Florida football’s defense is looking more and more like a hospital ward.
Down multiple starters heading into the showdown with No. 6 Miami, the Gators suffered another catostrophic injury Saturday night as Dijon Johnson went down with an apparant leg injury.
The junior from Tampa-Wharton appeared to hurt his lower body on a non-contact injury early in the third quarter. He was carried off the field without putting any pressure on his leg.
So far vs. the Hurricanes, Johnson had four tackles and a pass breakup.
He’s the second Gator defensive player to go down as Aaron Gates injured his arm/shoulder late in the first quarter.
Multiple defensive players were ruled out before the game. LJ McCray (broken foot) and Caleb Banks (foot) are out indefinitely. Banks, one of the top starters on the team, returned vs. LSU last week after missing the first two games. He subsequently got re-injured.
George Gumbs Jr. is out, forcing Jayden Woods into his first career start. Michai Boireau didn’t make the trip for the second straight game.
Noah Ram covers Florida Gators athletics and Gainesville-area high school sports for The Gainesville Sun, GatorSports.com and the USA TODAY Network. Contact him at nram@gannett.com. Follow him on X @Noah_ram1. Read his coverage of the Gators’ national championship basketball season in “CHOMP-IONS!” — a hardcover coffee-table collector’s book from The Sun. Details at Florida.ChampsBook.com
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Bad to worse: Florida football DB Dijon Johnson carried off field with non-contact injury
Reporting by Noah Ram, Gainesville Sun / The Gainesville Sun
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
