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After going through the first seven games with virtually the same offensive line, Florida has seen several changes in the past few weeks. High snaps were a problem vs. Georgia, so Florida had left guard Dan Wenger and center Jonotthan Harrison swap positions vs. Vanderbilt.
But the Gators couldn’t stick with the line-up vs. Furman with Wenger still dealing with an ankle injury he suffered earlier this season. Harrison moved back to center, and Kyle Koehne got his first career start at left guard.
Harrison again struggled with shotgun snaps, sending one sailing over John Brantley’s head in the first quarter. The QB hit it out of the end zone when trying to recover it, giving Furman the safety.
“Well again Jon, that was disappointing. We talked about it on the headsets, but we stuck with him,” said Florida coach Will Muschamp. “Jon’s done a nice job for us and when Dan Wenger went out we felt best our combination with the number and the turns and reps of Kyle at left guard, until Xavier (Nixon) was taken out. So that’s just what we felt like we’d stay with that and know that Sam (Robey) is certainly capable of doing a good job coming in the game.”
Injury update
Muschamp updated the status of injuries to the following players on Saturday:
– TE Jordan Reed hurt his ankle in the game. According to Muschamp, Reed should be out a couple days but is expected to return for the Florida State game next week.
– LT Xavier Nixon was “banged up” in the game, Muschamp said. He gave no indication what was wrong or if it would affect Nixon’s status for next week. He has started nine games this season.
– LB Lerentee McCray missed a third consecutive game with a shoulder injury he suffered vs. Georgia on Oct. 29. Muschamp said he hopes McCray can return next week.
“I know I’ve told you that every week and I know y’all think I’m lying to you, but we’re working on it,” he said. “He’s working diligently to get back. It’s been very frustrating, first of all, for him because he’s a great kid. We’re just having a hard time with that.”
– RT Chaz Green missed a fourth consecutive game with a sprained ankle. The redshirt freshman suffered the injury in practice leading up to the Georgia game. He was dressed but did not play vs. Furman. Green had started the team’s first seven games before getting hurt.
– S Josh Shaw missed the game because of a family issue. Muschamp said Shaw’s grandfather has been ill and that Shaw flew home to see him.
“He was very close with his grandfather. Talked to his parents and knowing the situation like I do, I felt like it was best for him to go home,” Muschamp said. “He needed to be with his family and that was the most important thing this week, not this football game. He’ll fly back to be with us again tomorrow.”
Odds and ends
A few small notes: Florida’s sellout streak ends at three games. UF had a 137-game sellout streak that ended this season when the first two games of the year did not sell out. Three since then did until Saturday, when announced attendance was 84,674. … QB John Brantley had an 80-yard TD pass to Andre Debose in the second quarter, making him one of two quarterbacks in the country to have two 80-yard passing touchdowns this season. Brantley threw an 83-yarder to Chris Rainey vs. Tennessee in September. Iowa’s James Vandenberg is the only other QB to have done that this year. … Caleb Sturgis’ 55-yard field goal made him one of two kickers in the country to hit three field goals of 50+ yards this season. UConn’s David Teggert is the other. … LB Darrin Kitchens got the first start of his career with McCray out, and he finished with a career-best 12 tackles to lead Florida.
