Florida football: What does Justus Boone’s injury mean for Gators?

Florida football has been ramping up fall camp activities recently and had their first scrimmage yesterday, where we got to see what the team will look like in full-speed action.

But with full speed and contact comes the ugly side of football: injuries. And the Gators suffered a pretty bad one this week.

Redshirt sophomore Justus Boone tore his ACL this week said Billy Napier, and is set to have surgery in two weeks.

With the loss of Boone, what does the Gators’ defensive front look like?

Florida football: Next man up

Napier had this to say during his press conference where he announced Boone’s injury:

"“We’re going to rally around Boone…All Gators need to lift up Boone today. He’s one of the best ones we have.”"

Rallying around your injured teammate not only shows how tight this group of Gators is, but it shows that they’re prepared and willing to step up in his absence.

We’ve already known that Princely Umanmielen is going to be the guy off the edge for the Gators as he enters his junior season. But Boone was going to solidify the other side of the DL. So now Austin Armstrong will have to turn to some young guys to fill that gap.

Two candidates there are T.J. Searcy and Kamran James, two true freshmen who came to Gainesville as part of the 2023 class.

Both have looked good so far in fall camp with James getting more first-team reps, which will now be amplified with Boone’s absence.

Another guy who we could see step up is Jack Pybrun, a sophomore from Jacksonville, Florida who saw action in a few games last season.

He has been shining so far in camp and has the tape to back up the hype around him. With a spot open, he will shoot up the depth chart.

Justus’ injury is a big one, there’s no doubt about that. But college football, as we’ve said a lot, relies a lot on your depth at every position.

The Gators have plenty of guys who are willing and able to take that EDGE role. We’ll see who comes out on top.