Two Gators questionable to return against Vanderbilt
NASHVILLE — Starting Florida receiver Ricky Pearsall and starting safety Rashad Torrence have both left the game with injuries and are questionable to return against Vanderbilt.
The two injuries led to a major swing in the game. Torrence was replaced by freshman Kamari Wilson, who dropped what would have been a pick-six. That left Vanderbilt on fourth down, forcing a punt. With Pearsall out of the game, Jason Marshall was sent out to receive the punt. The kick pushed Marshall back and the sophomore muffed the punt. Vanderbilt recorded the ball in the endzone for a touchdown.
Pearsall took over punt return duties last week after Marshall had a few close calls receiving punts.
The Arizona State transfer has been one of Florida’s most dynamic offensive players this season.
“Ricky obviously has proven to be one of the better players that we have, just from a production standpoint. He’s really a skilled player,” Billy Napier said during the week. “You know he missed quite a bit of training camp, right, I think he might have gotten injured in the fourth practice and was out for quite a while. We got him back for the opener, so, you know I think that anytime you’re talking about putting a plan together, you try to be intentional about creating touches and opportunities for players, and Ricky certainly deserves that.”
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Torrence leads the Gators with 76 tackles on the season. He recorded three tackles before leaving the game. The sophomore safety has started in all 11 games for Florida this season. His replacement, Kamari Wilson has played in every game this season with one start (against Eastern Washington)
Gators trail at halftime
Without Pearsall, the Gators have struggled to move the ball on offense. The Commodores took a 14-6 lead into the locker room at halftime. The Gators have been penalized four times for 50 yards, with three of those penalties coming on critical third downs.
It’s not out of the norm for Florida to start slow with an 11 a.m. local kickoff, but there will need to be major adjustments in the locker room if the Gators want to stave off the upset at Vanderbilt.
