"Geology is the study of pressure and time." Pressure and time.  For all fans of "The Shawshank Redemption" you may remember this line.  It's one of those ones that has always stuck with me.  I was once again reminded of this line when I got to thinking of the impeding college football season.  I think it's the perfect way to encapsulate what the study of Florida football will be in 2009.  Tons of pressure on this team and lots of time to think of all the ways it can go wrong.  But, who has the most pressure on them this year?  As far as coaches and players go, I see a few who are bearing a huge weight this off-season. 

On defense, I see one coach in particular who has a lot of pressure on him, but probably for all the wrong reasons or maybe for no good reason at all.  That guy is Charlie Strong.  In the last 3 years, Strong has built two defenses that have been the most important unit on championship teams.  When the Gator defense was down (in 2007 and against Ole Miss in 2008), you saw just how susceptible this team could be.  But, when they were performing well, which was mostly all the time in '06 and '08, this team was near unbeatable.  So why the pressure?  Strong returns 21 of 22 possible on the 2-deep on defense.  He has arguably the best defensive leader in the country in Brandon Spikes.  And Charlie Strong should have a head coaching job by now.  If the defense fails this year, all those Strong naysayers will be going full blast...even though they'll be wrong.

From the player angle, I think one guy has been feeling pressure since the clock read 0:00 on January 8th.  All Carlos Dunlap has heard since he's signed with Florida is how much potential he has and now people are ready to see it converted into huge stats.  We've all seen flashed of just how great Dunlap can be.  He has the size of prototypical NFL defensive end at 6-foot-6 and 290 pounds.  He has very good speed off the edge and is strong at the point of impact.  He's seen in most NFL circles as a sure top 10 pick.  All that he needs to do now is have a lights-out season and dominate in the ultra-competitive SEC.  And also be the best player on a defense many consider to be the best in the country.  Nothing to it.  Right, Carlos?

Switching gears to offense, we pass the Atlas load to the coaches. First, look no further than new offensive coordinator Steve Addazio.  Addazio simply has the burden of guiding the 2009 version of the spread, with sprinkles of the new pro set. And oh yeah, do it without Percy Harvin.  You know...the guy who has the position named after him which is looking to be filled right now by some young hopeful.  With Mullen gone, Addazio now gets to be the guy who gets the lion's share of fan hate on the message boards when the Gators fail to break 50 on the scoreboard.  Though we all know this offense has Urban's hand-prints all over it, it's tough to argue with a guy who has won two titles in the last 4 years.  So, fans will undoubtedly need a guy to harangue when the Gators kick two field goals in a game.  Whether the pressure is just or not, it'll be there. For Addazio's sake, hopefully someone like Deonte Thompson or Andre Debose can do their best Percy impersonation early and often.

Addazio isn't the lone wolf when it comes to pressure on offensive coaches.  He has company in Scot Loeffler.  Loeffler's pressure will be slightly different.  He's simply been tasked with preparing Tim Tebow for the NFL, i.e. tweaking his release and throwing motion, teaching the drop steps and tutoring defensive reads.  But, as Gator Nation well knows, no one wants a pure pro passer who takes a sack or is afraid of short yardage runs.  But we also know that Urban won't allow that, so we won't be seeing that.  Loeffler has had much success with tutoring QB's at the collegiate level.  Guys like Brian Griese, Tom Brady, John Navarre and Chad Henne enjoyed fruitful collegiate careers and I think at least one has gone on to be pretty decent at the NFL level.  But, now he has been given the reigns to tutor the Gator golden boy who already owns a bronze boy.  All eyes are on you, Scott. 

Which brings us to our final man under pressure.  Tim Tebow.  The pressure is there from his teammates who assume he can do anything.  The pressure is there from the fans, who think he can do anything.  The pressure is there from the media who are waiting for him to fail at something.  The pressure is there from the haters who want to see him fail at everything.  The pressure is there from his coach who knows he can do everything.  And all he needs to do in order to validate the praise he gets is just win his second Heisman trophy, a third national title and be a first round draft pick whilst not even thinking of a swear word or getting so much as a bad haircut in the process.  Come on, Tim.  What's a little perfection between you and the entire viewing college football world? 

Frank Taylor is a Contributor to Bleacher Report. Visit http://bleacherreport.com/articles/202797-pressure-and-time-the-2009-florida-gators-in-the-cross-hairs/show_full for the original.