Media members had a surprise visitor during player availability Wednesday afternoon.
After a day where rumors surfaced about a possible Jeff Driskel broken scapula, Gators coach Will Muschamp decided to set the record straight with an impromptu press conference.
“This is a situation that, Sunday night, Jeff got a pop on his shoulder,” Muschamp said. “It was no big deal, thought it was a bruise. We all get bruised when you're in camp and you play football. The doctors looked at it, and he's got a contusion of the scapula. He's going to practice today. He's out of contact for a week. Period. End of sentence.”
Muschamp called the contusion as a bruise on the bone. The football staff plans on re-evaluating the sophomore quarterback every Monday leading up to the Sept. 1 home opener vs. Bowling Green.
Several reports surfaced Tuesday morning about a serious injury to Driskel’s left shoulder.
A source close to the situation told The Alligator Tuesday that Driskel suffered an injury Sunday night and missed the last two days of practice.
UF released a statement Tuesday afternoon concerning Driskel.
“Head coach Will Muschamp will address any injuries at his next media availability,” a released statement read. “Jeff Driskel was at practice today and will be taking reps at practice on Wednesday.”
This injury will not affect the ongoing quarterback competition between Driskel and Jacoby Brissett, Muschamp said.
Neither the coach nor Driskel expected the situation to turn into a national story. USA Today writer Rachel George reached out to Driskel’s mother Tuesday afternoon and confirmed the UF statement.
“I don't know what else to say,” Muschamp said. “I don't know how some of these things get caught like wildfire and traveled. That's it. Jeff even looked at me and said, 'coach, I had to go back and look at the film to see when I might have hurt it.' He doesn't even know.”
Quarterbacks took off their red non-contact practice jerseys Sunday and Monday.
“That was something we needed to do, and it was very productive for them and for our football team,” he said.
Driskel iced his shoulder Sunday night. The sophomore approached a trainer before practice Monday and wanted the staff to take a closer look at the shoulder.
Muschamp couldn’t think of a time where Driskel was visibly hurt.
“We did some third-down [situations] and did some other things where we did a nice job of rushing the passer. But it's not like it was some big-time blow that occurred or he went down and 14 guys fell on top of him. He didn't go to the ground, but we expect for him to be fine.”
The coach spoke with the media Wednesday to “make sure that everybody’s on the same page about what exactly happened.”
While Driskel is cleared for everything except non-contact drills, the injury is just part of the game.
“That's football,” Muschamp said. “I mean, it's football. Everybody's sore right now. Everybody's sore. It's camp. That's part of the deal. That's part of working through it.”
Etc.: Sophomore walk-on Michael McNeely, a wide receiver, fractured his foot and will be out six weeks. Muschamp called him, “a big part of our special teams.” ... Redshirt junior defensive end Kedric Johnson underwent surgery for a dislocated knee Wednesday morning. He will be out indefinitely.
Contact Adam Pincus at apincus@alligator.org.
Sophomore quarterback Jeff Driskel attempts a pass during the Orange and Blue Debut April 7. Driskel will start against Texas A&M Saturday in College Station, Tx.
