Bummer, No June in August

No, this article is not some sort of plot I concocted to re-draw the calendar, but Florida’s 2008 football schedule just got less interesting.

Ever since Hawaii coach June Jones spewed his moronic comments denigrating Tim Tebow as a “system” quarterback, I’ve been eagerly looking forward to the Rainbows’ arrival in Gainesville for the season opener August 30. I figured the articles, the board chats, signs at The Swamp would combine for great fun.

Ever since watching Jones and his deified quarterback Colt Brennan struggle mightily (22-38, 169, 0 TD, 3 INT) against the Georgia defense, I’ve been even more enthused about Jones coming to town to eat some crow.

Ever since watching his defense fail miserably against the Dawgs, I was ready to see what the Gators and their “system” quarterback could do against them.

The problem is it ain’t happening.

Jones resigned at Hawaii the other day, claiming there was just a “lack of commitment” there. The fact that he’s on the verge of more than doubling his income by taking the SMU job is apparently not a factor. With Jones gone, Hawaii coming to town just isn’t going to be as much fun.

Departure Could Weaken Team

Hawaii was already facing a rebuilding job with Brennan moving on along with two of the top four receivers and six defensive starters. However, now you have to wonder if the top returning juniors will follow suit. Hawaii’s top two receivers Davone Bess (108-1,266, 11.7, 12) and Ryan Grice-Mullen (106, 1,372, 12.9, 13) might decide they don’t want to be part of the change of leadership in Honolulu. Their top two tacklers, Solomon Elimimian (136) and Adam Leonard (105) are also rising seniors who could find a coaching change not in their best interests.

We’ll know in short fashion how this will play out and just how much returning talent Hawaii will have in 2008. But no matter how many of those guys make the trip to Gainesville; June won’t be here in August.

And that’s just taken all the fun out of it.

Questions or comments? Contact FightinGators.com's Larry Vettel