Bye weeks are funny things. To fill the time, let’s take a moment to remember those who came before our current crop of athletes and check in on all those ex-Gators now grabbing the mad cash in the NFL.  Granted, this isn’t usually a fun conversation (especially if your name is Rex Grossman or Danny Wuerffel), but at least we know Fred Taylor’s doing well.

Let’s start with Louis Murphy, 124^th overall pick in the NFL by the Oakland Raiders, who had his joy at being drafted tempered by his going to the Silver and Black, though at least Al Davis did him the favor of firing Kiffin last year.  In an offense that is still trying to gel, Murphy has been used in his rookie season, amassing 138 yards and getting his first pro TD against San Diego in a dazzling Monday night opener week one.  Oakland isn’t the worst team in the world anymore (I think the NFL is placing that tag on Cleveland or Jacksonville these days)  and Murphy should benefit from a lack of competition if he wants to see more playing time, but he’s already leading the team in receiving yards.  If this keeps up, look for him to become a favorite target of Jamarcus Russell in the coming weeks as the Raiders are currently 1-2 and looking to move in a weak AFC West.

Cornelius Ingram was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 5th round (153rd Overall) and eventually signed a 4-year, $1.9 million contract. Unfortunately, he tore his ACL during Philadelphia's training camp in 2009.  At least he’s enjoying true cheese steaks with Rocky Balboa.

Looking down the list of draft picks, too often you find teams like Cincinnati and Jacksonville next to their names, with very few teams using high draft picks to take Florida players.

The Jags took Derrick Harvey 8^th in 2008, so he’s got very little to speak of this season, though he did manage an interception and 3.5 sacks in his rookie year.  Meanwhile, Andre Caldwell got his first NFL TD this year after an uneventful 2008 with the Bengals (though every season has been uneventful since their playoff loss to the Steelers a few years back).  The year before, poor Jarvis Moss went to the Broncos in the first round, got moved to linebacker, and has had little impact on a team that needs to get stronger at defense…and offense…and coaching…and quarterback…

Very often, high draft picks don’t fare too well out of Florida, though that’s often their new team’s fault.

Reggie Nelson is doing nothing in Jacksonville, Chad Jackson was a Patriot, but was shipped off to Denver this year, and 3^rd round 2005 pick Channing Crowder spent last year watching the Wildcat happen in Miami, put together a tidy 113 tackles in 2008, but now has to watch his team sweep the basement of the AFC East again as the Dolphins look to compete after winning their division last year.

I feel like I’m forgetting someone here…

Not all Gator drafts picks are doomed to fail, though.  Emitt Smith retired with the overall yardage record (18,355), the rushing TD record (164), and the most 100+ yard games (78), right?  The illustrious Fred Taylor is another great example, as he thankfully left the Jags for colder pastures up north, becoming a Patriot in the offseason and seeing more playing time as a result, just recently running up 105 yards and a TD against a strong Falcons team.  He may be going the way of Emmit soon, but he’s still got legs for the moment and is looking to add to his 11,477 yards rushing and 80 rushing TD.  He intended on playing until he ran for as many yards as Jim Brown and now that he’s under a thousand yards back of the 12,312 needed, look for him to find those old legs ready and raring this year on a playoff caliber team.

Rex Grossman’s a Texan now and that’s all I have to say about that.

Other Florida defensive standouts in the NFL include Lito Sheppard, an interception machine in Philly (18) who just recently had his first as a NY Jet against Houston (though Grossman didn’t throw it as he doesn’t start there).  Jevon Kearse spent some time in Philly as well, before returning to Tennessee last year, where he added to his 73 sacks with another already this season, taking down big Ben Roethlisberger in the first game of 2009, though the Titans don’t look to be regaining the momentum that made them so invincible in their 13-3 2008 run.

I swear there’s someone else…

In the modern draft era (the 7 round version the NFL has used since 1993), these players are basically the highlights of Florida’s current contribution to the pros.  Ike Hiliard and Jacquez Green both amassed decent wide receiver numbers, but neither is playing anymore and they were drafted in 97 and 98 respectively.  Jabar Gaffney wasted some time in Houston, had some career highlights in New England, but now was shipped off to Denver with Jackson last year.

Aren’t there any Gators currently making noise in the NFL?  Isn’t there some player I can point at and say, “He’s really doing it, that guy is making it happen for himself.”?

Oh yeah, now I remember.

Percy Harvin, taken 22^nd in the 2009 draft by the Minnesota Vikings won the lucky bastard lottery this year, getting to the Vikings just in time to play with Adrian Peterson and Brett Favre.  The dividends, as many fantasy football players will tell you, were unexpected and immediate. Harvin scored a 101 yard kickoff return for a touchdown on September 27, 2009 against the San Francisco 49ers. His first NFL TD was a 6 yard toss that barely crossed the goal line, as he was tackled and had to reach for the end zone.  It was later commented in the game that Percy would never forget that because it was Favre that threw it to him, but it was a great hello to the NFL regardless of who was behind the line and would have been just as memorable if Tavares Jackson had delivered it (thank God it wasn’t, though).  Since he first smelled blood in Cleveland, Favre has continued to target Harvin with increasing confidence in the following two weeks, tossing another TD to him in week 2 against Detroit, this time for 3 yards, and hitting him a total of 12 times for 128 yards this season.  Add to that a modified Wildcat formation that has yielded another 28 yards rushing, as well as a 101 yard kickoff return for a TD against San Francisco, and you have to admit that Harvin, who many analysts thought was too fragile for NFL play, is having a great start to his career.  The Vikings are 3-0, they have the best running back in the NFL, one of the top 5 QBs to ever play the game, and an option in Harvin that they both recognize and utilize.

Now if only they could find Tebow in the draft next year.

So, if you’ve got a bug for all things Gator this week, try being a Vikings fan this Sunday and watch the emergence of Percy Harvin on a team that could really make some noise this week (…if they knock off Green Bay on Monday night.

Or, the Raiders are playing the Texans this week, so you might get to see Murphy and Grossman in the same game…

The Vikings, again, are on Monday night this week.