GAINESVILLE -- Florida quarterback Tim Tebow has been held out of some scrimmages, but not because of a rumored back injury, coach Urban Meyer said Saturday.

``He has been held out of live situations against the defense, mostly to get [backup quarterback] Johnny Brantley some reps,'' Meyer said. ``His lower back was a little sore. There's no disk issue, and he'll be full speed Monday.''

Meyer said linebacker Brandon Spikes has been held out as well in order to get the backups more experience.

RUFFLING ZOOK'S FEATHERS

On Friday, Meyer spoke about the treatment of freshmen when he arrived at UF, saying he had to put the new players into a separate locker room to prevent hazing.

His predecessor, Illinois coach Ron Zook, took offense and issued a statement: ``I was surprised to see that, once again, five years later, we're blamed for something else at Florida. . . . This one was most disappointing because it implies we didn't look out for our players. I can assure you I've never, ever been accused of that.''

Meyer said Saturday that he wasn't criticizing Zook, just ``the way the locker room was set up.''

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