GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Every day after practice, Urban Meyer meets with the media to discuss what is up with the Florida Gators.

On selected days, like Wednesday, assistant coaches are available, too.

When Meyer first arrived here from Utah, he was much more tight-lipped than now, especially about injuries.

In his first year, they could have carried a player off the practice field in a coffin and he would have had no comment.

His second year, a lightly regarded player was gone for three weeks and the media learned of it when Meyer mentioned the player was getting out of the hospital that day.

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These days, Meyer talks about injuries, and he has a lot to say.

The Gators have lost five players for the season to torn anterior cruciate ligaments, and along with various other injuries, a total of 16 players have missed practice time.

Still, five knee surgeries before the end of the second week of practice is almost freakish, so much so that Meyer said Wednesday that since he had worn the same blue tennis shoes for two days and no one had gotten hurt, he was going to wear the shoes the rest of the season.

With the Gators’ defensive secondary already looking like the Arkansas Razorbacks ’ linebacking corps — thinner than the winner of the Powerhouse Gym three-month workout program — defensive coordinator Charlie Strong of Batesville has taken sophomore receiver Justin Williams on as a safety.

With only six starters on defense practicing, it was suggested that Strong, who is also the associate head coach and due a shot as the main guy somewhere, could hold defensive team meetings in the training room.

The timing could bode well for the Razorbacks when they host the Gators on Oct. 4. But before getting too excited, remember that Florida practices against the Spread offense every day.

The injuries are on everyone’s mind, and Meyer and several coaches commented that what really stung was two of the players were seniors who had already redshirted, meaning their playing days as Gators were most likely over.

One, tight end Cornelius Ingram, had 34 catches and seven touchdowns last season. Ingram played for the basketball team his freshman season and was voted a team captain for this season.

On Monday, the day Ingram was operated on, Meyer said Ingram would still be a captain.

On Tuesday, the news broke that Ingram had been evicted from his apartment during the summer for nonpayment, but he remains a team captain.

In fact, several coaches and players went out of their way to talk about his dedication to the team and what a good leader he was and how glad they were he would remain a part of the team.

Meyer said Ingram, who everyone calls “CI,” was working to resolve the problem.

One Gator who hasn’t been hurt — and he survived several cheap shots last season — is quarterback Tim Tebow, who last year became the first sophomore to capture the Heisman Trophy.

Tebow spent the summer traveling to the Philippines with his dad on mission trips.

Bob Tebow, who will speak to the Little Rock Touchdown Club on Sept. 29, started a ministry there a few years after he graduated from seminary.

Maybe Tim Tebow is why, despite all the injuries, the Gators are optimistic about the coming season in which they are picked second in the SEC to Georgia, which is the preseason favorite to win the national championship by most publications.

Still, the Gators have to find some defensive backs and some depth there. No matter how much they prepare for the Spread offense, all of them have their own nuances, including the one Coach Bobby Petrino is installing at Arkansas.

Petrino’s offense has more looks than a swimsuit photo shoot at an Army base.

Fortunately for the Gators, they are deep in most other areas, but Meyer really needs to wear those blue tennis shoes every day.