Our football players just recently completed their seven week off-season conditioning program and are undergoing strength and speed testing this week. Our players made some good strides in the weight room and they are looking forward to starting spring practice on March 16th. The Gator football team got some good news when we recently learned long snapper Casey Griffith has been granted an additional year of eligibility by the NCAA. Casey is a key ingredient to our special teams and I respect his hard work and attitude and it will be great to have him back for another year.

Our practice dates have been released and will be updated next week with tentative times and locations. If you plan on coming to practice, please check the website daily as times and locations could change.

When we open spring practice you will see some changes on the field. We plan on moving Mo Mitchell back to the offensive line. Mo did a great job on the defensive side of the ball, but we feel much better about the defensive tackle position than we did a year ago and we have some spots to shore up with the departure of Shannon Snell and Max Starks. Joe Cohen has asked to move to the defensive side of the ball. Joe is a tremendous athlete who is above 270 pounds right now and it will be good to see him on the field.

Travis Harris will also move from defensive end to the strong side linebacker. Travis plays with an unbelievable motor and he will provide some depth and energy to the linebacking spot. There are also no plans to move Gavin Dickey from the quarterback spot. Gavin is playing with the baseball team right now and it has been a great experience for him.

Speaking of dates, here a few more you can mark down on your calendar. I will have a web chat with Gator fans on March 25th from Noon until 1 p.m. and we've also finalized the Gator Club appearances for this summer. They are listed below and are also posted on my site under scheduled appearances and will include more information (time and location) as we get closer to the events.

April 21 Atlanta
April 22 Houston
April 26 Lake County
April 27 Treasure Coast
April 28 North Florida (Lake City)
May 3 Big Lake
May 4 West Palm Beach
May 5 Miami
May 6 Broward County
May 10 Brevard County
May 11 Polk County
May 12 Tampa
May 13 Manatee County (Bradenton)
May 17 Marion County
May 19 Capital Area
May 20 Panhandle (Panama City)
May 21 Northwest Florida (Pensacola)
June 5 Volusia County
June 8 Central Florida
July 24 Jacksonville

That is all for now - again thanks for your continued support and Go Gators!