A big part of the small amount of depth the Florida Gators had in its secondary is now gone for the season, as cornerback Jaydon Hill has torn his ACL.
Hill suffered the injury in practice on Sunday.
Rumblings that Hill would miss the entire season began on Sunday night, as word spread that he’d been injured in practice and that it “didn’t look good.” The rumors eventually proved to be true, as Thursday afternoon Mullen confirmed those worst fears.
The terrible fate is made doubly terrible for Jaydon Hill, who tore his other ACL back in September of 2018– mere days after initially committing to Florida. The Gators stuck by his side, kept his offer intact as he rehabbed (which is ethically the right thing to do, but doesn’t happen as much as you may like to believe) and joined the program in the fall of 2019. After a bit of a learning curve his first two seasons, Hill was said to have made tremendous strides this offseason, even seemingly working his way into a starting role opposite Kaiir Elam.
Now this happened. And it’s a terrible reminder that injury, like roulette, has no memory of any record of safety, and is liable to ruin someone’s short term future at any given time.
As terrible as this is for Hill personally, Florida does appear at least somewhat equipped to deal with his absence. The re-appearance of Elijah Blades now looks like a potential game-saver for the Gators’ secondary, as somebody is needed opposite Kaiir Elam, and there’s no room for error if prized freshman Jason Marshall needs any time to grow into a starting role. And if all else fails, Avery Helm or Missouri transfer Jadarrius Perkins can probably step in and at worst hold their own.
But Florida entered its summer practices with some depth, and options, in the secondary, and now one of those options is gone. And after all the growth Hill displayed this offseason- not to mention the fact that this is the second time he’s torn an ACL- it’s a devastating blow to a guy who had been doing all the right things.
Best of luck in your recovery, Jaydon.
