Percy Harvin went #22 in the first round yesterday to the Vikings and he had these words to say about the University of Florida: "( Minnesota coach ) Childress said Saturday he spent a lot of time talking to UF coach Urban Meyer about Harvin. "It means more than words can describe," Harvin said. "After every visit, all I could do is just text Coach and tell him thank you for everything. I feel like I owed him the world. We had probably the best relationship I could have as far as a player-coach relationship with those guys. "I owe the University of Florida and the Gator Nation more than I can ever describe. The coaches, I thank them. A lot of my success and a lot of things that have come before have helped with moving me and helping me grow." Thank you Percy for the three fantastic, spectacular years that you gave to my alma mater and favorite sports team.
He was very fortunate to be drafted that high. As one talking head described him "top ten talent, free agent attitude."
How can a team resist a talent like Harvin? My only concern is not the fact that he tested positive during the combine, but that he tested positive during the combine while knowing he would be tested. That might be what Gipper referred to as the "Free Agent Attitude". As an owner, I would be concerned about his decision making ability.
I realized that Tom. Just how pathetic are these NFL teams who draft losers like Lawrence Philips and Reggie Rogers. They throw money at thugs like Pacman Jones. It just encourages folks to root against teams like the Cowboys whose owner would sleep with the devil to win.
He has talent, although because he's small, the durability thing will be the determing factor. He also, besides showing very poor judgement on the MJ issue, scored very low on the Wonderlick test. But when you are as fast as he is with the ball people tend to look the other way.
Question, although since the days of Spurrier the Gators have been known for their wide open offense featuring the pass. We know there are no great NFL Gator QB's, I can't think of many great NFL Gator WR/TE/RB. I'm sure there must be a few but I can't really think of any.
For the record I have those same concerns but it is significant to me that Meyer would stand up for Harvin as he obviously did. I do know from reports that Harvin worked his tail off after his ankle injury vs. FSU to get ready for OU.....and it paid off for him and for Florida. Terry.....there is always Emmitt Smith but he came after Spurrier. There have been several starting NFL backs since like Errict Rhett, Earnest Graham and of course.....Fred Taylor. The Qb position has seen only Shane Matthews as an NFL journeyman starter and then of course Rex Grossman took his team to the Super Bowl....which ain't half bad. At receiver there have been guys who have started many NFL games like Darrell Jackson and Jabar Gaffney did get some serious PT at New England in the last couple of years. By and large there have several UF offensive players with many NFL downs played but not too many Tom Brady's in the lot except for Smith. Defensively UF has been well represented post-Spurrier with guys like Alex Brown, Lito Shephard, Mike Peterson, Jevon Kearse, Andra Davis and Kevin Carter and there is a host of newer Gators in the NFL like Jarvis Moss, Reggie Nelson and Derrick Harvey. All in all I think UF is very well represented in the NFL and there are a ton of players on the present UF squad who will find playing time in the league in the near future.
How could I forget Emmit Smith. He's one of the all-time greats..even if he can't dance! But it does seem that Gators produce better defensive players than they do offensive players. As far as standing up for Harvin, it's what coaches do. I think you have to do some bad stuff for your college coach to publicaly say or do anything other than good things about a former player. Not saying Harvin hasn't been anything other than a guy who was a joy to coach. It will be interesting to see if he can become an elite NFL player like he was in college. He's not the size that usually has a long HOF type of career. If he's used right then he can make a lot of plays, but don't see him as an every down WR like say a Tim Brown. Terry
The whole character issue thing with Harvin dumbfounded me. The testing positive was dumb but I do not remember any time when Harvin was at Florida that he had issues with the coach or with the team. I'm glad he went high and think the Vikings got a player that if he can stay healthy will pay big dividends for them. Until proven otherwise I don't buy the character issue thing one bit.
I don't know that I would go as far to say that he has a character issue. However, I do equate what he did to a sober person being pulled over by the police and guzzling down a beer to keep the police from finding it. It makes me ask: "What the heck were you thinking?"
The positive test that Harvin had was stupid on his part but he is hardly the first or the last. I'm glad that it didn't affect his draft status. But some of the other garbage that was written about him by some so called sports writers was unfounded and hardly the Harvin that we all watched and enjoyed the last three years. His comments today is much more representative of the player the Gators know. And by no means am I saying he is perfect, but I do believe the Vikings got quite a player if he can avoid injuries.