Aside from offensive coordinator Steve Addazio‘s “not part of our team right now” statement yesterday afternoon, there’s been nothing much coming from Florida officials regarding the status of wide receiver Chris Rainey.
Internet speculation has been that Rainey, who was arrested Tuesday morning for aggravated stalking, has been kicked off the team entirely. That, however, seems to be far from the case. At least for now.
Head coach Urban Meyer made his first public comment regarding the Rainey situation Wednesday morning, and indicated that the receiver has not been dismissed completely. He did not, though, say his place on the team is secure.
“I can’t do that because I don’t know,” Meyer said when asked if he could give a timetable for Rainey’s return. “He’s not with the team. It’s just further evaluation as we go. As of the immediacy of it, he’s not with us.”
Obviously, Rainey will not play this Saturday in the Gators’ SEC opener against Tennessee. In talking about Rainey’s replacement for the Volunteers game, Meyer took a slap at the junior’s level of play the first two weeks into the season
“We haven’t had a lot of production in the the first two games from him, but you’re going to lose anytime you lose a good player,’' Meyer said. “But the good news is, Omarius Hines is a very talented guy that we’re moving in, and Jordan Reed will be going to Omarius’ spot. So we’ve got some guys that can still make plays.”
How long it is until Rainey is back making plays for the Gators remains to be seen.