Florida Gators Football: Treon Harris, Jalen Tabor Suspended for Tennessee Game

On Wednesday, Jim McElwain announced suspensions for quarterback Treon Harris and cornerback Jalen Tabor. Brett McMurphy of ESPN reported that Harris failed a drug test, while Tabor refused to take one.

Both are real losses to the team heading into the biggest game of the year so far for the Gators.

Harris came off the bench last year against the Vols to lead a fourth quarter comeback from a 9-0 deficit to a 10-9 win. He is easily the best option at the position next to Will Grier, as the only other eligible scholarship quarterback on the roster is graduate transfer from Vanderbilt Josh Grady. Grady has played wide receiver on occasion this year, and McElwain has spoken of having an unspecified "GatorTail" package for him. If Grier goes down, Grady and direct snaps to non-quarterbacks are about the only options.

Tabor is probably the team's second-best cover corner behind All-American Vernon Hargreaves. Tabor would have been a key cog in defending Tennessee's dynamic passing attack. Quincy Wilson will replace him, and while Wilson will probably do fine, it means that Florida has nothing but inexperienced youth behind its front line in the secondary.