Members of Florida’s defense will feel like they’re in practice when they line up against Appalachian State on Saturday, but not because of the typical mismatch found between FBS and FCS teams.
Coaches Urban Meyer and Jerry Moore spent a lot of time together in 2008 at the ESPY Awards, where Appalachian State was nominated for Best Upset after beating Michigan 34-32 the season prior.
Since then, Moore has visited Gainesville three or four times, and the two coaches have exchanged ideas and formed similar offenses. But this year the Mountaineers seem to be more successful running the spread option than the Gators.
Averaging 37 points, Appalachian State’s offense ranks fourth in the FCS. Florida, meanwhile, ranks 50th in the FBS with 29.6 points per game.
Free safety Will Hill feels confident in the defense’s ability to contain the Mountaineers, especially because he has practiced against a similar offense since August.
“It helps us out,” he said. “We just know that we’ve got to be disciplined on some of our schemes.”
The Gators will need to be especially disciplined as they tries to contain quarterback DeAndre Presley, who leads the Mountaineers with 727 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns.
Presley has also passed for 2,066 yards and 17 touchdowns against four interceptions.
“He’s a challenge as a quarterback because he can do things on his own,” defensive coordinator Teryl Austin said. “He can make a play out of nothing. Our challenge is to get the ball out of his hands as much as possible.”
Florida has struggled at times against dual-threat quarterbacks this season, most notably against South Florida’s B.J. Daniels, who gained 107 yards against the Gators on Sept. 11.
“I feel like if we prepare the right way, then we have nothing to worry about,” linebacker Lorenzo Edwards said. “As long as we come out and do our job in practice and study our plays on film, then we’ll do just fine.”
Bostic’s role shrinking: Linebacker Jon Bostic has been limited in practice this week with a bruised sternum, an injury he suffered Nov. 6 against Vanderbilt.
But Bostic was struggling to get on the field even before the injury. After starting Florida’s first five games, Bostic has not started since Oct. 2 against Alabama.
“He’s really inconsistent right now as a player,” Austin said. “And you get that as you go through the grind, learning how to each week do the same things over and over, developing a routine.”
Demps missing practice: Meyer expects running back Jeff Demps to miss practices for the rest of the season. Demps suffered a stress fracture in his left foot Sept. 18 against Tennessee and has been unable to play at full speed since then.
After rushing for 237 yards in Florida’s first two games, Demps has gained just 250 more yards in six games while sitting out two other contests.
“It’s real frustrating,” Meyer said. “That was our No. 1 playmaker going into the season. It’s been devastating on all fronts.”
Other injuries: Defensive tackle Jaye Howard (ankle) has practiced at full speed this week while linebacker A.J. Jones (hamstring) has sat out, Austin said.
