The Florida Gators are definitely expecting a bigger challenge this week from the Troy Trojans.
On Monday, Florida's coach, Urban Meyer, said that the Gators are preparing themselves for what is likely to be a much tougher contest this week against the Troy Trojans, at least in comparison to their recent win over Charleston Southern, which was a 62 to 3 win last week. The Trojans, who are currently sitting at 0 and 1 are coming off of a loss to Bowling Green, 31 to 14. Meyer still said that the caliber of skill and talent involved here is going to be significantly higher.
The Gators managed to defeat the Troy Trojans back in 2007 with 59 to 37. While Florida is currently boasting a roster that is filled to the brim with veterans on both sides, in the opener last week there are eight Trojans that just finally made their first college start, and 22 players who were just playing their very first game.
The senior return specialist, who is Brandon James, was just recently named as being the co special teams player for the week by the SEC on Monday. He had played an 85 yard long kickoff return with a touchdown, and had 123 all purpose yards. He got to share this special honor with the Arkansas sophomore player Dennis Johnson, who managed a kickoff return for 91 yards.
With a brand new offensive coordinator, who is Steve Addazio, and two brand new coaches who are calling plays from above, Brian White the TE coach and Scot Loeffler the QB coach, the Gators got to use Saturday's game as something of a testing ground for all of these new responsibilities. According to quarterback Tim Tebow, it was definitely different, but there was some really good communication with the new coaches.
Tim Tebow is remaining in touch with the former offensive coordinator, Dan Mullen, who is now the coach for Mississippi state. Apparently they are still text messaging back and forth, and Mullen wished Tebow luck on the game last Friday.
Current Injuries: Brandon Hicks, the LB, recently returned to practice, where he is battling A.J. Jones of Tampa for some playing time. Lawrence Marsh who has an injured ankle is still remaining probably. Carl Johnson, OL, has a bone bruise, and this kept him from practicing on Sunday but he is expected to be back in the game this week. Brendan Beal, an LB, has an injured neck and so his return right now is relatively doubtful, and it is not currently known whether or not he will be returning any time in the next two weeks. Finally, Jelani Jenkins has a reinjured ankle, but it is probable that he will be returning sooner rather than later.
Photo Credits: Troy Trojan Website
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