Dickey reclaims backup QB spot

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Posted 7:40PM on Friday, December 16, 2005

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) Gavin Dickey will serve as Florida's backup quarterback in the Outback Bowl against No. 25 Iowa. Freshman Josh Portis had been the backup all season, but he decided to transfer last week because of a lack of playing time and left the 16th-ranked Gators with little depth behind starter Chris Leak. Dickey played quarterback during his first two seasons at Florida before moving to receiver this fall. He had one reception for 12 yards. ``(He's working on) just getting the cadence and some of the intricacies of it back because he hasn't done it in a while, but he's done a good job,'' coach Urban Meyer said Friday. Cornelius Ingram had been the third-string quarterback behind Leak and Portis, but the 6-foot-4, 225-pound redshirt freshman has moved to tight end a change Meyer characterized as ``trying to get your best 11 on field.'' Meyer also said he expected Ingram to play in the Jan. 2 bowl game. ``Yeah, there's a good chance,'' he said. ``We'll try to get him ready as best we can. He just wants to play.'' RECRUITING TRAIL: Under NCAA rules, coach Urban Meyer can't talk specifically about recruiting, but he acknowledged Friday that this has been a big year for the Gators. Florida's recruiting class is currently ranked second by rivals.com and third by scout.com. The Gators received verbal commitments this week from highly touted quarterback Tim Tebow and defensive end Jermaine Cunningham. ``There's more coming too. That's all I'm going to tell you,'' Meyer said. ``It should be like that here. It really should. The more I get to know this great university, it really should be like that. The one thing I have over a lot of these players and other people is I've seen other places. It should be like that here.'' NEW ASSISTANT: Former Florida receiver Nick Schiralli was hired Friday as a graduate assistant. Schiralli replaced Ryan Day, who accepted a coaching position at Temple. Schiralli spent the last four years at North Carolina, the first three as an administrative assistant and worked as a graduate assistant this season. Coach Urban Meyer said it was difficult to find a graduate assistant at Florida. ``It's not hard at other places,'' he said. ``It's hard to get them in school here. You need a 3.0 (GPA) and 1,000 on the GRE. And not a lot of coaches walking through these gates, including the one you're talking to, scored that high. The graduate school at Florida is obviously very prestigious, so it narrows the list down to one.'' NEW GRADS: Six players were scheduled to graduate Saturday, including offensive tackle Lance Butler, linebackers Shane Cimock, Todd McCullough and Bryan Royal, and receivers Kyle Morgan and Jimmy Newmeyer. (Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)