Gators reinstate WR Demarcus Robinson for SEC championship game
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) -- Florida receiver Demarcus Robinson is back in time for the Southeastern Conference championship game.
Coach Jim McElwain said after practice Wednesday that Robinson has been reinstated, calling it a "family decision" made by the team's seniors. McElwain stopped short of saying Robinson definitely will play against second-ranked Alabama in Atlanta.
"Yeah, the seniors got together and have given him an opportunity," McElwain said. "He talked to the team. You know, it was a choice, like I said, for him not to be with his family and us in the last ball game. Sometimes the greatest lessons in life are when things are taken away from you and you're no longer enabled. As I've said before, he has come a long way. But he still has a long way to go to understand it's not OK to make choices that hurt your team."
Robinson was suspended before the Gators' game Saturday night against rival Florida State, a 27-2 loss. It was his fourth suspension in three years at Florida, and caused some to believe his college career might be over.
McElwain left the decision up to his seniors, who voted Tuesday.
Robinson leads the No. 18 Gators (10-2) with 47 receptions for 505 yards and two touchdowns this season. He clearly has talent -- and baggage. The junior from Fort Valley, Georgia, has been benched and/or demoted twice in 2015, suspended twice as a freshman and again for the 2014 season opener against Idaho.
Robinson has 105 career receptions for 1,338 yards and nine touchdowns.
