BREAKING NEWS: No. 7 Florida kicker Caleb Sturgis expected out Saturday at No. 1 Alabama

By Adam Silverstein
October 1, 2010

No. 7/7 Florida Gators junior kicker Caleb Sturgis is “not expected to play” Saturday against the No. 1/1 Alabama Crimson Tide after aggravating a back injury, a source close to the team confirmed to OGGOA on Friday.

Senior punter Chas Henry will handle all of the Gators’ offensive kicking assignments for the foreseeable future. He kicked field goals with the team “all week,” our source said, and will be supplemented by freshman K Brad Phillips on kickoffs. Phillips converted 90 percent of his kickoffs into touchbacks in high school.

Henry should be able to handle the additional duties respectably. He was the punter and kicker for four years at East Paulding High School in Dallas, GA, and made a school-long 52-yard field goal his junior year.

Sturgis’ injury, which has been called a stress fracture by WKMG Local 6 reporter David Pingalore (who first reported the story), could land him out of action for up to two months. OGGOA‘s source said there was not yet a definitive timetable for his return.

Florida’s starting kicker was 2-for-4 on field goal attempts this season missing from 44-yards against Miami (OH) and 39-yards against South Florida; Sturgis made from 22-yards vs. USF and 44-yards at Tennessee. He also missed an extra point (vs. Miami) and had another blocked (vs. Kentucky).

7 Comments

  1. Mr2Bits says:

    Had a feeling this was coming after watching him the last few weeks. His steps and lead foot and not planting correctly as well and flinching when he plants. Back injuries, even a slight tweak can make life miserable so I expected something like this would come down.

    Worse comes to worse, we can take a page out of the Bama play-book and place some tape on our kicking spots….that should help.

  2. DGlockUF says:

    Oh no. This really is bad news. I hope and wish Caleb to a speedy and full recovery. Hopefully Chas is knocking the rust off of his place-kicking ability, cause we got a fairly big game this Saturday.

    GO GATORS!!!

  3. Gatorbuc15 says:

    Hope Caleb gets better soon.
    Great that this had to happen now.

    Man I hope Chas can fill his shoes for the game tomorrow. I have confidence in him though.

  4. Mr2Bits says:

    Chill guys, kicking field goals is like riding a bike. Add to that, these kickers all do each others jobs during practice. Meaning the kickers kick punts, kickoffs and field goals. Chaz will be just fine. I also have a feeling Urbes is going to throw in a sneak this weekend.

  5. zurbo says:

    that kid is a waste of space

  6. g8ter27 says:

    Well hope he gets better soon but we are better off with Henry being healthy than an injured Sturgis. Caleb has struggled on kickoffs his whole career. Hopefully Phillips will fill in nicely. Caleb had most kicks in HS as touchbacks as well but has really struggled with keeping them in bounds at UF. Speedy recovery to him but maybe we find a new starter during this time too. Happy fist to you and OGGOA Adam.

  7. David says:

    A sneak like having a kicker who can throw the ball?????

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