Florida quarterback John Brantley was limited in practice Sunday after taking a hard hit against Alabama, but offensive coordinator Steve Addazio said the junior should be fine for this weekend’s meeting with LSU.
“He’s doing great,” Addazio said.
Brantley remained on the ground for more than a minute after being sandwiched between Crimson Tide safety Mark Barron and linebacker C.J. Mosley. He motioned toward his right side when joined by team doctors, but he didn’t miss a play.
“I’m a little sore, but that’s just like every game,” Brantley said Monday. “I’m not feeling anything that would stop me or not allow me to do anything.”
Still, fears that Brantley’s apparent rib injury is more serious were strong enough that casinos in Las Vegas pulled the matchup between the No. 14 Gators and No. 12 Tigers from betting boards Tuesday.
The injury came on a fourth-quarter scramble, but Brantley also had several designed runs and picked up 19 yards on five carries, not counting sacks or fumbles.
Gators sticking to option game: The option isn’t going anywhere.
Despite Brantley’s lack of mobility, Addazio reiterated his confidence in the play while pointing out the Gators are averaging five yards per carry in the option game this season.
“You need to have an element of option in your game, so that you can keep the defense balanced and keep the defense honest and it’s a part of who we are,” he said. “That won’t change. How many calls? That’s going to be dictated by what we’re seeing and what’s happening.”
Florida has struggled at times to run the play. Opposing defenses have been able to cheat on the pitch option because the junior quarterback doesn’t pose much of a threat to run the ball.
Coach Urban Meyer agreed with UF’s offensive coordinator but also knows the offense must get better with the option.
“Do you eliminate it? Or do you improve upon it?,” Meyer said. “History shows that we usually put a premium on improving it and getting it better. To say it’s going to be eliminated, that’s not going to happen.”
Henry pulling double duty: A punter provided Florida with something positive to talk about this week after a disappointing loss to Alabama on Saturday.
Chas Henry knocked in 39- and 21-yard field goals against Alabama in place of injured kicker Caleb Sturgis (back). He also booted three punts for an average of 62.3 yards, including one that traveled 75 yards.
But he noticed the intricate differences between the two positions.
“In punting I have 50 yards to work with, the whole field — a little bit less with directional punts. But still, you have a little room for error,” he said. “With field goals, it’s definitely a little bit more. You have to do the whole aim-small, miss-small thing.”
Meyer said Henry’s field-goal range heading into last week’s game went up to 42 yards.
That could change this week and as the season progresses since Henry may be a long-term replacement.
“You start trying to do a little bit too much on the leg strength and you start pulling away from the accuracy,” Henry said. “We’ll figure [my range] out this week.”
