DeWalt
Banned
Sometimes, even the Orlando Sentinel gets it right.
Interesting to read the comments after the story...
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/spor...ators-football-0411-20100410,0,3258186.column
GAINESVILLE – The legions and legions of Gator-haters out there will tell you elatedly that the spiritual leader of Florida football has left the building.
They will tell you wishfully that the heart and soul of the program is no longer here.
They will predict lustily that the granite foundation on which UF's national championship-caliber program was built will now disintegrate into dust and ashes .
These people are either stupid fools or desperate dreamers.
Tim Tebow may be gone, but don't be naïve. The spiritual leader, the heart and soul, the rock and foundation of Florida football remains.
Urban Meyer is still here.
And don't kid yourself. As long as the greatest coach in college football remains in Gainesville, the Gators will be as dominant and dynamic as ever.
This had to be a Gator-hater's absolute worst nightmare Saturday: There stood Meyer, looking animated and rejuvenated, as he and 51,000 of his closest friends witnessed the first unveiling of the post-Tebow Gators at the Orange and Blue intrasquad game on this sunny honey of a day in North Central Florida.
"We're excited," Meyer said. "This is a team and a group of coaches with a chip on their shoulders."
With apologies to that astute college football analyst Mark "Beano" Twain: The reports of Florida's death have been greatly exaggerated.
Who will ever forget how Gator-haters celebrated when Meyer shockingly resigned on Dec. 26 and then announced a day later that he would be taking an indefinite leave of absence? They screamed with joy and elation, "Recruiting will be ruined!"
Six weeks later, Meyer and his coaches reeled in the consensus No. 1 recruiting class in the country. And, sadly, the Gator-haters, all heartbroken and hump-shouldered, slinked back home.
Now all they can do is pin their hopes of a Florida fall on the loss of Tebow.
They will be disappointed once again.
"We want to prove that we're not going to skip a beat," new Florida quarterback John Brantley said.
This is not to say Tebow won't be missed. Of course he will. He is, after all, one of the greatest players in college football history.
But he is not irreplaceable. Brantley – 15-of-19 for 201 yards and two touchdowns Saturday – is a better pure passer than Tebow. And Trey Burton – 10 rushes for 123 yards, including a 76-yarder – showed that he will be a nice change of pace when the Gators want to go with a dual-threat quarterback.
There seems to be this misguided notion that Tim Tebow made Urban Meyer's program, but I beg to differ. I think it was more – and please don't excommunicate me to the ninth circle of Edited to Remove Profanity ----Edited to Remove Profanity ----Edited to Remove Profanity ----Edited to Remove Profanity ---- for writing this – that Urban Meyer's program made Tim Tebow. No question, it was a mutually beneficial marriage, but don't ever forget Meyer was winning games – and lots of them – long before he recruited Tebow.
The man has been a Coach of the Year in three different leagues. He went 12-0 at Utah when nobody knew who Utah was. And his detractors conveniently forget that he won his first national championship at UF with Chris Leak at quarterback. Yes, Tebow was a contributor, but he was a change-of-pace quarterback on a defensive-dominated team.
Meyer has won with spread-option quarterbacks like Tebow. He's won with drop-back quarterbacks like Leak. He's won with a combination of both like Alex Smith.
"What's great about Coach Meyer is he molds his offense around what his players do best," Brantley said.
The only question is how long will Meyer do what he does best -- collect victories, rings and trophies? There is still a shroud of mystery surrounding his health and stress level and nobody really knows how much longer he will coach.
With the lone exception of yelling at Sentinel reporters, he has cut way back on his media obligations this spring and will not be making appearances on the upcoming UF booster club circuit. It seems he is eliminating anything and everything that doesn't have to deal with coaching.
"The focus is on recruiting, our players, our team and obviously coaches raising our children and doing it the right way," Meyer said. "If that takes away from some other stuff, it's gotta happen."
Here's a frightening thought: Meyer's sole coaching focus now will be on one thing – winning championships. Could it be that he will become an even greater coach now that he has cut back on the distractions of booster clubs and news conferences?.
"I'm jacked," Urban Meyer said after the spring game.
Those might be the two most depressing words Gators-haters have heard since that other guy said, "I promise."
Interesting to read the comments after the story...
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/spor...ators-football-0411-20100410,0,3258186.column
GAINESVILLE – The legions and legions of Gator-haters out there will tell you elatedly that the spiritual leader of Florida football has left the building.
They will tell you wishfully that the heart and soul of the program is no longer here.
They will predict lustily that the granite foundation on which UF's national championship-caliber program was built will now disintegrate into dust and ashes .
These people are either stupid fools or desperate dreamers.
Tim Tebow may be gone, but don't be naïve. The spiritual leader, the heart and soul, the rock and foundation of Florida football remains.
Urban Meyer is still here.
And don't kid yourself. As long as the greatest coach in college football remains in Gainesville, the Gators will be as dominant and dynamic as ever.
This had to be a Gator-hater's absolute worst nightmare Saturday: There stood Meyer, looking animated and rejuvenated, as he and 51,000 of his closest friends witnessed the first unveiling of the post-Tebow Gators at the Orange and Blue intrasquad game on this sunny honey of a day in North Central Florida.
"We're excited," Meyer said. "This is a team and a group of coaches with a chip on their shoulders."
With apologies to that astute college football analyst Mark "Beano" Twain: The reports of Florida's death have been greatly exaggerated.
Who will ever forget how Gator-haters celebrated when Meyer shockingly resigned on Dec. 26 and then announced a day later that he would be taking an indefinite leave of absence? They screamed with joy and elation, "Recruiting will be ruined!"
Six weeks later, Meyer and his coaches reeled in the consensus No. 1 recruiting class in the country. And, sadly, the Gator-haters, all heartbroken and hump-shouldered, slinked back home.
Now all they can do is pin their hopes of a Florida fall on the loss of Tebow.
They will be disappointed once again.
"We want to prove that we're not going to skip a beat," new Florida quarterback John Brantley said.
This is not to say Tebow won't be missed. Of course he will. He is, after all, one of the greatest players in college football history.
But he is not irreplaceable. Brantley – 15-of-19 for 201 yards and two touchdowns Saturday – is a better pure passer than Tebow. And Trey Burton – 10 rushes for 123 yards, including a 76-yarder – showed that he will be a nice change of pace when the Gators want to go with a dual-threat quarterback.
There seems to be this misguided notion that Tim Tebow made Urban Meyer's program, but I beg to differ. I think it was more – and please don't excommunicate me to the ninth circle of Edited to Remove Profanity ----Edited to Remove Profanity ----Edited to Remove Profanity ----Edited to Remove Profanity ---- for writing this – that Urban Meyer's program made Tim Tebow. No question, it was a mutually beneficial marriage, but don't ever forget Meyer was winning games – and lots of them – long before he recruited Tebow.
The man has been a Coach of the Year in three different leagues. He went 12-0 at Utah when nobody knew who Utah was. And his detractors conveniently forget that he won his first national championship at UF with Chris Leak at quarterback. Yes, Tebow was a contributor, but he was a change-of-pace quarterback on a defensive-dominated team.
Meyer has won with spread-option quarterbacks like Tebow. He's won with drop-back quarterbacks like Leak. He's won with a combination of both like Alex Smith.
"What's great about Coach Meyer is he molds his offense around what his players do best," Brantley said.
The only question is how long will Meyer do what he does best -- collect victories, rings and trophies? There is still a shroud of mystery surrounding his health and stress level and nobody really knows how much longer he will coach.
With the lone exception of yelling at Sentinel reporters, he has cut way back on his media obligations this spring and will not be making appearances on the upcoming UF booster club circuit. It seems he is eliminating anything and everything that doesn't have to deal with coaching.
"The focus is on recruiting, our players, our team and obviously coaches raising our children and doing it the right way," Meyer said. "If that takes away from some other stuff, it's gotta happen."
Here's a frightening thought: Meyer's sole coaching focus now will be on one thing – winning championships. Could it be that he will become an even greater coach now that he has cut back on the distractions of booster clubs and news conferences?.
"I'm jacked," Urban Meyer said after the spring game.
Those might be the two most depressing words Gators-haters have heard since that other guy said, "I promise."
