Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
LB Smith will be out 6 to 8 weeks with knee injury
Florida Gators freshman linebacker Nick Smith will be out six to eight weeks after tearing his meniscus during a workout earlier this week.
The news comes at the same time the Gators’ defense is reeling from the loss of senior safety Marcell Harris, who tore his Achilles tendon, also on Wednesday.
According to a source close to the UF program, Smith was slated to have surgery on Monday. His injury comes as a big blow to the linebackers unit at UF, which will have some voids to fill on the depth chart. The Gators will be needing linebackers to step up and provide depth this season in the middle of the defense, where experience is limited.
Among the players listed at linebacker on the Gators roster, only four have started a game with redshirt-sophomore Kylan Johnson having the most experience with six starts. Sophomore David Reese has four starts and sophomore Vosean Joseph and redshirt-senior Christian Garcia have one start each. Reese is the starting middle linebacker, while Johnson and Joseph will start at the strong side and weakside spots.
The injury will likely make this season a redshirt year for Smith, who could ultimately apply for medical hardship, if necessary.
Smith went to plant his left foot during a workout and the knee gave way coming out of his break.
UF lands QB
The Florida Gators received a huge jolt for the 2018 recruiting class Sautrday with the commitment of top quarterback prospect
Matt Corral of Long Beach (Calif.) Poly Tech.
Corral, a 6-foot-2, 196-pound pro-style quarterback, is ranked as the No. 2 passing quarterback in the country according to 247Sports composite rankings and Rivals.com, while ESPN has him ranked as the No. 6 pro-style prospect in the nation.
Corral announced his decision on Twitter a day after taking in the atmosphere of Friday Night Lights in the Swamp. The choice also likely further opens the door for FSU in pursuit of another UF QB target
Justin Fields of Kennesaw (Ga.) Harrison High.
Corral’s decision likely puts FSU in the driver’s seat for Fields, who took to Twitter on Saturday night to congratulate Corral on his choice, posting, “My boy!! Congrats.”
Corral originally had committed to USC in February, but he backed off his Trojans’ pledge last month. Florida ramped up its recruitment of the star quarterback and it paid off, with offensive coordinator
Doug Nussmeier making the big push and reeling in the Gators biggest prospect catch since landing defensive end CeCe Jefferson and offensive tackle Martez Ivey in the same class in 2015.
Corral has been impressive in his first three high school seasons at Westlake Village (Calif.) Oaks Christian. This will be his first season at Long Beach Poly Tech. He has thrown for almost 8,000 yards and 74 touchdowns while completing 64 percent of his passes. He has just 15 interceptions in 625 pass attempts. Though labeled a pocket passer, Corral is also plenty mobile and he improvises quite well when chased from pocket protection. He ran for just over 800 yards and 17 touchdowns in his high school.