Oregon Ducks' Jahlil Florence Announces Return After Rose Bowl Loss, Injury Update

After the Oregon Ducks lost to the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Rose Bowl, the Ducks got some good news when defensive back Jahlil Florence announced he will be returning to Oregon after an injury caused him to miss the entire 2024 season.

Oct 8, 2022; Tucson, Arizona, USA; Oregon Ducks defensive back Jahlil Florence (6) against the Arizona Wildcats at Arizona Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Despite suffering a season-ending 41-21 loss at the hands of the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Rose Bowl during the College Football Playoff quarterfinals, the Oregon Ducks got some much-needed good news after the game.

The Ducks were missing a key starter in the defensive secondary all season long with defensive back Jahlil Florence nursing a knee injury that kept him out of the entire season. Florence announced after the Rose Bowl loss that he will be forgoing the NFL and will return to Oregon for his senior season.

Nov 18, 2023; Tempe, Arizona, USA; Oregon Ducks defensive back Jahlil Florence (6) against the Arizona State Sun Devils at Mountain America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Florence was a key starter on Oregon's 2023 team, but he suffered a season-ending injury against Arizona State in a November matchup. The injury cost him over 12 months of action. During the 2023 season, Florence started in nine games and registered 27 tackles, two tackles for loss, one sack, and one interception.

As a true freshman in 2022, he played in eight games and recorded over 200 snaps.

After the loss to Ohio State, Florence immediately announced his intention to coming back for what could be his final season. Florence redshirted this year and will gain the extra season of eligibility back.

"I still got something to finish, I feel like I have a year where I could definitely help this team a lot. I'm definitely coming back next year, for sure." Florence said.

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Florence said he wasn't even sure what his knee injury entailed, noting that he just knew it was severe enough to keep him out for a prolonged period.

"It was a major knee injury. I had to get a severe surgery so it sidelined me for a little bit," said Florence. "Even I'm not really sure the exact injury. I had to get two surgeries so, it was kinda severe."

Despite missing the season with the injury, Florence suited up in warmups during the Big Ten conference title game and during the Rose Bowl for the Ducks, but ultimately did not see the field in either game. If the Ducks had advanced to the CFP semifinals, there was a silm opportunity that Florence could've made his return, but with the season ending for the Ducks, he never got his chance.

Sep 30, 2023; Stanford, California, USA; Oregon Ducks defensive back Jahlil Florence (right) defends a pass against Stanford Cardinal wide receiver Tiger Bachmeier (left) during the first quarter at Stanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images / Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

Florence will return next season and immediately step in as a veteran leader of the defense. With his experience and veteran presence, he brings a big boost to a defensive back unit that will be graduating two starters in Jabbar Muhammad and Dontae Manning.

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