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Thursday, November 28, 2024

Haden will have more chances to throw than Henry

UF coach Urban Meyer has called Joe Haden one of the top five athletes he has ever coached.

Tight end Aaron Hernandez told reporters at UF's media day that Haden, Carl Moore and himself took down Erving Walker, Ray Shipman and Vernon Macklin in a game of three-on-three basketball.

I also heard from an onlooker that Haden looked like the best player on the court.

The junior cornerback can do it all, which is why Meyer has decided that putting Haden in as the Wildcat quarterback is a good idea.

When he used Percy Harvin in that role in the past, defenses knew he was going to run the ball because the Minnesota Vikings' first-round draft pick wasn't much of a thrower.

Haden was a quarterback in high school, and a damn good one.

That doesn't mean Haden is going to sit in the pocket and throw the ball from sideline to sideline. I'm sure Meyer will use him primarily to run the ball as well, but don't be surprised to see Haden roll out to his throwing-hand side and drop in a short pass or two.

Chas Henry, on the other hand, is a punter. A fine punter at that, but a punter nonetheless.

He will probably see no playing time within the offense, and Mike knows that.

His argument comes completely on the belief, or delusion, that Henry will throw a touchdown on a fake punt attempt.

Think about how many things have to go right for that to happen.

If Henry is on the field to punt, that means that the Gators are no closer to their opponent's end zone than about 35 yards.

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So, Meyer will have to first call for a fake, Henry will have to complete a pass and then the play must work so well that it is able to gain at least 35 yards.

Henry was also a pretty solid quarterback in high school, but circumstances make Haden the obvious choice as more likely to throw a touchdown pass this season.

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