Florida Gators Suffer Significant Setback on Wednesday

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Hugh Green | Last updated Sep 24, 2025 2:45 PM ET

The Florida Gators have been one of the most disappointing teams in the country in the first four weeks of the season. Head coach Billy Napier and Florida entered 2025 as the No. 15 team in the nation in the preseason AP Top 25 and moved up to No. 13 after Week 1. The Gators then suffered three straight disappointing losses.

Florida lost to the unranked USF Bulls at home in Week 2 and then lost back-to-back road matchups against top-five opponents in the LSU Tigers and Miami Hurricanes. One of the bright spots of Florida's 1-3 start has been the play of its defense.

On Wednesday, however, Florida announced some major news that will be detrimental to its defense the rest of the year.

Napier said that starting junior cornerback Dijon Johnson will miss the remainder of the season after undergoing knee surgery on Tuesday, according to ESPN's Adam Rittenberg.

Johnson suffered the injury in the second half of Florida's 26-7 loss to Miami on Saturday when he made a tackle on Hurricanes wide receiver Malachi Toney.

"It's going to be fixable, nothing long-term there, but he will be out for the remainder of the season," Napier said.

Through four games this year, Johnson had eight total tackles, one pass breakup and one interception, which was the first of his collegiate career. In his Florida career, Johnson has 34 total tackles, 24 of which are solo, with three pass breakups.

This is a big loss for Napier and the Gators, who need all the help they can get after their abysmal start to the season.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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