The Long Snapper (4/14/10)

.  Surprisingly enough

“slipping into a coma because of a lack of college football”

didn’t make the list (or my renewed love of EA Sports’ NHL series, but that’s neither here nor there).  Let’s run through the list at hyper speed, shall we?

I would imagine he will, being that the real focus is recruiting over the summer, and even that slows somewhat.

2) The Gators will curb the offseason arrest problem.

I won’t hold my breath.  This actually does bother me quite a bit, but I’m about two or three more arrests away from only caring about what players do on the field and ignoring what happens off of it.  I waste enough time reading about so and so and his fill-in-the-blank problem.

3) At least one player will transfer.

That’s probably true.  It happens every summer.  I won’t venture a guess just yet but there are plenty of stacked positions.

Addazio will get more money, but a head coaching offer will be a few years away.  My guess is after 2011 if the offense continues to roll.

On offense, yes.  He has to.  On defense, look for the trio of

Brendan Beal

,

Jon Bostic

, and

Jelani Jenkins

to take a gigantic leap forward in terms of leadership.

Former Gator player and coach Steve Spurrier was on the Dan Patrick Show recently and gave his thoughts on South Carolina, his stint in the NFL, Tim Tebow, and the bowl system.  He believes the Gamecocks can win the SEC despite critics (like me) that think South Carolina can’t get past the big boys in the conference.  Spurrier didn’t enjoy pro football and had much less control than he anticipated.  He believes Tebow will be just fine in the NFL due to his overwhelming competitiveness.  And he is in favor of a college football playoff.  One day I’ll actually join a side in the bowl vs. playoff debate, but not just yet.

So remember when we all had a good laugh while watching the Champs Sports Bowl and Capital One Bowl and wondering if it was a throwback game to the days of playing in the school mud yard?  Good times.  Well now there will be no more of that.  The grass (if you could call it that) of one of the worst stadiums known to man will be replaced with artificial turf.  No more dirt battles.  A $10 million renovation to the stadium will include a new $1 million field.  If I didn’t have dogs, I would seriously consider turfing my own yard.  No word on if the field will be ready in time for the various high school events that occur at it during the fall.

16 individuals have accepted invitations to attend the NFL Draft despite the fact that it cuts into Must See TV Thursday.  Tebow is not among the names and might not join them in the end (I’d say that’s a good idea, there’s really no telling where he could end up getting drafted), but former All-American cornerback Joe Haden is.  For Haden, it makes sense.  He’s likely to be selected in the first half of the first round and might still sneak into the top 10 picks.  Tebow could go virtually anywhere in the first few rounds and it’s just not worth it for him to be there.  The NFL has indicated there will be a separate room without cameras for those individuals that don’t go high to get away to.  What a nice thought.

The List: The order in which I believe the Florida and USF entrants will get drafted.  I have no method to my madness other than coming up with this in a matter of about 30 seconds:

1. Joe Haden

2. Jason Pierre-Paul

3. Carlos Dunlap

4. Tim Tebow

5. Nate Allen

6. Maurkice Pouncey

7. Brandon Spikes

8. Jerome Murphy

9. Carlton Mitchell

10. Riley Cooper

11. George Selvie

12. Major Wright

The Sixth Man: On ESPNU this afternoon, one of this year’s great basketball prospects will make his decision on where to play college ball.  Brandon Knight is down to Florida, Kansas, Kentucky, Syracuse, and UConn, but not necessarily in that order.  Although there has been speculation that the Gators stopped recruiting Knight a while back, Florida appears to still be in it.  That being said, the Gators may be a long shot though.  Signs point toward Kentucky.  Knight has mentioned several times that he likes what John Calipari did with Derrick Rose, Tyreke Evans, and John Wall.  It sounds like he wants to be next.  If that is indeed the case, it might be better for Florida not to get a one-and-done star.  The Gators began the long road back by making the NCAA tournament this past season and need to continue to develop the team concept which won them two national titles.  A one-year superstar may not solve Florida’s problems and may do little more than create one year of excitement, but no actual overall improvement.  That’s not to say I don’t want Knight in orange and blue.  I’m just not a fan of the one-and-doners and would rather get someone who will be part of the building process for longer.