Gators DB to Undergo Shoulder Surgery, per Report

Florida has taken another hit on the defensive side of the ball.

Florida Gators defensive back Aaron Gates suffered a shoulder injury in the loss to Miami. | Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

GAINESVILLE, Fla.-- The Florida Gators are set to be without another defensive contributor for a significant amount of time due to injury.

Redshirt sophomore defensive back Aaron Gates will undergo surgery to repair the labrum in his left shoulder, 247 Sports' Graham Hall reported Tuesday. Gates suffered his injury at the end of the first quarter of the 26-7 loss to Miami on Sept. 20. He immediately went to the locker room before returning to the sideline in a sling.

Head coach Billy Napier on Monday gave an initial positive update on Gates' status before Tuesday's report.

"We do anticipate potentially getting Aaron back. So, but that's going to be day-to-day depending on kind of how that goes," Napier said. "But I think we got good news on that front and then obviously you'll get an injury report Wednesday night."

A labrum surgery is generally a months-long recovery process, putting Gates' return to play for this season at risk. Despite only playing in four games, Gates is also not eligible for a traditional redshirt after doing so in 2023, but he could apply for a medical waiver should he miss the rest of the season.

Florida Gators defensive back Aaron Gates has dealt with his fair share of injuries in his career. | Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images

Although being a major contributor defensively, Gates has dealt with his fair share of injuries dating back to high school. Gates first enrolled at Florida in 2023 while recovering from an ACL tear in high school.

Playing sparingly in 2023, he emerged as a star at Florida's nickel corner position, racking up 27 tackles, three pass deflections, one interception and two fumble recoveries before suffering another ACL tear in his other knee on the first drive in the win over Ole Miss.

He missed the final two games of 2024 and most of spring camp before eventually returning to full speed in fall camp.

"I would just say I surprised myself a lot throughout the process," he said on Aug. 27. "Kind of every step I took, it was a different phase and it was a surprise of how my body was handling it. So I've just it hasn't really had that moment with like, oh yeah. But it's just every process, every step, has been a surprise, and I've just been taking it a day at a time."

In Gates' place, junior Sharif Denson will take a bulk of the snaps at nickel corner with freshman Lagonza Hayward as the immediate backup. Denson had already been splitting snaps at the position with Gates dating back to last season.

"Came in same class, so we've always been competing with each other but it's never been no animosity," Gates said. "It's just, you know, we competing for a job and we try to push each other to be the best that we can. We talk about that on a daily. It's kind of like something that goes into our relationship, we want to make sure that we're getting the most out of each other in practice."

Hayward, a four-star signee in the class of 2025, made headways in spring and fall camps, putting himself in a position to play early on defense and special teams.

"2 is on his way. I try to push him every day, but personally, I feel like he's way ahead of where I was when I first got here, as far as, like me playing STAR," Denson said at the beginning of the season. "He's already a bigger body, so it's just gonna be just the minute details because STAR is, like, mentally, it's a little bit challenging. So he's just a freshman, so he gonna get it down, but he's definitely on the way."

Florida Gators defensive back Sharif Denson will take the bulk of the snaps in Aaron Gates' place. | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Gates is also the latest significant injury to a key piece on Florida's defense. Florida will be without defensive lineman Caleb Banks and edge rusher LJ McCray for a significant amount of time after the two each underwent foot surgery, while the Gators have seen defensive lineman Michai Boireau and edge rusher George Gumbs Jr. each miss at least one game due to injury.

Florida also saw corner Dijon Johnson and defensive lineman Brendan Bett go down with injuries against Miami. Johnson recently underwent season-ending knee surgery and is eligible for a redshirt.

The Gators will release its first officially injury report of the week on Wednesday at 8 p.m.

Florida will look to snap a three-game losing streak on Saturday in the Swamp against No. 9 Texas with kickoff set for 3:30 p.m.