Florida DL Justus Boone to miss 2023 season with ACL tear, surgery in two weeks

Florida edge rusher Justus Boone suffered a catastrophic injury this week. According to Gators Online’s Nick de la Torre, Boone tore his ACL and will have surgery in two weeks.

The injury ends the season for Boone before it really started. And it’s a big blow for the Florida defensive front amid fall camp.

The redshirt sophomore was poised for a potential breakout season after a strong 2022 campaign.

Boone played in all 13 games for Florida in 2022, starting a pair. He had 24 tackles, a tackle for loss and a sack.

“I would tell you this is one of the more challenging parts of the job, for me, relative to having a great relationship with a young man and then observing him work and change his life as a person and as a football player and not just in production on the field that Boone brings to our team but more importantly his presence as a leader,” head coach Billy Napier said.

He added that he thinks this injury could be a rallying point for the team, in no small part because of how well liked and respected Boone is among teammates.

“I think this is a guy they really love and care about and will want to do their part to make up for his absence on the field. I think that we have that level of respect and accountability amongst our players and team. But we’re going to rally around Boone,” Napier said. “There’s a ton of success stories in this game of players who have had this injury and went through the return to play and rehab process and come back and had significant success. I think all Gators need to lift up our boy Boone today. He’s one of the best ones we have.”

It had been a strong offseason for Boone up until now

Boone had been hard at work on and off the field this offseason as the Gators prepare for the 2023 season, putting in extra work giving back to the community.

In June, he was named Florida’s Danny Wuerffel Man of the Month, given to the student-athlete who demonstrates holistic excellence in character, academics, service and leadership.

On Tuesday, Boone joined The Paul Finebaum Show to discuss his off-field exploits, which included a wonderful story about how he got his name.

“Honestly if you don’t mind I’ll give you a little backstory how I actually got my name,” Justus Boone said. “My name is actually pronounced ‘Just-Us’ and it was given to me by my mother because when I was conceived, in the hospital my biological father wasn’t present in the room, so it was just me and my mom and she hadn’t really picked out a name for me yet.

“She just kind of like looked around the room and saw there was nobody but just us in the room and she was like, ‘OK, yeah, that’s it. We’re going to name you Justus, because no matter where we are in the world, no matter who with us it’s just us.’”

Fast forward a couple decades and Boone is now a promising junior with Florida, itching to prove the defensive line has been retooled and is deeper than ever.

Some of Justus Boone’s offseason, though, was spent instead focused on his second annual camp for kids where he grew up.

The Just-Us Football Camp in Sumter, S.C., featured training and instruction for dozens of kids aged from 5 to 16 at Dillon Park in Boone’s hometown. Boone’s desire to give back goes way back.

All the way to his name.

“I kind of like just carry that around with myself every day and just think about the service that I can do,” Justus Boone said. “Not even thinking about myself I just try to keep myself in acts of service for others and I feel like it will repay me in the end.”