By GatorsRock
Published: August 30, 2008
Updated: August 30, 2008 PrintEmail
Last year was supposed to be a reloading year rather than a rebuilding
year while trying to go back to back in BCS national championships.
Only two starters returned on the defense while the offense had to make
due without two starters on the line, two receivers, and with a new QB.
Most of the returning players and opening day starters were freshman
and sophomores playing their first meaningful games, but the hope was
high that they would be able to come in and produce right away because
of the two straight top two recruiting class that coach Urban Meyer
generated. The season went as inconsistently as it could go. They beat
arguably their two biggest rivals(Tennessee/FSU) by a combined 104-32
and then gave up 42 points to both Georgia and Michigan, while losing
at home to Auburn. They also dominated eventual national champion the
LSU Tigers in Baton Rouge through three quarters before the Tigers
survived. With all of the question marks from the defense, the offense
stayed steady with Heisman winning QB Tim Tebow. Tebow was the first
sophomore to ever win the Heisman and he broke multiple records in his
first year starting including the SEC total TD and rushing TD’s mark
and he became the first player to ever throw for 20 TD’s and rush for
20 more(he ended with 32 passing and 23 rushing). He also broke the
previous record for most rushing TD’s in a season by a QB.
The Gators will lose WR Andre Caldwell, C Drew Miller, OT Carlton
Medder, DE Derrick Harvey, DT Clint McMillan, SS Tony Joiner, and K
Joey Ijjas from their starting lineup a year ago. They will try to
combat these losses with their three straight top three recruiting
classes. They are hoping some of the young guys will be able to come in
and contribute right away and that some of the players that have been
around have matured and are ready to contribute.
This years team has a lot of hype as evidenced by ESPN’s hit show
College Gameday broadcasting live in Gainesville for the Orange and
Blue Debut scrimmage. The expectations are soaring for the Gators.
Unfortunately they have been mired in a ton of off the field issues
including S Jamar Hornsby being kicked off the team. They have also had
quite a few injuries including start RS SR TE Cornelius Ingram,
projected starting RS Jr safety Dorian Munroe, and RS SR S John Curtis.
The team seems ready to just get the year underway so that they can
stop thinking about last year’s disappointment and concentrate at the
task at hand. Anything less than a SEC title and a national
championship will be a disappointment.
Players You Might See on Sunday’s Next Season
-QB Tim Tebow- He was the Heisman winner last year and actually has a
better arsenal of players around him. Expect him to get less carries
this season and become a more efficient passer.
-WR Percy Harvin-He’s the most explosive player on the Gators roster
and one of the most explosive players in the nation. He is a TD threat
every time he touches the ball. The Gators use him at WR and RB and he
averaged over 10 yards per touch last season. He bulked up to 205 in
the offseason while not losing any of his speed. If he can get healthy
then stay healthy expect him to put up monster numbers as Tebow’s #1
option.
-LB Brandon Spikes-He’s the best player and leader of the defense. He
was one of the top tacklers in the nation last year and just has a
knack of finding the ball carrier. He follows 2 very good college MLB’s
in Channing Crowder and Brandon Siler and he is probably the best out
of all 3 of them.
-DE Jermaine Cunningham-He’s a RS Sophomore. He quietly put up quality
numbers last season playing alongside Derrick Harvey. With no pressure
up the middle Cunningham had his hands full rushing to the outside. He
is a speed rusher and finished with 18 tackles against LSU this season.
Him and Dunlap should be one of the best DE tandems in the nation,
especially the best sophomore tandem.
-OT Phil Trautwein-He had to sit out last year with a medical redshirt.
He entered last training camp as the best offensive lineman on our
roster. His return was tainted in the Orange and Blue game as Carlos
Dunlap abused him en route to 4 sacks. Expect him to get back to his
old self and be the anchor of our offensive line.
Diaper Dandies(Freshman)
-RB/WR Jeff Demps- This guy is lightning in a bottle. He ran a 10.03
100m during the Olympic qualifing before he even stepped foot on
campus. Urban Meyer loves speed, well speed is what you are going to
get from this guy. I expect to see him mainly on special teams, but
don’t be surprised to see him used similar to Trindon Holliday from LSU.
-CB Janoris Jenkins- With the lack of depth and talent across the board
in the Gators secondary this guy is going to be required to play quite
a bit as a true freshman. He has looked good in practice and I believe
he has earned the #3 or #4 CB spot right away and he could move up.
Charlie Strong has proven that he would throw a true freshman in right
away at CB as evidenced by Joe Haden being our #1 CB last season as a
true freshman.
-S Will Hill-This was one of our most heralded recruits. Three ACL
tears, two transfers, and one person kicked off the team later the
safety spot is very thin. Counting former WR Justin Williams, we have
four safeties who can play on the roster with only one(Major Wright)
assured of a starting spot. While he has struggled in practice, the
lack of depth will assure him of playing time even if he is the backup
as the Gators test out their future with a Hill/Wright safety tandem.
-DT Omar Hunter- This was the guy that Urban Meyer singled out and said
was the gem of this recruiting class. Meyer even started a “Omar Hunter
Countdown” which counted down the days until Hunter stepped foot on
campus. His Fall has been subpar with a couple of injuries slowing him
down, but with the inexperience of the DT’s he will still fit right in
and expect to see him play a lot more as the season progresses.
Breakout Candidates
-DE Carlos Dunlap- This is the most obvious one. This guy is an
absolute FREAK of nature. Most Gator fans compare him to a former Gator
great Jevon Kearse in his freakish athleticism. He is 6’7 260 lbs and
runs a 4.7 40. He used to run kicks back in high school. There has been
a lot of hype regarding him and he definitely didn’t disappoint in the
spring game racking up four sacks against the most heralded offensive
tackle on our roster. He has a chance to be part of the Gator greats
and be even better than the last two former 1st round pick DE’s.
-TE Aaron Hernandez-With Cornelius Ingram going down with surgery the
Gators are going to need him to fill the hole. He is a very big guy who
runs like a truck and has very soft hands. He is quite possibly a
better TE right now then Ingram is due to his strength and technique.
He’s not as gifted athletically as Ingram, but he can certainly hold
his own against good competition.
-DT Lawrence Marsh-This guy came out of nowhere in Fall practice to be
the most impressive DT. He has one of the starting spots lined up and
if he can get some pressure up the middle that will make our DE’s
Cunningham and Dunlap even more effective and explosive.
-WR Deonte Thompson- He is the ultimate package as a WR, he has the
speed and is actually very tough for his size. I expect to see him used
in the Percy Harvin role as Urban just tries to get the ball in his
hands as much as possible. Right now I believe he is the #3 receiver
behind Harvin and Louis Murphy and just ahead of Riley Cooper. With
Harvin out expect him to be the one that has to shoulder the load.
-RB Chris Rainey-While Dunlap was our best defensive player in the
Orange and Blue scrimmage, Rainey was the most impressive offensive
player. He is very shifty and is a home run threat waiting to happen.
He was very highly regarded coming out of high school. With no real top
notch threat at RB he provides a change of pace. He also catches very
well so don’t be surprised to see a lot of screens.
The Schedule
DATE OPPONENT
-- Sat Aug 30 Hawaii Will be slightly more difficult then people think, but this game shouldn’t be in doubt. 41-21
-- Sat Sep 6 Miami (Fla) Can I really see the Gators win a game against the Canes? That is a feat that I have never seen. Primetime in the Swamp. 34-21
-- Sat Sep 20 at Tennessee This
will be a big challenge, but there is a bye week before this game and
Meyer doesn’t lose very often with more than one week to prepare for a
game. Not to mention Tennessee was embarrassed 59-20 in the Swamp and
would like to get revenge. In the typical nailbiter in Neyland. 31-28
-- Sat Sep 27 Ole Miss For some reason Ole Miss always plays us close. 31-24
-- Sat Oct 4 at Arkansas In a couple years this will be a tough game, but not this year. 49-24
-- Sat Oct 11 LSU With a bye week looming I think this is where we slip up and lose to the Tigers at home. 24-21 Tigers
-- Sat Oct 25 Kentucky (HC) Will come out firing after a bye week and the loss. Probably will be one of the most lopsided games of the season. 51-14
-- Sat Nov 1 Georgia Gators
were embarrassed last season especially with the entire team taunting
in the end zone. Expect them to show up this year and UGA is in the
middle of the most brutal 4 game stretch anyone has this season. 38-27
-- Sat Nov 8 at Vanderbilt Let down type game, but it’s Vandy, expect a closer than expected score 28-20
-- Sat Nov 15 South Carolina Last
time Spurrier came to Gainesville, the Gators needed three blocked
kicks to win by 1. It should be a little easier this time. 45-24
-- Sat Nov 22 The Citadel Cam Newton/John Brantley get their time to shine. 70-7
-- Sat Nov 29 at Florida State
FSU always plays us tough on Ron Zook field, but unless their offensive
line has improved(they were the only team last year to make our
defensive line look really good) don’t expect the Gators to lose again.
35-31
Despite predicting 11-1, I do see the Gators losing another game that
they should along the line and going 10-2 this season. It’s undecided
if that would be good enough to have a chance at the SEC title, but it
very well could. The games that I am iffy about are Miami, Tennessee,
Georgia, and FSU. I could easily see us losing to any of those teams.
41-21
