Just who was that brilliant sportswriter who said the good quarterbacks wouldn't want to come to Florida now?
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry -----Original Message----- From: Woody <[email protected]> Date: Tue, 20 Apr 2010 07:52:15 To: <[email protected]> Subject: Re: [gatortalk] RE: [gatornews] [OrlSentinel] Jeff Driskel commits to Florida Gators' 2011 recruiting class, will enroll early He's not even the only QB on Fla's radar according to the recruiting sites... there are several 5 star prospects that have Florida listed. Who knows what will happen between now and then. On Tue, Apr 20, 2010 at 7:49 AM, <[email protected]> wrote: > Assuming Brantley stays next year, Burton keeps progressing like he did > over the spring, Burton concentrates only on football, and Driskel splits > time between football and baseball, but Driskel is a better QB than Burton > coming out of high school > > hard to predict who will have the advantage when Brantley leaves > > > -------- Original Message -------- > Subject: [gatornews] [OrlSentinel] Jeff Driskel commits to Florida > Gators' 2011 recruiting class, will enroll early > From: Badrish <[email protected]> > Date: Tue, April 20, 2010 7:29 am > To: [email protected] > > Jeff Driskel commits to Florida Gators' 2011 recruiting class, will enroll > early > Oviedo Hagerty QB Jeff Driskel, shown above at the Elite 11 QB camp in > February, has made official his commitment to the Florida Gators. He will > enroll at UF in January. (Photo by Chris Hays/Orlando Sentinel / February > 14, 2010) > > By Chris Hays | Orlando Sentinel > 12:29 a.m. EDT, April 20, 2010 > Oviedo Hagerty QB Jeff > Driskel<http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/os-recruiting-jeff-driskel-photo-bio,0,7862483.photo>says > he knew he wanted to be a Florida Gator. And even after sitting on it > for a week, he still said he was sure enough to announce his decision to > commit to the University of Florida on Monday. > > Driskel made a trip to Gainesville on Thursday to tell Florida coaches > Urban Meyer, Scot Loeffler and Steve Addazio that he had made his decision. > > "I told them what I was thinking," Driskel said, "and then I went back home > and kind of re-evaluated everything and talked to my parents and I knew I > wanted to be a Gator, so I let it go public today. > > "(Meyer) was just happy to have me and he wanted me to go back and work > with my high school team get some more wins," Driskel added. "He said he was > happy to have me as part of the Gators." > > News started to circulate around the internet recruiting Web sites Monday > afternoon that Driskel, the No. 12 quarterback in the nation for 2011 > according to Scout.com, had picked Florida. > > Driskel, who also plays baseball at Hagerty and plans to play both sports > at UF, sent a text after baseball practice Monday that read, "Yea, I > committed." > > Hagerty football coach Nate Gierke was happy to see Driskel comfortable > with his decision and was assured by Driskel that he wouldn't be changing > his mind. > > "Yes that's confirmed, he actually did that last week but he wanted to make > sure and Urban (Meyer) and the coaching staff up there wanted him to make > sure that's what he wanted to do," Gierke said. "So he talked to his parents > and went over it with them and re-evaluated the situation and that's when he > decided to go ahead and make it official. > > "When he first told me about it today, he said, 'Yes, that's what I want to > do. Why wait?' " > > Driskel (6-4, 220), the No. 5-ranked player in the Sentinel's 2011 Central > Florida Super60 and top Orlando-area QB, has pretty much been the only > quarterback Hagerty fans have ever known. The fifth-year school has played > varsity football only three seasons and Driskel has started as QB in 28 of > the 30 games. > > The Huskies have won five games in those three seasons, but Gierke said > people read too much into those numbers. > > "We're such a young program here that it's really hard to evaluate someone > on just the victories," Gierke said. "But this is a big deal for us, pretty > special. He's the first D-I prospect from the program and it couldn't happen > to a better kid. He's a special player and I am certainly happy for him." > > Driskel threw for 1,427 yards and 11 touchdowns last season, completing > exactly 50 percent of his passes (105-210). He also rushed for six TDs and > his ability to run can be very deceiving for the big-framed quarterback. > > He's clocked a 4.5 40-yard dash and doesn't mind tucking the ball up the > field if a play breaks down. > > For his career at Hagerty, Driskel has thrown for 3,021 passsing yards and > 34 total touchdowns (21 passing, 13 rushing). > > "I'm glad I got it over with," Driskel said. "I'm really excited. It's one > of the best programs in the nation if not the best." > > Even though it's early and National Signing Day is still 10 months away > (Feb. 2, 2010), the constant recruiting process was beginning to wear on > him. > > "It was hectic," he said." There was a period there where I was talking to > guys every night and offers were just pouring in. It was crazy and fun at > the same time, but I'm happy to say it's over." > > Now he can focus on his senior season. Spring football across Florida > starts May 1. > > "It's going to be a little bit easier in spring practice now to be able to > focus on my high school team give those guys the best senior year they can > have," Driskel said. "I can go out there and work hard with those guys and > not have to worry about any of this." > > Driskel is the fourth commitment to the Gators' 2011 class, joining DeLand > ATH Pop Saunders, Interlachen ATH A.C. Leonard and DE Jeoffrey Pagan, of > Asheville, N.C. > > He even got congratulatory phone calls from his future teammates. > > "Yeah I've talked to a couple of guys … A.C Leonard and Pop Saunders > today," Driskel said, but then he also had to tell a few coaches he was not > going to be coming to their school. > > "That was the hard part," said Driskel, who had built a strong relationship > with Auburn offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Gus Malzahn. "After > building a relationship I figured I didn't want them to find out through > Rivals or any of those, so I called to let him know last night." > > Driskel is thought to be the first Orlando-area quarterback offered a > scholarship by the Gators since 1984 when Rodney Brewer of Apopka signed > with UF. Brewer, also a baseball player, played three tumultuous years in > Gainesville as generally a backup to Kerwin Bell, before heading off to a > short career in professional baseball that ended with the St. Louis > Cardinals in 1993. > > "I'm sure it will (sink in) in a couple of days," Driskel said. "It's a > dream come true. I've dreamt about being a college quarterback since I was a > little kid." > > Chris Hays is the Sentinel's recruiting coordinator and can be reached at > [email protected]. > Copyright © 2010, Orlando Sentinel <http://www.orlandosentinel.com/> > > -- > 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 > > Subscription settings: > http://groups.google.com/group/gatortalk/subscribe?hl=en > -- 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
