2013 Gator Defense

[theghost]

How about Cox, McCalister, Q. Williams and some of the other redshirt freshman? Are they going to get into the rotation? I haven't read much talk about their progress.

[GATORAZ]

Originally Posted by Mayhem41

Just think there will be a load in front of him. Watkins, Purifoy, Poole, Roberson and Hargraves will all be in front of him at CB/NB. His best bet will be Poole and/or Purifoy getting moved to safety (my guess is Poole gets moved). Just based on my limited exposure to Riggs I think he has his work cut out for him. I don't see safety in his future, either. I could be wrong, though.

P.S. We aren't in nickel anywhere near 70% of the time, but I don't think nickel makes a difference in this matter, as stated earlier. Of course that depends on the offense we are playing against in any given game, also.

Nickel is completely predicated on the offensive personel grouping you are going against in a given play. If we were in nickel 70 percent of the time, that would mean we only faced base and jumbo type packages 30 percent of the time or fewer. I don't think that's the case. I'm sure you already know this, though.

We are in Nickle a lot over 50 percent of the time for sure. How often did you see Kitchens or Ball on the field playing SAM? The offenses are changing in the league so less base 4-3 packages. This year we had Missouri and A & M on the schedule so that was two extra games of predominantly nickle. How many JUMBO teams did we face this year?

Purifoy is not moving to safety. Riggs plays a decent amount when he is healthy. When you are playing that much Nickle the back ups are going to play a decent amount and the staff trust Riggs. I think CWM said he needs 10 guys ready to play.


The main reason I dont think Poole gets moved to safety is because if I am staff I would want him to focus on one position. He is the perfect guy to fill that NC role that Elam left.

I like VH3 but he has not even stepped foot on campus yet. People are acting like he is Deon on the 49ers and the kid has not had one practice as a Gator.

going into spring ball my guess would be
CB Watkins Purifoy
CB Roberson Riggs
NC Poole Riggs
S Maye (Gorman/Showers/ Riggs)
S ? (Gorman/Showers/ Riggs)

Riggs will be the first back up for almost every position

[raquetclub]

My biggest concern is experience/football IQ type things and calling defensive audibles.

I think physically the D will be able to match up with anyone.

[StrangeGator]

Originally Posted by theghost

How about Cox, McCalister, Q. Williams and some of the other redshirt freshman? Are they going to get into the rotation? I haven't read much talk about their progress.

Cox was the one I expected to see this last fall. He didn't have as far to go physically. McCallister might have the most potential out of those three, but he has a lot of weight to add. Williams has a lot of weight and strength to add in order to play three-technique. Not sure he has the athleticism to play DE. I think it will be another year for him, assuming he contributes at all. He may have been a reach.

Ledbetter is the only RS freshman on defense not mentioned. He's purely an in the box safety. We need a lot of competition there. We'll see in the spring how far along he is.

[GATORAZ]

Strange I think Ledbetter is going to be a stand out on Special teams next year

[gator1986]

Originally Posted by GATORAZ

Strange I think Ledbetter is going to be a stand out on Special teams next year

Ledbetter should be an absolute stud next year

[theghost]

Originally Posted by StrangeGator

Cox was the one I expected to see this last fall. He didn't have as far to go physically. McCallister might have the most potential out of those three, but he has a lot of weight to add. Williams has a lot of weight and strength to add in order to play three-technique. Not sure he has the athleticism to play DE. I think it will be another year for him, assuming he contributes at all. He may have been a reach.

Ledbetter is the only RS freshman on defense not mentioned. He's purely an in the box safety. We need a lot of competition there. We'll see in the spring how far along he is.

Strange, agree on Cox. I thought he'd play...especially after we lost Powell for the year. Williams was near 280 last year. I'd like to know their current sizes. If Williams is in the 290+ range, I imagine we'll see him get some PT. Cox is probably over 240 as well (he was 235 coming in...I think).

Agree we'll see Ledbetter get some serious PT....if anything on ST's.

[Mayhem41]

Originally Posted by GATORAZ

We are in Nickle a lot over 50 percent of the time for sure. How often did you see Kitchens or Ball on the field playing SAM? The offenses are changing in the league so less base 4-3 packages. This year we had Missouri and A & M on the schedule so that was two extra games of predominantly nickle. How many JUMBO teams did we face this year?

Purifoy is not moving to safety. Riggs plays a decent amount when he is healthy. When you are playing that much Nickle the back ups are going to play a decent amount and the staff trust Riggs. I think CWM said he needs 10 guys ready to play.


The main reason I dont think Poole gets moved to safety is because if I am staff I would want him to focus on one position. He is the perfect guy to fill that NC role that Elam left.

I like VH3 but he has not even stepped foot on campus yet. People are acting like he is Deon on the 49ers and the kid has not had one practice as a Gator.

going into spring ball my guess would be
CB Watkins Purifoy
CB Roberson Riggs
NC Poole Riggs
S Maye (Gorman/Showers/ Riggs)
S ? (Gorman/Showers/ Riggs)

Riggs will be the first back up for almost every position

A) Safety can be a nickel (Elam did it) I know, I'm not used to it. either.

B) I'm not even going to embarass you on the nickel number..... you went from 70% to 50% and you are still waaaaay off. But like I said, I don't think that impacts Riggs, anyway.

[trekcid]

The idea that UF's defense will be less experienced than last years and possibly not as
good is a valid concern. There is a very good possibility that UF's offense will be much
improved over last years. If this occurs the defense can afford to give up more points
and yardage but the outcome can still be as good as last years with an improved offense.

[Ahab]

Taylor is not as bad as some of you are making out plus you're assuming he won't progress this year. He going to be playing a lot for us next year.

Riggs is too light for safety IMO. Gorman and Showers were next up on the depth chart so they'll probably get first crack at the job. One thing I am confident in is that Purifoy will be starting somewhere.

[gator07]

Originally Posted by Mayhem41

B) I'm not even going to embarass you on the nickel number..... you went from 70% to 50% and you are still waaaaay off. But like I said, I don't think that impacts Riggs, anyway.

Well then you would be disagreeing with WM himself then. Watch his latest press conference where he talks about how often we're in nickel.

So go ahead and "embarass" him.

[GATORAZ]

Originally Posted by Mayhem41

A) Safety can be a nickel (Elam did it) I know, I'm not used to it. either.

B) I'm not even going to embarass you on the nickel number..... you went from 70% to 50% and you are still waaaaay off. But like I said, I don't think that impacts Riggs, anyway.

I know safety can play nickle and I know Elam did it, I watched the games this year.

I am way off with 50 percent ? The floor is yours please "embarrass me"

[GATORAZ]

Originally Posted by Ahab

Taylor is not as bad as some of you are making out plus you're assuming he won't progress this year. He going to be playing a lot for us next year.

Riggs is too light for safety IMO. Gorman and Showers were next up on the depth chart so they'll probably get first crack at the job. One thing I am confident in is that Purifoy will be starting somewhere.

Unless Mike Taylor makes significant improvement in pass coverage you just cant play him in the middle of the field.

According to the roster Riggs is actually weighs more than Gorman and Showers.
I think the whole "starting" thing is blown out of proportion. Since we are in nickle so much everybody is going to play. Purifoy might start he might not start he is still going to play starters snaps.

[rserina]

Originally Posted by Mayhem41

B) I'm not even going to embarass you on the nickel number..... you went from 70% to 50% and you are still waaaaay off. But like I said, I don't think that impacts Riggs, anyway.

Muschamp emphasized this in particular at the 1/18 presser. Not sure the number he used, but went to great lengths to emphasize the versatility and depth he wanted in the secondary. Of course, I still don't think the majority of our opponents really necessitate nickel, let alone dime.

[NoahBeanBizzel]

With the amount of nickle we play, you need great depth across the board at defensive back. Neal and Harris are big safeties, who are effective enough against the run to basically act as another LB. Heck, both of them are over 200 lbs., and either one of them could grow into an outside linebacker.

Elam was extremely effective playing in the box. Scouts felt that he was better against the run than a lot of linebackers across the country. Having guys like Neal, Maye and Harris (all who are at or over 6-0, and will fill out and play at around 210-220 when all is said and done) isn't really any different in a nickle package (if they play close to the LOS) than a third linebacker in run support. Yet you have the option of letting them drop into coverage where they're better than another OLB, or you blitz them (like we did periodically with Elam).

It's fun to watch Muschamp's defense. I like that he preaches being multiple.

[gatorkev_85]

I have a filling that Harris will push for playing time this year. I think he could take the starting spot by the end of the year.

[NoahBeanBizzel]

Originally Posted by gatorkev_85

I have a filling that Harris will push for playing time this year. I think he could take the starting spot by the end of the year.

You would think one of the three (Washington, Harris or Neal) would make an impact.

A lot of people question why we've focused so heavily on bringing in numbers at DB, and it has a lot to do with the style of play that we've transitioned to. Muschamp wants bigger safeties, who are as effective stopping the run (when they play close to the line of scrimmage) as outside linebackers are. Look at Neal and Harris, they're both bigger than a lot of the top high school linebackers around the country. And they're going to get bigger.

We play a lot of nickle. Having bigger players at safety, combined with Muschamp's method of attacking opposing offenses around the league, essentially gives us no drop-off in run support when our safeties are in the box, yet we receive an upgrade in coverage with that extra corner/safety (nickle position) on the field. You can also bring pressure from various positions, putting more pressure on the opposing QB on passing downs. It's a bit unconventional, but you can't really pigeonhole how we're going to attack an offense to one particular base defense. We use a variety of methods to confuse teams.