Florida Gators senior rush end CeCe Jefferson will miss his second game of the new season due to suspension for not abiding by team rules according to the football program. The message was officially released just before kickoff of the game between Kentucky at 7:30 p.m.

Junior linebacker David Reese and sophomore safety Shawn Davis will miss the contest as well due to injury.

Jefferson was one of seven individuals on the squad that missed last week’s opener with Charleston Southern. Sophomore receiver Kadarius Toney, sophomore running back Adarius Lemons, redshirt junior defensive lineman Luke Ancrum, sophomore defensive tackle Kyree Campbell, sophomore cornerback Brian Edwards, and walk-on athlete James Washington also missed the opener due to suspension. All of those players except Jefferson have been cleared to return vs. Kentucky.

Jefferson was a representative for Florida at SEC Media Days in July and is well respected among his teammates. The senior team leader has stayed out of trouble since his arrival on campus although his eventual signing with Florida was a circus at the time. He’s also a preseason All-SEC pick.

There has been no announcement of how long the suspension is.

Florida should be fine at the position for Saturday. Junior Jachai Polite has emerged as s big time pass rusher in the offseason and showed some of what he was capable of doing last week. Redshirt sophomore Jeremiah Moon has also impressed as a slid pass rusher and will get another chance to show what he can do.

Redshirt junior Jabari Zuniga has the athleticism to play as the weak side rusher if need be as well.

Florida held Charleston Southern to just three yards passing a week ago and leads the nation in that category. However, they gave up over 200 yards on the ground to a squad with a different type of running game they won’t see all season.

The Gators play Kentucky, who threw for all of 137 yards and one touchdown along with two interceptions last week in a game with Western Michigan. Florida will look to stop the run first with talented bowling ball of a runner in Benny Snell and then force the pass if possible.

The contest is the SEC opener for both teams in a year where both are trying to prove themselves. The Gators, coming off of a 4-7 record a year ago, own a 31-game winning streak over the Wildcats and trying to make it 32.

Rain has been the weather forecast all day and that could mean evening the playing field a bit. Two hours before kickoff the skies are hazy but no rain coming down. The anticipation is for more rain to come during the game.

Florida would love to get off to a 1-0 start in the SEC and not have to play catch up, especially with this being a game in The Swamp. The Gators seem to be better at most spots on the field on paper.

Dan Mullen is going for his second win as the Gator head coach and of course his first in the SEC as the lead Gator.