Injury report
As most everyone has heard by now, two more players went down with ACL tears: OG Jim Barrie and LB Brendan Beal. Both were expected to contribute, but neither was going to start. It’s a hit on depth, but not much more than that.
In other injury news...Emmanuel Moody has been slowed by a thigh contusion. Louis Murphy has been in a boot recently with a mild ankle sprain, but he’s out of it now and back to jogging. Senior OL Jason Watkins, freshman S Will Hill, and sophomore DB Moses Jenkins have missed time with minor concussions. Junior CB Markihe Anderson and OL Maurice Hurt have missed some time with wrist injuries.
Freshmen DLs Omar Hunter and Matt Patchan are close to being ready for contact drills. Chris Rainey appears to be completely healed from his groin issue that he had been dealing with since track season. Percy Harvin is able to go through drills despite his heel injury but was held out of Wednesday’s scrimmage.
DT Torrey Davis is not injured, but he hasn’t been at practice either. Urban Meyer has said Davis will not be playing against Hawai’i because in addition to his academic issues, he’s gotten himself into some off-field issues too.
Offensive backfield
Kestahn Moore, as I expected, will be the starter at running back on Aug. 30. However, Meyer plans on having him line up at fullback some to keep him on the field as much as possible. He’s the best blocker among the running backs, so it makes sense. It also gives the tiny guys like Brandon James and Rainey someone to pave the way while giving Dan Mullen a fullback who can both run the ball and catch passes.
Meyer has already said Moore has been a dynamic player for the offense this offseason, so I don’t think he’ll just be an early-season placeholder for Moody like many people I know seem to think he’ll be. He averaged over five yards a carry last year, so as long as he quits fumbling, he’ll be a big part of the offense.
Neither Cameron Newton nor John Brantley has taken a firm grasp of the backup quarterback position. It’s an important question because Meyer has already said he wants to go back to a two-QB system to lighten the load on Tim Tebow. Who plays backup won’t likely be settled until right before the first game.
Most people I’ve seen around the ‘net expect to see Newton regardless in some of the 3rd-and-short situations this year to take some pounding for Tebow. Considering he’s noticeably bigger than Tim, I’d say it rings true, but we’ll see.
If Brantley takes the No. 2 job, I don’t know that those substitutions will happen, because having Tebow as your No. 1, Brantley as your change of pace guy, and Newton as your hammer makes f
16 comments Last one added 10 months ago — Leave a Comment
Brian Smith 10 months ago
Lots of info that I don't want to have to pay for on gatorcountry. Thanks for the article!! Go Gators!! Let's get past the injuries and smack-talk about our defense and get to Atlanta and to Miami.
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David Wunderlich 10 months ago
I didn't pay for it either. It all came from newspaper websites.
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Mitch at sportschatplace.com 10 months ago
This is great stuff for those of us who know someone who may know someone who may actually bet on a game here and there, those little injury reports go a long way.
Thanks!
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David Wunderlich 10 months ago
Be careful, Mitch. Not all the beat writers agree on the extent to the injuries, and then the next day either the coaches or the player himself will contradict all of them in an interview. Right now it's somewhat difficult to tell who's really hurt or who's being held out as a precaution.
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Timothy Croley 10 months ago
Good article David. Just be careful by saying, "It’s a hit on depth, but not much more than that." the depth chart, or lack-thereof, can often fool you and be the difference in a game or season. I don't think the season is going to be blown for Florida losing a couple of guys, one offensive and one defensive, but it could eventaully take a toil on the team as a whole if a couple of more guys get injured. Good reporting.
Two weeks from tonight - first game of the season!!
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David Wunderlich 10 months ago
True, but offensive line and linebacker are two of the deeper positions on the team so I'm not overly worried. The losses of Dorian Munroe and John Curtis from the secondary were much worse. With Beal out though, it just reinforces the fact that Florida absolutely cannot lose Brandon Spikes to injury.
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Edmon 10 months ago
The king of Gator reporting. Thanks for the info. I'd like to see James on a few screens at wideout. Give him a little space and he's gone. Having him, Rainey and Harvin on the field at the same time could be a real match up problem. Good stuff as usual.
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Nick The Only 10 months ago
Very true as long as they can block for each other.
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Justin Hokanson 10 months ago
Thanks for the info. Injuries have hit Georgia, Florida, and Auburn now.
Got to say though, the stripes thing is funny to me. Why not just leave the helmets blank and add the logo if they perform well.
Urban is an interesting guy.
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David Wunderlich 10 months ago
Probably because it's easier in the middle of practice to tear a piece of tape off than to neatly affix a sticker on a curved surface. The coaches do it on the spot while everyone is around, so that's probably why.
Urban's got a lit of interesting little things he does.
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Joseph Morgan 10 months ago
Nice work, David! I have to say it's very convenient for me to log onto Bleacher Report and have accurate and informative analysis about Florida's football practices. Good article and keep up the great work!
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Shane Roustio 10 months ago
Very interesting article. Plan on revisiting this site. Go Gators.....
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SECSportsHub.com 10 months ago
One thing I'm not real sure about is the fact that January enrollees don't get stripes. I'm almost positive Janoris Jenkins was an early enrollee, because he was definitely practicing all spring and I thought a player had to be enrolled to do that.
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SECSportsHub.com 10 months ago
BTW, nice article.
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David Wunderlich 10 months ago
I couldn't remember if he was an early enrollee or not. One of the writers mentioned he didn't have a stripe and figured he lost his. However, if he started early then that would be why.
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SECSportsHub.com 10 months ago
In all probability, the reporter didn't realize that Jenkins was an early enrollee and didn't have a stripe. No big deal, just pointing it out. It's another reason I think Jenkins will see the field early during the 2008 season. He was phenomenal at every spring practice I went to and might be the best pure cover corner on the team already.
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