Matt Jones couldn’t help Florida during the second half of its 30-27 loss to LSU on Saturday.
He had to watch on the sidelines as an ankle injury kept him out from the final 30 minutes of action.
"I wish I would have played through it," the junior running back said, "but kind of looking at my future, too, and this season. We’ve got a lot of football to play here."
In Jones’ absence, true freshman Brandon Powell saw an uptick in his game reps. Powell finished the game with 6 rushing yards on three attempts and 66 receiving yards on a team-high six catches.
"He’s a talented back," Jones said. "He reminds me of me sometimes because he plays as big as me and he has a lot of heart. I love the way he catches the ball."
Offensive coordinator Kurt Roper said Tuesday he gave Powell the additional reps because of his high football IQ.
"When you go to the practice field, he just makes plays," Roper said. "He’s a guy that really picks up the offense well, understands what he’s doing, really intelligent, has good hands, really good speed. You know, he hadn’t been healthy the whole time, that’s been part of the challenge. But he’s definitely a guy that can make some plays."
Follow Jordan McPherson on Twitter @J_McPherson
