Jon Bullard was mad. The Florida Gators sophomore defensive lineman had been asked to move from defensive end to defensive tackle and, even though he said the right things at the time, it was apparent that Bullard didn’t want to make the move.
Begrudgingly Bullard did what the coaching staff asked his sophomore season before really investing in his new role as a junior. A productive junior campaign has Bullard seriously considering leaving school early for the NFL Draft but he chose to stay at Florida for his senior season, where he continued to commute between tackle and end.
“We move all the guys around,” defensive coordinator Geoff Collins said Monday. “The thing that we tell them is the more positions they play, the more techniques they can play the more marketable they are.”
The sophomore Bullard may not have understood that at the time, but the versatility he showed has NFL teams looking at him as an early round pick in the 2016 NFL Draft. Staying in school an extra year helped propel him up draft boards, his 66 tackles and 17.5 for a loss certainly helped Florida but Bullard is still helping Florida, even though he’s not on campus.
“What we do kind the first or second meeting of the offseason is we put up a production sheet of what we lost at each position,” explained Collins. “The production that Jonathan Bullard had, one of the best defensive linemen in the entire country productivity wise, and challenge those guys with, here’s what we’re going to miss. Here’s stats that are coming off the board right now and who’s going to step up?”
Sophomore CeCe Jefferson will be tasked with filling Bullard’s role in 2016. That doesn’t necessarily mean he will match Bullard’s production as one of the best defensive linemen in the SEC right away, but he will be asked to play inside and outside on Florida’s defensive line.
Sacks are sexy. Getting to the quarterback and bringing him down is what every defensive lineman dreams about when their head hits the pillow at night. Sacks, though, are hard to come by when you’re playing inside and have to deal with double teams.
“When you’re inside there’s 650 pounds of SEC offensive linemen trying to get after you,” said Collins. “Caleb Brantley last year took a lot of double teams. Khairi Clark the same thing.”
To his credit, there hasn’t been any pushback about the expanded role. Jefferson is taking it in stride and working to make himself a better football player, even if it means having to go down inside and take on double teams. He’s bought in to Collins’ defensive philosophy and is willing to do whatever the team needs him to.
“The unselfish nature of CeCe and that group, coming into it, we all remember CeCe on signing day. I’m cool; he’s a great kid. The best thing about CeCe Jefferson is that he’s one of the most coachable kids I’ve ever been around. He’s very unselfish, he’s a team first guy and he’s, ‘whatever you want me to do coach, I’m gonna do.’ I think that’s a testament to his upbringing and who he is as a kid.”
Bullard leaves behind big shoes to fill, but Jefferson is ready and eager to leave his own mark at the University of Florida.