What already loomed as a difficult three-week stretch for a reeling Florida football team will now have to be traversed without a key assistant coach.
Gators associate head coach and running backs coach Jabbar Juluke has been suspended for three games for his involvement in an altercation before Florida’s 20-10 Week 3 loss to LSU.
The SEC and Florida jointly announced the punishment on Tuesday, Sept. 16.
“Jabbar Juluke’s conduct during the pregame altercation reflects behavior that is unacceptable and not aligned with the standards of the Southeastern Conference,” SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said in a statement. “Coaches are expected to be leaders and to de-escalate tense situations, and that did not happen in this circumstance.”
Sankey added that the suspension is “appropriate” and that any future misconduct by Juluke will “result in more severe disciplinary action.” With the suspension, Juluke will be forced to miss Florida’s games against No. 6 Miami on Sept. 20, No. 7 Texas on Oct. 4 and No. 10 Texas A&M on Oct. 11.
The Gators and Tigers were involved in a pair of pregame scuffles last Saturday at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
The first occurred when Florida players crept onto the LSU side of the field during pregame warmups. Tigers players responded to the encroachment and shoves were exchanged between the teams near midfield, with campus police having to come to break up the altercation. Later, a group of Gators players were jogging around the field on the LSU side, which the Tigers again took exception to, with more pushes and shoves between the squads.
Juluke is in his fourth season at Florida, having followed Gators head coach Billy Napier from Louisiana, where he coached from 2018-21. In a statement, Juluke apologized for his actions, including to an unidentified “young athlete and his family.”
“On Saturday, I reacted in a manner I’m not proud of,” Juluke said in a statement. “There’s no excuse for my behavior and I take full responsibility for my actions. In this game, emotional situations occur and bad reactions happen. I regret my reaction and commit to using this moment to strengthen my emotional intelligence. I know more is expected of us as coaches, and I commit to living up to that expectation. I believe growth is in ownership and learning from the good and the bad. I intend to use this situation as a teachable moment, not only for myself, but for those I impact.”
While noting that Juluke’s actions were “not up to the standard of our program,” Napier added that the assistant coach is “a man of character and has taken full responsibility for his actions.”
Juluke’s exact role in the fracas is unclear.
After a late-season run fueled by five-star quarterback DJ Lagway in 2024, Florida entered the season No. 17 in the US LBM Coaches Poll, but has dropped back-to-back games to South Florida and LSU to fall to 1-2, putting even more pressure on Napier in his fourth season at the helm.