August got off to a bad start when All-SEC tight end Cornelius Ingram went down with a non-contact ACL blowout on the second day of practice. Two more ACLs and several lingering injuries since have turned Florida’s practices into an exercise in personnel management by coaches that have had to shuffle players in and out to patch the holes in the lineup. The latest patch might be fairly difficult. All-SEC middle linebacker Brandon Spikes has a lingering injury that could keep him out of the season opener against Hawaii.
“He’s actually battling a foot injury,” said Coach Urban Meyer at his Monday media day. Asked if Spikes might miss game one, Meyer responded, “I don’t know.”
Spikes is coming off the best offseason he’s had at Florida. He’s gotten rave reviews from teammates regarding his leadership and intensity. Meyer remarked that the improvements he’s seen from Spikes have plenty to do with what happened in the offseason.
“He’s never had the strength or the complete commitment like he’s had,” said Meyer. “I think he’s one of the best linebackers in college football.”
Spikes isn’t the only Gator that is questionable for Hawaii. All-America wide receiver/tailback Percy Harvin is listed day-to-day, another one that Meyer can’t say for sure will start or even play Saturday.
The good news regarding Harvin is that Meyer did indicate that the soreness in Harvin’s heel, the result of offseason surgery, shouldn’t be a season-long problem.
“I’ve been told not,” said Meyer when asked if this was a problem that won’t go away.
Others that have been slowed up in August have been offensive guard Jim Tartt (shoulder), offensive tackle Phil Trautwein (shoulder), linebacker Lorenzo Edwards (hamstring), defensive tackle Matt Patchan (partially torn pectoral muscle), wide receiver Louis Murphy (ankle), running back Chris Rainey (groin), defensive tackle John Brown (broken wrist), cornerback Markihe Anderson (sprained wrist), cornerback Jeremy Brown (back) and defensive tackle Omar Hunter (back). On the offensive line, only Jason Watkins and Marcus Gilbert have taken all the snaps in August. Meyer said Monday that center Maurkice Pouncey would be limited in practice because of a sprained ankle.
In spite of all the injuries, Meyer did seem upbeat about the overall health of the team.
“We have some guys that will be a game-time decision as far as
playing, but after talking to the trainers this morning I think they
will be seeing a lot more activity than in the past [this week in practice],” he said.
And even with the injuries, Meyer can’t hide the optimism built up the past 21 days as the Gators built up to game week.
“Overall, phenomenal …one of the best training camps that we’ve had,” said Meyer. “The attitudes are good and we are ready to go out and play our first game.”
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One of the reasons Meyer seems so upbeat is the improvement he has seen at running back and corner. Production lagged at both positions last year so there has been a serious effort to amp up the level of play. Starting in the spring and throughout August, Meyer has been heaping the praise on his running backs. He hasn’t had as much to say about his corners but it is obvious that progress has been made there, too.
“The two positions right now that just look completely different to me are the cornerbacks and the running backs,” said Meyer. “Those two spots were very inadequate last year but I think that they are way above adequate right now and that’s a giant leap.”
At running back, Meyer said that Emmanuel Moody and Kestahn Moore are “fully-functional” which means they are capable of handling every assignment from running the ball to running pass routes and making the catch to picking up the blitz and making a block. When Harvin is healthy he fits into that category and so does Brandon James, who will line up at receiver but will shift into the backfield periodically a la Harvin.
“The guy I haven’t talked about much is Brandon James,” said Meyer. “He will be playing receiver but you’ll also see him in the backfield as well. The fully functional back right now is Kestahn Moore followed by Emmanuel Moody and Brandon James.”
With Moody, Moore, Rainey and Demps, the Gators have four very capable running backs.
Redshirt freshman Chris Rainey and freshman Jeff Demps don’t fit the fully functional requirements quite yet, but Meyer said they are “electric with the ball in their hands” and they will be used in situations that they can be productive.
“We have some dynamic backs and I’m kind of like a fan in that I can’t wait
to see these guys play,” said Meyer.
Meyer intends to play all four of his tailbacks but the one that has been standing out lately is Moody, the sophomore transfer from Southern Cal. After a spring in which Meyer admitted he was disappointed, Moody has come to play in August. His recent practices have drawn rave reviews from coaches and teammates.
Meyer couldn’t hide his optimism for what he’s seen.
“I would put Emmanuel real close to great,” he said. “He is a completely different player than he was last spring and he is readyto go out there and play college football.”
A year of experience has made quite a difference at cornerback. Last year the Gators started a true freshman at one corner and a sophomore that wasn’t close to being game ready. The result was a year in which the Gators struggled against any team that threw the ball well.
“Last year we went into the season when we removed a guy from receiver to play corner and he started all 12 games,” said Meyer. “That should not happen here at Florida. We can all point fingers at everybody else but somehow, something happened where we had to take a high school receiver and make him a full-time starter in the Southeastern Conference. You do that and you’re asking for problems. We were exposed.
“Another guy was Wondy Pierre-Louis, that was no where near ready to start at corner than I was a year ago and he was exposed. Now they’re much better. They’re experienced. They’re veterans. Coach (Vance) Bedford has done a good job with them. I’m expecting that to be somewhat an area of strength for us. We’ll be challenged in the first game, though.”
The Gators will be facing a Hawaii team that has four receivers in its standard set which means Florida will be in a 3-4 or 3-3-5 a good portion of the game. Meyer said that when the Gators go to their nickel package, Joe Haden will move to the nickel and Janoris Jenkins will come in to play corner. Meyer said that Jacques Rickerson will play a lot on the outside.
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The Gators also expect to be much improved along the defensive line. The concerns at tackle have been alleviated somewhat with the emergence of Lawrence Marsh and with Omar Hunter getting back to practice. Meyer sounded somewhat relieved when he talked about the tackles Monday.
“They are much improved,” he said. “Matt Patchan is going to go today and Omar
Hunter had four days of practice in a row and we’ve begun to see some of the things that got us excited. Lawrence Marsh has separated himself as a guy that we will count on playing for us.”
Meyer said that the Gators would go with a three-down lineup of Marsh, Carlos Dunlap and Jermaine Cunningham to start the game against Hawaii.