Gators Could Move Lawrence To Safety

HOOVER, Ala. | With the recent attrition in the secondary, the Florida coaches are looking for ways to shore up the two safety positions, and two former Polk County standouts could get a shot.

Starting strong safety Dorian Munroe and backup free safety John Curtis are out for the season with knee injuries, and free safety Jamar Hornsby was booted from the team earlier this summer following his arrest for felony theft.

UF coach Urban Meyer said sophomore Ahmad Black (Lakeland) and true freshman Will Hill will battle for the starting role at strong safety. At free safety, Meyer said coaches are considering moving a freshman wide receiver to the position to back up sophomore Major Wright - and speculation centered on T.J. Lawrence of Kathleen.

"Will Hill was one of the very highly recruited guys out of high school," Meyer said at SEC Media Days on Wednesday. "He's on campus. I look forward to watching him play. I hear good things from our strength staff about what kind of work ethic he has. Ahmad Black is a guy who had a tremendous spring.

"Behind Major Wright, you have (walk-on) Cade Holliday (a former receiver) and another guy. We already met with a player. I don't want to release it yet, but we'll probably bump another good (true) freshman player over from offense to defense and let him compete for one of those spots as well."

Lawrence could be that freshman. Recruited as a wide receiver out of Kathleen, he also excelled at defensive back during high school and has the size and speed to play either safety position.

STRONGER HARVIN

Star wide receiver/tailback Percy Harvin, who is on schedule in his rehab from heel surgery, will look like a different player from a year ago, Meyer said. Harvin is up to 205 pounds (from 185 last season) and is bench pressing 400 pounds, making him perhaps the strongest player on the team, pound-for-pound.

"Harvin is doing great," Meyer said. "I'd say he's close to 80 or 90 percent, which is a little bit ahead of schedule. His attitude is tremendous."

PROBATION ISSUES

In his annual state of the SEC address, league commissioner Mike Slive said the conference came close to achieving the goal he established five years ago to be free of NCAA sanctions by now.

"Only the Arkansas track program is on probation as we speak," Slive said.

"We are far better off, but there is disappointment when we were so darn close. The disappointment is tempered by the substantial progress we've made in this very important area. We have tackled the infraction problem head on."

[ Robbie Andreu writes for the Gainesville Sun. ]