Well Florida won't be wanting for talent for the foreseeable future. But a dual threat like Tebow who can bulldoze you on the run and has a good solid arm will be very hard to replace, especially in that system. They'll also have to do some rebuilding on defense next year with the loss of Brandon Spikes and other veterans. Off the top of my head I can't think of too many underclassmen playmakers Florida has, so how long they'll be in rebuilding mode will depend on how much production they get out of their young players this year. Rookie QB + a young team could spell problems for the next couple of years, especially with a complex offense like Meyers'. But in the long run Florida ain't going nowhere.
They have five senior starters and they will have more experience than any other team in the country in 2010. They'll lose maybe a couple of juniors - but will be loaded for years to come.
I was thinking more along the lines of FR/SO. You're also assuming guys like Joe Haden and Major Wright don't declare after this year. They also have older QBs who have seen very limited action behind Tebow.
well tebow is a helluva player, as much as i hate to say it. he could finish with 2 heismans and 3 national titles. as for life after him, you have to remember florida recruits extremely well. This year they only lost 2 starters on o ( harvin and murphy) and are 2 deep on defense. Assuming players like dunlap haden wright declare, they'll have a lot of young players on d. Jenkins is a true freshmen this year that will likely start next year. They also have brandon beal and Doe, which will ease the linebacking hit. They recruited well at DT, but they'll need an impact DE in this class because they will be for sure losing cunningham and most likely dunlap. this year they have the two best safeties committed and recruit very well on d. As for QB Brantley has been a good backup for them, so the dropoff will still hurt but can be absorbed unfortuantly. Florida has always lacked a solid running back but they have blazing speedsters who are young, so assuming they have to adjust their scheme, look for them to run the ball more next year than this year. they play the spread, which for them requires a dual threat qb so dont be surprised if they pull a big one in 2011.
Florida, like LSU and other top tier teams, simply reloads. So they will remain very, very good. However, losing a QB like Tebow will certainly have impact. Remains to be seen how much impact that will be. Another factor is Urban Meyer. Some folks think he's just waiting for Jabba the Weis to FAIL again at Notre Dame so he can take the job. Meyer insists he's not looking at Notre Dame. I don't buy it. If Meyer leaves, UF may have to hit the reset button for a year or two and FSU and the U may get a recruiting boost! But that's at least 2-3 years down the road.
Meyer is unlikely to be able to keep up the pace of national championships with Tebow gone. Expectations at Florida will be high and even some fine football won't make them happy if they don't win a NC every other year. Like Spurrier and Saban before him, I wouldn't be surprised for Meyer to find some greener pastures soon.
I happen to think that John Brantley will most likely be able to run this offense quite well after Tebow leaves. He's about the same size, and has shown a solid arm and understanding of the offense. He definitely won't be playing at the level of Tebow, but if Craig Krenzel can win a NC, then John Brantley can. They're building up some good talent, especially on defense(Jelani Jenkins, John Bostic, Matt Elam, Gary Brown), and in my opinion, Andre Debose is going to be another Percy Harvin type player. They will, as was stated before, merely reload new players into their system and keep winning.
I was kind of thinking the same thing. Correct me if I'm wrong, but Florida really didn't do much of anything until Tebow got there, that is since Spurrier left and they had their last savior at QB who turned into an NFL bust (Danny Wuerffel). Chris leak sure would not have beaten LSU in 06' without Tebow there.
Florida will be fine without Tebow. Meyer is a strong coach with a stable of recruits. It seems Nebraska had qbs close to Tebow's stature if you really think about it, and they kept finding new guys to fill that hole.
