Injuries, a lack of depth and an improvement on the part of freshman OL Xavier Nixon has the Florida staff seriously considering using Nixon this weekend against Georgia.

Nixon has seen action in three games, Charleston Southern, Troy and the last series against Kentucky. He had 16 snaps in the Troy game, but his continued improvement has helped him land a spot in the offensive line rotation.

"He's the next guy in (after starting five),'' UF coach Urban Meyer said. "He had a really good practice (Tuesday).''

If Nixon (6-foot-6, 285 pounds) plays, that would give the Gators an interior line that includes 6-foot-5 twins Mike and Maurkice Pouncey and 6-foot-6, 340-pound Carl Johnson.

"Those are big cats,'' Meyer said. "But we're facing the biggest defensive front we've faced. So there's a lot of discussion going on, a lot of decisions to be made here in the next few days.''

Placing a freshman in the rotation in a rivalry game like Georgia isn't ideal, but Meyer said it may be necessary.

"You're limited on your choices right now,'' Meyer said "He was going against Carlos Dunlap on a few plays and really went in there.''