Are the Gators Looking Beyond Vanderbilt toward South Carolina?

VanderbiltReportedly, Urban Meyer, Brandon Spikes and Tim Tebow met and had a meeting with other key members of the team and it has been said that everyone is now on the same page when it comes to the Gators team. Obviously some of the results from the post-Mississippi State meeting has been seen since the Gators managed to take a 41 to 17 win against the Georgia Bulldogs. Georgia should have taken the chance to wear their black helmets for the very first time but they squandered the opportunity instead.

The Gators are now going to have to focus all of their attention on the very next stop on their tour which is Vanderbilt. Right now Vanderbilt is at 2 and 7 for the season and 0 and 5 for the SEC conference play, and for the SEC East Division they are currently in last place. Offensively, they have actually been pretty offensive during this past season. They are currently ranked 93rd in terms of total offense, 109th in terms of passing offense and 110th in terms of scoring offense in the country. Defensively it seems that they have fared a little better, but they are not fairing well enough to concern the Gators in the slightest.

Tim Tebow and his roommate Riley Cooper the wide receiver have both seemed to have ironed out whatever wrinkles were previously in the playbook. Right now both Dave Nelson and Deonte Thompson are absent in terms of the passing attack. A current playmaker is the tight end Aaron Hernandez, who is making plays every single time that he touches the ball.

The running game in Florida is still quite potent, especially with Chris Rainey, Jeff Demps and Emmanuel Moody. The Gators are ranked at 6th in the Nation and they are averaging 252.25 yards for each game on the ground. Tim Tebow is definitely making up a lot of those yards himself.

It is important that the Florida Gators keep their attention on the Vanderbilt Commodores this week, but it seems that their mind is on other things. Urban Meyer is going to tell you that his team is only preparing for the Commodores right now, and that they are not thinking about the looming upcoming South Carolina game. He will tell you that the team is not even going to think about the South Carolina game until the days following the Vanderbilt football game. Unfortunately, we know quite well that it is human nature to look ahead, and the Florida Gators are almost certainly wondering about their future.

The OBC is definitely looking forward to a stop by the Gators in Columbia in the following two weeks.

Florida has a lot of improving to do, especially in terms of offense. The offensive line also has to improve in terms of pass protection because they cannot go on forever relying on Tebow.

Photo Credits: mosesxan

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Cooper in Florida Returning for His Senior Season

rileycooperRiley Cooper, a receiver from Florida, who has made plans to play baseball for the Rangers in Texas has decided to return to the football field for a senior playing season.

Urban Meyer, coach for the Florida Gators, made the announcement regarding Cooper's decision on this past Tuesday.

This was welcomed news for Florida, as their biggest challenge during the fall season is going to be to replace two lost lead receivers, Louis Murphy and Percy Harvin.

According to Urban Meyer, he is going to be relied on heavily as a go-to receiver. Urban Meyer has been long been looking for someone that can step up now that Louis Murphy and Percy Harvin are departing. Nobody has stepped up yet, but it is said that Riley can definitely be someone that can.

Cooper was a starter in 12 games for the Gators, which went on to be national champions during the last football season. He managed to catch 18 passes for a total of 261 yards and a total of three touchdowns. He has had a total of 30 receptions in his career for a total of 535 yards with nine scores. He is also the roommate of quarterback Tim Tebow.

There was a very real chance that Cooper may spurn Florida in favor of a major league baseball career. The Rangers decided to draft him during the 25th round in the amateur baseball draft in June. He spent a good part of the summer playing alongside the McKinney Marshals from the Texas Collegiate League.

Cooper says that the decision was tough for him to make, perhaps one of the hardest he's ever made, but he is excited about both playing as part of the Texas Rangers Organization and also returning to play a senior season with the Florida Gators. Two weeks ago, the personnel with the Rangers gave him a tour of the Arlington ball park.

Cooper had been initially drafted into the 15th round by the Phillies in Philadelphia in 2006. He chose to play with the Florida Gators instead of pursuing his baseball career at that time.

Meyer allowed Cooper to skip out on spring practice this year so that he could join the baseball team. Cooper hit two home runs with .247, eight runs batted in and three bases stolen in a span of thirty games. In 89 at-bats, he struck out 41 times.

Meyers knows that Riley is an extremely talented athlete. He has the speed, size and the strength that are needed to create a rough match up for most defenses. The entire offense for the Gators is going to be predicated on problems with matchups for the defense. Luckily, Riley is going to be able to do this for the team because he is renowned for being a big time playmaker.

The NCAA rules have allowed for student athletes to go professional in a sport while they maintain eligibility in a different sport. Former Florida QB Doug Johnson, for example, spent four years playing for the Gators even after he had signed with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

Tebow is applauding the decision that Cooper has made.

Photo Credits: Stephen M. Dowell, Orlando Sentinel / April 12, 2008

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