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Florida vs. Kentucky: Vernon Hargreaves III questionable, Keanu Neal "ready to roll"

Florida will get one of two secondary starters back for its SEC opener.

Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Florida coach Jim McElwain indicated in his Monday press conference that his Gators will have at least one of the starters who missed Florida's 31-24 win over East Carolina on hand when they travel to Lexington to take on Kentucky this Saturday.

That returning starter will be Keanu Neal, who McElwain said is "ready to roll" after missing Florida's first two games while recovering from a hamstring injury sustained in fall camp.

The prognosis on All-American cornerback Vernon Hargreaves III is a little murkier. McElwain termed him "probably questionable" for Kentucky as of Monday, but indicated that Hargreaves will be re-evaluated as the week goes on, with a status update likely to come Wednesday when he meets with media again.

Hargreaves had not missed a game in his Florida career prior to sitting out of the East Carolina game with what McElwain termed a "leg" injury sustained last week in practice, but he performed some pregame drills in a jersey and pads before spending the game in street clothes on the Florida sideline.

The most important injury sustained during the game belonged to Alex Anzalone, who reinjured the right shoulder on which he had significant surgery in 2013. McElwain said Anzalone's status is "pretty unknown right now," which sounds ominous, and later hinted that he might miss substantial time this fall by noting that Daniel McMillian could play in his stead, and that Florida could adjust to his absence by playing more dime packages.

Jordan Sherit also sustained a foot injury against the Pirates, McElwain said, but he appears to be okay to participate in practice.

Meanwhile, the literal largest injured Florida player, Martez Ivey, is still in the process of making his return. While The Gainesville Sun's Zach Abolverdi tweeted this weekend that Ivey told him during a run-in on campus that he would be playing this week, McElwain said Florida is "going to try to get him out there in some drills this week," implying that he has not returned to full practice participation.