Florida defensive tackle has crossed the one-year mark since a brutal ankle injury sidelined him for the entire 2024 season and put his college career on the line. It happened during the first fall scrimmage on Aug. 10, 2024, when a pile rolled over him and his ankle caught on the turf. “It was the last play of the rep… I was making the tackle, the pile rolled over me, and my ankle just popped right out,” he recalled Wednesday. So, once poised for a breakout season, he spent the year rehabbing and fighting to get back on the field. But now, the big question is, can Billy Napier’s key starter, Jamari Lyons, make a comeback?
The injury was devastating. “Bone was hanging out of my skin,” said Lyons. “It took a long time just to start walking, and even longer to start running. But I pushed through.” Yes, the defensive tackle had to undergo two surgeries, one of which was an emergency one. “I wasn’t able to walk for six months,” added Lyons. “I was in a wheelchair for three weeks, then crutches, then a scooter… just slowly putting pressure back on it.” So, in an instant, his daily life and his football career changed forever. But now, at 6-foot-4 and 318 pounds, Jamari Lyons has fought his way back and is poised to start at nose tackle for Billy Napier’s Gators in 2025. This is where the emotions hit.
On Aug. 18, Gators insider Zach Abolverdi shared Jamari Lyons’ powerful comeback story. After months in a black non-contact jersey, he finally got the green light for full contact just before the spring game. “I just looked at the blue jersey and started tearing up a little bit, I was like, ‘Wow, I’m really back 100%,’” remarked Lyons. “It just felt good just to be out there, running around, striking, just having fun like being a big kid. It’s just all great.” And Lyons has carried that same energy into fall camp, grateful just to be back on the field.
“We’re pretty much trying to capitalize off last season,” he said. “Being able to go out there and train every day and work every day is just bringing me happiness and joy being able to work. It took like six months of sitting around all season. So being able to work and push forward, it just made me more happy.” Surely, it’s going to take him some time to get back into rhythm; however, the Cocoa native is no stranger to adversity.
‘I’m really back 100%’: Jamari Lyons details his long and emotional return to the field from a gruesome ankle injury.
“Being able to go out there and train every day and work every day is just bringing me happiness and joy.”
STORY: https://t.co/W9Q9M1Iwaj pic.twitter.com/PuZxcwC2dc
— Zach Abolverdi (@ZachAbolverdi) August 18, 2025
Lyons has played the game at a high level while managing Type 2 diabetes, sticking to a strict routine of insulin and weight checks. And so Lyons said, “I learned that taking care of my health is very important, especially dealing with this sport. This is a gladiator sport. Now that I am back 100%, I make sure I’m in the training room, make sure I’m eating healthy, take care of my health.” But while Lyons realizes that self-care matters, he knows that so does leaning on others when needed.
One of the biggest sources of support was new DL coach Gerald Chatman. Their first meeting after the injury was emotional. “When I was injured, he came to visit me. It was hard. We both had some tears,” stated Lyons. “He just kept making sure that I was out of my head and he kept reminding me that I was going to get back to healthy and being 100 percent. Every day he saw me when I was in a wheelchair in the building or when I was in the hospital, he came to visit me at my house as well.” So for Lyons, that support was a reminder he wasn’t fighting through the devastating injury alone. And now, as he makes his comeback for the 2025 season, Billy Napier recalled how he earned his nickname on Florida’s defense.
Billy Napier’s take on Jamari Lyons
Lyons earned the nickname “Junkyard Dog” from former DL coach Sean Spencer for his relentless style of play. But his Florida career didn’t take off right away. “We went to see him the first couple weeks we were on the job. I remember going to his high school, watching the tape,” said HC Billy Napier. “Big, long, twitchy, but didn’t get off to a great start in his career here. He had shoulder surgery, wasn’t midyear, showed up way out of shape. Me and him joke around about that first summer a lot. I mean, it was terrible.” And following that, Lyons saw limited action in 2022.
He appeared in three games, picking up two assisted tackles. Then, as a redshirt freshman in 2023, he began to make his mark, posting 20 tackles and 2.5 TFLs across 12 games with one start. So, momentum was building, but just as the 2024 season approached, disaster struck with the ankle injury that halted it all. “He was in position last year to have a great year and he got hurt,” mentioned Billy Napier. But now, after his comeback, Napier believes a breakout is on the horizon.
“So, he’s back and I think he’s chomping at the bit. He continues to get better and better. He’s getting in football shape. You can see some of the twitch coming back, and obviously he plays with passion. He’s a guy who helps keep everybody accountable. Good temperament. The kind of temperament you want with a defensive lineman,” said Napier. Now we’ll see if Jamari can make his mark and deliver on the hype in 2025.