By BILL WARD

Media General News Service

A high school football player says he's responsible for the destruction of the University of Florida's 2006 BCS National Championship trophy.

It was, of course, an accident. And Orson Charles, a tight end from Plant High School in the Tampa, Fla., area, said he is genuinely sorry for knocking the handcrafted Waterford crystal off a coffee table and onto the ground, where, just outside coach Urban Meyer's office, it shattered.

While in Gainesville competing in a Nike training camp, Charles said, he and another prep player were touring the football stadium. That's where the BCS trophy, along with Gators quarterback Tim Tebow's Heisman Trophy, were on display.

While leaning over to take a photo of the Heisman, the 6-foot-3, 225-pound Charles said he bumped into the BCS trophy -- he thinks with his backside -- and knocked it to the ground.

"If you were outside the stadium, it was so loud, I think you would've heard it shatter," Charles said. "Nobody said anything for 10 minutes, then Florida assistant Coach John Hevesy said, 'What do I do? Who do I call? Did you know that was $35,000!'

"I just stood there with this baby look and said, 'Sorry.' Then he joked and said, 'You've got to commit to Florida now.' "

Charles, who will be a senior at Plant next season, has 16 Division I offers. He ranks Miami first on his list, but shortly after breaking the crystal he said Meyer joked about the mishap by asking, "How does it feel to be a Gator?" Charles said Meyer assured him insurance will replace the trophy.

Plant coach Robert Weiner said Meyer previously had asked him to describe Charles. Weiner told him that Charles was a "physical specimen" but sometimes a "bull in a china shop."

"After what happened," Weiner said, "I'm sure Urban now thinks I'm an excellent evaluator of talent."

Bill Ward is a staff writer for The Tampa Tribune in Tampa, Fla.