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Urban renewal sweeps through Florida By RALPH D. RUSSO THE ASSOCIATED PRESS GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Urban Meyer surveys his squad of Gators as they sprint past, snapping at those who lag behind. It’s the final practice of the spring for Florida and its new coach. Traditionally, the Gators have had a light workout the day before the Orange and Blue scrimmage in “The Swamp. Not this time. “Another day of work, men,” Meyer calls out. “Another day. Another day. Another day.” Nearly three hours later, the Gators are done. Welcome to Urban Renewal at the University of Florida, where optimism abounds, the coach is adored and the buzz words are honesty and accountability. Meyer has risen through the ranks of college coaching with WINTHROPPED I 1C. l\11\iNL./M’lL// I nc WMMLCOCK 1 The USC softball team traveled to Rock Hill on Tuesday to L battle the Winthrop Eagles. The Eagles defeated Carolina 2-0 N=====l head-spinning speed. After two seasons at Bowling Green and two more at Utah, the 40-year-old with the innovative offense and contagious intensity is already being called the next great college coach. “It’s very humbling and, if you know me, it’s extremely uncomfortable,” he said. Leading Utah to a 12-0 season and a berth in the Bowl Championship Series made Meyer the most wanted coach in the country last year. Florida was first to come calling in search of a replacement for Ron Zook. In three seasons under Zook, Gainesville had become a grumpy place. The Gators, once mighty under Steve Spurrier, were often mediocre for his successor. “What we went through the last three years was not good,” athletic director Jeremy Foley said. “A lot of negativity. A lot of divisiveness. It wasn’t fun for anybody.” Foley fiddled with the idea of bringing back Spurrier, but the coach decided he wasn’t interested in trying to rekindle past glory. Foley then went after Meyer. Meyer had all but made up his mind to take the Florida job when Notre Dame made its pitch for the former Irish assistant. He had his pick from two of college football’s most prestigious programs. “I’m Irish Catholic so I love Notre Dame,” Meyer said. “I love that place. I always will. That was more than a tug.” But the Florida job was just too good. “The best academics. The best facilities. The best stadium. The best location,” Meyer said. Just hiring Meyer helped improve the mood in Gainesville. And with every move he’s made, the players, many of whom groused when Zook was let go, and fans have become more devout followers. “We heard him talk and the confidence that he had and the enthusiasm that he had, we just looked at each other like, ‘OK this is going to work,’” linebacker Brandon Siler said. Meyer has done small things such as bringing the bleachers back to the practice field, so fans could sit and watch the spring workouts. Zook had removed the metal stands. He’s done big things such as creating a leadership committee to make players accountable to each other. The committee of 14 players, chosen by the team, will make decisions ranging from what’s served for dinner to the type of punishment doled out to rule-breakers. “The key word in this whole thing is ownership,” Meyer said. “If they think it’s a dictatorship, there’s much more resistance.” Meyer has been brutally honest when speaking to the media about his players. Early this spring, he said the team wasn’t tough. He said defensive tackle Ray McDonald, a two-year starter, didn’t always play hard. He called quarterback Chris Leak a poor leader, because while Leak was a model student-athlete he didn’t do enough to make sure his teammates were the same. Meyer doesn’t call it criticism. “I say it’s honest evaluation,” he said. And the players don’t seem to mind. some coacnes mignt noia back because they’re scared they might hurt your feelings,” safety Jarvis Herring said. “He’ll tell you what’s on his mind. I love that.” Meyer has reached out to former Gators greats, many of whom grew disenchanted with the program during Zook’s tenure. Neal Anderson, Alex Brown, Danny Wuerffel, Chris Doering and Jack Youngblood were among the dozen or so former Florida players at the Orange and Blue game Saturday — along with a record 58,500 fans. “There’s a tradition here that’s as good as any in the country, especially in the last 15 years,” Meyer laid. “Those guys need to come back.” Meyer even called Spurrier, “just out of respect.” Meyer’s even trying to get the students more involved, visiting the fraternity and sorority houses and encouraging everyone on campus to learn the fight song. ■ GAMECOCKS I Continued from page 12 Gamecocks and Spurrier. Leading rusher Demetris Summers was kicked off the team in March for violating an unspecified team rule, although several reports say the reason was drug-related. Also last month, defensive line star Moe Thompson went missing for nearly a week after being charged with breaking into dorm rooms and stealing electronic equipment with redshirt freshman Kevin Mainord. Both players were charged with first-degree burglary and have been suspended from the team and school. Redshirt freshman David Smith i n was arrested on several charges, including criminal domestic violence, assault and first-degree burglary, in connection with a break-in last month at his former girlfriend’s home. Smith has been suspended from the team indefinitely. 2005 Ford Escape and Other Great Vehicles! $500 cash bonus All new offer for college and trade school students, recent grads and graduate students Play Ford's "define your prize" giveaway! What would you do with $10,000? Plus, enter for a chance to win cool prizes instantly! Visit www.fordcollegehq.com to play. college student purchase program NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. A PURCHASE WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. LEGAL RESIDENTS OF THE 50 UNITEO STATES (D.C.) 18 YEARS AND OLDER. VOID IN FLORIDA AND WHERE PROHIBITED. Promotion ends 6/30/2005. For Official Rules, prize descriptions and odds disclosure, visit www.fordcolle9et1q.com. Sponsor: j Ford Motor Company, (One American Road, Dearbofn, MI 48126. a NICK ESARES/THE GAMECOCK Rising sophomore safety Ko Simpson sits on the sideline during a practice. He and junior Cory Boyd returned to practice Monday. ■ SPRING Continued from page 12 Heffner, the elusive, young quarterback, exhibited his skills but also indecisiveness in a lot of snaps. His tentativeness was shown in a few near-interceptions and struggles under pressure. Heffner hit sophomore wide receiver Syvelle Newton and redshirt freshman Sidney Rice on completions for more than 20 yards. His performance improved when he stepped in following Mitchell’s interception. “Antonio Heffner has made tremendous improvement,” Spurrier said. “Antonio’s got a good, quick release, he’s a tremendous athlete, gets away from guys. He just needs to know where to throw it and when to throw it.” The entire running attack looked improved — Boyd looked most impressive, as well as senior Daccus Turman and redshirt freshman Albert Ashcraft. In nine-on-seven and seven-on-seven drills, the running core blasted outside the defense, inserting occasional runs up the middle. “The really good offensive teams that I was lucky to coach always had backs who could catch the ball,” Spurrier said. Of all the receivers, Rice and Newton looked most impressive. Junior Noah Whiteside also looked solid, coming back to quarterbacks during immense defensive pressure. SPRING GAMt With the nearly healthy Boyd and Simpson’s presence in practice, USC prepares for its nationally televised Spring Game on Saturday afternoon. Spurrier’s former school and alma mater, the University of Florida, played host to its annual Spring Game last Saturday in front of 59,000 Gator fans. “Hopefully we can have a good crowd,” Spurrier said Monday. “All the Carolina faithful probably want to see exactly what we’ve been doing. Hopefully we can put on a decent showing. “We’re going to try our best to get our players competing and act like we know what we’re doing. (We’re going to) act like we can stay onsides, play within the rules, and we’re going to try to put on a decent show for our fans.” Boyd said he plans on a full return Saturday after competing full-throttle Monday without much resistance. “That’s all I do is go 100 percent,” Boyd said. “I’m coming out full-speed and we’re all going to come out full-speed.” The team will hold another scrimmage today at 5:15 p.m. before playing host to the nationally televised Garnet and Black game Saturday. The game begins at 1 p.m. and is free. Comments on this story? E-mail gamecocksports@gwm.sc.edu ■ BROOM Continued from page 12 Probability that I will start a calendar counting down the days until kickoff as soon as I get back to my apartment after the game: 10,000 percent Number of people still reading this column: 4 Anyway, take this paper to the game with you and check my stats. 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