Florida redshirt senior quarterback John Brantley was held out of practice Monday after injuring his right arm against Vanderbilt.
Coach Will Muschamp said Brantley’s injury is “nothing serious,” and that he expects the signal-caller to return to practice today and be ready to start against South Carolina this weekend.
Brantley suffered the injury late in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s 26-21 win and sat out the end of the game while freshman Jacoby Brissett took over the offense.
After the game, Brantley walked off the field with his bicep wrapped in ice.
Brantley said he hasn’t thrown since late in Saturday’s game, when he tossed some warm-up passes on the sideline before the coaches and trainers decided it would be best for him to sit out the final minutes.
“It feels better,” Brantley said. “Took a good shot on it and right now it’s just bruised up, nothing more than that.”
As for Brantley’s right ankle, which he sprained just before halftime against Alabama on Oct. 1, the quarterback said he is inching closer to being 100 percent, but was sporting an air cast Monday.
Although his mobility is still limited, he and Muschamp said the quarterback will “possibly” be able to take snaps from under center at some point this week.
“Whenever we feel that I can do that at 100 percent, we will,” Brantley said.
Pistol here to stay: After Florida unveiled its version of the pistol formation against Vanderbilt, Muschamp said the Gators will continue to use the set to establish a downhill rushing attack.
The formation worked well against Vanderbilt, as the Gators rushed for 197 yards and three touchdowns, including a career-high 158 yards from Jeff Demps, who was named the Southeastern Conference Offensive Player of the Week on Monday.
While Florida found plenty of success with the set Saturday, Muschamp said he still prefers a traditional I-formation offense.
“That’s when you keep defenses off balance,” Muschamp said.
“Being able to be effective in running the ball and the play-actions off of it ... are better from under center.”
Injuries: Aside from Brantley’s injury, Muschamp updated the status of several other Gators on Monday. Cornerback Jeremy Brown (knee) is the only player listed as out for the South Carolina game.
Muschamp said linebackers Jelani Jenkins (undisclosed) and Lerentee McCray (shoulder) returned to practice Monday after missing the Vanderbilt game.
Running back Chris Rainey (right ankle), right tackle Chaz Green (right ankle) and left guard Dan Wenger (undisclosed) are expected to participate in practice today.
Freshman guard Tommy Jordan had shoulder surgery Monday and will miss the remainder of the season and take a redshirt. He joins fellow freshman offensive lineman Trip Thurman, who had season-ending shoulder surgery earlier in the year.
Contact Tom Green at tgreen@alligator.org.
Quarterback John Brantley sat out the final nine minutes of UF’s win against Vanderbilt on Saturday after suffering an injury to his arm.
