Like many writers both focused on the team and with a national view, I wrote after the Texas A&M loss that Napier’s tenure was effectively over, that it was then a question of when, not if. Napier is still coaching the team for now, though, maybe because a final decision hasn’t been made or maybe because there aren’t many good interim options. Maybe it’s a bit of both. Regardless of the reasons, there are still more games to play, and dwelling exclusively on the head coach’s future shortchanges the players who are still working to win on the field.
So with that said, there is one unit that has the most to prove when the Gators host the UCF Knights on Saturday: the defensive front.
Other areas of the defense have had standout players. South Carolina transfer Grayson Howard has been terrific at linebacker, probably the best performer at the spot since David Reese. Shemar James and Jaden Robinson have performed fairly well too.
The secondary hasn’t been as good as projected, partly due to injury and partly due to some disappointing play from some players both young (Jordan Castell) and old (DJ Douglas). Still, Jason Marshall has established himself as one of the best cover corners in the country, and both Sharif Denson and Aaron Gates have given some hope to a star position that has largely lacked it for half a decade.
Up front though? It’s been hard to pinpoint a lot of success.
UF has just eight sacks in four games, with half of those coming against FCS Samford and most of the rest (three) against a bad Mississippi State team. The Gators miss edge Princely Umanmielen, who already has 3.5 sacks by himself at Ole Miss, and Chris McClellan, who has a sack and a half from the defensive tackle spot at Missouri.
The total of eight puts the Gators in a large tie for eighth in the SEC at an even two sacks per game, but you can see in that table how the sacks UF has gotten haven’t been devastating to opponents as much as some others. UF’s sacks total just 45 yards of loss, which Tennessee has eclipsed at 48 yards of loss with one fewer sack. Georgia also has eight sacks, but they’ve gone for 79 yards of loss.
The Gators are 13th in the conference with 5.75 tackles for loss per game, which is 23 in total through four games. However, nearly half of them (12) came against Samford alone. And then, of course, about two thirds of the rest (seven out of 11) came against Mississippi State. Of the defensive linemen/edges with more than one TFL on the season so far, three of the five such players didn’t register a TFL against either Miami or Texas A&M.
Tyreak Sapp and Caleb Banks have performed the best of any so far. The latter doesn’t rack up a bunch of stats by nature of coming from an interior spot, but he has been good. Jack Pyburn has come on as he’s gotten back into the game following his injury from last year, and he is one of the few to register a TFL stat (albeit only half of one) against A&M. Napier has spoken this week about wanting to get him on the field more.
But Cam Jackson has not yet performed like the future pro prospect some had pegged him to be. Desmond Watson has had his moments but still is limited by conditioning. Star transfer Joey Slackman couldn’t play through an injury from fall camp, and it’s unknown when we’ll see him again. Justus Boone has disappointed despite being fully healthy again, and George Gumbs is raw like his background would suggest.
Gus Malzahn looked to have pulled off quite the coup by landing KJ Jefferson from the transfer portal. The Knights are racking up tons of rushing yards, which fits both the coach and the personnel. Jefferson performed well through the air against two cupcakes and a TCU team that got lit up by the only other capable passing attack it’s faced, but he struggled against Colorado last weekend. UF’s secondary might be able to do some of the same to Jefferson, but not if he has all day to throw.
For Florida to hold off the Knights in the Swamp, the defensive front will need to show up and show out. Otherwise, Malzahn will do his Malzahn thing and roll up 300+ rushing yards. That’s not an exaggeration. Last time out, the Gators gave up exactly the same number of net rushing yards (240) as Mississippi State put up in their three other FBS games combined (Arizona State, Toledo, and Texas). It’s fewer if you adjust those figures for sacks — 255 allowed by UF compared to 340 by the other three — but it’s 255 versus 113 if you then look at per-game rates.
It’s possible for the Gators to win if UCF rushes for over three bills, but I don’t like their chances. That’d require a lot of takeaways and goal line stands, and Florida is underwater on the year in turnover margin.
Napier talked this week about conducting more physical practices during last week’s sessions, and maybe that toughened them up some. I don’t know how much a difference that can make mid-season. Whatever the case, improved linebacker play and a couple of bright spots in the secondary haven’t been enough to appreciably improve defensive results. There is no substitute for winning in the trenches, and Florida’s D-linemen and edge rushers have a lot to prove there this weekend.