Florida’s SEC opener at Auburn may come without one of the game’s most intriguing reunions.
Eric Singleton Jr., the former Tigers receiver now at Florida, was listed as questionable in the Gators’ first availability report, which the SEC released on September 16. Defensive lineman Emmanuel Oyebadejo is also questionable, leaving Florida with two notable names uncertain heading into Jordan-Hare Stadium.
Both players were hurt in Florida’s season debut against FAU and were spotted in boots before the Campbell game. Singleton and Oyebadejo are the only Gators included in the report.
“I’m not going to rush either one of them back and them not be right because it's a long season,” Florida football coach Jon Sumrall said. “Do we want them both to be back?
Yeah. But at the same time, we got to be smart tough, not dumb tough.
And if they're not available, if they're not ready to play the right way for themselves, it's going to hurt the team.”
Singleton’s path to this game had already made him a headline. He transferred to UF from Auburn, where he totaled 58 catches for 534 yards and 3 TDs.
During offseason workouts, he was timed as Florida’s fastest player, reaching a peak speed of more than 23 miles per hour on the treadmill. His injury came on Florida’s first offensive series against FAU, when he hurt his ankle while blocking for Venrell Brown III on a 49-yard catch-and-run touchdown.
Oyebadejo, who came to Florida from Jacksonville State, arrived with a strong résumé of his own after putting up 6.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks last season. In his Florida debut against FAU, he logged two tackles, two quarterback hurries and a pass breakup.
Auburn also has several names on its report. Offensive lineman Tai Buster is out, while edge rusher Joe Phillips and tight end Hunter Herring are questionable.
In Other News...
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Florida ultimately moved on and hired Jon Sumrall from Tulane, but the Kiffin connection keeps inviting second-guessing about what might have been. The differing versions of how his market unfolded have made the search one of the more debated episodes in recent program history, and this latest clue only sharpens the sense that there is still more to learn about how that process played out. [Read more 🡒]
Florida Walks Into A Familiar Auburn Test With More At Stake
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Auburn will also ask plenty of questions of Floridas defense with Brown set to make his first SEC start after transferring from USF, a move that adds another layer to a game already loaded with familiar ties. Sumrall has already noted Browns improvement and acknowledged how difficult Auburn can be at home, which only heightens the stakes for Florida as it tries to leave with more than a hard lesson from another familiar Auburn setting. [Read more 🡒]
Floridas 2026 Schedule Is Already Showing One Serious Warning Sign
Floridas early momentum under Jon Sumrall has given the program a clean start, including a 52-3 rout of Campbell, but the attention around the Gators is already shifting beyond the present tense. A look ahead to the 2026 schedule shows why this kind of early optimism can be hard to hold onto in the SEC, where the teams waiting on the calendar are rarely standing still for long.
A quick scan of those future opponents shows a mixed but dangerous picture for Florida. Auburn handled Southern Miss, Missouri beat Kansas, South Carolina leaned on a dominant rushing day against Towson, Texas stunned Ohio State with a comeback, Georgia looked sharp on both sides of the ball against Western Kentucky, Michigan upset Oklahoma, and Kentucky came up short against Alabama. For Florida, the warning sign is obvious enough: the schedule may already be taking shape as one that could demand a lot more than an encouraging opening run. [Read more 🡒]