Report details notable upgrade for Caleb Banks on Florida’s availability report
By Andrew Olson
Published:
The 2025 season has been a rough one for the Florida Gators, and the injury bug has not helped. As noted by ESPN’s Brandon Zimmerman, Florida had a league-high 9 players on the initial availability report for Week 12. There was, however, a positive development on Wednesday’s report.
After weeks of being ruled “out” on every report, defensive tackle Caleb Banks was upgraded to doubtful. In most cases, “doubtful,” would hardly be newsworthy, but the designation turned some heads with Banks having been sidelined since September. According to Zach Goodall of Swamp247, the news is even more positive. Goodall reports, per sources, that Banks is “fully healed.”
Considered an NFL talent, Banks’ decision to return for his final season of college eligibility at Florida was a big deal for the 2025 Gators. His final year, however, has not gone as he planned.
The injury bug has not been kind to Banks. He missed Florida’s bowl game following the 2024 season and was out for spring practice in 2025. After missing the first 2 games of the ’25 campaign, he made his season debut against LSU in Week 3. Banks played only 29 snaps in the game before exiting due to a foot injury that led to him having surgery.
With Banks’ recovery from the September procedure described as long-term, many did not expect his return in the 2025 season. Per Goodall, Banks is trying to get back on the field before the end of UF’s season. Since he has not played in about 2 months, Banks is reportedly more likely to return for upcoming games against Tennessee and Florida State than Saturday’s contest at Ole Miss.
In 2024, Banks had 21 tackles, including 10 solo stops and 4.5 sacks. Banks also logged 2 forced fumbles and recovered a fumble in 10 starts last season.
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
