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Bench Warmer
The Florida Gators' flu bug is cause for alarm, at least for coach Urban Meyer and his staff.
Running back Jeff Demps, tight end Aaron Hernandez and defensive end Jermaine Cunningham were isolated in the days leading up to Saturday's game against Tennessee.
Although Meyer did not say any of the players had swine flu, he certainly was worried the devastating virus could hit his top-ranked team.
"It is a panic level of proportion I've never seen before," Meyer said Sunday, a day after his team's 23-13 victory. "That's coming from me. You hear about, I think, Wisconsin had 40 players. Ole Miss had 20 players. My wife, with her great insight, said, 'Do you realize the swine flu and everything is hitting the Florida campus last week.' My gosh."
Meyer said team doctors and his training staff were doing everything they could to prevent an outbreak. Hand sanitizers were everywhere, and prevention checklists were posted all around the training facility.
"We're trying the best we can, but it's real," Meyer said. "We go to the extremes. They get a separate dorm room for them. They get a separate hotel room for them. They put them right on whatever the flu stuff is. Our guys, our team doctors, they're on it as fast as you can get on it."
Demps, Cunningham and Hernandez all played against the Volunteers, but none of them seemed to play up to par.
Demps, who had a 101-degree temperature, ran four times for 31 yards and a touchdown. Hernandez caught four passes for 26 yards. And Cunningham finished with one tackle.
Meyer said Sunday that Demps probably shouldn't have played.
"Jeff did not look right, Aaron Hernandez didn't play like Aaron Hernandez, and Jermaine didn't play like Jermaine. They were beat up pretty good," he said.
Meyer said there could more isolations this week. He was most concerned with Demps, the team's starting running back, because he's on the front end of the flu. Hernandez and Cunningham were getting over their symptoms, Meyer said.
On the injury front, Meyer said linebacker Brandon Spikes will be placed in a protective boot. Spikes missed most of the second half of Saturday's game because of tendinitis in his Achilles' tendon.
The team's defensive captain limped off the field early in the game, got his left ankle taped and tried to return. But Spikes ended up getting pulled and replaced by Dustin Doe. Meyer said Spikes struggled through practice this week and had to be fitted with orthotics.
"It's a pain issue," Meyer said. "It's not a structural issue. It's not a pull, it's a tendon strain of the Achilles' tendon."
Receiver Deonte Thompson also missed the game, but should return against Kentucky. Receiver Riley Cooper pinched a nerve on the first series but stayed in the game.
Running back Jeff Demps, tight end Aaron Hernandez and defensive end Jermaine Cunningham were isolated in the days leading up to Saturday's game against Tennessee.
Although Meyer did not say any of the players had swine flu, he certainly was worried the devastating virus could hit his top-ranked team.
"It is a panic level of proportion I've never seen before," Meyer said Sunday, a day after his team's 23-13 victory. "That's coming from me. You hear about, I think, Wisconsin had 40 players. Ole Miss had 20 players. My wife, with her great insight, said, 'Do you realize the swine flu and everything is hitting the Florida campus last week.' My gosh."
Meyer said team doctors and his training staff were doing everything they could to prevent an outbreak. Hand sanitizers were everywhere, and prevention checklists were posted all around the training facility.
"We're trying the best we can, but it's real," Meyer said. "We go to the extremes. They get a separate dorm room for them. They get a separate hotel room for them. They put them right on whatever the flu stuff is. Our guys, our team doctors, they're on it as fast as you can get on it."
Demps, Cunningham and Hernandez all played against the Volunteers, but none of them seemed to play up to par.
Demps, who had a 101-degree temperature, ran four times for 31 yards and a touchdown. Hernandez caught four passes for 26 yards. And Cunningham finished with one tackle.
Meyer said Sunday that Demps probably shouldn't have played.
"Jeff did not look right, Aaron Hernandez didn't play like Aaron Hernandez, and Jermaine didn't play like Jermaine. They were beat up pretty good," he said.
Meyer said there could more isolations this week. He was most concerned with Demps, the team's starting running back, because he's on the front end of the flu. Hernandez and Cunningham were getting over their symptoms, Meyer said.
On the injury front, Meyer said linebacker Brandon Spikes will be placed in a protective boot. Spikes missed most of the second half of Saturday's game because of tendinitis in his Achilles' tendon.
The team's defensive captain limped off the field early in the game, got his left ankle taped and tried to return. But Spikes ended up getting pulled and replaced by Dustin Doe. Meyer said Spikes struggled through practice this week and had to be fitted with orthotics.
"It's a pain issue," Meyer said. "It's not a structural issue. It's not a pull, it's a tendon strain of the Achilles' tendon."
Receiver Deonte Thompson also missed the game, but should return against Kentucky. Receiver Riley Cooper pinched a nerve on the first series but stayed in the game.
