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When the Gators return to the practice fields on Thursday for their first full-contact practice in more than a week, they'll be without a few key members on defense.

Jim McElwain said Tuesday that linebackers Jarrad Davis (ankle) and David Reese (wrist), defensive ends Bryan Cox Jr. (ankle) and Antonneous Clayton (elbow), safety Nick Washington (ankle), defensive back Duke Dawson (ankle), and offensive lineman Martez Ivey (ankle) will all be out for at least the start of bowl practices.

“We’ll see," McElwain said. "Just looking at them, I’ll know more on Monday. It’s hard to say. Some of them are high ankles, hopefully they’re shrinking to low ankles, but we’ll see.”

If Davis and Reese are unable to play in the Outback Bowl against Iowa, Florida would unquestionably be thin at linebacker. McElwain mentioned Vosean Joseph, Kylan Johnson, Rayshad Jackson and Daniel McMillian as players who would need to step up in their absence in the bowl game.

"Obviously Vosean will play a ton, and he's been playing," McElwain said. "Moving forward there, Rayshad obviously, Kylan, who's been a little bit dinged up but he'll be ready to go. And, you know, obviously D-Mac's got to play a huge role in this game for us to be successful."

Meanwhile, McElwain reaffirmed that graduate transfer Austin Appleby would start for the Gators at quarterback in the bowl game, while Luke Del Rio would serve as his primary backup once he's likely cleared to return from his shoulder injury.

“Well, No. 1, Luke isn’t all the way back either," McElwain said on the decision to start Appleby. "Austin’s done a good job since he’s started playing. Obviously there are some throws that he’d like back but at the same time this late in the year he deserves it. You know what, I’m excited for him to go play in this game, another opportunity for him to go help this team win.”

The decision means unless Florida adds another transfer to the mix in the offseason, Del Rio would be the only quarterback on the roster with any prior playing experience at the college level heading into the 2017 season with Feleipe Franks and Kyle Trask likely on the redshirting path.

Asked whether there'd be an open competition between Del Rio and the two freshmen this offseason, McElwain replied "absolutely."

"I mean every year it is," McElwain said. "That doesn’t change. And that would be going through spring and you know summer and obviously fall.”

The Gators plan to get started with team meetings Wednesday before taking the practice field the following day. The team will then take Sunday off before heading into more extensive preparation for the Iowa game from next Monday-Wednesday. After the team takes a break for Christmas, the group will return on Dec. 26 and get back to work.

McElwain is looking for a better performance from his team this go-around, especially after Florida's embarrassing 41-7 defeat at the hands of Michigan in the Citrus Bowl last year.

"Well I think the big piece, it's a personal choice," McElwain said. "We're going to prepare to go win the ballgame and we're going to need those guys to play well, play with energy and to give us an opportunity to go win it. You move forward and really it's an individual choice by each one of those guys."

As for the Gators upperclassmen who are eligible for the 2017 NFL Draft, McElwain is also looking for similar effort.

"It will be interesting to see, some of the guys that are kind of getting ready for the NFL, their mindset moving forward. We’re going to need those guys to play as Gators and give everything they have," McElwain said. "I think about when I first took this job and you saw what Dante Fowler did in that Birmingham Bowl, I don’t know how many sacks he had. Five maybe? Six? A couple of fumbles. Here’s a guy who knew he was going to be a top-round draft choice and yet chose for his team to go out there and play his tail off. I was so impressed with that.

"You know what, we’re going to need that kind of with our guys as well. Time will tell as we move from there."

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