Notebook: Young Gators ready for Vols

Fourth-ranked Florida will head into Saturday’s game against Tennessee with a relatively young team.

“(Thirty-seven) of our travel squad are freshmen or sophomores,” UF coach Urban Meyer said after Thursday’s practice. “That’s not lip service, that’s real.”

The Gators may travel to Knoxville as what Meyer calls an “immature” group, but they had an “excellent” week of practice and a very beneficial bye week.

“We’re plus-one in practice and that’s one advantage of a bye week,” Meyer said. “(The team was) a little sluggish today, early. It might be because we worked them pretty hard. Usually, Monday we just get out and have a quick one. We had a full-padded Monday.”

That extra time for preparation helps, but one reason for the Gators’ successful week was the play of the scout team.

After the entire scout team took home Scout Team Player of the Week honors before the Miami game, Meyer said the unit performed about as well as any coach would want his scout team to prepare this week.

“We have a solid scout team,” he said. “It’s probably the best we’ve had since we’ve been here — other than the national championship year.”

The conclusion of Thursday’s practice means that preparation time is pretty much over.

It also means that players and coaches will get a rest from Tennessee’s fight song — Rocky Top — until Saturday. UF’s video staff blared the song over the loudspeakers at practice the entire week to help prepare UF for Tennessee’s hostile home environment.

When asked if he was tired of hearing the fight song, Meyer had but one short comment for the media.

“No comment,” he said.

Injury update

Meyer said junior linebacker Dustin Doe (groin) practiced Thursday and will play Saturday. … Redshirt sophomore offensive lineman Maurice Hurt (shoulder stinger) will not play Saturday, but Meyer said he is progressing in his rehab. … Sophomore quarterback Cameron Newton (ankle) will travel with the team Friday, but Meyer didn’t say if he would be able to play.