Chris Hampton offers injury update for CB Jahlil Florence

Oregon defensive back coach Chris Hampton said corner Jahlil Florence is recovering nicely from a lower leg ailment.

You never want to hear about injuries to any players, but in football, it comes with the territory.

Oregon defensive back Jahlil Florence, expected to contend for a starting spot in the Duck secondary in 2024, hasn’t seen much time on the field this spring as he is still nursing a lower leg injury he suffered in the off-season.

According to defensive back coach Chris Hampton, there’s still a chance Florence could recover in time to participate in the next month.

“We may get some out of him later on in the spring,” Hampton said about Florence. “He’s out there now doing some of the walkthrough stuff with us. But that’s about it right now. But I think his rehab is going pretty good.”

He may be recovering physically, but there can be a mental toll on any player who can’t do the thing they love. Hampton said Florence is improving on that aspect as well.

“After talking to Chief and talking to Jahlil, he’s in a much better space than what he was about a month ago,” he said. “So I expect we’ll maybe get some of him here at the end of spring.”

Realistically Florence can take all the time he needs as long as he is ready to go in the fall and be on that field Aug.31 against Idaho.

Dillon Gabriel ahead of the curve in terms of picking up Oregon offense

Dillon Gabriel’s experience at the college level is allowing him to pick up Oregon’s offense quickly.

It’s going to be strange to watch the Oregon Ducks football team take the field Aug. 31 to take on Idaho without quarterback Bo Nix leading the team.

In the third year of Dan Lanning’s tenure at Oregon, he has turned to senior transfer Dillon Gabriel for the 2024 season. Lanning is counting on the former Oklahoma signal caller’s past experience in Norman to pay dividends for the Ducks now.

But it all starts now in the spring.

“I just think more than anything, the way that he prepares has given Dillon an opportunity to really absorb a lot of this really quick with the walk-throughs that we’ve had,” Lanning said. “The time leading up to spring, us doing spring a little bit later than some teams, I think that’s allowed him to get ahead of the curve before he stepped out here. And then his experience speaks for itself, his poise and his ability to get guys to come do extra work with them I think is really paying off.”

Gabriel is at Oregon for just one season as he paves the way for Dante Moore and Austin Novosad, but his work ethic and the example he leaves could last for a long longer than Gabriel is actually there.

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