On to the Goal

Photo via AL.com

Including incoming freshamn, 16 Gators were selected in the Major League Baseball Draft this week. Congratulations, all. But only one has any relevance to football: Riley Cooper was a 25th-round pick to the Texas Rangers.

That’s 10 rounds later than he was selected out of high school and maybe, possibly, hopefully late enough to keep him on the Gator football team this fall. Jeremy Fowler was unable to reach Cooper’s parents (or, apparently, Cooper himself) but portions of his post seem to indicate that this could still be a fluid situation:

“But don’t be surprised if Cooper is negotiating a deal after his bitter breakup with the baseball team … The decision could hinge on whether Cooper thinks he has a realistic chance at pro football.”

Ominous? Perhaps. That could be based on bits of inside knowledge or it could be merely speculative in nature. Either way, those are reasonable points to raise. I don’t think that a 25th-round pick who struck out in nearly 50 percent of his at-bats is likely to receive a big-money contract offer, but the prospect of earning even a little money is a powerful pull on just about any college student. As we recently learned with the developing “West Coast Tebow” situation, Cooper could also play professional baseball and still retain his amateur status in NCAA football.

My gut is that come September 5, Cooper will still be catching lasers from roommate Tim Tebow. And the Gators frankly need that. Cooper is the most experienced receiver on the squad with 30 career catches for nine touchdowns. He’s a big target, a good run-blocker and the only member of the receiving corps to see significant playing time in each of the past three seasons. Losing his experience would be a blow. Not a fatal one by any means, but Cooper’s presence would mean that a young player stepping up and contributing would be a luxury, not a necessity. You don’t want to be forced to rely on a redshirt freshman for this:

Torrey Davis has apparently made his choice — the mercurial tackle, who was possibly the Gators’ most talented defensive lineman, has left the University of Florida football team:

UF spokesman Steve McClain confirmed Friday night that the troubled Davis has left the program. He is not expected to return.

No reason for his departure was given, but the decision to leave was his.

So that’s it. Official. Final. Close the books on the Torrey Davis era. The once heralded recruit’s on-field contributions are summed up thusly: 19 games, 15 tackles, two sacks and one very, very big play:

Are the Florida Gators your 2008 BCS Champions without Torrey Davis? I’ve watched that sequence of plays at least two dozen times since Jan. 9, and the thing that sticks out the most about the fourth down stop is that the Oklahoma right guard, Brandon Walker, didn’t really look ready for the ball to be snapped and was slow in getting out of his stance. With such poor weakside blocking, it’s possible any halfway decent defensive tackle makes that play. But I sure wouldn’t want to go back and find out.

Looking to the future, how this move turns out for both Davis and the Gator football team is very much up in the air.

Every published report I could find was consistent on at least one thing — we have absolutely no idea why he left. McClain gave no reason and brushed off a question about whether Davis failed a drug test (one prevalent rumor) by answering, “He left the team.” Urban Meyer amazingly could not be reached for comment. Even the Davis camp has been decidedly silent. The ever-enterprising Joseph Goodman stopped by Davis’ mother’s house, but apparently no one inside had any desire to answer the door.

Prior to the goal-line stand against Oklahoma, Davis made news mostly for his academic and off-field troubles. He played in just eight games in 2008 while dealing with his academic struggles, and he received two citations while in Gainesville, for alcohol possession and driving with knowledge a suspended license. It’s unclear whether Davis plans to transfer, and McClain said he did not know whether Davis was still enrolled at Florida. Regardless of his football future (which could still be promising if he gets things straightened out), I certainly hope that Davis will be a success in life.

As for the Gators, so much for having the entire defensive two-deep returning. The depth at defensive tackle behind entrenched starters Lawrence Marsh and Terron Sanders now looks like this:

• Sophomore Jaye Howard.

That’s it. Howard is the only healthy player listed at tackle who has ever played a down at Florida. Heading into spring ball, the Gators clearly have a depth issue at the position.

That’s remarkable because, as of a few weeks ago, Florida was slated to have no fewer than four five-star defensive tackles… ON THE BENCH.  You read that right — former mega-recruits Davis, Omar Hunter, John Brown and incoming freshman Gary Brown (no relation) weren’t even listed as starters. It would take forever to fully research this, but I can’t imagine that ever occurring before on any team. (Unless you count Florida in 2008, which I don’t because Matt Patchan was recruited as an offensive lineman and has since moved back to that side of the ball.)

Davis leaving, along with the near-certain departure of John Brown, means that Florida will be looking for more depth at tackle this spring, just has it has for all or part of the past two seasons. The Gators will almost certainly begin the 2009 season with at least one unproven commodity in the tackle rotation. Troy Epps and Brandon Antwine will miss spring while rehabilitating from knee injuries, and neither, particularly the oft-injured Antwine, are a lock to make any kind of impact in the fall. Howard is undersized for a tackle at 270 pounds and was just a three-star recruit as a defensive end to begin with.

The Gators are almost certainly anticipating that Edwin Herbert, a four-star junior college transfer from City College of San Francisco who is in for spring, will immediately join the rotation. But Florida would perhaps be in the best shape if one of the young guys is ready to contribute. Hunter was the prize of the Gators 2008 recruiting class but struggled with weight, injuring himself while lifting it and subsequently, uh, gaining a bunch of it. Brown was a consensus top-three recruit at his position, but won’t be able to test himself against the speed and power of SEC football until fall practice.

I think the best-case scenario is for Herbert to be a ready-made plugin as one top backup, with either Howard or Hunter making a significant leap at the other spot. Brown may also see a few meaningful snaps as needed, but anything from Antwine or Epps would be a bonus. Also, don’t forget that ends Justin Trattou, a run-stopper, and Carlos Dunlap, a fearsome pass-rusher, can and will slide into tackle at times, as we often saw in passing situations this past year.

No matter the outcome, this will be a position to watch in spring practice. Following the Gator basketball team’s faceplant Friday in Tampa, thank the football gods that it starts this week.

Photo via Reuters Pictures

Message board speculation has been rampant, but Robbie Andreu of the Gainesville Sun is, to my knowledge, the first journa-type to come out and say it: Defensive tackle Torrey Davis may or may not be back with the Gators next season.

Before repeatedly mashing your fist against the panic button, note that nothing is official one way or the other. In fact, that’s the premise of Andreu’s blog post — the deafening silence surrounding Davis tells us that his status is up in the air.

Second, Andreu says the proverbial ball is in Davis’ proverbial court. He could potentially wash out. Or he could follow a path similar to that of former Florida defensive tackle Steven Harris, who battled back from some form of asshattery following the 2005 season to play in every game in 2006, including a start in the 2006 BCS title game. The choice, apparently, is Davis’ to make.