Gators Notebook: One Kicker Goes Down, One Steps Up
Sunday, October 16, 2011 | Football, Scott Carter
AUBURN, Ala. – The Gators lost their starting kicker on Saturday but appear to have found a promising punter.
Kicker Caleb Sturgis scored Florida's only points in a 17-6 loss to Auburn, hitting field goals from 47 and 25 yards in the first half. However, Sturgis was unavailable in the second half due to what Gators coach Will Muschamp termed a “leg injury.''
The Gators drove to Auburn's 16 on its first drive of the fourth quarter and faced a fourth-and-4. When asked if Sturgis' injury played a role in the decision to go for it, Muschamp said that wasn't the case with the Gators trailing 14-6 at the time.
“Caleb Sturgis injured his leg and was unavailable at the time,'' Muschamp said. “We had not moved the ball extremely well at that point. You kick a field goal and it's still a five-point game and you need a touchdown. You score and you go for 2 and it's a tie ballgame.''
Quarterback Jeff Driskel's pass to Deonte Thompson was incomplete, turning the ball over on downs. That was Florida's best scoring opportunity the rest of the game.
Muschamp said if the Gators had decided to kick a field goal at that point, freshman Kyle Christy would have gotten the call. Christy became the 14th true freshman to play for the Gators this season when he took over punting duties from David Lerner, the starter in the first six games.
Christy didn't disappoint, averaging 46.1 yards on seven punts, including a booming 67-yard kick in the first half. Lerner averaged 38.1 yards on 24 punts over the previous six games. Four of Christy's kick pinned the Tigers inside the 20.
“We have not just been flipping the field in the punting,'' Muschamp said of the lineup change. “We felt like we needed to look at a possible change. We felt like [Christy] deserved an opportunity.''
Meanwhile, how long Sturgis will be sidelined is uncertain. He has been perhaps Florida's MVP, making 15 of 16 field goals and all 19 extra-point attempts. Sturgis, who missed the final nine games of last season due to a back injury, has kicked at least one field goal in every game this season.
HEALING TIME
The Gators not only need to regroup after their third consecutive loss, they need time to heal heading into the Georgia game on Oct. 29 in Jacksonville.
The Gators were without several regulars on Saturday, including starting quarterback John Brantley (leg), defensive end Ronald Powell (upper body), cornerback Jeremy Brown (knee) and running back Jeff Demps (ankle.)
Besides Sturgis getting hurt during the game, receiver Andre Debose appeared to re-aggravate a foot injury on the game's opening kickoff and saw little time afterward, and starting offensive lineman Dan Wenger finished the game on the sideline wearing a protective boot.
“We could definitely use a bye week and get everybody back healthy,'' linebacker Jon Bostic said.
Muschamp said Powell did not practice last week and is expected back for the Georgia game, and that Demps was a “game-time decision.”
“We didn't feel like he was full-speed enough,'' Muschamp said. “He practiced some this week but not much.''
SEEKING TURNOVERS
The Gators did not force a turnover for the third consecutive game, a streak they wanted to be over yesterday.
Muschamp and defensive coordinator Dan Quinn have emphasized creating turnovers to the players but it hasn't translated to takeaways on the field.
Florida's last takeaway came on linebacker Michael Taylor's interception at Kentucky. Meanwhile, Florida committed three turnovers on Saturday, leading to 10 Auburn points.
“Whenever we do create turnovers, it looks good for the Gators,'' Howard said. “We have to get back to playing our style of defense.''
MYSTERIOUS MUFFS
You could make a case that Auburn punter Steven Clark was the game's most valuable player. Clark punted nine times, most of them high kicks that caused Florida's Chris Rainey and Robert Clark trouble.
Rainey muffed three kicks – one leading to Auburn's first touchdown – and Clark muffed a punt that led to a field goal.
On one of Rainey's muffs teammate Jaleni Jenkins was pushed into him, and on another one an Auburn player was within close vicinity and appeared too close on replays. However, no penalty was called much to the dismay of Muschamp.
While Muschamp declined comment on the play, he had this to say about the muffed punts: “We hadn't had any issues at all'' in practice.
QUOTE OF NOTE
“The guys fought and competed hard in the game, and I felt that way a week ago [at LSU]. We didn't get the results we wanted, but we took a positive step forward. Saw some good things and saw some things we obviously need to correct. I'm very proud of our effort, how we competed in the game in a tough place to play.” – Muschamp on overall performance.
SWAMP NUGGETS
Freshman fullback Hunter Joyer made his first career start; Joyer had one rush for 8 yards … The Gators registered eight tackles for loss Saturday, matching their season high in an SEC game this season (at Kentucky) … The Gators held Auburn to 1-for-13 on third-down conversions; Florida was 3-for-13 on third down … Christy's 67-yard punt was the third-longest in school history on the road … Defensive tackle Dominique Easley had his first career sack … Hammond had a season-high four catches for 40 yards … Defensive tackle Omar Hunter finished with five tackles, one shy of his career high set in 2009 against Arkansas.
