Florida Gators

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Florida received commitment No. 19 this weekend from three-star linebacker Bryan Cox Jr. (Ft. Lauderdale,Fla./St. Thomas Aquinas), son of former 12-year NFL veteran Bryan Cox.

Cox, who holds offers from Miami, North Carolina, Michigan State, Iowa and Louisville among others, said he chose the Gators because of his comfort with the Florida coaching staff.

"I chose them because I get a great vibe from the Gator Nation," Cox said. "I think I fit well into their system and the degree from Florida means something. The academics are outstanding, and I have been really impressed with the coaching staff."

At 6-foot-2, 230 pounds, Cox could play a number of positions, but Florida defensive coordinator Dan Quinn already has an idea of how he wants to use Cox.

"Coach Quinn told me they want me to play ether defensive end or their buck, which is a hybrid position," Cox said.

Whatever position he ends up playing, Cox said Florida will be getting a player who will help the team however he can.

"Florida is getting a very gritty and tough player that will give it his all and try to contribute to the team as much as possible," he said.

Cox will join Jeremi Powell (Largo, Fla./Pinellas Park) and Antonio Morrison (Bolingbrook, Ill./Bolingbrook), Florida's other linebacker commits.

By now, just about everybody has seen or heard about the despicable incident in New Orleans which led to the arrest of Alabama fan Brian Downing.

He’s charged with committing sexual battery against an unconscious LSU fan on Bourbon Street following the Allstate BCS National Championship Game, all of which was caught on video and made the rounds on the Internet.

Downing, who’s from Smiths Station, Ala., turned himself in to New Orleans Police on Thursday night. His bond was set at $10,000.

I’d refrained from weighing in on this latest black eye involving a supposed Alabama fan for a couple of different reasons.

For one, I wanted to see what additional information came out about the situation, and what was fact and what was fiction.

And even more importantly, the less attention given to such garbage, the better off we all are. At least, that’s always been my take.

But, hey, it’s a national story now, and SEC fans (Alabama fans in this particular case) come off looking like the stereotypical uncouth knuckleheads that they are portrayed to be in other parts of the country.

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In this edition of Recruiting Nation 411, ESPN’s recruiting experts take a look at the biggest recruiting battles in their region.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Florida reserve defensive tackle Leon Orr has a February court date to face misdemeanor possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia stemming from his arrest earlier this month.

According to a report in The Independent Florida Alligator, University of Florida Police found a bag of marijuana, a pipe, and rolling papers in Orr’s dorm room on Jan. 10. According to the report, police received Orr’s permission to search his room, but there was no indication in the police report why the police wanted to search Orr’s room.

UF spokesman Daniel Apple said coach Will Muschamp is aware of the incident and has handled the matter, but was unable to say whether Orr has been suspended.

Orr, a 6-foot-5, 310-pound redshirt freshman who had 10 tackles and one sack in 2011, is the eighth player to be arrested (fifth for marijuana possession) since Muschamp took over for Urban Meyer in January 2011.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Junior defensive tackle Damien Jacobs underwent a minor surgical procedure on a finger 0n Thursday, but it won't keep him from participating in spring practice.

Jacobs tweeted that "surgery went well" and thanked people for their prayers. The 6-foot-3, 295-pound juco transfer from East Mississippi Community College is one of six players who enrolled earlier this month. He is expected to push for playing time at defensive tackle.

You've already seen Chris Low's to-do lists for the Western Division teams, so now it's time to check out what the East teams need to take care of before next fall:

FLORIDA

• Two major areas new offensive coordinator Brent Pease needs to hit during his first offseason with the Gators is running back and wide receiver. Florida must find a downhill running back for Pease's offense, and a reliable go-to wide receiver -- two things Florida lacked in 2011.
• With quarterback John Brantley graduating, Pease must find a new starting quarterback. That means developing rising sophomores Jacoby Brissett and Jeff Driskel, who struggled in relief of Brantley at times last season, and Tyler Murphy, who has yet to take a snap.
• Toughen up mentally and physically. The Gators ranked 89th nationally in penalties, and were called out by coach Will Muschamp as being too soft in his first season. Soft can't win in the SEC.

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Tune in to ESPNU at 5:30 p.m. ET today for RecruitingNation. Tom Luginbill, Craig Haubert and national and local writers from RecruitingNation break down the latest recruiting news from across the country.

Thursday's show will look at the impact on Gunner Kiel’s decision to attend Notre Dame, what the pledge does for the Irish and where does LSU go now at quarterback? There will also be analysis on Mario Edwards’ decision to eliminate Texas from consideration on Thursday, what Jameis Winston is going to do and how Oklahoma is going do to recover from losing one of its best recruiters.

Luginbill and Haubert will also review the new ESPNU 150 rankings that were released on Thursday and highlight some of the big risers and fallers.

The broadcast can also be seen on WatchESPN.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- There is so much going on with recruiting right now, we could aggregate all day. Might just have to. Anyway, there's no time for chit-chat. Here we go, starting with a major project by RecruitingNation to revisit the Class of 2008. It was a great year for the Gators on the field. In recruiting? Not so much.

Re-ranking 2008’s top 10 classes (Insider)
Florida had ESPNU's No. 4 class in 2008. This time around the Gators aren't in the top 10. A pair of national championships prove Alabama landed the top re-ranked class, while Miami’s top-ranked class falls flat. Here are a few videos: Class Rankings: Craig Haubert looks at the class rankings for 2008 and puts together a new top 10. The big hits: Haubert looks at some of the players the ESPN scouts were right about. The big misses: Haubert looks at some of the players the ESPN scouts were wrong about.

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In case you missed today's chat with GatorNation recruiting expert Derek Tyson, you can read the complete transcript here. Tyson will do a live chat every Wednesday leading up to National Signing Day, so come back next week with fresh questions!