Florida Football: Missouri will be missing a key former Gator on Saturday

When looking to pull off an upset against a top-ten opponent, Florida football needs all the breaks it can get.

And word trickled out today that Missouri’s leading tackler, a former Florida Gator linebacker, will miss Saturday’s game due to an ankle injury.

Florida Football: Hop, skip, and jump

Ty’Ron Hopper was with the Gators for three seasons from 2019 to 2021. During his final season in Gainesville, Hopper made four starts and was credited with 65 tackles. Given the lack of depth in Florida’s linebacking group, Hopper would have been a critical component of the defense had he stayed.

But he transferred after the 2021 season and had 78 tackles last season and 53 tackles through nine games this season before he injured his ankle against Tennessee last week.

Pete Thamel from ESPN was the first to report that Hopper’s ankle isn’t good enough to go, and he will miss Saturday’s game.

Given that Missouri’s defense does have some vulnerabilities to it, we will see if this opens up the running game anymore to give the Gators a chance.