Injury Report: One Gators Starter Out, Two Questionable vs. Arkansas

Three Gators defenders added to the weekly injury report ahead of Florida's bout with Arkansas in Week 10.

Three new additions were made to the Gators' injury report ahead of Florida's Week 10 matchup against the Arkansas Razorbacks, all from the defensive side of the football. 

Most notably, Gators linebacker Shemar James was ruled out of action for the remainder of the 2023 campaign after undergoing knee surgery earlier this week, head coach Billy Napier shared with local media Wednesday evening. 

Fellow defenders, interior lineman Cam Jackson and edge rusher Tyreak Sapp are listed as questionable as they deal with upper body injuries.

Find UF's injury report for the game below. 

• LB Shemar James (lower body) — out
• DL Cam Jackson (upper body) — questionable
• DL Tyreak Sapp (upper body) — questionable
• WR Caleb Douglas (lower body) — out
• WR Thai Chiaokhiao-Bowman (lower body) — out
• TE Jonathan Odom (upper body) — out

James, the Gators leading tackler on the season with 55, dislocated his kneecap against Georgia in Jacksonville on Saturday.

After reportedly tweaking the knee in warmups, James exited the field in the second half before being deemed out for the remainder of the Gators' lopsided defeat at the hands of the Bulldogs. Now, he'll be unavailable for UF throughout the closing stretch of the season as the unit strives to become bowl-eligible with one more win.

Veterans Mannie Nunnery, Derek Wingo and Teradja Mitchell are expected to shoulder the burden of James' absence for linebackers coach Jay Bateman in the remaining four contests of UF's regular season. Florida could also deploy true freshman Jaden Robinson to fill the void James' absence creates. 

Aside from the second-level defender, two critical pieces of the defensive front — Jackson and Sapp — appear on the injury report as questionable with upper-body hurts.

Jackson transferred into the Florida program following a two-year stint at Memphis to bolster talent and depth in the trenches in year one of Austin Armstrong's multiple-front scheme. He's found success on a large scale throughout the year, compiling 25 tackles and one batted pass.

On the edge, Sapp's taken on added responsibilities since presumed starting F-end Justus Boone went down with a torn ACL in the preseason. Sapp's accounted for 17 tackles and one pass breakup while supplementing the Gators' pass rush with two sacks thus far in his redshirt sophomore season. 

Offensive skill position players Douglas, Bowman and Odom remain on the injury report for the third consecutive week as they rehabilitate their respective ailments.

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