Thursday, August 5, 2010

Meyer, agents talking about reforms

 In the midst of what seems to be an epidemic of agents making illegal contact with college football players, Florida coach Urban Meyer says he's involved in some discussions that could lead to some much-needed reform. Speaking to the media following Thursday afternoon's freshman practice, Meyer said it's not just college coaches who are concerned about the problems but plenty of good agents who want to put an end to the illegal practices of agents who want to skirt the rules.


"There's a lot of discussion that I've been involved with with agents," Meyer said. "We actually had a great discussion --- I can't go into detail yet --- but a group of us have gotten together and we're trying to make some changes from anything from signing balls and getting them sold on the internet to practice where people are just showing up."

During the height of Tebow-mania, huge crowds gathered to catch a glimpse of and perhaps an autograph from Florida's charismatic Heisman Trophy quarterback. But not all the fans were there with good intentions. Every day the same old folks were showing up outside the Sanders Practice Field with helmets, footballs and other things to be signed that were later sold on the internet. It has created enough of a distraction that Meyer says things will be different from here on out.

Meyer can't do anything about the long walk from the Florida locker rooms in the South End Zone of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium to the Sanders Practice Facility but he can do something to police the crowds that have become a distraction to his players. 

"People are showing up and who are you and why are you here?" Meyer said. "We can't live the players' lives but we can do the best we can and you should have the right as a player to walk from here to there without being bothered and practice and come back without being bothered. Now if you get bothered on your own ... but that's my fault. For five years ... that's crazy. When I tell that to my colleagues that you get dressed and you walk across and people just maul you and bother you and internet people grabbing helmets ...sign this and all this ... and we don't have security saying 'get the heck out of here.' So you'll see a lot of 'get the heck out of here' from now on. Let the kids go practice and concentrate on football which is what our job is." 

Meyer is also aware that the crowds of fans also open the door for agents and their runners, another reason why he's making changes with security and why there are these ongoing discussions with a group of reform-minded agents. There will also be a concerted effort to educate his players so they can better deal with the distractions and temptations.

"We're going to have a lot of discussions around here and continual non-stop education," Meyer said. "It's an epidemic. You flip on a TV and you hear someone talk and it's this school, this school, this school. That's nuts. The good thing is the other side of this wants to help and when I say that I mean they really want to help. There are going to be some positive things that come out of this."


CAPTAINS: Meyer said that senior center Mike Pouncey and senior defensive end Justin Trattou have been named team captains. Usually, captains aren't announced until later during August practice but Meyer said he wanted to address leadership immediately and this is one way to handle it.

"Mike Pouncey and (Justin) Trattou have been named captains," Meyer said. "There will be more to come but we made a decision --- Coach Mick (Marotti), myself and Steve (Addazio) --- that we're going to announce captains right now to take charge of this team. Ahmad Black is going to be involved in that. Lawrence Marsh is a leader on our team now. He's done a great job and there will be more that will show up soon." 
 
GREAT EXPECTATIONS: Just because Tim Tebow, Brandon Spikes and a whole host of seniors and juniors who left early for the NFL are gone doesn't mean expectations won't be high for the Gators. Last year the Gators fell short of their goal of repeating as national champions but they still finished 13-1 and ranked third nationally. This year's group may not have the marquee names but it's still a very talented team with plenty of great players so the expectations will be high once again. 


"I don't know if pressure is the right word but the expectation level within our team of what we expected with all those kids coming back last year with Tim (Tebow) and (Brandon) Spikes and Joe (Haden) and all those guys ... it's a little bit different feeling but it's still Florida," Meyer said. "It's still a bunch of good athletes --- not good, probably great --- running around on that field. It's a year of accountability and development and if that happens we'll have a good team. If it doesn't, we won't."

Following the 2006 season, the Gators lost several key seniors as well as some juniors to the NFL who would have made a huge difference in the outcome of the 2007 season. The Gators lost a lot of players after last season but Meyer says the situation is different now because the Gators have recruited well enough that talented players are ready to step in and play.

"It's a little bit like '07 but we have better players," he said. "In '07 we took a hit because to be quite honest, guys were playing who shouldn't have been on the field. Now you have guys who should be on the field but you have to develop them pretty quick which is a huge difference. This is part of the game. When guys leave early you have to replace them. Like John Brantley ... you don't replace Tim with a guy who's been here one year. He (Brantley) has been here three years. You've got some other positions that guys have been here and it's time for them to play."


ON BRANTLEY BECOMING A LEADER: Now that Tebow has gone to the NFL, it's Johnny Brantley's show which means he assumes the key role in directing the offense as well as leading the team. Meyer says Brantley should be ready to take the next step.

"You have no choice but to be a leader if you're a quarterback," Meyer said. "Now Chris Leak is probably one of the greatest stories of all time on how to develop a leader. He was not a leader and as a result was not a good quarterback. Now someone said he threw for a lot of yards but if you lose five games a year you're not a good quarterback and then he flipped a switch and he became not only a good leader but a great leader and we won a national championship. As a leader of the team, Johnny has to be and he's taken that step. These next 28 practices will be a good indication of where he's at."

ON DEPTH ON THE DEFENSIVE LINE: The Gators will start the season with more defensive line depth than they've had at any time since Meyer has been Florida's coach. With 17 scholarship linemen, the Gators are deep and talented which should lead to the kind of rotation that is conducive to a high level of play.

"This is as good a depth as we've had and that's going to be a key," Meyer said. "There's a lot of guys ... Brandon Antwine (knee) --- how long is he going to hold up? (Lawrence) Marsh (high ankle sprain) has had injuries. (Terron) Sanders (knee) has had injuries ... significant injuries. At the beginning of '06 we had a group playing 25-30 snaps a game. If you do that you can play with the effort we expect you to play at. If you're playing 70-80 plays your body can't hold up."

Meyer also mentioned that freshman defensive linemen Lynden Trail (6-7, 217), Ronald Powell (6-4, 248), Shariff Floyd (6-3, 301), Dominique Easley (6-1, 280) and Leon Orr (6-4, 315) are an outstanding group of physical specimens who, when they broke the huddle at Thursday's practice and stood by graduate assistant Tony Weaver, who played nine years in the NFL, caused Meyer to day, "They all kind of look alike over there." 


LAWRENCE TRANSFERS; PARKS OUT FOR 2-3 WEEKS: Third-year sophomore wide receiver T.J. Lawrence has opted to transfer to another school in search of more playing time. Redshirt freshman tight end Desmond Parks will be out 2-3 weeks after a surgical procedure on his wrist.

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