*The Official SEC FOOTBALL* Season Report

I dont think UF will even have a set back this year i think everyone and there brother will be playing RB now that Meyer will run his offense the way he wants. Watch out for Percy he could be a heisman sleeper if thats even possible.

THE RAIDER NATION​

Matt Stafford and Co. gonna smash the Gators.

Caleb King, Massaquoi, Brown, Lumpkin, & Kenneth Harris are gonna have big years.


SEC Champs !

heNz $ Free IPHONE

Dawgs...... SEC Champs? not with Stafford's dumb @#%$ around.

Word from one of my dudes at UK, is that there are some key players who are academically ineligible right now. Pully one of them, but we'll see how it plays out.

As long as Dre is healthy, why would Pulley matter?

Curtis Pulley is redshirting this season. We'll only miss him on the field goal block unit.

Can someone post the Insider for the SEC?? Preferably Vandy. My account hasn't been activated yet.

Team preview: VanderbiltERS RETURNING 9
DEF. STARTERS RETURNING 8
NICKNAME Commodores
COLORS Black & Gold
HOME FIELD Vanderbilt Stadium (39,773)
HEAD COACH Bobby Johnson (Clemson '73)
RECORD AT SCHOOL 15-43 (5 years)
CAREER RECORD 75-79 (13 years)
ASSISTANTS Robbie Caldwell (Furman '76), Assistant Head Coach/Offensive Line
Ted Cain (Furman '74), Offensive Coordinator/
Bruce Fowler (Furman '81), Defensive Coordinator
Charlie Fisher (Springfield '81), Wide Receivers/Passing Game Co-Coordinator
Jimmy Kiser (Furman '7 ers on defense include several seasoned disruptors in the front seven.

Aw, shucks -- Vanderbilt has revival potential, even if it's swimming in the deepest division in college football.



QUARTERBACKS

He looked a little lost in his first start on the road against a BCS power, and inconsistency plagued his performances against SEC teams. He completed less than 55 percent of his throws, and his touchdown passes barely outnumbered his interceptions. But he had a knack for putting defenses on the backpedal with his scrambling ability, rushing for a team-high nine touchdowns. Inside the SEC
Take an Inside look at the SEC with Blue Ribbon's 2007 team reports :
Alabama Crimson Tide
Arkansas Razorbacks
Auburn Tigers
Florida Gators
Georgia Bulldogs
Kentucky Wildcats
LSU Tigers
Mississippi Rebels
Mississippi State Bulldogs
South Carolina Gamecocks
Tennessee Volunteers
Vanderbilt Commodores
2007 Blue Ribbon Index
Is he Jay Cutler or Chris Nickson (6-2, 210)? Yes.

All of the above applies equally to the 11th pick of the 2006 NFL draft and Vandy's junior signal-caller in their first full seasons as starter. Here's the catch -- overall, Nickson had a far more productive inaugural season than the current Denver Broncos quarterback.

Through the air, Nickson piled up 2,085 yards -- second all-time among Commodore sophomores, trailing you know who. Closer to the earth, the former Pike County (Ala.) star rumbled for 694 yards, a single-season standard for any Commodore quarterback -- even ones born in Santa Claus, Ind.

Cutler was a redshirt freshman when he took the controls, whereas Nickson was a redshirt sophomore. But comparisons between the two can legitimately stop here; this is Nickson's show, and his continued development will determine the Commodores' course in 2007.

"He's become a more consistent player at quarterback," Cain said. "He had some games last year where he was absolutely brilliant and some other games where he wasn't. But he's working on his consistency, and he's done that in spring practice."

Wild swings in output are unsurprising for new guys, and Nickson sure pulled some fine Jekyll and Hydes. A week after an ugly 4-of-15, two-interception showing against South Carolina, Nickson cut up Duke for 400 yards of total offense and five total touchdowns. Nickson hit up Kentucky for 517 total yards; seven days later, at home against Tennessee, he was a measly 10-for-23 for 97 yards and two picks.

Sometimes Nickson's schizophrenia came unmasked in the same game; only five of his 23 passes against Alabama hit the turf. The problem was three of them landed in Crimson hands.

A healthier running game would have sapped some of the pressure from Nickson; leading the team in rushing is OK if you're a pure option guy, but Nickson is not. Nor does Cain believe, for the most part, that the youngster left the pocket too soon when the heat arrived.

"Probably in his high school days, he pulled it down and ran in a hurry," the offensive coordinator said. "But he's maturing. He's going through his drops, he's sticking his foot in the ground and going through his reads."

It seems long, long ago that Nickson was actually involved in a scrap just to commandeer the starting spot. Now that fight has been confined to his understudies, namely sophomore Mackenzi Adams (6-2, 20 er (Nickson) as a sophomore, making Bennett the ultimate go-to guy in VU's passing attack.

Cain never doubted Nickson and Bennett would connect for most of the latter's 82 receptions last fall. "[Nickson] gets Earl in great spots, and Earl has great talent on top of that," the offensive coordinator said.

Cain is charged with the increasingly difficult task of freeing up the muscular junior, which means Bennett may see more screens and reverses in his future.

The best way to create space for Bennett, of course, is having an equal pass-catching threat on the other side of the formation. Junior George Smith (6-3, 195) is first in line after spearing 10 passes for 159 yards over the last three games in '06.

Smith's long road back from a potentially deadly case of spinal transverse myelitis sustained three years ago appears complete. Four of Smith's 30 receptions last year gained 30 or more yards.

"He's made a lot of acrobatic, athletic catches over people in his career," Cain said of Smith.

Vandy's upset of Georgia between the hedges last fall was also an exclamation point for Sean Walker (6-0, 180). The junior hauled in a 35-yard touchdown pass and snared a 6-yarder on fourth down during Vandy's game-winning field-goal drive. For the season, Walker accumulated 16 receptions for 204 yards.

The Commodores' second-best pass catcher from last season, Marlon White, has graduated, presenting new opportunities for junior Bryant Anderson (6-3, 210), sophomore Alex Washington (5-10, 180) or sophomore Justin Wheeler (6-0, 175).

Anderson and Washington each recorded three catches last year, but the former isn't as far from the big time as it seems. Anderson's father, Ray, is the senior vice president of football opera-tions in the NFL office.

The tight end position earned few gold stars last season; junior Brad Allen (6-3, 240) had three receptions, and he's considered the "pass-catching" half of the duo including sophomore Jake Bradford (6-6, 260). If Allen or Bradford fail to impress, look for gangly redshirt freshman Justin Green (6-7, 230) to press for action.

For all of Bennett's accolades, he accounted for only six receiving touchdowns last fall. That's symptomatic of Vanderbilt's red-zone troubles throughout the year. The 'Dores need to stop knocking on the door so often and bull right in; expect a passing game with one more year's experience to do that in 2007.



OFFENSIVE LINE

The Commodores caught a significant break when senior Brian Stamper (6-5, 295) was granted a medical redshirt by the NCAA last January, allowing the 2005 second-team All-SEC pick to return for a fifth year. Stamper carried a 31-game starting streak into the fifth game of last season, but a lingering back injury severely limited his time in the last two of those contests. He finally opted for season-ending surgery, and the NCAA interpreted Stamper's actual playing time to 20 percent of the season, the cutoff for a medical waiver.

"The NCAA finally made a good, commonsense decision that allowed him to come back," Cain said. How did Stamper celebrate? By suffering a stress fracture in his foot on the first day of spring practice. Anticipating the talented right tackle's autumn comeback, Vandy will bring back five seniors who started for large chunks of the 2006 season.

From academic casualty three years ago to team captain, senior left tackle Chris Williams (6-6, 315) has redefined "reclamation project." Williams was a second-team All-SEC pick after cleaning up Chris Nickson's blindside with ruthless efficiency.

"He's poised for an outstanding senior year," Cain said.

Senior Hamilton Holliday (6-3, 290) decently handled his first full season at center; he primarily played guard in his previous two seasons.

Flanking Holliday at the guards are seniors Merritt Kirchhoffer (6-5, 315) and Josh Eames (6-5, 310). In Cain's estimation, Kirchhoffer "runs like the wind" (relative for a lineman, to be sure) but he couldn't outrun the graduated Mac Pyle for the starting right guard spot in Vandy's last four games. Kirchhoffer fought through injury issues to start at right tackle in the season finale against Tennessee.

Eames too shuttled between guard and tackle out of necessity last fall, but he's poised to anchor the left guard spot this time around. A knee injury at Georgia limited his effectiveness in the season's second half.

Sophomore Thomas Welch (6-6, 280) has inspired a tiny wellspring of excitement among the coaches after moving from tight end to tackle last fall. A native of the Nashville suburb of Brentwood, Welch has unique range of motion that only improved while subbing for Stamper last spring.

Sophomore Ryan Custer (6-4, 295), a three-time starter in '06, experimented on the defensive side in the spring before being locked back into the O-line guard rotation. Another sophomore, Bradley Vierling (6-3, 290), is a nasty cuss who backs up Holliday at center.

"Vierling is a rough-and-tumble guy," Cain said. "He gets after you."

Other cogs in an otherwise clearly-defined two-deep include sophomore tackle Eric Hensley (6-6, 305) and sophomore guard Drew Gardner (6-5, 300).

Senior Elliot Hood, a projected tackle, decided to graduate with his class and forego a final season of eligibility. Vanderbilt has been piecing this dream scenario for four years -- a senior-dominated offensive line with multidimensional experience. Injuries -- and this unit has had a history of them -- are the only hurdles to an exceptional season in the trenches for the Commodores.



KICKERS

Nine months after knee surgery, junior Bryant Hahnfeldt (5-11, 180) gamely resumed placekicking duties last fall. The results -- 8-of-17 through the uprights, including just four of 12 between 30 and 50 yards -- left the Nashville native singing the blues.

However, there isn't any experienced competition in camp; redshirt freshman John Laughrey (6-0, 180) and sophomore Thomas Carroll (5-9, 165) are both walk-ons.

Hahnfeldt, a former All-SEC Freshman selection, has displayed better range in the past. The Commodores figure to walk the tightrope in a lot of games this year, so Hahnfeldt's return to form would be most welcome.



DEFENSIVE LINE

For as many defenders as Vandy has graduated into the NFL recently -- Jamie Duncan, Jamie Winborn, Hunter Hillenmeyer, Corey Chavous and Jimmy Williams, to name a few -- the defensive line has never pulled its weight.

Name the last great Commodore defensive lineman. Jovan Haye? James Manley? Alan Young? Vandy grad Dennis Harrison, the ferocious ex-Philadelphia Eagle who was picked in the fourth round of the 1978 draft, would steal that trio's milk money.

No sane observer would put any of the current crop in Harrison's class, let alone project them as pros. But there are whiffs of big-play capability emanating from the trench this season.

The Commodores nearly doubled their sack output (25 in '06, 14 in '05) thanks in part to interior heat from Theo Horrocks (6-3, 295) and edge pressure from Curtis Gatewood (6-3, 245).

A senior who arrived four years ago as a smallish defensive end from Fayetteville, Tenn., Horrocks has bulked up both his body and the VU line. He posted five sacks, four forced fumbles and made 31 solo tackles last year, all top numbers for a Commodore interior lineman.

A converted linebacker who likewise added mass to run around at end, the senior Gatewood's seven sacks ranked eighth in the SEC last fall. He and Horrocks each totaled 49 tackles; naturally, the duo split the team's defensive line MVP award.

Determining Horrocks' tag-team partner inside is one of the intriguing position battles of this fall. Senior Gabe Hall (6-1, 28 s and 141 solo tackles to date, Goff evaluated his status for the draft and found it lacking. So, to the relief of VU backers nationwide, he decided to return for his senior season. Immediately, Goff becomes the de facto leader of not only the linebacker unit but the defense at large.

"Jon had a tremendous year again last year,"

Fowler said. "We're very excited about him being a leader for us."

Flanking Goff on the strong side is senior Marcus Buggs (5-11, 235), the team's top tackle-for-loss artisan (10.5) last year. A former safety whose cousin, Waymon, starred as a receiver at Vandy in the '80s, Buggs has the best instincts for pass coverage among the linebackers.

The 'Dores graduated weak-side starter Kevin Joyce, opening a slot for sophomores Brandon Bryant (6-1, 230) or Patrick Benoist (6-0, 215). Both played in reserve and special-teams roles last year; Bryant registered two forced fumbles and 18 tackles while Benoist posted 14 tackles before a foot injury swaddled him in street clothes for the final four games. A spectacular spring may have given Bryant an edge heading for the fall.

"Bryant is explosive and fast," Fowler said. "He can make a lot of things happen."

Benoist is a leading candidate to back up Goff in the middle. Freshman Nate Campbell (6-3, 22 ing a healthy trio of Goff, Buggs and Joyce throughout the 2006 season. This year, it's more imperative that Goff and Buggs play every Saturday. Although Bryant, Benoist and Campbell are promising prospects, none of them has the merit badges earned by the two seniors.



DEFENSIVE BACKS

Version 1.0 of the 2006 Vanderbilt pass defense highlights the fact that the Commodores shaved more than 25 yards per game allowed from two seasons ago while starting two first-year players at cornerback.

Version 2.0 of the same unit points a finger at a 60-percent completion rate (highest in the SEC) by opposing quarterbacks. Even Arkansas -- land of Heisman-caliber tailbacks Darren McFadden and Felix Jones -- went up top for all three of its touchdowns against VU last fall.

Which version of the truth wins out this season? That depends on which combination of the six returning cornerbacks who saw extensive action in '06 brings the thickest blankets to fall camp.

The aforementioned first-year starters, sophomores D.J. Moore (5-10, 175) and Joel Caldwell (6-1, 185), were a little toasted around the edges after debuting against Alabama in the second game of 2006.

Moore, who posted 37 tackles and recovered three fumbles as a true freshman, can get manhandled by bigger receivers.

"He got thrown in the fire last year and did a pretty good job," Fowler said of Moore. "He'll do much better, just because he got a lot of action."

After scoring 42 stops but nary an interception last fall, Caldwell got a long look at safety in the spring. If that change holds, another sophomore, Myron Lewis (6-2, 195) could hunker down opposite Moore. Lewis played sparingly (four tackles in 10 appearances) while switching from safety to corner last fall, but he showed outstanding progress in the spring.

Sophomore Darlron Spead (5-10, 185), who was hampered by a knee injury, nevertheless provided at least seven cents' worth of help at nickel back, securing three interceptions and breaking up five other passes.

Former starters Josh Allen (5-9, 182) and Jared Fagan (5-10, 180), both juniors with average cover skills, will factor into any corner discussion.

"It obviously means more experience, but it also means we have some good depth there," Fowler said. "We've got a lot of competition back there."

At corner, Vandy possesses decent depth without clear-cut starters. The opposite is true at safety, where skull-crushing junior Reshard Langford (6-2, 215) and sophomore Ryan Hamilton (6-1, 205) roost.

With 23 consecutive starts, an All-SEC Freshman certificate and 51 tackles last fall (third-most on the squad), Langford's credentials are impeccable.

Teammates relish his bruising style and leadership.

In his first season of action, Hamilton flew solo on 36 of his 43 tackles.

At strong safety, Langford makes more plays on the airborne ball than Hamilton, but both bring heavy timber to the Commodores' run support. The insurance policy for that duo is not fully paid. Sophomore Brent Trice (6-2, 205) played nibbles of all 12 games last year, accumulating eight tackles behind Langford.

Roger Herndon (5-11, 200), a sophomore walk-on from nearby Greenbrier, Tenn., is still learning the position. No wonder Caldwell shifted downfield during the spring.

Vanderbilt's callow secondary held it together until the last two games of '06, when Kentucky and Tennessee victimized the unit for a combined 716 passing yards. If the corners catch on and Langford and Hamilton stay upright, the Commodores should be better along the last line of defense.

"Obviously we're still pretty young back there," Fowler said. "In our league, that's a critical thing."



PUNTERS

Sophomore Brett Upson (5-10, 175) averaged 37.4 yards on 52 punts in 2006; a net of 33.5 yards per boot was nothing to brag about. Upson was boomer sooner; he averaged 40 yards a launch in the season's first three games but never better than that through an entire game during the second half of '06.

Hahnfeldt, who punted two years ago before injuring a knee, is Upson's primary challenger.



SPECIAL TEAMS

Christening linebackers coach Warren Belin as special teams coordinator before the 2006 season didn't reap massive dividends in the return game. In fact, Vanderbilt's punt- and kick-return units each ranked among the lowest tenth of Football Bowl Subdivision schools.

While netting 19.6 yards per kickoff return and a scant 5.6 yards per punt return last fall, Alex Washington simultaneously battled a fumble syndrome.

That opens the gates for challengers like Josh Allen -- who fielded 12 kickoffs in '06 -- Sean Walker and D.J. Moore. Earl Bennett may still get a look as a returner, but he is too valuable offensively to risk in special teams.

On the other hand, Vandy wasn't burned for a return touchdown against its coverage units, a nettlesome issue in seasons past. Punter Brett Upson's superior hang time helped Vandy rank 17th in the NCAA in punt coverage.



BLUE RIBBON ANALYSIS

Raise your hand if you're an SEC East team that didn't go to a bowl game last season -- or any season since 1982.
Grading the Commodores
Unit Grade
Offense B-
Special teams D
Defense B
Intangibles A-

That's Vanderbilt's gruesome distinction, a hex that will continue into 2007 if the Commodores don't play above their pay grade.

Opening with four straight home games certainly bodes well, though two three-game stretches will likely determine Vandy's fate. First, there's the October barn dance featuring road trips to Auburn and South Carolina wrapped around a home date against Georgia.

Then, just before the Thanksgiving turkey is slain, VU heads to Florida, hosts Kentucky and drives to Tennessee. One victory in each of these gantlets will allow the Commodores to play in December; the nonconference schedule, outside of Wake Forest, is that soft.

On the other hand, one injury to Bennett or Nickson, and Vanderbilt's postseason desert eats up another year of savanna. Nickson might actually be the more valuable; his scrambling acumen makes up for a scattershot arm, whereas Bennett is totally reliant on his quarterback's aim.

The Commodores are starting to gain ground on the rest of the SEC in terms of athleticism. Execution in critical situations, however, has persistently been a stumbling block. This fall, Vandy might put the two together -- or simply raise its hand again in a class full of bullies.


For the most comprehensive previews available on all 119 Division I teams, order the "Bible" of college football, the 2007 Blue Ribbon College Football Yearbook, at www.blueribbonyearbook.com or call 1-866-805-BALL (2255).

Predicted order of finish

EastSouth Carolina
Kentucky
Vandy

West

LSU
Arkansas
Auburn
Alabama
Miss St.
Ole Miss

Sec conference Champion:

LSU over Florida in Title game

SEC Offensive Player of the Yr:

Darren McFadden, RB, Arkansas

SEC Defensive Player of the Yr:Jasper Brinkley, OLB, SC (only in my dreams)

Biggest Busts:Tigers

R.I.P. BCfuture 5/03 - 5/07 4 Years to kill me and 2 Weeks to bring me back​

i see florida in the east and lsu in the west

---

BCFuture ? waddup Mayne, good to see u back in SEC threads...

good lookin on that insider..

that boy earl bennett is nice! he was giving the gators the business last year..

And my boy Arian Foster gone get off this year.. (619)

Tighten Up

I'll paste every SEC team joint in a second ....

Team preview: TennesseeERS RETURNING 7
DEF. STARTERS RETURNING 5
NICKNAME Volunteers
COLORS Orange & White
HOME FIELD Neyland Stadium (104,079)
HEAD COACH Phillip Fulmer (Tennessee '72)
RECORD AT SCHOOL 137-41 (15 years)
CAREER RECORD 137-41 (15 years)
ASSISTANTS John Chavis (Tennessee '79), Associate Head Coach/Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers
David Cutcliffe (Alabama '76), Assistant Head Coach/Offensive Coordinator/
Trooper Taylor (Baylor '92), Assistant Head Coach/Player Development/Wide Receivers
Greg Adkins (Marshall '90), Offensive Line
Dan Brooks (Western Carolina '76), Defensive Line
Steve Caldwell (Arkansas State '77), Defensive Ends/Special Teams
Matt Luke (Ole Miss '00), Tight Ends/Recruiting Coordinator/Offensive Line
Kurt Roper (Rice '95), Running Backs
Larry Slade (Shepard '73), Defensive Backs
TEAM WINS (Last five yrs.) 8-10-10-5-9
FINAL RANK (Last five yrs.) 29-15-14-56-24
2006 FINISH Lost to Penn State in Outback Bowl.
2007 Schedule | 2006 Results | 2006 Stats

COACH AND PROGRAM

Tennessee fans concerned whether the Vols' 5-6 meltdown in 2005 was merely an aberration or the harbinger of a downturn in the program might be breathing easier these days. Well, maybe a bit easier.

Tennessee regrouped in 2006 by winning nine games, but no one, least of all head coach Phillip Fulmer, is content to rest on that accomplishment, especially after -- once again -- a bowl game ended the year on a sour note. Penn State manhandled Tennessee in the Outback Bowl, the Vols' fifth loss in their seven postseason appearances since winning the national championship in the 1999 Fiesta Bowl.

After the Vols were out-muscled by the Nittany Lions, Fulmer vowed they would get tougher. He knows only too well that if his team is going to pass unscathed through the gauntlet of the Southeastern Conference regular season, survive the league's championship game and still have enough gas left to beat a rugged opponent in a significant bowl game, mental and physical toughness, the ability to play though pain and developing team chemistry are matters of paramount importance.

Fulmer and his staff put the Vols through a physical spring practice to identify those players willing to do whatever it takes to get Tennessee football back to the point it can contend for a national championship. "We had a very physical, demanding spring," Fulmer said in his post-spring practice state of the union address, "and to the team's credit, we showed the toughness to try and go out and improve as a football team. I think we did that."

The Tennessee coaches even tossed in a new wrinkle or two in the spring. David Cutcliffe, who so skillfully resurrected the offense after returning as coordinator in 2006, introduced a no-huddle offense that the players immediately embraced. The hope is that the Vols will be able to maintain an element of surprise their opponents will be unable to counter unless they want to burn a timeout.

"It gives you an advantage," said assistant head coach Trooper Taylor, who also oversees the Vols' receivers, "in that it locks defenses into certain coverages and certain looks. We like it a bunch. We're comfortable with it. I don't see us going back."

Once again, Tennessee shouldn't have problems scoring. And if a defensive tackle or two can step forward and some key recruits fill holes in the secondary, coordinator John Chavis' defense should be stingier than it was last season.

"I think we have a chance to have a good football team," Fulmer said. "How good depends on them -- their attitude, work ethic, how well they prepare and how much our leadership continues to grow. But I think it will be a fun team to coach."



QUARTERBACKS

In the spring, the big newsmaker at this position was Erik Ainge's right knee. Inside the SEC
Take an Inside look at the SEC with Blue Ribbon's 2007 team reports :
Alabama Crimson Tide
Arkansas Razorbacks
Auburn Tigers
Florida Gators
Georgia Bulldogs
Kentucky Wildcats
LSU Tigers
Mississippi Rebels
Mississippi State Bulldogs
South Carolina Gamecocks
Tennessee Volunteers
Vanderbilt Commodores
2007 Blue Ribbon Index
Ainge (6-6, 220) knew something was wrong when he experienced swelling during the first week of spring practice and all the usual remedies -- anti-inflammatory medication, ice, compression -- didn't faze it. The senior eventually underwent an MRI, which revealed he had a partially torn meniscus. Doctors weren't sure whether the injury resulted from a specific incident -- though Ainge did recall his knee popping and subsequently swelling during a stretching exercise -- and theorized it may have occurred all the way back in high school.

Ainge underwent surgery on March 19. His doctors had originally hoped to repair the meniscus but eventually decided to remove it. That made for a shorter recovery time, and Ainge resumed working out in May.

The injury should go down as just a minor irritant for Ainge. But when he was forced to miss the last two weeks of the spring, the considerable progress he'd made was derailed. "[Before Ainge went down] I thought he was just leaps and bounds ahead of where he was when we finished the [Outback Bowl]," Cutcliffe said.

If that's true, and if Ainge's knee doesn't hold him back, he's in for a hellacious senior season. Under Cutcliffe's intense tutelage in 2006, Ainge shook off the ill effects of a shaky sophomore season and became one of the top quarterbacks in the SEC and the country.

Immediately after returning to the Tennessee staff in November 2005, Cutcliffe went to work deprogramming Ainge and building him back, piece by piece. No facet of the position went uncovered, from mental preparation to throwing mechanics to footwork. Having been advised by no less an expert than Peyton Manning to listen to everything Cutcliffe told him, Ainge proved to be an apt pupil.

He quickly demonstrated as much. In the Vols' season opener against Cal, Ainge carved up the Bears for a then- career-high 291 yards and four touchdowns on 11-of-18 passing. Ainge earned national player-of-the-week honors from The Sporting News and USA Today and he was on his way to a brilliant season, eventually completing an impressive 67 percent of his passes (233-of-34 for 2,989 yards and 19 touchdowns despite missing one game and most of another with an ankle injury.

Ainge finished second in the SEC and 14th in the nation in passing (249.0 , third in the league and 14th in the country in passing efficiency (151.95) and third in the conference and 23rd in the country in total offense (240.5 ed the next game, against LSU, but left in the second quarter and Crompton went the rest of the way. A week later, with Ainge still ailing, Crompton started and played the entire game against Arkansas.

The Vols lost both games, but the youngster held his own, completing 11-of-24 passes for 183 yards and a couple of touchdowns to Robert Meachem against LSU and passing for 174 yards and a pair of scores against the Razorbacks. For the season, Crompton completed 31-of-66 passes for 401 yards and four touchdowns.

Crompton's 2-yard pass to Lucas Taylor provided the winning points for the White team in a 16-13 spring game victory.

Nick Stephens (6-4, 215), a redshirt freshman from Texas, was given an opportunity to showcase his skills in the spring. He completed 14-of-29 passes for 127 yards in the spring game but was intercepted twice and didn't throw a touchdown pass.



RUNNING BACKS

Heading in to last season, Tennessee seemed to have this position covered. But despite having three quality backs at their disposal, the Vols' running game sputtered, accounting for just 108 yards per game. That meager output was 10th in the SEC, 96th in the nation and the lowest at Tennessee since 1964.

Inconsistency, fueled by a smorgasbord of factors including injuries and off-the-field issues, was the problem.

Exhibit A: Junior Arian Foster (6-1, 215), whose memorable freshman season didn't carry over into 2006. Was an ankle sprain Foster suffered in the Vols' second game the culprit? It didn't help. After running for a team-high 69 yards in the opener against Cal, Foster went down against Air Force and missed two games.

Foster came back with three touchdowns and 64 yards against Georgia, but he finished the season with just 322 yards.

Compare those numbers to Foster's freshman year, when he became the first Tennessee rookie to start at tailback since Jamal Lewis in 1997 and the first Vol to rush for 100 yards in each of his first five starts since Chuck Webb (1989). Foster finished with 879 yards and despite nursing knee and shoulder injuries, carried the ball nearly 30 times a game.

Foster never had a chance to be that much of a workhorse last season. By the time his ankle healed, his place in the starting lineup had been taken by sophomore LaMarcus Coker (5-11, 195) who quickly established himself as a big play threat, virtually any time he touched the ball. The first pass he ever caught went for 48 yards and a touchdown against Florida. In the Marshall game, Coker scored on an 89-yard run, the third longest in school history and the longest by an SEC player in 2006. Coker became the first player in school history to run for more than 80 yards twice when he bolted for an 87-yard TD against Vanderbilt.

Coker even bagged Tennessee's longest kickoff return of the season, a 40-yarder. But it was a kickoff return that ultimately derailed him. Coker was injured against Alabama and missed two games.

Are you starting to see a pattern here? Foster and Coker had off-the-field issues in common, too -- Foster was arrested after a November nightclub skirmish and Coker was banished from bowl practice for a week after running afoul of Fulmer. In the spring, both players vowed to steer clear of such distractions. "There's a consequence for everything," Coker told the press. "... You've just got to make good decisions." Spoken like a man who's run a few stadium steps.

Lest anyone forget Montario Hardesty, before he injured his knee as a freshman in 2005, he was running ahead of Foster, which speaks volumes about his ability. Hardesty (6-0, 205), a sophomore, was still trying to regain some of his former explosiveness in 2006, but there were signs. He dashed 43 yards for a score against Cal, and became the first Tennessee player since Travis Stephens to run for a TD in four straight games.

Hardesty underwent an arthroscopic knee procedure in early January, but moved around fairly well in the spring. He's got his act together off the field, as his membership in the Vols' "40-Plus" club for earning 40 credit hours during the academic year would attest.

Tennessee's tailback triumvirate accounted for 1,402 yards last season, led by Coker's 696. It's reasonable to suggest that, if injuries don't continue to plague them and distractions unrelated to football aren't a factor, Foster, Coker and Hardesty can significantly improve their output in '07.



WIDE RECEIVERS/TIGHT ENDS

No unit on this team was harder hit by personnel loss than Trooper Taylor's receiving corps, which bids farewell to All-American Robert Meachem (71 catches, 1,298 yards, 11 touchdowns), who gave up his final year of eligibility for the NFL, and seniors Jayson Swain (49-688-6) and Bret Smith (39-453-5). But Taylor, ever confident, promises no drop-off in production with a refurbished unit that will most assuredly rely heavily on newcomers.

Taylor went into the spring looking for playmakers, and he found three of them. Actually, junior Lucas Taylor (6-0, 185) had already demonstrated his ability to be a quick-strike guy. Last season the former high school quarterback caught 14 passes for 101 yards and threw a 48-yard touchdown pass to LaMarcus Coker in the Florida game.

"He's a guy who can line up a lot of different ways," Trooper Taylor said of the man who once rushed for 539 yards and six TDs in a single high school game. "He's a water bug who can take hits; instead of five yards, he can get you 15. He can run reverses, and he can throw it. He's a kid you want to get around the football because he's going to make something special happen."

Another potential game-breaker is sophomore Quintin Hancock (6-3, 200), who can use his size and strength to break tackles and add on yards after the catch. He caught just two balls a year ago, but they went for 29 yards, a 14.5-yards-per-catch average that was second on the team.

"He's a big-play guy," Taylor said. "He can break a tackle and stretch the defense by going over the top vertically and making a play."

The only knock on Hancock had been his lack of consistent effort. "Being so young, he wasn't sure if he knew he was going hard or not [in the spring]," Taylor said. "I let him know when he wasn't."

During the spring, Taylor wanted to make sure sophomore Austin Rogers (6-2, 185), a talented athlete, had the toughness and focus on football that's required to be an SEC player.

"So I was extra tough on him," Taylor said. "Probably to the point where most kids would have folded the tent. There were some days where he gave me a 'I want to choke him' look, but after going through spring with Austin, I'm confident he's tough enough and focused enough."

Rogers suffered through an illness- and injury-plagued 2006 season, playing just three games after suffering a shoulder injury and then contracting mononucleosis. But he showed in a start against Air Force (five catches, 69 yards) he could put his 4.4 speed to good use.

Tennessee stocked up heavily on receivers in a recruiting class that was generally regarded among the top three in the nation. That lofty ranking was earned in large part because of what Taylor calls the "Fab Five," a quintet of coveted pass catchers. We'll mention two of them here.

Kenny O'Neal (6-0, 195), a junior from City College of San Francisco, was rated the No. 3 junior college player and the No. 1 JC receiver in 2006 after piling up 1,200 yards and 11 touchdowns on 60 catches. He's got previous big-time experience, having appeared in 11 games and starting two for Florida State in 2005. That season he caught a 75-yard pass against Syracuse, the Seminoles' longest play from scrimmage.

O'Neal is a blazer (4.2 40) who was a 100-meter sprint champion in high school.

Brent Vinson (6-2, 190), a freshman out of Hargrave (Va.) Military School, was rated the No. 2 prep school player in last year's class and a five-star prospect. Originally from Phoebus High School in Hampton, Va., he signed with Tennessee in 2006 but went to Hargrave to get his academics in order. Vinson is a multi-purpose threat who can strike in a lot of ways. As a senior at Phoebus in 2005, he accounted for 1,200 receiving yards, 400 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns. He scored four times on punt returns and two more on interception returns.

Tennessee is set at tight end, so much so that Cutcliffe dropped the fullback position in favor of an H-back, or two tight-end sets. Senior Chris Brown (6-3, 250) is the Vols' leading returning receiver, having caught 31 passes a year ago, 11 more than in his two previous seasons. His 239 yards were also a personal best. Brown caught seven of those passes, including one for 53 yards, against Penn State in the Outback Bowl.

Humongous senior Brad Cottam (6-8, 270) also stepped up his productivity last season, catching 14 passes for 182 yards after not making a single catch the year before. He had three-catch games against Alabama and Vanderbilt. In April, Cottam underwent surgery to repair a sports hernia, but he was expected back well before fall practice.

Sophomore Jeff Cottam (6-8, 260), Brad's younger brother, gives Tennessee as deep a tight end corps as there is in the SEC. Though the younger Cottam needs to improve his hands, he was nevertheless Tennessee's most improved tight end in the spring.



OFFENSIVE LINE

Offensive linemen at Tennessee have it tougher than they might at some other schools. That's because their head coach is an old offensive lineman, a guy uniquely qualified to critique their efforts. And when Phillip Fulmer sees something he doesn't like, he demands improvement.

Such was the case this spring, when Fulmer -- how shall we put this nicely -- called for a higher degree of physicality and toughness from his players. That's why Fulmer had offensive line coach Greg Adkins put his charges through a rigorous spring, some say the toughest in Fulmer's tenure. There was a lot of after-hours work; long after their teammates had hit the showers, the offensive linemen were still on the field, running through drill after drill.

The results were generally favorable, though injuries prevented the Tennessee coaches from seeing their best possible unit on the field.

The veteran of a fairly young unit was one of those missing in action during the spring. Senior Eric Young (6-4, 305) underwent arthroscopic shoulder surgery in January and didn't take part in any contact work. But his status won't change if sophomore Chris Scott (6-5, 305) continues to emerge. Scott was utilized at all five positions during the spring, but he ended up being penciled in as the starter at left tackle. If he lays permanent claim to the job, Young will stay at right tackle, where he started all 13 games a year ago.

Young helped anchor a unit that allowed just 19 sacks last season, third fewest in the SEC. He's dependable and sharp -- the psychology major received the 2006 Volunteer Achiever Award for mastery of a difficult major.

Like Young, sophomore center Josh McNeil (6-4, 280) also went under the knife in January (left knee), and worse, he injured an ankle during the spring. He also incurred Fulmer's wrath for an off-the-field incident and was suspended for five practices.

A year ago, McNeil was inserted into the lineup in the Memphis game and ended up making nine starts. McNeil was a unanimous pick to the coaches' All-SEC Freshman team.

Yet another surgically repaired offensive lineman, junior guard Anthony Parker (6-3, 305), missed half of spring practice, but that wasn't critical; his coaches already know what he can do. Parker started 12 times last year but was knocked out of the Outback Bowl after suffering a knee injury against Kentucky.

The other guard spot was claimed by junior Ramon Foster (6-6, 325), who impressed the coaching staff enough to be chosen the Vols' most improved offensive player in the spring.

Sophomore Jacques McClendon (6-3, 330) played in 12 games last season as a true freshman and eventually became the unit's sixth man. McClendon started the Outback Bowl, but he begins the fall as a reserve.

Three other players will also provide backup help -- senior Michael Frogg (6-4, 290), a former walk-on who started four times last year; redshirt freshman Ramone Johnson (6-5, 310) and sophomore Vladimir Richard (6-4, 297), who is making the transition from defense.



KICKERS

Junior Britton Colquitt (6-3, 205), the current torchbearer of a proud family punting tradition at Tennessee, will add another task to his workload this season, and all indications are he's more than capable of handling the dual role. He'll have to; the graduation of four-year starting kicker James Wilhoit leaves a huge void.

Colquitt looked solid all spring in fending off the challenges of freshman Daniel Lincoln (6-0, 204) and proved in the spring game he's got range, kicking a 43-yard field goal for the White team and a 52-yarder for the Orange.

Wilhoit, a first-team All-SEC pick last season, finished his career second on Tennessee's all-time scoring list (325 points) and seventh in SEC history. He went out in style, kicking 18-of-22 field goals and 42-of-43 extra points for a league-leading 96 points.



DEFENSIVE LINE

While serving the last year of a two-year Mormon mission in 2005, J.T. Mapu helped residents of Hurricane Katrina-ravaged Texas and Louisiana dig out from the devastation. "We'd just show up with a tractor and chainsaws and just start going at it," Mapu recalled last summer after returning to Knoxville.

Turns out Mapu's mission experience prepared him well for another reclamation project, this one on Tennessee's defensive front. Traditionally, the line has been an anchor of coordinator John Chavis' consistently solid defense, but the Vols entered spring training so desperate for tackles there was talk about switching to a 3-4 alignment.

Attrition -- including a devastating season-ending injury to future first-round NFL draft pick Justin Harrell in 2006 -- has left some gaping holes on the line the last couple of years, and Mapu (6-4, 290) might be the guy to fill one of them. He won't be able to use a tractor to get the job done, but he's become almost as big as one -- a good two inches taller and 15 pounds heavier than when he left.

Chavis and line coach Dan Brooks hope Mapu's added heft and a 2006 season that allowed him to shake off the rust buildup from his two-year hiatus will help the Vols shore up a major problem area. A year ago Tennessee finished an uncharacteristic eighth in the SEC and 72nd in the nation in rushing defense. If Mapu can improve upon his sophomore season, during which he accounted for two sacks and 4.5 tackles for loss among his 26 stops, Tennessee might get stingier against the run, a key Chavis alluded to during his post-spring assessment of the defense.

Asked about the Vols' pass rush, Chavis turned the question around.

"In this league, you don't need to rush the passer if you can't stop the run," Chavis said. "Everyone looks at the SEC and says it's a throwing league. But if you don't stop the run, you're not going to face near as many passing attempts."

That's where Mapu comes in.

"The biggest thing for us is to get J.T. back to where he was before he left," Brooks said. "As a sophomore, he was a really good football player. When he came back last fall [after not being allowed to do any intense training for two years], what we got out of him [eight tackles in 13 games] was a miracle.

"Even though he was hurt [hamstring] at the start of spring practice, he got a lot done. We feel good about where he is. We're counting on him heavily."

When last Vol fans saw junior Demonte Bolden (6-6, 290), he was being carted off the field in a stretcher after getting his bell rung in the spring game. But that was just a precaution. Bolden, the former Parade All-American, is healthy and ready to take his game to the next level this fall.

"Demonte's got the height and the physical tools you need," Brooks said. "We're counting on him to be a guy that's a major contributor."

Last season Bolden contributed a sack and four tackles for loss among his 22 stops.

Sophomore Dan Williams (6-3, 310) is a massive presence who made considerable progress during the spring and will battle Bolden for the tackle spot opposite Mapu.

An X-factor on the defensive front is junior Walter Fisher (6-3, 265), who missed four games last season after injuring one shoulder, then injured the other one and was limited in the spring. Fisher was considered the No. 2 junior college player in 2005 and was expected to be an instant success, but his progress was hampered by injury and he wound up with just eight tackles.

"He's got the tools you look for," Brooks said. "He's a guy we'd like to count on in our rotation because we know, maturity wise and physically, he can do the job."

Tennessee's pass rush was as substandard as its rushing defense in 2006. The Vols came up with just 17 sacks, fewer than half as many as they had averaged (36.2) since 1995, the year Chavis took over as coordinator. That meager total was 10th in the SEC and 105th in the country. Tennessee's previous low sack total in the Fulmer regime was 28.

The play of seniors Xavier Mitchell (6-2, 255) and Antonio Reynolds (6-3, 270) in the spring gave Chavis confidence the Vols can heap a little more heat on opposing quarterbacks this season.

"We feel somewhat better about our pass rush," Chavis said after spring practice concluded. "You are always looking for that great speed rusher. I think Xavier Mitchell is close to being that. ... I think with the way Reynolds and Mitchell are playing right now -- and they are playing with great speed and great effort -- that gives you the kind of pass rush you need."

Last season, Mitchell turned in one of Tennessee's best defensive plays in the Vols' second game, against Air Force. His tackle of running back Chad Hall thwarted a two-point conversion attempt that would have given the Falcons a 32-31 lead with 1:35 to play. Who knows what a home-field loss to a non-BCS team would have done to the fragile psyche of a team trying to rebound from 2005's 5-6 disaster?

Mitchell led the Vols with 13 quarterback hurries and was second with four sacks. His personal best of eight tackles came in his first career start, against Florida.

Reynolds, who started 11 times a year ago, came up with 37 tackles, including 4.5 for loss and a sack. He missed time with a neck injury late in the season but returned to make a career-high six tackles against Penn State in the Outback Bowl.

Senior Robert Ayers (6-3, 260) started the last two games of last season and finished with 25 total tackles and three for loss. He missed spring practice after undergoing shoulder surgery in the offseason.

Wes Brown (6-4, 256), a sophomore, played in all 13 games a year ago and recorded 13 tackles, two of them for loss.



LINEBACKERS

As usual, Chavis' linebacker corps will have a major role in any success the defense has this season, especially if junior Jerod Mayo (6-2, 230) can get his knee healthy. He was injured against Vanderbilt and missed nearly all that game and the Outback Bowl. The injury also hobbled Mayo in the spring.

When he's good to go, Mayo is a tackling machine. A year ago he earned second-team All-America honors from Rivals after finishing with 83 tackles, including 12.5 for loss, seventh in the SEC, and five sacks. Twice, Mayo earned SEC defensive-player-of-the-week honors, the first time against California, when he plowed through the Bears for three sacks, and again after he made 12 tackles against Alabama. Mayo won the Walter Camp national defensive player of the week award for his play against Cal.

Like Mayo, senior Ryan Karl (6-0, 225) had a breakout season in 2006. After making just 19 tackles in his first two seasons, he came up with 66 a year ago.

Sophomore Rico McCoy (6-1, 215) made an impressive debut, earning freshman All-American honors from CollegeFootballNews.com and getting chosen to the coaches' Freshman All-SEC team. McCoy started in the Outback Bowl and will continue that role this season. As a rookie he came up with 38 stops, including three for loss.

A couple of juniors will press the starters for playing time. Ellix Wilson (5-10, 225), the brother of former Tennessee receiver Cedric Wilson, played in 13 games last season and made 13 tack-les, a career-high five of those coming against LSU.

Adam Myers-White (6-2, 215), a 2006 Academic All-SEC pick who did most of his damage on special teams last year, gave Karl some serious competition in the spring.

Tennessee signed two killer linebackers in its highly regarded 2007 recruiting class, and either or both could find his way onto the field this season. A puzzling streak of losing their home state's top-ranked high school player ended for the Vols when Chris Donald (6-2, 225) of Huntingdon (Tenn.) High School put his name on scholarship papers. Donald wasn't just the top prep player in Tennessee; many regarded him as the best linebacker in the country, and he was honored accordingly, earning Parade and USA Today All-USA honors.

Chris Walker (6-3, 220), an all-state player and four-star prospect from Christian Brothers High School in Bartlett, Tennessee, had a hand in Donald's recruitment, calling him from time to time. The two talked of playing together in Knoxville, a thought that surely brings a smile to Chavis' face. Like Donald, Walker is a headhunter. In his last two years of high school, he accounted for 168 tackles, 19 for loss and seven sacks.



DEFENSIVE BACKS

Tennessee got more than its scholarship's worth out of senior Jonathan Hefney (5-9, 185) in 2006. The do-it-all DB was ridden hard and put up wet after a season in which he finished second on the team (and first among SEC defensive backs) in tackles (96), snared a team-high five interceptions and returned 17 punts for 206 yards.

Turns out that may have just been a warm-up for Hefney, the only returning starter in the secondary. Regardless of whether he plays free safety, as he did last season, returns to cornerback, where he began his career as a freshman, or logs time at both spots, Hefney will once again be a workhorse.

Apparently he prefers staying busy. In high school, Hefney played quarterback, defensive back and returned kicks. When football season ended, he headed to the basketball court, and when hoops were over he switched to baseball. That workload prepared Hefney for what he had to do a year ago. Seldom leaving the field, Hefney put up some monster performances. Three times, Hefney recorded double-figure tackles games, against Air Force (17), LSU (15) and Marshall (12), and he made nine against Florida and Arkansas.

Unless two junior college transfers and at least one freshman can come in and contribute right away, Hefney might have to provide plenty more of those double-figure tackles games. But ide-ally, the Tennessee staff doesn't want to heap that kind of workload on him. That's why the Vol coaches combed the JC ranks for immediate help.

Nevin McKenzie (6-2, 210), a junior, comes from Trinity Valley (Texas) Community College, where last season he was credited with 90 tackles, including five sacks. The Tennessee staff hopes McKenzie, despite not being able to transfer to Knoxville in January and take part in spring practice, can quickly fit in alongside Hefney at strong safety.

Likewise, DeAngelo Willingham (6-0, 195), a junior from College of the Desert in California wasn't a mid-term enrollee, but he's being penciled in for duty at a corner spot. He's a ball hawk, having picked off five passes last season and three his freshman year.

While the two JC transfers were finishing their junior college degree requirements, Tennessee gave every opportunity to existing personnel to claim a starting DB job.

Phillip Fulmer calls the corner tandem of senior Antonio Gaines (5-9, 180) and sophomore Marsalous Johnson (5-9, 180), the "smurf patrol." What Johnson, who earned most improved defensive player honors in the spring, lacks in size, he makes up for in speed. Competing for the Vols' national power track team, Johnson has set personal bests with a 10.4 in the 100 meters, 21.8 in the 200 and 50.0 in the 400. Last season he played in eight games and made five tackles.

Gaines, whose problem has been a lack of consistency, caught Fulmer's attention in the spring.

"He made good strides and progress, so I think we have at least created a more competitive situation at corner than we started the spring with," Fulmer said.

In late April, senior corner Roshaun Fellows was dismissed for a violation of team rules, which paves the way for true freshman Eric Berry (5-11, 195) to compete for significant playing time. Then again Berry, a Parade All-American, the Gatorade Player of the Year in Georgia and the No. 1-ranked prep cornerback, would have played anyway, perhaps on both sides of the ball.

Last year at Creekside High School in Fairburn, Ga., Berry, the son of former Tennessee player James Berry, made 67 tackles and five interceptions from his cornerback spot. Berry also rushed for more than 1,500 yards and threw for more than 1,000. In their recruiting pitch, Tennessee coaches promised Berry he'd get a look on offense, possibly in some sort of special package like Arkansas runs for running back Darren McFadden. But there's no question the Vols need Berry's help in the secondary.



PUNTERS

Britton Colquitt did his family proud last season, averaging 44.9 yards per punt, second in the SEC and seventh nationally. The top four single-season punting averages in school history are now held by the punting Colquitts. Uncle Jimmy (46.9 in 1982), brother Dustin (45.3 in 2003) and father Craig (45.0 in 1977) are all ahead of Britton for now, but the youngster has two more seasons.

If he makes a jump anywhere close to the one he made from his freshman season (41.2 yards per punt) to a year ago in earning first-team All-SEC honors, Britton Colquitt will move to the head of the list. He put together some impressive games as a sophomore and was exceptional against the Vols' primary SEC rivals, averaging 48.2 yards per punt against Florida, 48 against Georgia and 47 against Alabama. Colquitt's best performance came against Marshall, when he averaged 56 yards a punt, including a 63 yarder.

Just as impressive as his length is Colquitt's touch; he downed 18 punts inside the 20, versus only four touchbacks.



SPECIAL TEAMS

The Vols were a mixed bag in this department a year ago. Thanks to the efforts of Jonathan Hefney, they ended up fourth in the SEC and 30th in the country in punt returns. Hefney averaged a stout 12.1 yards per return, ranking third in the league and 33rd in the nation, and came up with a career-best 65-yarder against South Carolina that led to a fourth-quarter touchdown.

Hefney was a semifinalist for the Randy Moss Return Man Award.

Receivers Lucas Taylor and Austin Rogers can also return punts.

Tennessee's kick-return game was a disaster in 2006. The Vols finished 12th in the SEC and 117th in the country -- that's two spots away from dead last among Football Bowl Subdivision teams -- with a paltry average of 16.5 yards per return.

LaMarcus Coker was a temporary fix -- finishing with 93 yards on four returns, including a team season high of 40 yards -- but wouldn't you know it, he was injured on a return against Ala-bama and missed two games.

Coker and Arian Foster will start the season as return men and might get some help from a freshman or two.

Morgan Cox (6-4, 225), a sophomore, will handle long snaps and senior Casey Woods (6-5, 215) will be the holder.



BLUE RIBBON ANALYSIS

While there's no doubt Tennessee football is back on track, the Vols' road to the SEC championship and ultimately the national championship has never been tougher. The SEC has become a murderer's row in recent years because every school in the league has pumped millions of dollars into coaches' salaries, facilities and operating budgets. In particular the East Division, home to two other coaches besides Fulmer who have won national championships (Florida's Urban Meyer and South Carolina's Steve Spurrier) has gotten brutal now that Kentucky is a bowl team and Vanderbilt has become a tougher out.
Grading the Volunteers
Unit Grade
Offense A-
Special teams B
Defense B
Intangibles A

As always, the road to all the hardware passes through Gainesville, Fla. If the Vols can find a way to win at Florida in their third game, that could well pave the way for a truly great season.

For the most comprehensive previews available on all 119 Division I teams, order the "Bible" of college football, the 2007 Blue Ribbon College Football Yearbook, at www.blueribbonyearbook.com or call 1-866-805-BALL (2255).

FLORIDA


NVM i got and Gunna posted it

THE RAIDER NATION​

Here's UF Donlucia

Team preview: FloridaERS RETURNING 6
DEF. STARTERS RETURNING 2
NICKNAME Gators
COLORS Orange & Blue
HOME FIELD Ben Hill Griffin Stadium (88,54 complaining about different issues," Meyer said. "He looked at me and told me it isn't bad when the issues are your team was 13-1 and the Patriots almost made the Super Bowl. The reality is his message to the team, and my message, is that one is over."

The Gators' second national championship season (1996 was the first) for football is duly recorded, but its reverberations are manifold. Meyer suddenly vaulted into the upper echelon of college football coaches, both in status and recompense. The spread offense Meyer popularized at Bowling Green and Utah gained more cachet when meshed with the superior athletes available at Florida. Then the Gators' ravenous defense -- piloted by co-coordinators Greg Mattison and Charlie Strong and ignored so often by the media during Meyer's first season -- spit Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith and the rest of the Buckeyes out onto the sand in Glendale, Ariz.

As a result, the six-year deal guaranteeing roughly $1.5 million a year that Meyer signed in 2005 seemed so yesterday. After the BCS triumph, the school and the coach began negotiations on a new contract and in June agreed to a new six-year deal, with an option for a seventh. The new contract will pay Meyer a cool $3.25 million per year.

Meyer's nine full-time assistants also cashed in, receiving a combined $382,000 in raises doled out last March. Mattison and Strong earned the biggest bonuses -- $75,000 each, increasing each coach's 2007 pay to $290,000.

"This is three years in a row we've had the same coaching staff," Meyer said. "When our staff left Utah to come to Florida, that was big. Where [else] are you going to go? You better leave here to become a head coach or to some ridiculous pay scale in the NFL. You don't leave Florida.

"Charlie Strong and Greg Mattison are a testimony to that. Those guys can all pick up the phone tomorrow and go wherever they want. Steve Addazio has had opportunities and so has Doc Holliday. I'm all for opportunities, but it better be a really good one.

"I think our administration takes care of them and they are appreciative of them. The head coach is very appreciative of them and what they do."

Residing at the University of Finalists, Meyer isn't even the biggest barracuda in the pool. Men's basketball coach Billy Donovan can boast of consecutive national championships, and after his change of heart with respect to the head job with the NBA's Orlando Magic, he and Meyer are Golden Boys 1 and 1-A in Gainesville.

"I'm a big fan of our men's basketball team," Meyer said. "I really think they played a role in our success. Our players witnessed unselfish play and witnessed the prize for that kind of play, which is a national championship."

Unlike Donovan, who welcomed back an unprecedented five starters in landing a second title, Meyer lost nine defensive starters, seven of whom were scooped up in the NFL draft.

Even though the Gators subtract their top rusher (DeShawn Wynn) and receiver (Dallas Baker), the offense is in much higher cotton. With all deserved bows to Chris Leak's efforts, Tim Tebow is the quarterback Meyer envisioned all along at the controls of the spread. The running backs and wide receivers are practically interchangeable parts, and six of Florida's top nine all-purpose gainers from '06 are back.

"I wish I could stand up here and say we're going to make another run at this thing," Meyer said before spring ball opened. "I have no idea. That's so far-fetched. Rebuilding the defense is obviously a big key for us to have success. That's our plan to win -- playing great defense. Our coaches on defense are going to have to earn their stripes this year.

"The one word that you'll never hear is sustain. If you are sustaining, you are losing and going backwards. We are building and we are growing. We are not sitting back trying to figure out how to enjoy this, we are trying to figure out how to build on it. That's a task completely different than the other one. It is a task you cherish and enjoy."



QUARTERBACKS

Tim Tebow's (6-3, 234) favorite Gator football player is Danny Wuerffel, which is only fitting considering Tebow is now replacing him. Sort of.

Wuerffel and Leak are the only UF starting quarterbacks who own national titles. Both were four-year starters, separated by a decade (Wuerffel from 1993-96, Leak from 2003-06). Both went un-drafted after college; Leak was a free-agent signee of the Chicago Bears.

When Leak threw for 283 yards against Florida State, the 33rd time he had cleared the 200-yard barrier in his career, it was Wuerffel's mark that he shattered. Leak's 101 total touchdowns trails only -- yep, that guy again -- in Florida's career annals. Wuerffel even handed Leak the BCS Championship Offensive MVP trophy in Gainesville a week after the game, for crying out loud.

But the past, as they say, is prologue. After a Freshman All-SEC season of grooming, Tebow is cleared for takeoff as the Gators' main man under center. The Jacksonville native was something of a novelty in 2006. Burrowing between guards and dashing off the edge from the shotgun formation, Tebow wound up second on the team in rushing yards (469, on 89 carries) and first in touchdown carries (eight).

His jump-pass to Tate Casey for a 1-yard score against LSU spun around the replay loop nationwide. Even after completing two-thirds of his passes for 358 yards, five touchdowns and one lone interception, Tebow's drop-back consistency was under scrutiny before the confetti had stopped falling in Glendale.

If last spring is any indication, such doubts have no bearing on reality. Tebow zeroed in on his receivers in both intermediate and deep routes while running the ball with typical abandon on the option. He parlayed the scourge of a sore left shoulder into an opportunity to feather passes downfield. After completing 17-of-27 tosses for 216 yards and three touchdowns for the Blue team in the spring game, Tebow fulfilled the commandment Meyer made the day after the BCS Championship -- "It's Tim Tebow's team as of right now."

"When I say it is his team," Meyer added at the end of spring, "he knows exactly what I am talking about. He has to bring those young guys together, and it is a lot of work. Tim is as good of a leader as I've ever been around. He leads by example. That's the least of our concerns."

"I think I've improved tremendously," Tebow told Florida Today after the Orange and Blue game. "I think I'm a different player now than when I came to the University of Florida. And I think [credit] really goes to the coaching staff, especially coach [Dan] Mullen. He's done a great job of teaching me and helping me with my fundamentals, just correcting a lot of that and my decision-making."

Tebow still fires bullets where grenades might be more beneficial, and his competitive fire needs to cool occasionally in the face of a 13-game march. But he's precisely the dual-threat quarterback Meyer had in Alex Smith at Utah, and at last check 12-0 (Utah's record in 2004) wasn't too shabby.

Ideally, the Gators want to develop another change-up as Tebow's second-in-command, just as Tebow was to Leak last season. Cameron Newton (6-5, 242), a freshman and early enrollee from College Park, Ga., will get first dibs.

Fresh out of Westlake High, where he threw for 2,500 yards and 23 touchdowns as a junior, Newton stumbled through portions of his first college spring. He muffed four shotgun snaps as the signal-caller for the Orange team but rebounded to complete 20-of-30 passes for 275 yards.

"It was like throwing a little goldfish in the sea," Newton was quoted as saying of his spring game performance in the UF student newspaper The Alligator. "And I was that goldfish in the first half."

If Newton fades in the fall, freshman John Brantley (6-3, 195) and junior college transfer Bryan Waggener (6-2, 226) won't mind swooping in. Brantley was the Gatorade National Player of the Year after throwing for 2,766 yards and 41 touchdowns in his final year at Trinity Catholic High in Ocala, Fla. Brantley's 99 career scoring strikes cleared by one Tebow's old state prep record.

Like Newton, Waggener enrolled early at UF, but a foot injury prevented him from partaking in spring drills. At Citrus (Calif.) College, Waggener frankly struggled as a sophomore, completing just 57.6 of his passes and tossing 12 interceptions to 10 touchdowns.

"I'd like two quarterbacks," Meyer said. "Dan [Mullen] and I have talked about it. In this conference, with the style of offense we play and the styles of defense, the quarterback will get hit."



RUNNING BACKS

Perhaps this gridiron postulate of two or three dependable running backs, which roughly dates back to Knute Rockne's training wheels, is just too antiquated.

Take a look at Florida's all-American ground game last year, understanding that All-American in this context isn't an honorific. Instead, it's conceptually equal to the idea that, white, black, brown or purple, we are all Americans.

Now you have a sense of Gators in motion. Quarterback, wide receiver, fullback, tailback -- if you're eligible to tote the rock in Meyer's offense, you will.

Who had the most rushing yards for the Gators in 2006? An easy one -- traditional tailback and now-departed Wynn, with 699. Oh, but how about the most rushing touchdowns? Surprise -- then-backup quarterback Tebow, with eight.

Who led Florida's rushing attack in the second-most important game of the year, the SEC Championship? Why, it's sophomore wide receiver Percy Harvin, who burst forth for 105 yards on six carries.

Who was second on the team in yards per carry? Would you believe another "wideout," sophomore Jarred Fayson, with 7.8 yards per rip?

Meyer's Ides of March have consistently circled back to the running game. The head coach has bemoaned the lack of a true No. 1 tailback basically since he got off the plane from Utah. This year was no exception.

"At running back, we're not exactly knocking them dead," Meyer told The Alligator days before the Orange and Blue game.

He might have a real beef this year. Sophomore Mon Williams, Wynn's heir apparent, tore an ACL and will not play this year. Junior Markus Manson, who saw his carries dwindle from 81 in 2005 to four last year, is busy learning a new position -- cornerback.

Somewhat by default, junior Kestahn Moore (5-10, 20 looks like Florida's main squeeze. Moore has a history of fumble problems, but he also bulled out an impressive 5.2 yards per rush on 54 carries in 2006. With 21 career receptions and two scores, Moore can also snag a screen or two in the flat.

Moore was sidelined by sports hernia surgery for the last few sessions of the spring, allowing sophomore Brandon James (5-7, 180) to test the waters. James' kick-return labors were the stuff of Freshman All-America status last fall, but he had only three carries for a yard at tailback.

redshirt freshman Chevon Walker (5-10, 204) hopes a 14-carry, 74-yard showing in the Orange and Blue game will be a springboard to greater things. His pass-protection skills need polish-ing, so Meyer pegged Walker right behind James and Moore on the informal depth chart at the end of spring.

Freshman Johnny "Bo" Williams (6-0, 20 lost the early-entry advantage because of a shoulder ailment that required surgery. Williams rumbled for 1,003 yards and 12 touchdowns as a senior at Northeast High in Oakland Park, Fla.

Another freshman generating a lot of excitement is Chris Rainey (5-9, 156), a dervish of an all-purpose back who led Lakeland (Fla.) High to a second straight USA Today national championship last fall. Of Rainey's 32 touchdowns in '06, 15 were runs of 50 yards or more.

Though Billy Latsko never carried the ball as an H-back last year, he will be sorely missed as a blocker and an occasional pass-catcher. Senior Eric Rutledge (6-0, 245), a former linebacker, is ably equipped to step into Latsko's shoes.

Not to intimate that none of the tailbacks are capable of churning out a 1,000-yard season, but at Florida, they don't have to. With Tebow, Harvin and Fayson throwing change-ups in the scheme, the Gators have redefined "running back by committee."



WIDE RECEIVERS/TIGHT ENDS

Is Percy Harvin (5-11, 181), a flashy tailback who occasionally lines up wide, or a quicksilver receiver who sneaks into the backfield on a whim?

Who cares? What everyone in college football now realizes about the nation's No. 1 recruit from 2006 is he's a genuine playmaker, the "electric football" piece that rarely vibrates off the board.

Last season Harvin evenly divided 855 total yards among rushing (42 and receiving (427). His 11.4 yards-per-touch average was the highest among the nation's freshman and ranked 68th nationally.

When the lights burned brightest, so did Harvin. Against Florida State, he rushed four times for 86 yards, including a 41-yard scamper for a second-quarter score. Two weeks later, Harvin was the MVP of the SEC Championship Game against Arkansas after rushing for 105 yards and one touchdown and catching another score among five receptions.

Finally, in the BCS title game, Harvin rushed for a 4-yard touchdown and led the Gators with nine receptions for 60 yards. Best of all, Harvin's personal record was spotless. As a senior at Landstown High in Virginia, he had been barred from athletic competition after two football suspensions and a scuffle during a basketball game. None of that turmoil has followed Harvin to Gainesville yet.

"It was kind of what I expected before I got here," Harvin told Florida Today. "All the freshmen said we were going to win the national championship, and as the season went on, it felt like we were going to win it, or at least make a run for it. And at the end, we did it."

Harvin by no means has to go it alone, despite the departure of leading receiver Baker to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the seventh round of the NFL draft. Senior Andre "Bubba" Caldwell (6-0, 19 er at wideout, an opening created by Jemalle Cornelius' graduation. Ever since junior Louis Murphy (6-2, 199) started rooming with Caldwell, the youngster has been absorbing lessons in the game's finer points.

"It has made a big difference being around him," Murphy was quoted as saying about Caldwell in the Gainesville Sun.

"Coach [Billy] Gonzales encouraged me to do it. He wanted me to be around him because he saw something in me that he wanted to get out. And I thank him for that."

Murphy made his tutor proud by snaring a team-best eight passes for 129 yards in the Orange and Blue affair. His spring was so impressive that Meyer declared him a starter heading into the fall, even though Murphy had all of two catches last season.

"He has come a long way since his first year here," Meyer said. "Last year, he was OK, and this spring he went after it. He might be the best fundamental receiver we have right now."

Jarred Fayson (6-0, 200) is also a prime candidate at wideout, although he inflicted all of his damage last year as a Harvin-like rusher (14 carries, 126 yards and one score). Fayson had minor surgery to remove bone chips from his knee in May.

Sophomore David Nelson (6-5, 206) has a rangy build reminiscent of Baker and should contribute more than the five receptions and 76 yards he put in the books a season ago.

Riley Cooper (6-3, 207) was dogged by a foot injury in the spring, but the sophomore will also contend for catches. Three of Cooper's four receptions last fall went for touchdowns, all against poor Western Carolina.

Who's the next gifted newcomer at wideout? Probably Deonte Thompson (5-11, 186), a U.S. Army All-American despite missing five games last season with a foot injury at Glades Central (Fla.) High.

As if the Gators weren't rich enough in this area, tight ends Cornelius Ingram (6-4, 221) and Aaron Hernandez (6-2, 239) excelled in the spring. The junior Ingram, who moved from quarterback in 2005, is practically a wide receiver in tight end's clothing; he was fifth on the team last season in catches (30) and receiving yards (380). Hernandez, a redshirt freshman, caught a touchdown pass in the spring game and moves better than a 240-pounder has a right to.

Casey is still a projected tight-end starter, however. The tall Texan had six receptions for 58 yards and two scores in '06.


OFFENSIVE LINE

Highly under-appreciated last year was the performance of Florida's offensive line, which replaced four seniors without sacrificing production.

The Gators ranked third in the SEC in rushing -- an area which had driven Meyer mad in preseason -- and allowed 23 sacks in 14 games, sixth-fewest in the league. Further, UF was second in the conference in time of possession and scoring offense.

The mint on the pillow this year is that four of the starters return, with senior Drew Miller (6-5, 310), a second-team All-SEC pick by the coaches, sliding from right guard to center for the graduated Steve Rissler.

"We have a lot of returners, so there's no excuse for us not to have a great year this year and carry the offense," Miller told Florida Today just before the spring game.

Senior Phil Trautwein (6-6, 29 ed the opening game of their freshman seasons way back in 2004, is the most reliable Gator lineman. He started all 14 games at left tackle in '06 but might make his way to the right side, considering the southpaw Tebow's blind side is that direction.

Another senior, Carlton Medder (6-5, 31 ed every game last fall -- to left tackle during spring drills. Junior Jason Wat-kins (6-6, 304) should be one to benefit if Medder doesn't rally in preseason camp.

Junior Jim Tartt (6-3, 312) has a stranglehold on the left-guard spot he covered in 13 games last year, unless his services are needed on the right side. There, twin freshmen Michael Pouncey (6-4, 310) and Maurkice Pouncey (6-4, 310) were pushing redshirt freshman Maurice Hurt (6-2, 317) for the starting nod.

The Pounceys were early enrollees from Lakeland (Fla.) High, and both were considered top-15 guard prospects nationally by Scout.com. Michael Pouncey nipped his brother and a hurt Hurt at the spring tape, but the debate will continue into the fall.

Florida lost another option inside when sophomore Ronnie Wilson was suspended indefinitely after being arrested on charges of aggravated assault, simple battery and use of a concealed weapon. Wilson allegedly discharged a semi-automatic rifle into the air during a dispute outside a Gainesville nightclub in early April.

Several potential reserves were injured during the spring, so the Gators' two-deep should be shaken and stirred in the fall. Among those missing extensive action were sophomore tackle Simon Codrington (6-6, 300), redshirt freshman guard Marcus Gilbert (6-5, 299) and redshirt freshman tackle Carl Johnson (6-5, 339).

Sophomore Kyle Newell (6-8, 284), a walk-on tackle, and redshirt freshmen Eddie Haupt (6-4, 295), might see some action as well.

Meyer might have famously called his team "a train wreck" before spring training, but he surely wasn't referring to the offensive line. Next to the wide receivers, this unit has the most experience and skill of any Gator sector.

"This is the first time in three years that I'm ecstatic about our offensive line," Meyer said. "I'm ecstatic about their work ethic, the attitude and the talent level. I think there are some returning guys that are going to have to fight to hang on to their spot, and that is when you've got a good area on your team.

"If you are dealing with issues on the offensive line about the love of the game or leadership or lifting weights or watching film, you are officially a mess as a football team. The thing is, we are not there."



KICKERS

Through the grace of -- something -- the Gators rolled to a national championship despite a place-kicker, Chris Hetland, who had a terrible case of the yips.

Hetland was a league-worst 6-of-15 (40 percent) on field goals, although he nailed two of 40 or more yards in the BCS Championship Game. Hetland has graduated and no one else on the Florida roster has attempted a field goal, leaving one wondering whether the team is better or worse for wear.

Junior Jonathan Phillips (5-10, 207) and senior Joey Ijjas (6-2, 202) have first crack at the role. Both have booming legs but scattershot accuracy. Ijjas has the experience of kicking off regularly last season, while Phillips was 5-of-5 on extra points, all against Western Carolina. Fall camp will settle this score.



DEFENSIVE LINE

When last we saw Derrick Harvey (6-4, 245), the junior was parking a U-Haul in Troy Smith's dreams. Harvey chased, harried and finally sacked the Ohio State quarterback three times in the national title game.

Not too long before winning Defensive MVP honors on the sport's biggest stage, Harvey was a super sub, starting only four times at end previous to the BCS Championship. Now, with the rest of the front seven gone via graduation or the draft, Harvey is the mainstay in what is otherwise Florida's most pressing concern for 2007.

"It is priority No. 1 and the biggest issue," Meyer said of the D-line after spring practice. "I'm glad we have a great defensive line coach in Greg Mattison. He develops very good players, and we have some development to be done."

Four Gator defensive linemen were selected in the NFL draft, led by Jarvis Moss at No. 17 overall by the Denver Broncos. Ray McDonald was picked up by San Francisco in the third round; Marcus Thomas was a fourth-round pick by the Broncos; and the 49ers also landed Joe Cohen in the fourth.

That extreme exodus leaves Harvey, who led the Gators in sacks (11.0), tackles for loss (13.0) and fumble recoveries (three) as the sole heir to Florida's reputation for intimidation on the front line. Harvey was sidelined for the spring after undergoing sports hernia surgery but should be full-speed this fall.

If Harvey is not subject to constant double-teams, sophomore Jermaine Cunningham (6-3, 230) will be the reason. A special-teams contributor as a freshman, Cunningham roared into the "Fox" defensive end starting slot last spring, posting three sacks in the Orange and Blue game.

Otherwise, the Gators are perilously thin at end. Former tight end and redshirt freshman Trent Pupello (6-2, 275) is still learning the position. Lawrence Marsh (6-5, 284), another redshirt freshman, spent a lot of spring ball at end, but the staff would prefer to see him at tackle. True freshmen Carlos Dunlap (6-6, 240) and Justin Trattou (6-4, 250) might warrant a long look.

In the heart of the line, senior Clint McMillan (6-1, 275) must show that he's ready to be an every-down player. McMillan was primarily on the punt team last fall and has only nine tackles and one sack in three years in Gainesville.

Junior Javier Estopinan (6-1, 270) suffered a torn ACL against LSU last year and missed the rest of the season. He also sat out the 2005 campaign because of injury; nevertheless, Estopinan is a prime contender at starting nose guard.

Sophomore Brandon Antwine (5-11, 265) and redshirt freshman Terron Sanders (6-1, 304) may filter in the tackle rotation, along with Marsh. Freshman John Brown (6-1, 285), from Lakeland (Fla.) High, was ESPN.com's third-best tackle prospect in the country.

No unit can lose four NFL-worthy players and expect to resume its excellence. With Harvey and Marsh, there are still nightmares for quarterbacks in Florida's front four, but upward mobility among several heretofore bit players will be required.

"There are some body types there, but not much depth," Meyer said. "We had to go out and sign five guys. That's going to be priority No. 1 for us."



LINEBACKERS

Hold up a mirror to Florida's defensive front, and a reflection of the linebackers will bounce back. This unit was also ransacked by diplomas and professional aspirations. Brian Crum and Earl Everett graduated -- both were signed as undrafted free agents, by Kansas City and Cincinnati respectively -- and junior Brandon Siler, who fancied himself a first-day draftee, sank to a seventh-round pick-up by San Diego.

That's three starters and the squad's top two tacklers (Everett and Siler) bidding adieu in the same spring. Inexperienced, shallow, young -- all are descriptors that easily fit the linebacker unit just as snugly as the front four.

Brandon Spikes (6-3, 241) is already tired of being downplayed. The de facto captain of this corps as a true sophomore, Spikes has jumped into the middle linebacker spot vacated by Siler after posting 15 tackles in 2006. He is already justifiably feared by offensive teammates as one of the surest hitters on the squad.

"I'm just ready to play so we can show the world," Spikes told The Alligator last April. "We're probably the youngest defense in college history. We know [what people are saying], so I think it's good. It makes everyone work harder and push harder during the spring."

Another part-timer last fall, sophomore Dustin Doe (6-0, 219), takes over for Everett on the weak side. Doe's 22 tackles led all Florida freshmen, and he started against Western Carolina. Doe was arrested for fighting in public in early April but was not suspended from the team.

Redshirt freshman A.J. Jones (6-1, 206) was an unwilling spectator after breaking his foot in preseason drills last August. Though much smaller than Crum, Jones is quicker through the seams.

"They are sponges," Meyer said of his young linebackers. "Brandon Spikes and A.J. Jones love football. They are doing well in the classroom and doing everything we ask. That's a real in-triguing area for the next six months for development."

Six months may not be long enough to develop sturdy backups for the projected starters. Sophomore Ryan Stamper (6-1, 227), who posted four tackles in two appearances in 2006, is the only serious challenger among the reserves. Sophomores Roderick Blackett (5-8, 225) and Jamaal Deveaux (5-11, 232) are trying to escape the scout team.

Freshmen John Jones (6-3, 205) and Brandon Hicks (6-2, 205) will vie for time.

An intriguing candidate is Lorenzo Edwards (6-2, 221), who was listed as a safety coming in but was a top-ranked weak-side linebacker.



DEFENSIVE BACKS

Who's up for "Exodus Part III: This Time, It's Personnel"?

Like the defensive line and linebackers before it, Florida's secondary is facing an extreme makeover after starting corners Reggie Lewis and Ryan Smith and safety Reggie Nelson exited -- the latter two with a year of eligibility remaining.

Nelson stayed near Gainesville, as Jacksonville scooped him up in the first round. Smith headed to Tennessee in the sixth round, and Lewis was signed as a free agent by Buffalo.

Not only is strong safety Tony Joiner (5-11, 217) the lone holdover, he's the only returnee who intercepted a pass last year (two, to be precise). Joiner was Florida's third-leading tackler in '06, recording 59 stops to go with eight passes defended.

There is experience of one sort complementing Joiner at safety. Senior Kyle Jackson (6-1, 201) was a special-teamer last fall, but before Nelson came along Jackson had started 12 career games at free safety.

Jackson could be passed again in '07, this time by sophomore Dorian Munroe (5-11, 200). The native of Miami subbed for an injured Joiner in the SEC Championship Game and left a mark with six tackles, including his first career tackle for loss.

Munroe's eligibility, however, is in doubt after he was arrested in late May by the school's police department for removing and keeping a metal parking "boot" attached to his car, ostensibly after numerous unpaid parking tickets. Munroe was charged with third-degree felony theft because the boot is valued at $385.

Junior John Curtis (6-2, 210) is the only other safety with game experience -- special teams only. Several redshirt freshmen may punch in, the best of which might be Bryan Thomas (6-1, 203). The freshman Edwards might play a role too, if he is not a linebacker instead.

The safety slots are veritable padlocks compared to the loosey-goosey situation at cornerback. Sophomore Markihe Anderson (5-9, 175) -- he of the eight tackles in 13 relief appearances last year -- is supposedly solid at one starting corner.

Freshman Joe Haden (5-11, 183), an early enrollee who starred at quarterback at Friendly High in Fort Washington, Md., edged out sophomore Wondy Pierre-Louis (6-1, 184) for the other first-string job by the end of spring. Pierre-Louis did miss significant time with an injury. By no means is Haden a certainty.

Redshirt freshman Jacques Rickerson (5-9, 172) was hampered by arthroscopic knee surgery, but he's a corner contender.

Markus Manson (5-11, 207), the erstwhile tailback, continues to learn at cornerback. Another freshman and January enrollee, Ahmad Black (5-9, 173), enjoyed a dynamic spring. However, all of them looked less like curtains and more like blinds in covering receivers during the Orange & Blue Game.

After that game, Meyer said, "I'm concerned right now, but with the personnel we have and Chuck [Heater], who I think is one of the finest secondary coaches in the country, on our staff, I think we can figure things out there. Markihe had already, and he will be a starting corner here. I don't know if Joe Haden will start, but he'll play. We've got guys like Wondy Pierre-Louis and Jacques Rickerson that are just starting to reach their potential."



PUNTERS

Eric Wilbur, a four-year specialist who averaged nearly 43 yards per -boot in his career, is now history. Similar to the placekicking dilemma, no other Gator has punted in a game.

Redshirt freshman Alex Harrell (5-9, 170) and freshman Chas Henry (6-4, 200) are the best bets heading into the fall.

"Obviously in the fall it will be ridiculous how much time we spend on punting," Meyer said.



SPECIAL TEAMS

Florida blocked a school-record eight kicks last year, seven in SEC play and none bigger than Moss' rejection notice of a potential game-winning field goal by South Carolina. However, Jarred Fayson is the only returning Gator who registered a block -- not that UF is short on athletes who might do the same.

Otherwise, Brandon James should fuel the return game once again. James earned a slot on the coaches' Freshman All-SEC squad after returning 33 punts for 363 yards and notching 18.2 yards per kickoff return. Against Western Carolina, James burst 77 yards for a punt-return score, the first for a UF player since Lito Sheppard in 2000.

Kestahn Moore is another viable option deep; he registered 15.8 yards on four kickoff returns. Junior long snapper James Smith (6-1, 235) and junior holder Butch Rowley (6-0, 19 are also back.



BLUE RIBBON ANALYSIS

The last team to win indisputable back-to-back national championships (i.e., when the polls didn't split their No. 1s in those pre-BCS days) was Nebraska in 1994-95. Some team named the Florida Gators got steamrolled 62-24 in the Fiesta Bowl, the culmination of that Cornhusker rampage.
Grading the Gators
Unit Grade
Offense A-
Special teams C+
Defense C
Intangibles A

With so many defections from the defense, it would be high hubris to present the 2007 Gators as a repeat offender. The secondary was left on the countertop to cool after the Orange and Blue game, and there aren't obvious answers in the kicking game yet. The defensive front and linebacker corps are undergoing radical reconstruction, too.

Still, Florida was supposed to fall flat last year against a ridiculously strong schedule, which featured 10 bowl teams before the Gators even met Ohio State. Look at what happened instead.

This year's slate is actually much more amenable to a freakishly young squad. The Gators open with softballs from Western Kentucky and Troy before settling into the annual skirmish against Tennessee in the Swamp. Yes, Florida travels to LSU on Oct. 6 in what might be the de facto SEC championship game, but the other three league road games (Ole Miss, Kentucky, South Carolina) are pretty manageable.

The Gators' offense is clearly ahead of its defense, so an opponent's best chance is either matching UF touchdown for touchdown or rattling Tebow in the pocket. Not exactly recipes for success, but the Swamp inhabitants are a little more vulnerable in 2007.


For the most comprehensive previews available on all 119 Division I teams, order the "Bible" of college football, the 2007 Blue Ribbon College Football Yearbook, at www.blueribbonyearbook.com or call 1-866-805-BALL (2255).

I got it so i will delete the one i posted thanks Gunna

THE RAIDER NATION​

Yeah it's me Gunna. Got banned over some BS in the Southeast forum but it's all good now.

Gotta keep on keepin on . . .hence the reverse account name = cbpresent

R.I.P. BCfuture 5/03 - 5/07 4 Years to kill me and 2 Weeks to bring me back​

yo Gunna, drop that Wildcat preview if you get time...i'm really not that excited bout college football just yet, even though my Reds are terrible, but after i get this game tonight......

Tighten Up

I think Kenny Oneal and Brent Vinson are gonna put up some pretty gross numbers in the new no huddle offense. If Big Meach woulda stayed, this would be a BCS title yr or bust. Chris Brown might put up nice numbers at Tiht End. He got talent to kill LBs not like Whitten did but he can stil be effective.
can someone please do CPR on John Briscoe's collegiate career, Is he even alive?

Fresh is right, Vols runnin No Huddle like the Colts is gonna cause problems.

Is Eric going to get significant snaps on O?

Harvin isnt explosive enough to make Rainey not see the field.
Isnt Harvin still a WR

Dre is the number one whos the number 2 Harvin if so expect to see more of Rainey then we saw of Harvin last year
Beast Mode Discontinued

May be put back in to production in a few years Word to Vanila Coke

^ good looks Gunna, i've not got the itch since i been playin the game all night.