Florida head coach Urban Meyer said Wednesday he would decide in 24 hours whether Chris Rainey will return from his suspension. But it sure looks like the star player will play against Georgia on Saturday.
“As of now he’s done everything he’s supposed to do,” Meyer said on the SEC teleconference. “I’ll just do a thorough check on everything that I’ve asked him to do.”
Rainey has been out since a Sept. 14 arrest for aggravated stalking. The charge was later reduced to a misdemeanor.
Meyer also said Rainey would play both tailback and receiver “if he plays.” Rainey was a tailback his first two years, then switched to receiver this season.
Meyer was asked how the publicity around Rainey’s arrest, along with others on the team, affects the program.
“I think obviously the initial sting is a lot of negativity brought on towards the program and disappointment,” Meyer said. “Then it’s an opportunity for a young man to clear his name get himself right, like we’ve had with a bunch of young men around here. We’re gonna keep a tight rein on Chris Rainey. He’s never faced anything like this before. He certainly never better again.”
Georgia has faced its own off-field problems, as a questioner pointed out to Meyer.
“One thing Georgia and Florida share is they’re in a college town, and that’s the news,” Meyer said. “Obviously that doesn’t justify the stupid mistakes that people make. I don’t know all of Georgia’s issues, but I do talk to colleagues and what they deal with and how they deal with it. A lot of people deal with similar stuff, it’s just not brought to that level.”
A few other Florida injury updates:
- Meyer said tailback Jeff Demps (sprained foot) has practiced, but not at full speed. Demps has been slowed or out the past three games.
- Mike Gilleslee (ankle) did not practice at full speed.
- Kicker Caleb Sturgis (stress fracture in back) is probable. Sturgis hasn’t played since Sept. 25, and in his absence punter Chas Henry has gone 2 for 5 on field goals, including a 42-yard miss that would’ve tied the game against Mississippi State.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
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12 comments:
is this a surprise to anyone? offense is doing poorly, biggest game of the year, why wouldn't Meyer put his best play maker back on the field? "Don't worry kids, as long as you are good enough, it is okay to abuse women."
SHOCKED!
I'm SHOCKED I tell you!
Surprise! Urban Whiner believes Rainey has "met the criteria" to play against GA. What is this criteria? Just an excuse to bring him back on the team to beat Georgia. Classless. Georgia needs to destroy Florida and take their final timeout at 3 seconds in the 4th with Georgia leading 70-0.
Payback.
It seems that even in years in which Georgia has superior talent, we play down to Georgia. In 2010, it seems we are the better team as of this moment. I really hope we prove that on the field on Saturday, but we need these players to be mentally convinced that they CAN and WILL win, and they must stay motivated no matter what.
Totally meant playing down to Florida. My bad.
Matt, that'll never happen. Richt likes to use his timeouts in the first 5 minutes of each half. Sorry!
“As of now he’s done everything he’s supposed to do,” Meyer said on the SEC teleconference. “I’ll just do a thorough check on everything that I’ve asked him to do.”
Um, what did he ask him to do - not ACTUALLY kill anyone?
I could be wrong but I don't recall rainey being that big of a problem for us the last few years. Him and demps are just tiny super fast backs. Like I said i could be wrong but I believe we have kept them both in check the last few years.
Tebow, Hernandez, and Harvin are a few players that come to mind that have killed us. There aren't any players on there offense that comes to mind that scares me. Please correct me if I'm missing somebody. Is there anyone at fla now who has had great success against us? Other than urban Meyer.
On the other hand while ga has a much improved def it seems that an offense that sucks need only play ga to realize there full potential. I think we keep there running backs in check but I fear Brantley will have a coming out party.
Way to send a message, Urban. Ironically, October is "Domestic Violence Awareness Month." I suppose none of that matters when you are riding a 3-game losing streak.
Maybe someone can set Chris Rainey up with Lizzie Borden.
So I guess Rainey did everything Meyer asked of him, "just don't kill anyone Chris...at least not until after the season, please!".
One thing I'll be interested in seeing is how Rainey holds up in the game after missing that many practice and game reps versus how out of "game shape" AJ was in the Colorado game? Splitting btw. RB and WR with Demps reportedly a little beat up, he should be getting a ton of chances and have to physically exert himself a lot. If he holds up and plays well, what if anything does this say about our S&C when AJ missed a decent chunk of the CO game? Just a thought. Seth, you want to add this to the mailbag this week.
I may be totally off, but getting Sturgis back may prove more important than Rainey. Henry is a helluva punter, but is nowhere near the kicker Sturgis is. I see this game as a close one where the kicking game could decide it. I'll take Butler, Walsh and our coverage teams. Demps and Debose are really good but appear to be somewhat slowed by injury.
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