SB Nation - Dorian Munroe

The Road To Pasadena: Wright-Hill-Black

mlmintampa — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 11:08:32 -0000

Our look at the men who need to lead the Gators to the BCS National Championship Game begins with the three-headed monster in the Gators defensive backfield; sophomore Will Hill, juniors Ahmad Black and The Major Wright.

In the greatest performance ever by a Gator defense, it was Wright's hit and Black's game-saving interception against Oklahoma that will forever stand out in the minds of Florida fans. Yet, neither is guaranteed of their starting job as 2009 begins. The emergence of Hill in fall camp has put Wright on notice, while Dorian Munroe had been breathing down Black's neck until Munroe's injury. Florida's wealth will ultimately put at least one of these game changers on the bench.

Black went from playing in four games as a freshman to being tied with the national lead in interceptions with seven. That type of growth can induce pain as well, as Urban Meyer's cryptic line about Black's non-football issues can make you wonder where the junior's head is at. Black has the ability to repeat his 2008 campaign, but the second year is harder since he is no longer a surprise. If Black wants to continue being a ball-hawking DB, he has to be able to perform as a star.

If you remember when Will Hill declared he would go to Florida, it seemed as if Florida had their torch carrier following Reggie Nelson. But after being used as a typical freshman; 2 picks, 29 tackles, 19 assists in 13 games, Hill has shown the talent that made him so highly recruited as a high school senior. With The Major out due to a concussion, Hill has filled the void, with teammates calling him the best defender in camp.

Wright's hit against Manny Johnson may have set the tone in the Oklahoma game, but it was his interception shortly before halftime that kept the game 7-7. Had Oklahoma taken a 14-7 lead, who knows what would have happened in the second half? But you can't live on one game, which is why The Major has been pushed to improve. Wright understands this;

"There's always room for me to get better,'' Wright said. "I just try to work on everything that people critique me on. I do more to get better."

Like with Black, Wright can't assume automatic improvement. His awareness that being a head hunter can backfire is good, as it is impossible to expect corners Joe Haden and Janoris Jenkins will be able to lock down everyone. As good as Haden and Jenkins are, they are not All-Americans, while Wright, Hill and Black have that extra level that puts them at the top of the class. If Florida's line struggles to get in the backfield, the secondary will have to lead, and it is this triumvirate that will do it.

SEC 2009 // Meet the New Gators, Same as the Old Gators

Year2 — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 14:30:09 -0000

More photos » by Phil Sandlin - AP

Florida safety Dee Finlley pulls in a pass in the rain as the Gator freshman football team opened their season practice. (AP Photo/Phil Sandlin)

Browse more photos »

Had I written a roster post for Florida last year, it would have made this one heck of a lot easier. I could just copy and paste it, delete the sections on Percy Harvin and Louis Murphy, and then be done, right?

Well, yes and no.

Of course Florida has a lot of guys back from last year. That's where the whole "consensus preseason No. 1" stuff comes from. Seven offensive starters return, and the top 22 from the defense come back. Some will say top 21 and point to the transfer of DT Torrey Davis as the missing one, but I'd ask you when you were taking the depth chart snapshot. He registered all of five tackles before the bowl and spent much of the year in the coaches' doghouse.

The quarterbacks are set. We know that. Tim Tebow is starting with John Brantley backing him up. About the only thing worth mentioning here is that Urban Meyer says Brantley has a package of plays and will get spot work in meaningful situations. I doubt he'll do as much as Tebow did in 2006, but he's going to get non-garbage time minutes.

Speaking of 2006, that leads to the receivers.

They are the biggest question mark on the offense, what with Harvin and Murphy gone. The unit is probably going to approximate the one that Meyer had in his first championship year down to the man. David Nelson will be Dallas Baker, the tall guy. Deonte Thompson will be Andre Caldwell, the speedy guy. Carl Moore will be Jemalle Cornelius, the possession guy. Freshman Andre Debose will be Percy Harvin, the slash guy. Aaron Hernandez will be Cornelius Ingram, the receiving tight end. Riley Cooper will be, well, Riley Cooper.

The biggest difference is that Hernandez is a known quantity from the beginning, a playmaker waiting to break out. Ingram was still adjusting to being a tight end, having come in as a quarterback, but Hernandez will be ready from Day 1.

The running backs are in much better shape this time around compared to '06 though. Jeff Demps, when he's not moonlighting in the Percy Position, will probably be the primary back. He's fast and hits holes with authority despite his size. Chris Rainey is exciting with his ability to make people miss, but he dances around too much to be the top guy. Emmanuel Moody will be the biggest beneficiary from the new I-formation sets, but he's not guaranteed to get many carries. It'd be a big boost if he could be the big back playmaker that Florida has lacked since the time of Ciatrick Fason, but he hasn't put it all together yet.

Moody and Rainey also tend to get hurt, which further solidifies Demps in the top spot. Return man extraordinaire Brandon James and freshman Mike Gillislee are in the mix as well, but I don't know how many balls there will be to go around.

The offensive line will be the key to everything. The Gator offense didn't take off last year until it gelled around the fourth quarter of last year's game with Arkansas. Three fifths of it are rock solid with Maurkice Pouncey, Mike Pouncey, and Carl Johnson back from starting in 2008.

After that, some combination of redshirt sophomore James Wilson, sophomore Matt Patchan (who played defense last year, like Mike Pouncey did in '07 before moving back to offense in '08), and redshirt junior Marcus Gilbert will fill the other roles. Redshirt freshman Sam Robey made some noise in the spring, and true freshman Xavier Nixon has impressed in fall practice. All of those guys except Robey were four or five star recruits according to Rivals, so it's likely that no matter which five take the field, it will be a good group. It better be, if UF is to repeat as champs.

The defensive line is in flux a bit, as it has been every year since most of the excellent 2006 line graduated. All the starters are back, but only Jermaine Cunningham looks set in his job. Tackles Terron Sanders and Lawrence Marsh are getting pushed hard by Jaye Howard, and this may be the year that Carlos Dunlap gets the starting role over Justin Trattou. Dunlap led the SEC with 9.5 sacks last year, but uneven effort kept him behind Trattou on the depth chart.

The linebackers are two thirds set. Brandon Spikes and Ryan Stamper are every bit the senior leaders and performers that any team would want. The final spot is currently a revolving door of A.J. Jones, Brandon Hicks, and, when he gets back from suspension, Dustin Doe. All three of those guys have started games, so whoever ends up there for good (if anyone) will be quality. Young bucks Jon Bostic and Brendan Beal are pushing for playing time as well.

The secondary is perhaps the strength of the entire team, something that would seem impossible during 2007's burnfest. The corners are right now Joe Haden and freshman All American Janoris Jenkins, a formidable duo. Wondy Pierre-Louis, Markihe Anderson, and Moses Jenkins are good enough as backups. The one to watch though is redshirt freshman Jeremy Brown, who missed last season to injury. Meyer has lamented that at the time of his injury, Brown was actually ahead of Janoris Jenkins on the depth chart.

The safeties are loaded. The two starters are back, the big hitting Major Wright and the ball hawking Ahmad Black. Wright struggles in coverage though, and Black can't lay the wood. As a result, sophomore all-everything recruit Will Hill has been impossible to keep off the field since the spring. Also in the mix are senior Dorian Munroe, who missed last season due to injury but has played well in the past, and newcomer Dee Finley.

The special teams will look exactly the same. Dangerous return man Brandon James is back (his last year I promise, Tennessee fans), and so are P Chas Henry and K Jonathan Phillips. Phillips missed just one field goal and one extra point (the fateful blocked one against Ole Miss) in all of 2008, but his longest made FG was only from 40 yards. The big-legged Caleb Sturgis might get a chance to kick the longer ones. The tradition of key players contributing on special teams will continue as in past years, most notably with the addition of Demps as the gunner on punt coverage.

The depth across the board is much to Florida's advantage, and the coaches are delighting in the ability to replace underperformers in practice with another quality guy. If you want to nit pick about the receivers, two O-linemen, and the third linebacker go ahead, but just about any coach in the nation would trade his roster for this one.

MONDAY: Florida's Song Remains the Same, Florida's Heisman winners

TUESDAY: The Underdogs Florida Will Face, Don't Miss Tebow's Last Year

LATER TODAY: Coaching Changes

THURSDAY: Predictions

FRIDAY: Conclusions

Orange and Blue Game Review: Maintain Status Quo

mlmintampa — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 09:14:05 -0000

Nothing changes. But that's fine: There were no jobs won Saturday at the Orange and Blue Game and there were none lost. This is in part because of UF's nagging injury situation and the volume of players Florida has coming back. There will continue to be question marks about who will take the tackle spots vacated by Jason Watkins and Phil Trautwein. But, Meyer has a room in the stadium filled with O-linemen who are 6-4, 320. None of them are proven (I'm looking at you, Matt Patchan), yet we should have confidence that the situation will be solved. I thought John Brantley was pressured a lot, but that is the difference between the quality of the defense's 2nd and 3rd units and the offense's comparable units. To be fair, I think Patchan was fine, but I think he can get beat inside by a quality end. Nick Alajajian is the other lineman who stood out. He seemed to handle himself well, but the 6-4 freshman needs to get bigger (he's listed at 288lbs and played like it). He layed a nice block on a reverse, but then got thrown down later by Earl Okine. On the bright side, I saw a few good looking girls wearing "ALAJAJIAN 58" tshirts, and that's always nice to have in your corner.

Jarvis Moss, Carlos Dunlap, Earl Okine?: At 6-7, Okine looks like a jacked LeBron James and follows a line of tall dudes in the Meyer Administration. His 274 pound frame could use some more weight, but not enough to sacrifice his quickness. Of Florida's defenders, Okine stood out the most because he was all over the place. Not just hopping around at the line like he was Simeon Rice, but the way he pursued the ball and moved up field. His throw down of Alajajian was awesome and a sign of the general badassness an end needs. Perhaps his Orange and Blue showing will energize him like Dunlap's did in 2008. Duke Lemmens (who, with a big season, can earn "The" in front of his name like The Major Wright) also played well. Meyer raved about Jon Bostic after the game, saying the early enrollee will get a chance to play in 2009. Dorian Munroe had a pick, but is stuck playing in a defensive backfield that could top the Carlisle Indians.

The best players from Saturday may not see the field: Frankie Hammond can run like a gazelle and has good hands. Too bad that only makes him the 5th or 6th receiver. Carl Moore looked good and Deonte Thompson will finally get a chance to play ball. Include those two with David Nelson (on the sidelines), Riley Cooper (injured in baseball), and Andre Debose, and it is hard to find a spot for Hammond. Munroe is in a similar spot.

John Brantley throws a pretty ball: I felt like I was Johnny Miller during the US Open with the way I was trying to breakdown Tebow and Brantley's mechanics. Throwing a ball is an unnatural motion, but not on Brantley. It's smooth. Tebow's motion is based on sheer strength and will. Watching Tebow, I couldn't tell if the motion was quicker or not, but in warmups, you can tell when he is fighting the old motion. It might even be that I want it to be quicker and more smooth, so I am trying to convince myself that it is. As for Brantley, he was dropping passes into waiting arms all day. He could win a Heisman and National Championship too. He is that good.

Gator Boosters finally hit by Florida's Depression: The announced crowd was 65,000, but I thought it was about 50k, which is still good. (And better than the 36,000 announced for FSU at Ron Zook Field.) However, a lot of the club areas and luxury boxes were empty. Not surprising, considering that the most expensive seats and boxes all over the country are going unsold as people either drop their tickets or move to cheaper ones. Starting today, UF is also selling 250 season tickets, but you have to donate $2000 to be eligible. Considering there are 7 home games, the cheapest way to get tickets might be to get several families or a large group of friends to pool some cash, then draw straws to figure out who gets the seats each game. I would do this, but I'm waiting until I establish the Alligator Army Memorial Scholarship Fund and Drinking Club before I get season tickets.

Adventures in Gainesvegas: Football players are just like you and me in that they have no social skills. I met a girl who told me that Chris Rainey texts her occasionally. This isn't surprising, considering she's an attractive white girl and Rainey has let us all know of his preference for UF's melanin-challenged females. But here's the thing; he's never met her in person. They are just facebook friends. What? Does Rainey not have any game? Perhaps I should be easy on Rainey, considering I started dating a girl after saying I'd "facebook her" instead of getting her number. I also saw a girl I know Friday night wearing the most ridiclous pair of boots I have ever seen. Not only did they not match her dress (tan colored, looked like a flight attendant, with black boots), they were as wide as Michael Crabtree's walking boot and to her knees. Here's how that conversation went;

Me: "What's with the boots?"

Girl: "Tim Tebow likes them!"

Me: "Tebow said he liked them?"

Girl: "He said they were crazy! Isn't that awesome?"

I've never heard anyone use "crazy" as a compliment about any female, so I highly doubt Tebow likes girls wearing awful boots. Also, I was very upset to learn Gainesville bars are 21 and up now, which prompted me to yell out, "You suck Bernie!" when UF's anti-alcohol President Bernie Machen was introduced at the game. Apparently, we've traded four National Championships under Machen for drinking laws from 1920. Machen should stick to making sure UF isn't bankrupted by the Florida State Legislature.

A Look Back at Florida's 2005 Recruiting Class

Year2 — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 13:17:17 -0000

National signing day is today, and the recruitniks are restless with excitement. I've already gone over why I don't follow recruiting closely, but the main reason why I don't go nuts over it is the same as why it's not worth going nuts over any professional drafts.

With a few exceptions, you generally don't know who will pan out and who won't for years. I would much rather look at past classes to see how they turned out years later, because you've seen how they've done and can revisit (hopefully) fond memories of seeing them play.

The members of everyone's recruiting class of 2005 at this point has all either graduated or are now becoming fifth year seniors. It was a transitional year for Florida, going from the Zook era to Meyer era. One would think that with both of them being known as great recruiters that it would turn out all right for a transition year, but as you'll see, it was very much a star-crossed bunch.

Here they are in alphabetical order:

Avery Atkins - DB (4* Rivals / 5* Scout)

Atkins' career looked promising initially, but he quickly got into trouble off of the field. After essentially being kicked off the team, he transferred to Bethune Cookman where his legal problems continued. After multiple arrests for domestic battery, he would be found dead in his car in an apparent suicide.

His is a sad story all around, one of a bright future wasted and unnecessary grief for those he mistreated.

Kalvin Baker - LB (3* / 4*)

Never played at linebacker and transferred to Tennessee State.

Nyan Boateng - WR (4*/ 3*)

He never found a way to get playing time behind guys like Dallas Baker, Andre Caldwell, and Percy Harvin. He transferred to Cal after the 2006 season to get more playing time, got arrested before leaving town, and had a decent year for the Bears last year.

Simon Codrington - OL (3* / 3*)

He played some as backup in 2006, but missed all of 2007 with a fractured wrist. His career ended due to injury.

Jon Demps - LB (4* / 4*)

He played in a couple of games in 2005, but missed 2006 and 2007 with injury issues. He also had some off-field problems. The last time his name surfaced was in December of '07 when he was arrested for throwing a sandwich at a Jimmy John's employee who simply wanted him to pay for a bag of chips.

No, he is not related to current running back Jeff Demps.

Brian Ellis - TE (3* / 3*)

He couldn't get an SAT or ACT score high enough to get into school, and went to a junior college in California. He switched to linebacker, signed with Purdue, but couldn't get into school there either.

Darryl Gresham, Jr. - LB (3* / 3*)

Was on the 2005 scout team, and only saw action in 2006 against Western Carolina. He left the team after the 2007 spring game.

Eddie Haupt - OL (3* / 4*)

He played sparingly from 2005-07, and his career ended due to injury.

Kestahn Moore - RB (3* / 4*)

He is part of an interesting bit of trivia in that he's the only running back to start a season-opening game under Urban Meyer. He had an up and down time in Gainesville. Just as he was hitting his stride in 2007, fumble problems (especially against LSU) derailed his career.

Moore was good but not great, and he got passed up by others on the team largely thanks to not having an explosive speed burst. He played some in all four seasons, and he was the best pass blocking running back Urban Meyer has had at UF.

Dorian Munroe - S (4* / 4*)

He played some key minutes in relief of starting S Tony Joiner late in 2006, and he played often on defense and special teams in 2007. He was in line to get a starting role in 2008 before an ACL tear ended his season in August. He'll be back in 2009.

Louis Murphy - WR (3* / 3*)

He spent a couple years on campus before things finally began to click with him. He got himself on track in 2007, and he was a key target and deep threat for Tim Tebow in 2008.

He's one of the two or three best players of the class.

David Nelson - WR (4* / 4*)

Urban Meyer proclaimed him a waste of a scholarship for most of his time in Gainesville, and Nelson actually agrees. He admitted he didn't take things fully seriously until about midway through the 2008 season, at which point he began playing a lot better. He had key catches late in the season and might actually fulfill his promise in 2009.

Reggie Nelson - S (4* / 5*)

After spending a year in junior college in 2004, this Nelson made it to campus in 2005. He is the unquestioned best player of the class, earning the nickname "The Eraser" for correcting any mistakes the guys around him made. His outstanding coverage and bone crushing hits will live on in Gator football lore forever.

Jonathan Phillips - K (2* / 4*)

He kicked a random extra point every now and then for four years, and he decided to go to Miami (FL) law school after the 2007 season. Meyer convinced him to stay, and he won the kicking job in 2008. He had an outstanding season, missing just two total kicks (one of which was blocked due to poor protection up front).

Josh Portis - QB (4* / 4*)

Originally a Meyer recruit to Utah, he followed the head coach to Florida. Everyone assumed that he would be the guy to run the Real Urban Meyer Offense once Chris Leak graduated (or maybe even sooner). Instead his crazy, meddling mother convinced him to transfer after the '05 season rather than lose another year of eligibility playing behind Leak.

He transferred to Maryland, where he never got higher than third on the depth chart. After sparse minutes in 2008, he once again transferred, this time to a small school called California (Pa.) for the spring semester. He has good athletic ability, but has never been able to translate it into being a polished quarterback.

Eric Sledge - ATH (3* / 3*)

He wanted to play receiver or safety, but the Florida coaches had him play linebacker. He transferred to Valdosta State in January 2007.

Ryan Stamper - LB (4* / 4*)

He spent a season on the scout team in 2005 and hardly played at all in 2006. In 2007 he was still just a top reserve, but in 2008 he emerged as one of the linebacking corps' most versatile and consistent performers. He started a few games and spent time at all three positions.

He figures to have a prominent role again in 2009.

Ronnie Wilson - OL (3* / 4*)

He redshirted in 2005, but thanks to some injuries to guys ahead of him he played often enough (and well enough) in 2006 to be named an honorable mention Freshman All-American and was put on the SEC All-Freshman team by The Sporting News. In the off season before the 2007 season, he discharged a semiautomatic weapon during an altercation, thereby getting himself thrown off the team.

He continued to pay his way to attend UF, and in 2008 Meyer allowed him to try to work his way back on the team. After spending some time on the defensive line and never playing a meaningful minute, he was once again kicked off the team after getting in a fight. He never got his scholarship back.

In Total

The class had only four players who became starters for a significant amount of time by now: Kestahn Moore, Louis Murphy, Reggie Nelson, and Jonathan Phillips. Ryan Stamper played significant minutes this year, even starting a few games, and along with Dorian Munroe will likely be a top contributor next season. David Nelson figures to be a key part of the receiver rotation if the second half of 2008 was not a mirage.

Two players had a single season of playing noticeable roles before getting kicked off the team: the late Avery Atkins and Ronnie Wilson. Josh Portis played spot duty for a season before transferring.

Of the 18 players of the class, six have been significant contributors now four years later. Three had single notable seasons before leaving, and one has one last year to impress after a half season of productivity. If you're counting at home, that leaves eight players who had no impact at all.

For a recruiting class that was ranked No. 15 by Rivals and No. 11 by Scout, the actual contributions are surprisingly low. Reggie Nelson (an All-American), Wilson, Munroe, and Moore (54 carries, 282 yards) were the only players to play a measurable role on the 2006 national title team. Only Murphy, Phillips, Stamper, and to a lesser extent Moore and David Nelson played measurable roles on the 2008 national title team.

Those are not good numbers. It speaks to the talent that Ron Zook left behind as well as the outstanding quality of Meyer's subsequent classes. When you consider that a team has 44 starters and backups on offense and defense, not to mention special teams players, four or five contributors is not a high number.

As everyone pores over this year's classes and predicts fortune or doom, just remember that they don't always turn out as advertised.