COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Although the Gators opened Southeastern Conference play with a win on Saturday, the physical toll it took on the team was immense.
Amid a bunch of minor tweaks and cramps, the injury that appeared most serious was to the left thumb of starting weakside linebacker Jelani Jenkins, who left the game in the first quarter and returned to the sidelines in street clothes with his left arm in a sling. Muschamp said after the game that he did not know the extent of the injury, but that Jenkins’ thumb had to be casted.
When asked how the defense would fare if it had to play without Jenkins for an extended period of time, Jon Bostic expressed confidence in the other linebackers on the roster.
“It’s a big loss,” Bostic said. “But there’s some guys in this program that can play behind him. Antonio (Morrison), Mike Taylor, even (Darrin) Kitchens move inside. We’ve got some depth at the linebacker position to where a lot of guys can play all different types of positions. “
Play was stopped numerous times in Florida’s 20-17 win over Texas A&M as several Gator players went down with cramps and other injuries. Coach Will Muschamp was even forced to use players in packages they weren’t used to, which led to him taking a timeout before a punt attempt.
“We lost a bunch of guys in the game,” Muchamp said. “We were down to our third gunner at one point on punt return. I had to take a timeout to make sure the young man knew what to do. I wasn’t sure he knew and I would rather take the timeout and make sure he knew exactly what we were supposed to do in that situation. We’ll regroup and head up to Knoxville.”
Right tackle Chaz Green, defensive tackle Shariff Floyd, cornerback Marcus Roberson and buck linebacker Lerentee McCray were among a large group of Gators who had to leave the game due to cramps.
“It was cooler than it’s been,” Muschamp said of the weather’s effect on cramps. “It’s a dryer heat. I didn’t know we would have issues with cramps.”
Florida also suffered a handful of more significant injuries.
Junior defensive back Cody Riggs left the game with a sprained foot, and starting free safety Josh Evans left the game with an undisclosed shoulder injury.
Running back Mike Gillislee, who finished the game with 83 rushing yards and two touchdowns, left the game in the fourth quarter. Muschamp said he did not know what Gillislee’s injury was.
Contact Josh Jurnovoy at jjurnovoy@alligator.org.
Josh Evans hurt his shoulder trying to tackle Texas A&M running back Ben Malena in the first half on Saturday at Kyle Field. Evans didn't return to the game.
