The Florida Gator I want the most

[GatorChomp]

I just read an article that said a lot of teams will make sure not to bring in the players they really want for private work outs. Keeps teams from trading up to grab the player they want. Too many mind games this time of year! AAAAH!

[getlynched47]

I wouldn't get my hopes up. We haven't even worked out the eye poking machine.

That means nothing.

The limit for visits is 30 players. Do you honestly believe that our board is only 30 players long?

This may come as a surprise to you, but teams draft players even if they don't privately work them out

I really can't believe that you told us not to get our hopes up simply because we didn't bring him in for a private visit. That's sad.

[Endzo]

I wouldn't get my hopes up. We haven't even worked out the eye poking machine.

[PhillyBronco24]

Ehh I'm so so on Spikes. Yes hes a big physical guy, but he lacks speed. I'm not talking about his 40 times because they are useless. But I forget who but one game I rememeber him trying to chase down a qb and he just couldn't do it. It wasnt a big time qb or anything, but still couldn't chase down a qb? That raises questions for me. The pace in the nfl is much much faster then college, but he had a problem running down a qb. He is very physical and a leader, but to me speed is very important and if he ever had to drop back in coverage I dont see that happening. Worst case is DJ gets hurt and he had to move up to our number one ILB in the middle and well he doesnt have the skill set to do that, or at least to me.

Now I dont want to make this a spikes vs McClain thread but McClain has a much bigger skill set, and I'm more impress with him then spikes. I mean he brings the leader quality and was the leader of the top college defense that speaks volumes to me. A good word from saban doesnt hurt either. And I know we would have to use our 11th on him but I think he is worth it because unlike spikes if DJ does go down this kid had the innate abilities to step up and play the number one ILB on our d.

As for joe haden I have no idea how you can say you feel sorry for whoever takes him. Hes an amazing talent and a great frame for a db. Great instincts and football IQ might be a few things he has to work on, but probably the only cb that can come straight out the draft and start.

[getlynched47]

NO. NO. NO.
Dude is a major head case.

Typical ignorance

[biggbenns]

NO. NO. NO.
Dude is a major head case.

[UJJ]

I like to get Florida Gator Maurkice Pouncey. I think he fits the role of

becoming another great Denver Center I think he would be all-pro type

player.:go:

Yeah, he is the Gator Id like to have above all others. No doubt about it. This is more important than a WR.

Here is what PFW said about him:

The best center to enter the draft in some time, Pouncey is a powerful, athletic, big-framed, mauler who plays to his size and has proven his ability at the highest level of college football. Should be able to step in to a starting job immediately and play a long time in the league. Has Pro Bowl potential. Will be the first center drafted, and value could be enhanced by the lack of available talent at the position.

[Chillez]

I like to get Florida Gator Maurkice Pouncey. I think he fits the role of

becoming another great Denver Center I think he would be all-pro type

player.:go:

[RealBronco]

The more and more I look at everybody's mock drafts i see a Florida Gator in just about every one. It's not that hard to understand though, I mean with all the quality Gator's that have entered this years draft class. You got Tebow, Haden, Pouncey, Dunlap, Hernandez, even Riley Cooper.

Now I am well aware that Pouncey is a special player, and would fill a much needed hole for this football team, we are just in an awkward spot to try and pick him up. I would love for our team to land him, it would just matter how we went about doing it to see if i would approve or not.

Joe Haden, man all I can say is i feel sorry for who ever takes this kid in the 1st round. Now I know he isn't bad, and won't be a huge bust or anything, but he just isn't a top 10 pick in my opinion.

Tim Tebow... Wow I could go on and on about this guy, all i can say is NO! to Tebow. Ya so what he's a proven winner, blah blah blah, well Colt McCoy is the all-time leader in wins in college football history, so why not take him? He is a more NFL ready quarterback than Tebow. Can't argue with his leadership and intangibles, but he is not a NFL QB! I would feel like punching myself in the face if we drafted Tim Tebow, but being the fan that I am, I would learn to cheer for him

Hernandez doesn't make sense to me either, I mean we are more than likely trading away Scheff, so what sense would it make to draft Hernandez.

But the one guy I would absolutely love to have keep his Orange and Blue pride is Brandon Spikes

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4KJUEdN3T8&feature=related

Yes I said it, the eye poker. I understand that the stereotypical McD "guy" wouldn't do something like this. This was during a UF vs UGA game correct? Emotions were prolly running at a level he's never played at before and i'm not saying what he did was ok or that you should forget about it, but ya the kid made a mistake. He apologized for it he came out and admitted he was wrong.
People say the kid is dirty, I think he plays with an attitude. Something this defense needs. A little bit of a swag too it. Champ has a silent kind of swag to him, Doom brings it, and so does Dawkins. But I think Brandon Spikes makes this defense kinda scary. (No not just kinda, really scary)

dang i forgot about Spikes... come to think of it there are three Gators I wouldn't mind staying in orange and blue. Tebow, Spikes and even Cooper (we do need a receiver right? lol).

also here's another reason to want Tebow (i know QB isn't a need, but leadership and character like this only comes around once in a while). They mention something that happened in one of the games (possibly Spikes' eye-poke? And Tebow handles it really well and refuses to talk about it. This is something QBs need to have, if there's something that caused the team to lose, or something bad that happened (which often did with Marshall), you need a guy like Tebow who will just say "hey, let's not talk about it...we'll work that out our own way but i'm not discussing it here."

I may have liked that Cutler got all upset and chastised Marshall for his McDonald's bag incident, but he could have gone about it more privately. I probably didn't feel that way then, but I still liked the way he handled it, stepping up and calling Marshall out, however I would much rather have a leader like Tebow who would handle that differently, but still be stern with a fellow team mate.

[ERoyal248]

I would definately want Spikes, great team leader, fierce, would be a great addition to the team. I would definately like to have him in Denver.

[Pruke]

Yeah, he's a stronger pass rusher than McClain and is also really good at getting his hand on the ball when its in the air, whether from dropping back in zone coverage or when rushing the passer. He's decent against the run but will overpursue from time to time and this is where McClain is better. McClain pursues with better discipline but thats a big part of playing LB. Its not that Spikes is garbage against the run but McClain is better. Spikes is better at pass rushing and defending the pass though.

Spikes played with an injured groing last year. Perhaps thats why he overpursued?

I went to or saw the majority of Gator games last year and I can tell you he brings something special in zone / man converages, with plus hands and plus returns.

[cvnorton]

The more and more I look at everybody's mock drafts i see a Florida Gator in just about every one. It's not that hard to understand though, I mean with all the quality Gator's that have entered this years draft class. You got Tebow, Haden, Pouncey, Dunlap, Hernandez, even Riley Cooper.

Now I am well aware that Pouncey is a special player, and would fill a much needed hole for this football team, we are just in an awkward spot to try and pick him up. I would love for our team to land him, it would just matter how we went about doing it to see if i would approve or not.

Joe Haden, man all I can say is i feel sorry for who ever takes this kid in the 1st round. Now I know he isn't bad, and won't be a huge bust or anything, but he just isn't a top 10 pick in my opinion.

Tim Tebow... Wow I could go on and on about this guy, all i can say is NO! to Tebow. Ya so what he's a proven winner, blah blah blah, well Colt McCoy is the all-time leader in wins in college football history, so why not take him? He is a more NFL ready quarterback than Tebow. Can't argue with his leadership and intangibles, but he is not a NFL QB! I would feel like punching myself in the face if we drafted Tim Tebow, but being the fan that I am, I would learn to cheer for him

Hernandez doesn't make sense to me either, I mean we are more than likely trading away Scheff, so what sense would it make to draft Hernandez.

But the one guy I would absolutely love to have keep his Orange and Blue pride is Brandon Spikes

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4KJUEdN3T8&feature=related

Yes I said it, the eye poker. I understand that the stereotypical McD "guy" wouldn't do something like this. This was during a UF vs UGA game correct? Emotions were prolly running at a level he's never played at before and i'm not saying what he did was ok or that you should forget about it, but ya the kid made a mistake. He apologized for it he came out and admitted he was wrong.
People say the kid is dirty, I think he plays with an attitude. Something this defense needs. A little bit of a swag too it. Champ has a silent kind of swag to him, Doom brings it, and so does Dawkins. But I think Brandon Spikes makes this defense kinda scary. (No not just kinda, really scary)

In my mock I have Pouncy, tebow, and spikes........all three just look so good in orange and blue why change it!!!

[Kno-Sean]

Yup yup!

I've been riding the Brandon Spikes bandwagon for a while now.

I love the guy, and it's unfortunate that a premiere linebacker is being overlooked because of a slow 40 time and the eye-gouging incident. He's easily the 2nd best Inner Linebacker in the entire draft. If we could get him in the 2nd or 3rd, that would allow us to address a different position in the 1st instead of drafting McClain.

I don't feel that there's a massive drop off from McClain to Spikes.

Yes it might be unfortunate, but it could be a blessing at the same time if we were able to draft him in the 3rd round!

[getlynched47]

Yup yup!

I've been riding the Brandon Spikes bandwagon for a while now.

I love the guy, and it's unfortunate that a premiere linebacker is being overlooked because of a slow 40 time and the eye-gouging incident. He's easily the 2nd best Inner Linebacker in the entire draft. If we could get him in the 2nd or 3rd, that would allow us to address a different position in the 1st instead of drafting McClain.

I don't feel that there's a massive drop off from McClain to Spikes.

[UJJ]

If we get him we'd finally get a LB that brings the intensity we've been missing since Al Wilson left. The eye gouge was the only incident that he had at Florida. The kid is physical, smart, and a great leader. His slow time at the combine has raised a few questions about him, but he plays much faster in pads than the stop watch shows. Brutal against the run, and much better in coverage than you'd think for his size. Plus he can be moved around a lot and is a great pass rusher. If it wasn't for the 40 time he'd be a sure 1st rounder.

I think Moreno still has nightmares about him. Talk about driving through tackles:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IQSh...eature=related

Yeah, he's a stronger pass rusher than McClain and is also really good at getting his hand on the ball when its in the air, whether from dropping back in zone coverage or when rushing the passer. He's decent against the run but will overpursue from time to time and this is where McClain is better. McClain pursues with better discipline but thats a big part of playing LB. Its not that Spikes is garbage against the run but McClain is better. Spikes is better at pass rushing and defending the pass though.

Spikes played with an injured groing last year. Perhaps thats why he overpursued?