If Florida is to lay claim to the SEC East, the Gators will have to do so without one of their top players on the defensive side of the ball.
In the first half of UF’s win over South Carolina Saturday, Marcus Maye went down with what was later diagnosed as a broken arm. The injury will cost the defensive back the remainder of the 2016 season.
Not only that, it brings to an end the collegiate career of the senior safety.
“I just feel horrible, but he’s done so much,” head coach Jim McElwain said afterwards. “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.”
Maye has started 32 games the past four seasons, including 21 the last one-plus seasons. He’s expected to be a first- or second-round draft selection in the 2017 NFL draft.