travisduncan
Gator Fan
As the Gators head to Auburn on Saturday, there are several indications that tension within the Gator program, as you might expect is higher than normal.
Dee Finley, the redshirt sophomore linebacker who was arrested last month for resisting arrest while driving a scooter on a suspended license, could transfer from the Gator program.
Muschamp said Wednesday that the decision is not official, and the coach and player will meet again on the matter but the he told Finley to take some time to "think about it".
Finley is a backup at this point and has played on special teams-some are blaming him for the blown coverage on the the LSU Punter Brad Wing's free lane to the endzone.
Another rumored transfer is that of redshirt freshman Tyler Murphy-the odd man out in the Florida QB competition. For Murphy-a position move is also possible, and the rumor of his transfer could be more speculation than anything.
Charlie Weis said Tuesday "He's been with me for the last five hours so that's news to me."
Mid-season transfers are rare, because the NCAA will mandate that the player miss at least an academic year after transfering anyhow to another FBS school.
And as Muschamp and his staff recruit a different style of player than what is currently on the roster, transfers can be advantageous.
It would appear, given the fact that Finley was given time to think about his decision, Muschamp is not trying to usher him out the door.
And while the University of Florida has been very vocal and pro-active against roster trimming and edits-especially gray shirting-at the sake of student-athletes participation, Finely's departure opens up a scholarship-and roster spot.
When matters that could merit discipline arise, a transfer and a mutual parting is often the result.
-It was pointed out last week, that no one feels worse about the struggles of the Gator offense, than Weis.
Weis is a man, a coach, who many who would know consider and offensive mastermind and genius. His offenses have been succesful wherever he has coached-no one has a track record like Weis.
But his guys have faced the two top defenses in the entire nation, and his senior quarterback suffered a serious injury. Still, Weis ponders what could be done differently.
"To be honest with you, I think a lot of coaches try to make a whole bunch of excuses, and i prefer to start with the self-evaluation. 'What can I do better? What could I have done better in the Alabama game, what could I have done better in the LSU game' ."
"It's easy to sit there and say Alabama and LSU are really good, and we're playing with inexperienced quarterbacks. But I think any good coach 'What could I have done better'?
He says the Gators will be more aggressive on offense this week, though it is a Catch-22 with inexperienced QB's.
Weis and Muschamp refuse to say who will start
-Muschamp said Wednesday a starter has not been decided upon. Brissett has taken more reps this week and was thought to be the starter Saturday.
Tuesday Weis was asked point blank who the starter will be Saturday.
"We've given a lot of reps to Jacoby and Jeff so far," he said. "I wouldn't say they are split but they both have gotten enough reps where either one will be ready to play in the game."
Weis said that Driskel's ankle is not a factor at this point and there's a chance both could play in the game.
He also said that what impressed him about Brissett during the last minute recruiting efforts was watching him in the spring play high school basketball, and his presence on the basketball court.
The coaches say Driskel and Brissett will battle it out in practice this week, but Weis says "I don't think that much will really come up in a week of practice. It's a combination of practice and a game. My job is to make sure I've got them ready to play the game."
"We'll just wait until the week is over with and see where we are, they'll both be ready to play."
An undersized offensive line
As noted, the kid gloves came off during this week's media sessions. The subjects were broached which hadn't been touched and the questions were more matter of fact.
Weis was also asked Tuesday if his offensive line was undersized. And if you know Weis, he's not going to say, 'yeah we're undersized'.
His reply, "It depends on who you are playing against. If you really look at our offensive line against LSU last week, no they weren't oversized. Remember now, I've been on offensive lines where everyone averaged 280 and i've been with offensive lines where everyone averaged 315. Size is not always the factor."
Urban Meyer
As a Gator fan you know that a day can't go by without an Urban Meyer reference, so why should today be an exception.
Meyer spoke to reporters in Tampa Wednesday and lamented about what went wrong in the final seasons with the Gators.
"I was so consumed about perfection. We created a monster. If I ever did get back, I would not let that control my life."
You can read more about what Meyer said on the Twitter page Greg Aumun of The St. Petersburg Times
2012 Running Backs
The Gators should be in good hands even after Jeff Demps and Chris Rainey end their careers. Mike Davis and Matt Jones are almost solid verbals for next year's class, but there is another back the Gators are pursuing with an outside change of signing.
Keith Marshall out of Raleigh Millbrook in North Carolina who visited Florida for the Alabama game. He's a speedy guy, where as Davis is a bruiser. He is ranked as the No. 1 tailback in the Nation. Georgia appears to be the front-runner at this point.
Dee Finley, the redshirt sophomore linebacker who was arrested last month for resisting arrest while driving a scooter on a suspended license, could transfer from the Gator program.
Muschamp said Wednesday that the decision is not official, and the coach and player will meet again on the matter but the he told Finley to take some time to "think about it".
Finley is a backup at this point and has played on special teams-some are blaming him for the blown coverage on the the LSU Punter Brad Wing's free lane to the endzone.
Another rumored transfer is that of redshirt freshman Tyler Murphy-the odd man out in the Florida QB competition. For Murphy-a position move is also possible, and the rumor of his transfer could be more speculation than anything.
Charlie Weis said Tuesday "He's been with me for the last five hours so that's news to me."
Mid-season transfers are rare, because the NCAA will mandate that the player miss at least an academic year after transfering anyhow to another FBS school.
And as Muschamp and his staff recruit a different style of player than what is currently on the roster, transfers can be advantageous.
It would appear, given the fact that Finley was given time to think about his decision, Muschamp is not trying to usher him out the door.
And while the University of Florida has been very vocal and pro-active against roster trimming and edits-especially gray shirting-at the sake of student-athletes participation, Finely's departure opens up a scholarship-and roster spot.
When matters that could merit discipline arise, a transfer and a mutual parting is often the result.
-It was pointed out last week, that no one feels worse about the struggles of the Gator offense, than Weis.
Weis is a man, a coach, who many who would know consider and offensive mastermind and genius. His offenses have been succesful wherever he has coached-no one has a track record like Weis.
But his guys have faced the two top defenses in the entire nation, and his senior quarterback suffered a serious injury. Still, Weis ponders what could be done differently.
"To be honest with you, I think a lot of coaches try to make a whole bunch of excuses, and i prefer to start with the self-evaluation. 'What can I do better? What could I have done better in the Alabama game, what could I have done better in the LSU game' ."
"It's easy to sit there and say Alabama and LSU are really good, and we're playing with inexperienced quarterbacks. But I think any good coach 'What could I have done better'?
He says the Gators will be more aggressive on offense this week, though it is a Catch-22 with inexperienced QB's.
Weis and Muschamp refuse to say who will start
-Muschamp said Wednesday a starter has not been decided upon. Brissett has taken more reps this week and was thought to be the starter Saturday.
Tuesday Weis was asked point blank who the starter will be Saturday.
"We've given a lot of reps to Jacoby and Jeff so far," he said. "I wouldn't say they are split but they both have gotten enough reps where either one will be ready to play in the game."
Weis said that Driskel's ankle is not a factor at this point and there's a chance both could play in the game.
He also said that what impressed him about Brissett during the last minute recruiting efforts was watching him in the spring play high school basketball, and his presence on the basketball court.
The coaches say Driskel and Brissett will battle it out in practice this week, but Weis says "I don't think that much will really come up in a week of practice. It's a combination of practice and a game. My job is to make sure I've got them ready to play the game."
"We'll just wait until the week is over with and see where we are, they'll both be ready to play."
An undersized offensive line
As noted, the kid gloves came off during this week's media sessions. The subjects were broached which hadn't been touched and the questions were more matter of fact.
Weis was also asked Tuesday if his offensive line was undersized. And if you know Weis, he's not going to say, 'yeah we're undersized'.
His reply, "It depends on who you are playing against. If you really look at our offensive line against LSU last week, no they weren't oversized. Remember now, I've been on offensive lines where everyone averaged 280 and i've been with offensive lines where everyone averaged 315. Size is not always the factor."
Urban Meyer
As a Gator fan you know that a day can't go by without an Urban Meyer reference, so why should today be an exception.
Meyer spoke to reporters in Tampa Wednesday and lamented about what went wrong in the final seasons with the Gators.
"I was so consumed about perfection. We created a monster. If I ever did get back, I would not let that control my life."
You can read more about what Meyer said on the Twitter page Greg Aumun of The St. Petersburg Times
2012 Running Backs
The Gators should be in good hands even after Jeff Demps and Chris Rainey end their careers. Mike Davis and Matt Jones are almost solid verbals for next year's class, but there is another back the Gators are pursuing with an outside change of signing.
Keith Marshall out of Raleigh Millbrook in North Carolina who visited Florida for the Alabama game. He's a speedy guy, where as Davis is a bruiser. He is ranked as the No. 1 tailback in the Nation. Georgia appears to be the front-runner at this point.
