Florida center Kingsley Eguakun out vs. Charlotte following ankle injury setback

The Florida Gators are still riding high off their 29-16 win last weekend over their rivals, the Tennessee Volunteers. This weekend, the Gators are getting ready to take on the Charlotte 49ers. Unfortunately, on Wednesday evening, they got some bad news regarding their center, Kingsley Eguakun. He was ruled out for the third game and won’t be suiting up for the Gators against the 49ers, due to his right ankle injury, according to the Florida Gators latest depth chart.

In 2022, Eguakun started all 13 games at the center position for the Gators. He was a member of the Florida offensive line that did not allow a single sack against Vanderbilt on Nov. 19th. He also helped pave the road for 374 total rushing yards against the South Carolina Gamecocks on Nov. 12th.

In 2021, the 6-foot-3, 300-pounder also started all 13 games at center. He was part of a Florida offensive line that only allowed 14 total sacks that season, tied for the seventh-lowest mark in college football.

Florida and Tennessee drew a very big audience last weekend

Plenty of streams and televisions were tuned to the showdown in the Swamp on Saturday night as Florida hosted — and beat —  Tennessee. All told, 5.3 million people watched, ESPN announced on Tuesday.

The viewership made it the fourth-most watched game on ESPN since 2019. Gator fans were certainly rewarded for tuning in, as Florida romped to a 29-16 upset win over the Volunteers.

And plenty of the viewership might’ve held strong as fans stayed tuned in for the following game: Colorado hosting Colorado State.

It was also a show inside Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on Saturday night, too, as more than 90,700 fans filled the stands.

Two days later, during his weekly press conference, Gators head coach Billy Napier made sure to give them the credit they deserve for making it a tough environment for the Volunteers.

“Got to start off by thanking — just a really unique experience in The Swamp Saturday night, relative to our fans,” Napier said Monday. “They put on a show for the entire country to see. And it impacted our team. Brought a lot of energy to our players, created momentum in the game and certainly made it very difficult for Tennessee. Caused procedure penalties, ultimately they were a part of the plan and certainly did their part. So can’t compliment them enough.”

On3’s Andrew Graham also contributed to this article.