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By DEBI JONES, ALEX ABRAMS, BRANDON WRIGHT and Times wires
© St. Petersburg Times, published August 24, 2001
Young Gators get their chance
GAINESVILLE -- Freshman quarterback Ingle Martin got his first chance to run the Florida offense Thursday as the younger players scrimmaged and the older players watched from the sidelines.
Martin, who split time with walk-on Jeff Creveling, went 4-for-9 for 21 yards. The freshman from Nashville, Tenn., likely will redshirt instead of playing behind sophomores Brock Berlin and Rex Grossman.
"That's why I came here because I knew there were three quarterbacks who would be ahead of me," Martin said. "That's the kind of situation that I wanted to be in. I could have gone somewhere else and competed right away but I knew where I was and how much I needed to improve."
Running back Ran Carthon and wide receiver Kelvin Kight scored touchdowns. Kight caught a 44-yard pass from Creveling for the score.
Carthon broke for a 61-yard run and had 94 yards on six carries.
COLON ON BOARD: Offensive lineman Jonathan Colon, who did not qualify officially until Wednesday, participated in practice for the first time Thursday.
LINEBACKER U?: The school had three players named to the preseason watch list for the Butkus Award: seniors Travis Carroll and Andra Davis and junior Mike Nattiel. The 69-player list will be trimmed to 10 semifinalists on Oct. 18, and three finalists on Nov. 8. The award will be announced Dec. 7.
INJURY UPDATE: Coach Steve Spurrier said fullback Rob Roberts most likely will be ready to play in the first game. Roberts had surgery in the spring to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament. Center Zac Zedalis (high ankle sprain) may be ready for the first game.
TALLAHASSEE -- Freshman running back Willie Reid was carted off the practice field with an ankle injury in Florida State's evening practice. He will have an X-ray today to determine the extent of the injury.
Reid had been practicing with wide receivers because of a lack of depth at the position. He impressed coaches after catching two passes for 54 yards in a scrimmage Wednesday.
"I can't believe it," offensive coordinator Jeff Bowden said. "I have never gone through something like this in my life."
Bowden said he would not play his starting receivers in a scrimmage today.
ON THE WATCH: Senior linebackers Bradley Jennings and sophomore Kendyll Pope are on the Butkus Award watch list.
"Our intensity was excellent today," Coker said. "You could sense a higher intensity on the coaching staff and I think the players are more intense right now. You can tell it's Penn State.
UM opens at Penn State on Sept. 1.
TAMPA -- After scrimmaging Wednesday night, the Bulls held one afternoon workout in shorts and shoulder pads Thursday. With the season opener at Northern Illinois less than a week away, coach Jim Leavitt said everybody, including himself, is feeling the effects of two-a-days.
"Whether we're ready or not, we need to play a game," Leavitt said. "The guys are tired, I'm tired. Everyone just wants to play."
INJURY REPORT: Junior DeJuan Green received good news. X-rays on his jaw, which was thought to be broken in the scrimmage, were negative. Green, who will sit out this season after transferring from Georgia, hurt his shoulder on the same play.
BUTKUS WATCH: Junior linebacker Kawika Mitchell is on the preseason watch list for the Butkus Award.
ORLANDO -- The Mid-American Conference will give Marshall more time to consider options, leaving potential MAC member UCF in a hopeful but tenuous holding pattern for 2002 and beyond.
The Orlando Sentinel reported that the MAC and UCF confirmed that the league's provisional, football-only invitation to the Knights extends indefinitely while Marshall sorts out its future.