Florida Gators Without RB Montrell Johnson Jr. Against Kentucky

The Florida Gators enter a crucial home matchup without their top running back

Florida Gators running back Montrell Johnson Jr. will be absent for the homecoming matchup against Kentucky / Angelina Alcantar/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Florida Gators (3-3, 1-2 SEC) will be without their top running back, Montrell Johnson Jr., for Saturday’s game against Kentucky (3-3, 1-3). 

He was initially listed as questionable this week before being demoted to out. 

Johnson sustained a lower-body injury last week in the 23-17 overtime road loss to Tennessee. It knocks him out for Saturday, but head coach Billy Napier announced on Monday that Johnson would not miss an extended period of time. 

In the loss to the Volunteers, Johnson rushed for 85 yards on 12 carries. For the season as a whole, he’s rushed for 373 yards and four touchdowns. These season stats are both first among Gators running backs.

While it’s certainly an unideal situation to be in, the Gators have other effective options in the running game. 

Running bacls Treyaun Webb, Ja’Kobi Jackson and Jadan Baugh are all available this week. 

Webb will be in action for the first time since the 45-28 win over Mississippi State on Sept. 21. He’s rushed for 93 yards on 31 carries (4.4 yards per carry) with a rushing touchdown this season. 

Jackson doesn’t get a lot of carries per game, but outside of the Tennessee game, he’s made those carries count. He’s rushed for 109 yards on 19 carries, averaging 5.7 yards per carry. He’s also shown effectiveness in the red zone with three touchdowns this season. 

Baugh has slowly seen this action on the field increase as the season has gone on. He saw a season-high 12 carries against Tennessee, though he only rushed for 25 yards. Kentucky’s rush defense is the third-best in the SEC, just behind Tennessee, so we’ll see how he performs this time around. 

Quarterback D.J. Lagway is also the starter now. This could also help shake up the running game. 

Florida returns to the field next week in The Swamp for homecoming against Kentucky, which is set for a 7:45 start with television coverage on SEC Network.