Two Gators named to Player of Year Watch List

Junior All-Americans Stacey Nelson and Kim Waleszonia (Fontana, Calif.) have been named to the USA Softball Player of the Year Watch List, two of 50 players named by the Amateur Softball Association.

Nelson led the Gator pitching staff with a 0.95 ERA in 2007, earning her second team NFCA/Louisville Slugger and first team Easton All-America honors. She was also named second-team All-SEC. Nelson set or tied school single season records in nine different categories, including wins (34), strikeouts (285) and complete games (37). In addition to her pitching talents, Nelson also fields her position well and is the only pitcher in school history to rank in Florida's career top 20 list for fielding percentage.

Waleszonia, who plays both right field and second base, is a third team NFCA/Louisville Slugger and second team Easton All-America selection who led the team in six different categories in 2007. She set school records for season hits (88), triples (5) and stolen bases (24). She is the Florida record holder for career batting average (.338).

Nelson and Waleszonia are just two of 10 SEC players named to the list, and Florida is one of 12 schools to have multiple players named to the list.

Gators pick up another four-star commitment

After losing one of its defensive prospects to academic casualty on Monday, the Gators rebounded Tuesday with another highly-touted player.

William Green, a 6-foot-4, 215-pound defensive end out of Hoover (Ala.) Spain, orally commited to the Gators Tuesday evening.

Green chose the Gators despite a late push by Alabama. He had 118 tackles and six sacks as a senior. He expected to take some ribbing from classmates today, since Hoover is in the heart of Alabama country.

"I'll probably get cussed out a little bit,'' he told rivals.com. "I have random people calling me sometimes and cussing me out (for leaning to Florida)."

Gators lose 4-star commitment to academics

Florida will be without one of its star defensive commitments when national signing day takes place next week.

Savannah four-star defensive back Chaz Sutton told Rivals.com the Gators have rescinded his scholarshp offer because he will not meet Florida's academic requirments.

"There's some different stories running around,'' Sutton told Mark Wheeler, Gatorbait.net editor. "I talked to coach (Greg) Mattison about it. It was kind of crazy. I don't know what is really going to happen yet. What happened at Florida is I was on my visit and on Sunday before I left they said the Admissions people said I wouldn't have a good enough test score to go with my grades until June.

"When I got back to Savannah there was all kinds of commotion. They said they wouldn't have a scholarship for me to sign. They said I should try to go to Hargrave or something."

Florida will not allow a player to sign a letter of intent if he isn't projected to meet the school's academic requirements. Sutton said his grades are close, it's his test score that needs improvement.

He has a visit to South Carolina scheduled this weekend.

Men's basketball back in AP poll

On the heels of its 86-64 victory over then- No. 14 Vanderbilt, Florida is back in the Associated Press Top 25 poll.

The Gators are ranked No. 20 in the AP poll, released this afternoon. Florida is also No. 19 in the ESPN coaches poll.

Florida (18-3, 5-1 SEC) was ranked during the week of Nov. 19, but the Gators promptly lost to Florida State that week.

The Gators said they learned from their earlier problems, and are uncconcerned about being ranked now.

"That doesn't mean anythng,'' freshman guard Nick Calathes said. "At the end of the season, that's when it matters. We don't care about rankings right now because it really doesn't matter.''

Lucas says injured knee won't hamper him

Freshman guard Jai Lucas said he's still recovering from the knee injury he sustained in last weekend's Kentucky game, but he's able to play through it.

Lucas hyper-extended his knee during a collision driving to the basket in that game. He said it's much better today than it was earlier in the week.

"It's doing better,'' he said. "It’s on the side of my knee. It’s like a combination of a sprain and a bruise. The first day it was pretty bad. It was really tight. I had to sleep on one side and it was painful. It’s a lot better now. I can move better and it’s just a lot better.''

Lucas played in Wednesday night's win over South Carolina, despite missing some practice, and is expected to be in the starting lineup when the Gators host Vanderbilt on Sunday afternoon.

"Once I get running and loosen it up, it (pain) goes away.'' Lucas said. "I don’t really feel it.''

PHOTO: University of Florida

UF has 46 athletes on SEC Honor Roll

                        

GAINESVILLE - A total of 46 Florida student-athletes,including 25 football players, are among the 483 student-athletes named to the 2007-08 SEC Fall Academic Honor Roll, according to the league office.

The Gators had the third-highest number of athletes named to the honor roll behind South Carolina (65) and Kentucky (60).

Among them are four area football players: WR Riley Cooper, K Joey Ijjas; OL Jim Barrie and DB Telly Concepcion.

To be eligible for the honor roll: a student-athlete must have a grade point average of 3.00 or above for either the preceding academic year (two semesters or three quarters) or have a cumulative grade point average of 3.00 or above; if a student-athlete attends summer school, his/her grade point average during the summer academic term must be included in the calculation used to determine eligibility for the Academic Honor Roll; and student-athletes eligible for the Honor Roll include those receiving an athletics scholarship, recipients of an athletics award (i.e., letter winner), and non-scholarship student-athletes who have been on a varsity team for two seasons.

Prior to being nominated, a student-athlete must have successfully completed 24 semester or 36 quarter hours of non-remedial academic credit toward a baccalaureate degree at the nominating institution and must have been a member of a varsity team for the sport's entire NCAA Championship segment.

Here is a list of the Gators named to the honor roll by sport and major:

FOOTBALL: Derek Baldry (Sr., Telecommunications); James Barrie (Jr., Political Science); Riley Cooper (So. Sport Management); Javier Estopinan (Sr., Geography); Eddie Haupt (Jr., Zoology); Aaron Hernandez (So., Social and Behavioral Sciences); Markus Manson (Sr., Criminology); Kestahn Moore (Jr. Sport Management); Jonathan Phillips (Jr., Finance); Wondy Pierre-Louis (So., Sociology); 
James Smith (Sr. Physiology/Kinesiology); Ryan Stamper (Jr., Criminology); Tim Tebow (So., Family, Youth and Community Sciences); Phil Trautwein (Sr., Family, Youth and Community Sciences); Paul Wilson (So., Sport Management); Telly Concepcion (Sr., Criminology); Andrew Fritze (Jr., Exercise Physiology); Brad Hiers (Jr., History); Joey Ijjas (Sr., Architecture); Andrew Johnson (Jr., Interdisciplinary Studies- Biology); Bobby R. Kane (Sr., Criminology); Christopher Pintado (So., Finance); Vernon Shelton (Sr., Agriculture & Operations Management); Joey Sorrentino (Jr., Exercise Physiology); Cody Worton (So., Civil Engineering).

SOCCER: Jessica Eicken (So. Sport Management); Bianca Gibbs (Sr., Management); Ashley Harris (Sr.,  Zoology); Caitlin Howard (So., Journalism); Lauren Hyde So., Sport Management); Megan Kerns (Jr., Exercise Physiology); Shelley Lyle (Sr., Political Science); Angela Napolitano (So. Economics); 
Vanessa Rangel (So., Accounting); Anne Rose (So., Psychology); Elizabeth "Liz" Ruberry (Sr., Community Health); Jenny Taylor (So., Advertising); Tricia Townsend (So., Marketing).

  VOLLEYBALL: Kelsey Bowers (Jr., Public Relations); Maurelle "Marcie" Hampton (Sr., Telecommunications); Kristina Johnson (Jr., Family, Youth and Community Sciences); Lakisya Killingsworth (Sr., Family, Youth and Community Sciences); Amber McCray (Grad. Student Sport Management): Angela McGinnis (Sr., Early Childhood Education); Christina Diaz (Jr., Health Promotions).

PHOTOS: Top, Riley Cooper; Bottom, Joey Ijjas.

Tebow may be part of inquiry into NCAA violations

GAINESVILLE - The ongoing inquiry by Florida's compliance office into possible secondary NCAA violations in the recruitment of wide receiver Carl Moore may include quarterback Tim Tebow, according to a report out of California.

According to a story in the Sacramento Bee, Florida coach Urban Meyer called Moore from the Heisman Trophy ceremony on Dec. 7 aand later gave his phone to Tebow to talk to Moore.

NCAA rules prohibit student athletes from contacting or talking with recruits at the suggestion of coaches. An athlete currently enrolled at the school can only make contact with a recruit on his own.

Jamie McCloskey, Florida's senior associate athletic director for compliance, has acknowledged that his office is looking into whether Meyer committed a secondary NCAA violation by telephoning Maranda Smith, Moore’s girlfriend, during his recruitment asking her to help convince Moore to transfer from Sierra Community College. Moore and Smith have both transferred from community college and enrolled at UF.

Smith was quoted in a newspaper article as saying Meyer called her every day in November to talk about Moore. Smith has since said Meyer only contacted her because Moore gave her number to Meyer for times when he couldn't be reached on his cell phone.

McCloskey said his office is reviewing Meyer's phone records, but he does not have a timetable for concluding the ongoing investigation.

Softball gets preseason No. 13 ranking

GAINESVILLE - The softball team will open the 2008 season as the No. 13 team in the nation, according to the USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll released Thursday.

It is the highest preseason ranking in Gator history, and only the third time the Gators have been ranked in the preseason poll. They were ranked No. 20 in 1999 and No. 19 in 2006.

Florida is one of seven schools Southeastern Conference schools ranked or receiving votes in the preseason poll.

The Gators finished the 2007 season with a 50-22 overall record and a 17-11 record in SEC play. The Gators reached the championship game of the SEC tournament and advanced to NCAA Super Regional play for the first time in school history, finishing the season just one game away from the Women's College World Series.

Medder to play in All-Star game

GAINESVILLE- Former offensive lineman Carlton Medder is among the players who will participate in the Texas vs. The Nation Collegiate All-Star game.

This is the second year the game has been played, pitting collegiate stars from Texas against former college athletes from around the nation.

The game will be held Feb. 2, at the Sun Bowl, in El Paso, Texas.

Florida takes over No. 1 ranking by Rivals.com

With its signing of Omar Hunter on Tuesday, the No. 2 defensive tackle in the nation, Florida has moved into the No. 1 spot in the national rankings, according to Rivals.com.

The Gators currently have 2,691 points, 11 more than No. 2 Notre Dame and 212 more than No. 3 Alabama.

Of the Gators'  22 commitments, four are 5-star rated, 13 are 4-star athletes and three are ranked with 3 stars. Florida began the month of January ranked No. 16 by Rivals.com, but a surge in top-notch recruits over the past three weeks catapulted the Gators to No. 1.

"It seems like it's all coming together late, but these relationships are built after months, and months, and months (of recruiting),'' said Mark Wheeler, editor of Gatorbait.net. "Recruiting is about relationships and these coaches have been forming relationships with these young ment over months.''

Gators land nation's No. 2 defensive tackle

Florida's big-time January push in the recruiting wars moved into a whole different stratosphere Tuesday afternoon when the Gators landed arguably their biggest recruit of 2008.

Omar Hunter, considered by several recruiting services to be the nation's No. 2 defensive tackle has orally committed to the Gators.

Hunter, 6-foot-2, 297 pounds, is from Buford, Ga. He is No. 17 on the Rivals.com Top 100 list. He decommitted from his previous oral commitment to Notre Dame.

"He's phenomenal,'' said GatorBait.com editor Mark Wheeler. "He moves Florida's class from No. 3 to No. 2, and potentially No. 1 in the nation.''

National signing day is Feb. 6.

Jai Lucas questionable for South Carolina game

Freshman guard Jai Lucas' status for Wednesday's South Carolina game is up in the air as he nurses a knee injury suffered in the Kentucky game Saturday night.

Lucas went down on a hard foul with 4:51 remaining in the first half, and although he did return and play sparingly in the second half, he did injure the knee.

"I think he's considerably better,'' Florida coach Billy Dononvan said Monday morning. "He's not going to practice today. They were worried a a little bit about maybe a tear in his meniscus, but they don't think that's the case. He didn't have any swelling, but he probably has some bruising on his bone. He  hyperextended his knee. He feels better.''

The Gators will play at South Carolina Wednesday night, but Donovan said he most likely won't know Lucas' status until at least Tuesday.

" Like all these guys, he wants to play on Wednesday,'' Donovan said. "We're probably not going to have a real true feel of whether or not he'll be available until (Tuesday's practice), to see what type of improvement he makes. Right now, he's not going to practice today, we're sitting him out. And that makes it hard for our team because now we're down to eight guys and we really need to do some things in practice the next couple of days to get prepared. We're going to have to kind of do some different things to get these guys ready.''

Lucas is averaging 9.7points and 2.2 assists for the Gators, and has started all 19 games.

Florida picks up four-star Melbourne linebacker

Ramon "Cookie' Buchanan, a 6-foot linebacker out of Melbourne Palm Bay, orally commited to the Gators on Saturday evening, he said Sunday.

Buchanan played linebacker at Palm Bay, registering 100 tackles in his senior season, including 70 solo. He has the ability to play wide receiver and safety as well.

Buchanan orginailly committed to Miami last summer, but started to have a change of heart in the past few weeks. He was among a handful of big-time recruits who visited the UF campus this past weekend, a trip that included an overtime basketball game against Kentucky at the O'Connell Center.

Buchanan joins a list of former standout players from Palm Bay High, including center Mike Degory, defensive lineman Joe Cohen and safety Reggie Nelson.

Tebow thanks UF fans for their support

With his Heisman Trophy in tow, Florida quarterback Tim Tebow addressed Florida fans at halftime of the Florida-Kentucky game, thanking them for their support and apologizing for the Gators' 9-4 season.

"People think it (the Heisman) is about me, but it's not just about me,'' Tebow said. "It's about my coaches, my teammates and most importantly, you the fans,'' Tebow said.

Dressed in a long sleeved shirt with the sleeves rolled up and jeans, Tebow told fans the incoming recruiting class is solid.

"The future looks good at Florida,'' he said. "We've got a lot of good, young guys coming to Florida.''

He told the fans he didn't get a chance to properly thank them after winning the Heisman in New York, adding he shared the award with all Gator fans.

Finally, he offered an apology for the season the Gators put together, finishing with a loss to Michigan in the Capital One Bowl.

"I want to apologize,'' Tebow said. "9-4 is not good enough for you. Next year, we'll see you in Atlanta and beyond.''

Donovan welcomes GameDay coverage; fans encouraged to attend

ESPN'S College GameDay show will broadcast live from Gainesville Saturday morning, beginning at 11 a.m., and Florida athletic officials are encouraging fans to attend.

Doors will open at 9:45 a.m. for the general public, who will be allowed to enter the O'Connell Center through Gate 1. ESPN will broadcast its first live portion at the top of the 10 a.m. edition of Sportscenter, then will broadcast College Basketball GameDay from 11 a.m. until noon. Florida will host activities, contests, live performances from the pep band and Dazzlers between the broadcast.

Florida coach Billy Donovan said he welcomes the GameDay coverage and thinks what ESPN is trying to do for college basketball is admirable.

"I respect what ESPN is trying to do with basketball, that they are trying to create a whole day of college basketball and maybe a little bit of a takeoff of the college GameDay with football where they go through all the games and the matchups and things like that,'' Donovan said. "I think anytime there’s attention drawn to college basketball and what we’re doing, I think that’s always a good thing for the game and it gets people excited. It’s a chance for us to expose the University of Florida on a national stage.''

ESPN College Basketball Gameday will broadcast from 11 a.m. until noon. In between will be a host of
fan-friendly activities, contests and live performances from the pep
band and Dazzlers.

Rece Davis, Digger Phelps, Jay Bilas and Hubert Davis will provide analysis of the Gators’ showdown with Kentucky, as well as the college basketball landscape for ESPN.

Bilas said the GameDay experience, which began three years ago, has been exciting for all involved.

"I think it’s been great,'' he said. "I’ve really enjoyed it. I’ve been to all these places to do games, but it’s awfully nice to be able to go and interact with people there and spend an entire day there. It’s been kind of a, for lack of a better way of describing it, GameDay has been kind of a clearing house for college basketball, kind of a one-stop shop to be able to find out everything that’s going on in the game. Who’s playing, who’s playing well, features and a spotlight on the game. So it’s kind of a clearinghouse for the week and that’s a nice thing. The football GameDay is the gold standard. And it’s been nice to sort of follow in their pretty large footsteps and do the best we can with it.''

At the conclusion of the day, Florida will play Kentucky at 9 p.m. on ESPN. And although the Gators still carry that perception of a football school for many nationwide, Bilas said Gator fans hold their own when the ESPN basketball crew is in town.

"Florida, over the years, has been one of our favorite places to go,'' he said. "It may be a football school in some ways, but it competes with any basketball school that I know of. There are some places that have maybe longer traditions, but in the time Billy’s been there, I don’t think anywhere has won any more and  it’s been up among the truly elite programs in the last 10 or 12 years.''

Gators pick up 4-star Texas athlete

DeSoto, Texas receiver/defensive back Adrian Bushell orally committed to the Gators on Thursday.

The 5-foot-11, 180-pound Bushell played receiver, tailback and cornerback at DeSoto High School. He runs a 4.4 forty, rushed for 239 yards (six touchdowns) and caught nine passes for 107 yards in his senior season. He also had 25 tackles and five interceptions.

Before moving to Texas, he plaed at Miami Pace High and was expected to make an official visit to Miami this weekend before committing to the Gators.

Markus Manson will finish career elsewhere

Running back Markus Manson will finish his collegiate career elsewhere after deciding to to transfer.

Manson, who graduated in December, but had one year of eligibility remaining, will transfer to Valdsota State.

He was one of the most highly-touted running backs in the nation in 2004 when he came to Gainesville from Hillcrest High in Tuscaloosa, Ala. But for whatever reason, he never succeeded in Gainesville.

Manson started two games as a redshirt freshman in 2005, rushing for 365 yards and two touchdowns. But the next year, he had just four carries for 15 yards. He moved to cornerback last season, but never saw playing time at the position.

Manson will be eligible to play immediately at Valdosta State.

Meyer's search for running backs coach continues

Florida is still in the market for a running backs coach after Clemson running backs coach Andre Powell declined an offer by Urban Meyer to be interviewed for the vacant position at Florida, according to The State newspaper in South Carolina.

Meyer had hoped to interview Powell about the running backs position and special teams, but Powell has strong ties to the area. His wife is a high school basketball coach and he said he enjoys working for coach Tommy Bowden.

UF's running backs coach Stan Drayton left the program to join Tennessee's staff last week, after he was reportedly told he wold not be retained on the staff.

Dunnellon linebacker chooses Florida

Dunnellon linebacker Lerentee McCray orally committed to Florida Wednesday afternoon, bringing to 20 the number of oral recruits for the Gators.

McCray chose Florida over in-state rival Florida State in a live broadcast on ESPNU. He originally committed to Miami, but later changed his mind.

"It felt like home every time I went up there,'' McCray said of Gainesville.

McCray took an official visit to Florida State last weekend, but said he never wavered on his decision.

"It just felt like (Florida) was where I needed to be,'' McCray said Wednesday. He is listed as a 4-star recruit by Rivals.com.

The Gators now have 10 defensive oral commitments.

ESPN College GameDay coming to Gainesville

You know it's a big game when Kentucky AND ESPN come to town.

ESPN's College GameDay will be in Gainesville on Saturday as part of the network's primetime telecast of the Florida vs. Kentucky game at 9 p.m.

It is the first time GameDay has been held at the O'Connell Center since 2006, only the second time ever.

If you're interested in attending the live ESPN GameDay broadcast, doors will open at 9:30 a.m., Saturday. The general public may enter through Gate 1 of the O'Connell Center.

Sportscenter will cut live to the O’Connell Center during the first segment of its 10 a.m. show. Following the live segment, fans at the O’Connell Center will be treated to performances from the pep band and Dazzlers, as well as a number of fan-friendly contests before ESPN Gameday is broadcast from the building from 11 a.m.-noon.

After the conclusion of Gameday, fans will need to exit the building. Doors will reopen at 7 p.m. for Rowdy Reptiles and 7:30 p.m. for the general public. ESPN will broadcast a second show from 8-9 p.m. from the O’Connell Center, leading up to the tip of the Gators’ game with Kentucky at 9 p.m.

Women's tennis match postponed

Due to weather conditions in the Gainesville area, the Florida women's tennis match against Stetson, scheduled for this afternoon, has been postponed.

The match has been rescheduled and will be played on Wednesday, Jan. 23rd beginning at 3:30 p.m. at Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex.

The contest between the No. 4 Gators and the Hatters remains Florida's season-opener, but creates a hectic opening slate. The team will also host UCF on Jan. 24 and South Alabama on Jan. 26.

Gator gymnast earns conference honors

It's been a big week so far for the Florida gymnastics team. The Gators took over the No. 1 position in the nation and sophomore Melanie Sinclair was named the SEC gymanst of the week on Tuesday.

Sinclair matched her collegiate-best all-around total of 39.525 to win the season-opener last
Friday against Illinois-Chicago. That all-around total also shares the nation's high mark of the season so far. It was the second all-around win for Sinclair, who also opened the 2007 season by claiming the
Super Six Challenge title. Sinclair has competed four times during her collegiate career as an all-arounder, winning two titles and taking second in the other two outings.

She shared two other event titles Friday - uneven bars (9.925) and balance beam (9.875). The bar win was her ninth as a Gator and it was her second beam title. She earned All-America first team honors in both events in 2007.

No. 1 Florida will host No. 2, and three-time defending national champion Georgia on Friday night at the O'Connell Center.

Donovan reaches out to Noah

GAINESVILLE – Florida coach Billy Donovan said he is trying to reach out to his former star, Joakim Noah, after Noah was suspended for two games at the suggestion of his Chicago Bulls teammates.

Noah was suspended by interim coach Jim Boylan last Friday after Noah reportedly got into a confrontation with assistant coach Ron Adams during a morning shoot-around. His teammates voted unanimously to suspend him a second game for other issues he’s had all season long.

“I left a message for him yesterday and I sent him a text message,'' Donovan said. "I'm trying to actually catch up with him. I hope he's doing okay. I don't know all what's behind the fact he's been suspended two games, but I just called him as a friend and someone who coached him and tried to reach out to him.’’

Noah has reportedly been late to team functions and violated rules designated by Chicago’s veterans. Donovan said he spoke with Noah extensively before he left Gainesville about the rigors of being a professional and the extreme differences between college and the professional ranks.

"It's so different in the NBA,'' Donovan said. "You know if you're late, you get fined. If you don't do what you're supposed to be doing, if you're not dressed properly, you get fined. There's a level that you have to have, and sometimes you don't have the same cohesiveness and bond (as college). Some of these guys have got wives and they've got kids and there's maybe not that hanging out in the locker room kind of thing. So I think this is all new for Jo. But I think Jo's frustration is nothing more pure than he wants to win. I don't think he's upset because he's not getting shots, I think he just wants to win. And I think if there's one thing I always admired about Jo is no one dislikes losing any more than he does of anybody I've ever coached. But for me to pass judgment on what's going on there, I don't know. I just know that probably a lot of it, just knowing Jo's personality stems from him wanting to win and maybe coming out and saying some things that didn't sit well with the team and coaching staff and he got suspended those two games.''

Calathes named SEC Freshman of the Week

Florida guard Nick Calathes has been named the SEC Freshman of the Week, the league announced Monday afternoon.

Calathes, the team's leading scorer, averaged 18.5 points, 7.0 assists, 3.5 rebounds and hit 53.8 percent from three-point range, as the Gators (15-2, 2-0 SEC) picked up a road win at Alabama, then
won against Auburn on Saturday at the O’Connell Center.

Calathes opened the week by scoring 21 points, nine assists and seven rebounds in the Gators’ win over Alabama. Seventeen of his 21 points came in the second half. He also had 16 points and five assists against Auburn and for the week hit 7-of-13 three-point attempts.

Calathes leads the Gators in scoring with 15.2 points per game and leads the SEC in assists per game at 5.9 per contest.

Holliday resigns as Florida safeties coach

GAINESVILLE - Florida associate head coach Doc Holliday won't be the head coach at West Virginia, but he will be joining the staff afterall.

Holliday resigned his position with the Gators on Thursday and is expected to join the coaching staff at West Virginia. Holliday previous applied for the school's vacant head coaching position two weeks ago.

A Hurricane, W. Va. native, Holliday coached at West Virginia from 1979-99. Under Urban Meyer, Holliday was in charge of Florida's safeties and was the primary recuriter for the South Florida area.

Meyer, who managed to maintain continuity on his staff for the first two seasons, now has two vacant positions to fill. Running backs coach Stan Drayton left earlier this week to take over the same position at Tennessee.
    

Ingram to return for his senior season

GAINESVILLE – Less than a week after he said he would forego his senior season to enter the NFL Draft, Florida tight end Cornelius Ingram has decided to return next season. 
  Ingram, who did not return phone calls Wednesday, told Gainesville’s WCJB-TV 20 late Wednesday night he has decided that earning his degree is more important than starting his potential pro career early.
  “I want to graduate,’’ Ingram said. “No one ever graduated in my family from college, so I’ll be the first with only five classes left.’’
  Ingram told reporters prior to the Capital One Bowl that if he was projected to go in the first three rounds, he would leave for the NFL. He was projected to be a second or third round pick, but ultimately had a change of heart.
  “I talked to my brother four or five times a day,’’ Ingram said. “. . . He told me to do what was in my heart and what was best  for me.’’

Speedy Demps latest UF recruiting get

Since his first day at Florida, football coach Urban Meyer has made the recruitment of speed a top priority.

On Wednesday, he might have landed his fastest player yet.

Jeffrey Demps, an all-purpose running back from Groveland South Lake, has committed to the Gators over Tennessee and Kentucky according to a report posted at Gatorcountry.com. Demps (5-foot-8, 162 pounds) arguably is the state’s fastest recruit, and is considered among the country’s fastest.

Demps won the Florida Class 2A state championship in the 100-meter dash last spring with a time of 10.37 seconds. Rivals.com ranks him as the state’s 50th best prospect.

Demps is UF’s 17th commitment.

Florida finishes No. 13 in final AP poll

The final Top 10 ranking the Gators had hoped for was not to be. With its loss to Michigan in the Capital One Bowl on New Year's Day, the Gators finished No. 13 in the final Associated Press poll released today.

Here is the final poll:

AP Top 25
1. LSU (60) 12-2 1,620
2. Georgia (3) 11-2 1,515
3. USC (1) 11-2 1,500
4. Missouri 12-2 1,347
5. Ohio State 11-2 1,346
6. West Virginia 11-2 1,342
7. Kansas (1) 12-1 1,303
8. Oklahoma 11-3 1,139
9. Virginia Tech 11-3 1,096
10. Texas 10-3 962
10. Boston College 11-3 962
12. Tennessee 10-4 904
13. Florida 9-4 685
14. Brigham Young 11-2 654
15. Auburn 9-4 648
16. Arizona State 10-3 587
17. Cincinnati 10-3 566
18. Michigan 9-4 508
19. Hawaii 12-1 460
20. Illinois 9-4 443
21. Clemson 9-4 353
22. Texas Tech 9-4 308
23. Oregon 9-4 253
24. Wisconsin 9-4 202
25. Oregon State 9-4 110
Others Receiving Votes
Virginia 66, Penn State 61, Kentucky 57, Wake Forest 53, Boise State 25, Arkansas 13, Utah 9, Mississippi State 7, Appalachian State 5, South Florida 5, Tulsa 4, Connecticut 3, Air Force 2, Rutgers 2.
Dropped From Rankings
Virginia 21, South Florida 23, Boise State 24, Arkansas 25.

Drayton leaves to join Tennessee staff

Stan Drayton, Florida's assistant coach in charge of running backs, has left the staff.

Drayton is expected to be announced Wednesday as the new running backs coach at Tennessee.

In a short statement, Florida coach Urban Meyer said Drayton was leaving "to pursue other interests.''

SEC finishes on top again

If you're a Florida fan feeling a little bummed about LSU's win over Ohio State for the BCS national championship, look at it this way: a win for LSU is a boost for the SEC.

For the second consecutive season, an SEC team won the BCS national title game, the first time in BCS history.

Here are a few other notes from the league on this season's success:

* LSU's 2007 BCS National Championship is the Southeastern Conference's fourth
in the 10 years of the BCS.  Tennessee won the BCS National Championship in
1998, LSU in 2003 and Florida in 2006.

* The SEC is the first conference to win back-to-back BCS titles.

 
* The SEC is 11-4 all-time in BCS bowl games.  The SEC has won four BCS bowl
games in the last two seasons.

* The SEC's seven bowl wins this season is an all-time high for any conference. 
SEC had six last season (previous high).

* The SEC's 7-2 bowl record this season is first among the automatic qualifying
BCS conferences (.778 percent) and second overall (Mountain West - 4-1, .800
percent) this season.

* This season, the SEC posted a 47-10 record against non-conference foes (.825
percent), which is the highest percentage of all FBS conferences.  47 wins ties
an SEC high all-time (last season, had 47).

* The SEC now has 184 bowl wins in its history, which is tops in FBS.

* The SEC's bowl win percentage of 52.8 (184-164-13) is percentage points ahead
of the ACC's 143-128-5 percentage of 52.7 for tops among FBS conferences. 
Records are using 2007 conference alignments.

Gators fighting illness as SEC season starts

The Florida basketball team will enter Tuesday night's SEC opener at Alabama with no significant physical injuries, but struggling with illness that has run rampant recently.

"We’re battling a lot of illnesses right now,'' UF coach Billy Donovan said. "We have no physical injuries like sprained ankles or tweaked knees or anything like that. (Assistant coach) Rob Lanier missed a practice and a game (High Point) with strep throat.  We’ve got a lot of illness going through our team and I don’t think that’s uncharacteristic any time of the year. I think everybody is dealing with it and we’ve got to deal with it, colds and flus.''

Freshman Chandler Parsons was scheduled to sit out Monday's practice, but isn't expected to miss the game.

"I don’t even know what he has right now,'' Donovan said. "I just know he’s not in school and our trainer took him over there to see the doctor and they are going to run some tests and try to find out a lot more. I don’t anticipate him not playing or not traveling.''

Ingram may be wavering on NFL decision

Redshirt junior tight end Cornelius Ingram may be having second thoughts about his decision to leave early for the NFL.

Ingram told several people, including Yahoo.com on Friday, he had decided to forego his senior season and enter the NFL draft.

But a family member said the Hawthorne native is now wavering.

Ingram's brother told the Gainesville Sun late Friday  Ingram is "kind of torn''.

Ingram told reporters prior to the Capital One Bowl that if he was projected anywhere in the first three rounds, he would bypass his senior season. But his brother now says Ingram isn't so sure, despite being projected to go in the second or third rounds.

Ingram could not be reached for comment early Saturday.

Gator football posts record team GPA

More than 46 percent of the University of Florida football student-athletes earned above a 3.0 grade point average in the 2007 Fall semester, head coach Urban Meyer announced Friday.

"We had another great semester in the classroom," Meyer said. "Our players continue to improve in their academic studies and that is a tribute to their commitment to excellence both on and off the field."

Overall, 53 players posted a 3.0 GPA or above a 3.0 GPA, including 33 scholarship players. The team posted an overall GPA of 2.81, numbers higher than UF's record-setting numbers from the spring semester when 37 percent of scholarship players earned a 3.0 GPA or higher and the team GPA was 2.77.

The number of players above a 3.0 GPA and the cumulative team average are the highest for the football team since records have been kept. The football team also posted a 72 percent graduation success rate according to data released by the NCAA this fall.

Here's a breakdown of the UF team Grade Point Average under Meyer:

Spring 2005    2.45

Fall 2005       2.65

Spring 2006    2.68

Fall 2006       2.72

Spring 2007    2.77

Fall 2007       2.81

Ingram to forego senior season

Junior tight end Cornelius Ingram has decided to forego his senior season and enter the NFL draft.

Ingram is the second Florida player to declare for the NFL draft in the past two days. Ingram's roommate, defensive end Derrick Harvey, informed Florida coaches on Thursday that he will also be leaving for the NFL.

While Harvey had great success over three seasons, Ingram's star rose in a different way. He came to Florida as a quarterback out of Hawthorne High, just outside of Gainesville, with the intention of playing football and basketball. He was a reserve on the Gator basketball team his freshman year, then decided to concentrate just on football in his second season.

Ingram played in all 13 games this season, with 34 receptions for 508 yards.

Derrick Harvey to enter NFL Draft

GAINESVILLE - Redshirt junior defensive end Derrick Harvey will bypass his senior season and enter the NFL Draft, Florida coach Urban Meyer confirmed Thursday night.

The redshirt junior from Upper Marlboro, Maryland, had been pondering the decision for weeks, and made his decision known to the Florida coaching staff on Thursday.

"Derrick has informed the coaching staff of his decision to enter the NFL draft,’’ Meyer said in a statement. “We appreciate his effort and dedication to the Gator program and we wish him the best of luck."

Harvey played in all 13 games this season, finishing with 49 tackles (31 solo), 17 tackles for loss and 8 ½ sacks. Last season, he had a career-high three sacks, recovered a fumble and was named the game’s defensive MVP in the Gators’ 41-14 win over Ohio State in the national championship game.

Florida may lose tight end Cornelius Ingram to the NFL, also. Ingram met with Meyer Wednesday and is expected to make a decision soon. He is said to be leaning toward leaving.

Speights starting to show improvement with conditioning

The stat line will seem most impressive to most people: Florida center Marreesse Speights had a career-high 24 points and 15 rebounds in an 88-70 win over High Point Wednesday night.

But for Florida coach Billy Donovan, the most impressive thing was that Speights played 31 minutes in the game.

Donovan believes, and he's told Speights this over and over, that the sophomore's lack of conditioning is what's holding him back from being a great player.

"I was really pleased with him the last couple of games because I think in order to press and get up and down the floor, we've got to practice like that,'' Donovan said. "And I think one of the things I noticed in practice weeks ago is he gets tired and everything shuts down for him. He doesn't play defense, he doesn't block out, he doesn't run, you can tell. Everybody in the building knows when Marreese is tired.''

Donovan said he and the coaching staff have emphasized his conditioning much more in practice, reminding him he has to learn to fight through fatigue.

"He did a much better job (Wednesday night),'' Donovan said. "I can't remember the last time I saw that guy outrun a player down the floor twice in the first half and get a dunk just by sheer, pure running. So I'm hopeful he realizes that the whole key to his game is conditioning.''

Donovan isn't the only one riding Speights about getting into shape. His teammates are on him too.

"It's all in his mind,'' Jonathan Mitchell said. "If he has that mindset coming into the game that I want to
play 25, 30 minutes he can do it. It's not the fact that he can't do it, it's that sometimes he gets a little lazy and doesn't push himself.''

Get to know Florida hoops recruit Eloy Vargas

Just thought I'd pass this along: In last week's Times, we profiled Florida basketball signee Eloy Vargas, who was competing in a Tampa Bay basketball tournament. You can find that story HERE. Additionally, we've tracked down video of Vargas, a 6-foot-10 power forward from Plantation American Heritage, that is worth a look. That video, along with clips of 2009 Florida target Kenny Boynton, can be found HERE.

Vargas seems a nice kid, according to our reporter who met him.

He's very quiet. Very low key.

Vargas, who moved to Florida from the Dominican Republic before his sophomore year, chose Florida over Louisville and Pittsburgh. In Gainesville, Vargas figured, he could play relatively early since, in his words, "all the guys left" after the 2006-07 season.

"He can really do it all," American Heritage coach Danny Herz said. "He can pass, drive, shoot. There are very few big guys who can do that."

--Antonya English