Harvin: A threat or a decoy?
GAINESVILLE (AP) – Florida’s Percy Harvin might be the fastest decoy on the field in the Southeastern Conference championship game.
Harvin spent the last four days in and out of the training room, trying to get his sprained right ankle healthy enough to play against top-ranked Alabama Saturday.
Florida coach Urban Meyer says his do-it-all receiver is “getting better and better,” but Harvin’s health remains a concern for the second-ranked Gators and a mystery for the Crimson Tide.
Will he play? If so, how effective will be? Will he be mostly a decoy? Is his status all a smoke screen to throw off Alabama?
“He’s such a great player and such an asset to this team that not one player can come in and step in and completely have this offense going the way it was,” fellow receiver David Nelson said. “It’s going to take two or three of us to fill his position.”
Even that might not be enough.
Harvin, a junior expected to jump to the NFL after this season, leads the Gators with 35 receptions for 595 yards and seven touchdowns. He also is second on the team in rushing, with 538 yards and nine scores. He has scored at least once in 14 consecutive games – the longest streak in the nation – and burned defenses while lining up at receiver, running back and even quarterback.
“He’s a great player,” Alabama cornerback Javier Arenas said. “He’s a great playmaker. When you think of the Florida Gators, you think of Percy Harvin. He’s kind of the first thing that comes to mind. He’ll make a huge impact.”
If he plays.
Meyer acknowledged his staff was creating two game plans – one with Harvin and one without. Meyer also hinted Harvin’s role could be deceptive.
“The biggest thing you notice is when you play him, when he’s lined up somewhere, the whole defense kind of (shifts), and I don’t blame them,” Meyer said. “That’s opened up some other things for us.”
The Gators certainly have received plenty of contributions, making their offense much more diverse than the Tim Tebow & Harvin Show.
Chris Rainey leads the team in rushing with 654 yards and four touchdowns, and Jeff Demps, a freshman who holds the national high school record in the 100-meter dash, is close behind with 529 yards and six scores. There’s also Tebow (507 yards, 12 TDs), Southern California transfer Emmanuel Moody (394 yards), senior Kestahn Moore and return specialist Brandon James.
Florida, which has won eight consecutive games by at least 28 points, would much rather have Harvin in the huddle.