Florida students, here is your chance.
Coach Urban Meyer is giving you the opportunity to get blown off the field in a 40-yard dash by racing Percy Harvin, Louis Murphy, Chris Rainey, Deonte Thompson or another Florida speedster. Think you're fast enough to beat them? You might just get to prove it.
Meyer, in an effort to involve the student body more during Florida's Orange and Blue Game on April 12, proposed a race between some of the fastest Gators and regular students. There would be tryouts, and the final plan has not been developed, but select students will get their chance to test their speed against Florida football players.
"We have the best student body, 27,000 strong every home game, and I want to give back to our students," Meyer said at Wednesday's pre-spring news conference. "Whether they're catching a pass from (Tim) Tebow; whether they're catching a punt from our punter, Chas Henry. It's going to be a great afternoon. I want to sell our campus.
"If I'm a recruit and I come out and watch the ESPN GameDay crew in the stadium, watch it on the field all afternoon…and then you get to see a 40-yard dash in front of 60,000 people that would be kind of neat. Maybe that could help us get a couple fast guys."
A reporter asked, what happens if someone beats Harvin?
"He'd be on scholarship," Meyer said.
The coach also seemed taken aback that College Gameday is getting involved in spring scrimmages.
"Gameday is coming to spring games now?" Meyer asked. "College football is great. Isn't it? I'm sure they'll evaluate our spring game really closely, too."
Wilson not granted release…yet
Offensive lineman James Wilson, a former five-star recruit out of Ponte Vedra Nease, has asked to transfer and has told multiple media outlets Florida is not the right place for him but Meyer said he will not grant Wilson his release yet.
There will still be a few attempts to convince Wilson that Florida would work for him. Wilson has dealt with numerous injuries since arriving on campus and he is expected to miss spring practice with a left knee sprain.
"Jason Watkins, Jim Tartt, Drew Miller and Steve Rissler, we had four offensive linemen quit multiple times," Meyer said. "All young people go through issues and we're not going to stop trying to get (Wilson) to come back because he's a quality guy and he could be a heck of a player.
"(He) did not practice once, not even warm-ups, so he's going through a funk like a lot of young people do. At the end of the day, I'm going to do what's best for him because he is a good person. Absolutely, I am trying to get him back. Florida is a hell of a place."
Cooper to participate in spring (foot)ball
Wide receiver Riley Cooper is playing baseball for the Gators this spring and that's fine with Meyer – he said he encourages dual-sport athletes to participate in other activities – but once spring football practice starts, Meyer expects Cooper to put the pads on.
"Riley is a guy who still has a few issues with his feet," Meyer said. "Potential is really a bad word around here. It's a bad word in athletics. To say a guy has potential, that's OK his first year. When you're going into your third year and you say a guy has potential it's not great. He does have tremendous potential. He's talented. He's fast.
"He's been injured so he's going to go through spring football. I'm a big fan of our baseball program like I am our track program. We have two players running track. As long as their grades are in good shape, I have no problem with that. I encourage it. But you're not going to miss football."
More Meyer quotes
On the attitude of the team this off-season: "A year ago, we had entitlement issues we had to deal with and that was coming off a national championship year. We had a very disappointing finish to a season where we rebounded and won four straight and then lost that game (to Michigan). We've had a little edge, a litter chip on our shoulder. Our guys have done well this spring."
On Tebow and if he can improve: "Can he improve as a quarterback? Yes, he can and he'd be the first one to tell you that. We're not going to run him. It's not going to be a run-a-thon. It's going to be (that we) throw the ball and we're going to work a lot of no huddle this spring because he played that way in high school. Every year we add something to the offense…The backup battle is going to be a hell of a battle. We want to play two next year."
On recruiting in south Florida: "The players we've gotten out of Miami have been minimal for years. The ones we have are more West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, St. Thomas Aquinas…We have to get somebody out of there. The effort is going to be there but we also have to understand we're at a disadvantage. I don't buy into that a guy has been down there for 36 years. That's fine. Go down and get a player."
On whether Meyer would rather lose a recruiting battle to LSU or Miami: "Would you rather jump off a cliff or be pushed?"