Old School Gator Program: A Tribute to Veteran's Day

The Old School Gator Series with Roger Franklin Williams will present a special Tribute to Veteran's Day program on Thursday, November 10 on 540 WFLA:The Gator Nation Station. The program will air from 8pm-9pm immediately following Gator Hotline with Coach Will Muschamp.  Featured guest will be Orlando attorney Tom Tart, Gator Football letterman from the Silver Sixties era and an expert on WW II era history. The program will highlight the service and wartime stories of Gator Football players who served  heroically in WW II, including E Fergie Ferguson, an outstanding 2-way End  from Stuart who suffered fatal wounds in combat during the D-Day invasion, All-SEC RB Walter "Tiger" Mayberry of Daytona Beach, who served as a decorated combat aviator and was shot down and killed in a Japanese POW camp, General James Van Fleet, highly successful coach of the 1920's era who was a highly decorated General during WW II and the Korean Conflict as well as other Gator War Heroes.

RFW Disagrees with Sentinel Columnist Mike Bianchi

Earlier today, the Orlando Sentinel published an article by Sports Columnist Mike Bianchi entitled "Why are Will Muschamp, Charlie Weis playing games with Gators quarterbacks?"  In the article, Bianchi argues that Coaches Muschamp and Weis are being paranoid about the negative repercussions of revealing who the selected QB will be for the LSU game this weekend.

I totally disagree with Bianchi. Coach Muschamp's job isn't to make Bianchi's job easier by revealing information; it is to win football games. If LSU doesn't know who the starter is; so much the better for UF... Jeff Driskel, Jacoby Brissett and Tyler Murphy all have different styles, making it harder to prepare if LSU doesn’t know who's playing. 

Also, Driskel hasn't played well at all in the 3 games in which he has seen action. IMHO, he doesn't look ready.  It is very possible the coaches don't know yet who they are going with.  Also, Charlie Weis was very instrumental in the recruiting of Jacoby and has been very positive towards his abilities and potential in public comments.  

Plus let's not forget that Tyler Murphy outperformed all the other QBs including Brantley, in the Orange and Blue game and has a Redshirt Freshman year of experience under his belt.

Photo: Zimbio.com

Old School Gator Kicks Off Thursday, 9/15 at 8 p.m.

Very excited to announce that the Old School Gator program will air on 540 WFLA, The Gator Nation Station, this Thursday, September 15 at 8:00 p.m., immediately following "Gator Hotline with Coach Will Muschamp."

Tune in for interviews with members of the famed Impossible Dream '69 Gators including College Hall of Fame WR Carlos Alvarez, Super Soph All-American QB John Reaves, Co-Captain Mac Steen.

If you're not in the listening area, listen live at www.540wfla.com.

Here's a recent video clip from an interview with the Alvarez, Reaves and Steen.

Gator Gridiron Responds to Reader About the 2011 UF Football Team

Recently, a reader asked me what my thoughts are regarding the 2011 Gator Football Team. With new staff and a challenging schedule, can Gator fans expect the same excellence they've come to know year after year?

I want to share my response to him with my blog following as well.

I'm optimistic about the 2011 Gators. I hope Brantley does well, but I'm not all that confident.

On other fronts, I'm very confident. I think Muschamp was a good hire, plus he's an accomplished Defensive coach.

Weis was a great hire! He's been successful everywhere he's coached, even in high school. He knows how to mix run and pass; he's a great QB coach; and he brings that "down-the-field passing game" Gator fans crave. Weis also knows how to use talent he has. I predict Burton and Josh Reed TE will be utilized and will have big years. The same goes for DuBose, Omarious Hines, Frankie Hammond, Demps, Rainey, etc.

The Gator's defense is loaded, especially with D-Linemen! Plus Muschamp is a defensive guy.

This season promises a whole new atmosphere, a new fresh start. Meyer was a negative motivator and an extreme grinder. That obviously worked big time, I'm not knocking it or complaining, but he burned himself out and he burned everybody else out. He had a string of really good players in the dog house, like DuBose, who couldn't even get on the field.

Running back is loaded, WR is loaded. Defense is solid, at the least, new, positive, upbeat atmosphere. best OC in football.......this "Old School Gator" predicts 8-9 wins despite brutal schedule.

(Don't tell Coach Muschamp, but I think 6-6 or 7-5 would be a pretty good year.)

Saban Rude to Coach Muschamp's Mother

I particularly enjoyed this recent article from the Palm Beach Post. It was interesting to read about the way in which Nick Saban treated Coach Muschamp's mother a few years ago.

Just counting down the days until we can watch Coach Muschamp run through that tunnel and make his first appearance as the Gator's head ball coach during a regular season game.

Photo Credit: Palm Beach Post

GATOR GRIDIRON OPTIMISTIC ABOUT 2011 GATORS

Roger Franklin Williams
Gator Gridiron

As Gators across the nation eagerly await Saturday's kick-off of the 2011 season at the Swamp against Florida Atlantic, many Gators are wisely keeping expectations for Will Muschamp's first Gator team in check. While Gator Gridiron has a personal ethic of maintaining conservative expectations, we must admit that Gator Gridiron finds much to be optimistic about in terms of the rapidly approaching 2011 season.

We'll state some of those reasons for optimism below:

1. A FRESH START AND POSITIVE, UPBEAT ATMOSPHERE. New Head Coach Muschamp has brought a much needed burst of positive energy to the Florida Football. Obviously, the hard-edged, white knuckle, stomach churning intensity of former Head Gator Urban Meyer brought extraordinary success to Florida Gator Football. Gator Gridiron, as well as all Gators, should forever have a huge spirit of gratitide and respect for what CM achieved; however, that infamous Coach Meyer 24/7/365 grinding intensity eventually took it's toll. In a nutshell, Coach Meyer not only famously burned himself out, he burned out the remnants of the post-Tebow era Gators as well. A new HC with brand  new assistant coaches with  new schemes brings not only a fresh attitude for the players, but also the opportunity for a fresh start for many talented Gators, who for whatever reason, did not fit into the Coach Meyer plan for playing time.

2, ADDAZIO IS GONE. Perhaps the best thing to happen to Florida Gator Football, other than signing Tim Tebow, in, at least, the last 20 years or so, is the departure of the most incompetent "coach" to ever set foot in Gainesville, Steve "Meathead" Addazio. Addazio, as skilled a careerist, resume' builder and apple polisher as has ever lived, parlayed an asset as Urban Meyer's best friend into the role of Assistant Head Coach (even, perish the thought, Interim Head Coach at one point!!!???) AND, most destructively, Offensive Coordinator, a position he used to severely damage the NFL prospects of one Gator QB (Tim Tebow) and virtually destroy the career of another highly touted young QB (John Brantley), not to mention take the famed Florida Gator offense to the bottom tier of the SEC and NCAA. Thankfully, "Meathead" is gone now, to Temple to destroy the winning program that Coach Al Golden has built over the past few years. Without the albatross of Steve Addazio around their neck, the 2011 Gators truly have an opportunity for success, especially on the offensive side of the ball.

3, CHARLIE WEIS. The Coach WM regime not only swept out the worst OC in college football (and possibly college football history), he replaces  him with one of the best offensive minds in the GAME of football----Charlie Weis. Weis has had nothing but success in a long career that has scanned the highest levels of the NFL (multiple Super Bowl rings with multiple teams), college and even high school (Weis bagged a state championship as a high school coach in New Jersey as he was just starting his career). Weis not only brings a lonnnnnggg track record of success to Gainesville, he also brings a balanced, "pro-style" offense that features an aggressive "down-the-field" passing game that compliments the talent in the program and that he has orchestrated to virtual perfection wherever he has been.

JANORIS JENKINS IS GONE

GATOR GRIDIRON
ROGER FRANKLIN WILLIAMS


Less that 72 hours after All-SEC CB Janoris Jenkins second arrest for marijuana possesion in 3 months Coach Will Muschamp weighed in with his response. Janoris Jenkins is no longer a Gator.

On Tuesday Coach Muschamp posted the following statement on twitter; "After meeting with Janoris Jenkins today, we both felt it was in his best interest to move ahead to the next stage of his career. We appreciate Janoris' contributions to the University of Florida during his time here and wish him the best of luck."

Jenkins arrest last Saturday came in the wake of the news that two other Gator football players were arrested for marijuana possession in early 2011 AND a report from Pro Football Weekly that former UF OL Maurice Hurt tested positive for marijuana at the NFL combine this year. If the PFW report is true, that gives the University of Florida an embarassing trifecta---for the last 3 years in a row UF, reportedly, has had a former player test positive for pot at the combine (reportedly Percy Harvin '09, Aaron Hernandez in '10 and Hurt in '11). (With Janoris projected as a possible 1st round pick for 2012, the Gators have a chance to extend this dubious achievement a record 4 years in a row.)

It is regretful that a great player who was a key member of a National Championship and back to back 13 win seasons has to end his career as a Gator in such an ignominous way. Janoris, however, left Coach Muschamp no other choice. Jenkins was arrested in January, just weeks into Muschamp's new regime. By willfully engaging in the same illegal behavior in the same part of town less than 3  months later Jenkins obviously was sending a message that he didn't take his new Head Coach seriously.

Now, we suspect, the other Gators, most of whom CWM inherited from the Urban Meyer/Steve Addazio regime, will take the new HC a little more seriously. If he'll bounce a Senior, All-SEC, potential 1st Round NFL draft choice out of the program for a little pot smoking, what will he do to the next guy who breaks the law?

There is one other significant footnote to this story that is either tragic or hilarious depending on your perspective. As we know, the NFL is currently engaged in negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement. One aspect of the potential new agreement is that the pay scale for rookie draft choices could be significantly reduced, significantly as in millions of dollars. Coupled with the fact that this kind of career "turbulance" is not exactly conducive to raising a players draft stock, the "marijuana cigar" that Janoris so proudly lit up, allegedly, in downtown Gainesville last Saturday could end up costing the youngster from Pahokee several million dollars.

Upon reflection, this difficult decision by the Gators young, new Head Coach just might work out best for all involved---Coach Muschamp and his staff can continue to move forward in building the foundation for the new culture of the Gator program and Janoris is now free to take his bong and blunts to Valdosta St or Bethune Cookman to play a little football while blissfully enjoying his true passion in life.