Ali Peek - Urban Meyer

Here's where I pretend I know more than Urban Meyer. I think one of the reasons programs like Florida and Texas A&M have struggled as of late is because recruiting is not a local game anymore. If your state has a high concentration of talent, you bet your bottom dollar the current big dogs in college football are coming in to poach that talent.

And I just think the "close to home" appeal isn't selling nearly as much as it used to. Harder to win for Florida now without playing the same game as the teams we want to compete with. And for the Alabamas, Ohio States, and Georgias of the college football world, no player no matter how far is off the table for them. If the Gators want to be back, they need to be that kind of program. No easy way around it.

If you can find a gimmicky coach who is ahead of his time and ultimately changes the game, that's the Spurrier way... but I think a guy like that is harder to find than a guy like Smart, for example. Most gimmicky coaches fade after teams figure them out.

 

The only thing I would differ with is Texas A&M has historically struggled its entire existence.

 

I think after ut that most Gator fans thought here we go woo hoo. Didn't happen and the mo did drop.

 

Jimbo had 6 years. Urbs did it in two.

 

Herbs walked into a gold mine

 

Yes. Urbs knows what he’s getting into. I don’t think TAMU’s roster was that bad when Jimbo got to College Station.

 

It wasn’t that good either and he has never had a great quarterback, the entire time he was there. I don’t know if he couldn’t get the right combination of talent, or if he was just uninterested and waiting for this buyout to happen. Or maybe he just sucks.

 

Meyer is being careful with his words. In another interview with Buddy Martin he is dancing around the topic of special teams coaching. Urban thinks special teams is so important that it should be coached by the head coach. Buddy Martin keeps hinting about special teams under Napier.

 

Which means we will see him on a sideline next fall.

 

I say know - he is waiting on the right job

 

They had some fun teams with Manziel, but yeah fair point.

 

Right now Meyer is looking around for a Ron Zook or Jim Tressel who has recruited an NFL roster of players who played and struggled as underclassmen that he can win with immediately.

Opportunists gonna be opportunists.

A builder Meyer is not.

 

Urbs is bored and needs attention. He is Mr Podcast right now

 

Urban got some medicated eyes.

 

Your second point is one of the things that separates Meyer from the pack. Sure, he is a great coach who hires good assistants, and can recruit like a banshee. But he also gets the psychology of it all, the players, the fans, the momentum, the big game. He beat the tar out of our biggest rivals when he was here. He gets the psychology of it. His comments about the tarmac incident after the USCe loss, and the subsequent shellacking of the Holes, were most likely spot on.

Aside from Muschamp's ranting and spewing spittle during games-which accomplished nothing- I haven't seen the same passion or psychological understanding of the game since Meyer left.

Pell got it, Spurrier got it, Meyer got it. We haven't had it since.

 

Part II

 

So has UF, outside of Spurrier and a 4 year stretch under Meyer.

 

I agree with your assessment Gatorhead, BUT, I think Ray Graves really made football fun at UF. He also took us to our first major bowl appearances: Sugar and Orange and this laid the groundwork for relevance. And it was the QB he recruited and brought to UF who really put us on the map.

 

Yeah, it's kind of like that saying that the team takes on the personality of the coach. If you are kind of ho hum about beating the biggest rivals, the team likely will be too.