Reports: Gators veteran offensive lineman suffers serious knee injury

By Adam Silverstein
August 10, 2016
Reports: Gators veteran offensive lineman suffers serious knee injury
Football

Image Credit: ESPNI

When head coach Jim McElwain on Monday announced that Florida Gators redshirt junior guard Antonio Riles hurt his knee, McElwain said he had no idea how serious the injury might be. Now we have an idea.

Riles injury has been deemed so serious that it will require surgery and likely force him to miss the entire season, according to multiple reports initiating with one from Nick De La Torre.

Florida has yet to discuss the severity of the injury, and McElwain will not address it until he next speaks to the media on Friday. Should the report hold true, the Gators would lose one of the few veterans on a still-developing unit is filled with youth and inexperience.

A former defensive lineman, Riles started six of the 11 games he played at guard and was competing for a starting job this fall. Now it appears sophomores Martez Ivey and Tyler Jordan are the favorites for those jobs on the interior of the line.

Though the Gators’ offensive line is expected to be improved after giving up a SEC-high 45 sacks in 2015, it still has a long ways to go. This is most certainly a blow to the unit’s depth and development.

Join The
Discussion

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Top
WordPress Appliance - Powered by TurnKey Linux