“Man, he’s my favorite coach,” Rainey said.

Drayton played a key role in bringing Moody and Rainey to Florida, but the running backs coach left after the 2007 season to take the same position at arch-rival Tennessee. He left under less than perfect circumstances. Urban Meyer had suggested that Drayton find another job, but Meyer did not expect him to land at a chief UF rival. Once Drayton arrived at UT, he made some remarks about being glad to have a chance to coach tailbacks in a more conventional offense with a two-back set.

A year later, Drayton was left looking for a job again after Phil Fulmer was ousted in Knoxville. Drayton ended up at Syracuse last season.

When Kenny Carter left Florida at the end of the 2009 season to join Charlie Strong at Louisville, Meyer found himself looking for a new running backs coach. He targeted his former guy, Drayton, and the hire was made. When he accepted the job, Drayton said his relationship with Meyer had been good throughout, and he was thrilled to be back at Florida.

Moody and Rainey are happy about it, too.

Some are predicting Drayton’s hire may light the fire under Moody that has been missing for much of his injury-plagued UF career.

“I’m so glad Coach Drayton is here,” Moody said. “He’s a great coach. Coach Carter, we miss him and enjoyed the time we had with him. When I knew Coach Drayton was coming back I was really happy because he’s a great guy and he’s a big reason I came to this program. Him and Coach Meyer and Coach Mullen.

“He’s a familiar face, a familiar friend. I was really happy to see him come back to Florida.”

This spring is a new beginning for Moody. Not only does he have his favorite running backs coach back, he’s coming off ankle surgery and feeling good about how he will fit into a UF offense that now will see the quarterback (John Brantley) going under center and the Gators going with a two-back set at times.

“I’m trying to learn some new things in the new offense we’ve got, a few more things under center with John Brantley,” Moody said. “I’m trying to get a good chemistry with Brantley.

“I feel good, really good. Health-wise, I’m getting there. The ankle is not fully there, but it’s getting a lot better. I’m playing through it. It’s a new beginning for the whole team. Tebow is gone, Spikes is gone and a lot of the other leaders are gone. We feel like certain guys have to step up and a lot of new guys are in the lineup now. We’re really going to enjoy the team we have right now. We feel we have close friendships within the team.”

Moody and Rainey certainly have a friendship with Drayton.

Even though Rainey is working mostly with new wide receivers coach Zach Azzanni this spring to get comfortable in his new position (slot receiver), Rainey will go back to splitting time with Drayton in the fall as he tries to assume the Percy Harvin role in the offense.

“I have a good relationship with him,” Rainey said. “He’s my favorite coach.”

The big thing I noticed with Burton is that he has a very strong and lively arm. And he seems to know where to go with the football most of the time, which probably is a little unusual for such a young quarterback. This kid also is a big, sturdy, strong, confident athlete who appears verycoachable, and very capable of making some big things happen with his legs.

The key this spring is for Burton to take all the coaching he can from Scot Loeffler, a proven quarterbacks coach who will bring out the best in Burton. If Loeffler can improve Burton’s throwing motion, Burton will get even more out of what appears to be a very potent arm. This is going to take some time, but I think Burton has a chance to develop into something special because he has so many tools to work with and he looks like he’s willing to put in the work.

* I haven’t seen enough of true freshman wide receiver Solomon Patton to form an opinion on him yet, but Urban Meyer seems to love him. After Wednesday’s practice, Meyer singled out Patton, saying he was very impressed with his speed and explosiveness. I heard the same thing about Patton when I was in Mobile, Ala., for the Senior Bowl. Patton played his high school ball in Mobile, and I ran into an official working with the Senior Bowl and he told me Patton is going to do some huge things in UF’s offense. This guy told me Patton is electric, and reminded him of a smaller version of Percy Harvin. He’s definitely a kid to keep an eye on this spring.

* Redshirt sophomore Jeremy Brown looks great physically and is moving around extremely well. If his chronic bad back can hold up, he’ll probably be the guy who replaces All-America Joe Haden at cornerback . The coaches are going to hold Brown out of contact for another week or so just to make sure he’s ready to go. One player who is not a factor at Haden’s old position right now is sophomore Adrian Bushell, who showed so much promise last season. Meyer said Bushell has some catching up to do in the classroom (and in his personal life) before he can start practicing with the team this spring.

* True freshman Gerald Christian appears to be the tight end most physically ready to play right now. He seems to be much more developed than redshirt freshman Desmond Parks, who still needs to add weight and muscle. Redshirt freshman Jordan Reed, who has made the switch from quarterback, is a prospect the coaches seem really excited about at tight end. Meyer said Wednesday that Reed has a chance to be a Cornelius Ingram-type player at the position. Tight end will be one of the more intriguing battles of the spring.

* Brendan Beal looks like he’s overcome his neck problem and is ready to compete for serious playing time at middle linebacker. He’s a fast, physical, nasty guy. He and JonBostic should stage quite a battle for the starting role this spring.

* Wide receiver T.J. Lawrence appears much more explosive and much more confident making plays than he did a year ago as a redshirt freshman. He made some plays in the first practice and looked very quick.

* I know it’s early still, but the new leaders on the defense appear to be senior strong safety Ahmad Black and senior defensive end JustinTrattou. Black has really added some muscle mass in the offseason.

Tebow has been invited by the NFL to attend the draft. The NFL apparently also has invited several other probable non first-round picks in an attempt to get more players involved in the draft. Because Tebow is probably the most marketable athlete in the world at the moment, his invitation seems like a no-brainer. Now, it’s just a question of whether Tebow wants to be in New York or back home on the family farm outside of Jacksonville.

Here’s a good hint: Tebow has had a great time in New York the past three years for what turned into an annual trip for the Heisman Trophy ceremony. Before the 2007 Heisman, Tebow had never been to New York. The family has used the trip as a a reason to have a family reunion each year. Here’s a chance for a another one, and you would have to think this is an invitation Tebow will find hard to turn down.

* Gerald Christian — This true freshman has a chance to win the starting role at tight end. He’s a very good athlete who runs well and has extremely good hands. And the position is wide open with the early departure of Aaron Hernandez. Another young guy to watch here is Jordan Reed, who is making the transition from quarterback to tight end. This is an athletic quarterback who has the chance to morph into a very good tight end in time.

* Trey Burton — He’s the No. 2 quarterback and he’s going to get a ton of reps. This true freshman has a lot of athletic ability and can make a lot of things happen with his legs. He needs to improve dramatically as a passer and will be getting lots of attention from quarterbacks coach Scot Loeffler, who has only two scholarship quarterbacks to work with this spring.

* Joshua Shaw — This high school All-American from California has a chance to take over the cornerback slot vacated by Joe Haden. The competition is wide open, and he’s got the size and athletic ability to make a run at the staring role.

* Josh Evans — He did a lot of good things at strong safety as a true freshman last season. With the Gators suddenly a little thin at the safety positions, Evans should get extended playing time behind senior Ahmad Black next season.

*Stephen Alli — Wide receiver David Nelson loved this guy last season, saying he came close to playing as a true freshman. He has freakish athletic ability (and great size), and with openings in the wide receiver corps, he has a chance to earn a spot in the playing rotation with a good spring.

* Matt Elam — Speaking of young safeties, this true freshman looks physically ready to see playing time behind No. 1 free safety Will Hill. Urban Meyer has also said he would like to see the ball in his hands on offense on occasion. He looked like a big-time tailback prospect the way he ran in the state championship game for West Palm Beach Dwyer.

* William Green — He’s not that young anymore (a true junior), but he’s a great prospect with a huge motor who has a chance to be a stater at defensive end. He has a chance to be one of the better pass-rushers the Gators have had in recent years — and that’s saying something.

* Kyle Koehne — I saw this redshirt freshman offensive lineman the other day and was very impressed by how he’s changed his body since he’s been here. He looks much stronger than he did in the fall. He looks like a veteran college offensive lineman now.

* Jon Halapio — Here’s another young offensive lineman that the coaches really like. He’s a big nasty, and has a chance to see a lot of playing time this season in a backup role.

* Jeremy Brown — If he’s healthy (and it’s a big if), Brown has a chance to become a big-time cornerback with his ability to cover. The problem is his chronic bad back has kept him sidelined. He’ll try again this spring.

*Jelani Jenkins — This high school stud disappeared last season. That’s what happens when you’re injured and redshirted. But this guy has a huge upside and could be a major player at outside linebacker if he has a good spring.

Here are some older guys who I think have a chance to be emerge as late-bloomers this spring: Outside linebacker Lorenzo Edwards, wide receiver Justin Williams, tailback Emmanuel Moody and cornerback Moses Jenkins.

On whether he would like to play with the hometown Jaguars: “I would. It’s here at home and I would enjoy that. I have been a Jaguar fan my whole life. I have enjoyed being here in my hometown and watching the Jaguars play, and getting an opportunity to play for them would be a blessing for me and a privilege for me to be able to stay in my hometown and play here.”

On Meyer’s leave of absence: “He needs to keep resting and being with his family. He’s enjoying it. He’s had a little time to get away. And we’re still talking pretty much every day. He’s doing great and feeling better. He’s going to get back and have a great season and Florida is going to dominate. They’re going to do great. I’m just happy that he’s feeling better and that he’s there for his family and that he’s been able to just relax and let his stress levels die down a little bit. He’ll absolutely be back and he’ll be involved. He’s going to be hands on working with the guys. He’ll be there for a lot of the stuff in the spring and in the summer. Florida should have a great year.”

On his favorite NFL team growing up: “My favorite team growing up was the Dallas Cowboys. I was a huge Emmitt Smith fan because he was a Gator and an awesome running back. So I was a huge Cowboy fan. After he left, it died down from there. I have only had three jerseys in my entire life: Emmitt Smith, Danny Wuerffel and Michael Jordan.”

I didn’t see that coming.

I thought Haden would blow the coaches and scouts away with his workouts in Indianapolis. He’s always been a workout warrior and Florida and I figured he’d go up there and run a 4.4 or better. I don’t know why his times were so high, but they could end up costing him dearly. Before the Combine, Haden was considered a probable top-15 pick in the draft.

But it’s hard to imagine a cornerback with a 4.6 40 going that high. This could cost Haden a lot of cash.

My thought here is Haden is going to have to run the 40 again at Pro Day on March 17. And he’s going to have to lower his time significantly to overcome what he did Tuesday.

There’s no question Haden is a great player, and it will show up on all the tape the coaches and scouts will be studying on him over the next few weeks. But a 4.6 40 is a huge, huge red flag. I’m sure he’s as shocked as anyone at this point.

Knowing how competitive he is, I have a feeling Haden will redeem himself at Pro Day.

*  Brantley said he’s really developed a strong connection with redshirt junior wide receiver Deonte Thompson, and that Thompson is having a great offseason and shining in passing drills. “He’s so fast and so explosive. And his hands have gotten a lot better. We’re going to have a lot of playmakers at wide receiver,” Brantley said. When asked which young wide receiver have caught his eye, Brantley didn’t hesitate. “I’m liking Frankie Hammond and Omarius Hines. They’re looking very well,” he said.

* Brantley said new wide receivers coach Zach Azzanni is already having a positive influence on the receivers. “He’s a great coach. He came in toward the end of practice for the Sugar Bowl and he was teaching those guys a lot. I know all the receivers respect him and listen to every word he says,” Brantley said.

* Brantley said he’s been impressed with true freshman quarterback Trey Burton, an early enrollee and Brantley’s workout partner. “He’s working hard. We work out together every day. He’s doing great. He’s working his butt off. I’m very impressed with him,” he said.

* Brantley has new roommates this semester (and for the fall) — center Sam Robey and fullback T.J. Pridemore. His roommates last season were Paul Wilson and Rick Burgess.

* Brantley said he was really pumped when Michael Pouncey told him in January that he was returning for his senior season. With Pouncey moving to center, the Gators will have a veteran starting five up front that includes Pouncey, Carl Johnson, Xavier Nixon, Marcus Gilbert and James Wilson. “It’s a great thing that (Pouncey) came back. We’re going to have such a veteran line coming back. I feel very comfortable sitting behind those five,” he said.

* Brantley said the criticism Urban Meyer and the UF coaches have been receiving over Tim Tebow’s awkward throwing motion is unwarranted. Brantley said former offensive coordinator Dan Mullen and current quarterbacks coach Scot Loeffler worked extensively with Tebow and Brantley on their mechanics. “Every day during individual periods, there was a lot of work on mechanics. Just like other coaches, they want to see us perfect our mechanics. It’s tough because coaches really can’t work with us during the offseason . It’s a critical time. Once in season, you don’t really want to change much and mess with them. That’s the really tough thing about the NCAA. You can’t work with the players in the offseason.”

* Brantley said he’s seen Tebow’s new throwing motion on tape and he likes what he sees. “He looks good. He has a much quicker release. I think either way, he’s going to be fine and have a great (NFL) career,” Brantley said.

But there is a bigger, more important date looming before then. March 10. That’s the day Brantley’s father, former UF quarterback John Brantley, will undergo surgery for prostate cancer.

“It’s going to be a tough day, a really tough day,” Brantley said Friday. “But stuff happens. He should be fine.”

Brantley said that his dad is doing well and is in excellent spirits.

“He’s doing good, same old self,” Brantley said. “He’s fine. He’s doesn’t really care. He’s all good.”

Brantley is very close to his father, who taught him how to throw a football when he was 4.

“We’ve got a very close relationship, so it’s been tough,” Brantley said. “We’re extremely close. I go down there (to Ocala) as much as I can and I talk to him all the time. He calls me all the time. Sometimes I wonder why he’s calling, but he wants to make sure I’m OK. He’s worried about me.”

Brantley said he’s getting strong support from his family as he tries to keep his focus getting ready for the start of spring football.

“They say don’t worry about it, just focus on what’s going on now,” Brantley said. “We’ll figure out the other stuff when it comes down the road. They keep trying to stress to me it’s going to be fine, it’s going to be fine, which it will be. I’m just taking it day by day.”

That may be about to change in Jacksonville. Jaguar fans are applying some major pressure on their team to draft hometown hero Tim Tebow in the first round of the draft.

Some Jags’ fans have created a Web site called draft15.com. The message on the site is simple and succinct: If you draft him, we will come.

Him, of course, is the former All-America Florida quarterback, who has become an iconic figure and one of the most recognized and popular athletes in the world.

Draft15.com has a petition that Jaguars fans can sign saying they want their team to draft the popular Tebow. The site is also selling Draft 15 Jags’ T-shirts for $12 a pop.

The message on the site certainly won’t be lost on the Jacksonville front office. The Jags’ dwindling attendance over recent years has become a major concern and could eventually damage the franchise’s chances of remaining in Jacksonville. The Jags, like other teams in the NFL, may have some doubts about what kind of NFL quarterback Tebow will make. But it’s pretty obvious the Jags know drafting Tebow would generate interest and put more fans in the stands.

Draft15.com is now there to remind them.

Over the past three seasons, he was one of the most efficient passers in all of college football. For his career, he threw for more than 9,200 yards, completed almost 66 percent of his passes and produced 89 touchdown passes. Oh yeah, and he won the Heisman as a sophomore after throwing for 3,132 yards and 32 touchdowns.

I bring all this up because it seems all those Urban Meyer critics (and they’ve really come out of the woodwork this week) seem to have forgotten (or maybe never even knew) that Tebow was one hell of a passer at Florida.

His release and his throwing motion never seemed to be a problem at Florida. Of course, now that the coaches and scouts (and talking heads) have pointed out how flawed Tebow’s motion is, and now that Tebow has changed it, the Meyer critics are almost out of their minds wondering why Meyer didn’t do anything with Tebow’s passing mechanics in his four years at UF.

My response is: why would he? Why would he mess with something that is working so well and winning so many games? And besides, it’s not like the coaching staff ignored Tebow’s throwing motion or mechanics.

The critics have bashed Meyer this week, saying he did nothing to improve Tebow’s passing mechanics while he was at Florida. They don’t know what they’re talking about.

Before Tebow’s sophomore season, offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Dan Mullen used a computer to break down Tebow’s throwing motion in an attempt to improve it . Dating back to last spring, new quarterbacks coach Scot Loeffler worked extensively with Tebow on his mechanics and throwing motion.

There was never any sense of urgency at UF to rebuild Tebow’s throwing motion because he was so effective passing the ball. The real crime would have been if Meyer had tried to remake Tebow and the project backfired and made Tebow a less effective passer than before. I’m mean, we’re talking about one of the all-time great players in the history of college football. You don’t mess with that.

Granted, Tebow’s throwing motion was a little awkward, but effective. I’ll bet when Jim Furyk was young, some golf pro somewhere told him if he didn’t rebuild his unconventional swing he’d never make it as a professional golfer. He didn’t change the loop in his swing, but Furyk is one of the best golfers in the world today.

It’s commendable that Tebow is putting in the work to give the NFL coaches and scouts what they want — a more prototypical throwing motion like all the other robot quarterbacks in the NFL.

But don’t bash Meyer for letting Tim Tebow be Tim Tebow while he was here. Tebow’s passing numbers say that was a great decision.