Florida Gators defensive coordinator Geoff Collins probably had a little extra pep in his step out on the recruiting trail on Monday afternoon. The Gators coach spent his day traveling between Mississippi and New Orleans but the biggest commitments he got were back in Gainesville.
Getting Jarrad Davis and Marcus Maye back for their senior seasons may be the best commitments that Florida will get this recruiting cycle. They not only get two starters, but both Davis and Maye will be leaders, both with their play and vocally, for a defense that could be even better than the 2015 unit.
The Florida defense was eighth in the nation in 2015, allowing 310.2 yards per game and getting Davis’ 98 tackles back is a huge key for a group that will be looking to replace the presence of Antonio Morrison at linebacker. As a group, Florida will return 58.7 percent of their tackles from a year ago as well as 52% of their tackles for loss and 55% of their sacks. Davis leads the way with 98 tackles and 11 tackles for a loss, but he isn’t alone. Senior to be Bryan Cox Jr. had 10.5 and CeCe Jefferson started his career off with 8.5 tackles for loss as well. Couple that with the return of Caleb Brantley (29 tackles, 6.5 for a loss) and Joey Ivie (27 tackles, 4 for a loss) and Florida’s front seven will look to retain the bite they had from a year ago.
Maye’s return is huge for a secondary that will lose Keanu Neal and Vernon Hargreaves III. Maye trailed only Morrison, Davis and Neal in terms of tackles with 82 and brings a veteran voice back to the locker room to complement Jalen Tabor and Quincy Wilson.
Those three will be the leaders and the face of DBU and they’ll play an important role in getting the next in line — Duke Dawson, Marcell Harris, Nick Washington and Chauncey Gardner — ready to carry on the legacy.
Collins knows how much he’s losing to graduation and the NFL Draft this season, but Monday’s announcement surely softened the blow.