Oliver Barry, CRS, GRI
Begin forwarded message:
From: JunoGator <broadreachfsc@earthlink.net>
Date: October 26, 2012 10:18:47 AM CDT
To: GatorNEWS <gatornews@googlegroups.com>
Subject: [gatornews] Prepping for Pups GatorNews from the Palm Beach Post and Miami Herald, Courtesy of JunoGator
Reply-To: gatornews+owners@googlegroups.com
--Sandy knocked out the power to JunoGator this morning but, the GatorNews must go out!--Jelani Jenkins hopes to contribute to Gators
By Jason Lieser Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
GAINESVILLE — Jelani Jenkins feels back at full speed after a frustrating first half of the season.
The Gators were counting on Jenkins to be a fixture at weak-side linebacker, where he was a starter each of the past two seasons, but he broke his thumb in the second game of the season. When he hurried back and agreed to play with a massive cast on his right arm, he suffered another setback with a hamstring injury.
Heading into No. 3 Florida's game against No. 12 Georgia in Jacksonville on Saturday (3:30 p.m., CBS), Jenkins finally seems healthy and comfortable, particularly with the "club" on his hand.
"I'm used to it now," he said. "It's not the same as having a regular hand that you can move all your fingers around with, but I'm used to it — whatever I gotta do to get on the field."
The UF staff puts a new cast on him for every practice or game, though it is possible he could stop using it by next week's game against Missouri.
He needed surgery after breaking the bone Sept. 8, and a permanent screw was installed in his hand. Jenkins does not anticipate any additional procedures.
He missed two consecutive games after the injury before he returned for the LSU game, where he tweaked his hamstring. He sat out against Vanderbilt, then returned last week to face South Carolina.
Jenkins only had one tackle against the Gamecocks, but it was a huge sack for the Gators (7-0, 6-0 in the SEC). South Carolina quarterback Connor Shaw rolled out for a pass, and Jenkins raced into the backfield to drop him for an 8-yard loss.
"Jelani has obviously been hurt but when he's played, he's played really well," coach Will Muschamp said.
Jenkins, a redshirt junior, has six tackles in four games. He started every game but one last season and finished third on the team with 75 tackles. He also had two sacks, an interception and six pass break-ups.
He is projected as a second- or third-round pick in the upcoming NFL Draft if he opts to skip his senior season.
"When he's healthy, I think he's the best cover linebacker in college football today," ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay said. "Great speed and instincts and anticipation in coverage."
Pease knows Georgia: After spending the past six seasons at Boise State, Florida offensive coordinator Brent Pease has familiarized himself with a slew of new opponents.
However, he already knows the Bulldogs (6-1, 4-1) after beating them 34-21 in last year's season-opener. Pease's Broncos hit Georgia with 390 yards of total offense, the fourth-highest mark against the Bulldogs in 2011.
"There's a lot of those guys back, so I think just from a personnel standpoint, (I'm) feeling comfortable with what our guys can handle and match up with," Pease said.
Jones a threat: The Gators struggled with South Carolina defensive end Jadeveon Clowney last week and now move on to a similar challenge with Georgia linebacker Jarvis Jones.
Jones is not quite at Clowney's level, but Jones had four sacks in the Bulldogs' 24-20 over the Gators last year. He had 19.5 tackles for loss last season, and currently leads Georgia with 9.5.
He missed last week's game against Kentucky because of an ankle injury, but has practiced and is expected to be fully available Saturday.
Highly penalized: Florida had a problem with penalties and still has issues.
The Gators had at least 70 penalty yards in four of their seven games, including 154 in the past two weeks. They are the second-most penalized team in the SEC at 66 yards per game.
Muschamp noted in August that plenty of great teams draw a high volume of flags, but recently conceded there are "some silly penalties we need to get out of our game as we move forward, as the stakes get a little higher."
Hurricane Sandy could shut down passing attacks in Florida-Georgia game
by Jason Lieser
The Gators have spent most of this week preparing for Aaron Murray and Jarvis Jones, but they might be going against Hurricane Sandy as well. The storm is expected to roll up the Atlantic Ocean this week and could produce strong winds in Jacksonville on Saturday when No. 3 Florida takes on No. 12 Georgia at EverBank Field (3:30 p.m., CBS). Weather forecasters are predicting wind up to 45 miles per hour for the game. There also is a modest chance of rain.
If anything, the unusual weather could favor Florida. The Gators threw just 32 passes over the past two games anyway and rank last in the SEC in passing yardage. Georgia averages nearly 30 passes per game and is No. 4 in the conference with an average of 281.7 passing yards.
Gators DC Dan Quinn said the weather has been a consideration and thought back to times in his career where it worked for and against him.
"You'll know, OK, if (they have the wind at their back) we might see more throws on a certain drive or a certain quarter," he said. "I've definitely been a part of that. You just have to be aware during that time of the game you may get more than one style of a game.
"If it's a big wind sometimes you're still defending it, but a lot of times it has to depend on the quarterback. He'll throw the ball a little bit further down, the ball can't float up, depending on how windy it is."
It's all about the run for Florida Gators
BY MATT WATTS MIAMI HERALD WRITER
GAINESVILLE -- The key to the Gators' success this season is no secret — they want to run the football.
Georgia coach Mark Richt said stopping Florida's rushing attack Saturday would be "huge."
"That might be the biggest story in the game besides winning the turnover battle," he said Wednesday.
UF ranks third in the Southeastern Conference and 25th nationally with an average of 212.7 rushing yards per game. On first down, the Gators have run 158 times compared to just 42 passes, which ranks 119th in the nation. With sophomore Jeff Driskel at quarterback, offensive coordinator Brent Pease has worked to establish the run on first down to create manageable situations on second and third downs.
• The forecast Saturday in Jacksonville is calling for a 50 percent chance of rain and winds of 25-to-30 mph with gusts to 40 mph, and chances are the game will be impacted by effects from Hurricane Sandy.
Gators aware of change in public perception, return of fans and 'believers'
Winning changes everything.
For everyone with a stake in the Gators' football program, last year wasn't much fun. Mired in a second straight year of mediocrity on the field, fan interest in the Florida football team expectedly dwindled.
You know what I'm talking about. After four straight losses in October, it was a lot harder to wear that Tebow jersey or Gators T-Shirt to work for casual Friday, right? (Note: I'm a fan of the Jacksonville Jaguars, so you know I get it.)
It's only natural. It happens to every team in every sport. Not even the beloved Boston Red Sox are immune, as evidenced by the paltry crowds at Fenway late in the year. Who wants to watch your favorite team implode, especially when it was on top of the world as recently as the Gators and Red Sox have been.
Well, the players notice that, too.
Defensive tackle Omar Hunter said the change in public perception from a 7-6 season in 2011 to a 7-0 start in 2012 has been noticeable.
"It's pretty funny actually," he said. "Just hearing everybody say, 'Go Gators,' you know, whereas last year it was, 'Man, we suck.' Hearing 'Go Gators' now, it's been a complete 360."
Headed up by strength coach Jeff Dillman, the Gators have rallied around the slogan "Florida Never Breaks," represented by the acronym "FNB." Defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd had it written on his tape during Saturday's win against South Carolina. Players wear shirts with the slogan or letters as constant reminders.
"They've been preaching it to us all offseason," Hunter said. "When times were the worst this offseason and beginning of the season when no one believed in us, we kept saying it: Florida Never Breaks, Florida Never Breaks. And I think it's just really stuck with guys."
The doubt didn't subside much after the season-opening win against Bowling Green failed to wow most fans. Even after Florida won two conference games on the road in the season's first three weeks, there was still skepticism. Attendance for the first two home games was spotty, with nearly 6,000 empty seats against Bowling Green and roughly 3,000 against Kentucky.
"Coming into the season, we really didn't have many fans like what we're used to," center Jonotthan Harrison said. "We weren't really worried about it. We're playing for each other. We're playing for the players in the locker room, the coaches, the training staff."
But now, after two wins against top-10 opponents, the Gators are ranked No. 2 in the Bowl Championship Series standings and suddenly people care again. Funny how that works.
Before the home game against South Carolina, a sellout, fullback Hunter Joyer said there was a different atmosphere around the school.
"You walk through the campus and there's people telling you good job and keep it up, saying they're really excited for this weekend, so it's a pretty good vibe," he said, adding that the BCS rankings and wins have brought attention from friends "and a couple of old teachers" who he doesn't usually hear from.
Joyer was then asked if it was like that last year, if the Gators had people approach them during game weeks.
"For like the Alabama game, we did," he said.
That game, a devastating blowout loss, set the stage for the winless October and the downturn in fan interest. The stands were nearly empty well before the game ended. They were full three weeks ago when Florida beat LSU, and the bandwagon filled up quickly after the Gators won.
Harrison knew what was coming. After the 14-6 win over the Tigers, he was asked what it meant to play on such a big stage after the nature of the last two seasons. Nothing, he said.
"We clear out all that clutter, especially since in the beginning of the season, our first Gator Walk especially, we had no fans out there," he said. "You know what I mean? Nobody was behind us. Nobody was supporting us, and that's just our motivation.
"The fact that this is a national audience or a full stadium or whatever it is, you know, we just block that out of our mind. We just keep it ourself that, you know, this isn't going to faze us. No matter how many people are watching, no matter how full the stadium is, we're playing for each other. We're playing for the coaches. We're playing for the players to the left and right of us. As long as we do that we will succeed."
Again, that's where "FNB" comes back into play. Quarterback Jeff Driskel called it a "unity-type thing," and it's become clear that the Gators are playing with the right mindset.
"Honestly, we really don't care how people think we do," defensive end Dominique Easley said. "We take every game that we lost, every game that we lost, that we weren't close, we take all of that personally. All of that is personal. Because that's each other. We let down each other. So it's more than a football game."
GATORS: ONE VOICE ON SATURDAY - NO VOICE ON SUNDAY!
1996 National Football Champions | 2006 National Basketball Champions
2006 National Football Champions | 2007 National Basketball Champions
2008 National Football Champions |
Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996),
Tim Tebow (2007) - Visit our website at www.gatornet.us
GATORS: ONE VOICE ON SATURDAY - NO VOICE ON SUNDAY!
1996 National Football Champions | 2006 National Basketball Champions
2006 National Football Champions | 2007 National Basketball Champions
2008 National Football Champions |
Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996),
Tim Tebow (2007) - Visit our website at www.gatornet.us
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