GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Former Gators linebacker Ryan
Stamper was about to plop down in a barber’s chair Friday afternoon when his
cell phone rang.
He didn’t recognize the number but picked up anyway. It was
a guy calling to see if he planned to watch the Broncos-Patriots playoff game
on Saturday night.
“Oh yeah, I’m excited about this game,’’ said Stamper, a
two-time team captain who led the Gators in tackles his senior season in 2009.
“I try to watch as many games as I can when those guys are playing. I remember
a lot of good times with those guys.”
Those guys are some of the best players to ever pull
on a Florida jersey. Tim Tebow is one. So are his Broncos teammates Derrick
Harvey and Marcus Thomas. Then there is Brandon Spikes and Aaron Hernandez of
the Patriots. Another player from the Urban Meyer era at Florida is Patriots
defensive lineman Jermaine Cunningham, who is on injured reserve and won’t play
in Saturday night’s game at New England’s Gillette Stadium.
New England defensive lineman Gerard Warren is another
former Gator expected to play, but he was already in the NFL before Meyer took
over the program in 2005.
The Florida connections have been mentioned prominently in
media reports all week leading up to the game, the second meeting between the
teams in less than a month.
New England snapped Denver’s five-game win streak with a
41-23 win in Denver on Dec. 18, quieting Tebowmania. However, Tebowmania once
again swept over the NFL like a tsunami in the wake of Tebow’s 80-yard
touchdown pass to Demaryius Thomas on the first play of overtime to beat the
Steelers last Sunday.
Hernandez, one of Tebow’s favorite receivers at Florida,
headlined the Patriots’ win over the Broncos with a season-high nine catches
for 146 yards and a touchdown.
Stamper still finds it odd to see his two former teammates
on opposite sidelines.
“Hernandez and Tebow, man, they used to make it happen for
us,’’ Stamper said. “It’s a little weird.”
Hernandez has quickly developed into one of New England
quarterback Tom Brady’s favorite targets. He finished the season with 79
receptions, 910 yards and seven touchdowns.
With so many other weapons at Brady’s disposal, Hernandez
didn’t sound too concerned earlier this week when asked if he expects the
Broncos to play him differently.
“They’ve got to pick their poison,’’ Hernandez said. “We
have more options than they can focus on.”
He remains a fan of Tebow despite their different allegiances
nowadays. Well, most of the time.
“That’s my boy,’’ Hernandez said. “I hope for success in his
future.”
Unlike the first meeting, Spikes is expected to play
Saturday. He missed much of the season with a knee injury.
Even Spikes appeared to get caught up in Tebowmania this
week – he changed his avatar on Twitter to a photo of him and Tebow together
during their days with the Gators.
Not all Patriots fans seemed amused, but Spikes let them
know he was out to beat his former teammate.
Tebow is looking forward to seeing his friend back on the
field but hopefully not in the Denver backfield too much.
“That will be a lot of fun," Tebow said. “I've gone
against him enough times in practice, so all those spring practices we had, we
had some fun going against each other. I remember a few times in some spring
practices when he might have hit me a little late when I had one of those red
jerseys on. He wasn't supposed to hit me, but he kind of gave me a little
nudge.
“You'd like him on your team, but it will still be fun going
against him. He's a great player. I look forward to giving him a hug."
As for Tebowmania, Stamper has followed it closely. In some
ways it reminds him of the Tebow phenomenon that broke out at UF in 2007 when
Tebow became the first sophomore to win the Heisman Trophy.
“I’m not surprised by anything Tebow does,’’ Stamper said. “He’s
a great player and just has a way to come out a winner. Who cares if it’s not
pretty until the end, he wins. I just don’t get why there are so many people
out there who root against him. He’s a special player and a special person. If
you don’t like him that just means you don’t know him.”
In the loss to New England, Tebow was 11 of 22 for 194
yards. He was sacked four times and fumbled twice, losing one of them.
The loss was the first of three in a row for the Broncos to
close the regular season. However, in his playoff debut, Tebow Time returned.
New England coach Bill Belichick has known Tebow since he
played at Florida and Belichick would visit Meyer to talk about the spread-option
attack the Gators ran.
Belichick told reporters this week that he watched Denver’s
win over Pittsburgh and is not surprised to see Tebow succeed in the NFL.
“Tim made a great throw and that was it,’’ Belichick said.
“He does a lot of things well. He throws a great deep ball, he’s a hard guy to
tackle, he’s good in the running game, good with play-action. I’m sure his
confidence and his timing has gotten better.”
There is one quality of Tebow’s that stands above the rest
to Belichick, that Tebow does “whatever it takes to win.”
“Tebow is good at that,’’ Belichick said.
Stamper won’t be the only one keeping a close eye on the
Broncos-Patriots game. The rematch is expected to be one of the NFL’s
highest-rated games of the season.
The Gators will be well-represented regardless of the
outcome.
