The thin Florida Gators linebacker room could be getting reinforcement this week in the form of Kylan Johnson.
On Wednesday head coach Jim McElwain reported that Johnson, who has been nursing a hamstring injury since fall camp, could be back for the Florida Gators’ matchup with the Vanderbilt Commodores on Saturday.
“Kylan Johnson has been practicing this week. We’ll look at today’s film again and see how he’s moving before we make the determination if he’s ready and then see how many reps he may be ready from a rep count, but he’s definitely headed in the right direction.”
Johnson has missed the last two weeks and likely would have missed the Gators game against Northern Colorado had it not been canceled. The absence of Johnson coupled with the suspensions of several freshmen linebacker has left the linebacker group thin. Tuesday Cristian Garcia joked that since the team only traveled with five linebackers to Kentucky that the whole group had a little extra leg room on the plane to Lexington. Garcia also noted the added pressure that each of the linebackers feels to stay healthy, adding he separated his shoulder against Tennessee and needed a shot to relive the pain just to play against Kentucky.
Getting Johnson back, who was projected to start this year, even in a limited role would significantly relieve some of that pressure on the group.