Random Thoughts (what else we got right now?)

[DRU2012]

Urban DID manage to "get" us one more time over the weekend: one of our prized prospects at a true position-of-need for us, 5-star DE Noah Spence, who was real high on UF to the exclusion of anyone else, flipped suddenly and has now committed to Meyer's Buckeye's (still feel wierd to say that?). A team he had not the slightest interest in before, I doubt I need say more on this one to y'all, Gators.
The difference in Sunday's Bronco-Patriot tilt was obviously that 8 minutes or so in the 2nd qrtr, at least as far as what kind of game it could have been, what kind of game it was shaping up to BE, without that seeming collapse--and the turnovers, though crucial, were only part of the story. TT was running for his life all day--and the much-complimented Bronco-defense didn't show up this weekend at all. Still, take away that 17 points they spotted New England while they appeared to forget how to play the game of football (I hate to say it, but they reminded me of how our Gators looked at times this past season--remember the first half of that Furman game, for eg.?), and you've got a 24-23 game in the 4th qrtr and maybe it's Tebow-time again after all. Just sayin'...
Despite the announcement he made as promised last week, there is still continuing behind-the-scenes contact with 5-Star RB Keith Marshall regarding his "commitment" to UGA, which is apparently not the "done deal" that it has publicly been presented as...still, a longshot now for us, though. Meanwhile, Mike Davis continues to show up at a school-a-week, this time proclaiming FSU his "perfect fit"...last week it was UGA, of course, and now I have been told his "people" have re-contacted the coaches here to check whether we still have "any interest". I know we need another strong RB for the pro-style "power offense" our Head Coach has in mind, but I'm not sure Davis is that guy to begin with (he's not that big, only 5'9"), and I'm CERTAINLY not sure we WANT him, given what we've learned about him here the last few weeks. Do we want or NEED another "prima donna head case", on our team? We've just about shrugged off those we HAD, the ones that Meyer-and-Nameless brought in their last 2 years here.
Anyone else have some "miscellaneous mental musings" to add here? (Team's back at practice, but still a long couple of weeks 'til the Gator Bowl, and beyond to "crazy time" leading up to National Signing Day.)

 

[miltongator]

Hope springs eternal. Haven't heard anything on a new OC. It will be interesting.

 

[Leakfan12]

I hoping OSU is bring to quote from the First Rambo movie a good supply of Body Bags to J-Ville. Too Far? Seriously Meyer better not show this face in J-Ville during that weekend.

 

[DRU2012]

Wasn't sure where to post this one--I know a number of members were discussing these "long-pending" (as in, "Where/When the F*** are they gonna HAPPEN?!!") sanctions on another thread recently, and I'll follow up there if I can--but that long-awaited "Official NCAA Response to OSU Violations" has finally been revealed:
In general terms, these amount to a 1 year bowl-ban in 2012 (the only financial hit, really--"We don't wanna screw with the money-tree..." is ALWAYS their guiding-light over at the NCAA, after all), various "censures" and statements of "disappointed" blah-blah, AND a "significant reduction" (still to-be-seen what THAT amounts to) of scholarships through 2014-15.
You can bet Urban, via a back-channel tip to the OSU higher-ups, was given a pretty good general outline of these just before confirming his move there publicly some days back, and evidently they were "within his comfort zone" as far as what he figured on being able to absorb and still succeed there in a reasonable amount of time. As before (like when he arrived at UF), he steps in at an institution that is hardly lacking in talent on-the-scene.
Nonetheless, he'll need superior recruiting-advice to what he got from that same guy he's taken over there with him to tOSU who, along with The Nameless One, oversaw what turned out to be a less-than-impressive job the last couple of years here at UF: though "highly rated" by the so-called experts, those classes turned out to be heavy with unmotivated prima donnas and talented headcases--4- and 5-Star losers, too many of whom are by now headed to Blintz Academy or Upper Mississippi Remedial College for a shot at re-energizing their careers as proverbial "big fish in small ponds". With a "significantly reduced" number of slots each year, there won't be as much room for even a few errors like that, let alone the better part of TWO CLASSES.
Let's not bother pretending that we won't enjoy seeing Urban Meyer fail at tOSU either, if/when he does--and, unless they noticeably lower their standards and expectations there, that seems almost assured...Indeed, if anything these have been kicked into a HIGHER gear with Urban's much-ballyhooed arrival there as some sort of "Savior".
The combination of us beginning and sustaining our climb back to greatness, this time as a tough, relentlessly powerful defensive team, while at the same time tOSU struggles and begins to slide backwards during that same period as a finesse-team, trying to run a version of the by now out-moded "Meyer-Spread", would be EXTRA-sweet. Right?

 

[Leakfan12]

That's all the NCAA gave TOSU. Man the NCAA are pussys (sorry but they are). Example after they gave SMU the death penalty, they went oh crap we killed that program let's not do that again and they did the same to USC West after one Reggie Bush f'ed up for that whole football program. TOSU had about dozen players messed up and the U had six times that many. TO THE NCAA sack up and drop the hammer against the Suckeyes (F--keyes) and the U.

 

[DRU2012]

That's all the NCAA gave TOSU. Man the NCAA are pussys (sorry but they are). Example after they gave SMU the death penalty, they went oh crap we killed that program let's not do that again and they did the same to USC West after one Reggie Bush f'ed up for that whole football program. TOSU had about dozen players messed up and the U had six times that many. TO THE NCAA sack up and drop the hammer against the Suckeyes (F--keyes) and the U.

Yep, the "fix" is in; and then having to hear the tOSU President's phony statement claiming "disappointment at the harshness of these penalties", but that they "will accept them in understanding the need for our institution to move on" blah blah blah, blah blah blah blah...Such a pile of warm, wet doo doo... As if they hadn't already long since been apprised of this decision, and would have been fighting it tooth and nail all the way down the line if they HAD found it anything LIKE "harsh"--in other words, anything truly in line with precedent and/or the relative seriousness of other schools' violations and resulting punishments.
Where do you think this "slots" Miami? Remember, one of the U's high-ranking officials is also the point-man on the NCAA's Infractions Committee. They have to do SOMETHING there: This allows them to give them something still far-from-devastating...even "TWICE as harsh" won't be all THAT damaging (TWO years of bowl-ineligible, a few more scholarships taken away, and a lot more self-righteous finger-pointing--Oh my, the shame and horror of it all!). You watch--they'll stall for a while longer, but you can see the strings that are being pulled pretty clearly now.

 

[DRU2012]

Meanwhile, guess I'll just keep throwing these out there for now, as they "drop"...
(Many of y'all will already have heard this stuff, but it's gonna be our main focus here over the coming weeks, so I figure we'll keep everyone up-to-date just in case...)

We just got full commitments from two of the top juco linemen available in this class:
6'4" 310lb. Defensive Tackle Damien Jacobs just signed his National Letter-of-Intent. The No. 10-rated prospect overall, he's from Mississippi and was much sought-after by other schools in the SEC--and will immediately shore us up on the D-line (that whole unit has enormous potential to be great, and SOON).
The other good news comes in the form of Visesio Salt out of Walnut Creek, CA, who committed before leaving from his official visit over the weekend. The No. 9-rated prospect overall, he is rated high on both sides of the ball, but the 6'3" 340 pounder will enter UF as an offensive guard. (Other news-sources put him on the D-line, but I'll stay with what I was told by someone actually involved in the UF recruiting-campaign--and "campaign" is what it is!)
If anyone wondered if our coaching brain trust has a plan that they are working full time, day and night to see through and put into effect, they should not only stop worrying, but should begin to see the outlines of what that plan in fact IS.
Our Head Coach has made no secret of it, and now it is actually beginning to take shape: We're going to be a POWERFUL defensive team, strong UP-THE-MIDDLE on both sides of the ball; we'll aim to control the ball and the clock, and in general impose our will on opponents. No more getting pushed up and down the field, no matter WHICH squad, offense or defense is out there--at least that's the "plan", and after these last couple of seasons, especially THIS one, where it seemed at times that ANYONE could do that to us, I'm sure we can all agree on THIS particular "direction".
Still some "big needs" elsewhere, including our drive to collect a big, fast and durable "game-changer" at RB...we might end up with everything BUT that--which, though disappointing, would still leave an outstanding class, and, between who we already have and who is coming in as things stand now, we MAY have the ball-control tools at RB on hand here already (used correctly, in the right scheme--something that was left wanting in Weis' approach to offense, from what I saw).

 

[Escambia94]

I won't get excited just yet. We have 17 potential recruits, plus 3 potential junior college transfers. The transfers are a safer bet, because they have to start class by January 7 or else they stay at junior college until summer and compete against the next class. The high school recruits still have wiggle room before February unless they plan to enroll early. We tend to do well with early enrollees as long as the staff is stable.

 

[Leakfan12]

Urban Liar called the penalties a punch in the gut like what he did to Gator Nation.

 

[DRU2012]

Urban Liar called the penalties a punch in the gut like what he did to Gator Nation.

We know he already knew about 'em, to a large extent, and that they were "acceptable", given his outlook: if anything, he knew that playing it as some sort of shock, that "punch in the gut", along with the OSU president's statements, actually gave himself some "breathing room" coming in--a way to perhaps soften the over-blown expectations that were beginning to multiply beyond his ability to "manage the story". So already it begins: Meyer's customary manipulation of the fans' hopes and fears...we've seen this act now ourselves, and this time get to watch it from afar. I don't think he'll get the time he seems to think he will, and it could turn sour in a hurry if his and his assistants' trend in recruiting acumen (or rather lack thereof) doesn't do a quick 180-degree about-face from what they managed the last couple of years here at UF. (Wouldn't it be ironic if The Nameless One over at Temple turned out to have a better, smoother, and above all LONGER run than that of the mentor he is no longer directly linked to?)

 

[DRU2012]

I won't get excited just yet. We have 17 potential recruits, plus 3 potential junior college transfers. The transfers are a safer bet, because they have to start class by January 7 or else they stay at junior college until summer and compete against the next class. The high school recruits still have wiggle room before February unless they plan to enroll early. We tend to do well with early enrollees as long as the staff is stable.

...AND we're missing some important pieces, yet. Still, we DO look to be strong "up the middle" on both lines, our "D" has the raw elements of a powerful and dynamic unit and, with time, work and a little good fortune, the kind of depth that may eventually allow us to substitute freely throughout games without missing a beat, talent-wise.
Even at RB, should we NOT get another "big fast game-changer" this time, we have a decent shot at Kelvin Taylor next year, and in the meantime, with Jones PLUS the parts already here (Gillislee, Joyer, and maybe even Brown, finally), the right OC might actually be able to accomplish everything we need in a ball-control offense. We could still use another playmaker or two at WR and, though we don't know WHAT we have there yet for sure, we DO have that "freak" coming in at tight end (his name escapes me at the moment) that EVERYONE wanted, tall, long-limbed-but-solid, fast with SURE hands--he'll be able to come right in and help our passing game.
Most of the "head cases" are gone, finally, and in addition to being talented, the guys we've got left are good TEAMMATES; that's been a major consideration in the standards for and qualities IN this staff's recruits ever since they got here--more than ever now. They're not done yet, either, by ANY means...you're right to reserve judgement, E-, but I really do believe that if Coach Boom and Co. can finish strong, we'll be in fine shape going into 2012.

 

[Escambia94]

I am all out of optimism. I am going to just take in the 2012 season as it comes, sort of like 1988 or 1989 without a superstar on offense like Emmitt Smith.

In the years we were good, we could easily name stars on offense and defense. Next year we have a lot of no names on offense, or quasi stars that are up and down.

On defense we can expect good things out of Easley, Powell, and Elam. Maybe they will be All-American or All-SEC. I cannot do the same for offense. At least in the 1980s, we had one super star on offense and a superb defense. Who will be our Emmitt Smith, Neal Anderson or John L. Williams?

 

[DRU2012]

I am all out of optimism. I am going to just take in the 2012 season as it comes, sort of like 1988 or 1989 without a superstar on offense like Emmitt Smith.

In the years we were good, we could easily name stars on offense and defense. Next year we have a lot of no names on offense, or quasi stars that are up and down.

On defense we can expect good things out of Easley, Powell, and Elam. Maybe they will be All-American or All-SEC. I cannot do the same for offense. At least in the 1980s, we had one super star on offense and a superb defense. Who will be our Emmitt Smith, Neal Anderson or John L. Williams?

Well, when you put it THAT way...
That IS the thing we have a big question-mark with, to say the least: Where's the "star-power"? Who WILL be our big playmakers? Is there any one guy, especially on offense, ready to be the "go-to guy"? All I can say to ANY of those Q's is that our coaches, from Muschamp on down, HAVE to be aware of and concerned about that too: it's one thing to have a "strong, well-balanced TEAM", but you need leaders out there, and on offense ESPECIALLY you need a focus for that offense in given situations. One of the reasons I've been harping on the search for the right RB, why it's so clearly important to us, is because with the kind of offense we're trying to build and rely on, that is a position where "one REALLY good one" can make all the difference. I'm worried too--"getting by with a few pretty good ones", running-back-by-committee won't likely allow us to do anything CLOSE to what might be accomplished with one GREAT RB.
With playmakers at RB and WR and a good O-line-with-depth, we COULD get by with a young QB just really beginning to "find himself", establishing himself with the offense, developing rhythm and efficiency and learning as he goes. That's our "best case scenario" at QB in 2012, after all, and with protection and holes from the line, a running game and the receivers helping him out in all the ways THEY can, we could begin to have an offense that can put up enough points and shorten the game in such a way that our soon-to-be-great-defense could it make hold up, most Saturdays.
There, that's my "pessimistic optimism": I believe that with what we've got AND what we've got coming IN, our DEFENSE is setting up to be a BEAST, and it will begin to rise and assert itself in 2012...However, there ARE still too many questions on offense, and not enough "stars"--hell, not ANY, really, after the bowl game, just some "ifs" and "maybes".
Look, on the one hand, I find myself asking the same question everyone ELSE does: Why can't WE get even ONE of these "super-running-backs", these "big strong fast guys" that other teams, other SEC TEAMS, seem to be able to gather by the handful? Thing is, though, I think I know the answer, and it's simple enough: they get 'em because they have 'em, HAVE had 'em. The young ones coming up want to go where they've seen others "make their mark", where they KNOW there's an opportunity to bust out, and (in their eyes) a PLACE for them when they get there. So: first we gotta get ONE, have him make good; but we don't stop there...we go after another, and so on, and eventually, WE'RE one of those places that they WANNA go to, where they KNOW that they can win championships AND "do their thing".

(On another note, but still in the categories of "Random Thoughts" AND "Things that make pessimism seem like the way to go", did you happen to notice this reported fact among the various stats and analysis of the team's totals-for-the-season going into the Gator Bowl? Turns out that as things stand now, this will be far-and-away the fewest turnovers the Gators have gotten since they began keeping track of 'em in 1950 (before that, they didn't count fumbles): 12. That's right, TWELVE lousy turnovers the whole season. It breaks down even more depressingly, things like 5 in the last 8 games(!), etc. We'd have to get 6 of 'em in the Bowl game just to keep from breaking the record for Gator turnover futility. Only 3 teams among all of the BCS-eligible schools had fewer. Put just that and the penalties together and it's obvious how we extended the other teams' drives, why the D couldn't get off the field and eventually wore down late so often; no WONDER we lost so many close games against teams we should have beaten. We WERE young; this was stressed by the coaches, though, and everyone should be embarrassed at it--and determined to FIX it. It's a HEAD-thing, in both cases, and can make the difference in how good that defense can be, and how soon.)

 

[Leakfan12]

Depends how Driskell or Brissett perform. If they're good, so does the offense. If not, well hope they scored more than the other guys. Also add Floyd to the list of D-lineman on the rise.

 

[DRU2012]

Depends how Driskell or Brissett perform. If they're good, so does the offense. If not, well hope they scored more than the other guys. Also add Floyd to the list of D-lineman on the rise.

No doubt about Floyd...we've got several good ones coming back, young, talented and now with some experience to contribute and share--with a number of potential new defensive studs coming IN, some of whom might well be able to help us right away. That D-line should become a strength in 2012--and we've already got some budding stars at LB; similarly, though not as settled as at linebacker, we should have some experience, talent AND depth at safety starting to develop as well. I'm telling you, while it's safer to be careful in our expectations (a season like this one will do that to you), there are all kinds of signs and potential for this to be about to become one nasty defense--but as I pointed out above, the careless, immature, stupid stuff HAS to be left behind.
As to the QB-question, while a full-on "blossoming" by at least one of our two still-young quarterbacks (they're both just true-sophomores, don't forget), would certainly be ONE way in which the offense could improve in a hurry, we've really seen little sign that that is about to happen--and maybe it's unfair to expect otherwise, both only now entering their 2nd full season at this level, 1 year removed from high school. I have a feeling they'll both get steadily better, that one will take the lead and gain efficiency and the confidence of their coaches and teammates, but it won't happen overnight, and not at a pace fast enough to make them anymore than "good enough", at least until later in the season (and THAT only if we're somewhat fortunate). No, I'm afraid that without a strong running game AND some playmakers stepping up at other positions on offense (WRs can't HELP but be better--plus we've got some talented people coming back from injury, AND a tight end prospect coming in that EVERYONE was after--I need to go find his name again, but he's described unabashedly as "a beast" in several recruiting-guides!), you'll turn out to be right, L-f, DEAD right--our offense WILL then rise or fall on the arm-and-legs of our quarterback(s), and I have little confidence that either will be ready to shoulder that lonely load alone anytime soon.

(...PS This just in: Dane Crist "decides on Kansas" as the school he'll transfer to--oh yeah, THAT'S always the FIRST place a disgruntled Notre Dame former next-big-thing shoots for upon leaving the Irish...why do they even bother separating these kinds of sequences in reporting them, as if they all "just happened" in a step-by-step, this-is-a-surprise fashion? Why not, "Charlie Weis moves to Kansas, taking Notre Dame quarterback Dane Crist with him as he does so", and, "Urban Meyer accepts the Head Coaching job at Ohio State just prior to public announcement of a virtual "slap-on-the-wrist" from the NCAA for the numerous serious infractions they themselves had already admitted to" ? At least spare us having our faces rubbed in the hypocrisy of it all...)