this season went with this outfit, that that's as good
group a group of young people as I've ever been
around.
It comes from maturity. I like to credit Mick
Marotti, our OSL staff and certainly our assistant
coaches.
In our big pre-game talk we show a
highlight video on basically Saturday morning --
whatever, Thursday morning, or Thursday right
before we get on the bus, and I'll address the
team. The discussion we had right before the
game, before we got on the bus, was this is not,
boy, this is kind of neat, good fortune, how the ball
bounced your way and the stars aligned right. This
has been a work in process for many years. When
our staff got together we had a vision what our
offensive line is supposed to look like, act like and
play like, and we got it. We had a vision of what a
quarterback should look like, act like and run the
offense, a group of receivers, a running back
position. You look on defense, two corners, that in
visit our archives at asapsports.com
$ASQ921-6206 4
my opinion are the two best corners maybe in
college football. That's a strong statement. But
my point is then you also flip and it and return to a
punter and a kicker and a long snapper.
So this is not one of those, boy, this is kind
of neat; it's good fortune the way you guys are
playing. It's not, and I want our guys to
understand, everybody is going to go their own
ways like the Reggie Nelsons of the world. You
might not ever get a chance to play with guys like
this again, make it count. And they certainly did.
Q. You mentioned last night that you
really didn't enjoy the first time two years ago,
and you mentioned rebuilding and all that kind
of stuff. Were there any other ways that you
didn't enjoy two years ago that you're going to
enjoy this one? And also another question, as
far as your players that might go to the NFL,
might go pro, do you think they might be
influenced as to what they saw Billy Donovan's
kids do, want to come back and defend their
championship?
COACH URBAN MEYER: That's a good
spin; I might use that (laughter). I'm glad you
brought that up.
The first part about enjoyment, I'm a big
family guy and I'm a big coaching staff person and
a player person, so I want to make sure our guys --
I've already met with our strength coach and I'm
not sure how we're going to do that. It just felt like
two years ago, I mean, the game was over, bang,
classes started. That's all going on now, as well.
But I'm going to force myself and our staff to really
get some time with their families and do some stuff
together so we really enjoy this thing.
As far as the guys coming back, that's
going to happen here in the next few days. In all
honesty I'm not going to start using angles
because I don't want to ever influence a guy to
make a decision. Whenever you make a
life-changing decision, place of employment,
having a family, getting married, all those big
decisions you have to make, you put it all on the
table and you make sure you're doing it for the
right reason.
The good thing is, I couldn't say this four
years ago, guys were making decisions without my
input, and some uncle told me to do this and my
peoples can get me in the second round. I look at
him going what peoples are you talking about?
Peoples they're going to be talking to really can
advise them. I love this team because they're very
professional. Brandon Spikes, Percy Harvin, Tim
Tebow, Brandon James, those guys all make that
decision. I don't have any idea what the decision
is yet. But they'll make it the right way, and that's
family, coaches, people that know what they're
talking about, not some guru or some peoples.
That will not be part of the discussion.
Q. What moments from the third and
fourth quarter of Tim's play will you always
remember?
COACH URBAN MEYER: Well, I saw it
last night, just parked myself in front of ESPN for,
what was it, four hours I had, right? The 3rd down
and 11 where he pulled it down and he hit and I
saw his leg drive and get that extra two yards, I
mean, how many guys could do this? He got hit,
made a guy miss, hit two people, and his eyes and
he looked over he knew exactly where that yard
marker was. The other play was when he
scrambled and hit Riley Cooper. Those were the
two plays on offense.
On defense the two interceptions - the one
by Ahmad Black that just completely took it right
away from the guy. Up by three and we were
driving the ball, obviously a prolific offense. And
then the one down in the red zone where the ball is
tipped and Major Wright made the play. Those are
the plays I'll never forget. On highlights it was a
phenomenal effort.
Q. You've won two national titles in
three years now. I'm just wondering, do you
think that sort of thing could ever get old to
you, that you might look for a new challenge?
And you know a lot of NFL coaches like Bill
Belichick. Could that ever be in your future?
COACH URBAN MEYER: I don't think so.
I think the task at hand is to -- I made a comment
earlier that I really have a dream of what Florida
should look like, and it's getting real close. There's
still a lot of work to be done. The minute you start
worrying about other things, you miss a recruiting
class, you miss this great recruit, and that's not
going to happen. I'm committed to Florida. I love
Florida. More importantly, though, I love these
players, and these players are going to get our
best effort for a long time.
Q. What does it mean to you that Brian
Johnson rooted for you last night to the
detriment of himself and Utah? And number
two, now that it's over and everything is
visit our archives at asapsports.com
$ASQ921-6206 5
decided, what kind of claim do they have and
would you like a shot at them?
COACH URBAN MEYER: Kyle
Whittingham is one of my closest friends, and I do
believe Kyle is the best coach in the business,
what he does. He's the best assistant coach.
Brian Johnson, we actually recruited Brian. Brian
was unrecruited out of Texas and Dan Mullen and
myself went down there, and you knew when you
sat at home with his family, he wasn't big enough,
wasn't fast enough and didn't have a strong
enough arm, but he's a lot like the quarterback we
have. Brian Johnson when he said his team
deserves to be number one, he should say that.
When Brian Johnson cheers for Florida because of
his relationship with coaches on our staff, that's
good people. I'm not really a betting person, but if
I want to bet on a guy that's going to have an
unbelievable future, whether it's in football or not,
Brian Johnson is going to be an executive or --
he's going to have a great opportunity to do
whatever he wants to do outside of football, and
more importantly than that he'll be a great husband
and great father because that's the quality kid he
is.
I have not talked to Brian but I'm sure I'll
talk to him again soon.
Q. What does it mean to have your last
two programs leading in the AP Poll?
COACH URBAN MEYER: It's
unbelievable. What does it mean? It just means
that it's just fantastic people associated with those
programs, and the resources you have at Utah and
the resources you have at Florida. Everybody is in
a hurry to take a new job, I'm going to go to this
job, this job, it's great. Just make sure the
foundation behind you has some success, and
Utah certainly has that.
Utah is not going away now. If you just go
evaluate that program -- I'm selling Utah, but if you
go evaluate that program, you keep hearing the
word "BCS conferences," I can't think of many
schools that are better than Utah, just the toys that
you have as far as facilities, and the resources and
alumni and everything, and a recruiting base as far
as the Polynesian culture. When you hear "BCS
conference" that means nothing to a lot of coaches
like myself. To say "BCS," you get your brains
kicked in every year and you finish 3-8, you're not
BCS. You might get a little bigger check at the end
of the year because you're in a nice conference,
but Utah is a much better program than most BCS
programs. That's most.
Q. Last night Percy said the victory
was particularly enjoyable because "no one
gave us a chance." Considering you were
four-and-a-half-point favorites, what talk did
you give those guys to convince them that they
were not respected?
COACH URBAN MEYER: Who said that,
Percy? (Smiling). The last couple days were real
intense, just getting these guys ready to go. I
thought Coach Strong addressed the team. I'm
very cautious who we allow to talk to our team.
Those guys were ready to play. I don't want to get
too much into it because that's our business.
You know what the good thing is, guys
listen. This outfit, I made the comment before,
Charlie Strong, Mickey Marotti, Steve Addazios of
the world, we're really focused on it, and I think a
lot of it had to do with we didn't have a chance to
stop this team. Statistically it will tell you it would
be a hard deal to stop them. So I'm sure that's
where he was headed.
Q. Did you see anything from
Oklahoma's offense during the game or in
watching film that might show up in Florida's
playbook?
COACH URBAN MEYER: I've been really
intrigued by the no-huddle, by the up-tempo, and
we actually went to that the whole first week of
spring ball a year ago. I sent Dan Mullen to
Missouri and came back with the mechanics of it. I
hired Scot Loeffler. He's had some of that in his
background. I think the tempo of the game, that's
a pain in the butt, and if you only have two days to
prepare -- we did well because we had a whole
month and Coach Strong and his staff and our
players really worked hard. I'm going to really
study it because I love their offense.
Kevin Wilson, the coordinator on their
team, we played against him one other time when
he was at Northern Western and he was at
Bowling Green and the score was 43-42 at the end
of the day. Both teams had about 650 yards of
offense and my D coordinator looked at me in the
fourth quarter and said, we can't stop them
because of the tempo of the game, and I've never
had a defense feel completely paralyzed by an
offense. I'm glad we got to play them and we're
going to research what they do because I think
they're really good.
visit our archives at asapsports.com
$ASQ921-6206 6
Q. Can you talk about Percy Harvin's
performance with that injury?
COACH URBAN MEYER: Right now he's
got to be one of the best players in America. He's
got the best first step. You saw that yesterday. I
think he played at about 80 percent. I saw him on
the sideline and I kept talking to him and he looked
at me right in the eye and said, I'm ready, Coach,
I'm ready. A couple of those runs he got out of
there, when he's 100 percent I'm not sure they
catch him.
But that was a tremendous effort. Very
unselfish effort. What he did to prepare for that
game is what legends are made of. Not many
guys I've ever seen do what he did as far as
preparing himself for that game.
Q. Everyone talks about Percy Harvin
and Tim Tebow. Can you talk about calling a
number for Riley Cooper and David Nelson at
crunch time?
COACH URBAN MEYER: Isn't that
something? David Nelson continues to amaze,
and Riley Cooper -- they're program players,
actually very talented program players. Usually
when people say "program players," they're guys
that aren't good enough to kind of step up. Very
talented guys that were influenced by outside
forces. David Nelson had kind of the attitude that
I'm not getting my fair share, and I should be
treated a little different, and that goes back to the
third uncle comment where people were
influencing his practice, and the fact was he was
not very good. He didn't practice very good, and
he didn't play very well. And now he's playing at
an extremely high level.
Billy Gonzales has done a great job with
him and it was his call. The jump pass, Percy was
able to do it, but Louis Murphy is a guy we trust but
he had a knee injury and didn't practice the first
two and a half weeks, and David Nelson has
earned the trust. I think we threw the pass, David
Nelson shows you the confidence that our
coaching staff put in that player. He knows it and
I'm sure that's why he made that play.
That was probably a two-hour discussion
on who was going to catch it, who would be open.
The technique, if you saw that play, just to build on
David Nelson, that wasn't go kind of run around
and run inside. He goes out and stock block, Tim
is going to jump pass, to leave your feet and tie
that up, that's not easy.
Q. How do you choose him to get that
play?
COACH URBAN MEYER: That because
he's extremely disciplined and practices his tail off.
That was a two-hour discussion about who's going
to get that play because you only get one shot at it,
and if you cut it short, go too deep, don't sell it,
you're wasting a play. We knew we were going to
call it at a critical time.
Q. If you learned at Bowling Green how
to organize a staff and instill discipline and you
learned at Utah how to break down the wall so
the diversity took place on your team, what
have you learned at four years in Florida? And
after that would you elaborate on the plan to
win?
COACH URBAN MEYER: What I've
learned at Florida is when you take over a program
that's kind of bigger than life in some people's
eyes, it still comes down to a bunch of young guys
playing football, and I kind of got caught up in the
Gator clubs and signing autographs, and it still
comes down to David Nelson going four yards,
selling the stop clock, showing his hands and
doing the right thing, and that's no different than
Bowling Green, Utah or Florida. I graded myself
probably a C my first year because it was -- Florida
is big time now. But I've got news, there's a lot of
other big time places, and if you start to sleep,
you'll fall behind.
It still comes down to getting guys to go as
hard as they can, it all comes down to getting guys
to graduate, to live right. At the end of the day you
want a bunch of players that are committed to the
right thing. And it's not easy to get that. It's not
easy. In 20-something years of coaching, on one
hand I can hold the amount of teams that I've been
around the kids that do it the right way. I'm not
talking about a few, I'm talking about the core of
your team if you do it the right way, and we've got
it here at Florida.
Q. Playing to win?
COACH URBAN MEYER: Playing to win.
Play great defense. I thought it was a fine effort by
Charlie Strong, and he continues to prove he's one
of the greatest football coaches in the country right
now, excellent recruiter, even a better husband
and father, and my right-hand man. There's no
better coach in the country than Coach Strong,
what he did and what that staff did, I think Chuck
visit our archives at asapsports.com
$ASQ921-6206 7
Heater and Vance Bedford and Dan McCarney,
that's as good as defensive staff, I keep hearing
about these defensive staffs and they don't have
the success. Charlie has done a fabulous job with
that group.
Turnovers, we had a couple. We were
tight with the ball. Usually fumbles are an issue in
Bowl games because you haven't been hit in a
while. Our guys did a good job with two
interceptions where one was a mistake by Tim,
one was a great defensive call where they dropped
the nose out in blitz package -- but we did, we won
the turnover battle.
Scoring in the red zone is where we won
the game. We were 4 for 4 in the red zone I think
on the year. We were No. 1 in America, and we
should be. For the amount of time spent for the
few plays you get in the red zone, we're way over
as far as the amount of time spent. But that's the
money; that's payday for our players, 3rd downs,
the red zone.
And then the last one, kicking game. I'm
not sure we dominated the kicking game. I'm a
little disappointed actually in some of the returns,
and then we ran into the darn kicker. We had a
chance to block that kick. But the defensive
turnovers in the red zone, that's how we won this
game.
Q. In talking about Utah, you made the
point that you can be in a BCS conference and
not be a top-level program. So I'm making the
leap to Mississippi State and Dan. What's the
best piece of advice you would give him to get
that thing turned around?
COACH URBAN MEYER: Recruit, and
hire a tremendous strength coach. Dan knows, a
lot of times I'll hear about these coaches or I'll talk
to some young coaches and put their staff together
and I'll ask the question about the strength staff,
about the discipline in your program and those
things. He hired our former strength coach who
was at Virginia and now he's at Mississippi State,
so he just hit a home run. He's got a chance now,
and I would say Dan had zero chance if he couldn't
hire an ace strength staff that can keep that thing
together.
The strength staff in college football
nowadays, if you're -- you guys should watch this.
If a guy gets hired and puts that, I'm going to hire a
strength coach later, that's a guy that has no clue
what's going on, and he'll fail. Dan Mullen has got
a chance because he knows the value of the
strength staff, so he hit a home run.
And then obviously recruiting, he's got to
get out and get quality players and hire a staff to
recruit. I think Dan is going to do fine. Dan is a
very intelligent coach and he'll surround himself --
all great coaches know how to surround
themselves with great coaches, and we had great
discussions, long discussions about it, and he feels
very comfortable with the people he's putting
together on his coaching staff.
Q. Davis made the big play on the goal
line and the interceptions, but what specifically
did your defensive staff do to stop this offense
that nobody else has been able to stop?
COACH URBAN MEYER: We really put in
two packages that our defense did a great job, and
one was bare defense, and they did a great job,
and then a lot of odd. We played much more three
down than we've ever played. Basically the whole
game was four down against Alabama and then
this game played three down and they call it bare
defense where they kicked down to stop the inside
run. Chuck Heater and I were talking a couple
nights before the game, we do everything an
offense doesn't like to see, and a lot of it was new.
So they did a great job, and Torrey Davis actually
made a great play. I saw that on the highlights last
night, as well.
Q. You talked about your guy back at
Utah, too slow, too whatever. You've got
another guy like that on this team who plays
safety for you, too small, too slow, can't do
anything but does everything. Would you talk
about him?
COACH URBAN MEYER: Yeah, he's
talking about Ahmad Black and he's too small, too
slow, can't jump high enough, he's just in great
football position and he's a mini-Chuck Heater.
That's Chuck's adopted son. I always give Chuck
a lot of credit because he deserves it. Every year
he pulls one out. First year was Brown, second
year was Ryan Smith and Reggie Lewis. Last year
we had Major Wright as a freshman back there,
Joe Haden, and this year he pulled out Ahmad
Black. He wasn't -- he was almost getting his
movement to a 1AA somewhere and saying it was
time to move on. He wasn't allowed to be on
special teams because we couldn't trust him, and
now he's one of the most trustworthy guys. He
comes from a great high school program. He's got
a chance because he's got a great family, and we
visit our archives at asapsports.com
$ASQ921-6206 8
knew that. It was just a matter of time. Chuck did
a great job with him.
Q. Those of us who have known
Charlie for a lot of years, the hurt and the
frustration when he talks about head coaching,
why do you think he's not a head coach, hasn't
gotten any phone calls this off-season? Do
you think race and an interracial marriage is
playing into that? That's not fun to ask, but
this guy is doing a great job and he's not
getting any consideration?
COACH URBAN MEYER: I'm not going to
get into that right now and spoil a great day. I'm
going to tell you again that that's one of the finest
coaches in America. Just how important that is,
put that right up there, and I'm going to say
something else: A great husband and a great
father and a great person, as good a guy as I've
ever been around. He was my neighbor in South
Bend, Indiana. I trust him with everything, I trust
him with my family, I trust him with everything.
So that's a great question to ask. I can't
certainly answer it, and I don't want to push too
hard because I don't want to lose him. He's that
good, though. He's that good. Just once again,
there's a lot of good football guys out there that
can draw Xs and look real neat on the board. He's
good at that, obviously. But as far as a role model
and making sure these guys do the right thing -- I
mentioned Torrey Davis. When you said Torrey
Davis I say Charlie Strong. You say Ahmad Black,
I say Charlie Strong. That's how good he is.
Q. As a follow-up to that, would you
ever put a bug in somebody else's ear, another
school's ear who has an opening, about Charlie
Strong, or would you feel uncomfortable about
doing that unless you had some specific
relationship with the people in the hiring
process?
COACH URBAN MEYER: I've put a lot of
bugs. I've shot it at people and made it real clear.
I'm not sure they listen. I think Charlie fell a little
bit when he got that interview because he's Charlie
Strong. He'd get very upset and I'd get very upset.
Search firms, I'm not into that because
guys have called me and talked to me and athletic
director is supposed to go hire a football coach.
Do your homework, go hire a coach. Yeah, that's
a good question. It kind of angers me sometimes.
I've been involved in those phone calls, and I can
tell on the other end, talking to a deaf ear. I'm
busy and I don't have time to talk to you unless
you're interested. Don't play people. I need to be
careful. I'm going to get very angry here in a
minute and I shouldn't be here. That's how much I
care about Charlie Strong.
Q. Was Percy's injury a hairline
fracture? And can you give us an update on
Chris Rainey?
COACH URBAN MEYER: Yeah, I didn't
know that until a later day that they said regardless
it's the same healing time. Actually a hairline
fracture heals a little quicker than a high ankle
sprain, so there was a small fracture. But the
injury, the time delay and the thing that still
bothered him yesterday wasn't the actual fracture.
I had the same question, what does it mean? A
high ankle sprain, that's a separation -- I'm like a
doctor now with the high ankle sprains. That's a
bad injury especially on a skilled athlete. You look
at a guy like Percy, they've got the real skinny
ankles, and the time off, the healing time was for
the high ankle sprain.
Q. Rainey?
COACH URBAN MEYER: Chris Rainey
has ankle sprain. I texted him last night. He said
he was real sore. It was right in front of me and I
was worried about it. But I think it's an ankle
sprain and he should be fine.
Q. Even if you do lose a couple guys to
the NFL how good can this team be next
season?
COACH URBAN MEYER: Well, we play a
tough schedule, we play in the Southeastern
Conference and you saw a couple other teams
with high rankings. We've got to go back to work.
Our guys have had some real physical games, and
so if -- speculating, I'm not going to do that, but
we'll see who comes back. Regardless, this team,
it's not going to be like last year. It will not be like
that. I don't know our record because we've got to
stay healthy and most other things. But as far as
the program, it's much better than it was two years
ago as far as the group of young players coming
up. So how good? We could be very good next
year.
JOHN HUMENIK: That will conclude
today's Q & A, Coach. Thank you for your time.
Congratulations again.
|
-
w Florida was first to score in the game, as junior quarterback Tim Tebow connected on a 20-yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Louis Murphy with 14:02 to play in the second quarter. It marked Murphy’s 27th consecutive game with a catch and his seventh touchdown of the season.
w The Gators are the first team to score on the Sooners this season and they are 12-1 when getting on the board first.
w With the Sooners threatening on first-and-goal, Major Wright made his fourth interception of the season and fourth of his career. The Gators have recorded at least one interception in 13 of the 14 games this year.
w The Gators shutout Oklahoma in the first quarter, marking the first time this season the Sooners did not score in the first quarter.
Meanwhile, the Gators went 4-for-4 on third downs in the period.
w UF has allowed just five first-half touchdowns all season and are outscoring opponents, 328-58, before the half. They have also forced opponents to punt 45 times in the first half in 2008.
w With the game scoreless at the end of the first quarter, it marked the first time two teams did not score in the first quarter of a BCS National Championship Game since 1999 (Florida State 23, Tennessee 16, Fiesta Bowl). The last time the Gators did not score in the first quarter was in the 31-30 loss to Ole Miss on Sept. 27.
w The half ended tied at seven, marking the lowest scoring BCS National Championship Game since Oklahoma led Florida State, 6-0, heading into halftime in 2001.
w Tebow recorded his third interception of the season with 9:20 to play in the first quarter. It marked the first time he was picked off since Oct. 25 in the 63-5 win over Kentucky. Tebow made 117 consecutive attempts without throwing an INT. He threw his second interception of the game with 7:29 to play in the half. It marked the first time in Tebow’s career he threw two interceptions in the same game.
w The Gator defense made a crucial stop as OU had a fourth-and-goal on the one-yard line. Sophomore defensive lineman Torrey Davis recorded his season tackle-for-loss this season on the play.
w With 12:44 remaining in the first quarter, sophomore linebacker Brandon Hicks recorded his second sack on the season for a 14 yard loss. The Sooners have only allowed 11 sacks in 13 games this season.
w Back in Gainesville, 9,700 Gator fans are watching the BCS National Championship Game in the Stephen C. O’Connell Center.
w Game Captains: Cornelius Ingram, Louis Murphy, Brandon Spikes, Ryan Stamper and Phil Trautwein
w Weather: 68ºF clear skies, winds out of the NW 2 mph, humidity: 58% wFormer Florida Gators at tonight’s game: Trace Armstrong,James Bates, Alex Brown, Lomas Brown, Kevin Carter, Joe Cohen, Cris Collinsworth, Chris Doering, Jack Jackson, Chris Leak, Reggie Lewis, Ray McDonald, Drew Miller, Jeremy Mincey, Jarvis Moss, Reggie Nelson, Jesse Palmer, Steve Rissler, Tommy Shannon, Larry Smith, Max Starks, Fred Taylor, Lawrence Wright and Danny Wuerffel.
w Gator Men’s Basketball coach Billy Donovan and former UF Gator Al Horford were also in attendance. Other UF coaches: Buddy Alexander (Men’s Golf); Jill Briles-Hinton (Women’s Golf); Tim Walton (Softball); Roland Thornqvist (Women’s Tennis); Becky Burleigh (Soccer), Andy Jackson (Men’s Tennis) and Amanda O’Leary (Lacrosse).
w Other celebrities in attendance: Michael Connelly (best-selling author), A.J. Pierzynski (Major league baseball player) and Earle Bruce (former Ohio State coach) wThere are 23 players on Florida’s roster who played in the 2007 Tostitos BCS National Championship Game in Glendale, Ariz., including four who started. The starters include Percy Harvin, Cornelius Ingram, Phil Trautwein and Jim Tartt. The other Gators appearing in their second BCS Championship Game are Markihe Anderson, Tate Casey, Riley Cooper , John Curtis, Dustin Doe, Andrew Fritze, Cade HJames, A.J. Jones, Kestahn Moore, Dorian Munroe, Louis Murphy, David Nelson, Kyle Newell, Wondy Pierre-Louis, Butch Rowley, James Smith, Brandon Spikes and Tim Tebow.
|
-
St. Petersburg Awarded Opener for 2009 Indy Car Series
For the first time in the history of the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, the event will be the opening race of the IndyCar Series. The 17-race IndyCar schedule also includes stops in Long Beach, Toronto and Chicago before closing out the season back in Florida at Homestead-Miami Speedway in October. The Acura Sports Car Challenge of St. Petersburg, the American Le Mans Series feature race, which will be run on Saturday, April 4, will be the second stop on the 2009 ALMS schedule. Both races will be carried live, with the ALMS event on ABC and the Honda Indy St. Pete race broadcast on Versus.
No Changes Planned to St. Petersburg Track
There are no planned changes to the 1.8-mile, 14-turn track through the streets of St. Petersburg for the 2009 event. Even with the construction of the Salvador Dali Museum, the vast majority of the event footprint will remain unchanged and fans attending the fifth annual event will be greeted by minimal changes inside the race circuit. Post-race ceremonies and concerts will once again be held on the Honda Plaza, adjacent to the Mahaffey Theater complex and the Bright House Networks Speed Zone will be in action near Progress Energy Park.
Ticket Prices Remain Unchanged for 2009 Event
Ticket prices for the 2009 event have not changed from last year’s pricing. General Admission ticket start at $25 and reserved seat tickets begin at $60. In addition to reserved seat and general admission ticket sales, the Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg is offering a free IndyCar Series paddock pass to groups purchasing 10 or more 3-day reserved tickets. Group purchases are only available through the HGPSP box office. Corporate hospitality and sponsorship packages are also still available. Tickets can be purchased by calling the Honda Grand Prix box office at (727) 898-INDY (extension 225), by visiting the event's website at www.gpstpete.com or through Ticketmaster.
|
-
TAMPA BAY – Tampa Bay Lightning center Vincent Lecavalier has been named to his fourth career NHL All-Star Game today, the National Hockey League has announced. Lecavalier leads the Lightning in goals with 16, power-play goals with five, game-winning goals with four and shots on goal with 144. He served as the captain of the Eastern Conference team at the 2008 NHL All-Star Game in Atlanta and also appeared in the 2007 and 2003 games.
Reigning NHL MVP Alex Ovechkin, whose recent offensive surge has propelled him to a share of the League goal-scoring lead and the Washington Capitals to first place in the Southeast Division, headlines the 15 players named today to the Eastern Conference roster for the 57th NHL All-Star Game, Sunday, Jan. 25 at Bell Centre in Montreal (6 p.m. ET, CBC, RDS, VERSUS, NHL Radio).
The potent Eastern Conference lineup also will feature the two players tied with Ovechkin for the League's goal-scoring lead with 27 -- Thomas Vanek of the Buffalo Sabres and Jeff Carter of the Philadelphia Flyers. Each will be making his All-Star debut.
Reflecting their 29-7-4 record and the franchise's best start to a season since 1929-30, three members of the Boston Bruins have been selected to the Eastern Conference team, goaltender Tim Thomas, defenseman Zdeno Chara and center Marc Savard. Each played a key role in last season's 8-7 East victory at Atlanta, as Savard scored the winning goal at 19:39 of the third period, Thomas stopped 14 of 18 shots in the third period to record the victory and Chara registered one assist and a +3 rating.
The Eastern squad also will boast two former winners of the NHL All-Star Game's Most Valuable Player Award: Ottawa Senators left wing Dany Heatley and Carolina Hurricanes center Eric Staal. Heatley tied an All-Star Game record by tallying four goals for the Eastern
|
-
TAMPA -- GoUSFBulls.com reports The University of South Florida football program officially announced a home-and-home agreement with Florida State that will begin in Tallahassee during the 2009 season.
The first meeting in the series will take place at Doak Campbell Stadium on Sept.26 of the upcoming season. USF will host the Seminoles at Raymond James on Sept. 29, 2012.
The addition of the Seminoles completes the 2009 non-conference schedule, which also includes in-state foes FIU (Sept. 19) and Miami (Nov. 28), plus Western Kentucky (Sept. 12) and Wofford (Sept. 5). USF will also play West Virginia, Cincinnati and Louisville at home during the 2009 season. The dates and times for BIG EAST opponets will not be announced until the Spring.
“This is a milestone moment for our program and a tremendous opportunity for our players,” said USF head coach Jim Leavitt. “Florida State has a great football tradition and we have a tremendous amount of respect for them. They will present our team with a great challenge and we embrace that.”
The Bulls and Seminoles have never played each other in football. USF does have a six-game winning streak against teams that hail from the state of Florida, dating back to a 2005 loss to Miami.
The trend of playing Florida-based schools will continue with additional games against Miami, Florida and FAU in the coming years. The 2009 home game with Miami is the beginning of a six-game agreement with the Hurricanes. The Bulls will travel to Florida in 2010 and 2015 and also have two games remaining with FAU (2010 and 2013).
The addition of FSU shifts the Indiana game, which was previously scheduled for 2012, to 2015. USF will now play Indiana in Tampa on 2015 and at IU in 2016. Also, the Michigan State game, previously scheduled for 2012, has been moved to 2017.
"Scheduling can be a complex endeavor due to the ramifications one change initiates, so I appreciate the cooperation I've received from my colleagues," said Director of Athletics Doug Woolard. "This is another series our loyal fans will appreciate and will provide another national platform for football program."
All schedules are tentative. Game times and television coverage for the 2009 season will be announced at a later date.
Tom Korun
|
-
I made the mistake of listening to sports radio -- again.
And the host was promising that there really was something to "his" rumor that if the Gators beat Oklahoma, Urban Meyer would leave to become the new head coach of the Denver Broncos.
My God...they let anybody on radio these days.
But I will say this...even though Meyer has Florida rolling like no other program in college football, there are two schools that would turn Meyer's head.
One job...Notre Dame. When Charlie Weis finally does self-destruct, the Irish would be stupid not to pull out all the stops to get Meyer. Even though Meyer said no thanks the last time around, Notre Dame is close to having the facilities to grab Meyer's attention. The challenge might interest Meyer.
But if Ohio State ever comes open...look out!!
Meyer is from Ohio. Meyer is a former OSU assistant. Meyer's eyes light up when anybody talks about Ohio State.
That is the only job that would lure Meyer away from Gainesville.
And it makes you wonder how much rope Buckeye fans are willing to give Jim Tressel. Yes, he's 83-20. Yes, he's taken OSU to 3 national title games. But he has led the Buckeyes to only one championship. Tressel has lost his last 3 bowl games. Is that good enough for the Buckeye Nation?
These days, even Jim Tressel can feel the heat. A loss to Michigan could turn that nuclear. When will the Buckeye Nation cast an eye to Meyer?
It has all the makings of an Urban Legend.
Al Keck
|
|
|
