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There's an old coaching saying attributed to Bear Bryant (though most old coaching sayings are attributed to Bryant) that says you lose a conference game for every freshman you start. Last year, Florida started Percy Harvin, and lost a game. They also won SEC and national championships. That's probably why over the summer Urban Meyer said that, starting with his top-ranked 2007 recruiting class, he doesn't plan on redshirting freshmen anymore.

So again, this post probably could have featured at least five Gators to watch in 2007. But instead, let's start with a freshman who may be starting from day one at one of Florida's rivals...

1. Eric Berry, DB, Tennessee

Eric Berry has pulled off two impressive yet disparate feats: he ran a 4.33 in an electronically timed 40-yard dash, and he has drawn comparisons to Peyton Manning. Obviously, the Manning thing isn't because they have similar speed, but because Berry is considered to be the most important recruit to show up in Knoxville since sainted Peyton in the mid-90s. The only reason Berry was a five-star athlete coming out of high school is that they don't give anybody six stars. He was the number one player in Georgia, the number one cornerback nationally (he also ran for over 1,200 yards and threw for 1,000 his senior season as a quarterback), and the number three overall player nationally. His father, James, was a captain for the Vols in the late 1970s, but the legend will say that it was not his legacy status that drew the younger Berry to UT, but Fulmer and Cutcliffe's insistence that Berry would play in a scheme similar to Arkansas' famed 'Wildcat' package used with Darren McFadden. How quickly Berry sees the offensive side of the ball will likely depend on how fast he secures his role as a starting corner for the Vols, where he will fill one of the holes left by Jonathan Wade, Antwan Stewart, and the injured Inky Johnson. Early reports are that Berry is physically ready and mentally mature, so it might not take long.

It's been a rough offseason in Athens. Several players have been arrested on various alcohol-related charges. Those arrests were followed closely by the photos of Matt Stafford, Kegmaster -- which, though not depicting illicit illegality, were somewhat embarrassing for Dawg fans. Then this week happened.

First, reserve defensive tackle Tripp Taylor was charged Monday in connection with a brawl in which, allegedly, one teenager was hit with a baseball bat and another was urinated on (former Murray State wide receiver Shane McKlesky was also charged). The details of what exactly happened are unclear, but Georgia blogger Paul Westerdawg said of the situation:

Regardless, this isn't the normal boys will be boys stuff that doesn't bother me and that I joke about. Taylor is either in a world of trouble, or this will blow over in a few months after all the he said / she said stuff passes by.

PWD is right, the situation isn't funny. But what is a little funny is the arrest of Georgia freshman running back Caleb King, who was booked for driving with a suspended license and going the wrong way down a one-way street... on his moped. Ok, so it's not funny if you're Caleb King, but of all the things for a guy to be arrested for, and, seriously, on a moped? As far as any football related punishment for King, the AJC says:

Georgia coach Mark Richt does not comment on traffic citations, said an athletics department spokesman, who added that any disciplinary action will be handled internally. It is not expected that King's transgression will result in any loss of playing time.

I think it's punishment enough that the whole world now knows that dude drives a moped.

Mark Richt says yeeeeeeah.

It's a Christmas Miracle: Atlanta-area recruit Caleb King, a Georgia signee who was one of the top prep running backs in the country last year, has hurdled the last... uh... hurdle that stood between him and seeing playing time this fall:

"It was just like a fairy-tale ending," King said of earning an SAT score and GPA to qualify under the NCAA's sliding scale."Everything went out perfect." King said his brother Andre called him at 5:30 a.m. to wake him up and inform him that the scores were in. Once he checked, he saw that the scores were above what he needed - although he would not reveal what they were.

Everyone's very excited about this. Word spread from an email from his high school coach's wife:

"He FINALLY made it!" Claire Chupp wrote. "So he is officially in UGA today and graduates from high school tonight. Just thought y'all would like to know."

So, like, good for him. He'll come in and fight for time behind stellar names Kregg Lumpkin and Knowshon (Knowshon!) Moreno in what promises to be a deep, talented Georgia backfield. Now if Matt Stafford can start throwing straight...

He may not be the highly touted and publicized product out of Greater Atlanta Christian, and he sure isn't the Scout.com five-star rated prospect who recently signed with the Georgia Bulldogs. But the Naval Academy has gotten a fine player in the other Caleb King, who gave a verbal commitment to the Midshipmen last month. King (and where talking the Navy commit from here on out) is a 5-11, 175 lb ATH out of South Daytona Warner Christian. King saw plenty of action on both sides of the ball this past season, taking duel roles as both the team's leading rusher and tackler. As of November 10th (his commitment week) he had rushed for 970 yards and 11 touchdowns while notching 130 tackles, including 14 tackles for a loss and six sacks. King's commitment went largely under -the-radar, partially because he plays for a small school which competes in Florida's 1B league. King was actually the first ever player to commit to a D-IA school out of Warner Christian, which lost in the state semifinals two weeks ago. A solid pickup, Warner could play any number of positions on the college level, and should be a welcomed addition to Paul Johnson's burgeoning recruiting class. He becomes, by my count, the fifth member of this year's Navy recruiting class.