University of Florida: The NCAA Version of the Bengals?
The Biscuit
We’re not surprised that Urban Liar Meyer may be headed to the pros. We’re just surprised that he isn’t headed directly for Cincinnatti. That shock is reasonable. After all, if Meyer were to go to the pros, wouldn’t he want to go to the team that defines lack of character? Wouldn’t he want to go to a program where it seems that half the squad was arrested last year?
Because, after all, that’s the kind of program he runs down there in sunny Gainesville.
UF apologists will point to the school’s pretty co-eds, easy academics and sunny weather as reasons to go there. All true, and all pretty good things to advertise to 18 year old football player recruits. But those same people won’t mention that Urban doesn’t care about his kids’ future beyond playing ball. They are certainly not at UF to learn. Just 30% of African American players at UF graduate according to the NCAA. They’re not there to stay out of trouble. They’re there to do whatever they want, so long as they can put up 6 or blow up an opponent’s screen pass.
Want facts to back up all this rhetoric? Fine, just check out the litany of ‘player issues’ below. Reminds you a bit of the Bengals last year doesn’t it? Cincy had 13 arrests last yar. Even though I only have details on 8 arrests below, it looks like there were 12 UF-related arrests in the past 8 months. Giddeyup!
Arrest 1: Florida LB Arrested in Parking Garage Brawl
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida linebacker Dustin Doe has been charged with fighting in public for his involvement in a large brawl in a downtown Gainesville parking garage.
Police responded to the scene at 2:25 a.m. Sunday, and Doe was observed fighting in a group of 20 or more people. Doe and two others, Raymond Leonard Smoaks and Jeffrey Brown, were arrested, according to police reports.
When police approached the scene, Doe turned away to leave the area, according to a report.
Doe was arrested and charged with fighting in public, a misdemeanor. He did not answer a telephone call Monday seeking comment.
Doe is scheduled to start this year for the Gators. He played in every game in 2006 in a reserve role.
Arrest 2: Ronnie Wilson Fires AK-47 During Argument
(Biscuit Edit: FREAKING AK – 47!!!!! These ‘college players’ are strapped with assault weapons and are somehow called students. This is madness.)
By Lise Fisher
Sun staff writer
4-5-07Universityof Florida top offensive lineman Ronnie Matthew Wilson was arrested early Thursday on charges of aggravated assault, simple battery and useor display of a concealed weapon during the commission of a felony, aGainesville Police arrest report stated.
Police accused Wilson, 19, of shooting a semi-automatic rifle after a dispute with another man, according to the report.
Wilson later told police he took the rifle out of his trunk and fired one shot into the air because he wanted the other man “to know how it felt to be scared,” the report stated.
Wilson was being held at the Alachua County jail pending a first court appearance.
Arrest 3: Student Accuses UF Football Player of Robbery
4/23/07
By MIKE MCCALL
Alligator Writer
Five UF football players were involved in a confrontation at a weekend party, according to a Gainesville Police Department report.
The players, identified on the scene as scholarship football athletes by a UF student, were involved in a robbery at a party at Cabana Beach Apartments on Saturday.
The players have not been named bypolice, and UF coach Urban Meyer has yet to confirm that they are football players, the report states.
On Saturday, a UF student was taking kegs out of his truck when the men approached him. One 6-foot-4, 280-pound man attempted to steal his keg, cutting his neck in the process, according to the report. The cut was 5 to 6 inches long, the report states, and it appeared to be the result of a finger nail or ring.
The other four players on the scene restrained the attacker, who then broke away and assaulted the student again, slamming him into his truck, according to the report.
After the second attack, the players forced the attacker into a red Ford Taurus and began to leave the scene, the report states.
While the car was still moving, the attacker again tried to run at the victim, but was stopped by his teammates, who likely prevented a third attack,according to the report.
Several more players were at the party, but were not involved in the incident, the report states.
The incident is the third this month involving a UF football player.
Earlier, linebacker Dustin Doe was charged with fighting in public.
Offensive lineman Ronnie Wilson received felony charges of aggravated assault andt he use, display or concealment of a weapon or firearm.
Saturday’s incident is not the first involving UF players and kegs.
Two years ago, linebacker Taurean Charles was dismissed from the team following another keg-related incident.
He was charged after throwing a keg at a UF student.
Arrest 4: Florida DB Munroe Charged with Theft
By ANDY STAPLES The Tampa Tribune
Published: May 29, 2007
DESTIN— University of Florida safety Dorian Munroe was arrested last week and charged with theft after Munroe admitted to a UF police officer that he had removed a UPD ”boot” from one of his tires and placed it in his trunk.
Munroe was charged with a third-degree felony, according to a police report, because the boot was valued at $385. UF’s police department places the boots on vehicles whose owners either have three or more outstanding parking tickets or five guilty citations within a year.
According to the report, Munroe was called to UPD headquarters on May 22. There, according to the report, Munroe told officer Brian Boydthat he had taken the boot off his 1987 Mercedes. The boot was removed from Munroe’s trunk, and Munroe was arrested and transported to Alachua County jail. He was released Wednesday.
UF athletic department spokesman Steve McClain said Tuesday that Gators coach Urban Meyer is aware of the incident and that there is an internal process in place to handle such matters. Munroe, a rising sophomore from Miami, is expected to compete for significant playing time this season.
Arrest 5: UF Football Player/Hoops Player Arrested on Drug Charges
Alachua County
POWELL, BRANDON CHARLES ASO07MNI005526 FA 06/12/2007
JAMES, BRANDON K ASO07MNI005525 FA 06/12/2007
By Lise Fisher
Sun staff writerTwo University of Florida athletes, one a basketball player and another a football player, were arrested overnight by Gainesville Police on allegations of drug possession, jail records showed.
Brandon Charles Powell and Brandon K. James, both 19, were being held at the Alachua County jail on charges of purchase and possession of less than 20 grams of marijuana, according to court records.
Powell was a freshman last year with the college’s basketball team, while James was a freshman who played a major role in the 2006 national championship football team as a kickoff and punt returner.
Arrest 6: Former UF Receiver Faces Multiple Charges
By Jonathan Okanes
Cal wide receiver Nyan Boateng was arrested in Gainesville, Fla., last week and was charged with burglary residence, battery and criminal mischief.
According to Gainesville police Sgt. Chuck Reddick, Boateng attempted to enter the home of his former girlfriend early Thursday morning. When she refused to let him in, Boateng kicked in the door and entered anyway.
Boateng, a transfer from the University of Florida, is scheduled to sit out this season because of NCAA transfer rules. He will be a junior in 2008 and have two years of eligibility remaining.
Boateng was a football and basketball star at Lincoln High School in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he was basketball teammates with the NBA’s Sebastian Telfair. Boateng played one season at Florida, catching two passes for 44 yards as a freshman.
“We’re aware there was an incident in Florida and we’re gathering all the information we can,” Cal athletic spokesman John Sudsbury said.
Boateng worked out with Cal during the spring and looked like a potential star. With junior wide receiver DeSean Jackson possibly leaving for the NFL after this season, Boateng could be a perfect fit to fill in.
The burglary charge is a felony while the other two are misdemeanors. A court date is pending.Arrest 7: Gator Player Charged with Burglary
By Karen Voyles
A senior on the University of Florida football team was arrested early Tuesday and charged with burglary according to Gainesville Police.Earl A. “Tony” Joiner, 21, was arrested at 4:59 a.m. outside the fenced impound lot of Watson’s Towing at 516 SW 1st St.Senior defensive back Earl A. “Tony” Joiner, 21, was arrested at 4:59 a.m. outside the fenced impound lot of Watson’s Towing at 516 SW 1st St.
Joiner, who is 6 feet tall and weighs 194 pounds, was accused of pushing a heavy electric gate open to enter the lot in an attempt to retrieve his girlfriend’s car which was being held in lieu of a $76 towing bill, according to police reports.
According to Gainesville Police, witnesses said a man pushed open the gate at 4:30 a.m., got into a car, drove the car out of the lot and was trying to close the gate when he was confronted by one of two witnesses. The witness said the man drove the car back into the lot and waited for officers to arrive.
The officer who arrested Joiner, Robert Concannon, noted in the arrest report that Joiner was on a phone talking to someone when Concannon walked up to Joiner. Concannon said he heard Joiner talking into the phone and saying, “I am probably about to go to jail ‘cuz I did push the gate open.”
Arrest 8: Cunningham and Demps Arrested on Burglary ChargesBy: Lindsay Jones
Starting defensive end Jermaine Cunningham was arrested early Wednesday morning on a misdemeanor battery charge after reportedly causing a disturbance at an sandwich shop near campus.
According to a Gainesville Police report, Cunningham and former Gator linebacker Jon Demps got into an argument with an employee at Jimmy John’s Gourmet Sandwich shop, located on University Avenue. When the employee reportedly told Cunningham and Demps they had to pay for a bag of potato chips, Cunningham and Demps became “verbally abusive” and began throwing items, including empty soda cups and a sandwich, at the employee.
Cunningham and Demps left the store, and were arrested on campus at 2:49 a.m.
According to records from the Alachua County Jail, he was booked at 3:56 a.m. and was still at the jail at 10:30 a.m.
Cunningham, a sophomore who has started every game this season, is third on the team with 62 tackles (34 solo). He has 6.5 sacks and 11 tackles for a loss.
Former LSU wide receiver Xavier Carter was also arrested after the incident on a misdemeanor charge of resisting arrest, according to a GPD report. Carter, who left LSU to run professionally, recently moved to Gainesville to begin training with UF track coach Mike Holloway.
Carter was reportedly with Cunningham and Demps on University Ave. after the incident at Jimmy John’s, but ran from police when Cunningham and Demps were arrested.
These arrests range from the insanely criminal (AK-47’s anyone?) to the stupid (who STEALS a car boot rather than pay a parking ticket?) to the typically-meat-headed (yeah, let’s start whipping cups and condiments at this tool who is insisting on CHARGING US 99 cents for these chips!!!!). But regardless, Urban doesn’t have control of his players or his program. And that spells trouble for some of these kids. Trouble they don’t need if they want to succeed in college, the pros, and after/instead of the pros (e.g. the ‘real world’).
If I’m a recruit, I think twice about UF. If I’m a player’s parent, I think 30 times. As a player, I am just as likely to end up in jail as I am the starting lineup. And if I’m African American and don’t go pro? I have just a 30% chance of graduating (in sports management or phys-ed most likely). Wow. Questionable outcomes at best.
UF has been doing well on the field lately. Urban can coach and recruit. But he doesn’t build anything other than winners now. He doesn’t build character, and he’s not getting these kids ready for any future, beyond those very few that will go pro and play more than just 1 or 2 years.
Kids, just say no to Urban Liar. Unless you’re thinking about a career with your local SWAT team, that is. Great target practice down there at UF!
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16 Comments
Please forward a copy of this to Omar Hunter prior to his reported visit to Gainesville!
One positive…you can use the majority of your UF fan gear in ‘the yard’ and it will go largely unnoticed. I just KNEW there was a reason orange was the primary color for the Gators.
Les, if I could, I would email a copy to Omar’s mom. Instead, we just hope that he Google’s the hell out of Florida football and stumbles on this. He should at least know what it’s really like down there before he makes his call.
Trey, you’re awesome.
Update on the Hunter Situation from The Rock Report. Here’s an excerpt:
But the biggest concern now is at Nose Tackle. According to Florida site insiders, Omar Hunter’s been a silent commit to Florida for sometime now, but has been pushed by Meyer to lie about his continued commitment to Notre Dame. Needless to say, Meyer’s developing a rather sleazy MO by contacting committed players on the sly, trashing the schools they’re committed to and then reportedly urging the kids to compromise their own integrity to keep silent about their intentions. One poster compared this approach to a pedophile. Maybe that’s a bit strong, but a coach with character doesn’t ask kids to lie – remember the coach is the role model. Meyer’s strategy, as told by many to us, is to reach a kid who’s committed to another school through a coach or player, bash the school the kid is committed to to build doubt in the commit’s mind and then bring in another player from Florida’s class and give him talking points use the kid to call the player in question to reinforce the doubt about the school he’s already committed to and sell Florida. Then, as has been reported, with the kid mentally off balance from having to wrestle with internal problems caused by having to lie and cover up, Meyer steps in with what seems like a golden opportunity to play at Florida, but of course that opportunity is rarely what it seems. In this case Florida site insiders say he’s told prospective DL recruits that Torrey Davis and John Brown will be academically ineligible next year (not sure how he knows this already, but… that’s Meyer and you have to wonder what he told Davis and Brown to get their signatures last year.) Someone should as Davis and Brown about this, no?
To take you back to last year’s last minute poach by Meyer, Meyer negatively recruited against ND by telling Justin Trattou that he would be stuck playing with his hand down in Notre Dame’s 3-4 and that if he came to Florida he’d be able to rush from the edge. One year later Trattou’s been moved to defensive tackle permanently and been put in exactly the position Meyer warned him would not get him to the pros. More to the point, Meyer did to Trattou what he warned Trattou “might” happen to him at another school. As one coach told me, Meyer treats used tampons better than his players.
Of course, Meyer’s the guy who told quarterback recruit Jevon Snead (who saw Meyer in the stands at Tebow’s high school game) not to worry about Tebow because he was recruiting Tebow as LINEBACKER. Meyer actually told a top recruit that he was recruiting Heisman trophy winning quarterback Tebow as a linebacker. If red flags aren’t going up for recruits at this point, there’s little hope they’ll see the light. There’s a reason a local newspaper referred to him as Urban Liar and the fact that he sells the word “character” like a feature on a used car isn’t surprising. As we found with the Marcus Thomas situation last year, character to Meyer is only in words, not in practice.
oh, and the link: http://therockreport.blogspot.com/
PLEASE, can’t someone get this information to Omar Hunter? There has to be LEGAL way without violating rules that would affect our Irish.
Of course, if it were reversed, Urban Bourbon wouldn’t hesitate because of rules. Rules? What the hell are those?
Looks like it’s too late Ted. Damage done.
I’m not sure that we can ‘legally’ contact any recruit for any reason. We’re just here to highlight, annoy, entertain and rant. I do feel bad for the kid though if he ends up at USC or UF. He has likely cost himself a lot more than he knows…
[...] I doubt it. [...]
[...] wrote a while back about how Florida had become the Bungles last year with their 3,450 arrests and 11,450 convictions on the same number of counts (almost [...]
Gastric, you are about 8 years late to the party, and no, I don’t want Urban at ND. Some do, I don’t.
Academics for most players at UF are a joke. For most students, they’re a joke too. ND recruits some of the same players that UF has on the squad/recruits, but not all. ND doesn’t take just anyone – UF does.
And the main difference is that when they start waving around AK-47’s, robbing dead people, etc, ND would boot them permanently. At UF, that’s typical behavior that is glossed over/ignored. But ND, doesnt offer those types of kids in the first place. Or, they instill in them values that prevent that type of behavior.
Have fun being a fan of a program that ignores academics, ethics and anything else to do with the actual development of a human being beyond the football field. I’ll take a program that’s over-priced and ‘good’ (if ND = good then UF is not even serviceable) and ‘oppressive’ that graduates kids and keeps them out of jail over a program that has no problem with thugs wielding assault weapons any day.
I’m a junior at UF but a huge Notre Dame fan. I think I can give a pretty objective comparison of the two programs and schools. First, it is clear that academics are not nearly as important for athletes at both schools. I know people who have walked on to the UF football team, and they tell me that, for the most part, UF football players aren’t a bright bunch. Similarly, my best friend is a student a Notre Dame, and he tells me the same thing about certain football players he’s met. Biscuit, it’s true that ND holds itself to a much higher standard of conduct. But by and large, the athletes at Notre Dame are not of the same academic quality as the rest of the student body.
The UF football program has adopted a rather permissive attitude toward player misconduct in the recent past. And this attitude has plenty to do with wins and losses. See 2006 defensive tackle Marcus Thomas. In 2006, he was suspended for repeated drug infractions. He was reinstated the week before a game against LSU in which the Gators were underdogs. They were Vegas favorites upon his reinstatement. The Gators won that game, and he was later dismissed from the team for violating the terms of his reinstatement. That being said, the program has cleaned up considerably since the 2007 season. Still, much work remains to be done. At Notre Dame, these types of situations do not happen.
Biscuit, as for academics being a joke to most students here, I don’t think that’s true. I do find UF to be less challenging than I would like, and that’s why I am applying to transfer to Notre Dame. But UF is a pretty strong school, if you are willing to put forth proper effort.
As for Catholicism being oppressive, Gastric, I do agree that some of my religion’s official stances are somewhat narrow-minded. But in order for an institution to be oppressive, it must have the power to restrict the lives of non-beleivers, and this is not something the Catholic church does.
Finally, as a student at Florida, I can say that the girls here are highly overrated. Most of the hot ones have graduated. The last few classes of freshman girls are not that great. On the other hand, as I’ve already said, my best friend goes to Notre Dame. Some of the Saint Mary’s girls are really hot. Granted, female Notre Dame students aren’t the best looking bunch as a whole, but that doesn’t mean Notre Dame is devoid of hot girls.
Solid and fair BJ. A few nuances:
I didnt, nor did I intend to say that ND football players are the same as the avg ND student in academics. ND football players go to class though, they study, they take real classes including at least Calc I. They also get extra resources, etc. But they dont take basket-weaving.
BJ, I know that some students at UF work hard, try hard, take hard classes, etc. I’m speaking in broad strokes and that means I cant be 100% accurate. There are slackers at ND, just as there are anywhere, but I’m talking at the 10,000 foot level. And I stick by my statement there – UF is much bigger, and the students there just cant be as engaged, on average.
UF may have improved with player issues, or maybe they’ve just not been caught lately. I dont know, but Urban is not a big help in that area, and the program clearly prefers W’s to solid conduct.
Good luck on the transfer bud.
[...] nearly 2 years ago, picked up on the fact that Florida is the new Thug U, and ever since, at least once a month, some [...]
I’m not in any way defending what has gone on at Florida. Obviously, a few of the circumstances for these arrests are downright appalling. It can not and should not be tolerated and I hope that they can clean up their act. Having said that, at Fla. it looks like most players with serious charges that have stuck are off the team. When there is no conviction it is very difficult to throw a guy from the team. If they are thrown from the team after charges are dropped or they are found innocent, that sets a very troubling precedent.
This whole issue raises an interesting chicken and egg question. Are they winning because they have questionable character guys or is the winning going to their head and causing problems off the field. I tend to lean toward the later (with the exception of the AK-47 nut job). Nearly every team that has won a BCS title in the last 20 years has had similar issues(OSU,Miami,USC,LSU, Oklahoma,FSU,Texas,Nebraska,Tenn,etc)
As far as Notre Dame not taking just “anyone” . Out of the current Top 20 recruits on rivals.com 2010 top 100, Notre Dame has extended offers to 13/20. Of the seven that didn’t get offers, at most 2 might have been denied offers because of academics or character concerns (even that might be a stretch). Very likely could be that they didn’t have interest or didn’t fit the system.
Here is a look at the 2010 recruits by ranking below.
#1 ND offer
#2 not offered, but received offers from UCLA, CAL and UNC. Schools with comparable, if not superior academic reputations.
#3 ND offer
#4 offered by UNC (see #2 reasoning)
#5 offered by BC (see #2 reasoning)
#6 ND offer
#7 ND offer
#8 ND offer
#9 offered by Stanford. Clearly not academics
#10 Not offered. Possible academic reasons. Possible.
#11 ND offer
#12 ND offer
#13 ND offer
#14 ND offer
#15 Not offered. Again, possible academic reasons.
#16 ND offer
#17 ND offer
#18 offered by Stanford and Duke. Definitely not academics
#19 ND offer
#20 ND offer
I guess you’re right, Notre Dame is VERY selective about who they ask to be a part of their prestigious program. Now I get why you aren’t competitive anymore.
By the way, where did my previous post go? Censored? Hmmmmm…very fitting.
Gastric, here’s the deal with academics. Notre Dame might offer kids who are academically underqualified (even compared to their fellow athletes). But when they get to ND, they are expected to maintain acceptable academic performance. Granted, they are given every advantage in the world, private tutors and the like, but they are not allowed to shirk their academic duties. And there is no easy way around it. The general education requirements (courses or types of courses that ALL students must take) at Notre Dame real and difficult. Regardless of whether a student is underqualified when admitted, he will be forced to adapt or he will not play.
More important, though, is character. Urban Meyer can argue that his arrested players are “good guys,” but their actions don’t reflect that. At Notre Dame, you rarely hear of kids with character issues because Notre Dame instills a sense of social responsibility in its students, including student-athletes. At Florida, I can say from experience that the University has very little interest in its students personal development.
[...] So all of the following comes from a bunch of sources, but I’m just going to link to this one here because it’s a nice concise run-down. I’ll group them a bit differently, but it’s a good run-down of all 24 (AGAIN, 24!) arrests since Meyer took over at UF. (Note: We did a similar run-down in 2007, comparing UF to the Cincy Bengals and all their off-field troubles at the time. That is here.) [...]
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