McElwain praises unique uniforms

GAINESVILLE — A day after UF released new gator skin-pattern uniforms to mixed reviews, coach Jim McElwain gave the threads a thumbs-up.

“The excitement of our team … the response recruiting and ultimately the demographic we’re looking at,” he said. “Man, the excitement has been unbelievable and the response has been great.”

Fan reaction was not so enthusiastic about the one-time alternate uniform from Nike, a fact not lost on McElwain as UF prepared for Saturday’s visit from Texas A&M.

“The amount of hate mail I get already really tripled when all of a sudden we put out the new uniforms,” he said jokingly. “Again, it’s about the kids and they’re jacked up. We’ll see how they play in it.”

Starting defensive end Jabari Zuniga, who is tied for the team lead with 2.5 sacks, injured his ankle Wednesday.

“Hope to get him ready to go,” McElwain said. “I know that he wants to go, so that’s a big piece.”

Tailback Mark Thompson sat out with a heel injury and joined a long list players questionable for Saturday, including receiver Tyrie Cleveland (ankle), guard Brett Heggie (concussion) and receiver Kadarius Toney (shoulder). Safety Nick Washington (shoulder) is out.

Punter Johnny Townsend was named Ray Guy Punter of the Week after averaging 49.2 yards on five punts against LSU, including a season-long 61-yarder.

Townsend placed four punts inside the 20-yard line. He leads the nation with an average of 48.85 yards per punt.

Next game: UF vs. Texas A&M, Saturday, 7 p.m, ESPN2