The waiting game has officially ended -- University of Florida head coach Urban Meyer said linebacker Brandon Spikes and wide receiver Percy Harvin will play Saturday when No. 5 Florida hosts Miami. Meyer said Spikes will start and Harvin will get on the field early according to the offensive formations.
Sophomore tight end Aaron Hernandez will make his season debut Saturday as well. Hernandez missed the Hawaii game due to undisclosed disciplinary reasons.
Avoiding the hype
With all the madness surrounding the primetime nationally-televised matchup this weekend, Meyer said he does worry about keeping his team focused and can't wait until Friday night when he sequesters his team in a hotel.
"I like getting them away,"
Meyer said. "What happens, especially at a place like Florida, (the fans) are going to be rolling in here and the text messaging, the Internet, the people, the families, God bless them (but they're distracting). I just can't wait to get them into the hotel because they're mine and then we've got control of them until 8 o'clock on Saturday."
The one that got away
Redshirt freshman Robert Marve, expected to start for the Hurricanes on Saturday, was heavily recruited by Meyer when he came out of high school.
"When you evaluate a quarterback, it's not velocity. It's not size. It's not speed. It's the 'it' factor,"
Meyer said. "It's the Brett Favre, the Joe Montana, the Tim Tebow. It's that guy that has the little something to him that finds a way to win a game, and that's what (Marve) is."
Former Gator honored
Linebacker Wilber Marshall (1980-83) will be honored for his induction into the College Football Hall of Fame during the first timeout of the second quarter Saturday night. Marshall, one of five members of Florida's Ring of Honor, earned consensus first-team All-America honors twice and holds the school record for career tackles for loss (58).
He is the fifth Gator voted into the Hall of Fame, joining Emmitt Smith, Steve Spurrier, Dale Van Sickel and Jack Youngblood. Marshall will be officially inducted as part of the 2008 class at the National Football Foundation's annual dinner held on Dec. 9.
