It’s rare to have a player over rule a coach’s decision.

Even rarer is when that player does so to make a punishment
stricter.

However, Brandon Spikes felt that his punishment didn’t fit
his crime, so on Wednesday he asked that his suspension be extended to a full
game.  That’s right, Spikes suggested
this, not Coach Meyer, and I think we here in Gainesville should be proud.

We’ve often spoken about the change in coaching style since
Urban Meyer replaced Zook and we say things like “discipline” and “accountability”,
but we just assume that the proof can only be seen on the football field.  When Spikes, in the heat of a chippy game,
let adrenaline and that focused anger get out of control, the media got a
chance to call into question those foundations that Meyer so vehemently
defends.  That structure and discipline
looked suddenly shaky, as YouTube repeatedly exposed Spikes’ poor judgment and
aggressive behavior.  As of the writing
of this article, there were more than thirty different posted videos of the event
with the most watched of these getting around 425,00 views.

Wednesday, Spikes decided to further that message of
accountability and restore our faith in the tenants upon which Meyer has built
an annually successful championship team. 
By asking for a full game suspension, we watched the boy who was
learning to play football at a professional level become the man who will one
day soon be a monstrous addition to any NFL team.  Spikes took his teachings and went applied
them to who he was, something most coaches dream a player will do at some point
down the road.  Coach Meyer got to see
the fruits of his labor firsthand.

Can you imagine how proud Urban must have been? 

Brandon Spikes, whether through embarrassment at his actions
or simply because it was the right thing, robbed himself of the thing he has
dedicated his life to, the thing that makes fills him with the most joy, the
thing he has his future based on.  By
asking for this full suspension, though, he is further ensuring that he really
is ready to move to the next level, that he has grown up before our eyes here
in Gainesville, and is now a man ready to tackle the next challenge.

Championship or not this year, Brandon Spikes has, with this
simple act of contrition, signified the type of player and man he has become,
and I think we can all be proud of him for it.

Go Gators and good luck in your future, Brandon.  We couldn’t be happier to call you one of our
own.