After an injury plagued career, Matt Rolin has called it quits.
The linebacker arrived in Gainesville after recovering from a torn ACL, then suffered another ACL tear shortly into his first fall camp. After missing the 2013 and ’14 seasons, Rolin battled a herniated disk to appear in just three games as a redshirt sophomore last fall. He garnered starts against Florida Atlantic and opposite Michigan in the Citrus Bowl, and totaled a career-best eight stops in the SEC title game against Alabama.
Still, that injury toll zapped Rolin of his desire to play the game.
“He just kind of lost the love of the game,” Gators head coach Jim McElwain told Gator Bait. “He’s going to stay and graduate, should be done actually this semester if he chooses to use his time right. And that’s kind of the goal for him. And for the right reasons. He wasn’t really into it and yet at the same time he saw he was taking reps from some of the young guys that have been showing some promise. So for him and the injuries he’s had, he’s just chosen that maybe there’s something else in his life.”
Though his collegiate career did not play out the way he expected, Rolin leaves with warm feelings for the Gators’ football program.
Florida enters this season with only three experienced linebackers on the roster, and only one -- Jarrad Davis -- has been a reliable contributor for the Gators.