Gator Running Backs: A Study in Genetic Freakiness

It has become a tradition in Gainesville every year to wonder aloud who will be the feature running back. In the past this question came about out of general concern. No real running back ever stood up to take over the helm. Not since C-4 graced the Swamp with his glorious presence had the Gators had a running back that they could turn to in dire situations. This year, the problem is a little different.

Last season, the Gators had an explosion of awesome out of the backfield. Chris Rainey, Jeff Demps and Percy Harvin provided defensive coordinators with fits. Coming into the 2009 season the Gators face an enviable problem. They have too many talented running backs. Who's gonna be the premiere back? Who will lose a lot of carries and disappear from the mix? Here's my completely accurate take on the situation.

Jeff Demps

Needless to say, Jeffrey Demps is the fastest of the Gator backs. This fact seems to get all of Gator Nation riled up and more excited than a redneck at Daytona. Every time I have the audacity to tell someone that Demps is just not a complete back yet, I get met with a lot of yelling and profane language. I think Demps will be the starter, and deservedly so. However, I think there are a few other backs on our roster that are just better all around. Of course, I won't care too much about all around play when Demps is breaking one loose against the Vols for a 75 yard touchdown run.




Chris Rainey

Rainey is one of those backs that I feel is a better all-around player than Demps. He has the speed, the elusiveness and he is a bit bigger than Demps. He does have a tendency to dance around too much, but I have the feeling Running Backs Coach Kenny Carter will get that straightened out this season. If Rainey can cut back on the amount of times he's dropped for a loss, his playing time could skyrocket.




Here's a little peak at what the two are capable of.




Emmanuel Moody
Moody is my personal favorite of the bunch. I still have not seen Moody go down on first contact. Unfortunately for Moody, and the Gators, he can't stay healthy. He was oft-injured last season, but when he played, he played great. Manny has already established himself in Gator lore. The supposed reasoning behind Urb calling those last minute timeouts against UGA was to get Manny more totes. He can add to his mystique by going off for 275 yards and 7 td's against against LSU in Tiger Stadium. The LSU fans will then rush the field, pushing their own players out of the way, to get to Moody and carry him off the field on their shoulders.

Eye candy.




Brandon James
Everyone knows about B. James as a kick returner, but he is a capable threat coming out of the backfield as well. Out of all the true Gator running backs, James is the most polished receiver. He an take a quick slant from Tebow and turn it into a huge gain. I don't know if James will see too much time in the backfield. But his carries will definitely increase with the departure of Harvin.




Highlights of James, including the greatest run back I have ever seen with my beautiful blue eyes.



Andre Debose
Debose is the one man on the roster capable of replacing Percy Harvin. That might not be this year though. He'll probably line up more at receiver this season. But look for him to take a lot of snaps in the "Percy" position.





Do I dare? Yes, I do...



Christopher Scott and Vincent Brown

These are two guys that will get some carries in blowouts this season. Scott has been impressing coaches all Spring, but I just don't see him overtaking the players listed above him. Brown got some playing time last season, and I see him getting about the same this year.

Don't forget about these guys coming out of the backfield either!

Florida - S.O.W. Preview

It's time for the annual Florida - Florida St. game. Thanks to both schools victories over Miami earlier in the season, this will be a true battler for the esteemed Seminole War Canoe trophy.

Finally, FSU is playing with a full roster and no suspensions. Unfortunately for them, this Gators team is possibly playing the best football in the history of the Florida program. Florida St. D's may actually be talented enough to keep up with the Gators on Saturday. Then again, we said the same thing about South Carolina.....



5 Keys to a Gator Victory


1. Score Early.

Florida has been absolutely dominant in the first half of their recent ball games. Playing in a hostile environment like Doak Campbell, it will be all that more important to get out in front early and shut the FSU faithful up. I don't know how effective scoring early will be at quieting the crowd though. I've seen FSU fans do their stupid little spelling thing after their team just picked up a first down in the fourth quarter of a 45-12 losing effort!



2. Instill Fear With Tebow.

Last year, the Seminoles seemed to give up once Tebow started running wild. I'd like to see if a feeling of deja vu came over the FSU D if Tebow started to repeat last season's performance. With all the NFL talk lately, this may be Tebow's last shot at FSU. You know he'll be fired up for this one!








3. Run Percy Harvin

Before there was Geno Hayes calling out Tebow only to get steamrolled. There was Myron Rolle calling out Percy Harvin only to get run right by. Two years ago, Rolle sated that Harvin didn't scare anybody on their D. He also said something to the effect that once he caught Harvin he would lay the wood on him. Harvin responded with something like Rolle couldn't catch him anyway so he wasn't too worried about it. Of course Harvin was correct. I wonder if FSU players are sick of eating crow?




4. DB's Make A Play

You bet your ass that's a picture of Avery Atkins making a play against the 'Noles. That happened to be the best game of Atkins' life. Someone from the Gators' secondary is gonna have to play that type of game on Saturday. Our cornerbacks are tiny compared to FSU's receivers, although that wasn't much of a problem against Georgia. Ahmad Black could be the key in our secondary. It would be a long day for the Noles offense if our secondary provided support for Mr. Spikes and company.






5. Invite UF's chapter of Phi Beta Sigma to Tally

Imagine if you will. You're a Florida St. receiver. You're running your route, hoping Ponder looks your way. Out of your ear hole you hear a blood curdling sound, "SIGMA!!! YOU KNOW!!!!". You immediately turn your head to see this:





You immediately give up on the play and charge into the stands to "take care of ya buness."


5 Players that need to step up


1. Louis Murphy - Murphy had a huge game last season. Plus he's a senior this year. Dallas Baker and Bubba Caldwell both had big games against the Seminoles in their final season. Time for Murphy to continue that tradition.

2. Percy Harvin - I expect Harvin to come close to the 100 yards rushing and 100 yards receiving feat again. He'll probably be the go to guy out of the backfield, and I look for Tebow to throw to him more often than not.

3. Joe Haden - Haden will probably draw the assignment of Greg Carr this weekend. Carr has Haden dominated size wise. However, Haden is a rockstar, and if he plays like the ALL-SEC corner that he should be, Carr should be shut down.

4. Will Hill - With every game that asses, Will Hill sees more and more playing time. This can only be a good thing as Hill is a bona fide superstar. I wouldn't be surprised if he got a pick this weekend.

5. Emmanuel Moody - Of course I had to put Moody on this list. He finally got over 100 yards last week. Albeit against 1-aa Citadel.


Here's some highlights from last seasons beatdown to wet your whistle.




Here's what some Florida and Florida St. fans are saying about the game over at Topix. It's amazing how some Nole fans are trying to play the character card. Really??? Florida St. Fan??? Character???? Wow, they get one bright light (Rolle) and all of a sudden they're the Ivy League of the South.


My prediction

Florida - 48

Florida St. - 15 (All Gano field goals.)

Everything is back to normal

After last year's aberration, the Gators have resumed control of the WLOCP. I don't know if the celebration last year meant anything for last night. All I know is the Florida Gator football team hosted a nice little shindig for 3 1/2 hours on Saturday.

Tim Tebow threw his name back into the Heisman race after after an impressive 5 touchdown performance against the Dawgs. Those td's included 2 passing and 3 rushing. Percy Harvin was Percy Harvin once again as he caught a touchdown pass and ran for another one.

Despite the 49 points the seemingly unstoppable Gator offense put on the board, it was the Florida D that paved the way for victory. The Gators' defense held Mr. Moreno to only 65 rushing yards last night. This is the same man who had his coming out party against the Gators to the tune of 188 yards the previous season. The D also picked off the supposedly better passer in the game, Matthew Stafford, 3 times. Joe Haden, Ahmad Black and Dustin Doe all recorded an interception.

Earlier in the week, I listed a few Gators that were poised to step up this week. I'm glad to report that all of them, for the most part, had a big game against UGA. Terron Sanders recorded a sack and returned a fumble to the Georgia 9; Emmanuel Moody came in late to rush for 71 yards; Louis Murphy caught a long touchdown pass that helped break the game wide open; and Joe Haden provided perhaps the play of the game by picking off Stafford and running it all the way back to the 9.

Here are the stats for the super bad ass Florida Gators:


Passing
Tim Tebow 10-13 154 yards 2 tds
John Brantley 3-4 34 yards 1 tds


Rushing
Emmanuel Moody 7 71 yards
Tim Tebow 12 39 yards 3 tds
Percy Harvin 4 37 yards 1 td
Jeff Demps 7 19 yards
Chris Rainey 6 11 yards
John Brantley 1 6 yards
Brandon James 1 2 yards


Receiving
Percy Harvin 3 recs 52 yards 1 td
Deonte Thompson 3 recs 34 yards 1 td
Riley Cooper 2 recs 22 yards
Jeff Demps 2 recs 8 yards
Louis Murphy 1 rec 44 yards 1 td
Aaron Hernandez 1 rec 18 yards
Tate Casey 1 rec 10 yards


Tackles
Joe Haden 10
Brandon Spikes 7
Will Hill 5
Major Wright 5

Interceptions
Joe Haden 1 88 yards
Ahmad Black 1 64 yards
Dustin Doe 1 0 yards


Sacks
Carlos Dunlap 1
Brandon Spikes .5
Jermaine Cunningham .5


Player of the Game

Joe Haden - CB, Rockstar, Ears O' Plenty

Haden heeded my advice and stepped up in a major way against the Dawgs. Haden pick and subsequent return was the absolute biggest play of the game. Haden showed his athletic ability on the run back that allowed him to get all the way down to the 1 yard line, setting up a Tebow td run. Joey was also the only Gator to record double digit tackles in the game. I'm really liking Haden and Janoris Jenkins patrolling the corners for this D.

Time to step up!

Here's a group of Gators (not named Tebow or Harvin) that need to step their game up this weekend against the Dawgs. If we can just get a couple of these guys to produce on Saturday we should reclaim the WLOCP.




Joe Haden - CB

Up until this point, true freshman Janoris Jenkins has outplayed Haden at the corner position. Rockstar did come through last week with a couple of near interceptions, but he is not playing up to his ability. I still think Haden has the ability to be an All-SEC type player. Perhaps a breakout game against UGA will get him on track.

Brandon James -RS

Brandon James was easily the Gators' MVP during the earlier part of this season. After the Ole Miss game, however James hasn't had an outstanding game. Winning the position battle against Georgia will go a long way for the Gators on Saturday. If James can return to his early season form, the Gators could possibly dominate.

Louis Murphy - WR

I don't really think it's Murphy's fault that he's not having that great of a season. Personally, I think Tebow locks on to Harvin way too much. If Timmy can stop undressing Percy for one second and through a god damn fly route to Murphy, I would be satisfied.

Terron Sanders - DT

Knowshon Moreno is gonna get his on Saturday. There's really nothing the Gators can do to stop him. The key to the game defensively for Florida will be getting pressure on Matthew Stafford. I really like the way Sanders has come on as of late. I look for him to continue that trend and provide some pressure up the middle. It doesn't hurt that ends Carlos Dunlap and Jermaine Cunningham will be getting double teams all game long.

Emmanuel Moody -RB

Even with the emergence of Jeff Demps and Chris Rainey, I still believe Moody is the best all around back we have. The Dawgs have a very speedy linebacker corps. Demps and Rainey might not get the chance to reach the second level too often. This game could be a trademark moment for Moody. I have never seen Moody go down after first contact. Those extra yards will be huge this weekend.