Thornton takes over Florida's top RB spot

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) Florida running back Skyler Thornton has made significant strides since a poor spring.<br> <br> He&#39;s lost weight, gotten faster and grown accustomed to new coach Urban Meyer&#39;s spread offense. He&#39;s improved so much that Meyer called Thornton the team&#39;s No. 1 tailback Friday at Florida&#39;s annual media day.<br> <br> ``Skyler Thornton is a pleasant surprise,&#39;&#39; Meyer said. ``He&#39;s No. 1 right now.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Thornton had an outside shot to claim the starting job after struggling some in the spring. Junior DeShawn Wynn was considered the front-runner, and freshman Markus Manson had been getting much of the praise from Meyer.<br> <br> But things have changed for Thornton, a 5-foot-11 junior from LaGrange, Ga.<br> <br> ``No one has talked about me much,&#39;&#39; he said. ``People are just overlooking me. I&#39;m kind of fed up with it to tell you the truth. I just go out and think about that and go a little harder than I usually would.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Thornton also might be the beneficiary of Wynn&#39;s likely suspension for the Sept. 3 season opener against Wyoming. Although Meyer has not confirmed the suspension, he has indicated that Wynn might have a problem.<br> <br> The Gators are looking for one of the three backs to replace Ciatrick Fason, who gained 1,267 yards rushing and scored 10 touchdowns as the starter last season. Fason left school early to enter the NFL draft and was a fourth-round pick by the Minnesota Vikings.<br> <br> Without Fason, Meyer challenged the trio to step up and play better.<br> <br> Wynn ran 58 times for 217 yards last season, scored five touchdowns and missed several games with a groin injury.<br> <br> Thornton picked up the slack, carrying 55 times for 230 yards. He had 163 yards rushing over the final four games.<br> <br> ``I&#39;m hoping what happened in the spring doesn&#39;t happen now,&#39;&#39; Meyer said. ``If two weeks from now, I don&#39;t say Skyler&#39;s name, that means the same thing happened he just disappeared. But he&#39;s been the most consistent; he&#39;s running excellent.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Meyer also said Wynn has improved on and off the field.<br> <br> Wynn pouted after losing the starting job to Fason last season, leading to questions about his attitude and work ethic.<br> <br> ``He has improved the mental and competitive edge that he was lacking,&#39;&#39; Meyer said. ``Now, it&#39;s still early and we&#39;ll find out. What you&#39;ve heard about him, yeah, it&#39;s partly true. It&#39;s partly untrue as well. He&#39;s not a bad guy. He&#39;s a good guy.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> Meyer continued, saying the window for Wynn to reverse course might be closing.<br> <br> ``At some point, you either mature and get it done or you don&#39;t,&#39;&#39; Meyer said. ``We&#39;ve all been fortunate to be around those guys that have matured. And unfortunately, there&#39;s some that disappear. He&#39;ll disappear if he doesn&#39;t. The good news is he&#39;s on his way to showing up. He&#39;s done a great job for us so far.&#39;&#39;<br> <br> OH, CAPTAIN: Meyer announced captains for the upcoming season. Quarterback Chris Leak and center Mike Degory were named offensive captains. Safety Jarvis Herring, defensive end Jeremy Mincey and cornerback Vernell Brown were named defensive captains.<br> <br> All the captains are seniors except Leak, who is a junior.<br> <br> The captains were selected by a team vote.<br> <br> ``I saw the votes come back probably the way I had hoped,&#39;&#39; Meyer said.<br> <br> HEAT PROBLEMS: Two players suffered from heat-related problems during practice Friday. But team officials said offensive linemen Tavares Washington and Jim Tartt did not need to be hospitalized and were doing fine.<br> <br> The Gators are one of a few college teams using digestive pills to track players&#39; core body temperature during practices. It was unclear whether the CorTemp sensors were being used Friday for Washington and Tartt.<br> <br> Awareness of heat-related issues has been heightened following the deaths of several football players, including Florida&#39;s Eraste Autin in 2001. Autin, a 240-pound incoming freshman fullback, died of complications of heatstroke after collapsing at the end of a voluntary summer conditioning session and spending six days in a coma.<br> <br> EXTRA POINTS: Meyer said Vernell Brown has earned the starting cornerback spot opposite Dee Webb. ``He is without question a starting corner at the University of Florida,&#39;&#39; Meyer said. ``He&#39;s a great young man. There&#39;s a lot of great young men that can&#39;t play corner, but he can play corner.&#39;&#39; ... Receiver Jemalle Cornelius sustained a hip pointer in practice Friday but should be fine. ... Punter Eric Wilbur (knee) is expected to be cleared to practice by next week, Meyer said. ``We&#39;re going to be real cautious with him,&#39;&#39; Meyer said.<br> <br> (Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)