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Harvin, Spikes Likely NFL-Bound

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 8, 2009

FORT LAUDERDALE - In the days after tonight's game, it is considered likely wide receiver Percy Harvin and linebacker Brandon Spikes both will declare themselves eligible for the NFL draft and leave Florida after their junior seasons.

QB Tim Tebow also could make the same decision.

Gators coach Urban Meyer says he will not attempt to influence decisions - only see that they are educated ones.

"I'm never going to force my opinion on someone," he said. "Now I have the kind of team where players and coaches are real close. When we first got there the coaches were the bad guys. Now I have a guy calling me, 'What do I do, Coach?' You're like a father. It's really tremendous.

"The guys that will make decisions at Florida from here on out will make very fine decisions. When I say fine, I don't know if it's the right one. It's going to be a decision based on education - that they've talked to the right people, they've done their homework, they've done their research. It's not with some agent, not what some third uncle is going to tell them. He'll be on the phone with Bill Belichick, Jon Gruden or Jack Del Rio, guys that I have good relationships with. If they want to talk to those people, talk to them, but make the right decision.

"That's a family decision. I know the guys that we have will make the right decision."

TIME WELL SPENT

When the BCS Championship kicks off tonight, 33 days will have passed since the Florida Gators or Oklahoma Sooners last saw action.

That inactivity could lead to some early rustiness, but Gators coach Urban Meyer is happy to face that challenge.

"We had injuries and we were done," Meyer said, looking back to the SEC Championship win against Alabama. "If we had to play this game any earlier than Jan. 8, I don't think we'd have a chance to win just because of our injury situation. We lost four players in that Alabama game and then Percy Harvin did not play and Brandon Antwine didn't play.

"The good thing is Jan. 8, we should be fairly healthy.

"I like the way Percy Harvin had limited practice. We are expecting him to be close to full speed, and Carl Johnson is going to be ready to go, Louis Murphy and Kestahn Moore, who actually had cartilage surgery right after the Alabama game, will be ready to go as well."

LAST OF A BREED

Florida's Urban Meyer and OU's Bob Stoops have put themselves on the short list of the nation's premier coaches. There is no reason to expect they will not remain there for many more years.

Well, maybe not that many.

Neither voiced any thought of following the path being blazed by FSU's Bobby Bowden or Penn State's Joe Paterno.

"I don't know if you'll ever see that again," Meyer said of the two veterans. "You certainly won't see it at the same institution. People get tired of you and they want to run you out of town; you see that all the time.

"You're a missed field goal away from being a bum with everybody else. That's just part of the deal. All coaches know that now.

"You have about two, three years to get your program going. So I don't see doing that."

ALL PROS

Gators coach Urban Meyer has continually used the word "professionalism" this year in applauding his team's approach to the season.

What exactly does that mean, and how does he get college players to act like pros?

"What I mean by that is there's some people, their profession is to write articles, and there's other professions that you build buildings, you're an architect, you're a classroom teacher," he said. "If you let something get in the way of that, then you're not very good at your job. Our job for some reason these kids are all blessed enough to play at University of Florida. Make no mistake about it, that's their job, to get an education and play football. If there's a lot of other things that get in the way of that, then they're usually pretty lousy at what they do, they're a lousy football player and a lousy student and lousy at both because other things get in the way."

Mick Elliott

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