Neo
08-22-2006, 08:01 AM
http://www.sectalk.com/boards/images/logos/Florida.gifFlorida looks for SEC top spot.
By: Bart Pohlman
www.thetraveleronline.com
Gone are the "fun-and-gun" days of Steve Spurrier. The 1996 National Championship and Heisman-winning quarterback Danny Wuerffel are nothing more than things of the past.
But for the first time since "Darth Visor" flew the coop to the NFL, there is hope for the down at The Swamp. After a year of adjustment, it appears that the Florida Gators are ready to return to their place atop the Southeastern Conference.
Urban Meyer, who took over as head coach after the firing of Ron Zook, has now had a full year to introduce the Gators to his spread offense. Meyer thinks that having a year with the new system under their belts will make a difference this season, he said.
"I think the biggest difference is that we have a very clear understanding of one another, and that there's not a player returning on our team that I don't know everything I possibly can about," Meyer said.
While Meyer said he thinks the Gators should perform better thisseason simply because his players are now much better acquainted with his offensive style, many fans and critics are still skeptical about the use of the spread offense in the SEC. Meyer had success with it at Utah, but that was due in large part to the fact that his offensive players were faster and quicker than the opposition's defense. However, in the SEC, the talent pool is deeper, and thus, many defensive players are just as fast as their offensive counterparts.
Although Meyer has his skeptics, no one can argue with his success. In 2001, Meyer engineered the biggest turnaround in the NCAA at Bowling Green, and earned Mid-American Conference Coach of the Year honors for his efforts. After two seasons at Bowling Green, Meyer became head coach at the University of Utah in 2003.
In his first season with the Utes, Meyer led the team to a 10-2 record and once again earned Coach of the Year honors, this time in the Mountain West Conference. The very next season, Meyer led the Utes to their first unbeaten season since 1930. Utah received a Bowl Championship Series bid, and capped off the season with a victory over Pittsburgh in the Fiesta Bowl. The Gators and all their fan hope that this trend of success continues this season in Gainsville.
Urban Meyer is not the only Gator receiving criticism, however. Senior quarterback Chris Leak has his fair share of skeptics as well. There are many who believe that Leak is not suited to run Meyer's spread offense. However, this criticism is not justified. Leak won more games last season than he had won in any previous season. He had a higher completion percentage, and he threw half as many interceptions as he did in 2004. All in all, it was a very good season for Leak, and he said he is looking to have an even better one this year.
"I have high expectations for the season, I'm very excited about the seniors and I have great confidence in the offense," Leak said. "It's the second year for everybody and we are all more comfortable."
Both Meyer and Leak must tune out the criticism this season if they expect to lead a Gator squad with both youth and experience to the top of the SEC.
The Gators return several starters on both sides of the ball. There is an abundance of seniors of the team this season, and Meyer said he hopes they can help lead the Gators to victory.
"I'm anxious to get around these guys and see if they can provide the leadership we expect," he said.
Meyer also roped in a stellar recruiting class for the new season. Included in this class is much-heralded quarterback Tim Tebow, who comes to the Gators from Nease High School in St. Augustine, Fla. It was much speculated that Tebow would threaten to take the starting quarterback job from Leak, but Meyer said that this is not the case.
"We made this very clear to him [Leak] over and over and over again, that his responsibility is to develop the backup quarterback, not necessarily fight with him."
Leak knows his role, and said that he is happy to have a player like Tebow on the team. "Guys like Tim [Tebow] are very eager and ready to bring something to the team," he said. "It is always good to have second and third team players that are ready to play."
With the leadership of players like Leak, Meyer knows that his team is bound for success. However, Meyer has only one goal for his team this season: to become a great team. He knows the characteristics of such team, and wants to help his players make the jump from good to great.
"Great teams have characteristics of extremely unselfish play, accountability to their teammates, and great self-discipline and discipline on the football team," Meyer said. "The University of Florida needs to have a great team."
http://media.www.thetraveleronline.com/media/storage/paper688/news/2006/08/21/Sports/Florida.Looks.For.Sec.Top.Spot-2221949.shtml?sourcedomain=www.thetraveleronline.c om&MIIHost=media.collegepublisher.com
By: Bart Pohlman
www.thetraveleronline.com
Gone are the "fun-and-gun" days of Steve Spurrier. The 1996 National Championship and Heisman-winning quarterback Danny Wuerffel are nothing more than things of the past.
But for the first time since "Darth Visor" flew the coop to the NFL, there is hope for the down at The Swamp. After a year of adjustment, it appears that the Florida Gators are ready to return to their place atop the Southeastern Conference.
Urban Meyer, who took over as head coach after the firing of Ron Zook, has now had a full year to introduce the Gators to his spread offense. Meyer thinks that having a year with the new system under their belts will make a difference this season, he said.
"I think the biggest difference is that we have a very clear understanding of one another, and that there's not a player returning on our team that I don't know everything I possibly can about," Meyer said.
While Meyer said he thinks the Gators should perform better thisseason simply because his players are now much better acquainted with his offensive style, many fans and critics are still skeptical about the use of the spread offense in the SEC. Meyer had success with it at Utah, but that was due in large part to the fact that his offensive players were faster and quicker than the opposition's defense. However, in the SEC, the talent pool is deeper, and thus, many defensive players are just as fast as their offensive counterparts.
Although Meyer has his skeptics, no one can argue with his success. In 2001, Meyer engineered the biggest turnaround in the NCAA at Bowling Green, and earned Mid-American Conference Coach of the Year honors for his efforts. After two seasons at Bowling Green, Meyer became head coach at the University of Utah in 2003.
In his first season with the Utes, Meyer led the team to a 10-2 record and once again earned Coach of the Year honors, this time in the Mountain West Conference. The very next season, Meyer led the Utes to their first unbeaten season since 1930. Utah received a Bowl Championship Series bid, and capped off the season with a victory over Pittsburgh in the Fiesta Bowl. The Gators and all their fan hope that this trend of success continues this season in Gainsville.
Urban Meyer is not the only Gator receiving criticism, however. Senior quarterback Chris Leak has his fair share of skeptics as well. There are many who believe that Leak is not suited to run Meyer's spread offense. However, this criticism is not justified. Leak won more games last season than he had won in any previous season. He had a higher completion percentage, and he threw half as many interceptions as he did in 2004. All in all, it was a very good season for Leak, and he said he is looking to have an even better one this year.
"I have high expectations for the season, I'm very excited about the seniors and I have great confidence in the offense," Leak said. "It's the second year for everybody and we are all more comfortable."
Both Meyer and Leak must tune out the criticism this season if they expect to lead a Gator squad with both youth and experience to the top of the SEC.
The Gators return several starters on both sides of the ball. There is an abundance of seniors of the team this season, and Meyer said he hopes they can help lead the Gators to victory.
"I'm anxious to get around these guys and see if they can provide the leadership we expect," he said.
Meyer also roped in a stellar recruiting class for the new season. Included in this class is much-heralded quarterback Tim Tebow, who comes to the Gators from Nease High School in St. Augustine, Fla. It was much speculated that Tebow would threaten to take the starting quarterback job from Leak, but Meyer said that this is not the case.
"We made this very clear to him [Leak] over and over and over again, that his responsibility is to develop the backup quarterback, not necessarily fight with him."
Leak knows his role, and said that he is happy to have a player like Tebow on the team. "Guys like Tim [Tebow] are very eager and ready to bring something to the team," he said. "It is always good to have second and third team players that are ready to play."
With the leadership of players like Leak, Meyer knows that his team is bound for success. However, Meyer has only one goal for his team this season: to become a great team. He knows the characteristics of such team, and wants to help his players make the jump from good to great.
"Great teams have characteristics of extremely unselfish play, accountability to their teammates, and great self-discipline and discipline on the football team," Meyer said. "The University of Florida needs to have a great team."
http://media.www.thetraveleronline.com/media/storage/paper688/news/2006/08/21/Sports/Florida.Looks.For.Sec.Top.Spot-2221949.shtml?sourcedomain=www.thetraveleronline.c om&MIIHost=media.collegepublisher.com