When the initial injury report came out for the Gators ahead of its matchup with Texas, it actually wasn't that bad. Florida had six players listed as out, virtually all of whom were expected to be on the report.
But the updated Thursday report brought a bit of a surprise as another member of the defensive line will be joining Caleb Banks on the sideline this Saturday.
Joseph Mbatchou listed as out against Texas
The Thursday report listed defensive tackle Joseph Mbatchou as out against Texas. This was after Mbatchou was nowhere to be found on the initial Wednesday report.
On paper, it appears Mbatchou would have had to have gotten hurt at practice on Wednesday, though no official report has come out to indicate what happened.
Combined with the injury to Banks, the already thin defensive tackle group for the Gators is going to be tested against Texas.
Mbatchou is a four-star true freshman who had a bit of a back-and-forth recruiting process. He originally committed to Florida in July 2024, then decommitted in October, and subsequently committed to Texas in November. However, he decommitted a week later and recommitted with Florida in December.
Mbatchou played 12 snaps against LIU, none against USF, and 8 against LSU before being elevated to 27 snaps against Miami.
He has been credited with two total tackles and no pressures on the QB in his 47 total snaps so far.
With Banks and Mbatchou out, Florida is going to need to lean on a defensive tackle rotation of Jeramiah McCloud, Brien Taylor Jr., Jamari Lyons, and Brendan Bett.
Defensive tackle was a position group that was a concern for Florida heading into the 2025 season. After graduating a number of key contributors, the Gators largely stayed pat in the transfer portal and only picked up Bett during the spring.