It's not too farfetched to say Florida could have won 10 games a year ago if kicker Caleb Sturgis hadn't suffered a back injury that lingered and got worse as the season went on, finally sidelining him the final nine games.
Sturgis made 22 of 30 field goals in 2009 and was a semifinalist for the Lou Groza Award for the nation's top kicker but didn't attempt a field goal last year. That turned out to be an ugly situation, with then-senior punter Chas Henry handling field goal duties for the first time since high school.
Henry missed two field goals in a 10-7 loss to Mississippi State and another in a 33-29 loss to LSU, in which the Tigers were able to score the winning touchdown late in the game thanks largely to a fake field goal that set up the score. Had Henry made one of the attempts against Mississippi State, the Gators would have won. If he had made the 25-yarder against LSU, the Tigers never would have been able to pull off the fake because a field goal at the time wouldn't have even been attempted in the final moments.
"It was hard putting Chas through that. He hadn't kicked since high school,'' Sturgis said."
Sturgis, who made a 56-yarder in 2009, hasn't attempted anything outside of 50 during camp.
"I just limit how many balls I kick. … I'm just trying to be careful, do what my body says,'' Sturgis said."
David Jones, Florida Today
UM's 'Cookie' trying to make amends
Miami outside linebacker Sean Spence gets splashed with love these days from all directions.
But the Hurricanes' other senior outside linebacker, Ramon "Cookie"
Buchanan, stays in the background, quietly remorseful for his arrest in March at a bar in Coconut Grove.
According to his coaches and teammates, the 6-1, 222-pound Buchanan — described by Spence as "so freakishly athletic and shredded that he looks like an action figure"
— is doing everything right to make up for it.
"Coach (Al) Golden gave me a second chance and I respect and appreciate him for that,"
Buchanan said. "I want to be a leader and do everything coach asks of me."
Among Buchanan's five original charges were felonies of resisting an officer with violence and battery on a law enforcement officer. The police report stated Buchanan, 21, smelled strongly of alcohol and tried to head-butt an officer.
He apologized in person to the officers.
On the field, Buchanan played in all 13 games last season, starting 10. He was fifth on the team with 54 tackles, including eight for losses, and had an interception. He is wickedly fast, running a 4.41-second 40.
"He came out of that situation strong,"
UM defensive coordinator Mark D'Onofrio said. "He is remorseful and has done everything right since."
