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Running backs the focus in FSU-Miami matchup

 
Published Oct. 6, 2015

TALLAHASSEE — The focus of Saturday's game between No. 12 Florida State and Miami will be on the backfields.

Will Seminoles RB Dalvin Cook (hamstring) be healthy enough to play? Can Hurricanes RB Joe Yearby gash FSU's stout defense?

Three years ago, the teams' fates seemed quite different.

Yearby initially committed to FSU in 2012, when he was a sophomore at Miami Central High. A year later, he flipped to UM. Cook — Yearby's high school teammate — originally pledged to Florida and then-coach Will Muschamp but flipped to FSU five weeks before signing day.

"That's the world we live in," FSU coach Jimbo Fisher said.

Fisher estimates that about 80 percent of oral commitments stick, but it's easier to get recruits to change their mind than it used to be. Years ago, Fisher said you had to call a recruit's home 20 times to try to get him on the phone. Today's technology makes it much easier to maintain contact — and switch allegiances.

"We're in a different world now," Fisher said.

And Fisher finds his world very different this week with Cook considered day to day after leaving Saturday's win over Wake Forest. Cook wasn't in pads Monday and watched practice with a rolled-up paper sticking out of his shorts.

RB Mario Pender remains hospitalized as he recovers from a collapsed lung, so sophomore Johnathan Vickers and true freshman Jacques Patrick will likely share carries for the 'Noles. UM will continue to lean on Yearby, who ranks 14th nationally with 7.4 yards per carry.

"Just a good player," Fisher said. "He's got all the qualities a good back has."

UF LINING UP: Coach Jim McElwain admits that his banged-up, dwindling offensive line was not in a good place when he began spring practices at No. 11 Florida.

"That dark place you were talking about," McElwain said, "it was really dark."

But somehow, the offensive line was one of the bright spots in the Gators' win over Ole Miss.

A Rebels team that totaled 22 sacks/quarterback hurries through the first four games had only three against UF. Potential No. 1 overall pick DL Robert Nkemdiche had only one tackle.

The line held up enough for the Gators to average 5.6 yards per play — the most Ole Miss has allowed so far and 1.2 yards more than its average.

"I'm honestly not surprised at all," OT Mason Halter said. "Coming in here, I knew the quality of guys we had and just the personalities we had. We meshed really well together, and we're still growing as an offensive line, obviously."

Missouri will pose another tough challenge. The Tigers rank second nationally with 9.6 tackles for loss per game.

MORRISON HONORED: Gator LB Antonio Morrison was named the SEC's defensive player of the week after recording 16 tackles (31/2 for a loss) Saturday. Morrison sustained a severe knee injury in the Birmingham Bowl that required two surgeries, but he worked his way back to reestablish himself as one of the Gators' top defensive players. "There's the story of this football team," McElwain said.

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INJURY UPDATES: Fisher said LB Terrance Smith has a swollen ankle, and FSU will have to wait on his availability. FSU DB Nate Andrews (knee) will likely miss two to three weeks with a severe bone bruise.

MISCELLANY: UF's Oct. 17 game at LSU will have a 7 p.m. kickoff on ESPN. FSU will host Louisville that day at noon. … FSU DB Trey Marshall was named the ACC co-defensive back of the week after his 11-tackle game against Wake Forest. … Missouri faces UF without starting QB Maty Mauk, who will serve the second game of an indefinite suspension.

Contact Matt Baker at mbaker@tampabay.com. Follow @MBakerTBTimes.