Florida LB Shemar James has knee surgery and will be out for the season. Florida will be without starting linebacker Shemar James for the rest of the 2023 season.
GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA – Florida sophomore linebacker Shemar James had surgery on Wednesday to repair a dislocated left kneecap and will miss the remainder of the 2023 season, according to Gators head coach Billy Napier.
The news of James’ knee injury broke during pre-game warmups before Florida’s Saturday game against No. 1 Georgia. After aggravating his injury, James left the game in the second half.
“He’s finished. “He had surgery today and is now out,” Napier announced on Wednesday. “As a result, he’ll be back for spring practice.” This will be a four-month agreement. Finally, it’s a kneecap dislocation, which is similar to a shoulder dislocation.”
James suffered the same ailment during his high school career, according to Napier. James suffered the identical knee injury during Florida’s 2023 fall training camp but missed no games.
“Everything went well with the surgery,” Napier added. “It won’t be a major factor long-term for him.”
James, who starts alongside redshirt sophomore Scooby Williams in the middle of Florida’s defense, leads the team in total tackles this season with 55 through Week 9. He’s also collected one sack and 5.5 tackles for loss.
In his near-two-year career, James has compiled 102 total tackles including 7.5 for loss, three sacks and a forced fumble.
In James’ place, redshirt junior Mannie Nunnery, freshman Jaden Robinson and junior Derek Wingo are listed as co-starters on Florida’s Week 10 depth chart. The trio has combined for 19 total tackles this season, including 1.5 sacks from Wingo.
However, redshirt senior Teradja Mitchell has rotated into the second level of the Gators’ defense more often than either of those players with 110 snaps logged this season, which suggests his role could also be elevated in the absence of James.
Mitchell has 14 tackles this season after transferring from Ohio State to Florida during the offseason.
“It presents a great opportunity for those other three guys, and they’ve all had great weeks,” he said. “We’ll lean on Scooby and Teradja to go along with that leadership, communication component.”
The defense will face Arkansas, who dismissed offensive coordinator Dan Enos and replaced him with wide receivers coach Kenny Guiton during the program’s Week 9 bye, on Saturday at 12:00 ET at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
