Thursday, August 10, 2006

Tebow and Harvin

SI.com has them as two of the 10 instant-impact freshmen.
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  1. Mr. Peacock8/10/2006 06:43:00 PM

    Tim Tebow, QB, Florida
    High school: Ponte Vedra Beach (Fla.) Nease

    At Bowling Green it was Josh Harris. At Utah it was Alex Smith. And at Florida, if the hype is any indication, Tebow will prove to be the next quarterback tailor-made for coach Urban Meyer's spread-option offense.

    Tebow, whose game is in the vein of Smith's, threw for 3,324 yards and 31 touchdowns last season and ran for 1,150 yards and 20 scores. Some Florida fans who are frustrated with three-year starter Chris Leak already are clamoring to get the freshman on the field.

    His profile got a boost when he starred in a documentary called Tim Tebow: The Chosen One before arriving on campus in January, and he fueled the discussion with his performance in the spring game, going 15-of-21 passing for 197 yards and a touchdown.

    But despite the chatter, Meyer's staff is taking it slow with Tebow (6-3, 217), though he will see the field this season.

    "As soon as Tim is ready we will put him in the game just to get him repetitions," quarterback coach Dan Mullen said. "However, we will not put him in before he is ready."

    Word is Meyer will develop the 22nd-ranked player by Rivals.com and play him in a series here and there. And despite the outcry on message boards, there's probably a bigger chance of Albert the Gator becoming the long snapper than Leak getting benched.

    Leak says he's trying to become a mentor to Tebow, something that Leak didn't have when he was thrust into the starting role as a freshman, and has been praising the freshman's worth ethic.

    Percy Harvin, WR, Florida
    High school: Virginia Beach (VA) Landstown

    There's no denying what attracted Urban Meyer to Harvin. "One of our goals on offense, I had a dream of being the fastest team in America," Meyer said. "Whether that will happen, who knows? We want speed."

    The nation's top-ranked recruit according to Rivals.com, Harvin ran a 4.32 40-yard dash at the Gators' first preseason practice -- and was upset over it, boasting that he ran a 4.29 at a combine in Virginia.

    Harvin had 1,236 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns last season, ran for 326 yards and 10 more touchdowns and returned three kickoffs and two punts for scores. Often compared to Deion Sanders, he'll give the Gators a chance to score every time he touches the ball, which is exactly what Meyer wants.

    "The way my simply mind works is big plays equals scores, so let's recruit speed," Meyer said. "Percy brings speed to our table."

    While the Gators return experience in seniors Dallas Baker, Jemalle Cornelius and Andre Caldwell, Harvin (6-1, 188) is expected to be in the rotation at wide receiver, and could supplant Cornelius as both a receiver and kick returner.

    The Parade All-America has had his share of troubles. He was involved in four school-related altercations in his final two years of high school and in February was banned from all interscholastic competition by the Virginia High School League.

    Meyer, though, says he's not concerned about these problems following Harvin to Gainesville. "It's one of the educated guesses you take in recruiting," Meyer told the Orlando Sentinel. "He realizes he's made some mistakes, but we think he's going to do fine with us. I feel good about this one."

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