Two Gators left Saturday’s contest against the Kentucky Wildcats early due to injury. Starting right tackle [autotag]Michael Tarquin[/autotag] departed during the second quarter due to a lower leg injury, and sixth-year linebacker [autotag]Ventrell Miller[/autotag] returned to the locker room in the second half with the same diagnosis.
Following the game, Billy Napier didn’t have much information to give on the two.
“Ventrell’s a little bit banged up,” Napier said. “We’ll have an update for you next week,” Billy Napier said after the game. “Obviously, two injuries in the game with Ventrell and Mike Tarquin. Both are lower leg injuries, and we’ll give you that information later next week.”
The Gators lost Miller last year after Week 2 to a torn bicep. He didn’t play for the rest of the season, which caused [autotag]Mohamoud Diabate[/autotag] to shift into the starting position. Diabate is in Utah now and it would be either true freshman [autotag]Shemar James[/autotag] or [autotag]Scooby Williams[/autotag] to step up at linebacker if Miller is out for a while.
Tarquin’s backup is [autotag]Austin Barber[/autotag], who is a fine replacement for the first-year starter. The problem is Florida only has so many offensive linemen it trusts, and adding Barber to the starting group means less depth behind him. Kamryn Waites would be the next tackle up, and then the options get pretty slim.
Hopefully, Miller and Tarquin aren’t out for too long, and Florida doesn’t have to worry about it for too long. But Miller’s injury history is concerning and Napier’s non-update isn’t very reassuring.
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