John Brantley says his ribs aren’t cracked and his thumb isn’t broken, but that doesn’t mean Florida’s quarterback — not to mention the rest of the team — isn’t battling injury.
Brantley said his ribs are doing better but are still sore, and he experienced some soreness in his throwing arm after altering his motion due to the pain in his ribs.
Still, he felt some of the reports leading up to the game with LSU were overblown.
“I wasn’t limited too much,” Brantley said. “I took the reps I needed to take. I wouldn’t really call it limited. Maybe one or two less throws, but I wouldn’t call it limited.”
UF coach Urban Meyer said his quarterback proved his toughness when he led the offense down the field on its last drive of the game, connecting with Carl Moore for 51 yards on a third-down play and finding Frankie Hammond Jr. for the two-point conversion.
“That really showed us a lot about who Johnny is,” Meyer said.
Meyer also said guard Jon Halapio (middle finger on right hand), who started against the Tigers but left the game early, had surgery on a finger, and safety Matt Elam and wide receiver Deonte Thompson have concussions.
Elam and Thompson did not practice Sunday and are considered day-to-day.
Running back Jeff Demps (foot) is expected to return this week after missing Saturday’s contest.
Meyer, Brantley support Addazio: Gators fans showed their disapproval of the play calling at the end of Saturday’s game by booing runs up the middle and swing passes on the final offensive drive of the fourth quarter.
Monday, Meyer was asked if offensive coordinator Steve Addazio, who also coaches the offensive line, is spread too thin considering the boos and the inconsistent play of the line.
“I think he’s got a tough job, I think he can handle it,” Meyer said. “Obviously, he showed it a year ago and he’s shown it at times this year.”
Meyer said he is also “very involved in the offense,” and cited a lack of production in the red zone and lack of big plays as the offense’s biggest problems.
Brantley also supported Addazio when asked if he would prefer to throw the ball more often and down the field.
“I trust coach Addazio and his play calling,” Brantley said. “I’m going to do what he says. I’m not going to complain because I trust coach Addazio. I think he’s a great coach and he’s trying to put us in the best position to win and I believe that.”
Comparisons: Some have started to notice similarities between this year’s UF team and the 2007 squad that lost four games.
Linebacker Brandon Hicks believes that the comparisons are accurate.
“When I came in [2007], everthing was passing us by like real fast,” he said. “But then again after a while we started to adjust to it and the game slowed down.”
The 2007 team responded the following season with a national championship.
