Florida's Wynn trying to reach potential

GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Maybe Florida running back DeShawn Wynn just needed motivation.<br> <br> He didn&#39;t get any in three years under former coach Ron Zook. He didn&#39;t get any last year under coach Urban Meyer. He has some now, but only because it&#39;s his final season before trying to make it in the NFL.<br> <br> ``It&#39;s my last year,&#39;&#39; said Wynn, a fifth-year senior from Cincinnati. ``It&#39;s got to be the best one.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Wynn finally has the drive. He might also have the opportunity.<br> <br> Although Meyer hasn&#39;t named a starter for No. 7 Florida&#39;s season opener Saturday night against Southern Mississippi, he has praised Wynn since the start of fall practice. It&#39;s been a significant turnaround for Wynn, who has provided few highlights and plenty of headaches since sprinting 65 yards for a touchdown against Miami in 2003.<br> <br> Wynn pouted when Ciatrick Fason beat him out for the starting job in 2004 and allowed his performance and attitude to suffer. Zook then openly criticized Wynn&#39;s work ethic. Making matters worse, a groin injury kept him off the field for four games.<br> <br> Wynn had a chance to start over under Meyer, but he ended up getting suspended for last year&#39;s season opener. He still managed to lead the Gators with 621 yards, but he was hardly the leader Meyer wanted.<br> <br> The coach was so discouraged with Wynn and the rest of the running backs last spring that he called them trash and threatened to play without a tailback.<br> <br> Wynn used it as motivation.<br> <br> ``I regret that I didn&#39;t have a coach like coach Meyer, who pushed me, got me to understand what needs to be done,&#39;&#39; Wynn said. ``Coach Zook was a good coach, but I never really got pushed by him. Coach Meyer does a good job of that. I think if I had coach Meyer the whole time, I would have been all right.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Wynn admittedly didn&#39;t work hard enough the last three seasons. But he has shown maturity this year and has seemingly bought into the coaching staff&#39;s team-first approach.<br> <br> ``From the time I&#39;ve been here to this point right now, DeShawn Wynn is a different person,&#39;&#39; running backs coach Stan Drayton said. ``He&#39;s come out this year and he&#39;s playing at a tempo I&#39;ve never seen him practice at. He&#39;s doing everything that I asked without any back-talk whatsoever, and he&#39;s allowing me to coach him the way I need to coach him to get him to where he needs to be. He&#39;s made drastic improvement.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Teammates have noticed, too.<br> <br> ``He&#39;s changed his attitude,&#39;&#39; fullback Billy Latsko said. ``He&#39;s changed his work ethic. I worked out with him a lot during the summer and just tried to keep pushing him, telling him to work hard, telling him he&#39;s got a lot of talent. He&#39;s got all the talent in the world. He just needs a good attitude.<br> <br> ``I think he&#39;s changed a lot, and I think he&#39;s going to do real good this season.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Wynn always figured he would be long gone by now. He was a Parade All-American coming out of high school he ran for more than 2,000 yards and 30 touchdowns in three of his four seasons and expected the same success in Gainesville.<br> <br> Aside from the Miami game, though, it rarely happened. He has 1,378 yards rushing and 19 touchdowns in 32 career games. But he has only six starts and his career high (109 yards) came last season against Georgia.<br> <br> ``I really didn&#39;t build on that (Miami game),&#39;&#39; Wynn said. ``I was young then. I would like to have had more games like that, been more consistent, but unfortunately my career hasn&#39;t been like that. But I&#39;m hoping to do a lot more my senior year.<br> <br> ``I&#39;m going on my fifth year. I never thought I&#39;d last five years in college. What can you do? I&#39;m still here. I came back to get my degree in the fall, and that&#39;s what I&#39;m going to do. Whatever come out of it is going to come out of it.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> (Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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