A depleted Florida secondary took another hit yesterday, when it was revealed that CJ McWilliams ruptured his Achilles tendon and will miss the entire 2019 season. McWilliams was in the mix to be the starter at the Star position and he was slated to see a lot of action in the defensive back rotation due to injuries and attrition.
#Gators CB CJ McWilliams is out for the season with a torn Achilles.
— Nick de la Torre (@delatorre) August 6, 2019
This loss really strains the depth of a secondary that has already taken a number of hits. Top recruit Chris Steele transferred to USC before playing a single down with the Gators, and Brian Edwards transferred out of the program in search of more playing time.
The starters are among the best in the nation, but there are now only true freshman and untested players behind them in the depth chart.
There is more bad news out of Gainesville. A report from Matt Baker of the Tampa Bay Times shed light on some disturbing numbers out of the football team. Baker reported that there have now been at least five incidents of domestic violence involving a Florida player or coach.
In today's @TB_Times: We now know of five accusations of violence (or threatening violence) against women from members of the #Gators program in Dan Mullen's first year and a half in Gainesville. https://t.co/lXV8MoZs5v
— Matt Baker (@MBakerTBTimes) August 7, 2019
The most recent incident to come to light involved John Huggins. Back in October, Huggins is alleged to have choked his tutor during a tutoring session. Reportedly, the tutor took Huggins phone away from him since he had a habit of skipping out early on his sessions, and he is alleged to have responded with violence. No charges were filed, but many have drawn the conclusion that this is why he has been held out of practice.
To his credit, Dan Mullen has parted ways with the four people that were previously accused of such action. When asked to comment on the story, the coach had this to say:
“We spend a lot of time in educating our guys. Obviously we are very anti-violence against women, but as you try to investigate the situations, as you try to educate guys on what happens. The great thing is educating on how to make good decisions. Everything gets back to decision making, how can I make good decision in life. If they are learning how to make good decision and how to put yourself in good situations, that’s how we spend all our time educating our guys on those things – and trying to educate the team as a whole.”
H/T Tampa Bay Times
