Jack Miller still working to get back on the field after surgery
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida Gators backup quarterback Jack Miller is getting closer to returning to the football field but he’s not there yet. Miller had surgery to repair an avulsion fracture in his right hand during fall camp. While he won’t be available this week against USF, Billy Napier is hopeful to get him back in the fold soon.
“These things are a little bit of a subjective opinion. The same injury that Drew Brees had, so that was kind of the timetable,” Napier said when asked about Miller returning to the field this week. “I don’t know that he has made as much progress as Drew did, but he is definitely improving, and we anticipate getting him back at some point.”
Napier previously compared Miller’s injury to one the injury Drew Brees had in 2019. It is commonly known as “skier’s thumb.” The typical timetable for recovery following surgery is 5-6 weeks. Miller had surgery in mid-August. That timetable would get Miller back on the practice field this week or next week. However, as Napier said on Wednesday, that timetable is turning out to be longer than originally thought.
“Jack had a thumb avulsion fracture which is the same surgery that Drew Brees had just a couple of years ago. So we anticipate him missing I’m going to say the first two games and we’re hopeful we get him back for Week 3,” Napier said on August 21. “He’ll be in a cast in a couple of weeks as that thing grows back together and he’ll start the rehab process.”
Miller wasn’t able to win the starting job after transferring from Ohio State but had secured the backup job. Miller looked good in fall camp prior to the injury.
The quarterback room without Miller
Since Miller’s injury, Billy Napier has listed both Jalen Kitna and Kyle Engel as backups to Anthony Richardson. It’s unclear which quarterback would get the call first if Richardson were to go down during the course of a game.
“I think we’re very much a competition there for the backup spot,” Napier said in August. “I think we’ve seen (Jalen) Kitna do some good things, we’ve seen (Kyle) Engel do some good things. Max (Brown) is a little behind, obviously, being a rookie. Both those guys are very smart and have a good understanding of what we do and move the team.”
Richardson is coming off of the worst game of his young career. He completed just 40% (14-35) of his pass attempts for 143 yards and two interceptions. Richardson only rushed the ball six times, losing four yards. It was a far cry from his herculean performance in the season opener. Against Utah Richardson rushed for three touchdowns and 106 yards. He also completed 70.8% (17-24) of his pass attempts for 168 yards.
