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GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Another week of spring football practice is in the books and the basketball team rolled through the second and third rounds of the NCAA tournament, so there’s a lot to recap. On the football front, the Gators got some bad news early in the week when reserve offensive lineman Trip Thurman suffered a shoulder injury that UF coach Will Muschamp said appeared to be severe. Thurman’s injury left the Gators with only five healthy scholarship offensive linemen, and that is forcing them to alter their plans for the spring game.  Instead of a true game, the Gators essentially will have a glorified open practice and will spend time in 7-on-7 and situational drills.
Cornerback Loucheiz Purifoy finished his time at receiver and moved back to defense. The decision to try him out on offense was made because of the lack of production from the position since the 2009 season. And with freshman early enrollee Demarcus Robinson sidelined for a week with a sprained ankle, it doesn’t appear likely the Gators will get any answers at the position this spring. SEC blogger Chris Low took a look back at some of the most memorable upsets in SEC play over the past 35 years. Ole Miss’ victory over Florida in 2008 -- which spawned Tim Tebow’s promise and was the catalyst to the Gators’ national championship run -- made the list. On the recruiting trail ... On the recruiting front, Derek Tyson put together his weekly mailbag, which included information about offensive tackle David Sharpe (Jacksonville, Fla./Providence), ESPN Watch List safety Quincy Wilson (Fort Lauderdale, Fla./University School of Nova South) and ESPN Watch List linebacker Raekwon McMillan (Hinesville, Ga./Liberty County). Recruiting Nation’s Craig Haubert gave a breakdown of the Class of 2014 in advance of the ESPN 300 player rankings, which will be released April 18. Miller Safrit (RecruitingNation photo editor) and Kipp Adams (DawgNation) provided a recap of the Nike Football Training Camp in Charlotte. Among the players Tyson and other Recruiting Nation writers provided updates for are: • ESPN Watch List RB Tony James (Gainesville, Fla./Gainesville) • ESPN Watch List WR Ermon Lane (Homestead, Fla./Homestead) • S T.J. Harrell (Tampa, Fla./Tampa Catholic) • CB Xavier Lewis (LaPlace, La./East St. John) In non-football news ... The Florida basketball team (28-7) beat Northwestern State and Minnesota to advance to the Sweet 16 for the third consecutive season. The Gators played surprising Florida Gulf Coast (26-7) late Friday night. The question for many UF fans is which Mike Rosario will show up. The baseball team (11-15) went 1-2 against second-ranked Vanderbilt last weekend and followed that up with a 2-1 loss to rival Florida State in Jacksonville, Fla. The Gators play host to Ole Miss this weekend. The women's basketball team beat Winthrop on Monday and Charlotte on Wednesday to advance to the quarterfinals of the WNIT. The Gators (21-14) play at James Madison today.
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