Older, Mature Gators a Relief for Meyer

[IHateUGAlyDawgs]

An August that has been dominated by news of injuriesdoesn’t seem to have dampened the spirits of Urban Meyer one bit. Evenwith the news that All-American wide receiver/tailback Percy Harvin andAll-SEC middle linebacker Brandon Spikes probably won’t play inSaturday’s season opener with Hawaii (12:30 p.m., Ben Hill GriffinStadium, Raycom TV), Meyer likes the way the Florida Gators havehandled things and he credits a team that is older and more mature thanthe one he put on the field last year.

“If you’reinvested in something you respond to adversity,” said Meyer afterWednesday’s practice. “If you’re not invested then there’s nothing torespond to because you’re not invested. My guess would be is the reasonwe’re still so positive and very positive that we’re going to have agreat year is because there are a lot of invested football players inthis program. They’re older and they’re more mature.”
Not many teams could handle the loss of Harvin, who accounted for858 receiving yards and 764 rushing yards last season, but the Gatorshave tremendous depth at all the skill positions. Brandon James, whohas terrorized kick coverage teams the last two years, will move to thePercy position --- that hybrid wide receiver/running back that playsout of the slot. Meyer can also use Chris Rainey and Jeff Demps in thatposition as well.
While there isn’t nearly the depth at linebacker as there is at theskill positions, Meyer is very confident that fourth year junior RyanStamper can step in and handle things in the middle. With Stampertaking over in the middle, sophomore Brandon Hicks will be the chiefbackup at both outside positions.
“Stamper is a very physical accountable guy,” said Meyer. “He’salways there. He’s one of those guys that works his tail off. He startson punt team, which tells you what I think of him. He’s a veryaccountable guy that does the right thing all the time.”
Asked if Meyer was intentionally holding out Spikes and Harvin, savingthem for the September 6 showdown in The Swamp with Miami, Meyerresponded with a very quick no.
“There’s no holding them,” said Meyer. “We’re playing a team thatwas 12-0. We better play some excellent defense and take care of thefootball on Saturday.”
OTHER INJURY UPDATES: Sophomore center Maurkice Pounceypracticed Wednesday even though his troublesome ankle remains sore.Backup guard Maurice Hurt won’t be playing Saturday. He has a stingerin his shoulder and Meyer said “we’re trying to get him back soon.”
Backup quarterback John Brantley, sidelined Tuesday with a staph infection in his throwing arm, was back at practice Wednesday.
Maurice Hurt has a stinger and he won’t play in this game … hurt hisshoulder We’re trying to get him back as soon though. Meyer indicatedthat Brantley battled through a bit of pain.
“John Brantley did very well today,” said Meyer. “He fought throughit. Poor guy has had injury after injury but he did very well today.”
The offensive line has had its share of dings all through trainingcamp but eight of the nine players in the rotation will be ready to goSaturday. Senior guard Jim Tartt is practicing and taking contact thisweek even though he was held out of all contact drills until thisweek.
“Jim’s shoulder is sore and Maurkice Pouncey has a sore ankle,” saidMeyer. “Today is Wednesday and they’ll be ready to go on Saturday. Onething about those guys is they’re tough and they love the game offootball.”
The offensive line starters will be tackles Phil Trautwein and JasonWatkins, guards Tartt and Mike Pouncey and Maurkice Pouncey at center.First off the bench will be Marcus Gilbert followed by Carl Johnson andJames Wilson.
This is an offensive line that could end up as one of the best inFlorida history. They are big, strong, talented and they have excellentchemistry.
“They should be one of the strongest units on the team if not thestrongest,” said Meyer. “I haven’t seen them come completely backbecause they’re in and out of the lineup [with injuries] but we’reanticipating that to happen real soon.”
UPDATE ON DAVIS, THOMAS AND ANTWINE: Torrey Davis, Bryan Thomasand Brandon Antwine were not part of preseason camp but all threerejoined the team and started practicing again Monday.
Davis, a sophomore defensive tackle, had some academic issues that hehad to get through in the summer. He has jumped through all theacademic hoops but he has a few other issues to work his way throughand there is no indication when he will be available to play in a game.
“He’s just trying to get right,” said Meyer. “He’s out there working with the scout team.”
Getting Thomas back is important since the Gators are quite thin atthe safety positions. Thomas has had injury problems in his twoprevious years but he has the talent, size and speed to contribute oncehe gets through the mandatory NCAA conditioning.
“Bryan Thomas is probably a week away,” said Meyer. “He had a cystremoved from the back of his knee so he won’t play in this game. We’retrying to get him ready as soon as we can.”
Antwine’s situation is more complicated. He had a serious kidneyissue that caused problems with his back, ending his season prematurelylast year. Just getting him back on the field even if it’s just forpractice is a big deal since his health issues were thought possiblycareer ending.
“It was a devastating back injury,” said Meyer. “He’s not going toplay in this game but he’s out there trying. Give Brandon a lot ofcredit. It was a real painful situation he had.”
Meyer said the health issues were extremely complicated and that he still doesn’t understand all that was going on.
“I don’t fully understand the injury but they say it was somethingwith his kidneys malfunctioning and the muscles in his back actuallydied,” said Meyer. “He just had some issues … poor guy. We’re hoping toget him back.”
For now, Antwine is doing mostly conditioning. There is no set timeline for his return to the playing field.
“He’s out there practicing or trying … he’s not practicing with padson,” said Meyer. “He’s just trying got get in shape and we’ll hopefullyget him back the second half of the year.”
KICKING GAME: Meyer said that Jonathan Phillips will be thefield goal kicker and freshman Caleb Sturgis will handle kickoffs.Sturgis has a tough job with new kickoff rules. The Gators will stillkick at an angle, hoping to pin the kick returner on the sideline ifthe kickoff doesn’t make it into the end zone.
Meyer wants the ball in the end zone if at all possible.
“Kick it up in the stands and start at the 20,” said Meyer. “It’sawful hard to do from the 30 though. The new rule says you kick it outof bounds you start on the 40. That changed the game of collegefootball in a big way as far as scoring points and making decisionswhether to defer or not. We still haven’t decided what we’re going todo.”
PATCHAN, WILL HILL DE-STRIPED: Freshmen Matt Patchan and WillHill will both be playing Saturday. They lost the stripes on theirpractice helmets Wednesday. Hill will be the first off the bench atsafety, backing up both Major Wright and Ahmad Black. Patchan will bein the defensive line rotation.
Patchan had an excellent Wednesday practice.
“He had a great day today,” said Meyer. “He’s doing very well. Hejust loves the game of football and goes a million miles an hour.”