PRACTICE REPORT: More key players injured; Two freshmen de-striped

GAINESVILLE -- Florida cornerback Markihe Anderson did not practice on Monday morning and left practice with his right arm in a sling. Florida coach Urban Meyer said that Anderson had a sprained wrist and that an MRI and x-ray were both negative, meaning Anderson should be able to practice next week.

Anderson entered the 2007 preseason as a starter at cornerback but never became a starter after a series of injuries throughout the season.

--Senior receiver Louis Murphy limped out of the Gators' closed practice with a boot on his right leg. Meyer said that Murphy had a sprained ankle.

--Kestahn Moore is an option at fullback, according to Meyer. Meyer says he's excited about Moore playing some fullback.

-Percy Harvin didn't dress this morning. Meyer said Harvin should begin practicing later this week.

--Strong-side linebacker Lorenzo Edwards limped off the practice field this morning. Meyer didn't know if the injury was serious or not.

--Omar Hunter didn't practice this morning but will participate this afternoon, according to Meyer.

--Meyer said that defensive lineman Torrey Davis will definitely not be available for the season opener against Hawaii. Meyer was vague about Davis' status with the team and said that Davis had several off-field issues to address.

--Meyer said that Cornelius Ingram had surgery on Monday morning. The senior tight end recently injured his knee and will not play this season. Even though Ingram will not play, Meyer said that Ingram will be a team captain. Meyer called Ingram a "superstar."

--Defensive end William Green and cornerback Janoris Jenkins appear to be the first freshmen to lose their fall-camp stripes. Neither player had stripes on their helmets after practice today. As the tradition goes, when a Florida Gator freshman loses his stripe during fall camp, he becomes an accepted member of the team.

-jo-

Comments

[Rich]

Thanks for the great Monday Morning report. Tell Urban I don't want any more significant injuries. Thanks for passing that along for me. LOL

[MG]

Urban Meyer will begin to be exposed this year. Hes a good coach if someone builds him a team and hands it to him, but when he has to do the recruiting and development of the team you end up with a horrible defense and a two-man show on offense. I had hoped the defense would be better this year but it looks like it may be worse. And Lord help us if Tebow gets hurt, we would probably go 6-6. I just do not understand why Meyer cannot build a more well rounded team and use the weapons he has instead of focusing on one area only.

[danny]

What an idiot!! ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

[danny]

What an idiot!! ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

[GatorLover]

Urban Meyer will run Tebow and Harvin into the ground again this year - I expect significant injury to either player.

In a way losing Harvin for the season may be a good thing because it will force Urban to spread the ball to a variety of players instead of remaining one-dimensional.

I would not be surprised if we lose 2-3 games this year.

[GatorAlum]

MG, either you're not a Gator fan, or you know nothing about college football. Meyer won a championship with the majority of players who Zook couldn't win more than 8 games with, then lost EVERYONE on D. Last year, they had 9 new starters including 3 Freshmen and 4 Sophomores. I don't care if Bear Bryant was the head coach, they would've still had problems on D. Please explain how it looks like the D is going to be worse. They haven't even played a game yet. On another note, these injuries are getting a bit ridiculous! They haven't even started full contact drills yet and they're dropping like flies. Whether the injuries are serious or not means nothing, because as we've seen before, sprained ankles and things like that can turn into nagging injuries all year long. 3 torn ACL's already, I mean come on. I hope that black cloud moves away from the practice field soon, because at this rate, we won't even be able to field a team come Aug 30th.

[Rich]

MG, give me a break. Meyer is an absolute stud among coaches. He leaves nothing to chance, recruits like a mad man and works tirelessly to get better as a coach. We're lucky to have him. Coaches in the SEC lose games, look at the National Champion LSU tigers last year, with two loses (Kentucky and Arkansas) loses happen in the competitive SEC.
MG, ff your not a Gator fan that is fine but if you're really a UF Fan, you just don't quite understand what the hell is going on.

[John]

GatorLover:

1) If you watch the games, you notice that as often as not, Tebow was running himself into the ground. Both players are studs, and they step up when the other players to perform, i.e. the Capital One bowl.

2) Harvin's expected to start practice later this week, next week at the latest, so he's not out for the season.

3) Percy had surgery on an injury reported sustained during high school.

The only point I agree with you on is that if these two players are the only two that show up this year when it really counts, we're gonna lose a few games. But I don't think that'll be the case.

[NCGator]

We can't count on Percy, he is injury prone. He is seen limping aound at practice but is going to start practice in 2 weeks? I don't understand how?

[Drtycane]

GATORNATION youtube search "Brandon McGee"....another U recruit for 2009...
Gators getting banged up both ways in the spring
respect.

[GuamGator]

I am curious about all of the ACL injuries that we have been experiencing. Do any of you know if better strength and conditioning could have prevented these injuries or is it just bad luck.

[Jay]

Hey Drtycane, McGee wasn't considering UF to begin with so no one here really cares. Do you see us posting on a canes blog every time we get a commit? Your obsession with UF is obvious, and it is somewhat sad and disturbing that canes fans feel the need to post on here. Do you see us posting on your blog every time we get a recruit? I would rather youtube search a video of a waterskiing squirrel than a video of some LB commit to the EWE.

[Goody]

Guam,

Good question. It's just terrible luck, according to Urban Meyer. UF strength and conditioning coach Mickey Marotti apparently works on flexibility with his players over the offseason. Perhaps the Gators could take some sort of martial arts classes next season. Maybe warm up longer each day.

-jo-