Injury Update: Maye (broken arm) sees his Florida career come to a close
It was a bittersweet Senior Day for Gators redshirt senior safety Marcus Maye, who was honored for his collegiate accomplishments pre-game but then suffered a season-ending broken arm during the first half of Florida's 20-7 win over South Carolina in The Swamp on Saturday.
With Maye, defensive end Bryan Cox Jr., center Tyler Jordan and left tackle David Sharpe all going down in Saturday's game, Florida has had to play without a number of key starters in November and will continue to do so. Linebackers Alex Anzalone (broken arm) and Jarrad Davis (ankle), center Cameron Dillard (knee), defensive end CeCe Jefferson (foot) and quarterback Luke Del Rio (shoulder) also weren't available Saturday.
“Marcus will be done obviously,” McElwain said. “I just feel horrible, but he’s done so much. His draft stock looking down the road has risen drastically because of how he’s played. So this won’t have any bearing on it. He’s got a broken something in his arm, so he put a cast on it and get back after it, right? So he’ll be fine long-term, and he’s a guy that’ll be there every step of the way just like Alex (Anzalone) was this week.”
Maye's future past his Florida career looks bright, considering adding a strong redshirt senior year to his resume could land him in one of the early rounds of the 2017 NFL Draft. In nine appearances in 2016, Maye recorded 50 tackles, an interception, six pass breakups and a sack. That's following a 2015 campaign where Maye logged an SEC-best five forced fumbles.
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* Instant Analysis: Florida handles Muschamp, South Carolina on Senior Day
* Florida-South Carolina Game Thread
* Updates: Jim McElwain's postgame press conference
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However, losing Maye is certainly a blow to the Gators defense with key matchups at LSU and Florida State looming. The performance of Nick Washington and Marcell Harris, though, at both safety spots was encouraging Saturday in Maye's absence. Harris logged an interception and TFL to go along with seven tackles, while Washington finished with five tackles, a hurry and a pass breakup.
“He’s a senior, man. Senior Day, I hate this,” redshirt junior safety Marcell Harris said. “I hate to lose him on this day as well, but honestly it’s the next man up. When you get your opportunity, you’ve got to take it. I sent prayers up for him, and hopefully everything turns out fine for him.”
Jordan appeared to suffer an ankle injury on the first play of the game and did not return, while Sharpe was on the sideline wearing a walking boot during the second half of Saturday's contest. After the game, Cox was also seen wearing a walking boot.
McElwain said after the game regarding Davis' status against LSU: “You know I think he’s still out, looks like. But you know we’ll see. I sure hope so.”
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