Percy Harvin Zone

It is a common belief among football experts and Gator fans that Percy Harvin will go pro after his junior year. This makes the 2008 season his last as a Gator. Of course no one right now, but Percy, knows if he will stay for four years or go early… but it’s never too early to look at NFL mock drafts for 2009.

I did a quick Google search and found two mock drafts tat are complete opposites. One of them has Percy Harvin going #28 overall to the Indianapolis Colts and the other mock draft has Percy Harvin going #7 overall to San Francisco. How can there be a difference of 20+ picks in these two drafts. One of the authors must be a Gator Hater.

I think that if Percy Harvin meets expectations this year and avoids injury all season long that he is a guaranteed top 10 draft pick. The only thing that could knock him down some is injury.

Chris Rainey was the Gator standout this spring. He impressed coaches with his speed and cutback ability. I truly enjoyed watching some of his highlights from the Orange and Blue game. We want all Gators to succeed, but how will Chris Rainey’s performance affect Percy Harvin?

If Rainey continues to perform, the coaches will get him more touches. Those touches have to come from somewhere. Last year, Tebow and Harvin were the main ball carriers so it only makes sense that they will lose some touches. I think Moore will probably lose the most, but no doubt Percy won’t get as many carries from the backfield.

The Gators need to get the ball in their best playmakers hands, so if Percy Harvin receives less carries I would expect his number of catches to go way up.

Scout.com released their list of the 2008 Heisman Trophy Contenders. Percy Harvin isn’t number 1 on that list, but fellow Gator Tim Tebow is! Was there ever any doubt?

When I first looked at this list I expected to see Percy in the top 10, but to my surprise he isn’t even in the top 25! He is listed on the watch list though, but so are about 20 other players. Scout.com needs to wake up and watch some Gator football film. Percy Harvin is the top playmaker in the country. No one has the ability to take it to the distance like Harvin does. It just makes me mad to see he’s not getting any love from the national media.

Percy is a legit Heisman Contender, he’s just getting overshadowed by Tebow. Without Percy, Tebow wouldn’t be half the quarterback he is. Harvin takes those 5 yard passes and turns them into 60 yard gainers. It’s all about the yards after catch with Percy.

O-well though, nothing we can do but sit back and wait till the games start. Then people will see what he brings to the table.

Everything that we’ve been reading says that Percy Harvin has had this heel injury for a year or more. It maybe wasn’t in as much pain, but it definitely bothered him. So that means since Percy has been on the Gators, he’s never been 100%. What if this surgery makes him 100%? It means he’ll be even better then before!

Tony Barnhart of the AJC brought this exact same topic up as his number 1 question of the week. Here’s what he had to say:

1. Could Percy Harvin actually get better? The Florida wide receiver had surgery on Monday to correct a chronic heel problem. Does that mean that in his first two seasons he’s been running with a sore heel? Does that mean he could actually get BETTER after he recovers from the surgery? That’s going to keep some defensive coordinators up at night. Somebody wrote on the blog the other day that Harvin was an overrated player who could do only one thing: run fast. You have got to be kidding me. That’s not what the defensive coordinators in this league think. He scares them to death.

Florida wide receiver and master of the open space Percy Harvin had heel surgery Monday and is expected to be ready for fall practice. Great news to all Gator fans. A complication would have been devestating!The surgery was performed by foot specialist Dr. Robert Anderson at the Orthocarolina Orthopedic Clinic in Charlotte, N.C.

The Gators hope the surgery will relieve years of pain in Harvin’s right heel, which has bothered him off and on since his high school days in Virginia. I can’t believe that Percy is just now having the surgery if he’s been in pain for so long. If the surgery is simple why did he not do it in the past? Anyways, good luck and get well Percy!

It’s official. Percy Harvin will undergo surgery on his heel this week.

“It’s not a career-threatening injury,” Florida head coach Urban Meyer said Friday. “It’s a very minor surgery, probably an eight-week recovery and then he’ll be full speed for offseason. They’re saying in June we should be able to get him cranked up, for sure July.”

Renowned foot specialist Dr. Robert Anderson will perform the surgery, so it looks like Harvin’s in good hands. Harvin hopes that the decision to go through with this will put an end to years of heel pain.

Source: RF365

The Gators first Spring Practice of the year took place yesterday. The players were amped and ready to take the field after a somewhat disappointing 2007 season. GatorBait.net listed Percy as one of their Top 5 players who stood out. Here’s what they had to say:

Percy Harvin - It can be difficult for a player like Harvin to impress because so much is already expected of him. Despite that, today he was impressive - literally playing with the defensive backs as he ran away from them, beating all he went against on both short and long passes.

While it is true that so much is expected from Percy that it is hard for him to impress us, but it is great news to hear that he is running well and still burning by defensive backs. Without speed, Percy just becomes a regular WR.

We’ll be sure to keep all you Percy Harvin fans updated as the spring practices progress.

The following article was printed in the Alligator today. Urban Meyer is turning the Orange and Blue Spring game into a fun festival will all sorts of activities. He wants to get the attention of the National Media and really amp of future recruits. The fastest non-student athlete will race Percy Harvin for a scholarship. Pretty cool huh?

Think you can beat Percy Harvin, Deonte Thompson, Louis Murphy and Chris Rainey in the 40-yard dash?

UF coach Urban Meyer will give students a chance to prove it — with a full scholarship on the line.

Meyer announced the first-ever speed challenge on Wednesday. The event will take place during the Orange and Blue Game on April 12. ESPN GameDay will broadcast live from Gainesville and ESPN will televise the game live.

While full details have yet to be worked out, Meyer said that on Thursdays of spring practices, which begin March 19, strength coaches will be out on the practice fields and students will be invited to come out and train. The entrants will be whittled down to one lucky contestant who will face Harvin, Thompson, Murphy and Rainey in front of a packed Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.

“I want to give back to our students somehow,” Meyer said. “That’s going to be a great afternoon. If I’m a recruit and I come out and watch the ESPN GameDay crew in the stadium, watch it on a beautiful afternoon in the spring in Florida, and then you get to see a 40-yard dash in front of 60,000 people, that’d be kind of neat. Maybe that can help us get a couple of fast guys in recruiting.”

The Gators have a new Running Backs Coach in Kenny Carter. He came from Vandy and is already familiar with Florida situation in the backfield. Last year, Florida’s two leading rushers were Tim Tebow and Percy Harvin. I don’t think that will be the case in 2008, but Carter isn’t so quick to change a good thing. Check out what he recently said in a press conference:

“Our whole deal is to do what we need to do to win games. If we have one guy that rushes for 1,000 yards, outstanding. But if we have a collection of guys that rush for more than 1,000 yards, then we’re getting the production out of the position, which is more important.

“In the end, it all comes down to how many yards did you rush for. Ultimately, it doesn’t matter who rushed for what. What matters is what we produce from that position and how many wins do you have at the end of the season.”

This leads me to believe that the Gators will still use Harvin as a running back in certain situations. What matters is that they produce from that position. The Gators will have a much better running back core in 2008 then they did last year. Percy won’t likely be counted on to run the ball 10 or 15 times a game anymore. He’ll probably be brought in as a change of pace type of guy. Maybe 5 carries a game just to keep the defense on their toes.

The Florida Gators start their spring practices in a couple of weeks, Wednesday March 19th I believe is the first day. Percy Harvin is amped and ready to go. The Gators will work out and players will participate in drills that eventually lead up to the Orange and Blue Game on April 12.

When it comes to skills on the field, Percy doesn’t really have to prove much to the coaches. They know what he’s capable of. What Percy does need to prove is that he can be a leader on and off the field. Harvin is a junior now and will have dozens of underclassmen looking up to him… seeking him for advice.

I’ve always felt like Harvin has been reserved and not outspoken. He’s never vocal in the papers or vying for media attention. He does his job and leads by example. However, this year, I’d love to see Percy take an active role on the sideline and in the huddle when it comes to getting teammates pumped up and ready to play in crucial situations.