Hernandez’s health is UF priority
GAINESVILLE (AP) – Forgive Florida tight end Aaron Hernandez if he gets a little winded in practice and games. After all, he’s the only one at his position.
It’s a big concern for the top-ranked Gators (1-0), who host Troy (0-1) Saturday. Although coaches expect Hernandez to play a significant role this season – he caught four passes for 79 yards and a touchdown in the opener – they also are trying to find the right balance between having him on the field, preventing fatigue and keeping him healthy.
“We have to be smart,” tight ends coach Brian White said. “He can’t take every rep in practice. There’s only one Superman on this team, and it’s not him.”
Hernandez, a 6-foot-2, 250-pound junior from Bristol, Conn., caught 34 passes for 381 yards and five touchdowns last season. He was Tim Tebow’s third option behind Percy Harvin and Louis Murphy, and was equally involved in the running game and in goal-line situations.
The Gators need him to do even more this season, especially since he doesn’t have a backup.
“It’s terrible. You hate to do that,” coach Urban Meyer said. “First of all, he’s a really, really good player. … The negative is you put all your eggs in that basket. If something happens and he has to miss a series, then you’re out of that series altogether. So we’re very cautious, but we also game plan around that.”
Meyer thought he had some options. With tight ends Cornelius Ingram and Tate Casey graduating, Desmond Parks enrolled in January and was supposed to play behind Hernandez this fall, but he dislocated a knee cap during spring drills and probably won’t be ready until the spring. Walk-on tight end Christopher Coleman is sidelined with a leg injury.
That leaves Hernandez alone at the position.
“There’s not a tight end walking around here that we can move into that spot,” Meyer said. “I’ve looked through the roster a few times.”