The Silver Lining: 8/6 Orange Blue News
***Will Muschamp Monday Media Opportunity - Updates on Fowler Jr., Pittman, Jones, Jacobs and more***
FLORIDA FOOTBALL & RECRUITING: 10 Football Tidbits | Quarterback race a dead-heat | New return rules don't faze Debose | Florida to cut loose four-star commitment? | Commitments respond to Hill news - one solid, one not | Players talk about player run offseason practices | Still soft? Gut check time for offensive line | Fall Practice Breakdown | Friday Practice Notebook | Must Read: Ball back after brain surgery | Lineman commits to Florida | Impact Analysis: Where does Hill's departure leave Florida | Wide receiver commitments react | Muschamp's statement on Hill's resignation | Bryan's initial thoughts | Behind the scenes | List of possible replacements
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In order to make sure Florida Gators-related news stories don't fall through the cracks, once or twice a week The Silver Lining will take on a "news and notes" format to keep you up-to-date with the latest goings on in the world of University of Florida athletics.
London Olympics action continued over the weekend, and the Gators brought home three more bronze medals for their efforts. Junior Elizabeth Beisel finished third in the Women's 200 Meter Backstroke, Will Claye finished just short of silver in the Men's Long Jump, and 38-year-old tennis player Lisa Raymond won her mixed doubles match along with Mike Bryan. The medals, obviously, also counted towards the United States' total as have all of Florida's medals up to this point. Gators have accounted for nine event medals as of press time including two golds, three silvers and four bronzes. Florida has many more opportunities though with track & field action just getting underway and the U.S. Women's National Team playing great in soccer.
Involved with numerous prospects with months left in the 2013 recruiting cycle, head coach Billy Donovan surprised some over the weekend by accepting a pledge from three-star forward Schuyler Rimmer (Boone, FL), an up-and-coming prospect with a lot of room for growth. The rest of the Gators' 2013 recruiting class consists of a pair of consensus top-10 recruits, but Donovan feels - according to a source close to the program - that Rimmer's ceiling is quite high and he will not need to contribute right away, giving him some room for growth. It also cannot hurt that Rimmer is an outstanding student. Florida is likely looking to bring in one more player in 2013 and enter the season with four freshmen on the roster. However, as of press time it is not likely that more than four players (three seniors and junior center Patric Young) depart. Should Young decide to stay, Rimmer could theoretically be a candidate for an athletic scholarship during what would likely be a redshirt freshman year.
No longer a member of the Cincinnati Bengals, former Gators defensive end Derrick Harvey was, on Sunday, released for the third time in the last 12 months. The No. 8 overall pick of the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2008, Harvey never fulfilled what the team believed was an incredible amount of potential. He was waved by Jacksonville in July 2011 and signed by the Denver Broncos days later. Unfortunately for Harvey he barely saw the field in Denver, registering four tackles in five games. Cincinnati picked him up in March but released him over the weekend after being unimpressed at his abilities during the early part of training camp. With teams quitting on him that early, Harvey's NFL career is likely over.
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal last week, former Florida quarterback Chris Leak explained how to make a player like Tim Tebow work in an offense when he is not the starting signal caller. "You have to have unselfish men who are mature enough to handle that situation," he said. "We knew our roles and did our jobs." He continued, "You have to understand the situation and deal with it appropriately." Leak told the paper that he wished he was on the field at the end of more scoring drives during the national title season but understood that having a player of Tebow's caliber on the field for certain plays gave the Gators a better chance to win games.
Now a member of the New York Jets, Tebow may in some ways have found a kindred spirit in head coach Rex Ryan. Both men are guys who care more about winning than anything else and know that sacrifices have to be made in order to do so on occasion. In an interesting story posted by The Star-Ledger this week, it was revealed that Tebow and Ryan have something else in common - both overcame dyslexia. "So much in football is touching, feeling, walking through, writing it on boards, drawing Xs and Os," Tebow told the paper. "And all those are the best for me [as a kinesthetic learner]." He explained that he cannot just open a playbook and learn it but rather uses flashcards and quizzes himself in order to get plays down. He also physically goes on the field and walks through plays on occasion if he is struggling in learning a certain play or concept.
Gator Great Murriel Page, a current assistant women's basketball coach at Florida, was named to the Washington Mystics' All-Time Team last week. The No. 3 overall pick in the first round of the 1998 WNBA Draft by Washington, Page will be officially honored by the Mystics on Aug. 19 in a special ceremony that the franchise will hold at their game that day.
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