Shemar James will miss the rest of the season with knee injury
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The Florida Gators will be without their starting middle linebacker Shemar James this weekend against Arkansas. James was injured during pregame warmups before the Gators’ game against the Georgia Bulldogs last weekend.
Billy Napier updated that James will miss the rest of the season after James had surgery on his knee this week for what Napier called a “dislocation of the kneecap.”
“He had surgery today and he’s out. So, he’ll be back for spring practice. This will be about a four-month deal. Ultimately, it’s just, it’s much like a shoulder dislocation. It’s a kneecap dislocation. Happened to him in high school, it was an injury he had before,” Billy Napier said on Wednesday. “Much like a shoulder comes out, if it comes out again you’ve got to get it fixed. So, everything went well with the surgery. It won’t be a major factor long-term for him.”
James was seen with linebackers coach Jay Bateman working on moving laterally and running. Ultimately, James was able to play against the Bulldogs with a brace on his left knee. James posted five tackles, two solo, and 0.5 tackles for a loss. He left the game late in the fourth quarter and did not return.
“I think it presents a great opportunity for those other three guys, and they’ve all had good weeks. Certainly, we’ll lean on Scooby (Williams) and Teradja (Mitchell) to go along with that leadership, and communication component,” Napier said. “And then those three guys, you know, (Derek) Wingo has some experience here, and certainly Mannie (Nunnery) has played a lot of football for us, and Jaden (Robinson) has shown a lot of promise. So, this is another week in college football, right? I mean, very rarely do you run out there with all 22 starters.”
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The sophomore linebacker has been the leader of the defensive effort this season. He leads Florida with 54 tackles. He also has 5.5 tackles for a loss and one sack. James will be replaced in the lineup by Mannie Nunnery or freshman Jaden Robinson. Scooby Williams is listed as the other starting middle linebacker.
City of Jacksonville released a statement after Shemar James’ injury
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.
“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.”
