No. 10 Florida is hosting No. 7 Auburn in the SEC on CBS Game of the Week on Saturday and will be close to full strength on both sides of the ball. Coach Dan Mullen said Monday during his press conference that star cornerback CJ Henderson, stud defensive lineman Jabari Zuniga and safety Shawn Davis should be back in the rotation vs. the Tigers. Henderson and Zuniga missed the last two games with ankle injuries, and Davis was sidelined last week with an undisclosed injury.
Henderson is one of the stars of the loaded Gator secondary. He only appeared in two games during the first month of the season but was a preseason first team All-SEC selection in July. He had 38 tackles, five for loss and picked off two passes as a sophomore last season for the Gators.
Zuniga is one of the top pass rushers in the entire country and was a big part of the Gators' early-season success. He had three tackles for loss -- including 1.5 sacks -- in the season-opening win over rival Miami in Orlando. He followed that up two weeks later with another 1.5-sack performance against UT-Martin. Like Henderson, Zuniga was a preseason first team All-SEC selection after posting 11 tackles for loss last season.
Davis had two interceptions in the big win over Kentucky two weeks ago. He has seen significant work as a reserve defensive back and special teamer over the last two seasons.
The Gators' offense will get a boost outside with the return of wide receiver Freddie Swain, who missed last week's game against Towson with an unknown injury. Swain is one of the primary deep threats in Florida's offense, has eight catches for 134 yards and two touchdowns this season, and averaged 18.93 yards per catch as a junior last year.
"The guys that are veteran players, I don't worry about as much," Mullen said. "The key is just getting them back into the flow of practice, getting them the practice reps they need. I'm not going to say everyone is 100 percent coming back into it, but they're going to be ready to play. Us getting them prepared throughout the week to be ready to be as close to 100 percent as possible is the most important thing. … I'm happy to be having guys come back."
The Gators and Tigers will tee it up on Saturday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. ET from Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville.