Coach Urban Meyer had former NFL wide receiver Cris Carter speak with the football team Monday morning to relay his experiences about dealing with the death of a teammate.
Players this week said they took his message to heart after losing walk-on Michael Guilford in a motorcycle accident Friday morning. Carter and sophomore wide receiver Percy Harvin have sparked a friendship as well.
"They talk to each other and they spent some time together," Meyer said. "Cris always talked about taking your game to the next level. Percy is one of those guys that admire a guy like Cris Carter."
Meyer said Harvin has had his best week of practice. Maybe it is because Harvin is finally healthy. Maybe it's because he's stepped into a leadership role and realizes the Gators need him at the top of his game this weekend when No. 15 Florida visits seventh-ranked Kentucky.
Harvin leads Florida with 32 catches for 513 yards and four total touchdowns. Fifth-year senior wide receiver Andre Caldwell is close to 100 percent and sophomore receiver Riley Cooper is expected to be more involved this week. Florida's receiving corps is back and Harvin said he hopes the Gators can give Kentucky matchup issues.
"They have one strong corner but we have a lot of receivers for them to cover," Harvin said. "We finally got out receiving corps healthy. We have Bubba back. We have 'Coop' back so we have a lot of receivers they have to cover out there so we're looking to move people around and give them some different matchups."
Said Meyer: "Percy had his best week of practice and his correlation with playing at that highest level is pretty good. He and Bubba are two of the primos that have kind of pulled the string the last couple days."
Meyer also showered praise on the offensive line and said freshman Maurkice Pouncey can become of the best offensive lineman to ever play at Florida if he continues to work hard.
Kentucky's defensive front is not known as one of the nation's best but it can never hurt to give sophomore quarterback Tim Tebow more time in the pocket and the running backs more holes to run through, especially if Florida hopes to keep the ball away from Kentucky's potent offense that averages almost 43 points per game. Meyer said Florida's offensive line could be one of the best nationally in a couple years.
"I love who they are," Meyer said. "I don't know if we're playing great. We're playing fairly good. The future of our offensive line, if you look who's waiting in the wings and who's developing, who's coming back, you'll have one of the best offensive lines in college football in a year or two here. You can see it happening. I like their demeanor. I like how they're being coached. I like the way they're working. We're certainly not there yet but there are still some guys who haven't played a whole lot of football.
"Maurkice Pouncey, if he keeps going, he'll be one of the best to ever play at Florida. He loves football. He loves to train. He likes to be coached. He's not asking me, 'why are we going 18 periods instead of 20 periods?' He really likes to work. That's a special player. His brother (Mike) will be a special player, too."
Sophomore cornerback Markihe Anderson is still a little gimp, Meyer said, but he is expected to play. Expect to see freshman defensive tackle Torrey Davis see more action. Meyer said he hopes redshirt freshmen Lawrence Marsh and Terron Sanders fill out a five-man rotation along the defensive line.
Redshirt freshman offensive lineman Carl Johnson has a sprained ankle and left practice on crutches. Sophomore defensive tackle Brandon Antwine has lower back pain. Neither is expected to play this weekend.