Gators spring practice news and notes – 04/02

By Adam Silverstein
April 2, 2010

With the Florida Gators 2010 spring practice now in full swing, there is plenty of newsworthy information around the program. Rather than publishing it all in long form, OGGOA thought it would be best to lay it out piece-by-piece. We continue this series with a look at team practice from Fri., April 2.

Absences/Injuries:
» After missing two consecutive days of practice due to “personal issues,” redshirt senior wide receiver Carl Moore was one of the first players on the field Friday and practiced in full. He worked mostly with the second team but did have some nice receptions.

»Junior running back Jeff Demps attended practice but did not participate. Earlier in the day, he ran a 2010 world record 10.11-second 100-meter dash at the Pepsi Florida Relays. He has already won the 60-meter indoor National Championship.

» Freshman WR Solomon Patton and redshirt freshman WR Stephen Alli both worked away from the team, appearing to be hobbled to injury. Patton had a boot on his left leg to protect his ankle. Both should be fine and were likely sitting out as a precaution.

» Fellow Freshman WR Robert Clark was fitted for a boot after injuring his foot in practice. He will have X-rays to determine the injury’s seriousness.

» Junior defensive end Lerentee McCray was not in pads Friday.

Check out more practice news, notes and interesting quotes…after the break!

Scrimmage happenings:
» Redshirt junior quarterback John Brantley appeared to be taking too long in the pocket at points during practice but was still delivering solid passes on both short and long routes. Nothing else of note for him Friday.

» Freshman QB Trey Burton has steadily improved with each practice and, likely due to the help of position coach Scot Loeffler, is throwing crisper passes with tighter spirals.

» Redshirt junior WR Chris Rainey appears to be one of the stars of spring practice, making great strides as a pass catcher. In addition to his speed, Rainey is proving to be sure-handed and has an ability to grab yards after the catch on short routes and screen passes. At one point during practice, Rainey came up hobbling, but he is fine.

»RB Emmanuel Moody, still practicing after coming back from a tweaked ankle, showed off the power running he displayed at points during the season. A one-two punch of Demps and Moody, without having to worry about giving Rainey carries, could be very solid behind a pro style passer like Brantley.

» Freshman defensive tackle Leon Orr picked off a screen pass thrown by Burton and returned it for a touchdown.

Other notes:
» Meyer said safeties senior Ahmad Black and junior Will Hill, junior cornerback Janoris Jenkins and redshirt freshman linebacker Jelani Jenkins are some of the team’s best leaders so far this spring (in addition to the captains, of course).

Head coach Urban Meyer press conference quotes:
» On Moore’s absence: “Young guys have things to take care of once in a while. It’s nothing major. […] It’s spring. Things happen, and you just have to take care of business. He had some personal issues that had nothing to do with school or legal issues. He’s good. Young guys every once in a while go through something. He’s fine, but he does have to be a player for us. Has to be.”

» On letting redshirt freshman tight end Jordan Reed play quarterback in the single-wing during games this season: “I think we do because we have to. On 3rd-and-3, I know what we want to do, and Johnny isn’t probably going to do it because he’s not that kind of player. Everyone said we just ran Tim [Tebow] because he’s a great player, and that’s partially true, but the other part is because in a single-wing offense, you’re plus-one in the run game. Jordan Reed has proven he can do it, and this Trey Burton cat can run real well too. I think this will probably be the year we actually do it, a little bit like when we played Tim and Chris Leak.”

» On the team’s performance thus far: “It’s hard. No, there’s no continuity. The offensive line is all banged up. The defensive line doesn’t have [Lawrence] Marsh and [Terron] Sanders in there. There are so many young players. This will be the biggest offseason as far as development. We have to get these freshmen ready to play. Last year we had 22 back on defense, and this year it doesn’t seem like any.”

» On Demps missing practice and being fast: “He can do whatever he wants to do. Fastest man in the world, someone told me. And he’s a great kid. He’ll be ready to go.”

» On freshman S Matt Elam’s performance: “Matt Elam will play next year. He’s earned that right already. He’s a hell of a player.”

Other Interesting quotes:
» Redshirt sophomore WR Frankie Hammond, Jr. on filling in for Moore during his absence: “It’s just like if a guy were to get hurt. If someone goes down, someone steps in to fill those shoes. It’s like a gametime situation. He went down, somebody else filled his shoes, he came back and just fit right in.”

Special thanks to the Palm Beach Post and Miami Herald for the above quotes.

One Comment

  1. ReptilesRule says:

    Great report. Thanks!

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