Texas A&M Releases Injury Report vs. Florida

The Texas A&M Aggies have leg up on the Florida Gators injury-wise headed into Saturday's SEC opener.

Florida Gators linebacker Scooby Williams (17) celebrates a stop during the first half against the Florida State Seminoles at Steve Spurrier Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, FL on Saturday, November 25, 2023. [Matt Pendleton/Gainesville Sun] / Matt Pendleton/Gainesville Sun / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Texas A&M Aggies are looking relatively healthy ahead of their SEC opener against the Florida Gators on Saturday.

The SEC released the availability reports Wednesday for each intra-conference matchup this weekend, and the Aggies don't have too many surprises on the injury front.

A&M running back Rueben Owens and offensive lineman Mark Nabou Jr. have both been ruled out as expected. Per Aggies head coach Mike Elko, linebacker Scooby Williams will play Saturday despite being listed as questionable on the original injury report while running back EJ Smith will be a game-time decision.

Aug 31, 2024; College Station, Texas, USA; Texas A&M Aggies head coach Mike Elko high fives players as they exit the field during the second quarter against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images / Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

The game will mark a homecoming for Williams, who played the first three seasons of his college career with the Gators.

The Aggies will certainly have a leg up on Florida health-wise, as the Gators have a whopping 16 players on the injury report, 10 of which have already been ruled out. However, Florida quarterback Graham Mertz was not listed, meaning he will likely be available for Saturday after missing Week 2's win over Samford with an injury. Freshman DJ Lagway got the start in his place.

Headed into the third game of the season, the evaluation on Texas A&M remains incomplete after a close loss at home to Notre Dame followed by a blowout win over McNeese State. Snagging a win in "The Swamp" could serve as a solid measuring stick for Elko and co. before things get tougher down the line. Elko said his team doesn't "have much of a choice" but to be ready for the start of conference play.

"I don't think we have much of a choice," he said. "Next week we're going down to The Swamp, and the expectation is we're going down there and playourfootball. ... That's where we're at. ... "We will go back and study the tape for them and figure out how to clean stuff up. Now, (we're) turning our attention to next week. First SEC game, a road game. We know what both of those things mean for this program."

Texas A&M and Florida will kick off on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. CT.