Florida wide receiver Carl Moore went missing in the spring, but the Gators are going to need him to show up this season.

He was unable to play last year after suffering a bulging disk in his lower back forced him to have surgery. Then in the spring, he failed to show up to some practices.

But Moore said that is all behind him now.

“I was just dealing with some personal issues (in the spring) on my own,” he said. “That was just a couple of days and after that it was out to wash.”

After transferring from a junior college, Moore has caught just 14 passes in his time at UF – all of them coming in 2008.

This season, Moore is finally healthy and ready to live up to expectations and become one of quarterback John Brantley’s go-to options. He is expected to be one of Florida’s primary receivers.

“I’m very motivated,” he said.

BATTLE AT THE CORNERBACK SPOT: Senior Moses Jenkins believes he is ahead of Jeremy Brown for the second starting cornerback spot.

“I feel very good (about my chances to start),” he said.

The 6-foot-2 cornerback said he has matured from when he first arrived at UF and was guessing on routes by watching film with a Gators legend.

“[Joe Haden and I] broke down a lot of stuff before he left and he taught me stuff – so I learned a lot from him,” Jenkins said.

THE LEADERS: The Gators didn’t just lose talent in the offseason with the departure of Tim Tebow, Brandon Spikes and Joe Haden – they lost leaders.

UF will depend on new faces to fill the void.

“We really don’t have that many leaders this year, we cut it down to two guys. Justin (Trattou) is going to hold down the defense and I’ve got the offense,” senior Mike Pouncey said. “We’ve just been doing well with it, we’ve been here for four year and we’ve both been playing since we were freshmen – all the guys respect us and they just enjoy having us out there being leaders.”