Florida Gators

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Florida released a post-spring depth chart on Wednesday. There were no big surprises, although seeing running back Mack Brown behind Matt Jones and ahead of Kelvin Taylor did earn a raised eyebrow.

Here’s the breakdown:

Offense

LT: D.J. Humphries (6-5, 285, So.)/Trenton Brown (6-8, 363, Jr.)

LG: Max Garcia (6-4, 307, RJr.)/Ian Silberman (6-5, 290, RJr.)

C: Jonotthan Harrison (6-3, 303, RSr.) /Kyle Koehne (6-5, 314, RSr.)

RG: Jon Halapio (6-3, 317, RSr.)/Trip Thurman (6-5, 313, RSo.)

RT: Tyler Moore (6-5, 315, RSo.) OR Chaz Green (6-5, 305, RJr.)

TE: Clay Burton (6-4, 247, Jr.)/Tevin Westbrook (6-5, 258, Jr.) OR Colin Thompson (6-4, 250, RFr.) OR Kent Taylor (6-5, 223, So.)

RB: Matt Jones (6-2, 228, So.)/Mack Brown (5-11, 215, RJr.)

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GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Another week of spring football practice is in the books and the basketball team rolled through the second and third rounds of the NCAA tournament, so there’s a lot to recap.

On the football front, the Gators got some bad news early in the week when reserve offensive lineman Trip Thurman suffered a shoulder injury that UF coach Will Muschamp said appeared to be severe. Thurman’s injury left the Gators with only five healthy scholarship offensive linemen, and that is forcing them to alter their plans for the spring game.

Instead of a true game, the Gators essentially will have a glorified open practice and will spend time in 7-on-7 and situational drills.

Cornerback Loucheiz Purifoy finished his time at receiver and moved back to defense. The decision to try him out on offense was made because of the lack of production from the position since the 2009 season. And with freshman early enrollee Demarcus Robinson sidelined for a week with a sprained ankle, it doesn’t appear likely the Gators will get any answers at the position this spring.

SEC blogger Chris Low took a look back at some of the most memorable upsets in SEC play over the past 35 years. Ole Miss’ victory over Florida in 2008 -- which spawned Tim Tebow’s promise and was the catalyst to the Gators’ national championship run -- made the list.

On the recruiting trail ...

On the recruiting front, Derek Tyson put together his weekly mailbag, which included information about offensive tackle David Sharpe (Jacksonville, Fla./Providence), ESPN Watch List safety Quincy Wilson (Fort Lauderdale, Fla./University School of Nova South) and ESPN Watch List linebacker Raekwon McMillan (Hinesville, Ga./Liberty County).

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GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Florida has lost another offensive lineman -- and now the Gators might have to adjust their spring game plans.

Reserve offensive lineman Trip Thurman has suffered what Florida coach Will Muschamp said appears to be a serious shoulder injury, and now the Gators have only five healthy scholarship offensive linemen available. The other five are either limited, out for spring because of previous injuries, or suspended.

Because of that, the Gators’ April 6 spring game might lose some of its excitement.

“Just tough right now on those guys and now it’s even harder to get scrimmage snaps because of the lack of numbers at those positions,” Muschamp said. “We’re adjusting as we go as far as this coming Saturday [in a scrimmage]. Even with the spring game, it may be more of a practice-like atmosphere for what we’re going to do.

“ ... We’ll have scrimmage snaps. I think if we’re incorporating within the scrimmage some 7-on-7, some special teams periods where we just concentrate and let those guys get a break. Last spring, we’d go 120-130 snaps in a scrimmage. You can’t do that with five offensive linemen. That won’t be good.”

Muschamp said he did not know the extent of Thurman’s injury and was waiting for team physician Mike Moser to view the results of an MRI, but that things didn’t look good. The 6-foot-5, 313-pound Thurman wasn’t going to be a starter in 2013, but he was the No. 2 left tackle behind sophomore D.J. Humphries.

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GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Florida coach Will Muschamp had the following to say about the Gators’ first scrimmage of the fall, which took place on Saturday:

The offense was productive and quarterbacks Jacoby Brissett and Jeff Driskel were solid. "We had 11 explosive plays, which is great for the offense and not so good for the defense," Muschamp said. "Pleased to see that. Both quarterbacks were pretty even through those explosive plays and how they played. They're both completing, throughout camp, right at between 63 and 65 percent of their passes. They're both about dead on statistically in terms of attempts, completions, everything. I thought they managed our football team really well."

The quarterbacks, however, did throw three interceptions, although one was a tipped ball. "Disappointed with ball security," Muschamp said. "We had the ball on the ground four times. We can't afford that to happen. Three interceptions. One was a tipped ball, one was a busted route. But still those are turnovers."

Muschamp liked what he’s seen out of the pass rush, specifically inside. "We've improved our four-man pass rush with Lerentee [McCray], Neiron [Ball] and Sharrif [Floyd] and Dominique [Easley] doing some nice things inside," Muschamp said.

More notes from scrimmage:

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ESPN’s GatorNation is previewing each position leading up to the start of the season with a short video. Each Friday until the season kicks off, Michael DiRocco and Jeff Barlis will analyze a position group, tell you who is starting and why, and provide a breakdown of the depth at the position. This week it’s offensive line.

The starters: LT Xavier Nixon (Sr.), LG James Wilson (RSr.), C Jonotthan Harrison (RJr.), RG Jon Halapio (RJr.), RT Matt Patchan (RJr.)

The backups: D.J. Humphries (Fr.), Trip Thurman (RFr.), Jessamen Dunker (Fr.), Kyle Koehne (RJr.), Ian Silberman (RSo.), Sam Robey (RSr.), Tommy Jordan (RFr.), Chaz Green (RSo.)

Comment: This unit was the reason UF coach Will Muschamp called his team soft and the group responded in the spring. Defensive coordinator Dan Quinn and several defensive linemen said they noticed the OL was mentally and physically tougher. The biggest questions are whether Wilson and Patchan can stay healthy and if Nixon is going to play like he did as a freshman or struggle as he has the past two seasons. Green will play a lot at tackle in a rotation anyway.

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