monday notebook : tennessee week

[radbag]

With Andre Caldwell unavailable for the Tennessee game, Florida has to figure out how to replace him. Wide receiver is the deepest spot on the team, and UF coach Urban Meyer is considering several options as he enters the vital game without his most experienced receiver. Also, see what SEC Offensive Player of the Week Tim Tebow thought about his recruiting visit to Tennessee in 2004 among other notes and quotes from Florida's weekly press conference.

Home games against Tennessee have not gone well for Florida wide receiver Andre Caldwell.

The last time the Volunteers played at Florida Field, he suffered a broken femur on a kickoff return and missed the rest of the 2005 season.

This time, he won't get to play at all. Florida coach Urban Meyer confirmed Monday that a sprained medial collateral ligament will sideline Caldwell for at least one week, leaving the fifth-ranked Gators without their most experienced receiver for their SEC opener against the 22nd-ranked Vols.

"That's a blow," Meyer said. "Bubba's one of the most invested players I've ever been around. He heals real fast and is a very positive person, but he won't play this Saturday."

Meyer said the competition to replace Caldwell would be a "real free-for-all." Sophomore Riley Cooper, his backup at outside receiver, is the leading candidate, but the Gators have other options, including using Cornelius Ingram at that spot instead of his normal role in the slot or sliding Percy Harvin or Louis Murphy there.

"It's a tough loss for us," UF quarterback Tim Tebow said. "(Caldwell is) a great player, a great leader for our receiving corps. Everybody looks up to him, but the great thing about being at the University of Florida is you have guys who can step up and make plays."

Caldwell made four receptions for 111 yards in the first two games, adding a touchdown on an 18-yard run. Four other UF wideouts have at least four catches – Louis Murphy, Ingram, Percy Harvin and Cooper.

"It definitely gives you a lot of confidence," Tebow said. "You don't worry about going to one guy too much or his chances of getting hurt. You can spread it around."

Ingram set career highs with seven catches for 105 yards against Troy.

"Whenever you lose a guy like Andre Caldwell, you definitely have to step up because he's a big-time playmaking guy and one of the emotional leaders on the team," Ingram said. "It really doesn't have to be just one guy trying to fill Bubba's shoes. As long as all of us go out there and catch the ball and block on the perimeter, we should be fine."

Redshirt freshman safety Bryan Thomas, a member of the special teams, also will miss the Tennessee game with an MCL sprain. Punt returner Brandon James, whose 89-yard touchdown against Tennessee was wiped out by a penalty last season, has been cleared to practice with a sprained ankle.

Rocky Stop

Tebow was named SEC Offensive Player of the Week for his performance against Troy, and he would love to repeat that feat this Saturday.

Although he visited the Tennessee campus as a high school junior, he never seriously considered the Vols. He watched the 2004 Florida-Tennessee game at Neyland Stadium and was disappointed when the Vols won on a last-second field goal.

"I knew that I liked Florida a lot more than Tennessee when I was watching that game," he said. "I think I was the only one not chanting 'Rocky Top'. I would have had a better time if Florida would have won. I tried to have an open mind as a I checked out the school, but I knew as I left I didn't want to go there and it wasn't the right place for me. I didn't get a feel for it, and I didn't get a feel for the coaches."

Tebow has much fonder memories of the 1995 game between the two teams, when Florida rallied from a 30-14 deficit late in the first half to score touchdowns on seven consecutive possessions in a 62-37 rout in The Swamp.

"I remember that game pretty well," he said. "Right after that game Danny Wuerffel got his cover (shot) on Sports Illustrated. That was a huge game. Peyton Manning on the first drive hit a receiver on a deep ball. And in 1996 we came back and beat Tennessee in Tennessee. Danny Wuerffel, four touchdowns, Peyton Manning, four INTs. I remember that was a lot of fun."

Tebow said Meyer had shown former UF safety Lawrence Wright's devastating 1995 hit on Tennessee wide receiver Joey Kent about 10 times.

"I feel bad for Joey Kent," Tebow said. "Not really, but that was a phenomenal hit. Safeties have been watching that probably across the country since it happened. That's what a safety dreams about. Throwing a speed post late over the middle, that's not a good deal for a receiver."

Tebow made his name against Tennessee last season, replacing starter Chris Leak and rushing for two yards on fourth-and-1 at the Vols' 28 to keep Florida's winning drive alive with 7:53 left in the game. The coaches trusted a true freshman in an intense pressure situation, and his success convinced them to use him repeatedly as a short-yardage power runner in place of Leak.

"It definitely gives you an extra sense of confidence and a boost," Tebow said. "I helped the team out and got experience. It did a lot for my confidence knowing I could go out there and play with those guys."

Offensive tackle Carlton Medder said he was not surprised when Tebow ran on the field.

"The offensive linemen knew he was going to get it because he wasn't going to take 'no' for an answer," Medder said. "Everybody loved Tebow before the Tennessee game, so that just hyped up his stardom."

No longer a backup, Tebow has completed 73.8 percent of his passes for 536 yards and six touchdowns through two games this year. He also has run for three scores and another 131 yards, a total that would be higher if he had not run out of bounds to avoid hits on most of his scrambles.

His health is more important than a few extra yards, but he figures to be more aggressive if the same opportunity arises against Tennessee.

"That depends on the situation a hundred percent," he said. "In a game like that you really have to manage and try to get first downs and take as little hits as possible and be smart about everything."

This and That

Medder, who started every game at right tackle last season, was supposed to play guard this year, but he returned to his old spot when Phil Trautwein suffered a stress fracture in his foot. Medder admitted Monday he likes tackle better than guard. Said Medder: "It was a relief. I'm not a big leverage guy. I can play guard, but I don't think I was as efficient as I am at tackle. I was happy to move back to tackle, but I wasn't happy about then way it came about." … Meyer said he had not given up on Trautwein returning this season, adding that he was an optimist. … Medder, a fifth-year senior, still requires help to put on his tie before UF's Gator Walk. He said Tebow did it for him in the opener and sophomore lineman Maurice Hurt aided him for the Troy game. Said Medder: "I'm 22 years old and I don't know how to tie a tie."

[a1bion]

It sucks losing Bubba, but having Riley and Murph step it up of late make me feel a lot better.

And this portion of the article made me like Tebow even more:

Tebow has much fonder memories of the 1995 game between the two teams, when Florida rallied from a 30-14 deficit late in the first half to score touchdowns on seven consecutive possessions in a 62-37 rout in The Swamp.

"I remember that game pretty well," he said. "Right after that game Danny Wuerffel got his cover (shot) on Sports Illustrated. That was a huge game. Peyton Manning on the first drive hit a receiver on a deep ball. And in 1996 we came back and beat Tennessee in Tennessee. Danny Wuerffel, four touchdowns, Peyton Manning, four INTs. I remember that was a lot of fun."

Tebow said Meyer had shown former UF safety Lawrence Wright's devastating 1995 hit on Tennessee wide receiver Joey Kent about 10 times.

"I feel bad for Joey Kent," Tebow said. "Not really, but that was a phenomenal hit. Safeties have been watching that probably across the country since it happened. That's what a safety dreams about. Throwing a speed post late over the middle, that's not a good deal for a receiver."

[radbag]

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