College football

Gators need backup to step up at receiver

Jemalle Cornelius says he is ready to take over for the injured Andre Caldwell.

By ANTONYA ENGLISH
Published September 22, 2005

GAINESVILLE - Jemalle Cornelius was sure the injury wasn't serious.

His teammate Andre Caldwell lay motionless on the ground after taking a hit to his right leg returning a kickoff, but Cornelius was confident Caldwell was going to shake it off.

"I didn't think it was that bad of a hit," said Cornelius, also a Florida receiver. "But the more I saw, I was like man, my stomach kind of dropped a little bit. We were kind of like in a daze because everybody was expecting him to just bounce up." When it became apparent Caldwell wasn't going to walk off the field, everything changed for Cornelius.

He knew it. His teammates did too.

"Pretty much when he went down, everybody knew I was going to have to step up," Cornelius said. "A couple of guys came over and said, "It's on you.' "

In its 16-7 win over Tennessee Saturday, the Gators lost two key players - Caldwell and defensive end Ray McDonald. Caldwell is out for the season and will receive a medical redshirt. McDonald will miss 4-6 weeks.

Florida is 3-0 and ranked No.5 in the nation. To keep it that way, other players will have to quickly step into those vacated roles. Cornelius, the junior receiver, and defensive end Joe Cohen are the two Gators who are being called upon to step up the most.

"I think Jemalle Cornelius, his role in the offense just doubled, maybe tripled," Meyer said.

After a year as the understudy, Cornelius said he's ready for the starring role. He played in all 12 games last season, earning five starts. He had 12 receptions for 154 yards and three touchdowns, including a career-long 48-yarder against Arkansas.

"Jemalle's been consistent all the way through," receivers coach Billy Gonzales said. "He's one of those guys that solidified himself in the spring, he worked his butt off in the summertime and to me he's been a starter who will now have a chance to make ... more plays."

This isn't how Cornelius wanted it to be. He'll tell you how much he hurts for Caldwell and what he's going through. But stepping into the more dominant role Caldwell held in the offense is a golden opportunity.

"It's motivation," Cornelius said. "Just the opportunity, hopefully to be able to come out and play a bigger role on the offense and contribute to the team, it's definitely some motivation and it's a challenge."

Cornelius has eight catches for 79 yards in three games this season and earned Meyer's praise for the way he responded Saturday.

"He's good," Meyer said. "I thought he made some great plays in that game (Tennessee) to help us win. Some great ones. He's going to be fine. He's going to be a great player for us."

For Cohen, taking over a lead role is part of a long journey.

The Melbourne native began as a fullback his freshman season, then moved to defense last season. He started 12 games at defensive end, but struggled.

"He had a running back state of mind: "I want to get the ball and run,' " senior defensive end Jeremy Mincey said. "He used to pass rush like he was running the ball sometimes."

In retrospect, Cohen said he shouldn't have been in that position.

"Last year, I still had a ways to go," he said. "Me, personally, I don't think I should have been starting. I still was way off on my technique. I just needed more work. ... I feel I'm more ready now than I've ever been."

Meyer agrees.

"Joe Cohen is doing good," he said. "He's a guy that didn't practice real well around here for awhile, but even before Ray's injury he was making a big push about three or four weeks ago." As for the receiving corps, Meyer said he's hoping that several others, including junior Kenneth Tookes, sophomore tight end Tate Casey and former backup quarterback Gavin Dickey also will contribute more in Caldwell's absence. Like Caldwell, Dickey's experience as a quarterback can be critical in Meyer's spread-option offense.

Gonzales said the key now is making adjustments based not just on players' abilities, but how well they perform over the next couple of weeks.

"We'll see," he said. "This week will tell us a lot about where we are with the younger guys."

The Gators already have a big playmaker in receiver Chad Jackson, now they're hoping Cornelius will also take on that role.

"I feel like I'm ready," Cornelius said. "I've been working hard and I've just got to increase that. I've got to go out and make sure I prepare myself mentally and physically and get ready to go."

How Florida fares the rest of this season may well depend on it.

[Last modified September 22, 2005, 01:04:14]