The greatest class in Florida basketball history and one of the greatest classes in the history of the sport officially said goodbye today. A group that was the embodiment of passion and teamwork, showed how deeply the emotion they played with runs for them when at the podium they all shed tears for the decision to part ways. They allowed us a glimpse into the soul of one of the greatest teams to ever walk onto the college hardwood. They shared stories about private moments when four freshmen teammates became brothers. They personified everything right about intercollegiate athletics and the student athlete; this at the end was a window into what made them tick. For Florida fans such a moment was truly bittersweet. Having embraced this foursome the way they have, it was both enjoyable and saddening to share a few laughs now with these young men as their memories were shared. On such a day it is only fitting to in return share some of ours.

We all know the stats, 68 wins, 18 straight postseason wins, the SEC and NCAA Tournament Titles, the Coaches v Cancer Title where it all started. But behind the stats were some of the greatest memories Gator basketball fans have ever seen made. It’s hard to believe now how far they have come from obscurity to greatness like few have ever known. Their assault on the record books began November 17, 2005 when this unknown group took the floor in Madison Square Garden against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. The 18^th ranked and favorite Wake Forest squad was officially the second of many victims to come. Taurean Green took center stage on the biggest stage of them all in the Garden. He scored 23 and dominated the game. For an encore, Green dropped in 23 again the next night to lead Florida past the 16^th ranked Syracuse Orangemen. A legend had been born and this was just the beginning. At the time Billy Donovan described them as “young and just eager to be out there playing.”

The next time the then baby Gators took the floor, they quickly found them selves well behind rival Florida State 24-7 in the middle of the first half. In something that would become commonplace, 5 Gators evenly distributed the points and all 5 scored in double figures as the Gators came back to win. This group wouldn’t lose a game as starters until their 18^th game, a fateful trip to Knoxville, Tennessee. The first taste of defeat wouldn’t be their last. They began to look more human, losing 6 games in SEC play. 3 straight heartbreakers that culminated in a 82-77 loss at Alabama had people wondering if the team that had rose meteorically early in the season had hit a wall and would limp to an early exit in March as the 5 previous Gator teams had. Little did anyone know another legend was about to step up and take his rightful place in Gator lore. Joakim Noah turned the Gator season back around on March 1, 2006. On that night Noah scored 37 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in an effort that included a 19-for-22 free throw shooting clinic from the big man. The team, which earlier in the season had routed Kentucky in Gainesville, was tasked with trying to lock up second place in the SEC East and a first round bye in the SEC Tournament by winning at Rupp Arena on Senior Day. A task considered to be all but impossible. All this young and hungry band of brothers did was route the Wildcats again. In a sight the Nation would get used to seeing, Al Horford and Joakim Noah dominated the paint while Florida’s 3-point sharpshooter Lee Humphrey (a year ahead but equally important to the success of the team) provided the timely daggers that broke the will of the other team.

The 18-game postseason win streak began where over a year later it would climax, in the Georgia Dome. The “04’s” led Florida past Arkansas to set up a much anticipated rematch between Noah and Horford with SEC Player of the Year Glen Davis. Davis was limited by the dynamic duo to 12 points and 7 boards while Noah shined with 15 and 12. Green chipped in a team high 18 to go with 6 steals. Florida finally got the South Carolina monkey off of its back in the SECT Championship Game to claim a second straight SECT Title for the University of Florida in a low scoring and hard fought battle.

It was on to the NCAA Tournament where they advanced with ease out of the first weekend, beating South Alabama (coached by former Gator assistant John Pelfrey) and Wisconsin-Milwaukee by an average 24, while putting on a show that featured all of the dangerous weapons the team had in its arsenal. Horford, Noah and Corey Brewer each scored in double digits both games. Corey Brewer solidified his place in Gator lore during the Sweet 16 game against Georgetown University. Down 1 with less than 30 seconds to go in the game, Brewer grabbed the ball out of the air and hit an acrobatic shot while being fouled to put Florida ahead for good. The incredible play was arguably the biggest play of the entire season for Florida. In the Elite 8 match up with Villanova, Al Horford and Joakim Noah once again proved too much for the opposition as they combined for 33 points and 30 rebounds in the Gators blowout victory. The Gators chomped Cinderella when they dispatched of George Mason in the Final 4 with incredible ease. The win was punctuated by the early second half 3’s from Humphrey that ripped the heart out of the Patriots. Florida then went on to face one of college basketball’s royalties in UCLA. UCLA had 11 National Titles, Florida had 0. UCLA had the defense nobody could solve. UCLA had Arron Afflalo and Jordan Farmar. How could Florida match up? Taurean Green carved up the UCLA defense with 8 assists while turning the ball over just once. Noah and Horford slammed home with thunderous dunk after another. Noah shattered the tournament and championship game blocked shot totals with 29 for the tournament and 6 for the championship game en route to his Final 4 Most Outstanding Player Award. Florida had claimed its first ever National Title in Men’s basketball.

As amazing as that achievement was, it was nothing compared to the unexpected but entirely welcomed announcement that the 4 then sophomores would all return for their junior years and the National Title defense. During the team’s celebration in the O Dome, they shocked the sports world declaring “We back!” With that, knowingly or not, they had accepted major expectations and a microscope they would have to play under for the next year of their lives. But they had each other and their teammates, what else could they need?

Florida began this season dismantling one challenger after another. They looked like a team of a mission to lay waste to everyone in their path. This culminated in a route of Western Kentucky in Los Vegas. That marked a second 17-game win streak for the team. But illness befell the team with Noah developing an upper respiratory infection and Brewer being stricken by a case of mononucleosis. The sick and weakened Gator squad battled its heart out against a talented, 10^th ranked Kansas team that was at full health. Taurean Green’s shot to win at the end of regulation just missed the mark and despite the illness, Florida again had a chance to win at the end of overtime. Brewer tried to summon another great game winner despite his condition. Fatigue and mono had taken its toll, though, and the 3 point shot came up just short. Kansas had knocked off Number 1 Florida by 2 points. After beating Southern 83-27, that isn’t a typo, the team traveled to Tallahassee to face rival Florida State. The Gators once again got behind the Noles big, but this time with illness still a factor, the team didn’t have enough in the tank to rally from behind and fell just short. That loss came on December 3, 2006. That would be the last loss for some time, as yet again they went on a 17-game win streak that lasted until a February 17, 2007 road trip to Vanderbilt saw the Gators suffer the first loss of the season in SEC play. Florida had won the first 11 SEC games by nearly a 13 point per game average and saw few tests to that point. Florida did trail by as many as 12 to Vanderbilt in Gainesville on January 31, but the team scored 13 unanswered to start the second half and erase the 11 point halftime deficit. The 13-0 run was keyed by 9 points from Taurean Green. Lee Humphrey hit a trio of 3 pointers to put Florida comfortably ahead. The trip to Starkville, MS on January 24 was nip and tuck all the way, but the Gators used an early second half run of 10-1 to pull ahead against the pesky Bulldogs. Brewer’s 20 points helped guide the team through that potential pitfall.

Florida again swooned in February, dropping three straight road games, the aforementioned game at Vanderbilt, then a game at LSU and finally the trip to Knoxville for the University of Tennessee. Florida had fallen as many as 25 points back at one point in the second half and then with less than 12 minutes to go in the game, something seemed to click again for the ’04 led Gators. The Gators won the final 12 minutes by 15 and rode that momentum to a SEC record 6^th straight win over Kentucky by a single SEC opponent. The “Mildcats” once more proved no match for Florida’s dominant interior as Horford and Noah combined 31 points and 20 rebounds. Taurean Green also deposited in 17 points.

It was then back to the Gator Invitational Tournament in Atlanta, where Florida rolled through the challengers, Georgia, Mississippi and Arkansas, by an average margin of victory that was just shy of 20. During the post game interview on the court, Al Horford summed up the class of 2004 and the Florida Gator team when he said, “This is what we do, we win championships.” Simple and to the point. Notice was served to the rest of the country that the defending champions were prepared to Dance into April again. Florida had won 12 straight games in postseason play.

After a sluggish start against the outmanned but highly spirited Jackson State University, Florida slammed the foot down on the proverbial peddle and raced to the 112-69 thrashing. Brewer put in 21 points, while Horford and Noah enjoyed double-doubles. In the second round, Florida had to deal with a bruising and battering Purdue Boilermaker team determined to make the game physical and ugly. They succeeded in that quest. The more talented and experienced Gator squad won on the backs of Green’s clutch 3’s, Brewer’s late free throws and Horford making some critical late baskets. It was onto St. Louis with a 14 game win streak in the postseason. The 04’s combined for 57 of Florida’s 65 points in a tough fought victory against a scrappy Butler Bulldogs team that refused to go away. The highlight of the regional final was when senior Lee Humphrey ripped the net on one basket with a 3 pointer. That seemed to encapsulate the hot shooting of Humphrey and Green, who totaled 44 points for the game. A desperate comeback attempt and some miracle 3’s fell short for Oregon and the Gators were on to Atlanta again for the Final 4, 16 wins and counting.

UCLA again awaited Florida, this time in the Final 4. Here again, the pundits raved about the vaunted UCLA defense. UCLA players talked about wanting to atone for the previous year’s blowout loss to Florida. They had unfinished business and wanted revenge. They wanted Florida. As Joakim Noah said in the CBS pre-game, “be careful what you wish for.” They got a hungry and motivated Florida team, looking to etch its name in history. Amidst the many distractions, they remained united and wholly focused on the end goal UCLA dodged some early bullets when Humphrey and Green failed to find their range on open 3 point looks. Corey Brewer put the team on his back, scoring 15 of Florida’s 29 first half points, while making UCLA star Arron Afflalo a non-factor with his defense. It was Florida’s senior class that took over the second half with Humphrey and star reserve big man Chris Richard scoring 25 points collectively. Richard punished the rim with one monster dunk after another. Humphrey drained his dagger 3’s. Horford and Noah did yeomen’s work, collecting 28 rebounds between them. Additionally Noah added 4 blocked shots, giving him 10 in his two games versus the Bruins.

It was 17 wins and counting when Florida took the floor against Ohio State, a team Florida had drilled by 26 a few months earlier in Gainesville. The officiating from the start was decidedly in favor of the Buckeyes, but the Gators proved their fortitude overcoming adversity and another talented foe. Led by Final 4 Most Outstanding Player Corey Brewer, the Gator defense stifled the Buckeyes perimeter game and made star center Greg Oden try to win the game on his own. Horford led the team with 18 points and 12 rebounds, while Brewer, Green and Humphrey all scored in double figures. It was Humphrey and Green hitting timely second half 3 pointers that broke the back of the Buckeyes.

18. Mission complete. The second straight basketball championship set several historic marks for the basketball team and the athletic program. Florida was the first team to go back-to-back since 1992 and only the second in over 30 years. Florida’s starting 5 became the only starting 5 in the history of college basketball to win consecutive National Titles completely intact. Florida also became the first school to hold both the basketball and football crowns in Division 1 in the same school year and the first to go back-to-back-to-back in basketball, football and basketball. Florida now also stands one NCAA win shy of the modern era record of 13 straight NCAA Tournament wins set by Duke in the early 1990’s.

The 04’s led the way and were complimented by a couple of special seniors. They were a team that bonded together and whose bond could not be broken. They were everything right about college sports, putting team before NBA money and personal stats. They truly thrived on the name on the front meaning more than the name on the back. The memories they allowed us to share will be forever cherished. Thank you.

I have to admit, I enjoy hearing others revel in the glory of the Gators, so in that vein I have tuned into more sports talk radio than I normally do over the last couple of days and the irony of the talking points one pundit after another continues to repeat. Each pundit seems to in consecutive breaths say Billy Donovan will eventually have to move on if he wants a greater challenge or a different kind of challenge while following this up with basketball can never reach the level of football in the state of Florida. Does anyone else not see the irony of these arguments that contradict them selves? Perhaps pundits should take a moment and consider that the greater challenge for Billy Donovan is to prove people wrong about the University of Florida, again.

Donovan was told you cannot win at Florida. He was told it was a dead end job and maybe even heard it was career suicide for a bright young coach two years into his tenure at Marshall. Lon Kruger declared you cannot recruit basketball talent to the University of Florida. It did not take Donovan long to begin disproving myth after myth. He brought in the best talent and from day one showed Gator fans glimpses of the exciting basketball that would be played in Gainesville. As the talent and depth improved, so did the win totals and just a few short years into his Gator coaching career, Billy Donovan found his basketball team one win away from a National Title. That team, that time the dream did not come true. Then there were lean years, relatively speaking, where Florida suffered five first weekend exits from the NCAA Tournament. Though few stopped to realize it, the fact that such an occurrence could be considered a lean time for Florida Basketball spoke volumes of the job Donovan was already doing. But rival fans from schools like Kentucky were snickering at their Eddie Munster jokes and belittled the job Donovan was doing while questioning the man’s ability to coach. They laughed at the idea that Donovan could ever hope to be good enough to replace Tubby Smith at Kentucky. There sure is a lot of irony to go around these days. But I digress.

People once again doubted the team, the program and the man when Anthony Roberson and Matt Walsh left early for the NBA and David Lee graduated. Where would the points come from? Surely the NCAA Tournament streak would be in jeopardy. After all, the team would be led by an assuming group of inexperienced sophomores that featured ‘just one’ high school All-American. All that group went on to do was win more games in 2 years than any 2 year period in Gator history, breaking the single season wins record once and then breaking their own record the second time around. All they did was win 2 straight SEC Tournament titles with this group and one outright SEC regular season championship. All they did was go on one of the more memorable 2 year NCAA Tournament runs en route to Back-to-Back National Championships, the first two in school history. All they did was pull off an incredible 18-game win streak in postseason games and their 12-game NCAA Tournament win streak is one game shy of modern era best of 13 set by Duke in the early 1990’s. Because of this group, Florida can break that in the first weekend of next year’s tournament. Because of this group of players lead by a coach who everyone outside of the Gator Nation doubted, Florida is at the top of the college basketball mountain looking down upon the royalty that once looked down its nose at Florida.

Now the conventional wisdom prevails that Florida’s rabid fan base cannot muster the kind of support for basketball that it has for so long bestowed upon its football program. The biggest challenge Billy Donovan can undertake now is to once again prove conventional wisdom wrong. Donovan has brought the support for Gator basketball so far that the Georgia Dome crowd shot for the Title game v Ohio State was the polar opposite of the crowd shot for the BCS Championship v Ohio State. Orange and Blue dominated the scene in Atlanta, where scarlet and grey had dominated the stadium in Glendale. On both occasions the game itself was dominated by the Boys of Old Florida. Basketball is becoming a year round fanaticism more and more for Gator fans. More and more are catching on to the excitement of Billy Ball in the House of Horrors. It began as an almost grass roots effort where Billy Donovan put on a 3-on-3 tournament for the right to face Donovan and other Gator coaches in a 3-on-3 game to generate excitement about the program. Now I believe the dam is closer to bursting than people believe or realize. Florida fan support is not what it is at Kentucky or UCLA, yet. They have been at this basketball thing longer than Florida fans. It should not be about what it is now, but what it could be. What it is on the verge of being. It is unreasonable to think in 11 years Florida fans could catch up to 100 years worth of basketball passion some other schools maintain, but with continued success, with continued commitment to the program, Gator fans will in turn continue to come around fully.

There is nothing that says because it is football season and a Gator fan cannot enjoy Gator football on Saturday and basketball on Wednesday. The challenge that lies ahead is as much a challenge for the Gator faithful as it is for Billy Donovan, should he in fact choose to accept it. Gator fans are the most passionate, the most hard core. That is why teams and fans from other schools fear the Swamp and the O Dome. Both are considered the toughest venue in their respective sports. It further illustrates the very point that Florida can buck the trend, the myth that a school is either football or basketball but never both. Billy Donovan can stay at Florida and with his commitment continue to breathe life into a fan base that has grown from apathetic towards the basketball program to energetic in just over a decade.

The situation is simple. Donovan stays. Florida becomes the first true super power program in both basketball and football. The fan base follows. The 800-pound gorilla that is that urban legend about college athletics is slain. That is the challenge. That is the commitment required.

Other Ramblings…
I have never entirely understood the concept that for coaches professional sports are the ultimate challenge. For players it is absolutely the level you must attain because you run out of college eligibility and to keep playing the game you love you have to be good enough to go pro. But for coaches there is no such 4 year shelf life on college careers. If you find joy working with kids who play the game for the pure joy of the sport, then stay where you are. When is the last time a NBA or NFL coach looked truly happy? Even winning a championship is more of a sigh of relief than the joy it should be because you buy your self a few more years of work without the natives getting restless. Not even the Zen master himself has looked content since he gave up riding his Harley in North Dakota to return to the NBA. Certainly stress must have short-circuited something for him to say Kobe is better than MJ, right? And if a coach enjoys having the respect from and the authority to coach his players, the pros aren’t for him. Not when the big money superstars can decide they are tired of a coach’s ‘style’ and get him fired on a whim.

Chris Leak. Deshawn Wynn. Billy Latsko. Dallas Baker. Jemalle Cornelius. Steve Rissler. Joe Cohen. Ray McDonald. Steven Harris. Earl Everett. Brian Crum. Nick Brooks. Chris Hetland. Reggie Lewis. Tremaine McCollum. Jermaine McCollum. Kenneth Tookes. Eric Wilbur. Darryon Robinson. Eric Nappy. Tim Higgins.

       21 young men wore the Orange and Blue for the final time Monday night and wore it triumphantly in a 41-14 rout of then number 1 Ohio State for the National Title. For one it was a promise fulfilled, four years in the making. For 21, it was a crowning achievement that put a storybook ending to their careers in Gainesville. Watching the game Monday night, everything seemed to come so easily for the Gator football team that was methodical and efficient in dismantling the Buckeyes. Leak was so perfect to start the game; he had to try to throw his first incompletion. The Gator offense was in such a rhythm they scored on their first three possessions and six of their seven in the first half. Chris Hetland saved his best for last, making a pair of field goals of the 40+ variety and did it with ease, drilling them right down the middle. The Gator defense harassed and frustrated the Buckeyes into futility the likes of never previously seen in a BCS Championship Game. The Gators tenacity was summed up on one memorable play that will live forever in the annals of Gator lore. That play was Earl Everett chasing down the Heisman trophy winner without his helmet and with reckless abandon brought him down. That play defined no blood, no glory as Everett paid the price with a cut above his eye. The game even featured unexpected heroics from unlikely senior sources. Few have seemed to realize yet the job oft maligned Tremaine McCollum did locking down his receiver all night. His highlight came early when he jumped a rout to deflect a pass intended for all-everything receiver Ted Ginn. Reggie Lewis showed up to Florida as a receiver, so it is fitting that in the title game he made one of the biggest catches when he picked off a pass from Troy Smith that led to the Gators third touchdown in a row. While most of the focus went to the sack party hosted by Derrick Harvey and Jarvis Moss, credit is also warranted for the three senior defensive tackles who stopped the run and collapsed the pocket so Smith could not step up and away from the speed rush that came from the outside. Joe Cohen, Steven Harris and Ray McDonald spent the entire night manhandling the Ohio State offensive line. And the penetration on third and fourth down when the Buckeyes needed 1 yard to convert from their own 29 led to a pair of stops that took out what air was left on the Ohio State sideline. Dallas Baker and Jemalle Cornelius were key players in picking apart the Buckeye defense. Baker also reached the end zone on the touchdown that answered Ginn’s opening kickoff return and put the Gators right back in it emotionally. Deshawn Wynn capped off his career with 70 yards and the touchdown that resulted from the Lewis interception. Billy Latsko was Billy Latsko, making big blocks and catching the occasional pass out of the back field. He is probably the most unsung hero of all. The night was, in a word, perfect.

       The road to that night was anything but. For Chris Leak it was a testament to his perseverance. 3 different offensive coordinators, 3 different offensive philosophies and a lot of unfair criticism were overcome with the championship and MVP honors. The game was huge, but it was probably only the second greatest moment in Baker’s life in Gainesville. Baker struggled to qualify out of high school. To make it to Florida, it took a lot of work in the classroom and the fruit of that labor came to fruition when Baker walked across the stage and got his diploma. When Urban Meyer came to Gainesville it was gut check time for Baker on the field and he responded again, evolving into one of the greatest receivers ever at Florida. Jemalle Cornelius came close to titles in high school and college but time and again saw his hopes and dreams dashed at the end. His high school team did not win any of the state title games, during his time there, which they played in. At Florida, the Gators kept just missing out on the SEC East title and a trip to Atlanta to play for the SEC crown. For him, its been a season of dreams fulfilled. Deshawn Wynn at one time nearly left the University of Florida but was talked out of it. He then battled injuries and other setbacks and many questions about how badly he wanted it. Against Ohio State he ran hard and with great purpose and the results spoke for them selves. Chris Hetland spent all year hearing people call for Eric Nappy or Jonathan Phillips to take over the field goal kicking duties as he struggled along during his senior season. He was oft maligned on message boards and talk radio. Hetland quieted everyone going a combined 3-for-3 in the SEC Championship and BCS Championship games.

       The going was no easier on the defensive side of the ball for this senior class. Joe Cohen started at fullback, moved to defensive end and finally found a home at defensive tackle. When Marcus Thomas was kicked off the team, Florida’s continued success was in large part because of Cohen and fellow senior Steven Harris stepping up their game to fill the void left. The game, though, came on the heels of undoubtedly the toughest moment in his Gator career with the loss of Mary Lakes, the mother of his best friend and Gator All-American safety Reggie Nelson. While nothing will ever be able to replace her presence in Reggie’s life or Joe’s, you have to believe she was smiling down when the Gators brought home the title and Joe and Reggie realized their dreams. Reggie, while not a senior, did sign in the same class with Leak, Cohen and several other seniors. He too is a testament to hard work and perseverance. He came close to quitting junior college and never making it to Florida. He stayed and worked hard. He came to Gainesville and surpassed all expectations, which is saying something considering what people expected of him. When he lost his mother before Christmas, the Gator Nation, his teammates, coaches and especially Joe Cohen mourned with him.  Reggie Lewis came in at receiver but failed to earn significant playing time. When Meyer and company showed up and moved him to corner, Lewis worked hard and after a learning curve at the new position, began to really step his game up late last season and that carried over all year this year. The McCollum twins were too small to contribute at a major D-1 program and would supposedly never see the field. Someone must have forgotten to tell them. Well, that is doubtful. Several probably informed them, which seemed to just have stoked their fire even more. Tremaine’s emergence as the nickel back this season was a tribute to work ethic and heart.

       Championships are always a special thing, but perhaps this one was a little bit sweeter because the seniors that led the way had to overcome so much to reach the point where they could finally lift the crystal ball and declare for the entire world to hear that they are Number One. For a group of young men that learned to be champions off the field before the earned it on the field, it is fitting that they walked off for the last time as Gators just that, champions.  

Reggie Nelson is the kind of young man any mother would be proud of and any father would be proud to see his son grow up to be like. While most of the accolades pour in for the superstar that the Gator Nation affectionately knows as ‘RFN’, anyone who has had the pleasure of getting to know Reggie off the field knows there is where his star shines it’s brightest. He has one of those infectious smiles and you can’t help but smile back. He is also a young man that always has time for fans, especially the little ones. Before the bowl game last year I was with my brother and his children when Nelson came walking by. He definitely had somewhere to be, but when he stopped to shake hands and heard that he was one of my nephew’s favorite players his immediate plans changed. He knelt down to shake my nephew’s hand. My nephew, one of the bigger hams you’ll ever come across, picked that moment to be shy. With a big, genuine smile on his face, Reggie was as patient as could be. Finally my nephew got up the courage to tell Reggie his name and shake his hand. Nelson spent several more minutes joking with my nephew before heading to wherever he had to be. All you have to do now is say Reggie Nelson’s name and he gets the biggest, cheesy grin you’ll ever see.

We all know the highlight reel plays and the many ways he impacts a game from his free safety spot. What more people should know about Reggie are those kinds of moments where he makes an even bigger impact off the field. Maybe athletes shouldn’t be expected to be role models, but without a doubt Reggie is one and is probably too humble to realize it. If my nephews and one day my children grow up to be the kind of young men Reggie Nelson is, I will be extremely proud.

While I have no doubt his mother was proud of his talent on the field, it is the man he is off the field that is the biggest credit to the way she raised him. I know the loss Reggie is feeling is the kind that never really goes away, but I do hope he will in time find solace in the fact that he is the kind of son any mother would be proud to call her own. Many will seek ways to offer tribute to a fine woman who did such an outstanding job of raising her son. For the best tribute of all, one only needs to look to her son and the man he has become.

In an era of recruiting centered on playing time and seeing the field as a freshman, it is refreshing when you come across a humble young man … especially when he plays what many would consider the most ego driven position on the field. Perhaps for Gator fans the first image that comes into their heads is Danny Wuerffel. Perhaps the image that came to mind is Florida’s current mild-mannered signal caller, Chris Leak. Or perhaps the image brought forth by such a description is Florida’s current missionary turn star QB prospect and all-everything freshman Tim Tebow. One thing Florida over the last decade plus has been blessed with is humble, talented, team first quarterbacks to lead the team on the field and represent the school off the field equally well. Last night, when Cameron Newton, 4-star rated dual threat QB out of Atlanta, GA’s Westlake High School, officially chose Florida he assured the Gator Nation such a tradition would continue.

Newton wasted no time endearing himself to Gators everywhere when he spoke about not only not fearing competition with Tebow, but looking forward to it because he sees it as an opportunity for both to drive each other towards further improvement. He went on to note its benefit not only to the respective players, but to the team as a whole. When so many quarterback prospects are looking for the path of least resistance to see the field as early as possible … whether they are ready or not … it is always invigorating to come across a young man with a good head on his shoulders that really seems to get it. He may end up having to wait his turn, but he will be better for it and so will the Gator program.

Newton also revealed the caveat that for the last few years; he has looked up to Florida’s current senior starter, the soft spoken Leak. From afar, Leak has been something of a mentor for the Westlake star. A chance to follow his mentor to Florida had to only solidify his decision to be a Gator. Should he follow Leak’s example in the face of adversities that tradition will definitely be in good hands.

The talented gun slinger isn’t too shabby on the field either. He was compared favorably to pro bowl quarterback Daunte Culpepper by one of Culpepper’s former targets and one of the best receivers in NFL history, Chris Carter. Carter was at Friday Night Lights and observed Newton before heaping such lofty praise on the broad shoulders of the young man standing 6’5 and weighing in at 225. Carter wasn’t the only one taking notice as Newton’s stock elevated over the summer, locking him into a unanimous 4-star status.

Now Newton has turned his attention to continuing one more tradition started by Leak and continued by Tebow. In recent years, Gator QB commitments have done an excellent job of helping bring in a strong group of targets to throw to. Leak helped lure Andre Caldwell and Chad Jackson, while Tebow contributed to Percy Harvin, Jarred Fayson, Jamar Hornsby and others picking the Gators. For Cam Newton, recruiting priority number one is “his boy” Terrance Toliver, arguably the Nation’s top receiver prospect. Toliver also lit it up at FNL and the two came away with a mutual respect that has turned into friendship.