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Gators believe they still have bite By Pat Forde Special to ESPN.com |
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Florida Gators
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Coach: Ron Zook (8-5, 2nd season) 2002 overall record: 8-5 Conference record: 6-2 Returning starters Offense: 6, Defense: 3, Kicker/Punter: 2 2002 statistical leaders (* - returners) Rushing: Earnest Graham (1,085 yds) Passing: Rex Grossman (3,402 yds) Receiving: Taylor Jacobs (1,088 yds) Tackles: Bam Hardmon (168) Sacks: Clint Mitchell & Bobby McCray* (2.3 each) Interceptions: Guss Scott* & Todd Johnson (2 each) Outlook: The season got off to an inglorious start when the media guide rolled off the presses . . . with a crocodile on the cover instead of an alligator. If anyone is supposed to know its reptiles without the aid of watching Animal Planet, it's Florida. "We asked for an alligator, we paid for an alligator, and unfortunately we did not get an alligator," Florida SID Steve McClain said. And if that's the worst thing Ron Zook has to deal with, it's a major upgrade from his rookie head-coaching season. Zook persevered through the death of his father, Florida's first five-loss season since pre-Spurrier and the infamous appearance of FireRonZook.com, a web site dedicated to demonizing the coach for everything but the sluggish economy. Despite all that, this year could be worse, at least on the field. Quarterback Rex Grossman is gone, leaving a three-way scrum to replace him. The usual collection of home-run-threat wide receivers seem to have disappeared. And on defense, the front seven is almost bereft of familiar names. All that, and the four teams that beat Florida during the 2002 regular season all remain on the schedule. No wonder the Gators are farther down the preseason rankings than they've been since before Steve Superior coached his first in Gainesville, in 1990. No prognosticators consider them Top 10 material, and few even have Florida in the top 20. "I like to see us picked third in our division -- that adds to the fire," said cornerback Kiewan Ratliff, who likely will play both ways, getting significant playing time at wide receiver as well. "Not being ranked in the top 5 or top 10 or even the Top 25 drives us harder." Job One for Zook this fall is selecting the successor to Grossman. Sophomore Ingle Martin enters drills atop the depth chart, followed by 5-foot-10 redshirt freshman Gavin Dickey. Hotshot recruit Chris Leak could work his way into the picture if the others don't produce (and early returns on his work in practice are fairly glowing). Whoever gets the job at least has a talented back to hand off to in Ran Carthon and one of the nation's great physical specimens to throw to in tight end Ben Troupe. New defensive coordinator Charlie Strong earned a stellar rep at South Carolina, and he'll have to be good to keep this unit near the top of the SEC statistical rankings. There aren't a lot of players who have made big plays in big games, especially up front, but oft-troubled defensive tackle Mo Mitchell was voted back onto the team earlier this summer after being dismissed. If he gets his act together, he could be a force. The kicking game, which at times was slapstick bad last year, must improve. So, according to Ratliff, must the overall player attitude. The days of the QB (in this case, Grossman) audibling to old Spurrier plays had better be over. "I think everyone on our team is now in the coach Zook mindset and is ready and willing to work with him," Ratliff said. "Last year, I don't think we had that. I think some of the older guys were still in the coach Spurrier mindset." So were a lot of the fans. The challenge now is for Zook to win them over. Keep an eye on: Dallas Baker, touchdown maker? Baker has yet to catch an official pass as a Gator, but the 6-3, 196-pound sophomore has the size and speed to become the next big-play threat in the famous Florida passing game. The New Smyrna, Fla., product sat out last season for academic reasons and did a year of time at a prep school back East, so Florida fans have been waiting a long time to see him do his stuff in orange and blue. Key game: The pressure on Zook escalated in Week Two on the job last year, when the Gators were blown out of their own Swamp by Miami, 41-16. This year Florida goes to Miami in Week Two for a return engagement. A second successive rout would only give the Zook bashers more to shout about. He doesn't need that in early September, so Florida must at least keep it competitive into the final minutes against a team entering the season ranked in every top five. It's a good year if. . .: Given the personnel losses and the schedule, it's unrealistic to expect Florida to return to the 10-win days under Visor Boy. (Though it should help to draw Tennessee and Florida State at home, and to drop Auburn while adding Arkansas on the league slate.) For Zook's sake, it's important to show improvement from last year's 8-5, which included stirring wins over Georgia and Tennessee but also featured three losses by 17 or more points. Two years is hardly time to make a fully informed decision on Zook's fitness for the position, as athletic director Jeremy Foley has said repeatedly. But Spurrier turned expectations on their head in Gainesville. Zook has to live with that. Pat Forde covers college football for the Louisville Courier-Journal.
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