This article explains some of what we have been seeing.
Jerry From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Shane Ford Sent: Friday, November 19, 2010 8:28 AM To: GatorNEWS Subject: [gatornews] Gatornews From The Gainesville SUN For 11/19, 7:00AM Edition, Courtesy of Shane Ford Freshmen, seniors come together By Edward Aschoff Gainesville SUN Correspondent Published: Thursday, November 18, 2010 at 6:01 a.m. Last Modified: Friday, November 19, 2010 at 12:25 a.m. It’s every college athletic program’s goal to bring in a slew of blue-chip high school recruits each year, but there are steps to dealing with them once they are on campus. Florida is no stranger to recruiting success and coach Urban Meyer has consistently excelled in recruiting during his tenure. But he’s also dealt with frustrations of merging young egos with the status quo. “The hype they are dealing with during their freshman and sophomore years of high school, it’s like you’re dealing with a first-round draft pick,” Meyer said. As the Gators look back at the tumultuous 2010 season, the veterans can’t help but think their failure to get through to Florida’s highly rated recruiting class played a part in this year’s regression. With the consensus No. 1 recruiting class in the country, featuring the nation’s best player in defensive end Ronald Powell and the top-two defensive tackles in Sharrif Floyd and Dominique Easley, many believed the Gators would get great contributions from the freshmen. But things soured between the veterans and the rookies during training camp, leading senior center Mike Pouncey to say the freshmen “need(ed) to shut their mouths and just come play.” A week before Florida’s opener, rumors spread that Powell and Easley skipped practice and had plans of transferring. Neither did, but Easley’s issues have caused him to miss significant playing time. Even Floyd, one of the more grounded freshman, had early frustrations that caused him to rethink his college decision. Those feelings have changed and Floyd has become one of Florida’s most impressive freshmen. “It started off a little shaky, then we started bringing it together, started being a team instead of segregated,” Floyd said. What has caused the shaky start? Senior offensive tackle Marcus Gilbert said the veterans were harder on these freshmen because of all the class’ hype and the egos they brought to Gainesville. Unlike when he was a freshman, Gilbert said some of the younger players came in expecting to play or start immediately. That turned the seniors off and contributed to the slow bonding experience. “That was the seniors’ fault,” Gilbert said. “We should have tried to come together with the younger dudes and make something happen.” Senior linebacker Brandon Hicks wishes the camaraderie between the veterans and the freshman started much earlier. The early friction hurt any sort of social bonding between the two groups, Hicks said, as both packs tended to hang with their own. When it came time for the seniors to help the freshmen, teaching moments were wasted because trust wasn’t there, leading to a slower developing process for the youngsters. “We wanted that to happen very fast and we needed that to happen very fast with the younger guys,” Hicks said. Floyd said the relationship between the freshmen and vets started improving the week of the Georgia game, with Florida 4-3. For the next two weeks, the Gators played their best football of the year. Players old and young agree the problems this team had earlier have disappeared and the chemistry and closeness is finally where it should be. Offensive coordinator Steve Addazio said he does his best to taper egos, but he certainly welcomes players with the expectations of playing early. “Any time you’re involved with great players, that’s pretty normal,” he said. “You’re recruiting guys that are very, very competitive. There’s so much hype and build up and they want to play early. That’s what makes them great players. “Nowadays, guys come in with great expectations to play and I think you should have it. That’s the right mindset to have.” -- 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
