On to the Goal

For no particular reason, this picture.

Scavenged via here

The St. Paul (MN) Pioneer Press featured a “getting to know you” interview with Percy Harvin yesterday. The results were largely amusing and light-hearted, though that fact was completely lost on most of the Viking fans who commented on the story.

Overall, I think Percy came off as a good guy, if slightly immature, which we basically already knew. The most interesting item, however, was buried near the bottom of the interview:

If I could trade places for a day with anyone, it would be my old (Florida) teammate, Tim Tebow. Some of the stuff and some of the girls and things that were thrown at him. We saw all kind of actors and news reporters just kind of blatantly say, “Tebow, I want you.” And he turned them down. I’m looking at him, like, “Man, you are crazy.”

Somewhere, Thom Brennaman read that, gave an understanding little nod and stared wistfully into the distance. [/Simmonsbarf]

Now, before anyone gets too carried away, there’s a lot of ambiguity to Harvin’s quote. It’s not really clear if the unnamed reporters and actresses (I’m assuming that’s what he meant) are merely making inordinate demands for interviews or if they’re looking for a little more, eh, access.

Based on the context, I’m guessing the Interwebs will lean toward the more scandalous explanation.

UPDATE (5/27): I was being far too cautious. It’s pretty clear Harvin meant they want to sex Tebow.

Hey, that’s what the Internet is for. Either way, this really just confirms what we already knew: It’s very good … to be … Tim Tebow.

So let the speculation run wild, I guess. Message board moderators, prepare thyselves. And commenters, step up your game. The deadpan first reply on this Gatorsports.com thread will be difficult to top.

Finally, be honest: After a bunch of catty coach-fights, we needed this. I mean, it has been a full four days since Deadspin mentioned “Erin Andrews.”

HT: Swamp Things

Long before Percy Harvin was even eligible to leave Florida for the bright lights of the NFL, the speculation had already begun as to who would replace him — who would be his successor at the “Percy Position”?

I suppose that’s a natural question, at least to the extent that Florida must put 11 men on the field and one of them is certain to be an excellent athlete capable of playing multiple positions. But the nomenclature is completely wrong here. In all likelihood, no one will ever again play the “Percy Position,” simply because no one else is Percy.

This is not as easy as it looks...

To be fair, most who have written on the topic have acknowledged that fact, if only briefly. The issue is also partially the creation of the Florida coaching staff. They designed the schemes to utilize Harvin and they’re recruiting kids who want to be just like him. The Florida offense gets the ball to its playmakers. Versatile athletes, it seems, want to have the ball in their hands as often as possible. Go figure.

But the mere insinuation that just anyone — even a five-star thoroughbred — can be utilized like Harvin and do the same things he did belies just how good he really was. It’s akin to saying that Florida is looking for someone who can play the “Tebow Position” as if 240-pound quarterbacks who can bulldoze defensive tackles on option keepers and complete passes at a 65-percent clip are somehow in ready supply. I’ve been thinking about this topic for a while and was in the process of putting some numbers together yesterday afternoon when Chris Low of ESPN.com and Doc Saturday beat me to the punch. To be honest, I’m kind of glad they did because their insights pay appropriate respect to Harvin’s greatness.

Low:

“The truth is that there aren’t many of those guys on the planet, guys tough enough to take the pounding at running back in the SEC and fast enough and skilled enough to run pass routes.”

Dr. Saturday:

“I remember thinking and then writing (sorry — archives are down at the old site) when I saw Harvin torch Arkansas on that counter in the ‘06 SEC Championship, ‘Nobody else can do that.’ His acceleration, the ability to change direction out of the motion and be full-speed the other way in a blink, made that counter an almost singular play, and Harvin’s ability to run it — in addition to all the usual, around-the-end type of runs motion usually implies — could virtually incapacitate a defense.”

“There aren’t many guys like that on the planet … Nobody else can do that.” Those are the superlatives that we use when talking about Percy Harvin. But for some reason, he doesn’t get his due, even from many Gator fans. Perhaps that’s a natural outcome for a player whose career spanned two national championships and coincided with the tenure of potentially the greatest college football player ever (again, potentially, and that’s another discussion to be had nine months from now).

Those who were fortunate enough to have seen Harvin play when he was healthy (and even some who saw him when he wasn’t) know just how explosive he can be. When put into historical context, however, he looks even more impressive. Harvin is in the conversation of the most dynamic players of the entire decade. Strong cases can be made for Vince Young and Michael Vick (whose last season was 2000), but I would argue that quarterbacks should be included in a separate category (a category in which both would be among the all-time greats). DeSean Jackson and Ted Ginn had their moments but lacked in consistency. Darren Sproles was a dynamite runner but not nearly the same pass-catching threat. In fact, I believe the competition is really a two-man race between Harvin and — before you react, hear me out — Reggie Bush. Let’s get right to the numbers:

* Note: Chart does not include kick or punt returns

In short, Percy Harvin averaged more yards per touch than Bush and was more likely to break a play of 20 yards or longer. Of course, those numbers are a bit skewed. More than 82 percent of Bush’s touches (433) were runs, whereas Harvin carried the ball just 59 percent of the time (194). But Harvin averaged more yards per carry than Bush (9.5 to 7.3) and was again more likely to break a big run, which he did 11.3 percent of the time to Bush’s 8.7 percent. Some of that can be explained by how each man was utilized — Harvin as a wideout on the receiving end of many an option pitch, Bush as a tailback smashing into the pile on isolation runs. But in reality, many of Harvin’s rushing yards came on tough, between-the-tackles runs in which he broke a tackle or made an ankle-shattering cut to burst into space. In other words, Harvin’s edge in the “yards per” and “big play” categories can’t all be attributed to “spread vs. pro style.” Here’s a more complete breakdown:

* Note: Chart does not include kick or punt returns

When viewed in context, those numbers give the edge to Bush. Though he lined up all over the field at times, his primary responsibility was as a traditional running back. That makes his stats even more impressive — particularly his garish pass-catching totals (13.7 ypc!!!) [/PhilSteele]. When you add in his contributions as a kick and punt returner, there’s no question that he was the superior overall college playmaker.

But it’s close. Certainly much closer than most people probably realize. And that alone should illustrate why the “Percy Position” probably needs a new name. As Dr. Saturday pointed out, we pretty much know that no matter how good Jeff Demps and Brandon James are as runners, they will likely never be close to the deep threat that Harvin was. Maybe Debose is, but all we have to go on right now are recruiting accolades and grainy videos of him blowing past lesser mortals on poorly lit high school fields. In his case, time will tell.

For now, Harvin stands apart as a rare talent — arguably the second-best of the decade and (more arguably) the second-best playmaker since Barry Sanders. With Tebow at the helm and a bevy of talented receivers and shifty quarkbacks around him, the Florida offense will be a juggernaut that may yet roll up even more points than its Harvin-having predecessors. But it will be missing a dimension — it just won’t have anybody to play that damn Percy Position.

Photo via Gatorzone.com

Urban Meyer met with the Jacksonville Gator Club yesterday, and unlike those delivered at many “meet the coach” events, his speech contained a surprising amount of useful information. Jeremy Fowler has the details in his post, and he highlights four things, all of which are worthy of additional discussion:

Is “Jelani Jenkins Day” just around the corner?

Meyer identified this year’s recipient of the “Omar Hunter Award for Excellence in Overhyped Arrivals” as linebacker Jelani Jenkins. Based on his recruiting buzz this should come as little surprise, even considering the fact that he hasn’t even set foot on the practice field. With early enrollee Jon Bostic coming off a big spring, the Gators could have two freshman vying for time in the linebacker rotation. If nothing else, I suspect both will play on special teams, which could make this fall very interesting for opposing kick returners.

Ahmad Black is still a starter

Ahmad Black is somehow still hanging on to his starting position and I mean that as a sincere compliment. The Gators’ secondary is ridiculously loaded, and Black has thus far fended of challenges from two uber-recruits (Will Hill and Dee Finley) and the man whom he replaced in last year’s starting lineup (Dorian Munroe, who is back from a knee injury). Remember last August when depth at safety was a big concern? That hardly seems like it could have been less than 12 months ago, and Black emerging from out of nowhere is a big reason why.

From a physical standpoint, Black is probably the least talented of the group, but he always seems to be in the right place at the right time. I’m still not convinced that Florida would have defeated Oklahoma had Black not made that interception. If he plays like he did in 2008, I don’t see anyone overtaking him.

Offensive line is set? NSFMF

Our first NSFMF of the “summer” goes to the premature notion that the offensive line is set heading into two-a-days. I initially expected the line to be an in-flux competition right up until September, and I probably should have stuck with that line of thinking, even after the public announcement the following starting lineup back in April (from left to right):

T Carl Johnson, G Maurkice Pouncey, C Sam Robey, G Mike Pouncey, T Marcus Gilbert

It’s encouraging to hear that the coaching staff, particularly Steve Addazio, has such confidence in Robey, but we shouldn’t be too quick to forget how ridiculously awesome Maurkice Pouncey was at center last year. You don’t normally take that big of a strength at a difficult position and move it to an easier one unless you have a compelling reason.

So is Robey that good? We certainly hope so, but I suspect we haven’t heard the last from former five-star recruits Matt Patchan and James Wilson, either. Patchan, in particular, seems entirely too good to keep off the field in 2009. We knew based on his play at tackle last season — that’s defensive tackle, mind you — that he’s an athlete. But even being hampered by a knee injury in early spring, he took things to a whole new level in the spring game:

Watch this video starting at about the 2:15 mark. Patchan (#71, far left side of the line) is blocking out in front of Chris Rainey who has just caught a pass in the flat. Patchan makes a block on a defender (Markihe Anderson?) at about the 43-yard line, which allowed the play to pop up the sideline. He then runs up the field with Chris Rainey (with Chris Rainey!!!) and makes another block on the same defender at the 20-yard line. So that’s two blocks on the same player. 23 yards apart. On a simple swing pass. We’ll be hearing more from Mr. Patchan.

As for the line as a whole, there are at least seven players in the mix, including a few who can play multiple positions. As such, a complete breakdown of all possible permutations would resemble a particularly nasty LSAT question. If I had to put a guess to it, however, I would expect to see the following starting lineup take the field against Charleston Southern:

T Matt Patchan, G Carl Johnson, C Maurkice Pouncey, G Mike Pouncey, T Marcus Gilbert

Photo via GatorCountry

About “that one position that some people call the ‘Percy Position’ “

For the record, I think calling the hybrid receiver/running back position the “Percy Position” is a bit absurd, mainly because of how rare a talent Percy Harvin was on the college level. I’ll address this more in an upcoming post, but lacking a better term, I’m going to refer to it as “hybrid-back” for now.

Anyway, the competition for hybrid-back is down to just two players: Sophomore speedster Jeff Demps and incoming five-star receiver Andre Debose. Rainey is apparently out of the running, according to Meyer. Reading into the subtext of his quote, it sounds like the issue may have been, to put it kindly, comprehension:

“Rainey, he can’t handle all of it,” Meyer said. “We’re going to let him concentrate on tailback.”

That’s reminiscent of Jason Watkins’ quote when talking about Emmanuel Moody’s struggles to learn the Florida offense:

“If Chris Rainey can pick it up, (Moody) can pick it up.”

OK, so maybe Rainey isn’t the “Go to Mars, Go Cure Cancer” type, but as long as he keeps hitting those holes hard on the dive play (”white girl” joke goes here) he’ll be a star in this offense. Fuck the haters, it’s still good to be Chris Rainey.

As for the two men left standing (I suppose Brandon James is also somewhat in the mix), Demps is a known quantity as a runner, but we haven’t seen him line up much at receiver. He recorded 141 yards and a touchdown on 15 catches. There’s certainly potential for growth there, but even if Demps makes a significant leap as a pass-catcher, Debose is likely to enter fall practice as a superior “receiver.” As a runner, he’s not as fast as Demps (is anyone?) and he seems to be a bit more upright and a bit less shifty than Harvin, but judging by the Youtubes, he obviously has a few moves to go along with great straightline speed.

I suspect both will see significant playing time (certainly Demps), but my tentative hunch is for Debose to hold down the position once he arrives. Then again, playing Demps in the slot would be a great way to keep him on the field while getting some more reps for Rainey and Moody. No matter the case, I suspect we’ll see a dizzying array of formations and personnel groupings to the effect of SEXY RESULTS. You know, as per usual.

Photo via Gainesville Sun

For more than a week, we’ve been subjected to ultra-sketchy reports (which deserve no link) indicating that several high-profile entrants into this year’s NFL Draft may have failed drug tests at the combine. One by one, these reports were denied and debunked. By the start of this week, every player’s name had been cleared to some extent. Except for one.

Today, a legitimate news-gathering organization finally went there: Percy Harvin tested positive for marijuana at the NFL Combine. The sources are still anonymous and therefore the word is still “unofficial” in the strictest sense of the word, but based on the number of quality outlets now reporting this news and the conspicuous lack of denial from anyone associated with Harvin, there seems to be little reason for doubt

Well then. There’s no positive way to spin this, as it’s pretty much bad news for everyone involved. But it does raise two questions: How does this impact Harvin’s draft stock? And what effect, if any, does it have on his legacy as a Florida Gator? To me, the answers to each could not be more different.

The NFL is a risky business. Investors (teams, owners) and their brokers (GMs, coaches) are making multi-million dollar bets on highly volatile commodities (players) whose success is dependent on dozens of uncontrollable variables (injury, chemistry and just plain old human free will). In short, past performance is very much not an indicator of future success.

But NFL teams obsess over past performance. Every little detail of a player’s life on and off the field is considered — from 40 times and college statistics to rumors about whether a player was involved in a parking-lot scuffle back in high school. Nothing is off-limits to over-analysis. Needless to say, flunking a weed test two months before the draft is, uh, not so good.

So Harvin will likely suffer from this failed test in both quantitative and qualitative terms. Once thought of as a mid-first round pick, Harvin had already slipped to No. 30 according to Mel Kiper, and that was before the FoxSports.com report. Many suspect he could slip out of the first round entirely. Comprehensive information on rookie salaries is surprisingly hard to come by, but according to USA Today, the No. 30 pick in 2007, wide receiver Craig Davis, made $3.33 million in bonuses paid out in the first year. The No. 51 overall pick from that year, wide receiver Steve Smith (the USC one) made just $1.61 million in bonus money.

Harvin’s reputation will also likely suffer long after draft day has passed. Any good he does on the field will be immediately qualified with a “Yeah, but…” from commentators, pundits, and perhaps most importantly, fans. Fairly or not, the “troubled” adjective will follow him for his first few years of pro football, at a minimum. (Side note: At least he wasn’t Brandon Tate, who also failed a mandatory piss test at the Combine. The same Combine where he didn’t work out at all due to injury and thus the same Combine that he could have just skipped entirely, drug test and all.)

For PR reasons alone, image-conscious NFL teams are well within their right to be nervous about selecting Harvin. But as a Gator fan, I don’t think this changes Harvin’s Florida legacy one bit.

Draft expert Todd McShay recently said the star receiver lives in “Percy Harvin World.” I’ll borrow from Joe Goodman here: What does that even mean? That he was arrogant and self-absorbed? This may come as a surprise, but many players, particularly the great ones, are selfish jerks. If it turns out that Percy Harvin falls into this category, he’d be just like pretty much everyone except Ray Allen. Was there behind-the-scenes drama during his Florida tenure? Message board rumors range from the mundane (posse of sketchy high school friends) to the outrageous (punched a Gator assistant coach). But remember the operative word here — rumors. To my knowledge, not one individual who was “there” has made a public utterance against Harvin’s character. (And someone who was “there” does not include a random guy who talked to the father of a walk-on placekicker while waiting in line for a urinal at the spring game)

Simply put, if Percy Harvin was off in his own world, it was never evident on the field. He played hard, he played hurt and he always seemed to save his best for the most opportune moment. In the 2006 SEC Championship game, just a week after suffering a concussion, he broke off 167 total yards and two touchdowns, including a poetic 67-yard run to paydirt. In the 2009 BCS Championship game, playing in pain on what turned out to be a broken ankle, he amassed 171 total yards and a touchdown, including several long runs when the Gators needed a spark. It may sound like a paradox, but even if he did all of that for purely selfish reasons, he’s still a team player. Harvin sacrificed for the Gators, and it’s almost certain that had he not, Florida would have two fewer national titles to its name.

So let the NFL think of Harvin as aloof and troubled, as the next prima donna likely to derail in the less-structured environment of the pros. I will always remember Harvin as one of college football’s most dynamic skill-position players of his era. And unless real evidence is presented to the contrary, I will always think of him as a great Gator.