When Marcus Roberson left Florida’s game against South Carolina on Nov. 12 with a neck injury, coach Will Muschamp said he thought the then-freshman cornerback would be sidelined for about a month with a neck strain.
But when Florida’s medical staff walked into Muschamp’s office the following day to deliver the prognosis, the Gators’ coach realized the injury was worse than he imagined.
“Yeah, it was,” Muschamp said Monday when asked if Roberson’s injury was considered a career-threatening one. “It was scary; it really was. Any time you deal with the head and the neck, football is over, as far as I’m concerned.”
According to Muschamp, who couldn’t give the exact medical term for Roberson’s injury, the former four-star prospect had “displacement” in his neck. Roberson had to wear a brace to stabilize his neck for six to eight weeks, followed by a less-confining brace for six more weeks, Muschamp said.
The loss was big for Florida. Roberson earned a starting job in the defensive backfield during fall camp and started in the season opener against Florida Atlantic. In 10 starts, Roberson recorded 22 tackles, broke up two passes, had one interception and recovered a fumble.
He did not take the season-ending and career-threatening injury well.
“Marcus is a competitor,” Muschamp said. “Any time you take that away from somebody, it’s very frustrating. He was hurt; he was down — bad. I was worried about him just as a human being. He was really, really depressed about the situation.”
Roberson worked with Florida’s medical staff, going through “every test you could imagine,” and he was cleared to return to practice with limitations this spring. Roberson wears an orange non-contact jersey during practices, but that didn’t stop him from getting into tussles with receivers like Quinton Dunbar in drills during the weekend. Muschamp said the contact during drills was just “shadow boxing,” and that Roberson won’t be participating in any serious contact this spring.
Johnson moves to backfield: Coaches moved sophomore Chris Johnson to running back this offseason after he played both linebacker and safety as a freshman. Muschamp referred to Johnson as a “tweener” on defense but has been impressed by his physical nature — part of the reason for the switch.
“He was a guy that was a good back in high school and a guy that’s got some explosive power,” Muschamp said. “Let’s give him that opportunity to take a shot. We’ve been pretty pleased so far.”
Dunbar called out: After Dunbar struggled to produce as a redshirt freshman last season, Muschamp challenged him in front of the team during the weekend and expects him to have a larger impact as a sophomore in the fall.
“(It’s important) to make sure everybody understands what our expectation level is and that we’re all on the same page,” Muschamp said. “It’s important to [call players out] in front of the whole group.”
Injury report: Wide receiver Stephen Alli (groin) and defensive lineman Earl Okine (back) are day-to-day, while wide receiver Solomon Patton (groin) is week-to-week and will not partake in this weekend’s scrimmage, Muschamp said.
Cornerback Loucheiz Purifoy (sprained shoulder) was expected to practice Monday.
Tebow on the block: According to reports, the Denver Broncos are expected to try to trade former Heisman-winning quarterback and first-round draft pick Tim Tebow.
The Broncos are in contract negotiations with four-time NFL MVP Peyton Manning, who was released by the Colts on March 7. Manning’s arrival likely means an end to “Tebow Time” in Denver, despite Broncos vice president of football operations John Elway saying in January that the former Florida standout would be the team’s starting quarterback heading into training camp.
Tebow took over the starting job in Denver after the team started 1-4. He led the Broncos to a 7-4 record in their final 11 regular-season games and a playoff win against the Steelers before losing to the Patriots.
Contact Tom Green at tgreen@alligator.org.
Former Colts quarterback Peyton Manning (18) is reportedly in contract negotiations with the Broncos, leaving Tim Tebow’s future with the team uncertain.
