Ole Miss results draw concerns

Gator fans might have been overjoyed to see the offensive show Tim Tebow put on in Saturday's 30-24 victory at Mississippi, but a day later coach Urban Meyer said he does worry about his quarterback's safety.

"I'm very concerned," Meyer said Sunday. "Object No. 1 is to win the game, but we've got to take care of our players, too."

Tebow finished with 27 carries for 166 yards to go along with completing 20-of-34 passes for 261 yards. He had two touchdowns rushing and passing.

Meyer said many of Tebow's runs were not by design, adding that the Rebels' defense necessitated the sophomore quarterback to tuck the ball and take off on numerous occasions.

Meyer added that the Ole Miss defensive gameplan was set up in part to take away Florida's deep ball, instead forcing underneath throws. And Meyer said Tebow often tried to overmuscle some of his shorter pass attempts.

That is not something Meyer is worried about, adding that Tebow overstrided on a few throws and let his feet become unsettled when looking for his second receiving options — things that will be worked on in practice this week.

The busiest Gator offensive player aside from Tebow against the Rebels was sophomore Percy Harvin, who caught 11 passes for 121 yards and a touchdown. No other UF receiver had more than two catches.

Meyer said each week there is a "get it to Percy" plan, but added Tebow missed Jarred Fayson open twice and would like to see the touches spread out more in the future.

"We got a little conservative," Meyer said.

Defensively, UF's performance was lacking, according to Meyer.

The Gators gave up 390 yards to the Rebels, 310 through the air.

He said part of the blame lies in the young secondary and part lies with the defensive line, which has gotten little pass rush up the middle. He added that ends Derrick Harvey and Jermaine Cunningham need to create more pressure from the outside.

"When it's third and long, second and long, it's their time," Meyer said.

Meyer said necessity has forced the issue, but he would rather not play young defensive backs because of the potential ups and downs of playing in the secondary.

"Once you lose confidence as a skilled athlete, it's tough to get it back," Meyer said.

Kicking and screaming

With the new kickoff rule from the 30-yard line, Meyer has been saying he wanted to take the ball if he won the coin toss. The Gators finally won it Saturday and Meyer got just what he was hoping for when return specialist Brandon James returned the opening kickoff 55 yards to the Ole Miss 32.

But the offense failed to convert the favorable starting position when the Gators couldn't make a first down and Joey Ijjas missed a 42-yard kick.

In the second quarter, a decision by Meyer on a kickoff backfired. After Ole Miss kicker Joshua Shene shanked a kickoff out of bounds, the Gators could have taken the ball at their own 40. Instead, Meyer took the 5-yard penalty and had the Rebels re-kick from the 25.

James mishandled a low, line-drive kick and finally fell on the ball on his own 2.

The mistake did not hurt the Gators. UF drove 98 yards in 14 plays to take a 14-6 lead on a 9-yard TD run by Tebow.

Jackson gets the start

After being replaced by true freshman Major Wright in the first half of last week's win over Tennessee, senior Kyle Jackson returned to the starting lineup at free safety.

Wright, who made six tackles in the 59-20 victory over UT, and Jackson battled for the starting role all week in practice and Jackson reclaimed the No. 1 spot.

Wright ended up seeing more playing time than Jackson in the second half Saturday.

Meyer said the team needs better play out of the free safety position.

Extra points

Shortly before Meyer's phone conference it was announced the Gators' home game this Saturday against Auburn will take place at 8 p.m. on ESPN. ... Meyer praised the work assistant coach Billy Gonzales, referred to as the "red zone guru," has done preparing the offense inside the opponent's 20. Meyer said UF changes the passing game a bit in the red zone, but not really the running game. ... Meyer was asked about Notre Dame's 0-4 start. He declined to say much, but did say "Does it surprise me? It certainly does. It's Notre Dame." Meyer is a former Fighting Irish assistant.

John Patton is The Sun's high school sports editor. Contact him at 352-374-5074 or pattonj@gvillesun.com.