Nearly a year ago today, Justus Boone seemed to be primed for a breakout 2023 season before suffering a torn ACL during a fall camp scrimmage. The injury was non-contact and post play, where Boone was simply celebrating a defensive stop.
After 12 months of rehabbing and working his way back to full health, redshirt junior edge rusher Justus Boone is set to make his first appearance since December 17th, 2022.
“During my offseason and during my time rehabbing and recovering, I really put my head down and really worked hard,” Boone said on returning to full health. “Full thanks to my training staff and my strength staff. They really pushed me, and they really got me back to the level I needed to be. I have no worries at all.”
The changes that have been made within the strength program have played a major role in Boone’s progress throughout the offseason. The fourth-year player has made dramatic strides in the weight room.
“I don’t have the numbers but I’m pretty sure one of my coaches does and once they tell you, you’ll be really happy with what we’ve been doing. The work has helped tremendously, and you can definitely see the output of that.”
“If I take this shirt off, I’m ripped up,” Boone said on his recovery and progress in the weight room.
Prior to his injury, Boone was just beginning to ease his way into the rotation, averaging a total of 21 snaps per game. The 6-3.75, 266-pound edge rusher recorded 19 tackles and 11 quarterback hurries and had the fourth highest PFF grade amongst defensive players with 200 snaps in 2022.
Boone didn’t shy away from telling the media about his challenges throughout the recovery process.
“Honestly probably one of the hardest things I’ve ever done,” Boone said on being sidelined for an entire season. “Just from being a player that’s never really experienced no big-time injuries that slowed me down to the point that I can’t play, it’s just very challenging. I’m a very physical guy and I like to actually be a part of something, not just very verbal. I like to actually be able to do it. So, it was challenging not being able to be my complete self.”
Boone will play a big role in a Florida defense that’s looking to make major strides in year three under Billy Napier. Over the offseason, Florida hauled in a total of seven transfers who have logged snaps at the collegiate level.
“I would like to say our mindset and our experience,” Boone said on defensive changes. “I know for a fact that we have over 1,000 snaps on offense and defense with our transfer players coming in. So, we’re loaded. We got a whole lot of experience, and we got a whole lot of guys that played last year that have experience. So, I can honestly say that the commodity of all of us together will show that.”
In January, The Gators acquired Coach Ron Roberts and two other defensive assistants to help revamp Florida’s defense. Within Roberts’ first seven months on campus, the Gators’ Co-DC already has this defense trending in the right direction.
“Coach Roberts, I see him probably more than I see my position coach. He’s real big on pass rush,” Boone said on Roberts. “We got a group chat or whatever, he’s always sending this like different NFL rushers that’s kind of similar to our rushers and stuff like that. So, I like to say that he’s a real big, detailed guy and he makes sure that we get a full understanding and he’s going to go out the way and do whatever he can to make sure we get an understanding. Whether that’s staying late, going over film for us, getting us to watch guys in the position that we want to be in doing it or whether it’s just breaking it down for us to make sure we get an understanding.”
With fall camp underway this week, it’s clear to Boone that the bond has only grown stronger between these players as we inch closer to the start of the 2024 season. The ability and willingness to play together has taken the next step.
“I would just say camaraderie and the bond between each other, the mindset that we have and the things that they’re putting each other’s ears and keeping in each other’s head and staying together throughout the whole process and finishing,” Boone said.
The less mistakes that are made on defense lead to more players playing with confidence. The emphasis that has been placed on fixing those mistakes has been the number one priority in the spring.
“We emphasized the details on a lot of our mistakes, and we went over it 1,000 times,” Boone said. “So, we’re confident about it because we’ve done it 1000 times. So, we’re ready to do it as many times as we need to.”
The Florida Gators were nowhere to be found in nearly every statistical category on defense last season. In 2023, the Gators ranked 79th in rushing defense, 92nd in team sacks and 104th in tackles for loss according to the NCAA. On the defensive line, the Gators return four defensive linemen with 76 total games played, six edge rushers with 92 total games played and acquired eight new players over the offseason. The Gators have the pieces, they just need to put it together this upcoming season.