Florida Gators

Gainesville Regional wrap: The No. 1 overall seed Florida Gators looked strong as they advance to host a Super Regional for the fourth straight year. The Gators are trying to make their third consecutive trip to the College World Series, which would be a first in school history.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Today, and only today, Florida catcher Mike Zunino is allowing himself to finally think about the Major League Baseball draft.

Otherwise, Zunino -- who is projected to be among the top five selections -- has pretty much ignored any thoughts of where he might be selected, by which team, and whether he will sign a professional contract or return to Florida for his senior season, because he’s more focused on helping the Gators return to the College World Series.

"Honestly, it was an afterthought this whole weekend," Zunino said after the Gators’ 15-3 victory over Georgia Tech on Sunday night sent them to this weekend’s Super Regional against either Vanderbilt or N.C. State. "We came out with one goal and that’s to try to make it to the College World Series, and I’ve got 34 other teammates that are trying to do the same goal, and I’m just trying to play for one cause. It was really an afterthought. Once the game starts you really don’t think about it."

The 6-foot-2, 220-pound Zunino will be the highest drafted UF player in Monday night’s first round (7 p.m. ET), but there will be numerous Gators and signees selected in the three-day draft. Zunino (fourth), pitcher/DH Brian Johnson (28^th), shortstop Nolan Fontana (44^th) and reliever Steven Rodriguez (71^st) are all ranked among the top 100 players in ESPN Insider Keith Law’s pre-draft rankings. Law also has two UF signees -- pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. (Tampa, Fla./Jesuit) and outfielder Lewis Brinson (Tamarac, Fla./Coral Springs) -- among his top 100. McCullers is 25^th and Brinson is 55^th.

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ESPN's GatorNation brings you the 30 things you need to know about Florida’s upcoming 2012 season. Over the next 30 weekdays, we’ll preview games, talk about trends, spotlight players and positions, and give you pretty much everything you need to know to be ready for the season before the Sept. 1 opener against Bowling Green.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- What kind of season will Florida have in its second year under coach Will Muschamp?

Fans are hoping Muschamp can duplicate Bob Stoops, Jim Tressel, Urban Meyer and Gene Chizik, and win a national championship in year two. That’s a best-case scenario, for sure, but maybe a more realistic expectation is for Muschamp to duplicate G.E. Pyle, D.K. Stanley or Ray Wolf.

Not sure who they are? They’re three of the six former UF coaches who posted a better record in their second season than they did in their first. It’s a tougher task than it probably seems, because 14 of UF’s previous 20 head coaches (Gary Darnell was an interim coach for less than a season) had identical or worse records in year two compared to their rookie season.

Part of that is because of the rigors of the Southeastern Conference, but it also is a symptom of the normal transition that occurs during any coaching change. Some players don’t fit the new system. Some players are unhappy with the new staff and leave. Some players don’t handle transition well.

For a long time, taking a dip in year two wasn’t a problem. Coaches had at least five years to build a program, so a couple of years of decline were seen as part of the process. No longer. Coaches, especially those at BCS schools, generally have three years to get things rolling or they get booted. That doesn’t seem to be the case at Florida because of the state of the program Muschamp inherited from Meyer. It’ll take at least two seasons for Muschamp to re-establish discipline and recruit the players that fit his pro-style system.

Nevertheless, it would certainly be to his benefit to post a better record than 7-6 in 2012. Here’s a look at the six former UF coaches who did show improvement in their second seasons.

When I start searching my memory bank for the best individual seasons of the past 50 years in the SEC, I don't have to go back very far to come up with at least two that rank up there with any in college football history.

But like any other ranking in the SEC, coming up with the top five individual seasons is one tough chore.

Here goes:

1. Cam Newton, QB, Auburn, 2010: Granted, it was only one season. But what a season it was on the Plains for Newton and the Tigers. Newton, who came over from junior college after starting his career at Florida, guided Auburn to a 14-0 record and the school's first national championship in 53 years. He was unstoppable as a runner and equally dynamic as a passer, accounting for 51 touchdowns. The runaway winner of the 2010 Heisman Trophy, Newton was second nationally in passing efficiency (182.05) and led all SEC players in rushing with 1,473 yards. In short, it was about as close as it gets to being a perfect season.

2. Tim Tebow, QB, Florida, 2007: Tebow's sophomore season was his best statistically, even though the Gators didn't win a national title that year. He became the first quarterback in FBS history to pass for 20 touchdowns and rush for 20 touchdowns in the same season. Tebow finished with 32 passing touchdowns and 23 rushing touchdowns in becoming the first sophomore in history to win the Heisman Trophy. Not known for his passing prowess, Tebow threw for 3,286 yards and only six interceptions that season. He also rushed for 895 yards and was the Gators' go-to guy any time they got near the goal line.

3. Herschel Walker, RB, Georgia, 1980: Even though Walker won his Heisman Trophy in 1982, it was his freshman season in 1980 that everyone remembers. It remains almost mythical with the way he burst onto the scene in the second half of the opener that year against Tennessee and ran over Bill Bates at the goal line. He rushed for 1,616 yards that season in leading the Bulldogs to a 12-0 record and national championship. In a lot of ways, Walker was the first of his kind, a 225-pound bruiser who had track speed. To this day, many consider him to be the SEC's greatest player.

4. Derrick Thomas, OLB, Alabama, 1988: When you start talking about pure stats and gaudy numbers, it's hard to top what Thomas accomplished during the 1988 season. He set an SEC record with 39 tackles for loss, including an NCAA record 27 sacks. Thomas, who died in 2000, also had an incredible 45 quarterback hurries that season. He completely took over the Penn State game with three sacks and a safety, and to this day he remains the standard for rushing the passer in this league. Former Alabama coach Bill Curry called him the "best football player I ever coached."

5. Danny Wuerffel, QB, Florida, 1996: Never fully satisfied with the way his quarterbacks perform, Steve Spurrier came close in 1996. Wuerffel was brilliant that season in leading the Gators to a national championship. He finished with 3,625 passing yards and 39 touchdown passes on his way to winning the Heisman Trophy. His accuracy and ability to put the ball in places his receivers could turn short gains into touchdowns made him one of the Head Ball Coach's favorites. "Danny Wonderful" didn't have an exceptionally strong arm but always knew where to go with the football.

Editor’s note: This week, “College Football Live” will be counting down the top five individual performances of the last 50 years. Tim Tebow’s 2007 season came in at No. 5. Tune in to “College Football Live” at 3:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.

Even before Tim Tebow suited up for the Florida Gators as a wide-eyed freshman in 2006, he had achieved rock-star status in Gainesville.

Two years later, he stood in a class by himself when he became the first underclassman to win the Heisman Trophy. He did so by being the first major college football player to run for 20 or more touchdowns and pass for 20 or more touchdowns in a single season.

After helping the Gators win a national championship in 2006, Tebow truly broke out in front of the college football world by smashing into and running over just about every opposing player who came his way.

The same player who once finished a high school football game for his Nease High team in Jacksonville, Fla., with a broken leg broke the spirits of countless defenders with his reckless yet exquisite hit-you-first-and-harder running mentality.

At final count, Tebow threw for 3,286 yards and 32 touchdowns to six interceptions, while running the ball 210 times for 895 yards and 23 touchdowns. He also ran and threw for a score in all 13 of Florida’s games during the 2007 season.

Just when you thought Tebow was down, he spun out or trucked a guy. You knew he was running it up the middle so you stacked the line, but he somehow made you look like an amateur by making your tactic obsolete.

He was so powerful, but so incredibly agile as well. But what pushed him over the edge was his passion and desire to win and be better than everyone else on the field at all times.

He took total command and exacted his will on defenders each and every night -- even in defeat. But he wasn’t just a terror on the field; he was very likable off it, as he displayed a very gentle and genuine persona, signing off each news conference with “God bless.”

Tebow’s run to greatness started off innocently enough. In the opener against Western Kentucky, he threw for 300 yards and three touchdowns, while rushing for 38 yards and another score. We’d come to find that this would be considered mild for Tebow.

In his first SEC game as a starter, Tebow threw for 299 yards, rushed for 61 yards, threw two touchdowns and ran for two more. A week later at Ole Miss, he set a school record for quarterbacks with 166 rushing yards on 27 carries and accounted for four more touchdowns.

Through the first eight games he averaged 3.6 scores per game and even though Florida had three losses and was virtually out of the SEC East race, the national scene was enamored with Tebow.

Heisman talk exploded on Nov. 10 on a chilly night in Columbia, S.C.

With star wide receiver Percy Harvin back in Gainesville for health reasons, Tebow was left to command the Gators offense without his most trusted sidekick. What seemed like a recipe for disaster for Tebow and the Gators turned into the ultimate highlight reel for him. South Carolina did everything but contain Tebow as he accounted for seven touchdowns, five rushing, and 424 (304 passing/120 rushing) total yards in Florida’s 51-31 win.

Florida coach Urban Meyer called it a “Heisman performance.”

"Seven touchdowns. Wow. That's pretty good,” Meyer told reporters after the game.

Tebow’s romp continued right into the regular-season finale -- Florida State. FSU linebacker Geno Hayes said that Tebow was “going down” during the week leading up to the affair, but he misjudged his foe.

Tebow fell down in the end zone or across the first-down marker again and again. He saved some of his best and most nimble runs for the Noles, electrifying the Swamp with every step he took and every tackle or defender he shook off.

He accounted for 351 yards and five touchdowns. His teammates urged him to strike the Heisman pose in front of everyone as he knelt down to run the clock out, but the always-humble Tebow laughed it off.

I guess good things come to those who wait.

When Tebow won the Heisman, he grabbed the heavy bronze trophy with help from a broken right hand. He suffered the injury during his drubbing of FSU’s defense, and it was nothing short of perfect that he held his prize with a blue cast slipping out from under his suit sleeve.

Tebow, who also captured the Davey O'Brien and Maxwell awards, said all the right things that night, but what ate at him was that he was winning an award without a championship to show for it. No SEC. No chance at the national title. Even when he owned the room, he still thought of his team first. He thirsted for a national title, and while he had one of the greatest individual seasons in college football history, not winning any sort of championship internally put a stain on it.

Fortunately for Tebow, he didn’t have to wait very long to accomplish that feat.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- The Florida Gators got mad, and that got Georgia Tech beat.

The Gators scored three runs in the fourth inning -- including one on Mike Zunino’s solo home run to left center field -- after a controversial end to the third inning to beat the Yellow Jackets 6-2 in a winners’ bracket game in the Gainesville Regional on Saturday night at McKethan Stadium. The top-seeded Gators will play on Sunday evening against the winner of Sunday’s afternoon’s Georgia Tech-College of Charleston elimination game.

What sparked UF’s offense in the top of the fourth was a debate of how the third inning actually ended. Georgia Tech had runners on first and second with two out, and starting pitcher Hudson Randall appeared to strike out first baseman Jake Davies after Zunino caught a foul tip. As the Gators left the field, however, Davies argued that the ball had actually hit the ground before Zunino caught it.

The umpires gathered in front of home plate to discuss the play while the grounds crew dragged the infield and Georgia Tech took the field. After a huddle that lasted for nearly five minutes, home plate umpire Mike Morris ruled that the ball had hit the ground before Zunino caught it and sent the Yellow Jackets back to the dugout and called the Gators back onto the field.

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Defensive back D.J. Smith (Marietta, Ga./Walton) has picked up a quite a few offers lately. The lifelong Gators fan talks with RecruitingNation about his most recent offers from Florida and Georgia.

Jonathon Crawford threw a no-hitter and faced the minimum 27 batters in top-seeded Florida's 2-0 victory against Bethune-Cookman on Friday night in the Gainesville, Fla. regional opening round. Crawford got a standing ovation, a dog pile from teammates and a shaving cream facial after the game.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Soon-to-be ex-Gator shooting guard Bradley Beal must have tuned into the NBA draft lottery on Wednesday night to sneak a peak at which teams have a chance to draft him on June 28.

ESPN NBA draft guru Chad Ford has him going anywhere from No. 2 overall to No. 5. A case could be made for any of those teams -- Charlotte, Washington, Cleveland or Sacramento -- drafting the talented and versatile Beal.

Beal is among the 60 players invited by the NBA to the Chicago pre-draft camp from June 7-8. Until then, let the speculation run rampant!

In his latest mock draft (5.0), Ford has the Washington Wizards drafting Beal with the No. 3 overall pick. Ford also has Beal No. 3 on his list of the top 100 prospects behind only Anthony Davis and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist.

In his evaluation, Ford calls Beal "an excellent athlete and can do just about everything on the floor. He can handle the ball, get to the basket, shoot the 3 with NBA range and he can even play point guard in a pinch." Ford says scouts were impressed with Beal's 6.7 rebounds per game, which led the Gators last season. But observers had some concerns about Beal's much-ballyhooed shooting touch (he shot 34 percent from 3-point range).

ESPN's Doug Gottlieb also ranked the top prospects available and pegged Beal at No. 2 overall, calling him a "prototype 2" who "should translate into an NBA shooting guard right away, especially with his athleticism and range."

ESPN's GatorNation brings you the 30 things you need to know about Florida’s upcoming 2012 season. Over the next 30 weekdays, we’ll preview games, talk about trends, spotlight players and positions, and give you pretty much everything you need to know to be ready for the season before the Sept. 1 opener against Bowling Green.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Sophomores Jeff Driskel and Jacoby Brissett will continue their battle to be Florida’s starting quarterback into August. The competition, UF coach Will Muschamp has said at various Gator club gatherings this spring, is too close to call.

Neither was particularly impressive last season when forced into action because of injuries to starter John Brantley. Brissett completed 46.2 percent of his passes for 206 yards and two touchdowns with four interceptions, while Driskel completed 47.1 percent of his passes for 148 yards with two interceptions.

Brissett started the LSU game and understandably struggled against a Tigers defense loaded with NFL talent. But he and Driskel each played a half against Auburn (Brissett started), and all they could manage was six points against a defense that gave up at least 34 points seven times last season.

They should be better this season. They’re a year older, have SEC experience and are much more comfortable with offensive coordinator Brent Pease than Charlie Weis. There’s historical evidence to suggest that the one who does win the job will have a solid season. Of the 10 first-year starters at quarterback at UF since 1980, seven threw more touchdowns than interceptions, and all but four threw for at least 2,000 yards.

As expected, the SEC presidents are firmly behind their coaches, athletic directors and their commissioner.

They favor a national playoff that includes the best four teams and one that doesn't give preferential treatment to conference champions.

That announcement came Friday as the SEC spring meetings wrapped up in Destin, Fla.

And at least one of the SEC presidents, Florida's Bernie Machen, is pretty confident that the SEC will get its wish when everything is finalized this month.

Check out this quote from Machen: "I think that’s what the public wants (the best four teams). So I think everyone is going to have to come to us on that."

The SEC/Big East Challenge may not quite have the longstanding cachet of its ACC/Big Ten brethren, nor should it. The ACC/Big Ten Challenge is 13 going on 14, and as the years piled up and the Atlantic Coasters just kept winning -- the ACC won the first 10 challenges, which seems almost impossible, before the Big Ten rebounded with three straight wins -- the dominance created a weird sort of intrigue all its own.

The SEC/Big East Challenge is just five years old, and probably less well-known than its counterpart, but it's getting there -- and the 2012 matchups should only help.

Said matchups were released by the fine folks over at ESPN programming today, and they are as follows:

Thursday, Nov. 29
Marquette at Florida
Seton Hall at LSU
Kentucky at Notre Dame
South Carolina at St. John’s

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