After missing a full week of practice and the Jacksonville State game with an injured left ankle, No. 4 Florida Gators sophomore quarterback Jeff Driskel is slated to return to his starting role on Saturday against the No. 10 Florida State Seminoles.

Gators head coach Will Muschamp said Wednesday on the weekly SEC teleconference that Driskel looked like he was back to his normal self when he returned to practice on Tuesday and should start Saturday barring an unforeseen setback.

“Jeff Driskel looked very good in practice [Tuesday], and he’ll be ready to go,” he said. “He would [start] at this time. Obviously we still got a couple more days of practice, but he looked good enough to me that he’ll be fine. … We’ll go from there but right now Jeff looks good.”

Muschamp continued, “He looked fine. We did everything we normally do. There was nothing limited within the package of what we do with him when we normally prepare for any game. Again, looked very good yesterday. Unless something just unheard of happens in practice [Wednesday] or [Thursday], he’ll be ready to go Saturday.”

Driskel’s experience (nine starts, four against BCS top-10 teams) and mobility are big advantages he brings to being behind center for Florida. He is the Gators’ second leading rusher with 424 yards and four touchdowns and has also completed 64.8 percent of his passes for 1,324 yards and 10 touchdowns with just three interceptions.

Though Driskel’s injury may have been the most important to the team, he is not the only player expected to return this week.

Redshirt junior wide receiver Andre Debose (knee), sophomore fullback Hunter Joyer (thigh) and redshirt sophomore right tackle Chaz Green (ankle) all looked good in practice Tuesday, Muschamp said. He added that redshirt sophomore linebacker Neiron Ball (ankle) looked a bit slow as he tried to return but cautioned that he still has a few days to work that out.

Florida will look to win its fourth game against a BCS top-10 opponent on Saturday when it takes on Florida State at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee, FL. Should the Gators win, a BCS bowl game would be assured and a trip to the national championship would be plausible with some help.

NOTES AND QUOTES

» Muschamp said the punt and kick return positions, as of now, are not settled. Debose is in the mix to start again at both but is not assured of his role. Sophomore cornerback Marcus Roberson is also competing for the punt return job, while redshirt senior tight end Omarius Hines and sophomore CB Loucheiz Purifoy are also working at kick returner.

» On the tough SEC schedule: “Certainly playing in the SEC, it’s a playoff every week. We have an eight-game playoff to go to the [SEC] Championship Game. At the University of Florida, you’re going to play Florida State every year, and next year we play Miami. So you’re looking at 10 so-called “good” games, I guess as the media would say it. We have an eight-game playoff every year to go to Atlanta.”

» On if junior defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd was injured in practice and/or will be able to play Saturday: “Yeah, he looked good yesterday.”