El Breto Era Gator allstars
This started when I was thinking about who my favorite UF player was. It wasn't going to be Tebow or Leak or some of the big name candidates (Harvin for example). I don't really have a single favorite - I guess Janoris Jenkins would be favorite current Gator (maybe Aaron Hernandez). Thinking about my favorite all time I first thought Jarvis Moss (I was not a Gator fan before I got here in 2004 - and did not have season tickets until '05), but as time past and I reflected I thought about Jemalle Cornelius. When I looked my old 2006 to 2008 team comparison I saw a few names I forgot about. So I decided to do a personal all-time Gators team (inspired in part by the basketball team of the decade the Sun had). So I cut out a rough draft and went to dinner. I came back, logged on and immediately got an IM from South Carolina telling me that Meyer had resigned. So this serves as a pretty good already done Meyer retrospective, although I do mention a few Zook guys.
As for Meyer himself I will always remember him as a better recruiter than a game day coach. He basically used superior athletes to beat inferior teams for most of his wins. Now to his credit they consistent won, there were very few upsets against teams that should not have beaten us. But his offense was gimmicky and he stubbornly stuck to his offense even when it did not work (see the pass, shovel). Even he admitted after his first season that he would have been better to adjust his offense for the players he had. It was pretty rare I watched a game and felt we had a really creative game plan. Even when we killed OSU I felt their defensive gameplan was awful as we just ran our normal offense and they acted as though they had never seen it before. Nor was Meyer the best a making in game adjustments (see Columbia, 2005) or managing the game/clock. The 2006 team was absolutely CAR-RIED by the defense and you could make an argument it was the better squad in 2008. I was always bothered because he was overhyped, but it truth we was a very good coach - you don't win as much as he did if you are not. He was a passionate guy who got a lot out of his players. Maybe he wasn't as strict with criminal behavior as he could have been and I don't know I put him down as one of the greatest coaches off all time, but him leaving definitely hurts us. If for no other reason than high school recruits thought he was great. We will lose some recruits.
I can buy that stress has burned him out. A heart is something that stress can damage. Plus he has a brain cyst (how awful does that sound?), but that is not a new issue. It also makes more sense why Meyer was not quick to name a new defensive coordinator after Strong signed up with Louisville. Something must have happened between the change of receiver coaches and then. As an aside the same way we will lose recruits I think Meyer retiring will push some juniors who might have stayed into the NFL draft. I am thinking of Aaron Hernandez and the Pounceys.
Moving on, I wish he had resigned before Louisville snatched up Charlie Strong. All the ESPN talking heads are throwing names out there, so here are mine. 1) John Gruden. I think he has lost a little of his perceived hipness in the NFL. If he was thinking abot Notre Dame, there is no reason not to come here - we have a hot young QB in John Brantley. His ego will love being the biggest fish in the small Gainesville pond, while being at UF and in the SEC will give him national coverage so if he does well a pro team will come calling. 2) Greg Schiano of Rutgers also came to mind. He's done very well recruiting and then squeezing wins out of the talent he has. Jeremy Foley could go to him and say you have gone about as far as you can in Jersey, it is time to move to the next level. Other names I have hear Mike Shanahan - who isn't going to pass on the Redskins but I could live with, Bob or Mike Stoops, who I don't want, Bobby Petrino, who I REALLY don't want, Dan Mullen who I think could be good - but in that case why not try to keep Strong? I am not a fan of promoting offensive coordinator Steve Addazio, as I don't know that he as become a polished playcaller yet. I think Kyle Whittingham has done well enough in Provo to deserve consideration for the big time. I doubt it is possible, but I would not mind snaking Turner Gill from Kansas (who just signed). Some folks will call for Steve Spurrier to come back, which I could deal with too. Or how about Lou Holtz! I love him on ESPN.
Now write all those names down and throw away the paper because it is mortal lock it will be someone else - me mentioning them is the kiss of death.
Anyway here is a lineup of the best players I have seen in the orange and blue:
QB: TIm Tebow
I've only seen two quarterbacks at UF, and while Leak was a smarter QB he wasn't an accurate passer and Tebow's ability to run made him a much more effective COLLEGE QB. Football is a sport, athleticism counts for something.
RB: Ciatrick Fason
Easily the most complete running back I've seen in Gainesville. He had power, pretty good speed, and could catch. He was big and strong enough to be an every down back. He also had the best nickname of anyone I have seen here: C-4 (so what if he once threatened to beat up a history TA).
FB: Billy Latsko (see TE)
Not only was he a good blocker, he had a little catching ability, played well on special teams, but most importantly he had a huge "can-do" attitude and did whatever Meyer asked not matter how badly he was misused. Plus all the other fullbacks sucked
WR: Percy Harvin, OJ Small
Harvin is the no brainer. Then there were a whole bunch of other guys - Dallas Baker who made big plays, Bubba Caldwell who is UF's all time leader, Louis Murphy, Chad Jackson, etc. When I first posted I went with Jemalle Cornelius because he ran precise routes, had good hands, was consistent, and came up with catches in big moments. Plus while he was quiet, he was a smart guy and a team leader - good balance to teammate punching Percy Harvin. But I have come to edit this to change it to OJ Small (did not change anything else which is why Meyer is still retiring and Chaz Henry is listed as gone). I had not forgotten him and had him in the list as a guy with good hands, but over time I keep thinking I made the wrong move so here I am. Small was also a good guy, plus had great hands and big body to box guys out even if he wasn't that fast.
TE: Aaron Hernandez
Without a doubt this was the toughest spot to pick thanks to Cornelius Ingram. I will always feel ripped off for never having the change to see these two playing on opposite sides in '08. In the end I went with Hernandez because he has been healthier, and did not have as good of a supporting cast (in 2009) and still put up great numbers. CI was more of a deep threat guy while Hernandez is more of a traditional over the middle TE. You could say have a 2TE offense and no fullback, which I could live with. I wanted to acknowledge Latsko and as both Hernandez and CI were better receivers than blockers this hypothetical offense would not block as well. On the other hand it would be a much more explosive offense that would score more and if I was a coach I would go with the two TEs.
LT: Justin Watkins
I'm fudging a bit because with Tebow our best pass blocking tackle would be at RT to cover his blindside. Watkins is the best pass blocker we have ever had here, just trust me on that. I'm putting in at LT just because that is traditionally where I think of having your most talented lineman.
RT: Marcus Gilbert
I had a lot of debate about this one. Gilbert is much more of a passblocker than a powerful guy who will blows open wholes for the running game a la a traditional right tackle. But there were no super right tackles - Trautwein was overrated, I watched him get pushed around too often for my tastes. Who else could I go with? Carlton Medder? Carl Johnson? Plus with a two receiving TE offense that would throw often Gilbert makes sense.
RG: Jim Tarrt
You can forget it because he was hurt so often in his last season (and suffered the infamous Glenn Dorsey throat punch), but when he on the field he was very good. A mauler at runblocking who could hold is own on passblocking.
LG: Pouncey 1
C: Pouncey 2
We have had some other quality interior lineman - Mike Degory, Drew Miller, Steve Rissler, and while those guys have been good and team leaders, but the Pouncey's are just better.
K: Joey Ijjas
A chronic weakness. First the two people I flat rejected. While Chris Hetland was very good as a junior (5 of 6 past 40 yards), in 2006 he was an abject disaster. Caleb Sturgis has had the biggest leg of any of them, but while he eventually might be better right now he is way to inconsistent. That left three guys to pick from and while no were stud weapons when they came out you could feel reasonable confident that they would not mess up and around here has sometimes been a pleasant rarity. Jonathan Phillips was good enough to be that guy in 2008, but benched for Sturgis his senior season (although that might have been a mistake). Mike Leach kicked for the Zooker. Joey Ijjas carried the load in the super offensive 2007 season (he had 102 points, after kicking SEVENTY-TWO (out of 73) PATs (to bad the D sucked that year huh? Phillips got 78 in 2008). Statistically he was the best (92% vs 68% and 67%), but he also tired the fewest fieldgoals (13 to 15 and 19) and only tried 2 longer than 40 yards (missing one). Ijjas only tried three from 40 yards and just hit one and missed both his tries in the shootout lose to Michigan (who won by six). Leach was the only guy to attempt a 50 yarder (going 2 of 2). But in the end I decided that was way to much kicker analysis and who cares who kicks when the offense is this stacked? I rolled with Ijjas because when he came out onto the field I got to shout "Ey-Haas!" mimicking a donkey and you can't place a value on that.
P: Chaz Henry.
Next season when other teams start getting returns rather than being force to faircatch inside the 20 all the time you will understand.
KR: Brandon James
This was an easy decision, but Vernell Brown wasn't so bad either
DE: Jarvis Moss, Carlos "Chug" Dunlap
Derrick Harvey was not as good once Moss left. McDonald was more of a DT and was not better. Cunningham is overrated. I like Trattou, but he simply isn't at the level of the other two.
DT: Marcus Thomas, Ray McDonald
Thomas was a no brainer (and not because I was smoking some of his stash when I was writing) - he was a great run stopper and could collapse the pocket. Ray McDonald was a big debate. He was a good passrusher (and eventually played some DE), but was a little undersized at DT. Joe Cohen would be the second best runstopper we have had here, although Lawrence Marsh (the healthy 2008 version) was very good against the run and better at getting after the quarterback. I went with McDonald because he was not terrible against the run, and on an allstar squad he would great linebackers behind him and with big "Chug" outside he would not hurt the overall size on the DL.
MLB: Brandon Siler
OLB: Brandon Spikes, Ryan Stamper
I decided to put my best three linebackers on the field even if that meant moving Spikes out of position. Plus that takes advantage of his passrushing skill - and he can cover well too. And he is a stud at eye gouging. Putting in Stamper ahead of Earl Everett was a tough call. So much so that I considered moving Spikes back inside - but I remember Siler as a notch better than Everett. Stamper is the smartest player (for his position) I have seen in Gainesville and it is good to have a guy who is never out of position - that would let Spikes freelance more. Everett was also a very heady player, and was a better athlete than Stamper. In the middle Siler was a team leader and a tackling machine. Channing Crowder made big plays, but would then follow them up by disappearing for the next quarter.
CB: Janoris Jenkins, Dee Webb.
Joe Haden makes plenty of good plays, but receivers going against him make catches much more often than the did against Dee "Do you know who is holding this AK-47?" Webb. Webb is weaker as a tackler.
SF: Reggie Nelson, Ahmad Black
Nelson was the no-brainer. Black just squeaked out Tony Joiner - and not just because he never broke into an impound lot. Joiner called the coverages for the secondary in his time, but I think the quiet Black is more of leader in the secondary than is popularly realized and while he is small he is not a liability in run support as he has good tackling technique. And Black is better is coverage, because - and it pains me to say this because I loved Joiner - Black can range over more of the field because he is faster. Will Hill was third, he hasn't got enough regular playing time yet.
As for Meyer himself I will always remember him as a better recruiter than a game day coach. He basically used superior athletes to beat inferior teams for most of his wins. Now to his credit they consistent won, there were very few upsets against teams that should not have beaten us. But his offense was gimmicky and he stubbornly stuck to his offense even when it did not work (see the pass, shovel). Even he admitted after his first season that he would have been better to adjust his offense for the players he had. It was pretty rare I watched a game and felt we had a really creative game plan. Even when we killed OSU I felt their defensive gameplan was awful as we just ran our normal offense and they acted as though they had never seen it before. Nor was Meyer the best a making in game adjustments (see Columbia, 2005) or managing the game/clock. The 2006 team was absolutely CAR-RIED by the defense and you could make an argument it was the better squad in 2008. I was always bothered because he was overhyped, but it truth we was a very good coach - you don't win as much as he did if you are not. He was a passionate guy who got a lot out of his players. Maybe he wasn't as strict with criminal behavior as he could have been and I don't know I put him down as one of the greatest coaches off all time, but him leaving definitely hurts us. If for no other reason than high school recruits thought he was great. We will lose some recruits.
I can buy that stress has burned him out. A heart is something that stress can damage. Plus he has a brain cyst (how awful does that sound?), but that is not a new issue. It also makes more sense why Meyer was not quick to name a new defensive coordinator after Strong signed up with Louisville. Something must have happened between the change of receiver coaches and then. As an aside the same way we will lose recruits I think Meyer retiring will push some juniors who might have stayed into the NFL draft. I am thinking of Aaron Hernandez and the Pounceys.
Moving on, I wish he had resigned before Louisville snatched up Charlie Strong. All the ESPN talking heads are throwing names out there, so here are mine. 1) John Gruden. I think he has lost a little of his perceived hipness in the NFL. If he was thinking abot Notre Dame, there is no reason not to come here - we have a hot young QB in John Brantley. His ego will love being the biggest fish in the small Gainesville pond, while being at UF and in the SEC will give him national coverage so if he does well a pro team will come calling. 2) Greg Schiano of Rutgers also came to mind. He's done very well recruiting and then squeezing wins out of the talent he has. Jeremy Foley could go to him and say you have gone about as far as you can in Jersey, it is time to move to the next level. Other names I have hear Mike Shanahan - who isn't going to pass on the Redskins but I could live with, Bob or Mike Stoops, who I don't want, Bobby Petrino, who I REALLY don't want, Dan Mullen who I think could be good - but in that case why not try to keep Strong? I am not a fan of promoting offensive coordinator Steve Addazio, as I don't know that he as become a polished playcaller yet. I think Kyle Whittingham has done well enough in Provo to deserve consideration for the big time. I doubt it is possible, but I would not mind snaking Turner Gill from Kansas (who just signed). Some folks will call for Steve Spurrier to come back, which I could deal with too. Or how about Lou Holtz! I love him on ESPN.
Now write all those names down and throw away the paper because it is mortal lock it will be someone else - me mentioning them is the kiss of death.
Anyway here is a lineup of the best players I have seen in the orange and blue:
QB: TIm Tebow
I've only seen two quarterbacks at UF, and while Leak was a smarter QB he wasn't an accurate passer and Tebow's ability to run made him a much more effective COLLEGE QB. Football is a sport, athleticism counts for something.
RB: Ciatrick Fason
Easily the most complete running back I've seen in Gainesville. He had power, pretty good speed, and could catch. He was big and strong enough to be an every down back. He also had the best nickname of anyone I have seen here: C-4 (so what if he once threatened to beat up a history TA).
FB: Billy Latsko (see TE)
Not only was he a good blocker, he had a little catching ability, played well on special teams, but most importantly he had a huge "can-do" attitude and did whatever Meyer asked not matter how badly he was misused. Plus all the other fullbacks sucked
WR: Percy Harvin, OJ Small
Harvin is the no brainer. Then there were a whole bunch of other guys - Dallas Baker who made big plays, Bubba Caldwell who is UF's all time leader, Louis Murphy, Chad Jackson, etc. When I first posted I went with Jemalle Cornelius because he ran precise routes, had good hands, was consistent, and came up with catches in big moments. Plus while he was quiet, he was a smart guy and a team leader - good balance to teammate punching Percy Harvin. But I have come to edit this to change it to OJ Small (did not change anything else which is why Meyer is still retiring and Chaz Henry is listed as gone). I had not forgotten him and had him in the list as a guy with good hands, but over time I keep thinking I made the wrong move so here I am. Small was also a good guy, plus had great hands and big body to box guys out even if he wasn't that fast.
TE: Aaron Hernandez
Without a doubt this was the toughest spot to pick thanks to Cornelius Ingram. I will always feel ripped off for never having the change to see these two playing on opposite sides in '08. In the end I went with Hernandez because he has been healthier, and did not have as good of a supporting cast (in 2009) and still put up great numbers. CI was more of a deep threat guy while Hernandez is more of a traditional over the middle TE. You could say have a 2TE offense and no fullback, which I could live with. I wanted to acknowledge Latsko and as both Hernandez and CI were better receivers than blockers this hypothetical offense would not block as well. On the other hand it would be a much more explosive offense that would score more and if I was a coach I would go with the two TEs.
LT: Justin Watkins
I'm fudging a bit because with Tebow our best pass blocking tackle would be at RT to cover his blindside. Watkins is the best pass blocker we have ever had here, just trust me on that. I'm putting in at LT just because that is traditionally where I think of having your most talented lineman.
RT: Marcus Gilbert
I had a lot of debate about this one. Gilbert is much more of a passblocker than a powerful guy who will blows open wholes for the running game a la a traditional right tackle. But there were no super right tackles - Trautwein was overrated, I watched him get pushed around too often for my tastes. Who else could I go with? Carlton Medder? Carl Johnson? Plus with a two receiving TE offense that would throw often Gilbert makes sense.
RG: Jim Tarrt
You can forget it because he was hurt so often in his last season (and suffered the infamous Glenn Dorsey throat punch), but when he on the field he was very good. A mauler at runblocking who could hold is own on passblocking.
LG: Pouncey 1
C: Pouncey 2
We have had some other quality interior lineman - Mike Degory, Drew Miller, Steve Rissler, and while those guys have been good and team leaders, but the Pouncey's are just better.
K: Joey Ijjas
A chronic weakness. First the two people I flat rejected. While Chris Hetland was very good as a junior (5 of 6 past 40 yards), in 2006 he was an abject disaster. Caleb Sturgis has had the biggest leg of any of them, but while he eventually might be better right now he is way to inconsistent. That left three guys to pick from and while no were stud weapons when they came out you could feel reasonable confident that they would not mess up and around here has sometimes been a pleasant rarity. Jonathan Phillips was good enough to be that guy in 2008, but benched for Sturgis his senior season (although that might have been a mistake). Mike Leach kicked for the Zooker. Joey Ijjas carried the load in the super offensive 2007 season (he had 102 points, after kicking SEVENTY-TWO (out of 73) PATs (to bad the D sucked that year huh? Phillips got 78 in 2008). Statistically he was the best (92% vs 68% and 67%), but he also tired the fewest fieldgoals (13 to 15 and 19) and only tried 2 longer than 40 yards (missing one). Ijjas only tried three from 40 yards and just hit one and missed both his tries in the shootout lose to Michigan (who won by six). Leach was the only guy to attempt a 50 yarder (going 2 of 2). But in the end I decided that was way to much kicker analysis and who cares who kicks when the offense is this stacked? I rolled with Ijjas because when he came out onto the field I got to shout "Ey-Haas!" mimicking a donkey and you can't place a value on that.
P: Chaz Henry.
Next season when other teams start getting returns rather than being force to faircatch inside the 20 all the time you will understand.
KR: Brandon James
This was an easy decision, but Vernell Brown wasn't so bad either
DE: Jarvis Moss, Carlos "Chug" Dunlap
Derrick Harvey was not as good once Moss left. McDonald was more of a DT and was not better. Cunningham is overrated. I like Trattou, but he simply isn't at the level of the other two.
DT: Marcus Thomas, Ray McDonald
Thomas was a no brainer (and not because I was smoking some of his stash when I was writing) - he was a great run stopper and could collapse the pocket. Ray McDonald was a big debate. He was a good passrusher (and eventually played some DE), but was a little undersized at DT. Joe Cohen would be the second best runstopper we have had here, although Lawrence Marsh (the healthy 2008 version) was very good against the run and better at getting after the quarterback. I went with McDonald because he was not terrible against the run, and on an allstar squad he would great linebackers behind him and with big "Chug" outside he would not hurt the overall size on the DL.
MLB: Brandon Siler
OLB: Brandon Spikes, Ryan Stamper
I decided to put my best three linebackers on the field even if that meant moving Spikes out of position. Plus that takes advantage of his passrushing skill - and he can cover well too. And he is a stud at eye gouging. Putting in Stamper ahead of Earl Everett was a tough call. So much so that I considered moving Spikes back inside - but I remember Siler as a notch better than Everett. Stamper is the smartest player (for his position) I have seen in Gainesville and it is good to have a guy who is never out of position - that would let Spikes freelance more. Everett was also a very heady player, and was a better athlete than Stamper. In the middle Siler was a team leader and a tackling machine. Channing Crowder made big plays, but would then follow them up by disappearing for the next quarter.
CB: Janoris Jenkins, Dee Webb.
Joe Haden makes plenty of good plays, but receivers going against him make catches much more often than the did against Dee "Do you know who is holding this AK-47?" Webb. Webb is weaker as a tackler.
SF: Reggie Nelson, Ahmad Black
Nelson was the no-brainer. Black just squeaked out Tony Joiner - and not just because he never broke into an impound lot. Joiner called the coverages for the secondary in his time, but I think the quiet Black is more of leader in the secondary than is popularly realized and while he is small he is not a liability in run support as he has good tackling technique. And Black is better is coverage, because - and it pains me to say this because I loved Joiner - Black can range over more of the field because he is faster. Will Hill was third, he hasn't got enough regular playing time yet.
posted by El Breto @ 12:14 AM
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