Florida Gators’ Keyontae Johnson Posts Emotional Message Following Recovery

The Florida Gators received the best news they could yesterday evening, as Keyontae Johnson’s condition improved. He posted an emotional video on Twitter, where he thanked people for their prayers and wishes.

“Hey everybody. First and foremost, I’d like to thank God. I know y’all have been sending your prayers out the last few weeks, and me and my parents are very grateful for the prayers going out,” Johnson said. “To all the doctors and medical staff… I do want to say thank you for all the support y’all gave me — especially to the lady that was in the gym at Florida State. To my Gator Nation and the UF athletic family, I just want to thank you for all the prayers that you gave onto me. Go Gators.”

Johnson was in a critical yet stable condition as he arrived from Tallahassee back to Gainesville. He showed some encouraging signs of recovery a couple of days back and was easing his way back to normalcy. There is still no news about the reason behind Johnson’s sudden collapse during the Gators vs Seminoles game on December 12.

Florida Gators postpone more games

Johnson was one of the many Gators players who was affected by COVID-19. The virus also led to the cancellation of three Gators games in November. They have now gone through more cancellations as Florida postponed multiple games from their schedule in light of Johnson’s situation. They now directly play after their Christmas break on December 30, in a home game against Florida A&M.

The Gators haven’t announced when Johnson will be out of the hospital or when he will be able to rejoin the team. He was their best player this season, and every game they play without him will be a challenge. In the four games he played, Johnson averaged 16 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. He was also shooting well, averaging 42% from three.

After being named SEC’s preseason player of the year, he was living up to that hype. He may take some time to get back into playing level, but once he’s healthy, the Gators will once again become a dangerous team.