Time is running out for Jeff Demps.
The injured running back removed the walking boot from his sprained foot Wednesday, but on Thursday he was still feeling the effects of the injury with just two days remaining before No. 7 Florida travels to No. 1 Alabama.
“He’s limited still,” coach Urban Meyer said Thursday. “We are going to try to practice him tomorrow more. But he is still limited.”
Demps did not wear the boot around campus but the junior was unable to practice at full speed, said Meyer, who classified the tailback as probable. If Demps cannot play in Saturday’s showdown, the Gators will rely on running backs Mike Gillislee, Emmanuel Moody and Mack Brown.
Brown, the only freshman in the group,has received just three carries this year. Playing against the Crimson Tide defense, which ranks fourth in the Southeastern Conference against the run, could be a rude welcoming for Brown.
“[Brown is] a freshman with really big, wide eyes and a nice guy that has a lot of talent, but he has to get a lot better,” Meyer said.
Debose still learning: After catching four passes in the first quarter against Kentucky, redshirt freshman receiver Andre Debose disappeared for the rest of the game.
Debose ran a limited number of routes, a result of his struggles to grasp the offense.
“We just had a small package for him,” wide receivers coach Zach Azzanni said. “He practiced really hard last week … so I put together a little package for him. Just the way the game started flowing, those plays didn’t get called.”
Debose built on his performance and turned in another good week of practice, and the receiver will be “very much involved” this week, according to Meyer. But his understanding of the Gators offense is still limited.
“He just can’t handle it right now,” Meyer said. “That’s not uncommon. It took Deonte [Thompson] a while.”
Practices Improving: Sometimes even practices could be tough for a young team.
That was the case for the Gators to begin the season, but Meyer is starting to see improvements in his team’s practice habits.
“I think we are over the hump now of teaching guys how to practice, thank God,” he said. “That was a learning curve for a while.”
Part of the challenge this week was the crowd noise. Coaches piped in the Alabama fight song, along with Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama” to prepare the team for Saturday’s game.
“The defense I thought was very good,” Meyer said. “The offense just wanted to turn around and knock one of those speakers out.”
