Florida Qb Hit With Suspension

Florida quarterback Doug Johnson has been suspended for Saturday’s game at Auburn, coach Steve Spurrier said Wednesday.

“He violated a team rule last week, so he will sit this one out,” Spurrier said.

Johnson’s father told the Associated Press that his son violated curfew before the team left for Baton Rouge, La., where the Gators fell 28-21 to LSU. Spurrier did not learn of the violation until Tuesday.

Canadian freshman Jesse Palmer or fifth-year senior Noah Brindise will start for the defending national champion and seventh-ranked Gators against the No. 6 Tigers.

Spurrier said Johnson would not practice the rest of this week.

Johnson threw four interceptions, including one returned for a touchdown, in the defeat that dropped Florida from the No. 1 ranking.

Another poll to dispute

The first Football Writers Association of America poll came out last week. The FWAA poll uses the AP (writers), ESPN/USA Today (coaches) and Sagarin (computer) polls in equal amounts.

The FWAA’s top 25: Nebraska, Penn State, Florida State, Auburn, Florida, Tennessee, Michigan, North Carolina, LSU, Washington, Michigan State, Washington State, Ohio State, Texas A&M, UCLA, Oklahoma State, Air Force, Kansas State, Georgia, Iowa, Georgia Tech, Stanford, Arizona State, Virginia Tech and West Virginia.

Condition finishes end’s career

Miami senior tight end Chris Jones’ football career is over because of a spinal condition that could have proved fatal during play, Miami coach Butch Davis said.

Jones, 6-foot-2 and 242 pounds, finished his 36-game career with 21 receptions for 249 yards and four touchdowns.

Doctors found his condition during an X-ray to determine why the 22-year-old was experiencing numbness in his arms during games. Jones could have died had he been tackled with enough force, according to team doctor John Uribe.

Recruiting hotbeds

There’s no question California, Texas and Florida are the primo states when it comes to recruiting. Indeed, research shows that Florida players are everywhere: Of the 112 Division I-A schools, only 16 do not have Floridians on their rosters. All but 31 schools have Texans and all but 32 have Californians. Interestingly, while just one SEC school (Mississippi State) has a Californian on its roster, all but three Pac-10 schools (Arizona State, California and Washington) have a Floridian. And just one school, Toledo, has no one from Florida, California or Texas.

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