Billy Napier updates status of Kingsley Eguakun, Micah Mazzccua
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The No. 22 Gators get one of their offensive linemen back against Kentucky, but another starter’s status is to be determined this week. Florida (3-1, 1-0 SEC) will be on the road Saturday for its first SEC away game against the Wildcats (4-0, 1-0 SEC).
UF was missing two OL starters for the entire matchup vs. Charlotte. Redshirt junior center Kingsley Eguakun was out with a lingering ankle injury and junior right guard Micah Mazzccua served a full-game suspension for his role in the late-game scuffle against Tennessee.
Florida redshirt sophomore right tackle Damieon George Jr. and redshirt senior tight end Dante Zanders were also suspended for the first half, but both played in the second. Gators coach Billy Napier provided an update Monday on the status of Eguakun and Mazzccua.
Eguakun missed the first two games — snapping his streak of 26 consecutive starts — before making his season debut against Tennessee. However, Napier said he had “some setbacks” and was ruled out against the 49ers. Eguakun was on the sideline with a boot on.
“I think it’s to be determined,” Napier said Monday when asked about Eguakun’s availability. “I think that he’s made progress. We anticipate him practicing tomorrow. I’ll be able to let you know Wednesday.”
Napier did confirm that Mazzccua is back this week after missing the Charlotte game. He was suspended for the second half by the coaching staff but will face no additional in-house punishment.
“Micah will be back,” Napier said.
Napier assess the Gators O-line play
With three O-line starters sidelined in the first half last Saturday and two for the whole game, Florida had some struggles up front against Charlotte.
Redshirt junior quarterback Graham Mertz was sacked three times, including one that resulted in a lost fumble, and faced pressure throughout the night.
Napier assessed the play of Florida’s offensive line, which had two players making their first starts with the Gators in true freshman Knijeah Harris and redshirt senior right tackle Lyndell Hudson II, who transferred from FIU.
“I think any time you start talking about sacks and pressures, typically all position groups are contributing,” Napier said. “If you just went down a list right now, I think that that would be the case this year as well, whether it’s the back had a mental error, or we had an issue in protection with the front guys, or a receiver didn’t separate, or you held the ball too long.
“One of the sacks Saturday was a result of we just held it too long. … Look, we have a new group of players on the O-line, and then we’ve had injuries. So that group, the continuity has not been there this year so far. So, we’ve played with a mixture of lineups, and I think that’s contributed to some of the issues we’ve had. But I do think at times we played really well also.”
