One thing that seemed to strike everybody at media day on Friday was the sheer number of great athletes parading around the Touchdown Terrace at Florida Field. They were everywhere, many of them true freshmen.
Clearly, Urban Meyer has raised the overall talent level at Florida. Much of it is young, which means there may be some serious bumps in the road this season. But this is a team that might be scary good next season.
Tim Tebow will have a year’s experience as the starter at quarterback and he’ll be surrounded by proven playmakers. And the defense, which will be frighteningly young this season, should be even better than last year’s defense that led Florida to the national title.
All these kids that looked so impressive Friday (and in earlier practices) received a heavy dose of reality Saturday with the official start of training camp and two-a-days. Meyer put the Gators through a brutal practice that lasted almost three hours and left the entire team spent.
The stakes are higher now.
With Florida counting on so many young players this season, the next two weeks are going to be crucial and will play a major role in how good this team can be in 2007.
These freshmen are going to be facing a toughness test the like they’ve probably never experienced before. If they tough it out and make it through, they’ll have a chance to provide the help this team is counting on from the 2007 recruiting class.
It’s going to be an interesting and brutal two weeks.
