The No. 13 Florida Gators open up its season against the unranked Florida Atlantic University Owls in its Week 1 matchup to start the 2021 season.
While last season was unconventional due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, this year it's essentially back to normal as Florida will host its standard 90,000 fans in The Swamp after a limited capacity last year.
The Gators entered the day in relatively good shape with only a couple of players already ruled out for the season in cornerback Jaydon Hill who tore his ACL prior to the season starting during fall camp.
Tonight, there will be a couple of other players out due to undisclosed reasons. Sophomore defensive back Kamar Wilcoxson will not suit up after being labeled as "doubtful" by head coach Dan Mullen prior to tonight's contest. Wilcoxson himself posted on Twitter that he underwent "successful surgery" on Aug. 30.
It is not yet known how long Wilcoxson will be out this season.
Florida will need to make sure it uses plenty of its young depth at the defensive back position, both safety and cornerback. They've brought in two players already in transfers Jadarrius Perkins and Elijah Blade who will help in that department too.
It's safe to say he will be out for a while.
Another player who didn't suit up tonight is sophomore defensive lineman Jalen Lee. Lee was brought in during last year's recruiting class along with Wilcoxson with Florida looking to beef up its defensive line group. Freshman defensive tackle Christopher Thomas Jr. was seen on crutches on the sideline with a brace on his left leg.
Due to concerns with the depth with the interior of its defensive line, Florida has brought in three defensive tackle transfers this season in Daquan Newkirk, Antonio Shelton and Tyrone Truesdell, with Truesdell being the latest addition, added Aug. 30. Though he just arrived on campus, Truesdell is expected to play and is immediately eligible.
Heading into the season, Florida Gators BUCK linebacker Brenton Cox Jr. was seen with a boot, recovering from a foot injury.
He was able to participate in the majority of fall camp, however, and was seen dressed tonight, ready to go against the Owls. Cox looked fluid during warm-ups tonight. AllGators reported in August Cox would not be expected to miss game time, only some portions of camp.
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