Billy Napier provides update on multiple Florida injuries

Florida came out of Saturday’s 43-20 loss to Georgia with a couple of injuries to monitor. Both Gators offensive lineman Kingsley Eguakun and linebacker Shemar James went down with injury.

After the game, Gators coach Billy Napier provided an update on both of the players. He revealed that Eguakun is “fine” following the shakeup, while indicating that James may potentially miss more time.

“Kinglesy’s OK,” He said. “I think same ankle. Aggravated it a little bit there. (Shemar), he did have a little bit of an incident pregame. He was able to play. Certainly a bit of a setback there late. I think it’ll be something we’re evaluating. Big-picture wise for him. It is a prior injury. Injury that he had before that kind of came to life a little bit. We’ll give you more of an update in the middle of the week.”

Prior to entering Saturday’s game against the Bulldogs, James led the Gators in total tackles for 50. He also ranked second on the team with five tackles for loss. He had five tackles including 0.5 for loss on Saturday prior to his exit in Saturday’s loss.

Eguakun has been the starting center for Florida for each of the past two years. It sounds like he’ll be able to play, but his status will be one to watch ahead of a Week 10 matchup against Arkansas at noon ET on Saturday in Gainesville.

City of Jacksonville releases statement on turf conditions in Florida-Georgia

Ahead of Saturday’s game between Florida and Georgia in Jacksonville, questions were raised about the turf at EverBank Stadium. Late in the game, the city of Jacksonville released a statement about the condition of the field.

According to ESPN Jacksonville’s Brent Martineau, new sod was put down for the game after last week’s Bethune Cookman vs. Southern game at EverBank. However, the new turf didn’t look good on the broadcast, and Florida linebacker Shemar James slipped during pregame and put a brace on his knee as a result. He appeared to be shaken up again during the third quarter.

The city of Jacksonville said the new turf should present “no safety issue for players” and credited the grounds crew for the resurfacing.

“Our top Florida-Georgia game priority is the safety of players and fans,” the statement read. “The field at EverBank Stadium was resodded after the BCU-Southern game last weekend for the second time this year and in accordance with NFL standards. While the sod faced a week of warm Florida weather and was dry upon arrival, the field was tested and passed prior to the game and there is no safety issue for players. We stand by our experienced team of turf professionals who have prepared fields for games at all levels from college to the Super Bowl.”