The Pittsburgh offensive line has been bruised and battered all season but this is significant.  The Superbowl Odds have the Packers as favorites and no doubt this is a factor in their decision.

Doug Legursky is Pouncey’s backup and will start in his place.  Mike Tomlin is hopeful he can carry the weight:

“The NFL is made up of lots of players like him: guys who somehow got an opportunity and seized it,” Tomlin said. “We’re completely confident that he will seize this opportunity and play well. That’s why we’re not changing what we do.”

Gator fans still have someone to cheer for; seventh-year offensive tackle Max Stark will be on the field for Pittsburgh.

This has to be disappointing for Pouncey along with other Gator fans.  I can’t imagine how it would feel to start every game and be a big determining factor in getting your team to the Super Bowl and then be out for the big game.  Hopefully he has many more successful years and will be back to the Super Bowl again, and be able to play in it.

The warrant was issued Jan. 5, four days after Doe played his final game for the Gators in the Allstate Sugar Bowl.

Doe was indefinitely suspended from the team in July after he was arrested on charges of driving with a suspended license. He was adjudicated guilty a month later, sentenced to six months’ compliance probation and eight hours of community service and fined $311.

Alachua County court records show Doe paid the fine but has not served community service that required him to spend eight hours on a county work crew.

Doe, it’s 8 hours son… knock that out in one weekend.  This is just silly to get arrested for this.

I hope there is a data entry error with this story and you did finish.

Taylor’s high school teammate, Tony Jacobs, told the Orlando Sentinel that Taylor had already decided to sign with the Gators. In a text message to the Sentinel, Taylor seemed upset that the news had leaked but did not deny the report.

Rocky Top is more like Rocky Bottom right now.

When Phil Fulmer was kicked to the curb at UT, his record was somewhere around the 150-50 mark. But winning 3 out of every 4 games for two decades were not enough for the Vols. They weren’t winning the right games anymore. They weren’t beating the Gators, and now it looked like the Tide was an automatic L for the near future too. Something had to be done. But what?

Apparently, somebody had the idea to go out and hire the “anti-Fulmer”. Fulmer was a class act. He was a Vol. He played for the Vols. He bleeds UT orange. He’s getting a bit older and out of shape. He gives the impression that he does not want to make waves, never wanting to mix it up anymore with Urban Meyers or Nick Sabans. He shrugs off losses with his standard “we will work like heck”. But he can never be accused of embarrassing the school.

“So who do we get? How about the kid who the Raiders just fired? He’s young. He’s good looking. He’s in shape. He’s got the balls to get in Meyer’s face. He is a guy who can come in and light a fire. Never mind he has a 5-15 record. Never mind he has never heard of Knoxville. Who cares if he wants to scrap everything UT and replace it with USC? As long as it wins games right?”

Well now you know. You went out and hired the anti-Fulmer only to realize that Fulmer was more good than bad. And now look at you. And you fans who have been swallowing his crap for 14 months, how do you like him now? Oh you loved it when he took pot shots at other coaches. You just laughed it up. You thought it was great when he made UT the butt of jokes around the SEC. It was just jealousy right? Or maybe we were scared? Maybe we were worried because we didn’t have Fat Phil to kick around anymore? No actually, we were really laughing at you.

Now look at you. You’re making youtube videos peeing on t-shirts and cussing his name. You’re burning mattresses and spray painting F-Bombs on rocks. You were SOOO cocky. What are you now? You’re getting what you deserve, that’s what.

In most recent news, Matt Elam switched his commitment to FSU but has now began to rethink this.  I did predict this with people I talked to that we should not be surprised should he change his mind with Meyer coming back:

“I talked to Urban last night,” Elam told Rivals. “We were talking about our relationship basically and he told me to have trust, to have trust in him and he asked me a word that really touched me. He said, ‘Do you know what faith means?’ and he told me the definition. It really touched me a lot. It really touched me so my decision might change.”

What was the definition Matt?  I want to know what touched you so deeply.  Was it the dictionary definition or a more philosophical definition?  Can you sense the frustration in my tone with this kid?

He’s a great safety and I feel he’ll do well at any school.  Some questions plague me on this recruit though…  is he worth all the hassle?  Is he going to be as good at the next level as he was in HS? If he had chose a school other than our rival, would we have still went after him?  If he went with WVU, would it have had Meyer get all deep in thought with him or would we have had said good bye?  There’s no way to no for sure but it’s my personal opinion (take it for what it’s worth) that because it’s a rival it just doesn’t make good business sense to not try to get him back.

But for the love of god Matt, please make up your mind and stick with it!

Drayton is returning to Gainesville as running backs coach, the same position he held between 2005 and 2007. He spent the last two years atTennessee (2008) and Syracuse (2009). Drayton replaces Kenny Carter, who is joining Charlie Strong at Louisville.

Durkin comes to Florida as linebackers coach, taking on a role Strong held the last five years. Durkin spent the last three years at Stanford, where he worked with defensive ends and coordinated special teams.

A defensive graduate assistant under Urban Meyer at Bowling Green (2001-02), Durkin also worked at Notre Dame (2003-04) and Bowling Green (2005-06).

The defensive coordinator position is still up in the air and who’s in charge of that hiring wasn’t clear a couple weeks ago but with Meyer’s statement of returning 2010, I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s his role to hire him.  It doesn’t look like Addazio will have too much time to run the team as I’m sure Meyer will still be running the show this off season.

The stars are out in Florida. This class has 19 commits, including a pair of five-star players and 10 four-star recruits. The Gators will boost their secondary with the addition of Under Armour All-Americans and five-star safeties Jonathan Dowling(Bradenton, Fla./Southeast) and Demar Dorsey (Fort Lauderdale, Fla./Boyd Anderson) and four-star CBs Joshua Shaw (Palmdale, Calif./Palmdale) and Jaylen Watkins (Fort Meyers, Fla./Cape Coral). On offense, the Gators added running back Mack Brown (Lithonia, Ga./Martin Luther King), the No. 3 back in the nation; when all is said and done, he could be one of the best backs from this class. The Gators also added one of the nation’s top linemen, Under Armour All-American and four-star OT Ian Silberman (Orange Park, Fla./Fleming Island), who might be the most athletic offensive tackle in the 2010 class.

That’s right Matt Elam… we don’t need you, we picked up the top safeties available: Dowling and Dorsey.

On top of this we also snagged a top 20 recruit according to ESPN’s rankings and the #2 WR.  With Deonte Thompson, Andre Debose and now Chris Dunkley, it’s going to be tough for Brantley to overthrow anyone!  All recruits.  Most of the recruits made their verbal commitments  at the Under Armour All American game.

Did the Meyer Flip Flop seal the deal for these recruits?  They saw how much Meyer loved the team that he chose to come back because of the love for the school… did that do it?  Who knows, but I welcome them with open arms (besides you Elam).

One Night and One More Time, Thanks for the Memories, Thanks for the Memories.

Tim had a career best in his last collegiate game against Cincinnati going 31 – 35 for 482 yards and 3 touchdowns.  This ties the most times he’s passed the ball and surpassed his previous most yards in a game.  What a way to go out!  Tim Tebow is a great player on the field and even more of a man off the field.  There isn’t a way you can’t like him as a person unless you’re just a terrible person.  He does what he can for the community and just is a good spirited person and anyone who displays negativity should only direct to his football playing because he’s done more for the community and young kids than most of us will do in our lifetime.

Winning two national championships and a Heisman trophy while at Florida, he will go down as one of the best to ever play for the Gators and possibly college football.  I wish you the best of luck at the next level and hope to see you succeed in the NFL and prove the critics wrong.  As you said last night, you just want the chance to play and I think you’ve by far have shown you deserve the chance.  I mean you can’t be worse than Jamarcus Russell!

“I’m going to Florida State because I see a better opportunity for me and I want to be a difference maker,” Elam said on Thursday.

“It was all the factor,” Elam said when asked if Meyer’s decision factored into his decision.

What some rank as a 5 star safety and a top defensive recruit, this will have some effects on our recruiting as other recruits besides his teammates may follow suit and see better opportunities.

Is the era of the Florida Gators already over?  What if Cincinnati beats Florida?  If Florida loses to Cincinnati it could very well put Florida’s future in a downward spiral.