![Florida Gators defensive back Aaron Gates (13) celebrates his interception during the second quarter of an NCAA college football matchup Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024 at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. The Georgia Bulldogs defeated the Florida Gators 34-20. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,x_0,y_0,w_6000,h_3375/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/213/01k6dw8j7w1t0d08zmjj.jpg "Florida Gators defensive back Aaron Gates (13) celebrates his interception during the second quarter of an NCAA college football matchup Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024 at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. The Georgia Bulldogs defeated the Florida Gators 34-20. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]")
The entire season has felt like one step forward, ten steps back for the Florida Gators. It seems like every time there is the slightest bit of good news for Florida, it has been followed by a string of bad news to undo whatever hope existed.
At his press conference on Monday, Billy Napier indicated Florida was set to have a key player on defense be potentially available for Saturday's game against Texas.
Fast forward 24 hours, and that same player is set to get shoulder surgery.
Aaron Gates is set for shoulder surgery
Swamp247 has reported that defensive back Aaron Gates is slated to have shoulder surgery after he went down with an injury against Miami.
This comes on the heels of Napier claiming on Monday that Gates was close to returning to action:
"We'll give you the injury report. We do anticipate potentially getting Aaron (Gates) back. But that's going to be day-to-day, depending on how that goes. But I think we got good news on that front, and then obviously you'll get an injury report Wednesday night."
Soooooooo, how did we go from "day-to-day" to shoulder surgery in 24 hours?
The answer hasn't been revealed yet, but the end result will be another blow to a defensive group that has been increasingly affected by injuries in 2025.
Gates originally committed to the Gators in 2021 and stuck with his commitment even after Dan Mullen was let go and Napier was hired.
2024 was the first real action Gates got with Florida, and he took 322 snaps. He had a notable interception against Georgia and recovered two fumbles during the season before he suffered an ACL tear against Ole Miss.
Gates recovered and had taken 77 snaps in 2025 before suffering an injury against Miami. This season, Gates had been targeted seven times for four receptions for 43 yards.
Given that Gates already used his redshirt season, it's unclear if the NCAA would grant him any more eligibility down the road. But for Florida in 2025, it means another member going down with an injury.