If the report from the Washington Post is true then we will miss out on another top notch recruit. Stefon Diggs appears to be ready to spurn the top notch programs of Auburn, Florida, and Ohio State to stay home and play for Maryland, who by the way, had a horrible season. The announcement was expected to come tomorrow evening but that might not be happening any more.
I was worried about this happening. We lost Hamilton to similar circumstances and now it appears the same thing will happen with Diggs. I posted in a thread here last week that I thought he would choose Florida, with Maryland finishing second, Ohio State 3rd, and Auburn 4th. Flip the first 2 teams and it appears that's what it's coming down to. Again, no reports are true until final but this is the Washington Post not some random small town source in the middle of North Dakota. If this is indeed true this will be the 800th time in the Will Muschamp era that we finish 2nd to a really good prospect. I know a lot of AA'ers think that's a good thing, but I don't. I think it sucks. What does second place get you exactly? Well, it gets you as much as 80th place does, which is absolutely nothing.
Here is the link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/recruiting-insider/post/good-counsel-star-wr-db-stefon-diggs-expected-to-commit-to-maryland-on-friday/2012/02/09/gIQAgpSR2Q_blog.html
Some fans are expressing disappointment with Florida's decision to focus on the defensive side of the ball in the class of 2012 despite the Gators' two years of offensive woes. UF signed 11 front seven recruits, and 14 of the 23 recruits were classified as defensive players. Considering UF returns 10 of 11 starters on that side of the ball, this seems a little excessive on its face.
However, there are a host of reasons that anyone thinking this class is somehow disappointing is crazy.
Josh Harvey Clemons, the #1 player in the State of Georgia, and also the #1 Outside Linebacker in the country committed to play his College Football at the University of Georgia this morning, picking them over the likes of Florida and Florida State. There was one problem tho. The paperwork never arrived to Athens.
Josh has had a very interesting life. I, personally, have been blessed to have both of my Parents in my life so far so I can't relate to anyone that doesn't have 1 Parent or both Parents for that matter. Josh is one of those people. Both of his parents died at a very young age and he has been raised by his Grandparents since. Because of this, and because of his age, his Grandparents kind-of sort-of have quite a bit of say in his recruitment. And it seems like your not getting Josh unless the entire family agrees on it.
The problem with all of this is Josh badly wants to become a Dawg. I personally will never be a Dawg and don't know why anyone would want to be and it seems Gramps and Grams have my same feelings. After Josh "committed" to Georgia this morning, Gramps refused to sign off on the paperwork. Your legal guardian HAS to sign off on your paperwork for a scholarship if you are under 18. Josh is under 18. Gramps is the legal guardian. Ut-oh.
Where does Florida lie in all of this? Gramps and Grams want him to be a Gator. Florida is their choice. They like that it's the closest to home, and at their age it's the easiest to get to so it will give them the best chance to see their "son" play. Georgia is the farthest away and will be the most difficult of the 3 to ever get to to be able to see him play.
Where does Florida State lie in all of this? Well, they are the dark-horse in this entire mess but they are looked at as the school that is the "mutual-agreement" school. I personally give them as good as a chance of getting him as Florida Atlantic. I think this is a 2 team race only and will come down to Florida or Georgia. If Josh wants to go this route then from what I understand he can get an attorney and have the court sign off on it for him. But, I don't think it will ever come to that. One of the 2 sides is going to have to budge and make this happen. I don't see that happening within the next 24 hours tho, but who knows. If I had to put it into a percentage I would say 60% Florida and 40% Georgia. If you asked me after he committed to Georgia I would've said 100% Georgia and 0% Florida.
To make matters worse off for Georgia. They committed a Rules violation over all of this. For one, they put him on their official website as "signed" before he signed. Yeah, that's a no-no. But, they can probably get out of that one. The one they aren't getting out of is Mark Richt publicly commenting on his signing before he actually signed. And ON LIVE TELEVISION! Ouch. This will be one of the most memorable National Signing Day episodes in quite a long time. Go Gators!
Watching the Gators this season..I was posed with one big question..what should be the expectations regarding WR Ju'Juan Story. Quinton Dunbar was to thought to be a down-the-field threat that the Gators had lost in Riley Cooper. Dunbar did not jump off the screen at me. I saw him bodied up by more physical corners in the SEC. Those corners are not going away in this league. Having said that, I feel it is time to turn our attention to the 6'3 205lb. WR Ju'Juan Story. Story will be heading into his second season with the Gators, and will enter this season without any game experience. I look foward to seeing how he looks this Spring. In a pro-style offense, the balance that is Muschamp and Pease's goal can only be acheived through the ability to stretch the field vertically in the Play Action game, which will help weaken the box a little bit. Given his size, and looking at his film from H.S., I feel that he is a much more physical and strong presence than Dunbar was, which should help him to be more effective at defeating press and man-to-man coverage, and help give the Gators a downfield threat that they were lacking last season. If he can provide this, then I believe Coach Pease will be able to return the Gator offense to the top 25 amongst FBS offenses. It is unusual to discuss an offense's success in terms of production from a guy that is so young and yet to see the field, but look for Ju'Juan Story to be the cornerstone to the Gator offense this year.
I find there's nothing quite as anti-climactic as bowl season. Unless your team is in the National Championship game, or a BCS bowl with a decent opponent, the bowl game is as uninteresting as it is irrelevant. This year we've got the mortifying specter of the "Urban Bowl" adding some drama, but I'm so tired of that story line I'm already dreading the announcers. The revenge factor from the 2006 Championship game is also overblown. If any OSU fan claims a win over this pathetic Florida team as some sort of redemption for 2006, they should seek psychological help immediately. That was the title game, this is a powderpuff waste of time.
Everyone at Alligator Army knows I'm a Will Muschamp fan and in no way am I suggesting he get fired. With the departure of Charlie Weis, sane Gators should be worried. Was this just a mistake by Muschamp hiring Weis or were there more errors that occurred that will affect us down the road?
Do we really want to hire Brian White as our Offensive Coordinator?
(Edited, promoted, updated time to push to front, but note that this was written prior to Florida's win over Mississippi Valley State, and thus reflects statistics from then. — Andy)
Basketball barely feels like it has started and yet the Gators have already played a third of their regular season schedule. So far, Florida's about right where they were expected to be, beating every non-top five opponent it has faced, and living up to the hype as the deadliest deep shooting team in the nation. The Gators even answered their biggest question, albeit in a loss, by proving that they can out-rebound good teams even while playing a three-guard, one-combo-forward, one-true-big starting five. A lot of that success has been due to the one true big (I like that as a potential nickname for Patric Young); a lot of it is due to Bradley Beal's Dwyane Wade-ishness. I'll get to both of those things in a minute.
First, after the jump, a full team breakdown.
(Bumped to the front, via FanPost. FlaGators)
Fellow Gators,
We've been throwing around a lot of names for who may be our offensive coordinator next year. Most of them are extremely depressing. Let's explore the worst case scenarios to joke around and give us some sanity. I'm confident that all of us have a feeling that the hire will be less than awesome.
Sincerely,
ParadigmShift35
With the news today that Charles Weis will be destroying a buffet near you(in Kansas) leaving Florida after only one year and a sub par performance and turning Kansas into a 500. Football program at best, we must now look for a new Coordinator of an Offense that has been terrible for 2 years and below expectations the year before that. First things first...we must stick to the Pro-Style. We can't get rid of it now or we will be even worse off. Below I have put together some options...If you have others to add by all means tell me. It's not like our beloved AD is going to be looking at this but hey if he does that's cool to, just put me on the payroll if you are using my advice Mr. Foley :)
Danny Wuerffel, Desire Street Ministries: If you are a Gators fan Pre-Tebow then chances are Danny is the greatest Gators Quarterback of all time. He is 2nd on my list, but only because I think Tebow meant more to Florida Football and Tebows legacy is bigger but Danny Wuerffel was absolutely amazing. Heisman Winner? Check National Champion? Check 4 Time SEC Champion? Check 2 Time Davey O'Brien Winner? Check 2 Time All-American? Check Maxwell Award? Check Johnny Unitas Award? Check. Not to mention the one thing Danny has over Tebow is that Danny was coached by a Gator (#Cheapshot). Danny has no credibility what so ever when it comes to being a OC other then being a College Quarterback and his health isn't the greatest right now but what Gator from the 90's wouldn't be tickled by this hire?
Kerwin Bell, Jacksonville Dolphins: Kerwin Bell, another former Gator is the current Head Coach at Jacksonville. He was mentioned as an option the last time and would be a popular option among loyal Gator fans.
Norm Chow, Utah Utes: I mentioned this name last go around and it was a mixed reaction at best. His time at UCLA was rocky but that was just a bad situation. Utah had a bad season or a decent season depending on who you ask but to be 1 win away from the Pac-12 Championship game in your first season isn't bad in my eyes. He was amazing at USC.
Nolan Cromwell, St. Louis Rams: Nolan used to be the OC at Texas A&M before leaving for the job at St. Louis. He is in charge of WR's and did a great job with Brandon Lloyd when he was traded from the Broncos. This would be a good hire because he brings both College and NFL experience to the table. I know the name isn't popular, but he is a good coach.
Paul Chryst, Wisconsin: If any school can hire him away from the Badgers it should be us. He is probably holding out for a HC position but you never know.
Randy Clements, Baylor: He has been OC at Baylor since 2008. He has done a great job.
Todd Monken, Oklahoma State: He might be holding out for a Head Coaching job as well but it's worth a shot.
My name is Jon Ross, I'm an alcoho-- uh, I mean, a college football addict. Um, yeah, that's it. Anyway, I go to Ohio State and am offering you, the good folks here at Alligator Army, the chance to ask me some questions about your Gator Bowl opponent so you don't go into game-day completely blind on your OSU trivia(l) facts! Before we start, I'll answer a few softballs I know will be asked 1) yes, 2006/2007 was my lowest year as a human 2) the wounds haven't healed 3) I cry a lot 4) No, we aren't slow, I promise. Ok, well, fire away, I'll do my best to be helpful.
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