Florida Gators Suffer Massive Setback Before Week 2

Times are tough for the Florida Gators, who, after losing to the Miami Hurricanes by a score of 41-17 in Week 1, face a daunting schedule for the remainder of the 2024 college football season.

Florida could get nothing going against The U last Saturday, dropping the season-opener in embarrassing fashion and making Billy Napier's future in Gainesville even more uncertain.

Looking ahead, the Gators have arguably the most challenging remaining schedule in the nation, with matchups against Texas A&M, Tennessee, Georgia, Texas, LSU, Ole Miss and Florida State still on the slate. Five of Florida's remaining games are against teams currently ranked in the AP Top 25, with three of them sitting inside the top-six (UGA, Texas and Ole Miss).

This week, as Florida prepares to host Samford – potentially the only time the Gators will be favored all season – Napier's prospects of doing just enough to secure his job became even more challenging.

That's because key contributor Kahleil Jackson, a redshirt junior wide receiver, was diagnosed with an ACL injury and will miss the remainder of the 2024 season.

Jackson underwent surgery on Friday, according to On3, which also reports that the injury likely happened during practice this week.

"Surgery went good. Preciate everybody that checked on me," Jackson posted to his Instagram story, accompanied by a red heart emoji.

Jackson recorded only one reception for 13 yards in the season-opening loss to Miami.

Last season, Jackson, a former 2020 recruit, tallied 21 receptions for 251 yards and one touchdown. He was expected to play a larger role in Florida's offense this season and compete for playing time at a position where depth is crucial.

Jackson's father, Willie Jackson, is a former Florida receiver who played under Steve Spurrier in the early 1990s.

"He’s okay — doing well,” the older Jackson said of his son, per On3. "We had to get (the surgery) done to try to get back next season.”