Billy Napier Updates Gators CB Devin Moore's Injury Status
Photo: Devin Moore; Credit: Alex Shepherd
Freshman cornerback Devin Moore was a surprise inactive on Saturday when the Florida Gators hosted the Missouri Tigers. He had not been listed on the team's Week 6 injury report and logged 35 snaps against Eastern Washington the week prior, the third-most in a game of his young UF career.
Head coach Billy Napier offered some clarity regarding the status of Florida's second-team corner on Monday, sharing that Moore tweaked a previous injury in practice just before the Week 6 report was published last Wednesday.
"[Moore] got a little banged up late in practice on Wednesday. Nothing major there," Napier said. "He'll be kind of a work in progress this week, but re-aggravated an injury from the past and one that made him unavailable for the game."
The injury Moore had previously sustained was not disclosed at the time.
The re-emergence of now fully healthy redshirt sophomore cornerback Jaydon Hill made Moore's absence an easier pill to swallow in the Gators' 24-17 victory over the Tigers.
Still, Moore immediately emerged as a contributor in Florida's secondary this season after enrolling at UF in January, taking the field for 167 snaps across five games and posting six tackles in a routinely rotational role.
Moore's presence within the secondary may not have come as a surprise to Florida fans, even with considerable depth at his position and his youth in mind. Moore was a standout in offseason practices and workouts and earned plenty of praise from the coaching staff and his teammates as a result.
"Devin is the first recruit I talked to when I took this job," defensive coordinator Patrick Toney said of Moore on Aug. 2, at the beginning of UF's fall camp.
"He has done a really good job, man. He is extremely mature for his age. He is smart. He picks it up fast, very athletic, has great length. He has just done a tremendous job in spring football, and then continued that throughout the summer program."
Should Moore miss any additional time, Florida is expected to continue leaning on sophomore Avery Helm, redshirt sophomore Jalen Kimber and redshirt freshman Jordan Young to backup its starting cornerbacks in Hill and sophomore Jason Marshall Jr.
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