The Gators are one week into fall camp as they inch closer to their September 4 Opener. Thursday was Florida's first off day, they will practice on Friday, do a walk through on Saturday, and will have a scrimmage on Sunday in the Swamp.

With one week down Dan Mullen met with the media to discuss where his team is.

Junior cornerback Jaydon Hill suffered an ACL tear during the first few days of practice and will miss the 2021 season.

"Very unfortunate when you’ve got to deal with injuries. It’s really a tragedy with the amount of work that these guys put in, how hard they put in. Both of them were non-contact injuries. Just kind of a shame that stuff happens."

The Gators have depth at the position with Missouri transfer Jadarrius Perkins and redshirt freshman Avery Helm. True freshman Jason Marshall has also been impressive since he enrolled early last spring.

Last season Kadarius Toney handled every punt and half of Florida's kick returns. With Toney now playing for the New York Giants, the Gators needed to find a new playmaker to take over.

Dan Mullen singled out a couple of players that will get looks on those teams.

“Fenley coming out of high school, obviously everybody knew that was a guy that was very much a utility player, a really good football player, can return punts, can return kicks, can move him around defensively. A guy who has a really natural instinct for the ball. Obviously, in the return games he’s up there big. Trying to work Demarkus Bowman into that situation to return kicks. For new guys, I’m trying to think who else we got back there … we really just started with kickoff return so I haven’t seen those guys do that. Punt return, obviously you have Xzavier Henderson back there, Kaiir Elam, guys that have been back there in the past to go do that stuff as well."

Ja'Markis Weston will also get a look at kick return.

The Gators have been waiting for four star defensive lineman Tyreak Sapp to get to campus. Sapp had some issues with a class, which led him to being a late arrival but, as of Thursday, still had yet to join the team.

"We're hoping (to get him on campus soon)," Mullen said Thursday. "On our end everything's done. Now it's just waiting on other people."

Gators Territory provided an update on what we know about Sapp this morning, which you can read here.

Evan McPherson's decision to leave school early was a surprise and it left the Gators without a scholarship kicker on the roster. Florida does have a redshirt senior in Chris Howard and a graduate transfer in Jace Christmann, who kicked for Mullen at Mississippi State. The two will battle for the starting job.

"It'll be a good little competition between those two guys. You know, obviously, Chris has been with the program since I've been here and I've seen unbelievable improvement of him from one year to the next within our program. I think, comes into the year with a lot of confidence. And then obviously, Jace, knowing Jace, recruiting Jace out of high school, having him play for me. Heck, you know, I mean he scored the points the last time we were in a stadium and I was just on the opposite sideline this time. He's the one that scored the points when we went out there to play him a couple years ago at Mississippi State against us. So, I know that he has experience and a background."

The world lost a great coach and a better man this week with the passing of long time Florida State head coach Bobby Bowden. Dan Mullen was asked about his relationship with Bowden.

"He came to speak, when I was at Mississippi State, he came and spoke for us there. You know, being around him, you study him—obviously schemes. I thought he was, you know, a pretty unique innovator, during the, of the game of football; a lot with the shotgun and no huddle offense’s and very much an innovator in the game that way, you know. And then, obviously, one of the things you see, guys that have a long period of success, they must be doing something right. Obviously, it's so many amazing things right over that long period of success, but even more importantly—to me as a coach—is, you look at how people, you know, where they hold them. Obviously, not just—it’s, one thing is the respect that coaches have as a peer. But I think what’s even more telling is all the respect his former players have and the impact he made on their lives which is so special, which really shows you, not just that he was a great coach and an innovator of the game and made an impact on the game that way. But even more importantly, made an impact on so many young men’s lives, I think is what what really makes him so special.”