FOUR BITS: Graham’s award, Nelson’s journey

By Adam Silverstein
December 29, 2010

1 » Tampa Bay Buccaneers fullback Earnest Graham was honored by his teammates with the Ed Block Courage Award this year. Coming back this season after tearing a ligament in his toe in 2009, Graham has dealt with a lot in 2010 including the loss of his mother and his brother recently being released from prison. A fan favorite, Graham recently started the charity Earnest Giving in support of early childhood development.

2 » ESPN’s AFC East blogger Tim Graham published an interesting story about undrafted Buffalo Bills wide receiver David Nelson last week. Nelson, who took some time to develop while with the Florida Gators, performed admirably in his final two seasons but was not selected in the 2010 NFL Draft. He was picked up right after the draft by the Bills and fulfilled his dream of making the NFL even though talk show host Regis Philbin – a Notre Dame supporter – once said live on air that he was made a bad decision. “”Big mistake for you kid!” Philbin said live on his show when Nelson decided to switch his commitment from Notre Dame to Florida. “You start to think ‘What might have been? Maybe Regis was right,’” Nelson said on his early struggles at UF. “Looking back now, it’s easy to see I made the right decision.” Nelson has 31 receptions for 353 yards and three touchdowns already this season.

3 » Let’s just say Gators senior forward Chandler Parsons is not having the type of season anyone – including himself – expected. He has struggled shooting from beyond the arc and at the free throw line even though he continues to put in optimum effort each night. Nevertheless, he is not discouraged. “We can’t get down. I can’t get down because I was 0-for-3, 0-for-4 from the three-point line,” Parsons told The Gainesville Sun. “I’m going to keep trying to get to the foul line even though I’m not shooting the ball well from there. It’s all about confidence, getting good shots. I’m going to keep trying to get to the free throw line. If I’m open, I’m going to shoot the ball. I’m not going to get down. It’s my senior year. I’ve been through slumps before so it’s nothing I haven’t experienced.” Head coach Billy Donovan and his teammates are certainly behind him. “We need Chandler and he needs us,” junior point guard Erving Walker said. “So we’re going to be there for him. I’ve got confidence in him and if he’s got an open shot I want him taking it.”

4 » Coming off a win in the Gator Holiday Classic, Florida women’s basketball was hoping to keep the magic going with an upset win over the No. 23/25 Florida State Seminoles. Unfortunately they fell just short with the Seminoles (10-3) squeaking out a back-and-forth 74-72 win over the Gators (10-4) on the road in Tallahassee, FL. Florida shot 48.4 percent from the field (compared to 44.4 percent for Florida State) and out-rebounded their opponent 39-31 but still fell. Guards redshirt junior Jordan Jones and freshman Jaterra Bonds combined for 25 points and 11 assists.

Photo Credit: Daniel Wallace/St. Petersburg Times

3 Comments

  1. G8TRKYLE says:

    Nice to see so many positive success stories of Gators in the NFL as of late…

  2. Gatorbuc15 says:

    It was good of the Bucs to give Graham that award. Lord
    knows he deserves it.

  3. Gatorgrad79 says:

    Earnest has given his all to the Bucs in return for the chance they gave him to work on the practice squad again after being cut once before. He is truly humble and his success comes from putting the team above himself. He has had a tough year losing his Mom, Sandra. I will always remember the Saturdays we sat at Lot 4 near Florida Field at BHG stadium, and how proud Sandra was of Earnest and the life he had made for himself. She could not be more proud of him now than she was then.

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