subject: Florida Gators' Meyer suspends pair of starters [print this page] Post by (Ugg schuhe gnstig) September 2010
GAINESVILLE -- UF coach Urban Meyer's behind-closed-doors disciplinary style usually leads to surprise suspensions, and those were handed out to left guard Carl Johnson and safety Will Hill.
Both were expected to start in Saturday' 34-12 win against Miami (Ohio), and although they were in uniform for the game, neither took the field.
``Will Hill and Carl Johnson weren't ready to play,'' Meyer said. ``You expect certain things in the classroom and off the field. You expect a lot of things, and if you don't fulfill that, you don't play. Those two guys didn't fulfill expectations.''
Freshman safety Matt Elam, who was issued a criminal citation for underage possession of alcohol in the offseason, was not suspended and played nickel back.
Still, the secondary didn't seem to suffer much without Hill.
Safety Ahmad Black and cornerbacks Janoris Jenkins and Jeremy Brown had interceptions, capping a solid performance from the unit on a day where ``sloppy'' was the name of the Gators' game.
Jenkins and Black made the two biggest plays of the first half, helping to rally the stunned Gators after falling behind 3-0 to Miami.
Jenkins jumped in front of an out route on Miami's first drive of the second quarter and sprinted 67 yards down the sideline for the first touchdown of his career.
That gave Florida a 7-3 lead and some room to breathe. Black came through two possessions later, picking off a pass thrown straight to him and running down the middle of the field to Miami's 3-yard line.
It was an easy punch-in from there to put the Gators ahead 21-3 despite an offense that gained just 13 yards in the first half.
By comparison, Jenkins and Black accounted for 107 yards on their returns, and the Gators' four total interceptions (linebacker Jon Bostic had the first) were a nice haul for the pass defense.
A LITTLE DRAMA
Fittingly, Brown's big moment wasn't without some drama.
The redshirt sophomore cornerback notched his first career interception Saturday, a nice ``welcome back'' present after spending the past two years out with a back injury.
But it took video replay to make that dream come true; his sideline grab was initially ruled incomplete. On top of that, Brown wasn't supposed to play Saturday.
He rolled his ankle in Thursday's walk-through and was on crutches that night, but an elbow injury to starting corner Moses Jenkins in the second half meant Brown's planned day of rest had come to an end.
``I go through a lot,'' Brown joked.
``I didn't even think I was going to play, and a lot of the coaches and players didn't think I was going to play. But when you're so close to something you've been waiting on, it's one of those things you have to tough out.''
Defensive coordinator Teryl Austin said Jenkins' elbow injury could keep him out of next week's game against South Florida and Brown will likely start in his place.
Austin said was pleased with Jenkins' (Lauderdale Lakes Boyd Anderson) performance.
``[Moses Jenkins is] a young man who had been waiting a long time to have an opportunity to play at the University of Florida, and then he goes out and gets hurt right away,'' Austin said. ``That kind of dampens his spirit and my spirit.''
STRIKING RESEMBLANCE
Florida's second offensive touchdown of 2010 looked pretty familiar: a 2-yard score by the quarterback on an option-keeper.
Freshman Trey Burton did the honors, filling the role formerly occupied by Tim Tebow .
Meyer said offensive coordinator Steve Addazio congratulated Burton in front of the team after the game.
