Photo by: UPI/Mark Wallheiser

After the Georgia game,  Riley Cooper was on ESPN’s First Take to talk about the unbelievable one-handed catch he had for a touchdown. In the interview,  he was asked about his baseball career and signing with the Texas Rangers. As he was telling about the the signing process, Cooper said the three weeks he had to wait to hear that he could play this year were the longest 3 weeks of his life.

As soon as those words came out of his mouth,  I became a much bigger Texas Rangers fan. If Cooper’s contract  had not allowed him to come back and play, the Gators’ passing game would be  exclusively Aaron Hernandez. After the Vandy game the Cooper/Hernandez combo has accounted for 54% of all Gator receptions. Cooper has 38% off all catches by Gators Wide Receivers this year (counting Brandon James as a WR).

I’ve heard from fans this year that there is always a Gator waiting to step up and fill a role as it opens up, and most of the time I would agree. However if there were no Riley Cooper this year,  I don’t see anyone ready to set up. There is still plenty of room for another wide out to step-up to replace the production lost by Murphy and Harvin.

At the beginning of the season,  I did not see Riley Cooper having this type of year. As a matter of fact,  I had all but given up on Cooper and felt Deonte Thompson would be the go-to wide out for Tebow.  I’ll eat my crow, and say thank you Mr. Cooper for proving me wrong. Even Coach Meyer has come right out and said, “Riley Cooper is our guy right now.”

Cooper has shown that he is not just a one dimensional receiver that runs a go route. He has made the flashy plays this year, but he has also come up with some huge drive-extending 3rd down receptions. There also could be a highlight reel of Cooper’s blocks this season. Cooper takes pride in his blocking.

Stephen Kerkhof spoke with Cooper on his blocking, “Having the receivers block well is very important to the offense,” Cooper said. “We have great running backs who can create big plays every time they touch the ball. So having that perimeter blocking covered, that’s real big for our scheme this year.”

In a year that the Gators’ offense has been less explosive that in years past, it is hard to fathom where they would be if Cooper had not came back to finish his senior season. Teams have been loading the box to stop the rushing attack, and Cooper has been the only consistent deep threat Florida has been able to run out on the field.

So this summer when the college football news is hard to find, turn on a Rangers game and cheer for them a little. Who knows, but they may have saved the season for the Gators, and of couse Verne Lundquist now gets to tell us week after week that CBS has a Gators game that Riley Cooper and Tim Tebow are roommates.

When I was looking over the 2009 squad in May, the Wide Receiver position was an area of concern. I was looking forward to the summer practices to see which wide-outs would step up. After everything that has transpired leading up to the start of the season, I just don’t see any way that this Wide Receiver group is going to be any where as good as last year’s.

We need to see more of this from Deonte Thompson

Gators’ fans knew there was no replacing Percy Harvin with one player, but there hasn’t been anyone step up to show they could be the next Louis Murphy. It is also uncertain who is going to fill the slot position this year

In his Monday press conference, Coach Meyer hit on this point, “Our number one concern on offense is depth at wide receiver and tight-end; that and finalizing our Top-5 [offensive-line]. I will feel better as soon I know who we have and which way we’re going. It’s critical. Carl Moore is still not healthy. Riley Cooper almost didn’t come back, has been practicing every day and is playing the best football of his career right now. In the last week, Deonte [Thompson] took that step to become one of our core receivers. We don’t have a third-string anywhere.”

Carl Moore was a huge talent coming out of JUCO, but there is a good chance he won’t be able to take another snap as a Gator due to a back injury. Then news came out this weekend that Andre Debose hamstring injury is not healing and is worse that previously thought. Debose and his family will be meeting with doctors on Tuesday to weigh the options, but all signs are pointing to a redshirt season for the “next Percy.”

Coach Meyer addressed it by saying, “It’s been difficult; I’ll meet with Dr. Pete (Indelicato) today. It’s a very unique injury. There is an issue with one of the tendons that leads into the bone. It’s certainly not career-ending is what they’ve told me. It’s just do you fix it or give it time. He’s already had a lot of time so that decision will be made within the next 24 hours. I talked to Andre this morning and his attitude is great. It’s almost like he’s relived because a hamstring pull should be healed by now. It’s comparable to the young man DeMarco Murray at Oklahoma last year, who missed our game. I don’t think many guys have had what he has.”

The Gators have the following returning players – David Nelson, Carl Moore, Brandon James, Justin Williams, T.J. Lawrence, Frankie Hammond, Riley Cooper, Deonte Thompson, Paul Wilson, and Omarius Hines.

You can add Paul Wilson to the injured list along with Carl Moore and Andre Debose. So that leaves the Gators with 59 receptions returning from healthy Wide Receivers. To put that in perspective UGA returns A.J. Green with 56 grabs from last year, and Bams’a Julio Jones had 58 receptions.

Heading into the 2006 season the Gators were in this same boat at the Running Back position. Urban was able to work his magic and got the most out of DeShawn Wynn, Tim Tebow, and Percy Harvin to give the Gators a legitimate ground game.

Production from the offense is going to have to come from the running game. This will be a run first team that uses the ground game to open up the passing game. This is not all gloom and doom for the Gators. Aaron Hernandez will still be there to offer huge match up troubles, and with the speed of Cooper and Thompson on the outside it will be hard for defensive coordinators to load up the box and try to shut down the running game.

David Nelson, T. J. Lawrence, Frankie Hammond– please prove me wrong and be that extra weapon that puts this offense on another level.

Here is some of Percy Harvin old High School highlights. Coach Meyer is good at finding talent, but it was safe to say after watching Percy here he was a very safe recruit. Havrin had 32 touchdowns (19 rushing, 13 receiving) in three seasons, and is the only player in Florida history to have 100 yards rushing and receiving in a game.

Over the weekend Mike Gillislee became the first Gator Freshman to lose his stripe. Jonotthan Harrison also lost his stripe and is running with the first team offense since some players are out with injuries.  Gator Freshmen earn their right to be on the team by showing they are ready to play. To signify this Coach Meyer has all Freshmen with a black stripe over their Gator white stripe on their helmet. The last three years we have seen great production out of the players that have lost their stripe first: Jeff Demps, Major Wright, and someone named Percy Harvin.

I’m back from vacation refreshed and ready for the start of the 2009 College Football season. The Gators are set to start practice Thursday August 6th. The first two practices will be open to the public.

Freshman WR Andre Debose  is showing he is going to be the replacement for Percy Harvin. He has taken a page out of Percy’s playbook already, with the report  that Andre Debose is nursing a hamstring injury.  This all-too-familiar situation reminds many Gator fans of the times when Percy was injured and unable to show his abilities to their fullest extent in practice.

While this is a little older story,I couldn’t help but bring it back up.  The headline says it all: Broken sewage line sends waste through UGA campus. I wonder if they could even tell? I’m sure Athens didn’t have a much different smell.

Percy Harvin agrees to 5-year deal with Vikings.  Harvin’s figures to be in the $13 million range with more than $8 million guaranteed.

Coach Brad Childress has said that it was important for Harvin, the 22nd overall pick in April’s draft, to get into camp as soon as possible. He’ll be asked to play a variety of roles for the Vikings this season, including receiver, running back and as a return man.

Is the Gators answer at Point Guard a Nimrod? Israeli point guard Nimrod Tishman told The Miami Herald on Friday that he hopes to attend the University of Florida this fall and play basketball for the Florida Gators.  If the Gators don’t add Nimrod, then Erving Walker will be the only true PG on the team, and Kenny Boynton will be asked to carry some of the ball handling load.

Gators WR David Nelson talks about how this team has worked harder in the off season than the 2007 Gators did. He also talks about how the young Gator WR are going to step up in 2009.

Every since Percy announced he was going pro on January 15, the buzz surrounding the Gators has been about who is going to replace Harvin.

I’ve read many different opinions on how to replace Percy, but I would like to put all that to rest. The Gators will not replace Percy Harvin next year, and we may never see an athlete like him lace up the Nikes for the Gators again.

Percy Harvin Will Be Missed

Percy was a one of a kind athlete that is seldom seen in any program. During his career, he averaged more than a first down every time he touched the ball and had 32 touchdowns over three years.

The biggest thing that will be hard to replace is his big play threat. Harvin had 24 receptions of 10 yards or more and 10 catches of 20 yards or more.

Don’t get me wrong—the Gators have a bunch of guys with blazing speed, but there is not that one player who can line up both in the backfield or out at wideout and strike the same fear in defensive coordinators.

What we have to see from the Gators is a playbook change to remove the “Percy position” and divide the plays up to showcase the talent on the roster. We saw in the Alabama game that there is not a single player that can be plugged to replace Percy.

Brandon James has been the player that the Gators have gone to when Harvin was out with injury, but James needs more open space that Harvin did and he is not going to be able to take the ball between the tackles. The offense has to evolve this year to showcase the weapons we do have.

Due to injuries, I don’t think we were able to get a true indication of what the Gators’ offense will look like in 2009.

We have to get the three biggest weapons we have on the field at the same time to keep the other teams guessing where the Gators are going to strike from.

Jeff Demps, Chris Rainey, and Aaron Hernandez must have packages where they are on the field at the same time. With Hernandez creating matchup nightmares in the middle of the field and the threat of a quick swing pass to Demps or Rainey in the open field, this offense could even rack up bigger numbers than last year if there is a clean No. 1 receiver.

I’ve written about it before, but that one X factor needed for the Gators offense to be elite is going to hinge on a wide receiver stepping up. This spring there were flashes from Deonte Thompson and Frankie Hammond, Jr., but none of the wide-outs were consistent day in and day out.

The Gator Nation has been blessed to have Percy Harvin for three years, and we will always dream about seeing another playing in The Swamp with as quick of a first step as Percy.

We’ll be doing this just the same way that USC hopes for another Reggie Bush, Notre Dame tries to figure out how they got Rocket Ismail in the first place, UGA wants to make every back the next Herschel Walker, and Auburn—you can exhale, there will never be another Bo Jackson.

Oh wait there is this kid Andre Debose…

CI Shines at the NFL Combine

The official results from the 2009 NFL Combine for the four Gators invited. We will also get to see these same four at the Gators’ Pro Day on March 18th.

Percy Harvin, WR Height: 5′11″ Weight: 192
40 yard dash: 4.41
Bench Press: 19 reps at 225lbs

Cornelius Ingram, TE Height: 6′4″ Weight: 245
40 yard dash: 4.68
Vertical jump: 33.0″
3 cone drill: 7.12

Louis Murphy, WR Height: 6′2″ Weight: 203
40 yard dash: 4.43

Jason Watkins, OT Height: 6′6″ Weight: 318
No data

With Harvin Gone Who Steps Up?

Heading into the 2009 there is a good chance that 2009 Gators will open as the preseason # 1. The debate will begin with the worthiness of this team to open this high and how Texas, USC, and Oklahoma should be ranked in the useless preseason top spot. If you really consider the situation carefully, this team is going to be improved in just about every way. The defense is going to be two deep in every position, Tebow is back, and the running game is more secure than in the past. However, the one spot that is going to have to improve is the Gators Wide Receiver Position. Right now the roster looks like this:

2009 WRs - David Nelson, Carl Moore, Brandon James, Justin Williams, T.J. Lawrence, Frankie Hammond, Riley Cooper, Deonte Thompson, Paul Wilson, Omarius Hines

2009 WRs Recruits - Andre Debose, Nu’Keese Richardson

Just looking at this list on paper, you see a lot of four and five star recruits with tons of raw talent, but when you start to look at  results from actual game situations, this group lacks an impressive resume. A bunch of these guys had key catches in the 2008, but it would be a stretch to say any of them had a great game. The top returning pass catcher from last year is not even a WR. Aaron Hernandez hauled in 34 receptions last year with 5 TDs. From there the stats drop to 18 receptions from Riley Cooper and Deonte Thompson. David Nelson has shown signs he could be the replacement for Louis Murphy, but I would put Murphy further along coming into his Senior season.

I’m pretty sure no one in Gator Nation thinks any of these guys are going to be a replacement for Percy Harvin. His unreal first step and home run threat each time he touched the ball are going to be missed a lot more as the 2009 season continues. So is it all gloom and doom for the Gators next year, No! I just see Billy Gonzales having push this group a lot harder that last year to get them ready for life in the SEC. So who’s ready to step up for 2009?

Other Gator stuff:

• GatorCountry found this great article by Smart Football on the The Florida Gator/Urban Meyer Offense.

• Just how good is Nick Calathes.

Percy Leaves Florida after 3 years

So the rumors going around right now are Tim Tebow will make an annoucement as the team and its fans join together for the Gators’ National Championship Celebration Sunday the 11th. The would be a huge annoucement much like the ’04s did when all four of them came back for their Junior year.

Brandon Spikes may not have graded out as a 1st round pick in the upcoming draft. I think for sure he will enter the draft if he got the work he was a 1st round pick, but with the word being 2nd or 3rd round we may see him back for the ‘09 season.

And last is Harvin who if I was forced to pick would say is going pro where he seems to be a top 15 pick, but just imagine if he could stay health one full season where his stock would go. It could be one of the biggest days off the field in Gator Football history if all 3 of them annouced they were coming back to defend their crown.

Sun Sports will be covering the “Gators’ National Championship Celebration Presented by Universal Orlando Resort” live on Sunday. Also they will also replay Tuesday, January 13, at 5:30 p.m., Wednesday, January 14, at 7 p.m. and Sunday, January 18, at 8:30 a.m. during “Breakfast with the Gators” on Sun Sports.

Offical Results for the Gators at the 2009 NFL Combine

Highlights from the 2008 season of the Florida Gators