College Football | LSU player retreats from his Tim Tebow quote

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Ricky Jean-Francois, a Louisiana State player, says his defensive line getting a clean shot on a player can equate to "a car wreck without a seat belt."

Apparently that goes for any Florida Gators player — including quarterback Tim Tebow, last year's Heisman Trophy winner.

No. 4 LSU visits 11th-ranked Florida on Saturday. LSU is the defending national champion and Florida won the title for the 2006 season.

"If we get a good shot on [Tebow], we're going to try our best to take him out of the game," Jean-Francois said Monday. "With his size and his heart, it's hard to get a clean shot."

When asked how Tebow might deal with the pain of the perfect LSU hit, Jean-Francois said, "If he does get hurt, there's a trained medical staff at Florida, so you can go to the training room on Sunday."

Jean-Francois' remark "fires Tim up. Seems a little unsportsmanlike to me," Florida offensive coordinator Dan Mullen told ESPN.com Tuesday. "Intentionally injuring other players is not part of the game that we teach here."

Later, LSU's Web site carried what it termed a clarification from Jean-Francois.

"We never go into any football game trying to hurt a player from the other team," Jean-Francois was quoted as saying. "My comments in regard to Florida quarterback Tim Tebow were misinterpreted and were intended to reflect the style of football that we play at LSU. We have great respect for Tim as [a] player and a competitor. By taking him out of the game, I meant as a defense we are going to try to make him ineffective. I'm sorry that my initial comments were interpreted another way."

LSU defensive end Tyson Jackson said the Tigers aren't going to play dirty because "that's not our style."

Florida lost 28-24 at LSU last season. The thought of that setback and a loss to Georgia weeks later continues to make Gators receiver Louis Murphy "sick to my stomach."

Notes

• Tennessee offensive linemen Ramone Johnson and Darius Myers have been suspended for the Volunteers' upcoming games against Georgia and Mississippi State. Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer said the players are being punished for lack of academic effort and violation of team rules.

• Purdue coach Joe Tiller criticized quarterback Curtis Painter, who was benched in the fourth quarter of Saturday's 20-6 loss to Penn State. Though Painter remains the starter, Tiller said, "We need to make throws and they need to be in an area where we can catch the football, not at the ankle level, or behind or, on a deep throw, two yards over the top of his head. Our accuracy perhaps is the thing that right now is hurting us the most."

• Colorado coach Dan Hawkins, 11-19 with the Buffs, has agreed to a contract extension that could keep him with the school through 2012.