GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) -Florida’s Percy Harvin worked out with teammates Sunday, and coach Urban Meyer expected the team’s most dynamic ball carrier to return to action against rival Florida State.
Harvin sat out the last two games with a sinus infection. His return would give quarterback Tim Tebow and the 12th-ranked Gators a full complement of receivers for the first time in more than two months.
“I think we’re a pretty special group if we’re all healthy and we’re all on it,” Meyer said Sunday, a day after his team beat Florida Atlantic 59-20. “That helps Tebow obviously and helps the run game and helps everything.”
Florida’s receiving corps has been banged up most of the season.
Harvin was slowed during fall practice because of tendinitis in his knee and in his Achilles’ tendon. Andre Caldwell sprained a ligament in his right knee in the second week of the season and missed most of the next four games. Riley Cooper had surgery last month to repair a broken finger and went five games without a catch.
Shortly after Caldwell returned, Cornelius Ingram sprained an ankle and played sparingly against Georgia, Vanderbilt and South Carolina.
Then Harvin’s latest problem came up.
He missed the last two weeks of practice because of a painful migraines. He didn’t travel with the team to South Carolina, then spent five days in the school infirmary last week. Doctors performed a CT scan and an MRI in hopes of diagnosing the cause of the headaches.
“They’ve done all kind of tests on him, and they were trying different medicines and they finally found the one that knocked the migraine out,” Meyer said. “I think they tried three or four different IV medicines, and they found the one that kind of made it at least bearable.”
Harvin was on the sideline and in the locker room Saturday, but a more encouraging sign for Meyer came the following day when he saw the 5-foot-11 speedster in the weight room.
“He says he’s feeling a lot better,” Meyer said. “I’m hoping he’s ready to go.”
If not, the Gators (8-3) still might be OK. They have scored 110 points in the two games without Harvin, thanks mostly to Tebow and Caldwell.
Tebow threw for 304 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 120 yards and five scores against the Gamecocks. The Heisman Trophy hopeful had 338 yards passing and three touchdowns and 31 yards rushing and a score against the Owls, becoming the first player in major college history with 20 touchdowns passing and rushing in the same season.
Caldwell has been Tebow’s favorite target. The senior caught 11 passes for 148 yards and a touchdown at South Carolina, then followed it with 13 catches for 164 yards against Florida Atlantic. He also broke Carlos Alvarez’s school record for receptions, finishing the game with 177.
Although Florida should be healthy at receiver against the Seminoles (7-4), the Gators could be without three defenders.
Cornerback Joe Haden sprained an ankle, defensive tackle Mike Pouncey hyper-extended a knee and defensive lineman Lawrence Marsh injured a foot. Meyer expected to know more about their injuries Monday.
Meyer does expect to have return man Brandon James back Saturday. James, who is fourth nationally in punt returns (18.7) and 13th in kickoff returns (29.0) sat out Saturday’s game for violating team rules.
“There’s certain things we expect of you on the field and off the field, and he didn’t fulfill his obligation this week, so he didn’t play,” Meyer said.
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