The injury bug has bitten Dorian Munroe again.
The redshirt senior safety from Miami Coral Reef High will miss five to six weeks due to a damaged meniscus in his right knee, the same knee that caused him to miss the 2008 season.
Munroe was injured in practice over the weekend and had his knee scoped Monday.
"That hurts us, it hurts him, and we love him," coach Urban Meyer said. "We were hoping we wouldn't have to do it, but they told us over the weekend that he has to, so we had it done [Monday]."
The injury comes at a terrible time for Munroe, who was slotted for regular playing time in the Gators' rotation. While Munroe is sidelined, freshmen Dee Finley and Josh Evans will fill his role.
Munroe was expected to be a starter last season before tearing the ACL in his right knee during the summer, paving the way for Ahmad Black to take the field and ring up seven interceptions, tied for the nation's most.
To make his way back onto the field, Munroe must recover fully and beat out his replacements, and the time off will make closing the gap on Black, Major Wright and Will Hill a more difficult task.
HOWARD NAMED STARTER: Defensive line coach Dan McCarney named sophomore Jaye Howard the starter at the other defensive tackle position next to junior Lawrence Marsh.
McCarney said Howard has come on strong beginning this spring and is currently ahead of junior Terron Sanders, who started for Florida last season.
Sanders is still expected to play a large role on the line and could be used to spell Marsh as well.
RAINEY WORKING AT RECEIVER: The task of filling Percy Harvin's role is no easy one, but Meyer is calling for all hands on deck.
Running back Chris Rainey has joined Jeff Demps, Brandon James and freshman Andre Debose as the players designated to have a dual role in the offense.
Until now, Rainey had been used exclusively at tailback, but his speed and improved grasp of the playbook led to the switch.
"Percy is so dynamic with the ball in his hands, and his speed, that you want to make sure whoever you give the ball to has that," Meyer said. "Rainey is one of the fastest guys on the team. He can make you miss - not as good as Percy, but darn close - in the open field. We just felt like he can do that."
MOORE STILL RECOVERING: Meyer said receiver Carl Moore is "going to be a little longer" in recovering from a back procedure, while cornerback Jeremy Brown is improving but not 100 percent.
Both players had work done to solve nagging back injuries.
