Trevor Etienne, Austin Barber expected to be active vs. South Carolina

Florida looks like it will get some key offensive playmakers back from injury against South Carolina. Both Trevor Etienne and Austin Barber are expected to be active, according to Gators Online’s Nick de la Torre.

Neither player was available last week against Vanderbilt as Florida came away with the 38-14 victory. Etienne was dealing with an upper-body injury, but Montrell Johnson filled in well in place of UF’s leading rusher. Now, the Gators are likely to have both parts of their backfield back against South Carolina after no longer being listed on the injury report.

Johnson put up strong numbers against Vanderbilt, totaling 135 yards and a touchdown as part of the impressive showing. That success on the ground helped open up the passing game, which saw Graham Mertz throw for 254 yards and three touchdowns.

Getting Trevor Etienne back will help with that, but so will Barber. He is a key part of the offensive line, and while Damieon George held up well at left tackle last week, having a starter back will make that unit even better.

Johnson made sure to give credit where it was due for the performance on Saturday, too.

“I think the big guys up front got it moving early,” Johnson said on the SEC Network broadcast. “That was a great start for us. I’m glad that we got it going.”

Billy Napier: Florida making tweaks ahead of trip to South Carolina amid struggles on the road

Florida has had its share of struggles on the road under Billy Napier’s watch. The Gators have a 1-5 record away from The Swamp over the last season-plus, and that’s a big storyline entering the game against South Carolina in Columbia.

Napier confirmed the plan is to leave earlier than usual and adjust the schedule to try and right the ship.

“I think we’re going to try to get to Columbia a little bit earlier this week. We’re tweaking our schedule on Thursday. We’re going to put a huge emphasis on sleep on Wednesday night. And then things, like little things. I think we’re going to arrive to the stadium a little earlier,” Napier said. “All these things are typical, quality control that we do. I think, ultimately, there’s a pulse from the players that you’ve got to take into account.”

Kickoff between Florida and South Carolina is set for Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET on the SEC Network.

On3’s Sam Gillenwater contributed to this report.