Gators suspend 3 players for season opener

Published on Saturday, 8/22/15, at 11:16 a.m. Eastern.

Florida announced Friday that three players will be suspended for the season opener against New Mexico St. The trio includes WR Latroy Pittman, safety Marcus Maye and DE Alex McCalister.

McCalister, a junior, played in all 12 games for the Gators last season and finished second on the team in sacks with six. Pittman, a senior, has 10 career starts and finished the 2014 campaign with 15 receptions for 164 yards.

Maye, a junior, was UF’s third-leading tackler last year with 62 stops. He also had three tackles for loss and one interception.

Most books are listing Jim McElwain’s team as a 36.5-point home favorite with an ‘over/under’ of 57.5 points. The Aggies are available on the money line at 5Dimes for a 110/1 payout.

UF’s season win total is seven (‘over’ -125, ‘under’ +105). The Gators have 100/1 odds to win their first national title since 2008. They are +675 to win the SEC East and are a 31/1 longshot to win the SEC Championship Game.

In other SEC football news, Vandy saw a second offensive starter go down with a season-ending injury this week. Junior OT Andrew Jelks, who has 22 career starts to his credit, was lost to a knee injury less than two weeks after WR C.J. Duncan suffered a similar fate. Duncan had 28 catches for 441 yards and four touchdowns as a true freshman in 2014.

Also, LSU’s All-SEC safety Jalen Mills sustained an injury that’ll likely keep him out 4-6 weeks. If Mills can’t go in a Week 3 showdown vs. Auburn on Sept. 19, that’ll be a good thing for Jeremy Johnson and Duke Williams.

Finally, Arkansas picked up a big score, albeit one that won’t pay dividends until 2016, when USC transfer Ricky Town announced his decision to become a Razorback. Town, a 4-star recruit in the 2015 class, abruptly left the Trojans last week and reportedly chose Arkansas over Florida.

Arkansas has a senior QB in Brandon Allen, so Towns will be able to compete for the starting spot next year against a group of inexperienced signal callers. UF’s likely starter Will Grier is a redshirt freshman and his competition is Treon Harris, a sophomore who saw significant playing time in 2014.

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