FLORENCE, Ala. — Janoris Jenkins, trying desperately to rebuild his image at a serene college football outpost in the rolling hills of Northern Alabama, tells us something we already knew about the difference between new University of Florida football coach Will Muschamp and old coach Urban Meyer.
"No doubt, if Coach Meyer were still coaching, I'd still be playing for the Gators," says Jenkins, a star cornerback and a potential first-round draft pick whom Muschamp booted from UF's team after being arrested twice for possession of marijuana during the offseason. "Coach Meyer knows what it takes to win."
Sure does. A keen eye for talent and a blind eye for discipline.
The funny thing is Jenkins, now playing at Division II power North Alabama for Coach Terry Bowden, is trying to compliment Meyer when, in effect, he is outing him. Meyer, as the police blotter will attest during his tenure in Gainesville, counted as much on the expertise of de facto team lawyer Huntley Johnson as he did on his offensive and defensive coordinators.
In contrast, Muschamp did something that may go down as revolutionary at UF. He became perhaps the first coach in history to ever kick a potential first-round draft pick off the team. Most coaches would have suspended Jenkins for the first quarter of the season-opener against Al's Barber College. Muschamp actually sent a message to the rest of the team and backed up what he said at his introductory news conference; that all UF players — even consensus All-Americans — would be expected to conduct themselves the "Florida way."
Muschamp absolutely did the right thing. Any new coach — or new parent for that matter — will tell you that starting off too stringent on your rules and then backing off some is much more workable than the alternative. It is virtually impossible to start off too lenient and then try to get tougher. You have to set a standard and stand by it if you want kids to take you seriously.
Muschamp, too, has the advantage of not being under the gun and expected to win big immediately. This isn't like when Ron Zook was hired. Zooker needed to hit the ground running to get Florida fans on his side. That's not necessarily the case with Muschamp. Although he is a first-time coach, he is a much more popular choice than Zook and takes over a program that even UF's spoiled fan base must realize is in rebuilding mode.
"It will be much tougher for Will to make a decision like this when he's been at Florida for three or four years," says Terry Bowden, who gave Muschamp his start in coaching at Auburn.
As it was, it was still a tough decision for Muschamp. It's not like Jenkins is a bad dude or some sort of hardened criminal. In fact, he seems like a decent kid who just got caught up in the legal nonsense that infiltrated Meyer's program. To paraphrase the famous words of former Florida State wide receiver Peter Warrick, "It's not like Janoris Jenkins shot the president."
He smoked pot, which is to college athletes what Miller Lite is to middle-aged sports columnists. The problem is he got arrested smoking it twice within a matter of weeks. If Muschamp allowed his best player and one of his leaders to exhibit such poor judgment, the rest of the team would realize their new coach was a disciplinary fraud.
"Janoris is a good young man who comes from a good family," Muschamp says. "He just made some poor decisions. What young people need to understand is that there are consequences in life when you continue to make poor decisions. I was trying to do what was best for our team and for Janoris. Unfortunately, he won't play his last year at the University of Florida, but he's going to be a better person because of this."
Even Jenkins, as he prepares to play his final season at North Alabama, understands now that Muschamp did what he had to do. As he tries to rebuild his reputation and prove to NFL scouts that he has a healthy body and a clear mind, he says he takes "full responsibility" for what has happened.
"It wasn't Coach Muschamp's fault; it was my fault," he says. "I'm going to do what I have to do to help North Alabama win a Division II national championship and to show people I'm a good person and a great player."
As Urban Meyer's favorite singer, Jimmy Buffett, once sang, "Changes in latitudes, changes in attitudes."
The Florida coach has changed and so has the Florida way.
What used to be accepted behavior is now one toke over the line.
The new UF coach has proven that he is not just blowin' smoke when it comes to establishing a foundation of discipline.
