Colleges

Injuries leave key players battered

By ANTONYA ENGLISH, Times Staff Writer
Published September 9, 2007

GAINESVILLE - Florida's 28-point victory over Troy may turn out to be costly with potentially the loss of three key players.

Senior receiver Andre Caldwell injured the MCL in his knee Saturday and will have an MRI exam for further evaluation.

"That's a major, major deal," said Florida coach Urban Meyer, who said trainers have told him Caldwell might be cleared for the Tennessee game.

Sophomore kick/punt returner Brandon James sprained his ankle, and running back/receiver Jarred Fayson was also injured but returned to the game after being helped off the field.

"James is obviously another very big component in our plan to win and Jarred, I'll know more (today). I'll find out ASAP on those guys."

Fayson scored his first career touchdown, Caldwell had an 18-yard touchdown run and James had three kickoff returns for 127 yards, including a 59-yarder that set up a touchdown.

DANGEROUS CHOMP: Florida fans, be careful how you use that Gator chomp. It could be hazardous to your health.

The Troy football team can attest to that.

On the team's bus ride from Ocala to Gainesville on Saturday afternoon, a Florida fan riding in a compact car began weaving between the team caravan of buses and a van - while doing the Gator chomp.

The driver cut in front of a van driven by Troy sports information director Ricky Hazel, who reported the driver then tried to cut between the offensive players' bus and the defensive players' bus.

"She didn't make it," Hazel said.

About 5 miles outside of Gainesville on I-75, the front of the Gator fan's car hit the front of the bus carrying the Troy defense, sending the car off to the side of the road. One of the state troopers escorting the buses turned around to assist the driver while the defense's bus headed on to Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. No players were injured.

BROWN CLEARED: Freshman defensive tackle John Brown has been cleared by the NCAA Clearinghouse and is eligible to rejoin the team. Brown practiced for 14 days in August, but was forced to sit out while awaiting final clearance for a class he took.

"He's good to go," Meyer said. "They (the NCAA) found no issues with him being eligible."

NO APOLOGIES: No disrespect to Western Kentucky or Troy, but Meyer isn't making any apologies for his team's early-season opponents, Western Kentucky and Troy.

Miami, Florida State and LSU can tackle tough opponents right off the bat if they so choose, but with a team full of underclassmen, Meyer likes his schedule just the way it is.

"I talked to (athletic director) Jeremy Foley, and people can criticize why are we playing them," Meyer said. "Our job is not to answer criticism. Our job is to prepare a team. And this is a unique situation - we had 40 sophomores or freshmen play (in the season opener)."

TEBOW'S GUY: Austin Silvoy and Tim Tebow lined up on opposite sides of the field for the first time in their careers. Silvoy used to be one of Tebow's top receivers at Nease High School. It was Silvoy's 26-yard touchdown reception with seven minutes remaining that pulled the Trojans within 52-31.

Antonya English can be reached at english@sptimes.com.

[Last modified September 8, 2007, 23:44:38]