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Extra points

By Times staff reports

© St. Petersburg Times,
published October 4, 2001

Offbeat

Senior center Zac Zedalis has become the highlight of Tuesday's media sessions because of his candor, sense of humor and unpredictability.

Last week, Zedalis' commentary ranged from fumbled snaps to why the opening ceremonies at sporting events in New York were probably more meaningful than those in Lexington or Gainesville because actual New York City police officers and firefighters were being honored, not "just like some GPD guys."

Zedalis quickly clarified the statement, saying he has a lot of respect for all officers. But he had another of those moments this Tuesday when asked whether the Gainesville Police had discovered who broke into his house during the preseason and stole several items, including a heater, his VCR and some tapes.

"GPD. Here we go again," Zedalis said. "No, they did a good job. They came over and they interviewed me, but they didn't find any fingerprints or anything. So it was probably a bunch of little kids and they are enjoying my VCR and my tapes. Or they went and sold it and bought some crack. Who knows what they did? I haven't seen any kids dead in the alley over by my house, but if I did, I'd report that too."

Player profile/Matt Jackson

Matt Jackson has played on both sides of the ball since arriving at Florida, but he has finally found his calling -- at least for now.

He's a special teams man. And a very good one. Jackson, 19, is the leading tackler on special teams with six unassisted and four assisted tackles.

"It's a chance to get on the field. ... I feel privileged to be on the special teams," Jackson said.

A sophomore from Live Oak, Jackson began last season as a wide receiver, then moved to safety. He returned to wide receiver after the first month of the season and played in all 12 regular season games, starting against South Carolina.

He underwent arthroscopic surgery in April to repair cartilage damage to his right knee. He attributes his success on special teams to teamwork.

"We have a goal. We want to lead the nation in special teams so all 11 guys are going out working hard," Jackson said. "I'm fortunate a lot of times teams leave me unblocked and my teammates take on the blocks and do their responsibility and leave me open to make the tackle."

And his favorite type of tackle is?

"It's when I'm one-on-one because everybody is watching to see what you're going to do -- if you're going to make the tackle or if you're going to miss it," Jackson said. "I take it as a challenge, just me and him one-on-one and may the best man win. So far, I've won most of the battles and hopefully it will continue that way."

Stat attack:

Coach Steve Spurrier and his staff have spent the week trying to keep the Gators from believing the hype surrounding their 4-0 start.

Florida is outscoring its opponents 200-30, an average of 50.0 to 7.5. Its scoring margin of 42.5 leads the nation.

The Gators are the only school to appear in the top five nationally in both total offense and total defense, and one of only four schools to rank in the Top 10 in both scoring offense and scoring defense (Iowa, Miami and Virginia Tech are the others).

The Gators have outscored opponents 124-9 in the first half -- 56-6 in the first quarter; 68-3 in the second quarter.

Scouting report:

The Gators took on the nation's No. 1 passing defense last week and shredded it for 507 yards. LSU is ranked 111th, which opens all sorts of possibilities for Florida.

Coach Steve Spurrier said he expects the Tigers to make adjustments, but with so many wideouts to contain -- Jabar Gaffney, Reche Caldwell, Taylor Jacobs -- LSU will be challenged.

Tennessee's Kelley Washington set a school single-game receptions record against LSU, staying wide open on fade routes. He finished with 11 catches for 256 yards and a touchdown.

The Gators have to stop LSU's running game, led by sophomore LaBrandon Toefield (251 yards, 5.2 per carry, seven touchdowns). The Gators also must contain quarterback Rohan Davey, who at 6 feet 3, 240 pounds is mobile and hard to bring down.

"They've got a lot of weapons," defensive coordinator Jon Hoke said.

Quotable

"I really have a lot of respect for their quarterback, he's a tough guy. In fact, Ricky Hunley (Florida defensive line coach) recruited him when we were at Missouri, he visited Missouri from Miami, so we got to know him a little bit. So we have a lot of respect for him as a player." -- Defensive coordinator Jon Hoke on LSU quarterback Rohan Davey, a native of Miami.

- Compiled by Antonya English

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