Tight end Aaron Hernandez is a finalist for the John Mackey Award,  which is given to the best tight end but not announced at the ESPN ceremony.

Here's the full list: 

Chuck Bednarik Award (best defensive player)
Terrence Cody, Alabama
Brandon Spikes, Florida
Ndamukong Suh, Nebraska

Lou Groza Award (best kicker)
Kai Forbath, UCLA
Leigh Tiffin, Alabama
Blair Walsh, Georgia

Maxwell Award (best all-around player)
Mark Ingram, Alabama
Colt McCoy, Texas
Tim Tebow, Florida

Davey O’Brien Award (best quarterback)
Case Keenum, Houston
Colt McCoy, Texas
Tim Tebow, Florida

Outland Trophy (best interior lineman)
Mike Iupati, Idaho
Russell Okung, Oklahoma State
Ndamukong Suh, Nebraska

Jim Thorpe Award (best defensive back)
Eric Berry, Tennessee
Joe Haden, Florida
Earl Thomas, Texas

Ray Guy Award (best punter)
Drew Butler, Georgia
Zoltan Mesko, Michigan
Chas Henry, Florida

Doak Walker Award (best running back)
Toby Gerhart, Stanford
Mark Ingram, Alabama
C.J. Spiller, Clemson

And with good reason. The Gators' seniors -- who will be celebrated Saturday against FSU -- have produced three All-Americans, three SEC East titles, one Heisman Trophy winner and 46 wins, which Meyer calls the most of any SEC senior class.

“I guess that’s a decent recruiting class,”  Meyer said.

When addressing the significance of senior day, Meyer paused to compose himself for almost 30 seconds, head tilted toward his podium.

“We’re going to have no more interviews this week, man," Meyer joked afterward. “It’s going to be a tough week.” 

When asked former Gators walk-on Michael Guilford, who died in a motorcycle crash on Oct. 12, 2007, Meyer paused for composure once again for about 20 seconds. Guilford would have been a senior.

Asked about Tebow's impact on him personally,  another 20 seconds.

“He’s had the same impact on me that he has on college football. He’s had that on my children….the unselfishness and his mission outside of college football is unparalleled as far as I’m concerned. The impact he’s made, it’s almost like selfishness is now a cool thing. Kids realizing to give back, if you can brighten someone’s day, you do it...It's very noticeable behind closed doors more than probably what you guys see.” 

This was easily Meyer's most passionate press conference since maybe the post-game scene when losing to LSU in 2005.

"Yeah, I'm ready to dispel (the rumors). I'm going to be the coach at Florida as long as they’ll have me," Meyer said. "We’ll make that clear."

Meyer echoed that same sentiment in July when he also said "I'm not going to Notre Dame. Ever."

Florida quarterback Tim Tebow said he doesn't see Meyer ever going to Notre Dame.

"When he's ready to retire and he's done,  which I don't think is now -- I don't think it will be for awhile -- I don't think he'll be at Notre Dame," Tebow said. "I don't think that's anything he'll do now...I don't think that really interests him. I think he's enjoying his time here."

Meyer was addressing the media in an emotional press conference when talking about his 18-player senior class that has gone 46-6, an SEC record for wins.

In last week's Sentinel poll, 58 percent of 2,139 voters felt there was a slight to zero chance Meyer would take the Notre Dame job. Forty-two percent felt it was possible or likely. 

A source close to Meyer said late last week that there's not a likely scenario in which Meyer won't honor his current contract. Meyer is in the first of a six-year extension that pays him $4 million per year.

"That would pretty much make their season if they beat us,” Gators linebacker Ryan Stamper said.

After a tumultuous year that included many calling for Bobby Bowden to retire, a win over the Gators would truly salvage FSU's season. And don't forget how this could be Bowden's last game in The Swamp.

Despite FSU's struggles this year, Florida-FSU is still a classic rivalry, just not the current best rivalry.  

So Gators fans must go into Saturday's game with FSU thinking about which juniors are destined for the NFL draft in 2010. Guard Mike Pouncey was surprisingly open about the topic after Saturday's win over FIU, saying he and twin brother Maurkice Pouncey have a "great chance" to leave school early. 

Lisa Webster, the Pouncey's mother, told me last month that her sons stopped living together this year to "get used to life away from each other in the NFL." 

“There’s a lot of guys thinking about coming out," Mike Pouncey said. "We just going to take these games and we’ll think about it at the end of the season...At least it ain’t forced on us to be our last game.” 

Very true. If the Pouncey's or other juniors don't like their stock or want to try to win big in 2010, they have the luxury of coming back. But the Pouncey's and say, TE Aaron Hernandez might have a much tougher decision than, say, DE Carlos Dunlap or CB Joe Haden, surefire first-rounders at this point. 

Take the Pounceys, who play interior line. Centers and guards usually don't go higher than the 2nd or third round. At the same time, they might not be able to go higher after a senior season than after a junior year. 

A package return for all the junior studs doesn't sound out of the question for Pouncey.

"If all the guys come back, we’ll have a great chance of winning the championship next year," Pouncey said. "We sit down and talk about it. Of course we’ll have a great quarterback coming back and a great offense, (John) Brantley will be there, that factors in for a lot for us.”

Sounds like guys are giving a lot of locker-room respect to Brantley, who showed off that textbook arm against FIU.

They were waiting for, of course, Tim Tebow, hoping to snag an autograph after his second-to-last game. Yep, not even his last. So you can imagine the pandemonium surrounding Saturday's FSU game when Tebow takes his last post-game lap around Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. 

But Saturday should be about the star-studded senior class more than one singular player. Tebow, Brandon Spikes, Ryan Stamper, Jermaine Cunningham, Brandon James and many others helped the Gators compile this record the last four years.

*46-6 record

*29-5 in SEC play.

*Two SEC Championships (working on a potential third)

*Three SEC East crowns.

*Two national titles (working on a potential third)

Maybe the Gators threw a couple more drag routes than usual with Tebow, and the Gators couldn't connect on any deep-downfield passing attempts. But the second half was another reminder that the Gators should be in good hands in 2010 courtesy of John Brantley, as Sentinel columnist George Diaz points out.

Sure, he was playing FIU, but Brantley looks smooth out there. Every time he throws the ball it looks like toilet paper is coming out of his hands. Soft touch. 

The Gators look much different on offense with Brantley in the game, relying much less on the run and more on the playaction and downfield routes. Frankie Hammond, Omarius Hines and Justin Williams, all young receivers as part of the second unit, caught a touchdown pass from Brantley, who only needed three drives to score each time.

Brantley said his chemistry is high with the second unit because they play together every day in practice. Brantley is now three games from becoming the Gators' full-time starter. He'll take over the keys to the Range Rover after the bowl game.

"It's always what I've dreamt about being a starter at the Florida, but I have definitely thought about that (next year it is going to be my team)," Brantley said.

ESPN College GameDay will cover its eighth Florida-Florida State matchup when the two teams meet Saturday in The Swamp, the most of any two programs. Florida has made 31 overall appearances on GameDay, also an ESPN record. The last time Florida appeared on GaameDay was Oct. 10 against LSU.

PLAYF OF GAME:

*Tebow stiff-arms his way down the left sideline for a 55-yard touchdown run – the longest of his career – with 9:18 left in the first quarter. Tebow’s 54th rushing touchdown broke the SEC total touchdowns record (non-passing) previously held by LSU’s Kevin Faulk.

To see more pictures from the Gator victory, click here.