John Huggins has been dismissed from the Florida Gators football team. A UF spokesperson confirmed to Gator. Edgar Thompson and the Orlando Sentinel were first to report.
Huggins hasn’t been with the team since fall camp started with the school’s reason being he was dealing with a “family situation.”
Just four days ago Dan Mullen publically went to bat for his sophomore defensive back when asked about an altercation Huggins’ had last October. A public records request yielded a police report from an altercation that Huggins had with a tutor last October as well as a public citation for possession of marijuana in December.
Huggins was accused of choking a tutor on October 1, but she declined to press charges on the football player. Subsequently Huggins missed the next five games, which Mulled stated was “part of” the consequences for his actions. When asked if those incidents were the reason that Huggins was not with the team currently Mullen responded, “No, that’s been handled.” Leaving questions lingering as to why Huggins wasn’t with the team in camp. Those questions are only heightened now that he has been dismissed.
On the field the Gators are thin in the secondary. Florida signed 19 defensive backs during the 2016-2019 recruiting cycles but only 10 of them will be available this fall. McArthur Burnett, Brian Edwards, Justin Watkins and Chris Steele transferred. Huggins has been dismissed. Randy Russell had to take a medical redshirt for a heart condition, Joseph Putu’s eligibility is done after he transferred in from a junior college. Chauncey Gardner-Johnson left school early for the NFL and CJ McWilliams will miss the season with a ruptured Achilles tendon.
It’s unclear how the Gators will fill this void. Huggins wasn’t projected as a starter but he would have had a big role on the defense. Currently Trey Dean is slotted to start at nickel but the Gators now have just six cornerbacks, three of which are freshmen and two of which are coming off of ACL surgeries last year.