Florida football: Gators dismiss defensive back John Huggins

Florida football head coach Dan Mullen dismissed sophomore defensive back John Huggins from the team on Saturday. UF did not provide any specific information regarding the dismissal.

Huggins absence from fall camp has been in the spotlight since the Gators are thin at defensive back and the 6-foot-1, 205-pound sophomore defensive back from Daytona Mainland High School was expected to compete for significant playing time.

However, when accusations came to light last week about Huggins choking a female tutor last October, questions began to swirl around his future in Gainesville.

According to reports by Edger Thompson of the Orlando Sentinel, Mullen stated that the issue had been addressed last fall with an undisclosed suspension.

Huggins appeared in eight games last season as a reserve defensive back and a key member of the Gators’ special teams. He appeared in the first five games, missed the next five games, but played in the final three games. The five game absence coincided directly with the timing of the October 1, 2018, choking incident.

No charges were filed, but according to the UFPD, a 19 year-old woman reported that Huggins had placed both hands on her neck after she tried to hold his phone to ensure that the player would not leave his tutoring session.

She did not have marks on her neck and was reportedly able to breathe throughout the incident. She refused to meet with Huggins in a one-on-one capacity going forward, however, she stated she would be willing to work with him in a group setting.

This is just the latest in a recent string of ugly incidents toward women from a member of the Florida football program over the last year.

Huggins had high hopes heading into the 2019 season after capping a breakout spring by returning a pick-six interception early in the Orange and Blue game this past April, but why was he still on the team?

To be clear, Mullen and the Gators have sent a message by kicking all players or staff members associated with such issues out of the program during his tenure, but, on the surface, it seems like it should have been a no-brainer to dismiss Huggins immediately after this incident last fall.

Unfortunately, we’re going to be left with more questions than answers about this situation, so I might as well list my questions:

Why did it take ten months to dismiss a player who choked a 19 year-old woman that works with the team?

Why are these types of incidents occurring with seemingly such frequency within the program?

What needs to change?