Thursday, June 16, 2011
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Monday, June 13, 2011
Saturday, June 11, 2011
TIM TEBOW IN ORLANDO TODAY
GATOR GRIDIRON
ROGER FRANKLIN WILLIAMS
Scores of Tim Tebow fans have reportedly been camping out overnight at the Orlando West Colonial Drive Barnes & Noble in anticipation of Tim's appearance from 2-4pm today to promote his new book, Through My Eyes. Just days after release, Through My Eyes has cracked Amazon Books top-25.
Through My Eyes chronicles how Tebow's Christian Faith has influenced and guided his life, from his early years as a child growing up as he youngest son of Christian missionaries in the Phillipines through his recored setting, historic career at Florida as one of college football's greatest players ever, to his transition to the National Football League.
ROGER FRANKLIN WILLIAMS
Scores of Tim Tebow fans have reportedly been camping out overnight at the Orlando West Colonial Drive Barnes & Noble in anticipation of Tim's appearance from 2-4pm today to promote his new book, Through My Eyes. Just days after release, Through My Eyes has cracked Amazon Books top-25.
Through My Eyes chronicles how Tebow's Christian Faith has influenced and guided his life, from his early years as a child growing up as he youngest son of Christian missionaries in the Phillipines through his recored setting, historic career at Florida as one of college football's greatest players ever, to his transition to the National Football League.
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
TIM TEBOW VISITS ORLANDO SATURDAY JUNE 11
Tim Tebow's nation-wide book tour will make a stop in Orlando this Saturday June 11 from 2-4 pm at Barnes and Noble bookstore on east Colonial Drive in the Colonial Plaza shopping center.
"Through My Eyes", Tebow's autobiographical memoir with co-author Nathan Whitaker, has soared Amazon books top 25 best seller list only days after release. "Through My Eyes" tells the story of Tebow's early life as the youngest child of Christian missionaries living in the Phillipines, his later years as a home-schooled teen and, of course, his exceptional high school football career which led to his subsequent career at Florida where he led the Gators to back to back 13 win seasons, including a National Championship in 2008 and contributed greatly to another National Championship in 2006 as Florida's second leading rusher and scorer, while establishing personal statistics, records and achievments that are unmatched in the history of college football.
"Through My Eyes", Tebow's autobiographical memoir with co-author Nathan Whitaker, has soared Amazon books top 25 best seller list only days after release. "Through My Eyes" tells the story of Tebow's early life as the youngest child of Christian missionaries living in the Phillipines, his later years as a home-schooled teen and, of course, his exceptional high school football career which led to his subsequent career at Florida where he led the Gators to back to back 13 win seasons, including a National Championship in 2008 and contributed greatly to another National Championship in 2006 as Florida's second leading rusher and scorer, while establishing personal statistics, records and achievments that are unmatched in the history of college football.
Monday, June 6, 2011
THE FAMED SUPER SOPHS OF THE '69 GATORS
Left to right; QB John Reaves #7, FB Mike Rich #40, RB Tommy Durrance #33, WR Carlos Alvarez #45
Thursday, June 2, 2011
TIM TEBOW: THE GREATEST COLLEGE PLAYER EVER, PART 1
GATOR GRIDIRON
OLD SCHOOL GATOR
ROGER FRANKLIN WILLIAMS
With the start of a new college football season around the corner, good natured (and not so good natured) passionate debates over who is the greatest college team ever?......the greatest coach ever?........greatest running back ever?.....greatest PLAYER ever? are on track to resume in earnest.
Gator Gridiron/Old School Gator casts a resounding vote for Tim Tebow as Greatest College Player Ever!
In fact, I really don't see how the issue is even up for debate...when ALL relevent factors are seriously studied and considered. For the last couple of years, when the subject of Tebow has come up, Gator Gridiron/Old School Gator has proclaimed Tebow as, "the greatest player I have ever seen, and I've been following College Football very closely for 45 years". But upon informed reflection, why the qualifer?.....
When what Tim Tebow accomplished over 4 years is compared with other all-time great players in clear-eyed, objective observation , in a variety of contexts, it becomes clear that what Tebow achieved STANDS ALONE....
in terms of consistent, on-the-field field performance....
in terms of statistics and records.....he holds records as diverse as the all-time BCS Bowl Game record for PASSING yardage and Total Offense (over 450 yards) to holding the all-time SEC record for RUSHING TDs being the 3rd all-time most efficient passer in NCAA history AND the MOST efficient passer in SEC history...to name JUST A FEW all-time records...
in terms of versatility.....in practical terms, HE LITERALLY PLAYED 2 POSITIONS IN THE FLORIDA OFFENSE HIS LAST 3 YEARS, record setting passing QB AND RUNNING BACK (as primary, between-the- tackles ball carrier, leading ball carrier and leading rusher for 3 years)....
in terms of "intangibles" such as leadership, work ethic, passion, intensity......
in terms of "TANGIBLES" such as passing yardage (almost 10,000 yards passing alone), passing efficiency (3rd highest passing efficiency ALL-TIME in college football and highest in SEC history), touchdowns-- both running and passing (the all-time SEC leader in rushing touchdowns) and rushing (Florida's leading ball carrier, rusher and scorer for 3 years in a row, in addition to putting up almost 10,000 passing yards)
FINALLY, IN TERMS OF WINNING!!!!
........during Tebow's 4 years in Gainesville he quarterbacked Florida to one National Championship, was a major contributor as a pure Freshman to another National Championship (if Tebow doesn't gain 2 yards on 4th and 2 late in the game at Tennessee, Florida doesn't win that game....and if they don't win that game, the Gators don't even win the SEC East that year, much less a National Championship) AND during his last two years, led Florida to back to back 13 win seasons, the only time in NCAA History (established 1906) a team has won 13 games back to back.....(and I guess we don't have to mention what happened after Tebow was no longer playing for the Gators....)
the bottom line is the accomplishments of Tim Tebow are unrivaled and unmatched....IN THE HISTORY OF COLLEGE FOOTBALL
(In the days to come Gator Gridiron will compare the accomplishments of Tim Tebow to other all-time great players who are frequently mentioned as "The Greatest" in College Football History AND point out the evidence of why Tebow the greatest of all, stay tuned)
OLD SCHOOL GATOR
ROGER FRANKLIN WILLIAMS
With the start of a new college football season around the corner, good natured (and not so good natured) passionate debates over who is the greatest college team ever?......the greatest coach ever?........greatest running back ever?.....greatest PLAYER ever? are on track to resume in earnest.
Gator Gridiron/Old School Gator casts a resounding vote for Tim Tebow as Greatest College Player Ever!
In fact, I really don't see how the issue is even up for debate...when ALL relevent factors are seriously studied and considered. For the last couple of years, when the subject of Tebow has come up, Gator Gridiron/Old School Gator has proclaimed Tebow as, "the greatest player I have ever seen, and I've been following College Football very closely for 45 years". But upon informed reflection, why the qualifer?.....
When what Tim Tebow accomplished over 4 years is compared with other all-time great players in clear-eyed, objective observation , in a variety of contexts, it becomes clear that what Tebow achieved STANDS ALONE....
in terms of consistent, on-the-field field performance....
in terms of statistics and records.....he holds records as diverse as the all-time BCS Bowl Game record for PASSING yardage and Total Offense (over 450 yards) to holding the all-time SEC record for RUSHING TDs being the 3rd all-time most efficient passer in NCAA history AND the MOST efficient passer in SEC history...to name JUST A FEW all-time records...
in terms of versatility.....in practical terms, HE LITERALLY PLAYED 2 POSITIONS IN THE FLORIDA OFFENSE HIS LAST 3 YEARS, record setting passing QB AND RUNNING BACK (as primary, between-the- tackles ball carrier, leading ball carrier and leading rusher for 3 years)....
in terms of "intangibles" such as leadership, work ethic, passion, intensity......
in terms of "TANGIBLES" such as passing yardage (almost 10,000 yards passing alone), passing efficiency (3rd highest passing efficiency ALL-TIME in college football and highest in SEC history), touchdowns-- both running and passing (the all-time SEC leader in rushing touchdowns) and rushing (Florida's leading ball carrier, rusher and scorer for 3 years in a row, in addition to putting up almost 10,000 passing yards)
FINALLY, IN TERMS OF WINNING!!!!
........during Tebow's 4 years in Gainesville he quarterbacked Florida to one National Championship, was a major contributor as a pure Freshman to another National Championship (if Tebow doesn't gain 2 yards on 4th and 2 late in the game at Tennessee, Florida doesn't win that game....and if they don't win that game, the Gators don't even win the SEC East that year, much less a National Championship) AND during his last two years, led Florida to back to back 13 win seasons, the only time in NCAA History (established 1906) a team has won 13 games back to back.....(and I guess we don't have to mention what happened after Tebow was no longer playing for the Gators....)
the bottom line is the accomplishments of Tim Tebow are unrivaled and unmatched....IN THE HISTORY OF COLLEGE FOOTBALL
(In the days to come Gator Gridiron will compare the accomplishments of Tim Tebow to other all-time great players who are frequently mentioned as "The Greatest" in College Football History AND point out the evidence of why Tebow the greatest of all, stay tuned)
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
O-LINE LOOKS LIKE POTENTIAL TROUBLE SPOT
GATOR GRIDIRON
ROGER FRANKLIN WILLIAMS
Today, on the first day of June and the un-official start of summer, the start of August two-a-day practices and subsequent September 3rd kick-off vs. FAU at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium can't be far away. With that in mind, Gator Gridiron will begin our "un-official" pre-views of various aspects of the 2011 season.
As we have previously stated, Gator Gridiron has a more optimistic feeling about 2011 than many Gators and especially most of the "experts". That inspires even more optimism for us, because the so-called "experts" are pretty much universally wrong....just ask the '69 Gators and their recently minted College Football Hall of Famer, Carlos Alvarez.
(For newer "post-modern" Gators and new visitors to Gator Gridiron, the '69 Gators began the season proclaimed by the "experts" as a preseason last in the SEC and voted into the Bottom 20 poll of that era. The '69 Gators finished the season with a 9-1-1 record, the best in Gator football history to that point. Along the way they shattered the SEC record book for single game and single season passing yardage and TDs (QB John Reaves, #7), single game and single season receiving yardage (WR Carlos Alvarez, #45) and single season rushing TD's and scoring (RB Tommy Durrance, #33) while defeating the pre-season No. 1 team, by the "experts" at Playboy, Houston, the regular season SEC Champion, Tennessee, in addition to handing FSU the worst defeat of the series to that point and routing Miami in the Orange Bowl while smashing dozens of Florida and SEC records for passing (Reaves), receiving (Alvarez) and scoring (Durrance) in the process. Oh, and one other thing....that band of Gators who were held in such contempt by the national "experts" produced an NFL Hall-of-Famer--- DE Jack Youngblood #74, two College Football Hall of Famers---Youngblood and Alvarez; four 1st Team All-Americans---Youngblood & Alvarez, Reaves and DB Steve Tannen #22; and three NFL first round draft choices---Tannen, Youngblood and Reaves....not to mention numerous All-SEC selections).
Anyway....back to 2011......the point is that Gator Gridiron, as previously reported (check the archives) sees many positives for 2011. Unfortunately, the O-line is not one of them. Lack of numbers and depth...lack of experience...no returing players who have excelled in game situations...the O-line has the look of a unit that, worst case scenario, could bring the whole season down. Even the "bright spot" is pretty dim---JR OT Xavier Nixon and SOPH OG Jon Halapio with 7 starts a piece last season and SR OG James Wilson, a full fledged starter last year, do bring some experience; on the other hand, the offensive line was one of the 2010 Gators' weakest areas....and that's saying a lot, because, as we know, their were a lot of weak spots....
Other potential starters (and we say potential, because with the new staff virtually all positions are still up for grabs) are Matt Patchan, an often-injured, former coveted recruit, FR OT Chaz Green and SOPH OG Ian Silberman. As for the second unit, the format for the Spring Orange and Blue game had to be altered because there was no second unit.....a result of attrition and injuries.
There is one bright spot along the offensive line, however.
Soph Jonotthan (not a misprint) Harrison will take over at Center for Mike Pouncey. The scouting report on Harrison is that he is very green and has a lot to learn. The scouting report from Gator Gridiron is, no matter how green and inexperienced, there is no way on God's Green Earth he couldn't do a better job at Center than Mike Pouncey....
ROGER FRANKLIN WILLIAMS
Today, on the first day of June and the un-official start of summer, the start of August two-a-day practices and subsequent September 3rd kick-off vs. FAU at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium can't be far away. With that in mind, Gator Gridiron will begin our "un-official" pre-views of various aspects of the 2011 season.
As we have previously stated, Gator Gridiron has a more optimistic feeling about 2011 than many Gators and especially most of the "experts". That inspires even more optimism for us, because the so-called "experts" are pretty much universally wrong....just ask the '69 Gators and their recently minted College Football Hall of Famer, Carlos Alvarez.
(For newer "post-modern" Gators and new visitors to Gator Gridiron, the '69 Gators began the season proclaimed by the "experts" as a preseason last in the SEC and voted into the Bottom 20 poll of that era. The '69 Gators finished the season with a 9-1-1 record, the best in Gator football history to that point. Along the way they shattered the SEC record book for single game and single season passing yardage and TDs (QB John Reaves, #7), single game and single season receiving yardage (WR Carlos Alvarez, #45) and single season rushing TD's and scoring (RB Tommy Durrance, #33) while defeating the pre-season No. 1 team, by the "experts" at Playboy, Houston, the regular season SEC Champion, Tennessee, in addition to handing FSU the worst defeat of the series to that point and routing Miami in the Orange Bowl while smashing dozens of Florida and SEC records for passing (Reaves), receiving (Alvarez) and scoring (Durrance) in the process. Oh, and one other thing....that band of Gators who were held in such contempt by the national "experts" produced an NFL Hall-of-Famer--- DE Jack Youngblood #74, two College Football Hall of Famers---Youngblood and Alvarez; four 1st Team All-Americans---Youngblood & Alvarez, Reaves and DB Steve Tannen #22; and three NFL first round draft choices---Tannen, Youngblood and Reaves....not to mention numerous All-SEC selections).
Anyway....back to 2011......the point is that Gator Gridiron, as previously reported (check the archives) sees many positives for 2011. Unfortunately, the O-line is not one of them. Lack of numbers and depth...lack of experience...no returing players who have excelled in game situations...the O-line has the look of a unit that, worst case scenario, could bring the whole season down. Even the "bright spot" is pretty dim---JR OT Xavier Nixon and SOPH OG Jon Halapio with 7 starts a piece last season and SR OG James Wilson, a full fledged starter last year, do bring some experience; on the other hand, the offensive line was one of the 2010 Gators' weakest areas....and that's saying a lot, because, as we know, their were a lot of weak spots....
Other potential starters (and we say potential, because with the new staff virtually all positions are still up for grabs) are Matt Patchan, an often-injured, former coveted recruit, FR OT Chaz Green and SOPH OG Ian Silberman. As for the second unit, the format for the Spring Orange and Blue game had to be altered because there was no second unit.....a result of attrition and injuries.
There is one bright spot along the offensive line, however.
Soph Jonotthan (not a misprint) Harrison will take over at Center for Mike Pouncey. The scouting report on Harrison is that he is very green and has a lot to learn. The scouting report from Gator Gridiron is, no matter how green and inexperienced, there is no way on God's Green Earth he couldn't do a better job at Center than Mike Pouncey....
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)