The Gators face more injuries and another huge challenge on Saturday against top-ranked Alabama in the SEC Championship Game. (Photo: Tim Casey/UAA Communications)
Gators Notebook: Sherit update, Mac addresses fans and program's direction, more tidbits
Monday, November 28, 2016 | Football, Scott Carter
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The Gators face No. 1-ranked Alabama on Saturday in the SEC Championship Game in Atlanta.
By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Gators didn't just lose to Florida State on Saturday, they lost another starter on defense.
Florida head coach Jim McElwain confirmed Monday that redshirt junior defensive end Jordan Sherit will not play in Saturday's Southeastern Conference Championship Game against Alabama. Sherit is the sixth defensive starter in the past three weeks to be sidelined by injury. Sherit suffered a right knee injury Saturday that will require surgery.
He joins starting linebackers Jarrad Davis and Alex Anzalone, starting safeties Marcus Maye and Nick Washington, and fellow defensive end Bryan Cox Jr. on the injured list, a group that has missed a combined 11 starts in the last three games. McElwain listed the quintet as "out or probably out" against Alabama. Jordan Sherit
Davis tested his injured ankle during pregame warmups at FSU but did not play. He has missed the last three games. Freshman defensive back Jeawon Taylor, who plays primarily special teams, also was hurt Saturday and his status is uncertain.
"We took some significant hits again,'' McElwain said.
On offense, center Cameron Dillard remains out with a knee injury and offensive lineman Martez Ivey will be monitored throughout the week to see if he can play in Atlanta. Ivey (leg injury) started against FSU but was replaced at times by redshirt sophomore Kavaris Harkless.
"He'll be limited again as we move forward,'' McElwain said.
Receiver Ahmad Fulwood left Saturday's game with an undisclosed injury, defensive back Duke Dawson suffered an ankle injury and linebacker Daniel McMillian re-aggravated a shoulder injury. Their status is uncertain. As for quarterback Luke Del Rio, who has started six games, he is available for emergency duty if Austin Appleby has to sit out a play, but McElwain said freshman Feleipe Franks is the backup in extended action.
The Gators refuse to use the rash of injuries as an excuse, but few teams, if any, could not suffer a drop-off defensively with so many starters down.
"I know everybody will try to do everything they can to play in this game, it means so much,'' McElwain said. "We're not going to obviously put anybody out there that can't go."
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MAC ADDRESSES UPSET FANS, DIRECTION OF PROGRAM
McElwain is 18-7 in his two seasons at UF and 13-3 in the SEC, leading the Gators to back-to-back SEC Championship games for the first time since 2008-09.
He admits it hasn't always been pretty, especially on offense. Florida had a season-low 207 yards in Saturday's 31-13 loss at FSU and is now ranked 114th among 128 FBS schools in total offense, averaging 352.7 yards per game.
Coming off his biggest victory at Florida, a 16-10 win at LSU that clinched the SEC East, McElwain experienced the opposite emotions a week later in arguably his most disappointing loss. FSU defeated Florida for the fourth consecutive season for the first time since 1987-90, and for the second consecutive year, the Gators failed to score an offensive touchdown against the Seminoles.
Yes, social media unloaded as is often the case after a loss.
Florida head coach Jim McElwain on the sideline at Florida State. (Photo: Tim Casey/UAA Communications)
"Looking at it when I took the job, this is a fan base that – at any place that really cares – you're never going to please them all,'' McElwain said. "I get it. One thing I do know is I believe we're in the SEC Championship Game for the second straight year.
"Maybe not the way people want it, but ultimately, the idea is to figure out how to win a ballgame and how to win the East. Now the next step is the whole SEC. And that's part of building it. We're getting there."
McElwain's blueprint to rebuild Florida into a contender for the national title is similar to Alabama coach Nick Saban, whom he worked under as Alabama's offensive coordinator from 2008-11.
As soon as McElwain arrived, he pushed for an upgrade in facilities, which is underway and includes the indoor practice facility that opened prior to last season. He's also added depth in the football offices by hiring additional analysts and support staff. The next step is to develop a quarterback to build around for the future and land top recruits.
He said progress has been made in his 24 months on the job.
"We're getting a lot of really good things going on as far as commitment to the facilities, the things we need to do,'' he said Monday. "That's not for me. That's for the sustainability of the University of Florida football program and its brand. We've been behind but we're catching up. I now that's something that is making a lot of people nervous around the country, and that's a good thing."
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HURTS CAN HURT A DEFENSE
Alabama quarterback Jalen Hurts has Florida's attention.
Like he did all season, Hurts made plays when he had to in the Crimson Tide's 30-12 win over Auburn last weekend in the annual Iron Bowl. With Alabama leading by only four points (13-9) at halftime, Hurts energized the Tide in the second half with a 4-yard touchdown run and 38-yard scoring throw to ArDarius Stewart in the third quarter.
Hurts, a 6-foot-2, 209-pound true freshman from Channelview, Texas, has rushed for 840 yards to eclipse the school record for rushing yards by a quarterback, previously own by Steadman Shealy (791 yards in 1979). He has passed for 2,454 yards, 21 touchdowns and nine interceptions.
The defending national champions entered the season with quarterback questions but those quickly disappeared with Hurts running the offense.
"There's a lot of the same base principles,'' McElwain said of Alabama's offense. "There's more quarterback run, read-option type things, obviously, taking advantage of the unique skills-set that this guy has. He's fun to watch, I'm telling you. He's got great command. He's calm. He doesn't get flustered. He takes what they give him. Yet, they give him a crack, he can beat you with his feet."
Alabama won the national championship a year ago with Florida State transfer Jake Coker at quarterback. Hurts didn't waste any time proving he was a capable replacement, becoming the first Alabama player to rush for two touchdowns and pass for two in 15 years in his first game, a 52-6 win over USC in the season opener.
"He's a fast guy,'' Gators defensive tackle Joey Ivie said Monday. "We just need to play fundamentally sound defense and collectively communicate and be on task the entire game."
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QUOTE OF NOTE I
"They are giving Us no chance again." – A Monday afternoon tweet by Gators receiver Tyrie Cleveland
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QUOTE OF NOTE II
"It's kind of like a minor league NFL game, if that makes sense. There's going to be first-rounders and NFL players all over the field. This is what it's all about in the SEC." – Gators quarterback Austin Appleby on the Florida-Alabama matchup
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QUOTE OF NOTE III
"You can't go half-step into this game. It's one of those games that you have to put everything into it. It's not going to be easy. I remember just last year, how fast those guys were and how quick they were and how strong they were. When they got the ball, it was a little tougher than it normally is in the SEC." – Gators cornerback Teez Tabor on facing Alabama
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EXTRA POINTS
The Gators are 4-4 all-time against Alabama in the SEC Championship Game … Alabama's 24-game win streak is the third-longest in SEC history. Saban joined former Gators head coach Urban Meyer (22-game streak) and former Auburn head coach Terry Bowden (20-game streak) as only SEC head coaches to win 20 or more consecutive games since the conference split into divisions in 1992 … Saturday will mark Saban's 48th game at Alabama with the Crimson Tide ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press Top 25. He is 42-5, the most wins in college football history for a coach at one school as the No. 1-ranked team in the country, surpassing Ohio State's Woody Hayes (40-4-1) and FSU's Bobby Bowden (40-5). "He's as good as there is,'' McElwain said … Alabama's defense scored a touchdown in 10 consecutive games until the Crimson Tide's 10-0 win at LSU on Nov. 5. Prior to that game, the last time Alabama did not score on defense was last season's SEC title game against the Gators.
