Hill’s 2 INTs help Gators hold off Missouri for 1st SEC win in a year

GAINESVILLE

Jaydon Hill was supposed to wear a brace on his right knee Saturday. He had practiced with it for weeks. He saw it waiting for him on the sideline.

But he felt so good in warmups that he decided to leave it there. And he won’t touch it now.

Hill intercepted two passes, including one he returned 49 yards for a touchdown, and Florida held on to beat Missouri 24-17 on Saturday to end a six-game skid in Southeastern Conference play.

Hill’s Pick-6 was among a bevy of big plays that gave the Gators (4-2, 1-2 SEC) their first league victory in a year. His second interception ended a third-quarter drive that had reached Florida’s 16-yard line.

“Words can’t even describe it,” Hill said. “Just grateful for being here.”

It was a breakout performance for Hill, a thirdyear sophomore who was playing his second game since returning from a torn anterior cruciate ligament that wiped out his 2021 season. Hill had been a projected starter this past spring but injured a different ligament in the same knee and needed arthroscopic surgery.

“What a story, right?” coach Billy Napier said. “The discipline to continue to rehab, to stay the course. He’s got passion about this game. I always felt like watching him in spring ball that he was one of the best players that we had. That showed up today. ... He was a difference-maker today.”

Hill’s play against the Tigers (2-4, 0-3) also backed up his bulletinboard comments earlier this week.

“I’m like, ‘Man, I know what we’re supposed to do,’ ” Hill said. “We’re supposed to beat Missouri. That’s something we’re supposed to do. What I said, I had to back it up. I came out here and I did that.”

Missouri beat Florida five times in the previous 10 meetings. But the Gators entered Saturday’s game as 10 1⁄2-point favorites and looked like they might be in trouble after gaining just 65 yards in the first half.

But Florida’s ground game took over in the second half, getting long runs from Montrell Johnson (36, 41), Trevor

Etienne (39) and Anthony Richardson (32) to find the end zone.

The Gators finished with 231 yards rushing, including 212 after the break. Johnson led the way with 86 yards and a touchdown.

Still, it was Florida’s defense that clinched the game. The Gators stopped a fourth-and-2 play with 1:17 remaining to put the Tigers away.

“I feel like we’re built to play winning football,” said Napier, who improved to 19-4 in one-possession games as a head coach.

Richardson completed 8 of 14 passes for 66 yards, with a touchdown and an interception. It was his fifth straight game with at least one turnover. He also ran for 45 yards.

Florida hosts LSU next Saturday night, the Gators’ sixth home game in seven weeks.