GAINESVILLE — Eight months after sustaining a serious knee injury in Florida's bowl game, linebacker Antonio Morrison has recovered well enough to play Saturday's opener.
"It's unbelievable what he's done," Gators coach Jim McElwain said Monday.
Morrison is listed as the starting middle linebacker, though he probably won't play the whole game against New Mexico State. Junior Alex Anzalone is listed as his backup.
Morrison was a team captain last year, was second-team all-SEC and led UF with 101 tackles.
McElwain said a normal recovery for Morrison's injury would be 10-12 months; Morrison did it in six, and his injured knee is actually stronger than his other one.
In other UF injury news, safety Keanu Neal (leg) and five-star freshman left tackle Martez Ivey (leg) didn't practice, but McElwain wouldn't rule either out for Saturday. With Ivey out, Fordham transfer Mason Halter is listed as the starting left tackle.
USF: Foe a mystery
TAMPA — In terms of the opponent's tendencies, the Bulls could find themselves a bit in the dark when the Raymond James Stadium lights go on Saturday.
Florida A&M, again projected as a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference bottom feeder after a 3-9 season, has a new coaching staff. New coach Alex Wood, whose journeyman career includes Division I-A and NFL stops, spent the past four years in college as offensive coordinator at Buffalo.
Taggart's staff has been studying Buffalo tape, but even that could be tricky. A spread-style team upon Wood's arrival, Buffalo went more under center in 2011, and by '12 collected more than 2,000 rushing and passing yards.
"And defensively, they have a guy (Theo Lemon) that's coached at a couple of different places and hadn't coached in a couple of years (since 2008), so we really don't know much what to expect from that standpoint," Taggart said.
Also, Taggart said his staff still hasn't decided on a starting kicker (Emilio Nadelman or Michael Hill) or right guard (probably Cameron Ruff or Dominique Threatt), but could have an answer as early as today.
UM: RB Edwards out
Miami junior running back Gus Edwards is out for the season with a left foot injury, the Hurricanes announced late Sunday. The 6-foot-2, 241-pound Edwards averaged 5.7 yards a carry as a sophomore, rushing for 349 yards. He scored 11 touchdowns in his first two seasons with the Hurricanes. Joe Yearby and Mark Walton will be the top two backs on UM's depth chart.
Around the nation
North Carolina: A grand jury indicted former player Christopher Hawkins for violating the state's sports agent law by providing money to a former Tar Heels player and illegally contacting another about signing a contract. Hawkins was arrested in May.
Georgia: Coach Mark Richt named Greyson Lambert, a Virginia transfer, the starting quarterback over Brice Ramsey and Faton Bauta.
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Explore all your optionsMemphis: The team suspended linebacker Leonard Pegues for 1½ games and defensive end Isadore Outing for one game for their roles in a brawl at the end of last season's Miami Beach Bowl victory over BYU.
Other sports
Soccer: At USF's Corbett Stadium, Brandon Riley's header off a Lindo Mfeka corner kick in the 28th minute provided the decisive goal in the Bulls' 2-0 upset Monday morning of Georgetown, which is ranked No. 3 in the coaches' poll. It was USF's first victory against a top-10 opponent since 2011. Junior Kendan Anderson had the other goal in a match postponed from Sunday evening by inclement weather.
Basketball: Indiana coach Tom Crean said sophomore Emmitt Holt was kicked off the team and prized recruit Thomas Bryant will face internal discipline after they were cited for illegal possession of alcohol. For Holt, it was a second strike; in November, he ran into Devin Davis, a former teammate, with his car, leaving Davis with a severe brain injury.
Times staff writer Joey Knight, Times correspondent Jeff Odom and Times wires contributed to this report.