- After striking out 30 times in 2 consecutive games, the Rangers blow their load last night in game 1 of a doubleheader, scoring 30 runs. Just ridiculous, still trying to figure out how it happened. Thankfully, Salty Dog was front and center in the explosion. Rangers sweep the doubleheader, with 9 more runs and CJ Wilson getting the save in game 2.
Record rout: Rangers win, 30-3
07:13 AM CDT on Thursday, August 23, 2007
BALTIMORE – No need to step lightly here. Put simply the Rangers put a beating on the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday, the likes of which has never been seen before.
At least not since fielders started wearing gloves.
In the first game of what was supposed to be just a harmless doubleheader between two teams going nowhere, the Rangers scored and scored and scored some more. When their bats finally stopped smoking, they had branded the Orioles with a 30-3 loss.
It was the first time since 1900, considered the beginning of the "modern era" that a team had reached 30 runs. It's also the largest margin of victory in the modern era, as well.
The Rangers made it a not-so-clean sweep with a 9-7 win in the second game. Brad Wilkerson, the only Texas player who played and did not have a hit Wednesday, drove home the go-ahead run with an eighth-inning sacrifice fly.
At the end of the night, which bled into Thursday morning on the East Coast, the Rangers had scored 39 runs and set an AL record for most runs in a single day. The major league record for hideous run scoring is held by Boston of the NL, which clubbed Cincinnati 18-3 and 25-8 on Aug. 21, 1894.
The end of the night showed these tallies for the Rangers: 40 hits and 13 walks in 92 official at-bats. Ian Kinsler came to the plate 13 times in the doubleheader. Rookie David Murphy had six hits. Rookie Travis Metcalf had eight RBIs.
The previous post-1900 record for runs in a game was 29 shared by the Boston Red Sox (1950) and the Chicago White Sox (1955). The Chicago Colts, who later became the Cubs, scored 36 runs in 1897.
The Rangers' previous high had been 26 runs, also against Baltimore on April 19, 1996. That 26-7 win stood as the club's biggest margin of victory until Wednesday.
The Rangers, who had struck out 30 times over the previous two games in getting trounced by Cy Young contenders Johan Santana of Minnesota and Erik Bedard of Baltimore, got two homers and seven RBIs each from Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Ramon Vazquez. Saltalamacchia set a Rangers record for RBIs in a game by a rookie.
Oh, and Travis Metcalf and Marlon Byrd each hit grand slams. Metcalf ended up with four RBIs in the second game, too, tying a club record for most RBIs in a doubleheader.
- Nebraska News/Notes
- Zack Bowman's rehab way ahead of schedule, appears to be almost game-ready, and discusses his return to the field.
Bowman pushes to ruturn to lineup for NU
By Mike Babcock
For The Independent
LINCOLN Opposing offensive coordinators will be looking for his No. 1 jersey in Nebraska's secondary. Zack Bowman expects that. And he understands.
"I'd do the same thing, too," Bowman said. "A guy's had two knee surgeries, I'll go after him. I'll see what he's about. I want to see if he's really 100 percent."
The senior cornerback spoke to reporters following Tuesday's practice, his third after coming back from a ruptured right patellar tendon, suffered midway through spring practice.
"The knee kind of gets sore now and then, but other than that, I feel good," he said.
At Sunday's practice, when he made his return, "it was good just to be back out there, cover the receivers and cut, make movements that I haven't made in a while," he said. "It was fun."
A "really 100 percent" Bowman is good news for a Cornhusker secondary that was without him all of last season because of a torn left ACL, suffered three days into training camp.
The last time he played in a game was against Michigan in the Alamo Bowl, a performance that underscored his ability. He intercepted a pass in the third quarter, set a Cornhusker bowl record by breaking up five passes and assisted Titus Brothers on the tackle that ended the game.
The Alamo Bowl was his fifth consecutive start in his first season at Nebraska, after transferring from New Mexico Military Institute. He began as the Cornhuskers' No. 1 nickel back.
The 6-foot-2, 195-pound Bowman was a junior college All-American and a five-star recruit, one of two in Nebraska's 2005 recruiting class the other was I-back Marlon Lucky.
Bowman was the nation's No. 2 junior college recruit according the Rivals.com, with the size to match up with the biggest receivers and the speed to stay with the fastest. In January 2006, he was timed at 4.36 seconds in the 40-yard dash, the best 40 time ever by a Cornhusker cornerback.
Even after missing last season because of the ACL injury he was a potential high-round NFL draft pick, and he looked into the possibility of leaving Nebraska early.
His return to practice was within the projected time frame, four-and-a-half to six months (which would have been in late September). As it was, he came back in five months, "the goal I had set in my mind," Bowman said. "I was really wanting to stick by it."
He and head trainer Mark Mayer set a target date for his return to practice. Then Mayer "pushed me," said Bowman. "I did the work, and I'm back out here."
Even when he couldn't participate, he was involved in practice. Cornerbacks coach Phil Elmassian told him to "take a lot of mental reps when I was standing on the sideline so when I get back out there I won't be lost. So that's what I did," Bowman said.
He also "talked to Cortney (Grixby), talked to Andre (Jones). I was finding out stuff they were doing in practice when I was rehabbing. So they basically kept me up-to-date."
Grixby and Jones are the returning starters. Jones, also a junior college transfer, earned a Blackshirt and stepped in following Bowman's ACL injury.
Bowman weighed 195 on Tuesday, about his weight when he played in the Alamo Bowl game. Keeping the weight off was a concern, he said, because "all I did was eat and sit around, eating Twinkies and doughnuts and drinking pop all the time. That puts on a lot of weight," he said.
"So I had to watch the food I ate."
The worst was during the Spring Game, he said. "I was up in the pressbox, eating a lot of pizza and cookies and doughnuts and drinking sodas, me and Kenny (Wilson)," he said.
Wilson, an I-back who would have been a senior, is recovering from surgery for a broken leg, suffered in an off-field accident and will miss this season as a medical redshirt.
In any case, the first time Bowman gets in a game, he expects to be as nervous as he was in his first game at Nebraska, against Maine in 2005. "After a while, you get used to it again," he said.
He also expects the opponent to look his way, to test him.
"I want that to happen," he said. "That would be a challenge."
Huskers Welcome Governor Heineman to Fall Camp
For the second day in a row, the Nebraska football team welcomed prestigious guests to practice as Governor Dave Heineman was in attendance and spoke to the Huskers after a 2 hour and 15-minute workout inside the Hawks Championship Center on Wednesday afternoon.
Governor Heineman's visit comes one day after the Huskers enjoyed a visit from University of Nebraska Chancellor Harvey Perlman and members of the Nebraska Air and Army National Guard.
Dressed in helmets and shoulder pads, the Huskers did not scrimmage Wednesday, as the team looks to taper and remain healthy in time for the season opener against Nevada on Sept. 1.
"We're getting close to game week right now," defensive coordinator Kevin Cosgrove said. "We play in a week in a half, so we'll start to back off in our scrimmaging. But our practice tempos don't change. We're going to go high and hard, have good energy and get after each other."
The Huskers welcomed the return of junior I-back Marlon Lucky to practice, who had sat out this week due to minor injuries. No major injuries have been reported yet this fall - a good sign for Cosgrove's Blackshirt defense that hopes to see a healthy Steve Octavien take the field in 2007. The senior linebacker has battled through a slew of injuries since 2005, but is looking good so far.
"He's stayed healthy in camp and that's key for him," Cosgrove said. "He's a playmaker. We ask him to do a lot of things and he plays a lot of different positions on our defense. We're trying to put him in position to make plays. He's improved as a linebacker also. His fundamental techniques have gotten better, but he still has to improve. He's got a great motor and he'll go until he can't go anymore. That's the type of guy he is."
Nebraska continues its regular 2 p.m. practice time Thursday afternoon as it nears the end of its final week of Fall Camp.
- Wednesday's practice report
Red Report: Lucky, Glenn reunited
Wednesday, Aug 22, 2007 - 10:26:14 pm CDT
Junior running backs Marlon Lucky and Cody Glenn finally reunited on the practice field Wednesday.
“Looked good. Looked good,” was about the most Husker running backs coach Randy Jordan would say about Lucky’s return.
Lucky had missed three straight practices after missing most of last week with a mild concussion.
It was Glenn’s second straight practice after missing more than a week’s worth of action because of a hamstring injury.
Jordan did address the fullback position, where Thomas Lawson, Justin Makovicka, Matt Senske and Andy Sand are still battling for the No. 1 spot. The Huskers are looking to replace the graduated Dane Todd.
"Dane was a good player for us, but those young guys have waited their turn," Jordan said. "They’re coming along real good. It all starts up front, and I tell the guys every day, ‘You get a crease, you got to exploit it.’”
Just because a new guy is coming in at fullback, Jordan said don’t expect the Huskers to use the 2-back set any less.
“We just want to get our 4-and-a-half to five yards a pop,” he said. “If we go 1-back, we do it. If we go 2-back, we do it. It doesn’t matter to me, just as long as every time we touch it we’re trying to get our four-and-a-half yards a carry.”
Captain Keller?
The Huskers will name team captains soon, likely early next week.
Will senior quarterback Sam Keller be among them?
Keller doesn’t believe so.
“If I’m picked to be a captain by my own teammates … I just can’t see that happening,” said Keller, who Monday was named the starting quarterback.
Keller, of course, has been in the program only a year. This will be his only season of competition with NU.
“I’d be honored, and I’d be the best in the world for them, but at the same time, it’s tough to imagine yourself being elected captain when you haven’t actually gone to battle with them.
“If I did, boy, what an honor that would be.”
Keller was previously a captain at Arizona State.
By the numbers
4: Reporters confronted — and temporarily denied post-practice access — by a member of the Nebraska State Patrol on Monday. Turns out Gov. Dave Heineman was in the house.
Scouting report
LB Latravis Washington
Some schools — Ohio State, West Virginia and South Florida, to name a few — tried selling Latravis Washington by telling him he’d play quarterback.
“I thought,” Washington said, “they were bulljobbing.”
Washington believed those schools would’ve quickly moved him to defense. So he came to Nebraska, where coaches told him up front that’s where he’d play.
Now, exactly where the 6-foot-3, 212-pound Washington would play caused some confusion. He thought safety. Instead, he’s a SAM linebacker.
“They had a debate on (how) I could get on the field faster,” Washington said. “Since they’re losing four linebackers (after this season), they said I could get on the field faster once the starters go.”
That, combined with Washington’s size, factored into the decision to play him at linebacker.
“I’m an athlete,” said Washington, who played quarterback at Bayshore High School in Bradenton. Fla. “I can do whatever.”
Scouting report: Nevada
Nevada senior outside linebacker Ezra Butler, the Western Athletic Conference’s preseason defensive player of the year, is being withheld from contact during the Wolfpack’s practices because of a separated shoulder.
Last season, Butler led Nevada with 71 tackles, including a WAC-best 17.5 behind the line of scrimmage. He is is one of 43 players on the initial watch list for the 2007 Lombardi Award.
Wolfpack defensive coordinator Ken Wilson told the Reno Gazette-Journal that he expects Butler, who’s started 25 straight games, will be ready for the Sept. 1 season opener at Nebraska.
- A preview from an Omaha paper columnist
Published Thursday | August 23, 2007
Big 12 Football Preview: Callahan still must prove talent can produce titles
BY LEE BARFKNECHT
WORLD-HERALD STAF WRITER
Hey, Nebraska football watchers, have you gulped a little too much red Kool-Aid this month? Worried about sugar-shock from all the frosting-covered quotes coming out of the closed practices at Memorial Stadium?
Then welcome to the "Big Red Reality Check" hotline.
This is a chance to cleanse your palate before the first game with a straight shot or two of Nebraska football facts and figures. So let's get right to your questions:
Q. Isn't Husker recruiting the greatest? We've got some 10-stars and 28-stars and 54-stars and maybe even a couple of 100-star players coming in. Isn't it great? Did I mention the current coaches are the greatest ever at recruiting?
A. In four years, according to the NU media guide, coach Bill Callahan has signed 93 scholarship players.
This season, 32 percent of Callahan's projected starters are Frank Solich recruits.
Yes, the general talent level has improved under Callahan. Up to now, though, those "stars" haven't contributed as quickly or as regularly as in other big-time programs. Scrutiny of NU's over-hyped recruiting and over-complicated systems will dog this staff until there is a breakthrough season.
Q. Husker Athletic Director Steve Pederson just got a five-year contract extension. Don't we need to lock up Callahan with a long-term deal to keep him from leaving?
A. Let's check the balance sheet before cutting a big deal.
Callahan is 19-15 against Division I-A opponents. He is 0-6 against teams ranked higher than 20th. He has no Bowl Championship Series bids and no conference championships. And he is coaching at a time when the Big 12 North Division is at its nadir, with the North going 15-42 against the South the past three seasons.
NU also suffered its most-lopsided loss in history under Callahan and saw its NCAA-record streak of consecutive bowl seasons snapped at 35.
We've never talked to anyone leading a coaching search who would be excited by those results, especially at a program of this caliber.
Q. Nebraska went undefeated against teams in the Big 12 North Division last season. That's a sure sign of progress, isn't it?
A. Sure. Maybe the Huskers can hold a joint celebration with Baylor, which also was undefeated against the North last season.
Q. This Sam Keller fella, is he the real deal at quarterback?
A. He's an intriguing mix of physical skill and cocksureness. In his first four games of 2005 at Arizona State, he threw for 16 touchdowns with two interceptions, and had a couple of 400-yard games.
Also note that Keller's all-time record as a starting quarterback is 4-4 in a program that last year fired its coach and has been to one major bowl game in 20 seasons.
Clearly, much has occurred since spring practice. But at the end of spring drills, three "men of football" we trust and who attended all spring scrimmages were asked independently which quarterback impressed them the most. All three said freshman Patrick Witt.
Q. At what positions will Nebraska be equal to or better than last season?
A. We posed this question to a handful of former players who are more interested in football than grinding axes. The consensus:
Quarterback: Maybe. Keller could be Callahan's first real difference-maker at the position. But remember that Zac Taylor was the Big 12 offensive player of the year.
Running back: No. Fullback is a mystery and Brandon Jackson is a major loss at I-back, especially with Marlon Lucky still unproven and Cody Glenn hobbled.
Offensive line: Not necessarily. Just because this group is older doesn't mean it's better. The sack total the past two years (68) is mind-boggling.
Receivers: Probably, provided Maurice Purify shows his off-the-field woes won't drag him down on the field.
Defensive front: No, though there is mouth-watering young talent.
Linebackers: Yes, though Stewart Bradley will be a bigger loss than many think.
Secondary: Maybe, but it's no guarantee unless Zack Bowman can play a lot and at close to 100 percent.
Special teams: Yes, but the only way to go is up (punt return 69th nationally; kickoff return 112th; kickoff coverage second-to-last in Big 12; no field goals longer than 40 yards).
So that's two votes yes, two no, two maybe, a probably and a not necessarily. Add it up and it points to another 8-4 or 9-3 type of regular season.
Nebraska at a glance
• Coach: Bill Callahan, fourth year, 22-15.
• Best player: Curious, isn't it, that four years into this you have to stop and think about this category. We'll go with guard Matt Slauson, a preseason All-Big 12 pick.
• Best newcomer: Place-kicker Adi Kunalic. This Texas thunderfoot is a welcome addition after a season of field-goal struggles and with kickoffs now from the 30-yard line.
• Good news: The development of quarterback Sam Keller. With the schedule NU has, there was a desperate need this season for veteran leadership on the offense. If Keller lives up to half the hype, he'll be a hero to Husker fans. Live up to most of it and he can move into the governor's mansion.
• Bad news: There isn't a lot. Just nagging questions about how Keller will adjust, about cornerback Zack Bowman's knee, about the defensive front, about the need to show off with trick plays and about being too stubborn to simplify and execute.
• Key game: Oct. 6 at Missouri. Win this one and the Huskers could be home free in the North by simply avoiding any upsets.
- Anthony Blue, a true freshman out of Cedar Hill, making strong impressions at corner.
Elmassian says Blue clued in at cornerback
BY BRIAN ROSENTHAL / Lincoln Journal Star
Thursday, Aug 23, 2007 - 12:41:20 am CDT
Nebraska coaches on Wednesday gave a strong indication that true freshman cornerback Anthony Blue will play significant minutes this season.
The most revealing clue came from cornerbacks coach Phil Elmassian.
“Best thing I can say about him?” Elmassian said. “I wish he was here last year.”
Perhaps it’s a good thing Blue wasn’t.
At least this season, Nebraska’s cornerback depth isn’t depleted by injuries and Blue won’t be thrown into a starting role in the first game.
That’s what happened to last season’s newcomer at the position, juco transfer Andre Jones, who replaced injured starter Zackary Bowman.
Jones returns, along with senior starter Cortney Grixby. Bowman returned to practice this week, although Elmassian said the senior, who’s coming off two knee surgeries since he last played in 2005, isn’t ready.
“Thank God we’re not playing tomorrow. No way,” Elmassian said, referring to Bowman. “But he’s really worked really hard. He’s a hard worker.”
So, apparently, is Blue.
Defensive coordinator Kevin Cosgrove said the 5-foot-10, 175-pound Blue has picked up the fundamental techniques of the position. He said Blue’s working into the depth at both cornerback and nickelback.
Elmassian said Blue comes from a strong high school program in Cedar Hill, Texas, and arrived in Lincoln well-prepared, both physically and mentally.
“He’s doing a helluva job,” said Elmassian, noting Blue is a complete cornerback with good instincts and talent.
“Don’t put him in the Hall of Fame yet. We have a tendency to put people in the Hall of Fame when they haven’t stepped on the field yet. But he’s a pretty good player.”
Also, true freshman Prince Amukamara, who spent time Tuesday with the offense, returned to the cornerbacks on Wednesday. Elmassian said working with the offense is a compliment for Amukamara, whom he labeled a two-way player.
Elmassian tracked point-of-attack plays by cornerbacks during the first two weeks of fall camp. He said Amukamara made more plays than anybody.
“Some of them were accidents,” Elmassian said, “but he made them.”
- National News/Notes
- Watching USC run into the Coliseum, with the awesome sunny SoCal weather, a sold out crowd, gold pom-poms being waved in the air in unison by thousands to the beat of the Trojan War March, was something to see. I'd rank it up there with anything I've ever seen in person. Not a USC fan, but I couldn't help getting chills. The atmosphere was just awesome. It's a must see for any sports fan.
Here's the fight song, one of my favorite in sports.
http://www.dwighthigh.k12.il.us/BAND/midi/07Tribute%20to%20Troy.mp3
- Sad, sad day as Miami has decided to move out of the Orange Bowl.
Personal memories/comments RE the Orange Bowl. Excuse the lengthiness, I could write all day on this stadium and my memories of it.
- Back before the days of the Big 12 and massive media coverage, we as kids only had 2 memories a year from the football season, the Thanksgiving Oklahoma game and the Orange Bowl. That's it, 2 games. As opposed to now, where I was able to watch 12 of the 14 games either in person or on TV last year.
For the majority of the 80's and early 90's, disappointment would come in either of these 2 forms (some years we got nut-kicked twice).
1) Sooner Magic would rear its ugly head on Thanksgiving, causing some sort of loss in a heartbreaking fashion. Whether a hook and ladder, a 1-handed catch, a fumble, etc., it always happened. F'ing Switzer.
or
2) Nebraska would blow through the regular season, be highly ranked, win the Big 8, and head out east with high expectations. And they'd play Miami or Florida State and be thoroughly out-athleted and whipped. For the majority of Tom Osborne's tenure, this was the common theme every year. And we sat there as kids taking it, not knowing why in the hell it happened every year.
3) How in the world did the powers that be of college football allow Miami a tie-in to the Orange Bowl? Are you kidding me? Think of it this way, it's like creating the Nebraska bowl, the Michigan bowl, the Notre Dame bowl, etc. And if you get to go to those bowl games, you play Nebraska, Michigan, and Notre Dame in their stadiums, in January, in the elements. All neutrality was taken out of it.
Combine humidity, a racous home crowd, and superior athletes, and you can understand why it took so long for Nebraska to win there.
4) When Nebraska finally figured it out, man did they figure it out. At some point in the early 90's, Osborne figured out that he needed to adjust his defense. He needed to basically move every position ahead 1 position. Safeties were now LB's, LB's were now rush ends, and rush end's were now DT's. Nickel became the base set, and attacking was the name of the game. Sideline to sideline athletic ability was required and stressed. He did this to save his job, combat Miami/Florida State, and also combat the Orange Bowl.
5) What made the whole "awakening" period of dominance so great was the dominating fashion in which Nebraska beat those Florida teams in that same Orange Bowl. With that crowd at least 80% pro-Florida, Nebraska would shove it down their throat for 4 quarters, suck the life out of the stadium with a methodical pounding, a breaking of wills, making guys like Warren Sapp, Ray Lewis, and the like bend over and gasp for air.
6) It was just this mystical, higher level-type place for me as a kid. I only saw it once a year, my team was always in it, it was a yearly ritual, and it held so many memories. Bad ones early on, and then good ones late.
It always got big-time national attention b/c of the Florida schools and the east coast media. So Nebraska was always in the spotlight, which was bad most of the time, as they were consistently embarassed there.
7) The 1995 Orange Bowl still holds the best memory. Nebraska stuck to a plan of wearing them out on both sides of the ball, pounding it up the middle, putting Frank Costa on his back after every throw, and just slugging it out. It finally worked, as the trash talking from Miami stopped around midway through the 3rd, hands were on knees, and sacks and yardage started piling up.
To see them finally climb the mountain, and the wearing down, smashmouth way in which they did it, was just unbelievable. Osborne had finally slayed the Orange Bowl/Florida school dragon after almost 20 years of consistent failure.
And really, the rest is history, it was never that hard again for the next 3 seasons. They went on to post a 60-3 record, 3 national titles, and 4 title game appearances over 5 seasons. Numbers and dominance that we may never see again. (I guess ESPN seems to forget all of these numbers, eat it USC). This is when the Orange Bowl produced my good memories and made all those past heartaches bearable.
To see it go will suck, it's a historic place, one of the few stadiums I remember as a young, dumb kid who knew little about football. I hated it early on, b/c I knew I'd turn the TV on and it wasn't going to be pretty.
But all in all, it forced Nebraska to adjust, and with that, history was made, so I guess it wasn't all bad. Stay hard, Orange Bowl.
- Some clips
- 1984 heartbreak
- The final Nebraska TD and failed 2 pt. attempt - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CyawcSC7oaA
- 1992 - The celebration/removal of the helmet after the play was a constant all game, year after year, no matter whether the opponent was Miami or Florida State.
- 1994 - an always overrated Florida St. team that should have gone down. An FSU fumble at the goal line (recovered by Nebraska) that was called a TD, a phantom clip on a Nebraska TD punt return, an FSU catch that was clearly out of bounds. All critical plays that were instant replayed by NBC and should have been overturned.
- 1995 Orange Bowl - Where it all came together
Schlesinger's 1st TD with the ensuing 2 pt. attempt, same end zone, and another pass play much like 1984 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ot3okrHlfi0
Touchdown Tommie's 25 yard run late in the 4th - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RM099HRFA2A
- Schlesinger's game winning 2nd TD, watch that CB on the goal line, think he wanted to stop that Mack Truck? - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Lwg61F1oZY
- It's over, Osborne finally did it - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rpulKkcXcE
- Random Sooner Magic play thrown in, the infamous 1-handed catch
- The NoTex Rant Top 25
#25 - Missouri
#24 - Hawaii
#23 - Oklahoma St.
#22 - Texas Tech
#21 - South Carolina
#20 - Boston College
#19 - Boise State
#18 - Rutgers
#17 - Cal
#16 - Ohio State
#15 - Tennessee
#14 - Michigan
#13 - TCU
- #12 - Nebraska
When a team loses five games in a season, it's kind of hard to say that it's "almost there," but Nebraska made considerable progress and was close to being the type of Big 12 powerhouse the school envisioned when it hired Bill Callahan. There was a near-miss against Texas on a raw October afternoon, and a 17-14 Cotton Bowl loss to Auburn that easily could have been reversed if the Huskers hadn't turned the ball over twice in the first half. There were signs, big-time signs, that things had finally turned around.
Even the 28-10 early-season loss to USC wasn't so bad. Yep, Nebraska looks like it's getting closer. Trouble is, so are many other Big 12 teams. With Callahan entering his fourth year in Lincoln, it's time to reach the destination. The trip to the Big 12 title game and the Cotton Bowl berth were nice, but the loyal hordes that fill Memorial Stadium aren't there to reward teams with .642 winning percentages. They expect perfection, or at least a flirtation with it. With three full recruiting classes in the fold, Callahan will be expected to deliver it.
He might come close, despite a schedule that includes a visit from the Trojans and a trip to Wake Forest, not to mention the usual Big 12 battles (including Texas and Texas A&M this year). The Cornhuskers return several key components of last year's offense, and expect Arizona State transfer Sam Keller to step in and take the passing attack some big steps forward. There may be sizeable holes to fill on defense, particularly on the front line, but the arrivals of three JC defensive tackles should help.
The key is whether this team is ready to assume Callahan's all-business, 21st-century personality, rather than its ground-based Osbornesque features with which so many people still identify the program. The Huskers must be able to play more mistake-free football and impose their will on opponents more effectively.
Being good around Lincoln isn't great when national title contention is the norm. It's time for that to happen, or people will start wondering whether Callahan is just someone with a gaudy resume, or a star who can truly build a dominant program.
What to watch for on offense: Callahan is a devoted West Coast offense disciple, but he isn't stupid. The Cornhuskers want to be effective throwing it, but they did run the ball 143 more times than they threw it last season. You can't play on the Plains and not have a strong ground component to your offense. That said, Keller's arrival provides hope that the Huskers could open up the throttle and become even more efficient through the air.
What to expect on defense: There's always been a fascination with the Nebraska "Black Shirt" defense, but last year's team couldn't lay claim to that tradition, not after ranking 56th in the nation in total defense (331.9) and 24th in scoring defense (18.3). That's not horrible, but it isn't what championship teams do. The 4-3 defense returns top performers along the two back lines, but the front four must be rebuilt and needs immediate contributions from the newcomers to be effective.
This team will be much better if ... it cuts back on the turnovers. Nebraska lost 17 fumbles last year and had an even-steven turnover ratio, giving the ball away as often as it took it. That trouble with coughing it up cost the Huskers the Cotton Bowl, since NU held Auburn to a mere 178 yards. Oh, and it wouldn't hurt if there more than five field goals, unlike last year.
The Schedule: For a team expected to win the Big 12 title, it'll be lucky to keep its head above water with this schedule playing nine bowl teams from last year. After starting with four of their first five games at home, the Huskers go to Missouri, where they've lost their last two times, for a showdown that'll likely decide the North title. Trips to Kansas and Colorado aren't going to be walks in the park, while playing at Texas to kick off a stretch of three road games in the final four dates might kill Nebraska's championship dreams. Oh yeah, and then there's the non-conference schedule. Nebraska will play a good Nevada team at home, along with Ball State and its dangerous offense (remember what the Cardinals almost did to Michigan last year), and will travel to Winston-Salem to face ACC champion Wake Forest. If that isn't enough, there's that little meeting with USC in mid-September.
Best Offensive Player: Senior QB Sam Keller. No pressure, just replace the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year, lead the team to the Big 12 title, and carry the program over the threshold and back to being a national superpower again. While Zac Taylor was a nice passer to bring Nebraska into the modern day, he wasn't the 6-foot-4, 230-pound pro prospect Keller is. The former Arizona State Sun Devil hasn't ever put together a full season, and if he's not the star Husker fans are hoping he is, Nebraska will be very good, but not sensational.
Best Defensive Player: Senior LB Bo Ruud. A smart, tough player who grew into a role on the outside, the 6-foot-3, 235-pound senior will move from the weak side to the strong side, where he'll be an All-Big 12 star again, making even more plays against the run. He has 145 tackles over the last two seasons, with 21 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks, and now he should be a threat to make 100 stops. Also watch out for Ndamukong Sue in the middle of the line. He has the potential to be the anchor of the D.
Key player to a successful season: Junior RB Marlon Lucky. Keller might become the key to the attack, but the team can win with Joe Ganz running the show. Considering top backup running back Cody Glenn is trying to shake a foot problem, and Brandon Jackson (NFL) and Kenny Wilson (broken leg from moving a TV) are gone, Lucky has to be healthy all year. The one-time elite recruit has had a variety of problem, and if he's not right, the offense will become all Keller, all the time.
The season will be a success if ... the Huskers win the Big 12 title. Now that Husker fans have gotten a taste of the championship game again, anything less than winning the whole thing will be a letdown, considering all the returning talent. It'll take at least a split in road games against Missouri and Texas to get the shot, and with this offense, the first championship since 1999 is possible.
Key game: Oct. 6 vs. Missouri. The schedule might be tough, but a win over the Tigers would make it a whole bunch easier. A loss might mean the Texas game in late-October could be a must-win to stay alive, and there can't be any other slip-ups. A win would go a long way toward clinching a spot in the Big 12 championship.
2006 Fun Stats
Nebraska quarter-by-quarter scoring: 1st 117, 2nd 135, 3rd 49, 4th 120
Field goals: Opponents 12 of 17; Nebraska 5 of 7
Fumbles: Opponents 32 (lost 13); Nebraska 25 (lost 17)
Nebraska Cornhuskers
Team Information
Head coach: Bill Callahan
4th year: 22-15
Returning Lettermen
Off. 24., Def. 22, ST 2
Lettermen Lost: 20
Ten Best Players
1. LB Bo Ruud, Sr.
2. QB Sam Keller, Sr.
3. NT Ndamukong Suh, Sr.
4. OG Matt Slauson, Jr.
5. LB Corey McKeon, Sr.
6. LB Steve Octavien, Sr.
7. WR Maurice Purify, Sr.
8. CB Zackary Bowman, Sr.*
9. WR Terrance Nunn, Sr.
10. RB Marlon Lucky, Jr.
* if healthy
2007 Schedule
Sept. 1 Nevada
Sept. 8 at Wake Forest
Sept. 15 USC
Sept. 22 Ball State
Sept. 29 Iowa State
Oct. 6 at Missouri
Oct. 13 Oklahoma State
Oct. 20 Texas A&M
Oct. 27 at Texas
Nov. 3 at Kansas
Nov. 10 Kansas State
Nov. 23 at Colorado
- #11 - Florida
QUARTERBACKS
Tim Tebow's (6-3, 234) favorite Gator football player is Danny Wuerffel, which is only fitting considering Tebow is now replacing him. Sort of.
Wuerffel and Leak are the only UF starting quarterbacks who own national titles. Both were four-year starters, separated by a decade (Wuerffel from 1993-96, Leak from 2003-06). Both went un-drafted after college; Leak was a free-agent signee of the Chicago Bears.
When Leak threw for 283 yards against Florida State, the 33rd time he had cleared the 200-yard barrier in his career, it was Wuerffel's mark that he shattered. Leak's 101 total touchdowns trails only -- yep, that guy again -- in Florida's career annals. Wuerffel even handed Leak the BCS Championship Offensive MVP trophy in Gainesville a week after the game, for crying out loud.
But the past, as they say, is prologue. After a Freshman All-SEC season of grooming, Tebow is cleared for takeoff as the Gators' main man under center. The Jacksonville native was something of a novelty in 2006. Burrowing between guards and dashing off the edge from the shotgun formation, Tebow wound up second on the team in rushing yards (469, on 89 carries) and first in touchdown carries (eight).
His jump-pass to Tate Casey for a 1-yard score against LSU spun around the replay loop nationwide. Even after completing two-thirds of his passes for 358 yards, five touchdowns and one lone interception, Tebow's drop-back consistency was under scrutiny before the confetti had stopped falling in Glendale.
If last spring is any indication, such doubts have no bearing on reality. Tebow zeroed in on his receivers in both intermediate and deep routes while running the ball with typical abandon on the option. He parlayed the scourge of a sore left shoulder into an opportunity to feather passes downfield. After completing 17-of-27 tosses for 216 yards and three touchdowns for the Blue team in the spring game, Tebow fulfilled the commandment Meyer made the day after the BCS Championship -- "It's Tim Tebow's team as of right now."
"When I say it is his team," Meyer added at the end of spring, "he knows exactly what I am talking about. He has to bring those young guys together, and it is a lot of work. Tim is as good of a leader as I've ever been around. He leads by example. That's the least of our concerns."
"I think I've improved tremendously," Tebow told Florida Today after the Orange and Blue game. "I think I'm a different player now than when I came to the University of Florida. And I think [credit] really goes to the coaching staff, especially coach [Dan] Mullen. He's done a great job of teaching me and helping me with my fundamentals, just correcting a lot of that and my decision-making."
Tebow still fires bullets where grenades might be more beneficial, and his competitive fire needs to cool occasionally in the face of a 13-game march. But he's precisely the dual-threat quarterback Meyer had in Alex Smith at Utah, and at last check 12-0 (Utah's record in 2004) wasn't too shabby.
Ideally, the Gators want to develop another change-up as Tebow's second-in-command, just as Tebow was to Leak last season. Cameron Newton (6-5, 242), a freshman and early enrollee from College Park, Ga., will get first dibs.
Fresh out of Westlake High, where he threw for 2,500 yards and 23 touchdowns as a junior, Newton stumbled through portions of his first college spring. He muffed four shotgun snaps as the signal-caller for the Orange team but rebounded to complete 20-of-30 passes for 275 yards.
"It was like throwing a little goldfish in the sea," Newton was quoted as saying of his spring game performance in the UF student newspaper The Alligator. "And I was that goldfish in the first half."
If Newton fades in the fall, freshman John Brantley (6-3, 195) and junior college transfer Bryan Waggener (6-2, 226) won't mind swooping in. Brantley was the Gatorade National Player of the Year after throwing for 2,766 yards and 41 touchdowns in his final year at Trinity Catholic High in Ocala, Fla. Brantley's 99 career scoring strikes cleared by one Tebow's old state prep record.
Like Newton, Waggener enrolled early at UF, but a foot injury prevented him from partaking in spring drills. At Citrus (Calif.) College, Waggener frankly struggled as a sophomore, completing just 57.6 of his passes and tossing 12 interceptions to 10 touchdowns.
"I'd like two quarterbacks," Meyer said. "Dan [Mullen] and I have talked about it. In this conference, with the style of offense we play and the styles of defense, the quarterback will get hit."
RUNNING BACKS
Perhaps this gridiron postulate of two or three dependable running backs, which roughly dates back to Knute Rockne's training wheels, is just too antiquated.
Take a look at Florida's all-American ground game last year, understanding that All-American in this context isn't an honorific. Instead, it's conceptually equal to the idea that, white, black, brown or purple, we are all Americans.
Now you have a sense of Gators in motion. Quarterback, wide receiver, fullback, tailback -- if you're eligible to tote the rock in Meyer's offense, you will.
Who had the most rushing yards for the Gators in 2006? An easy one -- traditional tailback and now-departed Wynn, with 699. Oh, but how about the most rushing touchdowns? Surprise -- then-backup quarterback Tebow, with eight.
Who led Florida's rushing attack in the second-most important game of the year, the SEC Championship? Why, it's sophomore wide receiver Percy Harvin, who burst forth for 105 yards on six carries.
Who was second on the team in yards per carry? Would you believe another "wideout," sophomore Jarred Fayson, with 7.8 yards per rip?
Meyer's Ides of March have consistently circled back to the running game. The head coach has bemoaned the lack of a true No. 1 tailback basically since he got off the plane from Utah. This year was no exception.
"At running back, we're not exactly knocking them dead," Meyer told The Alligator days before the Orange and Blue game.
He might have a real beef this year. Sophomore Mon Williams, Wynn's heir apparent, tore an ACL and will not play this year. Junior Markus Manson, who saw his carries dwindle from 81 in 2005 to four last year, is busy learning a new position -- cornerback.
Somewhat by default, junior Kestahn Moore (5-10, 208) looks like Florida's main squeeze. Moore has a history of fumble problems, but he also bulled out an impressive 5.2 yards per rush on 54 carries in 2006. With 21 career receptions and two scores, Moore can also snag a screen or two in the flat.
Moore was sidelined by sports hernia surgery for the last few sessions of the spring, allowing sophomore Brandon James (5-7, 180) to test the waters. James' kick-return labors were the stuff of Freshman All-America status last fall, but he had only three carries for a yard at tailback.
redshirt freshman Chevon Walker (5-10, 204) hopes a 14-carry, 74-yard showing in the Orange and Blue game will be a springboard to greater things. His pass-protection skills need polish-ing, so Meyer pegged Walker right behind James and Moore on the informal depth chart at the end of spring.
Freshman Johnny "Bo" Williams (6-0, 208) lost the early-entry advantage because of a shoulder ailment that required surgery. Williams rumbled for 1,003 yards and 12 touchdowns as a senior at Northeast High in Oakland Park, Fla.
Another freshman generating a lot of excitement is Chris Rainey (5-9, 156), a dervish of an all-purpose back who led Lakeland (Fla.) High to a second straight USA Today national championship last fall. Of Rainey's 32 touchdowns in '06, 15 were runs of 50 yards or more.
Though Billy Latsko never carried the ball as an H-back last year, he will be sorely missed as a blocker and an occasional pass-catcher. Senior Eric Rutledge (6-0, 245), a former linebacker, is ably equipped to step into Latsko's shoes.
Not to intimate that none of the tailbacks are capable of churning out a 1,000-yard season, but at Florida, they don't have to. With Tebow, Harvin and Fayson throwing change-ups in the scheme, the Gators have redefined "running back by committee."
WIDE RECEIVERS/TIGHT ENDS
Is Percy Harvin (5-11, 181), a flashy tailback who occasionally lines up wide, or a quicksilver receiver who sneaks into the backfield on a whim?
Who cares? What everyone in college football now realizes about the nation's No. 1 recruit from 2006 is he's a genuine playmaker, the "electric football" piece that rarely vibrates off the board.
Last season Harvin evenly divided 855 total yards among rushing (428) and receiving (427). His 11.4 yards-per-touch average was the highest among the nation's freshman and ranked 68th nationally.
When the lights burned brightest, so did Harvin. Against Florida State, he rushed four times for 86 yards, including a 41-yard scamper for a second-quarter score. Two weeks later, Harvin was the MVP of the SEC Championship Game against Arkansas after rushing for 105 yards and one touchdown and catching another score among five receptions.
Finally, in the BCS title game, Harvin rushed for a 4-yard touchdown and led the Gators with nine receptions for 60 yards. Best of all, Harvin's personal record was spotless. As a senior at Landstown High in Virginia, he had been barred from athletic competition after two football suspensions and a scuffle during a basketball game. None of that turmoil has followed Harvin to Gainesville yet.
"It was kind of what I expected before I got here," Harvin told Florida Today. "All the freshmen said we were going to win the national championship, and as the season went on, it felt like we were going to win it, or at least make a run for it. And at the end, we did it."
Harvin by no means has to go it alone, despite the departure of leading receiver Baker to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the seventh round of the NFL draft. Senior Andre "Bubba" Caldwell (6-0, 198) reeled in 57 catches -- just three fewer than Baker -- for 577 yards and six touchdowns last season. A third-team All-SEC pick who missed most of the 2005 season with a broken leg, Caldwell hit a trifecta in 2006 by receiving, rushing and passing for scores -- the last a 5-yarder to senior tight end Tate Casey (6-6, 235) in the SEC title bout.
Caldwell has also lent a hand in Florida's search for a third starter at wideout, an opening created by Jemalle Cornelius' graduation. Ever since junior Louis Murphy (6-2, 199) started rooming with Caldwell, the youngster has been absorbing lessons in the game's finer points.
"It has made a big difference being around him," Murphy was quoted as saying about Caldwell in the Gainesville Sun.
"Coach [Billy] Gonzales encouraged me to do it. He wanted me to be around him because he saw something in me that he wanted to get out. And I thank him for that."
Murphy made his tutor proud by snaring a team-best eight passes for 129 yards in the Orange and Blue affair. His spring was so impressive that Meyer declared him a starter heading into the fall, even though Murphy had all of two catches last season.
"He has come a long way since his first year here," Meyer said. "Last year, he was OK, and this spring he went after it. He might be the best fundamental receiver we have right now."
Jarred Fayson (6-0, 200) is also a prime candidate at wideout, although he inflicted all of his damage last year as a Harvin-like rusher (14 carries, 126 yards and one score). Fayson had minor surgery to remove bone chips from his knee in May.
Sophomore David Nelson (6-5, 206) has a rangy build reminiscent of Baker and should contribute more than the five receptions and 76 yards he put in the books a season ago.
Riley Cooper (6-3, 207) was dogged by a foot injury in the spring, but the sophomore will also contend for catches. Three of Cooper's four receptions last fall went for touchdowns, all against poor Western Carolina.
Who's the next gifted newcomer at wideout? Probably Deonte Thompson (5-11, 186), a U.S. Army All-American despite missing five games last season with a foot injury at Glades Central (Fla.) High.
As if the Gators weren't rich enough in this area, tight ends Cornelius Ingram (6-4, 221) and Aaron Hernandez (6-2, 239) excelled in the spring. The junior Ingram, who moved from quarterback in 2005, is practically a wide receiver in tight end's clothing; he was fifth on the team last season in catches (30) and receiving yards (380). Hernandez, a redshirt freshman, caught a touchdown pass in the spring game and moves better than a 240-pounder has a right to.
Casey is still a projected tight-end starter, however. The tall Texan had six receptions for 58 yards and two scores in '06.
OFFENSIVE LINE
Highly under-appreciated last year was the performance of Florida's offensive line, which replaced four seniors without sacrificing production.
The Gators ranked third in the SEC in rushing -- an area which had driven Meyer mad in preseason -- and allowed 23 sacks in 14 games, sixth-fewest in the league. Further, UF was second in the conference in time of possession and scoring offense.
The mint on the pillow this year is that four of the starters return, with senior Drew Miller (6-5, 310), a second-team All-SEC pick by the coaches, sliding from right guard to center for the graduated Steve Rissler.
"We have a lot of returners, so there's no excuse for us not to have a great year this year and carry the offense," Miller told Florida Today just before the spring game.
Senior Phil Trautwein (6-6, 298), who along with Miller started the opening game of their freshman seasons way back in 2004, is the most reliable Gator lineman. He started all 14 games at left tackle in '06 but might make his way to the right side, considering the southpaw Tebow's blind side is that direction.
Another senior, Carlton Medder (6-5, 318), struggled some in the conversion from right tackle -- where he started every game last fall -- to left tackle during spring drills. Junior Jason Wat-kins (6-6, 304) should be one to benefit if Medder doesn't rally in preseason camp.
Junior Jim Tartt (6-3, 312) has a stranglehold on the left-guard spot he covered in 13 games last year, unless his services are needed on the right side. There, twin freshmen Michael Pouncey (6-4, 310) and Maurkice Pouncey (6-4, 310) were pushing redshirt freshman Maurice Hurt (6-2, 317) for the starting nod.
The Pounceys were early enrollees from Lakeland (Fla.) High, and both were considered top-15 guard prospects nationally by Scout.com. Michael Pouncey nipped his brother and a hurt Hurt at the spring tape, but the debate will continue into the fall.
Florida lost another option inside when sophomore Ronnie Wilson was suspended indefinitely after being arrested on charges of aggravated assault, simple battery and use of a concealed weapon. Wilson allegedly discharged a semi-automatic rifle into the air during a dispute outside a Gainesville nightclub in early April.
Several potential reserves were injured during the spring, so the Gators' two-deep should be shaken and stirred in the fall. Among those missing extensive action were sophomore tackle Simon Codrington (6-6, 300), redshirt freshman guard Marcus Gilbert (6-5, 299) and redshirt freshman tackle Carl Johnson (6-5, 339).
Sophomore Kyle Newell (6-8, 284), a walk-on tackle, and redshirt freshmen Eddie Haupt (6-4, 295), might see some action as well.
Meyer might have famously called his team "a train wreck" before spring training, but he surely wasn't referring to the offensive line. Next to the wide receivers, this unit has the most experience and skill of any Gator sector.
"This is the first time in three years that I'm ecstatic about our offensive line," Meyer said. "I'm ecstatic about their work ethic, the attitude and the talent level. I think there are some returning guys that are going to have to fight to hang on to their spot, and that is when you've got a good area on your team.
"If you are dealing with issues on the offensive line about the love of the game or leadership or lifting weights or watching film, you are officially a mess as a football team. The thing is, we are not there."
KICKERS
Through the grace of -- something -- the Gators rolled to a national championship despite a place-kicker, Chris Hetland, who had a terrible case of the yips.
Hetland was a league-worst 6-of-15 (40 percent) on field goals, although he nailed two of 40 or more yards in the BCS Championship Game. Hetland has graduated and no one else on the Florida roster has attempted a field goal, leaving one wondering whether the team is better or worse for wear.
Junior Jonathan Phillips (5-10, 207) and senior Joey Ijjas (6-2, 202) have first crack at the role. Both have booming legs but scattershot accuracy. Ijjas has the experience of kicking off regularly last season, while Phillips was 5-of-5 on extra points, all against Western Carolina. Fall camp will settle this score.
DEFENSIVE LINE
When last we saw Derrick Harvey (6-4, 245), the junior was parking a U-Haul in Troy Smith's dreams. Harvey chased, harried and finally sacked the Ohio State quarterback three times in the national title game.
Not too long before winning Defensive MVP honors on the sport's biggest stage, Harvey was a super sub, starting only four times at end previous to the BCS Championship. Now, with the rest of the front seven gone via graduation or the draft, Harvey is the mainstay in what is otherwise Florida's most pressing concern for 2007.
"It is priority No. 1 and the biggest issue," Meyer said of the D-line after spring practice. "I'm glad we have a great defensive line coach in Greg Mattison. He develops very good players, and we have some development to be done."
Four Gator defensive linemen were selected in the NFL draft, led by Jarvis Moss at No. 17 overall by the Denver Broncos. Ray McDonald was picked up by San Francisco in the third round; Marcus Thomas was a fourth-round pick by the Broncos; and the 49ers also landed Joe Cohen in the fourth.
That extreme exodus leaves Harvey, who led the Gators in sacks (11.0), tackles for loss (13.0) and fumble recoveries (three) as the sole heir to Florida's reputation for intimidation on the front line. Harvey was sidelined for the spring after undergoing sports hernia surgery but should be full-speed this fall.
If Harvey is not subject to constant double-teams, sophomore Jermaine Cunningham (6-3, 230) will be the reason. A special-teams contributor as a freshman, Cunningham roared into the "Fox" defensive end starting slot last spring, posting three sacks in the Orange and Blue game.
Otherwise, the Gators are perilously thin at end. Former tight end and redshirt freshman Trent Pupello (6-2, 275) is still learning the position. Lawrence Marsh (6-5, 284), another redshirt freshman, spent a lot of spring ball at end, but the staff would prefer to see him at tackle. True freshmen Carlos Dunlap (6-6, 240) and Justin Trattou (6-4, 250) might warrant a long look.
In the heart of the line, senior Clint McMillan (6-1, 275) must show that he's ready to be an every-down player. McMillan was primarily on the punt team last fall and has only nine tackles and one sack in three years in Gainesville.
Junior Javier Estopinan (6-1, 270) suffered a torn ACL against LSU last year and missed the rest of the season. He also sat out the 2005 campaign because of injury; nevertheless, Estopinan is a prime contender at starting nose guard.
Sophomore Brandon Antwine (5-11, 265) and redshirt freshman Terron Sanders (6-1, 304) may filter in the tackle rotation, along with Marsh. Freshman John Brown (6-1, 285), from Lakeland (Fla.) High, was ESPN.com's third-best tackle prospect in the country.
No unit can lose four NFL-worthy players and expect to resume its excellence. With Harvey and Marsh, there are still nightmares for quarterbacks in Florida's front four, but upward mobility among several heretofore bit players will be required.
"There are some body types there, but not much depth," Meyer said. "We had to go out and sign five guys. That's going to be priority No. 1 for us."
LINEBACKERS
Hold up a mirror to Florida's defensive front, and a reflection of the linebackers will bounce back. This unit was also ransacked by diplomas and professional aspirations. Brian Crum and Earl Everett graduated -- both were signed as undrafted free agents, by Kansas City and Cincinnati respectively -- and junior Brandon Siler, who fancied himself a first-day draftee, sank to a seventh-round pick-up by San Diego.
That's three starters and the squad's top two tacklers (Everett and Siler) bidding adieu in the same spring. Inexperienced, shallow, young -- all are descriptors that easily fit the linebacker unit just as snugly as the front four.
Brandon Spikes (6-3, 241) is already tired of being downplayed. The de facto captain of this corps as a true sophomore, Spikes has jumped into the middle linebacker spot vacated by Siler after posting 15 tackles in 2006. He is already justifiably feared by offensive teammates as one of the surest hitters on the squad.
"I'm just ready to play so we can show the world," Spikes told The Alligator last April. "We're probably the youngest defense in college history. We know [what people are saying], so I think it's good. It makes everyone work harder and push harder during the spring."
Another part-timer last fall, sophomore Dustin Doe (6-0, 219), takes over for Everett on the weak side. Doe's 22 tackles led all Florida freshmen, and he started against Western Carolina. Doe was arrested for fighting in public in early April but was not suspended from the team.
Redshirt freshman A.J. Jones (6-1, 206) was an unwilling spectator after breaking his foot in preseason drills last August. Though much smaller than Crum, Jones is quicker through the seams.
"They are sponges," Meyer said of his young linebackers. "Brandon Spikes and A.J. Jones love football. They are doing well in the classroom and doing everything we ask. That's a real in-triguing area for the next six months for development."
Six months may not be long enough to develop sturdy backups for the projected starters. Sophomore Ryan Stamper (6-1, 227), who posted four tackles in two appearances in 2006, is the only serious challenger among the reserves. Sophomores Roderick Blackett (5-8, 225) and Jamaal Deveaux (5-11, 232) are trying to escape the scout team.
Freshmen John Jones (6-3, 205) and Brandon Hicks (6-2, 205) will vie for time.
An intriguing candidate is Lorenzo Edwards (6-2, 221), who was listed as a safety coming in but was a top-ranked weak-side linebacker.
DEFENSIVE BACKS
Who's up for "Exodus Part III: This Time, It's Personnel"?
Like the defensive line and linebackers before it, Florida's secondary is facing an extreme makeover after starting corners Reggie Lewis and Ryan Smith and safety Reggie Nelson exited -- the latter two with a year of eligibility remaining.
Nelson stayed near Gainesville, as Jacksonville scooped him up in the first round. Smith headed to Tennessee in the sixth round, and Lewis was signed as a free agent by Buffalo.
Not only is strong safety Tony Joiner (5-11, 217) the lone holdover, he's the only returnee who intercepted a pass last year (two, to be precise). Joiner was Florida's third-leading tackler in '06, recording 59 stops to go with eight passes defended.
There is experience of one sort complementing Joiner at safety. Senior Kyle Jackson (6-1, 201) was a special-teamer last fall, but before Nelson came along Jackson had started 12 career games at free safety.
Jackson could be passed again in '07, this time by sophomore Dorian Munroe (5-11, 200). The native of Miami subbed for an injured Joiner in the SEC Championship Game and left a mark with six tackles, including his first career tackle for loss.
Munroe's eligibility, however, is in doubt after he was arrested in late May by the school's police department for removing and keeping a metal parking "boot" attached to his car, ostensibly after numerous unpaid parking tickets. Munroe was charged with third-degree felony theft because the boot is valued at $385.
Junior John Curtis (6-2, 210) is the only other safety with game experience -- special teams only. Several redshirt freshmen may punch in, the best of which might be Bryan Thomas (6-1, 203). The freshman Edwards might play a role too, if he is not a linebacker instead.
The safety slots are veritable padlocks compared to the loosey-goosey situation at cornerback. Sophomore Markihe Anderson (5-9, 175) -- he of the eight tackles in 13 relief appearances last year -- is supposedly solid at one starting corner.
Freshman Joe Haden (5-11, 183), an early enrollee who starred at quarterback at Friendly High in Fort Washington, Md., edged out sophomore Wondy Pierre-Louis (6-1, 184) for the other first-string job by the end of spring. Pierre-Louis did miss significant time with an injury. By no means is Haden a certainty.
Redshirt freshman Jacques Rickerson (5-9, 172) was hampered by arthroscopic knee surgery, but he's a corner contender.
Markus Manson (5-11, 207), the erstwhile tailback, continues to learn at cornerback. Another freshman and January enrollee, Ahmad Black (5-9, 173), enjoyed a dynamic spring. However, all of them looked less like curtains and more like blinds in covering receivers during the Orange & Blue Game.
After that game, Meyer said, "I'm concerned right now, but with the personnel we have and Chuck [Heater], who I think is one of the finest secondary coaches in the country, on our staff, I think we can figure things out there. Markihe had already, and he will be a starting corner here. I don't know if Joe Haden will start, but he'll play. We've got guys like Wondy Pierre-Louis and Jacques Rickerson that are just starting to reach their potential."
PUNTERS
Eric Wilbur, a four-year specialist who averaged nearly 43 yards per -boot in his career, is now history. Similar to the placekicking dilemma, no other Gator has punted in a game.
Redshirt freshman Alex Harrell (5-9, 170) and freshman Chas Henry (6-4, 200) are the best bets heading into the fall.
"Obviously in the fall it will be ridiculous how much time we spend on punting," Meyer said.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Florida blocked a school-record eight kicks last year, seven in SEC play and none bigger than Moss' rejection notice of a potential game-winning field goal by South Carolina. However, Jarred Fayson is the only returning Gator who registered a block -- not that UF is short on athletes who might do the same.
Otherwise, Brandon James should fuel the return game once again. James earned a slot on the coaches' Freshman All-SEC squad after returning 33 punts for 363 yards and notching 18.2 yards per kickoff return. Against Western Carolina, James burst 77 yards for a punt-return score, the first for a UF player since Lito Sheppard in 2000.
Kestahn Moore is another viable option deep; he registered 15.8 yards on four kickoff returns. Junior long snapper James Smith (6-1, 235) and junior holder Butch Rowley (6-0, 198) are also back.
BLUE RIBBON ANALYSIS
The last team to win indisputable back-to-back national championships (i.e., when the polls didn't split their No. 1s in those pre-BCS days) was Nebraska in 1994-95. Some team named the Florida Gators got steamrolled 62-24 in the Fiesta Bowl, the culmination of that Cornhusker rampage.
With so many defections from the defense, it would be high hubris to present the 2007 Gators as a repeat offender. The secondary was left on the countertop to cool after the Orange and Blue game, and there aren't obvious answers in the kicking game yet. The defensive front and linebacker corps are undergoing radical reconstruction, too.
Still, Florida was supposed to fall flat last year against a ridiculously strong schedule, which featured 10 bowl teams before the Gators even met Ohio State. Look at what happened instead.
This year's slate is actually much more amenable to a freakishly young squad. The Gators open with softballs from Western Kentucky and Troy before settling into the annual skirmish against Tennessee in the Swamp. Yes, Florida travels to LSU on Oct. 6 in what might be the de facto SEC championship game, but the other three league road games (Ole Miss, Kentucky, South Carolina) are pretty manageable.
The Gators' offense is clearly ahead of its defense, so an opponent's best chance is either matching UF touchdown for touchdown or rattling Tebow in the pocket. Not exactly recipes for success, but the Swamp inhabitants are a little more vulnerable in 2007.
Grading the Gators
Unit Grade
Offense A-
Special teams C+
Defense C
Intangibles A
- I'm not even sure if these guys deserve any recognition, but I had to post this. If you want to know my opinions on Marbury, Vick, Roy Jones Jr. and the situation as a whole, catch me in a bar, a garage, or on the weekends, and you'll hear it. No way I'm posting it on here.
I guess 1 year at Georgia Tech and that stellar HS education he got on Coney Island makes him an authority on all subjects. I'm sure he was on the Dean's list at GT, especially the spring semester during basketball season.
Marbury expresses support for Vick
Embattled Atlanta Falcon Michael Vick has a friend — and fellow doggie disrespecter — in Stephon Marbury.
"I think we don't say anything about people who shoot deer or shoot other animals," the Knick point guard told Capital News 9, an Albany TV station. "You know, from what I understand, dogfighting is a sport. It's just behind closed doors.
"I think it's tough that we build up Michael Vick and then we break him down."
Vick agreed last week to plead guilty to federal dogfighting and conspiracy charges.
Roy Jones Jr on Michael Vick and Dog Fighting
In a recent article by Robert Cassidy of Newsday, Cassidy asked Roy Jones Jr his feelings on Falcons quarterback Michael Vick and his involvement in dog fighting. Jones Jr made it clear he was not a dog fighter and had never attended a dog fight. However this did not stop Jones Jr. from defending Vick and giving his views on Dog Fighting.
Quoted in Newsday, Jones Jr on the subject of Michael Vick and Dog Fighting, stated this to the publication: "People tend to talk so hard against people. They make it such a bad thing, like dog fighting is worse than killing someone."
Jones Jr added: "I'm not a dog fighter. I've never been to a dog fight. But just because they have the animals doesn't mean they are fighting the animals. Michael Vick doesn't have that kind of time to train and raise dogs... I like bulldogs and I like their mentally."
Jones Jr concluded: "They are making this so bad, but really two dogs fighting can happen in anyone's backyard or on the street. It happened in my backyard, two of my dogs fought and one died."
Also quoted in the Green Valley News, Jones Jr stated: “Fighting animals don’t necessarily get mistreated. They get treated just the way I get treated."
Roy Jones Jr is set to face off against Tito Triniad in his next fight.
- Who else but Kige Ramsey to report on the Eli-Tiki fued?
- Picks O'the day
Yesterday - 2-2
YTD - 124-103
1) Texas +120 - No offensive explosion hangover here. Rangers roll.
2) Detroit -120 - Go with the lefty at home.
3) Chicago +185 - That big of a home dog, I have to take them, no matter if Beckett's on the mound.
4) Chicago -130 - Give it to me Zambrano.
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