The UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA GATORS
Enrollment:
approximately 50,000 students annually link
Location: Gainesville,FL
Official University Website: link
Scout.Com Website: FIGHTIN' GATORS.COM link
Stadium: Ben Hill Griffin at Florida Field aka “The Swamp”
Stadium Capacity: 88,548
Turf: grass
RECRUITING
It does not take a PhD to understand Florida is a very talented football team. The state of Florida is a recruiting buffet and the Gators have feasted on this spread. The defending National Champions have put together a string of top recruiting classes. Scout.Com ranked Florida's recruiting classes #1 in 2007, #2 in 2006 and #11 in 2005.
HEAD COACH
Head Coach Urban Meyer, (3rd year, 22-4 at Florida, 61-12 overall)
Coach Meyer led Florida to a National Championship in his second in season in Gainesville. Success seems to follow Coach Meyer. He also led Bowling Green and Utah to successes unrealized prior to his arrival. With Florida's success, incredibly, not one assistant coach has left the program in the past two years. Coaching consistency and stability will be a strength for the Florida football program this season.
Offensive Philosophy
Florida runs the spread offense. Florida's spread is designed to put the ball in the hands of their playmakers. Utilizing their speed and putting playmakers in one on one situations, is a strength. There is depth on offense. You will see many different offensive sets with multiple personnel packages. Florida has a very diverse playbook. They will run options, power running plays, reverses, double reverses, throw off a reverse, throw off a double reverse, TE reverse, TE reverse pass, etc. Florida excels in putting the ball in their playmakers hands while probing for weaknesses in the defense. If they find a weakness, expect Florida to exploit it until you stop them. With the talent on hand, you can expect to see plenty of initiative in the offensive play calling.
Offensive Coordinator
Returning Starters (6)
SO WR #1 Percy Harvin 5’ 11” 181, SR WR #5 Andre Caldwell 6’ 198, SR LT Phil Truantwien 6’6” 298, JR LG Jim Tart 6’ 3” 312, SR C Drew Miller 6’ 5” 297 and SR RT Carlton Medder 6’ 5” 318.
(PUBLISHER'S UPDATE: SR LT Phil Truantwien has suffered a season ending injury. No one ever wants to see this happen to a player, especially a senior. We pray for a quick recovery and wish him only the best for his future. link)
Players to Watch For
SO QB #15 Tim Tebow 6” 4” 234, will be the starting quarterback. He is a playmaker and plays with with a lot emotion. Florida, including just about every program in the country, did not recruit Tim Tebow because he could not throw the football. He can throw the ball well. The question, in my opinion, is can he be a consistent quarterback throughout an entire game. If he performs as well as he did as a backup last season, the answer will be a resounding yes. He is talented, no question about it, but he is still a young quarterback and will make a few mistakes along the way. As talented as Tebow is, and with the talent, he is surrounded by, it is safe to assume he will transition to the starting quarterback role painlessly.
SR WR #5 Andre Caldwell had a 129 catches last season.
SO WR Percy Harvin is blazing fast and as a freshman last season 34 catches, 41 carries for 856 total yards and 5 touchdowns. He accumulated this production dealing with a nagging hamstring injury. If healthy, Harvin has the talent that could double his freshman production if he has enough opportunities.
The offensive line returns intact minus one. Expect to see an experienced, solid offense line.
Offensive Strengths:
Talent, speed, athleticism and plenty of playmakers.
Offensive Weaknesses:
Not many, but as much as the QB runs the ball in Florida's offense, a backup must be found in the event Tebow is injured. Coach Meyer has said much about the running back position the past two years. He wants a dominating running game. Will this be the year he finds the running back he has been searching for the past two seasons?
Defensive Philosophy
Florida’s base defense is a 4-3. Last season, the Gator defense built a reputation for being fast, fierce and aggressive. You will see multiple personnel packages with different defensive sets. Florida will utilize their defensive speed and will blitz from anywhere on the field. With only two returning starters this year, it will be interesting to see if Florida is as aggressive in the early part of the season. They will be young but talented.
Defensive Coordinators
Coach Greg Mattison (3rd year) and Coach Charlie Strong (3rd year, 10th at Florida)
Returning Starter s (2)
JR DE #91 Derrick Harvey 6’ 4” 245 and SR SS #19 Tony Joiner 5’ 11” 217.
Players to Watch For
JR DE # 91 Derrick Harvey played a huge game against Ohio State in the BCS title game, earning him the honor of Defensive MVP. He is strong, quick off the edge and usually introduces himself to the opposing quarterback seven yards behind the line of scrimmage.
SR SS #19 Tony Joiner 5’ 11” 217 is the only returning starter in the secondary. He is fast and known as a big hitter.
SR FS #3 Kyle Jackson 6’ 1” 201, has started in the secondary in past but played behind Reggie Nelson, now in the NFL, last season. He is talented and has a lot of experience that will come in handy for the young defense.
Defensive Strengths
Talent, speed, and athleticism. Florida’s defense will run to the ball extremely well. They will be very opportunistic and force turnovers with their aggressive play if possible.
Defensive Weaknesses
The defense returns only two starters. You can make a case for three returning starters if you want to count FS Kyle Jackson. Regardless, two or three, Florida still will field a young defense. The Florida defense will not fall apart but youthful defenses have a tendency to make mistakes early in the season. Florida has plenty of quality talent, though young,to plug the holes.
Special Teams
There will be new a placekicker and a new punter for the Gators this season. The Gators won a National Championship with an overall weak kicking game last season. Expect improvement this season.
Players to Look For
JR Jonathan Phillips 5’10 207 or SR Joey Ijjas 6’2” 202 at placekicker.
SO Bobby Lane 6' 183 or highly touted freshman Chas Henry 6'3" 180 at Punter.
The return game should be good with explosive SO #25 Brandon James 5’6” 178.
Special Teams Strengths
The Gators could be very dangerous with the ball being kicked from the 30 yard line this season.With #25 Brandon James returning kicks and a full cupboard of talented playmakers to compliment him, the return game will be a strength.
Special Teams Weakness
Youth and inexperience at the placekicker and punter positions.
WKU Insider's Overall Outlook
Expect to see a well-coached, fast and talented football team. Florida has the offense to compete for another national title. If the defense can grow up quickly, they may very well have a chance to defend their 2006 National Title in BCS National Title Game on January 7, 2008. First, the Gators must contend with a minefield for schedule, which begins with the Hilltoppers this Saturday, September 1st.
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