The Florida Gators, led by Billy Napier, are set to face the Texas Longhorns in Week 6 and are looking to end their 3-game losses. However, defeating an opponent like Texas won’t be easy, since Arch Manning has regained his form against Sam Houston. Not just that, the Longhorns are a 6.5-point favorite over the Gators, and most predictions favor Florida substantially. At this time, the Gators have now also lost their ace running back, Ja’Kobi Lane, as the program has finally made available the injury report.

In the Longhorns’ game, running back Treyaun Webb, Edge LJ McCray, DB Aaron Gates, DB Dijon Johnson, and DL Caleb Banks are also out, apart from Ja’Kobi Lane’s injury. Notably, both Aaron Gates and Dijon Johnson suffered shoulder and knee injuries against Miami and went through the season-ending surgeries to recover. However, losing Ja’Kobi Lane is still a major blow for Billy Napier, especially against Texas.

Currently, a redshirt senior running back at Florida, Jackson has JUCO roots and spent the better part of his career at Coahoma Community College. He amassed an impressive 1,390 rushing yards for 14 touchdowns, playing 20 games, and paved the way for his SEC journey. After that, Billy Napier came calling, and after redshirting one year on the Gators team in the 2023 season, the guy finally started delivering.

“Ultimately, we go back to the high school tape, the production, the vision, loose hips, big, low to the ground. Look, the guy’s out of shape when he got here, rough first year, maybe there’s a little buyer’s remorse in the beginning. And then Ja’Kobi just worked, like on a mission, and had a phenomenal year last year,” said Napier about Jackson and why he recruited the RB. Jako’bi, though, repaid Napier’s faith big time.

For instance, last year, when the Gators faced the Longhorns, the game resulted in a blowout 49-17 victory for the Longhorns. Still, Ja’Kobi Jackson showed his prowess, notching 116 rushing yards in the game, along with a fourth-quarter touchdown. In total, Jackson rushed for 509 yards for 7 touchdowns, averaging 5.4 yards per carry. So, it would have been safe to assume that Jackson again would have brought the same performances against Texas this year, if not for a hamstring injury in the Miami game. That said, there are some optimistic returns, too, for Florida.

Billy Napier exudes confidence despite losing Jackson against the Longhorns

Freshman Dallas Wilson, who was sidelined for the better part of the offseason until now, is expected to make his debut against the Longhorns. Defensive Lineman Michai Boireau is another player who returns to the team after suffering an injury against Miami. Besides him, edge rusher George Gumbs Jr also returned, along with Aidan Mizell, after getting sidelined after the Miami game. Other players like redshirt senior WR J. Michael Sturdivant and DL Brendan Bett also make a comeback against the Longhorns. Surely now, with a bye week in hand, Billy Napier feels confident.

“Yeah, really excited about the challenge of playing this Texas team. Obviously, a ton of respect for how they play in all three parts of their team. Certainly some challenges with the personnel, the scheme. It’s great to be back at home after being on the road for a couple of weeks here, and excited about what could be a very special atmosphere with our fans. This has been talked about for a long time, and Texas coming to play at Florida is a big deal, and we look forward to it,” said Napier in his recent press conference.

The Longhorns are heavily favored against the Gators, amid talks mounting about Napier’s firing. Considering the game against Longhorns becomes extremely important for his job as 4 consecutive losses might not be tolerated, especially after last year’s regression. All things considered, the home advantage still can give Florida a slight edge, but without Jackson, who has notched up 98 rushing yards so far, the team will rely solely on Jadan Baugh, and it may come with some problems.