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Patriots: Dominique Easley Was the Last Urban Meyer Florida Gator

By Matthew Rewinski

Nov 29, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; New England Patriots defensive tackle Dominique Easley (99) pressures Denver Broncos quarterback Brock Osweiler (17) as center Matt Paradis (61) and tackle Ryan Harris (68) pass protect in the fourth quarter at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. The Broncos defeated the Patriots 30-24 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 29, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; New England Patriots defensive tackle Dominique Easley (99) pressures Denver Broncos quarterback Brock Osweiler (17) as center Matt Paradis (61) and tackle Ryan Harris (68) pass protect in the fourth quarter at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. The Broncos defeated the Patriots 30-24 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports /
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Bill Belichick’s drafted or acquired several players from the famous Florida Gators teams that won championships, and after Dominique Easley’s release, almost none of them are still with the Patriots.

Make all the Rutgers jokes you want, but Bill Belichick has his college “farm teams” that he just instinctively trusts, almost to a fault.

Rutgers.  Alabama.  Florida. The SEC in general.  Wherever Urban Meyer is coaching.  Florida State, more recently.

Most of the time, like with guys like Devin McCourty and Duron Harmon from Rutgers, it works out great and the guys make an easy transition from college to the most successful and demanding franchise in football.

And once in a great while, it bites Belichick and the Patriots in the ass.

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Never has Belichick been as screwed on his investment as with the dominant Florida Gators teams that Urban Meyer crushed the SEC with in the late 2000s.  The Gators won BCS Championships (remember those?) in 2006 and 2008, and had some of the most star-studded draft classes this side of “The U, Part 2” Miami Hurricanes.  Another thing the Meyer Gators had in common with Miami?  They got in trouble.  All kinds of trouble.  And most of the time, on Urban Meyer’s squad, it didn’t matter, as long as the wins were flowing and the Swamp was rocking.

Bill Belichick, surely thinking he could whip Urban’s talented players into Patriots-level shape, drafted and signed Gator after Gator from Meyers’ program.

Only one is still on the team – backup linebacker Jon Bostic, who the Patriots picked up from the Chicago Bears last year for a pocket-change sixth round draft pick.

Check the rest of these names out, though, and keep in mind these guys have to stay in college until their junior year if they want to play in the NFL, so Meyer recruited a lot of them before he left in 2011.  Belichick either drafted or traded for all these Gators:

After the Patriots decided Dominique Easley, who was frequently injured but also looking like he could really turn into a quarterback’s nightmare last season, was more trouble than he’s worth, all of those players, except Jon Bostic, are gone.  And most of them are looking pretty damn washed up.

Easley is a free agent.  Halapio is playing in the Fall Experimental Football League, whatever that is.  Jeff Demps is a free agent after competing in the 2012 Olympic Games, where his team was disqualified after a member of the 4×100 relay team failed a drug test.  Tebow, as we all know, is a college football analyst for ESPN.  Brandon Spikes was cut by the Patriots after a hit-and-run accident, in an odd series of events where Spikes wasn’t re-signed after his rookie contract, called playing in New England “four years a slave”, played one season in Buffalo, and then came crawling back to the Patriots, who then cut him again.

Aaron Hernandez, well, you know.

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Chad Jackson was released by the Patriots after two seasons and was last seen getting waived by the Raiders in 2011.  Jeremy Mincey is still on the Cowboys’ roster, but only started 6 games last year and got benched at the end of the season against the Bills.

So, recap:  all the players that played for New England from the Urban Meyer Gators either ended up sucking at professional football, or ran themselves out of town when their BS outweighed their talent.

What a mess.

At least now, it’s over.

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