Florida to debut helmet stickers as part of alternate uniforms

Florida will debut a new black helmet on Saturday against Arkansas. Each helmet will feature a certain amount of stickers compared to their production this season, which is why some will have more than others.

According to Gators Online’s Nick de la Torre, the helmet stickers are a way for head coach Billy Napier to recognize and reward players — but this won’t be an every week thing. The stickers will only be available on the alternate uniforms Florida will wear against the Razorbacks, and will not be a weekly addition to UF’s helmets.

Napier did this at Louisiana as well, featuring similar stickers on the Ragin’ Cajuns’ regular weekly helmets.

#Gators will wear helmet stickers today. Thoughts? pic.twitter.com/SZ9D4Q1aFW

— Nick de la Torre (@delatorre) November 4, 2023

Kickoff between Florida and Arkansas is scheduled for Noon ET live on ESPN2. The Gators are three-point favorites in Gainesville.

Florida LB Shemar James ruled out for remainder of season after knee surgery

Florida will be without linebacker Shemar James for the rest of the season, according to Gators Online’s Nick de la Torre. He’s dealing with a knee injury suffered during pregame warmups last week and underwent surgery.

Billy Napier confirmed the injury on Wednesday, calling James’ injury a “dislocation of the kneecap” during his press conference. After going through surgery this week, James’ recovery will be approximately four months, according to Napier.

James has been a staple of the Florida defense this year, leading the Gators with 54 tackles while adding 5.5 tackles for loss and a sack. He played against Georgia despite the injury, totaling five tackles and 0.5 tackle for loss.

After appearing to slip during pregame warmups against Georgia, James came back out with a knee brace and looked shaken up once again during the third quarter. The condition of the field was a big topic of conversation throughout the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party game, and the city of Jacksonville released a statement on the matter later in the game.

“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.”

On3’s Nick Schultz contributed to this report.