In a report today released by the university, linebacker, Dee Finley has chosen to leave the University of Florida. Coach Will Muschamp said, ““Dee has decided that he would like to pursue other opportunities. We wish him the best of luck and we appreciate his time at Florida.”
Dee will likely transfer to another school’s football program at the end of this year but it is uncertain as to where. The release quoted Finley as saying “Although I’ve enjoyed my time here at Florida, I think it’s best for me to move on and get a fresh start somewhere else. I plan on finishing the semester here and concentrating on my academics.” Dee is a redshirt sophomore from Auburn, Alabama on a 6’2″, 203 lb frame. He was one of the top recruits of his class and signed with the Gators under Urban Meyer.
Finley was involved in an incident about a month ago when he was stopped by a university police officer for riding his scooter around a barricade near Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Finley refused to show the officer his drivers license, which was suspended, and attempted to leave the scene when the officer grabbed him and told him he was under arrest. Finley was charged with resisting arrest and operating a motor vehicle with a suspended license. This was not his first charge for driving with a suspended license.
Traveling on the road and going up against the #1 team in the country isn’t easy, especially after playing the #3 team in the country only seven days earlier. The challenge becomes even more difficult when your starting quarterback and your backup quarterback are out with injuries. Below, Gator head coach,Will Muschamp, talks to the media about the game against LSU on 10/8/11.
Click below to listen to the first official Muschomp podcast. This week’s episode analyzes the previous game against Alabama, the alleged altercation involving Dominique Easley outside of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, the quarterback situation for the Gators, and a preview of the LSU game this Saturday.
Visit the site each week as Mushomp will put out a weekly podcast. For future podcasts we will have downloads available on iTunes so check back next week and we will let you know where to find the podcast.
This week’s Muschomp Fan of the Week goes to Travis Dale, ’04 alum and a Tebow look alike according to some people. In this picture Travis proves that Muschomp shirts are babe magnets. Pictured with his beautiful daughter and aspiring Gator cheerleader Kacy, Travis shows his Gator spirit and said it’s troubling that some parents out there raise their kids to be LSU, Alabama, or even FSU fans.
Travis talked about why he is such a fan of Coach Muschamp and said “It’s difficult to find a more dedicated, hard working, and passionate coach than Will Muschamp. I’m so glad he is a part of the Gator Nation.” Travis then went on to say that he is a fan of MUSCHOMP because it sounds a hell of a lot better than Zook ‘Em!
If you’d like to be considered for the Muschomp Fan of the Week email us a picture of yourself at info@mus-chomp.com or tag yourself in one of the fan photos on facebook.com/Muschomp and tell us why you should be the fan of the week.
The Gators know what mistakes they made against Alabama and Coach Muschamp is going to go back and make sure they are not repeated again. They have another huge game next week against the #1 LSU Tigers in Baton Rouge and can’t afford to take a break. With the injury to John Brantley the Gators must continue to play smart and play strong.
Saturday marks the Gators’ toughest game yet as they take on #3 Alabama in The Swamp. The first four games the Gators have ripped apart the opposing teams with the defense and offense performing well. Alabama however will be strong on both sides of the ball and has a similar style team. Alabama’s defense is #2 in the country where as Florida is #5. Both teams have outstanding backs with Trent Richardson and Eddie Lacy for UA.
Charlie Weiss will be pulling out all kinds of plays on Saturday looking for a way to confuse Alabama’s defense or catch them off guard. With Alabama having such a tough defense the key will be having a solid vertical game in order to keep Alabama’s D guessing. If Brantley can connect downfield it will certainly help to open up the run. This season Bama has held its opponents to 45.8 rushing yards per game on average. However, UA also hasn’t faced two of the best running backs in the country Demps and Rainey!
Turnovers and special teams will likely decide the winner of Saturday’s game. Expect Rainey to have quite a showing not only offensively but also on the punt block. If the Gators can score points off a punt return or get in the red zone it will be huge. If the game comes down to a last second kick the Gators are in good hands with Sturgis who is perfect on the the season.
The game is supposed to be close with most critics predicting Alabama to win, but they are underestimating the X factor, which is Coach Muschamp lighting a fire under the asses of his players. This game is Coach Muschamp’s biggest game as a head coach and he doesn’t intend to lose to Saban, as this is the first time Muschamp will face his former mentor head to head. Each game the Gators have played they’ve improved. If there’s a problem or something they need to work on, Muschamp has gone back and drilled it into the players and in the next outing they’ve done better. Coach Muschamp puts his heart and soul into these games and his players are right there with him. Shariff Floyd recently said “A good group of us feed off Coach Muschamp’s emotion and we love it. It’s amazing to me, actually, watching him pour his emotions out on game day and throughout the week.’’ Ultimately Will be the one leading the Gators to victory and there’s no doubt that he has been preparing his team for this game since February. Go Gators!
Saturday’s win against Kentucky was the Gators first road game of the 2011 season and marked the 25th time in a row that Kentucky has fallen to Florida. The game didn’t start with the Gators scoring on their opening drive like most people expected. After about seven minutes into the first quarter..BOOM! – Florida was on the board. Then BOOM!, BOOM! – the Gators scored two more times in the subsequent five minutes. From what seemed like a calm, slow game in the beginning turned into Gator domination.
By the end of the fourth quarter the Gators total rushing yards were 405. Once again the Gators put the ball into the hands of Demps and Rainey and those guys made the Kentucky defense look like a bunch of Pee-Wee players. Both backs had over 100 yards in rushing with Demps hitting 157 yards on 10 carries while collecting two touchdowns and Rainey rushing for 105 yards with a total of 15 carries. Its not often that a running back rushes for 100 yards in a game, and its even more uncommon for two to do it in a single game. In fact, the last time two players for Florida hit 100 yards rushing in a game was in the 2009 BCS Championship Game when Percy Harvin and Tim Tebow did it.
Late in the 2nd quarter QB John Brantley got hit pretty hard which forced him to leave the game and head into the locker room. Freshman QB, Jeff Driskel got called up and although its good to have your back up quarterback get some good playing experience the outcome was less than desirable for the Gators. Driskel fumbled on the Gators’ 26 yard line and Kentucky recovered which set them up for a touchdown. Then in the closing seconds of the 1st half Driskel threw an interception. Coach Muschamp said in a post game interview “I feel like we made the right decision, although it was not the right results”, in regards to taking Brantley out and putting Driskel in. After taking some time with the training staff John Brantley came back in the second half.
The Gator defense played strong and time after time stole any momentum that Kentucky was trying to gain. With fours sacks and eight quarterback hurries Kentucky quarterback Morgan Newton couldn’t get in a rhythm. Florida kept pounding Kentucky as they made eight tackles for a loss and forced Newton to make mistakes. Since the opening game against FAU Coach Muschamp has been drilling it into the players heads how important it is to force turnovers. Well, this game proved how big those turnovers can be as the Gators forced four turnovers and converted them into 24 points.
This week’s fan of the week goes to Rex Hyder. Rex emailed us this photo and says he has been a devout Gator fan his whole life, despite his father being a fan of the Tennesseee Vols. Rex states “I always enjoy it when the Gators play the Volunteers. For the weeks leading up to the game my dad and I go back and forth talking smack about the match up, but we both know who’s going to win – even if he doesn’t admit it. Then on Saturday the Gators put the Volunteers away and I have bragging rights for the next 12 months. This past weekend when the Vols came to town it was no different.”
Rex says he isn’t able to get to every Gator game but is usually in Gainesville for at least 3 games a season. Rex gave his thoughts on the new 2011 season and the new head coach Will Muschamp. “We are going to have a great season! I have full confidence in Muschamp, I love that guy. Not only is he a excellent coach but he is fun to watch. He is so passionate, I love it when he gets fired up. I think he will do great things for the University of Florida and will be here for a long time.”
MUSCHOMP! Go Gators!
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