ATHENS -- Florida expects to have its No. 1 quarterback back on the field against Georgia, with Gators coach Will Muschamp indicating that John Brantley, who missed the past 2 1/2 games with a high ankle sprain, is probable for Saturday's game in Jacksonville.
"We feel like John will be ready to go for the game," Muschamp said at his weekly news conference on Monday. "As we progress through the week, we will know more about his status. ... I fully expect him to be fine."
Brantley did not practice last week, when the Gators had an open date, but Muschamp said the fifth-year senior was expected to participate on a limited basis on Monday and get more work as the week progressed.
"Getting him back is going to be a huge psychological shot for our football team," Muschamp said.
Brantley's backups are true freshmen Jacoby Brissett and Jeff Driskel, who shared playing time in his absence.
While probable status leaves room for Brantley to sit out the game if he has setbacks in practice, Muschamp's comments provided more insight about the Gators' quarterback plans than Georgia coach Mark Richt had expected. Richt said Sunday that Georgia's defensive preparation would be complicated by likely going through the week without knowing who would quarterback the Gators.
"Whoever they put in there is going to try to do the same thing they've always done," UGA linebacker Christian Robinson said Monday night. "They're going to try to get you outflanked, and they're going to try to use their [team] speed."
Mitchell status unclear
Georgia wide receiver Malcolm Mitchell's status for Saturday is unclear. He missed Georgia's most recent game, Oct. 15 against Vanderbilt, with a pulled hamstring.
In the brief portion of Monday's practice open to the media, Mitchell participated at full speed in several drills before stopping. Trainer Ron Courson met him on the sideline.
Mitchell was not available for interviews after practice. Coaches also were unavailable. UGA spokesman Claude Felton said the team would have no report on Mitchell.
Meanwhile, safety Bacarri Rambo, who missed last week's practices because of a sprained left big toe, fully participated Monday. "I'm ready to get on the field and continue to play ball and win," Rambo said.
Muschamp vs. alma mater
One story line surrounding this week's game is of little interest to Muschamp.
"I know there will be a lot of wasted ink on the fact that I played at Georgia and now I'm coaching at Florida," the Gators' first-year head coach said at Monday's news conference, "but this is not the first time that I have coached against Georgia."
Muschamp, a UGA safety from 1991-94, coached against the Bulldogs seven times as an assistant at Auburn and LSU, posting a 3-4 record against his former team (including 2-3 as a defensive coordinator). Muschamp's most recent game against Georgia was in 2007 as defensive coordinator at Auburn; Georgia won 45-20.
When Muschamp was a player at Georgia, the Bulldogs went 0-4 vs. Florida.
Game time set
Georgia's Nov. 5 homecoming game against New Mexico State will start at 12:30 p.m. and be televised on CSS, it was announced Monday.
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