SIX BITS: McFarland, Tyus, Brewer, Tebow

1 » In the immediate aftermath of dropping four-star safety Demar Dorsey (Lauderdale Lakes, FL), the Florida Gators contacted three-star tight end commitment Michael McFarland (Tampa, FL) and informed him that they no longer need him to grayshirt for the 2010 season as an additional scholarship has opened up. Instead, assistant head coach and defense/defensive line coach Dan McCarney told McFarland that the Gators want him to enroll with the rest of his 2010 class. OGGOA believes McFarland will likely redshirt his first season.

2 » Freshman guard Kenny Boynton has the star power, sophomore point guard Erving Walker is hitting daggers from downtown, junior forward Chandler Parsons is nailing remarkable buzzer-beating game-winners and junior transfer center Vernon Macklin brings the size…so what exactly is junior F Alex Tyus’ role? Tyus is, simply put, the most consistent player on the team. He has scored double figures in 11 straight games with 15+ points in six of those contests all while being a terror in the paint and averaging almost eight rebounds per game. Through the ups and downs of the season, Tyus has been the constant either keeping the Gators in games or helping them pull off routs. He’s even been hitting three-pointers. “I feel like I’m understanding my role a little more,” Tyus told Pat Dooley of The Gainesville Sun. “I’m more comfortable.” If Tyus continues playing at this level, a triumvirate of himself, Boynton and Walker could very well propel Florida to its first March Madness birth in three seasons.

Four more BITS on Corey Brewer, Tim Tebow and more after the jump!

3 » The transition to the NBA has been relatively easy for former Gators F/Cs Al Horford and Joakim Noah with the Atlanta Hawks and Chicago Bulls, respectively. The same cannot be said about G/F Corey Brewer of the Minnesota Timberwolves. Brewer began his professional career hitting only 23 of 102 attempted three-pointers (22.5 percent) through 130 games. However, since nailing a thrilling trey a few weeks ago and following it up with a buzzer-beater, Brewer has been on a tare. Over his last 10 games, he has taken 42 shots from downtown and converted 22 of them (52 percent). By all accounts, Brewer is finding his shooter’s touch, something he wondered if he would ever recover after missing the majority of the 2008-09 season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament. The reference article claims that a shooter has been born, but in Brewer’s case, it is more like a shooter was resurrected.

4 » The upcoming Super Bowl XLIV advertisement from Focus on the Family featuring former Florida quarterback Tim Tebow is still causing controversy – even former Vice Presidential candidate and noted Republican Sarah Palin weighed in on it. Tebow still doesn’t understand what the fuss is about. “[The ad is] just me and my mom showing our love for each other, and that’s pretty much what it’s about,” Tebow said. “I don’t think it’s anything that’s negative or anything like that. I think [the Super Bowl is] a good time and place when there’s a lot of people watching, and I think it’s a great opportunity to show something very happy and a special story and my mom fighting for me. I think there are a lot of great things in that. I think, if anything, [teams will] like that I took a stand on what I believe. If that’s something that would hesitate them from bringing me on, then it probably wouldn’t be a good fit for me in the first place because I’m never going to deny what I believe in just for a game.”

5 » Philadelphia Eagles QB Donovan McNabb offers Tebow some advice:

6 » Gators baseball has earned a No. 7 ranking in Baseball America’s NCAA Division I baseball preseason poll. The team plays its first game of the 2010 season against the South Florida Bulls on Feb. 19 at McKethan Stadium.