ChompTalk.com

Chomping at the bit for Florida Athletics

recent posts

about

Thanks for all the support. I hope you have enjoyed reading this blog as much as I have enjoyed writing it. Anyone with comments/questions/suggestions please email me at: bdfoxjr@chomptalk.com
  • OPINION: Jim McElwain should be on hot seat at Florida

    OPINION: Jim McElwain should be on hot seat at Florida

    On December 6, 2014, new Florida head coach Jim McElwain was introduced with his initial press conference. Unfortunately, McElwain made a statement that he should regret.

    When asked about Florida’s quarterback situation and whether he thought he could win with a QB on the current roster McElwain uttered this:

    “You gotta understand this, I think I can win with my dog Clarabelle.”

    And to his credit, Mac started his Florida career 6-0 with a win over #3 Mississippi.

    Then came the Will Grier suspension for PEDs, and all of a sudden, Clarabelle seemed like a better option than what Mac kept putting on the field.

    What makes the offensive struggles so egregious is the fact that for McElwain’s first two seasons, he had the benefit of a championship level defense. Not an SEC championship caliber defense, a national championship caliber defense!

    Florida sits at 3-3 for the first time since 2003, and much of that has to do with the coaching. Will Muschamp’s defense has graduated to the NFL, and Mac has failed to replace them with elite playmakers, resulting in an average (at best) defense.

    But the offense is atrocious, starting with quarterback play.

    Clearly Feleipe Franks is in over his head at the SEC level right now. Franks was a four-star prospect based largely on his big arm.

    The majority of the routes that Franks completed were passes behind the line of scrimmage or within a few yards of it. Franks locks in on his primary route and never reads through his progressions. He also looks incapable of throwing the ball over the middle of the field, as we saw on the final play against Texas A&M.

    Far too often a receiver is running wide open and Franks never sees it. It cost Florida at least two touchdowns on Saturday. But something happened on Saturday that I hadn’t noticed before, the open receivers were visibly upset. First it was Brandon Powell. Then it was De’Andre Goolsby.

    It doesn’t look good to recruits and it didn’t look good to fans.

    It also leads to the question: why didn’t McElwain make the move to Malik Zaire or Jake Allen? Could it possibly be worse?

    Why can Georgia, South Carolina, Texas A&M, and Alabama all have success with freshmen quarterbacks, but Florida can’t?

    Florida faces a difficult remaining schedule with Georgia, Missouri, South Carolina, and Florida State all looming.

    Fact of the matter is, even UAB looks daunting if this is the offense that McElwain is trotting out.

    Maybe it’s time to enroll Clarabelle into some classes. That may be our only hope to salvage this season.

    But until then, McElwain deserves to be on the coaching hot seat, and it could get warmer every week until Florida has a real QB.

    *I don’t have a problem with play calling. I do believe that coaches are calling plays that they think Franks is capable of making. And open receivers mean good play calling, QB just missing them.

  • Rachael Kramer named SEC Defensive Player of the Week

    Rachael Kramer named SEC Defensive Player of the Week

    The Florida Gators volleyball team is the #1 ranked team in the country and currently sits atop the SEC with a 13-0 record. They are the only team in Division I that hasn’t lost a match yet. Sophomore middle blocker Rachael Kramer is a big reason why the Gators haven’t lost.

    On Monday the SEC announced that the 6-8 Kramer had earned the conference’s Defensive Player of the Week honor.

    Kramer averaged two blocks per set in Florida’s wins over Texas A&M and Georgia.

    Per the SEC release:

    Defensive Player of the Week
    Rachael Kramer • Florida
    Sophomore • MB • 6-8 • Phoenix, Ariz.

    Kramer moved to eighth place in the SEC in blocks per set (1.15) after averaging 2.00 last week, She set her season high for blocks in both of Florida’s matches last week, including a seven-block outing in a sweep of Georgia. Kramer helped the Gators hold Georgia to a .075 clip, marking the fourth time this year they held an opponent under a .100 clip. She also helped limit Texas A&M to a .170 hitting percentage, making the Aggies the 12th opponent to hit under .185 against Florida.

    Florida will travel to Ole Miss on Friday before facing #8 Kentucky on Sunday in Gainesville.

  • UF to build new baseball stadium

    UF to build new baseball stadium

    The University of Florida has watched its baseball team become one of the best programs in the country.

    And soon enough the program will enjoy a brand new home stadium.

    Nick de la Torre of GatorCountry.com was the first to notice the proposed plan on the UF website.

    The stadium, according to the plans on the school’s website, will feature a 360-degree concourse with an outfield berm for general admission seating. It will also have luxury suites and shade fixture for the fans in attendance.

    It is important to note that these plans (entitled UAA-41 Baseball Project) are very preliminary and can change (or not be approved by the UF’s Planning, Design, and Construction Division).

    The location of the new stadium was not included in the initial plans, but a source within the UAA states that it’s likely to be near the softball stadium.

    The Gators won their first national title in 2017, and have made it to the College World Series in six of the last eight years.

    And if this plan goes through, they will have a state of the art facility to play in.

    More to come on this developing story.

  • OPINION: As Franks continues to struggle, Gators should turn to freshman Jake Allen

    OPINION: As Franks continues to struggle, Gators should turn to freshman Jake Allen

    The Florida Gators are at an interesting point in their season. After suffering a 17-16 loss to LSU on Saturday, the Gators are 3-2 with a pretty difficult schedule still ahead. This week appears to be a crossroad of sorts.

    Florida will now face Texas A&M next Saturday already out of contention for the College Football Playoff. However, if you’ve been watching this team, you knew it was only a matter of time until that happened.

    The Florida offense has been, in a word, terrible. Florida ranks #92 in the country in scoring offense, #95 in passing offense, and #96 in third down conversion percentage this season. Mind you, these rankings are out of 129 Division I FBS schools. Not good.

    But why has the offense been so bad? I know it’s a tired refrain around Gainesville, but it all starts with the quarterback play.

    Feleipe Franks has underwhelmed and the coaching staff has shown such an obvious lack of trust that the passing game appears in complete disarray.

    After watching the replay of the LSU game (after attending the day before), it’s clear that Franks is not the guy we had hoped he would be. He is not the savior of the Florida football program.

    I don’t mean this as a way to write-off Franks. I hope he proves to be very serviceable and someday makes me eat these words. But I definitely don’t expect it.

    Franks has played in five games and accumulated a stat line that looks like this: 50-79 for 665 yards with 3 touchdowns to 1 interception. On the surface those numbers don’t look terrible. In fact they look good. If Florida had only played three games. Franks has been benched twice because of the inefficiency of the offense helping lead to the lack of stats. The other reason for his lack of throws, head coach Jim McElwain and offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier don’t trust Franks to make the necessary throws.

    Despite Florida’s offense having weapons all over the offensive side of the ball (yes, even with Antonio Callaway and Jordan Scarlett suspended), Franks has a hard time finding those play makers. Tyrie Cleveland, Freddie Swain, and Josh Hammond are all legitimate threats at wide receiver. Brandon Powell, Dre Massey, and Kadarius Toney are all dangerous in the open field. Unfortunately unless they receive the ball behind the line of scrimmage they aren’t getting it at all. In five games both Toney and Powell have ten receptions while Massey has one. (This includes passes behind the line of scrimmage). To put Massey’s stat line in perspective, Feleipe Franks has caught as many passes from himself as Massey has caught from him.

    Why hasn’t Franks and the offense gotten these guys involved?

    I know everyone wants to see Nussmeier as the answer. It’s just not the case. Nussmeier is calling plays that Franks is comfortable with in the system.

    Franks is the one who stares down one receiver too long and takes a sack.

    Franks is the one missing the slot receiver who is running an open seam route.

    Franks is the one who missed a wide open Brandon Powell not once, but twice on the final two offensive plays against LSU.

    Franks certainly didn’t help with the clock management on that last possession as the seconds continued to tick off the game clock.

    Franks is the one who isn’t targeting the tight ends (because they aren’t the primary route).

    I’m not saying we should give up on Feleipe Franks. I’m just saying that for the good of the program, Florida needs a facelift.

    It won’t be long until opposing defenses key in on stopping the run with eight and nine man boxes forcing the Gators to pass the ball.

    If Malik Zaire isn’t ready to play, then let’s see what freshman Jake Allen has.

    Allen was one of the first recruits to commit to McElwain. He should be a perfect fit for the type of offense that the coach wants to run.

    Allow Allen to gain vital experience in what is (almost) a lost season much like what South Carolina did with Jake Bentley last year. Starting Allen this week allows him to make his first start at the Swamp with a week off immediately afterward.

    With very little room to go down in the statistical rankings, there’s little reason not to make this move.

  • #9 Florida holds off Mizzou for program’s 400th win

    #9 Florida holds off Mizzou for program’s 400th win

    FINAL: FLORIDA 2, MISSOURI 1

    1st 2nd OT FINAL
    MIZZOU 0 1 X 1
    FLORIDA 2 0 X 2

    GAINESVILLE, FL- In 1995 the University of Florida added women’s soccer to the Gator Nation’s sports pallet. In 23 seasons, the team has earned 15 SEC Tournament championships, and has become one of the top programs in the country. On Thursday night yet another milestone achievement for the program, the 400th win in it’s history. Only four other schools in the country have as many since 1995.

    Florida defeated Missouri 2-1 after the Gators scored two goals in a twenty-six second span in the first half. The win was also Florida head coach Becky Burleigh’s 400 win at UF. Burleigh also compiled a 82-23-6 record at Berry College prior to being named the first head coach at Florida.

    In the 13th minute, Parker Roberts began the scoring after one-timing a touch from Gabby Seiler into the back of the net. It didn’t take long for the Gators to add to their lead as Mayra Pelayo found the scoreboard after Deanne Rose’s initial attempt.

    The Tigers got to within one in the 57th minute when Madison Lewis scored on a free kick.

    Florida outshot Missouri 18-6 and attempted one more corner kick than the Tigers.

    The Gators are now 10-2 overall and 4-1 in SEC play and will play at Vanderbilt on Sunday at 1:00 PM.

    TEAM STATS:

    MIZZOU FLORIDA
    SHOTS (ON GOAL) 6 (4) 18 (9)
    CORNERS 4 5
    FOULS 11 12

    Goal Scorers:

    • 13th minute: UF ROBERTS
    • 13th minute: UF PELAYO
    • 57th minute: MIZZ LEWIS

    What’s Next:

    Florida Gators at Vanderbilt

    1:00 PM / October 8, 2017

    SEC NETWORK

  • 2018 4-star guard commits to Florida

    2018 4-star guard commits to Florida

    The Florida Gators basketball team is on a roll in the 2018 recruiting cycle.

    After locking in the commitment of 4-star PG Andrew Nembhard on Monday, Florida earned the commitment of 4-star guard Noah Locke.

    Locke is a 6-2, 160 lb prospect from Owings Mills, MD. 247sports.com ranks Locke the #70 overall prospect in the 2018 class. He had offers from some of the elite programs including Kansas and Ohio State in addition to UF.

    Nembhard and Locke are the first two commitments in Florida’s recruiting class, but it appears that the backcourt is set for the time being.

    (PHOTO VIA 247SPORTS.COM)

  • 2018 4-star PG commits to Florida

    2018 4-star PG commits to Florida

    The Florida Gators basketball program has landed the commitment of one of the top players in the country. On Monday, PG Andrew Nembhard announced, via Twitter, his commitment to Florida.

    Nembhard is a 6-4, 185 lb point guard from Thornhill, Ontario. He visited UF last weekend.

    Nembhard is ranked as the #28 player in the 2018 class and #7 point guard according to 247sports.com.

    Nembhard chose Florida over Gonzaga, Ohio State, and USC.

    (PHOTO VIA OFFICIAL TWITTER ACCOUNT OF ANDREW NEMBHARD)

  • QB Luke Del Rio to miss remainder of season

    QB Luke Del Rio to miss remainder of season

    Florida’s redshirt junior starting quarterback Luke Del Rio will miss the remainder of the season and will undergo surgery on Monday.

    Del Rio was hit by a Vanderbilt defender and landed on his shoulder in the second quarter.

    Florida head coach Jim McElwain told the media after Florida’s 38-24 victory that “Luke will be done (for the season).

    Del Rio was making his first start of 2017 after starting six games for Florida in 2016.

    Feleipe Franks appears to be Florida’s starting quarterback moving forward.

    More to come.

  • Kadeem Telfort’s lawyer asked UFPD for “special treatment”

    Kadeem Telfort’s lawyer asked UFPD for “special treatment”

    On Monday we finally got some information on the nine suspended Florida Gators players. The University of Florida Police Department made the recommendation for each of the suspended student-athletes to face multiple third-degree felony charges.

    It is now up to the State Attorney’s Office to determine whether or not to pursue those charges.

    Kadeem Telfort was one of the suspended, however he faces many more charges than his teammates. Telfort has two open cases that include a whopping thirty felony charges related to credit card theft.

    In the sworn affidavit provided to the State Attorney’s Office, Telfort’s lawyer, Peter Schoenthal asked for “special treatment since his client was a UF football player.”

    In the affidavit UFPD officer, Nikita McCarthy, states that on September 13 Schoenthal called and wanted to sit down with the State Attorney’s Office and UFPD hoping to negotiate a deal for the athletes to do some community service. Schoenthal said that since the “boys” had never been arrested but “made bad decisions” a felony arrest would ruin their lives. He also told the officer that most of the boys came from a [terrible] situation before coming to UF. Schoenthal also refused to have Telfort interviewed by UFPD officer during the investigation.

    From the affidavit: “Schoenthal said he didn’t want to ask for special treatment, but had to ask for special treatment since his client was a UF football player and the case against him would ruin his life.”

    According to his website, Schoenthal began his career with the Miami-Dade Public Defender’s office before going into private practice.

    You can see that portion of the document in the picture below:

  • All nine suspended Gators facing multiple felonies

    All nine suspended Gators facing multiple felonies

    The University of Florida Police Department has sent the cases of the nine suspended football players to the State Attorney’s Office for review. UPD has recommended multiple felony charges for all nine players that have been suspended indefinitely.

    Antonio Callaway, Jordan Scarlett, Keivonnis Davis, Richerd Desir-Jones, James Houston, Ventrell Miller, and Rick Wells each were charged with (Per Alachua County Court records):

    • 1 count- Fraud/Swindle: Obtain property under $20k
    • 1 count- Fraud/Imperson: Use/Poss ID of another w/o consent

    *both of these charges are third degree felonies in the state of Florida.

    Jordan Smith was charged with:

    • 4 counts- Fraud/Imperson: Use/Poss ID of another w/o consent
      1 count- Fraud/Swindle: Obtain property under $20k

    Kadeem Telfort has two open cases with UPD:

    Case 2017-CF-003493-A:

    • 6 counts- Fraud/Imperson: Use/Poss ID of another w/o consent
      1 count- Fraud/Swindle: Obtain property under $20k

    Case 2017-CF-003502-A:

    • 4 counts- Pass forged: Altered instrument
    • 12 counts- Fraud: Illegal use of credit card
    • 7 counts- Fraud/Imperson: Use/Poss ID of another w/o consent

    *the first four counts are also third degree felonies.

    In Florida a third degree felony can result in up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine.

    When asked about the charges during his Monday press conference, head coach Jim McElwain stated he hadn’t seen the charges yet, but that felony charges would certainly be a big deal.

    There is still much more information to come as the State Attorney’s Office will begin reviewing the affidavits by UPD. The State Attorney’s Office will then decide which charges to pursue.

    It is important to understand that these student-athletes are not arrested (yet).