'I Feel All the Emotions': Gates Ready for Return to The Swamp

GAINESVILLE, Fla.-- Aaron Gates didn't need a doctor to guess what happened to his knee.

Caught up in a pile during the second play of the Florida Gators' game against Ole Miss, the defensive back had torn his ACL, marking his second ACL tear in three years and ending his breakout 2024 campaign.

"When it first happened, I kind of already knew what it was. I had an idea," he detailed Monday. "I didn't know for sure, but I had hope. I was just praying to God. It was what it was, and I just took it as an opportunity to make a great comeback."

With his second tear, the first coming during his senior year of high school at Sharpsburg (Ga.) Trinity Christian Academy, Gates knew what to expect with the upcoming recovery process. Still, the pain of missing the rest of the season and beyond was just as difficult as the physical pain. However, having already gone through this before, albeit in his other knee, Gates attacked the recovery process as quickly as he attacks offenses near the line of scrimmage.

"Yeah, going through it before definitely played a big role," he said. "I had experience, and it just feels easier mentally to handle it, knowing what was going on, what to expect. So I feel like that gave me an advantage, helped me just work at it every day."

The possibility of missing the 2025 season was realistic but not a guarantee. Gates, using previous experience, the will to return and what he calls a "team effort" with the program's training staff, returned to the practice field as a full participant at the beginning of fall camp.

Head coach Billy Napier confirmed Gates would be ready for Saturday's season opener shortly after.

"First of all, I think the kid is applied the attitude, the effort, the self-discipline," Napier said during fall camp. "He had an ACL his senior year, so he's been through it before, so I think that gave him a little bit of an advantage. But look, we got good people downstairs in the training room, in the rehab area. And then Gates is just a machine. Just a quiet, steady, relentless worker, and he loves football and wants to be back."

Gates also credited Napier for sticking by him not one, but twice. The former four-star first committed to Florida in 2021 when Dan Mullen was the head coach. When Napier took over ahead of the 2022 season, Gates remained committed to Florida, and Florida remained committed to Gates after his first torn ACL.

"Whenever I first got injured in high school, he didn't even blink," Gates said of Napier. "He just showed nothing but confidence in me since day one. Him and my family, just love the relationship we have with each other. I feel like Florida was a good fit for me."

That relentlessness in Gates' rehab is not too dissimilar to his play on the field. A versatile defensive back who can play all five secondary positions, according to Napier, Gates quickly became known for his aggressiveness and play-making ability as a tackler in space in 2024.

AARON GATES! Another interception for the Gators defense!

Gates continues to ball out pic.twitter.com/BmcVueLxzH
— Stadium and Gale: A Florida Gators Podcast (@StadiumAndGale) November 2, 2024

Splitting time with Sharif Denson at nickel-corner, Gates recorded 27 tackles, four tackles-for-loss, an interception and two fumble recoveries as a redshirt freshman. Denson, one of Gates' closest friends on the team, described seeing Gates go down in the eventual win against the Rebels.

“Definitely hurt my heart, but I know the type of guy he is and I know how strong his passion is," Denson said. "He's going to do everything he can to get back and do everything he can to get back out there with us. I’m excited to see what he can do.”

Now healthy, Gates is ready to take the field inside the stadium where his 2024 season came to a premature end.

"I just miss playing in The Swamp," he said. "I'm ready, excited, and I feel all the emotions, not really nervous but just prepared and ready."

The No. 15 Gators begin the 2025 season on Saturday at 7 p.m. ET against Long Island. Streaming coverage can be found on SEC Network+.

More From Florida Gators on SI