Linebacker Neiron Ball (ankle) and wide receiver Andre Debose (sprained knee) are doubtful for Florida’s game against Jacksonville State on Saturday. Ball injured his ankle early in Florida’s 27-20 win against Louisiana on Saturday, while Debose missed the game entirely.
Safety De’Ante Saunders, who has been UF’s primary punt returner in Debose’s absence, injured his knee against the Ragin’ Cajuns.
His status moving forward is unknown.
“I’ll know more about him as the week rolls on,” coach Will Muschamp said of Saunders.
Left guard James Wilson (knee) and left tackle Xavier Nixon (knee) will return to practice on Tuesday.
Wilson and Nixon should boost Florida’s struggling offensive line, which surrendered five sacks to Louisiana on Saturday.
Ian Silberman suffered a shoulder injury while playing in Wilson’s place and will have his status updated on Wednesday, Muschamp said.
Running back Mack Brown (ankle) will return to practice on Tuesday after not playing against the Ragin’ Cajuns.
Defensive back Valdez Showers (shoulder) will resume practicing on Wednesday.
Wide receiver Stephen Alli (shoulder) “will be fine” to play in the Gators’ home finale, Muschamp said.
Offensive line struggling: In Saturday’s 27-20 win against Louisiana, Florida struggled in pass protection.
The Gators surrendered five sacks and a quarterback hurry to the Ragin’ Cajuns, who had recorded just 13 sacks in their previous eight games.
“It’s communication, really,” right guard Jon Halapio said of Florida’s struggles to pick up blitzes. “Especially when we have young guys like Ian Silberman and D.J. Humphries. I’m not saying that they played bad, it’s just that we’ve got to pick it up together as a unit.”
Wide receiver Frankie Hammond Jr. added: “It’s just everybody getting on the same page and just making reads and everything. But things happen fast. I’m pretty sure they look at the film and see what we did wrong, or what blitzes or anything might affect us.”
Wilson, Nixon, Halapio and Silberman have all missed time with injuries during the past two weeks.
Injuries have diminished Florida’s ability to rotate offense linemen, but the “man down, man up” mantra has kept the Gators going.
Hammond said the offensive linemen have been handling increased work the best they can.
“Guys have to pick up the reps,” Hammond said. “If there’s not a guy to come in and help you out, those guys know that they’re going to have to play an extra 10, 20 plays just because they don’t have a backup, then that’s what we need to do to get the job done.”
With just one more game to correct its issues before facing No. 10 Florida State on Nov. 24 in Tallahassee, UF is working on getting healthy and regaining the momentum it had in October after defeating No. 8 LSU and No. 12 South Carolina.
“It’s definitely a big concern,” Halapio said of the offensive line’s recent struggles. “But we’re just going to watch film and correct our mistakes.”
Contact Joe Morgan at joemorgan@alligator.org.
Offensive lineman Jon Halapio blocks during Florida’s 27-20 win against Louisiana on Nov. 10 at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
