Florida Gators will be without a defensive standout in their opener

Published Nov. 15, 2016 3:47 p.m. ET

Aaron Torres

Huge news out of college football on Wednesday morning, when Florida coach Jim McElwain announced that star cornerback Jalen Tabor, as well as tight end C'yontai Lewis will be suspended for the Gators’ opener against UMass.

In a statement released through the school, McElwain provided a few, scant details.

"Both C'yontai and Jalen will not be involved with the team or practice due to behavior that is not acceptable," McElwain stated. "By no means are these bad guys and yet consequences have been handed down. We will not look the other way when it comes to breaking of team policies. I want to echo what I said earlier, these are both fine young men who will learn and be stronger from their actions. They will also be suspended for the first game. There are life lessons in everything we do. We will be better because of it and no one person is bigger than the Florida Gators."

For Florida, this is a devastating blow, for one of the best defenses in college football. Tabor, who we ranked as the fifth-best defensive back in college football last week, finished last season with four interceptions and 12 pass break-ups, playing alongside future first round pick Vernon Hargreaves in the Gators’ defensive backfield. He was voted first-team All-SEC in the preseason this year.

The good news for Florida is that based on what McElwain said, it doesn’t appear as though Tabor or Lewis will miss a significant amount of time. Suspensions like this happen all the time, for minor infractions incurred either during the off-season or fall camp.

At the same time, Gators fans better hope the suspension doesn’t last long.

Florida opens SEC play in Week 2 with a home game against Kentucky, and have to travel to SEC East favorite Tennessee on September 24th.