With fall camp underway, Gator Country has started previewing the 2023 football season by breaking down each position on Florida’s roster.
Defensive line
The Gators have a total of nine scholarship defensive linemen and six walk-ons to begin fall camp. Cam’Ron Jackson and Caleb Banks will look to have an immediate impact after joining the team in the spring.
“You get to know the playbook a little bit more, you get more experience playing in these types of environments, and just understanding the ins and outs of the game as a player in this system then you’ll see bigger improvement and bigger steps in playmaking,” Tyreak Sapp said on the newcomers after the Orange and Blue Spring game.
Cam’Ron Jackson
One of the Gators’ biggest additions from the transfer portal this offseason was defensive lineman Cam’Ron Jackson. The 371-pound lineman was a three-star prospect and the No. 18 player in Louisiana. Jackson held offers from Alabama, LSU and Baylor but went on to sign with Memphis.
The Louisiana native was the No. 11 defensive lineman coming out of the transfer portal, according to On3.
“He can move. He’s very, very limber, I mean he can move,” Spencer said. “He’s got great balance, strong at the point of attack. For a guy that’s 6-foot-7, he can move. He’s pretty impressive.”
While at Memphis, Jackson registered 51 tackles, 2.5 sacks, five tackles for loss, four quarterback hurries and a pass breakup. 41 of those tackles came from the 2022 season alone where Jackson was named Third-Team All-AAC by PFF.
I expect the junior to have a breakout year with the Gators while making a smooth transition into the SEC.
Caleb Banks
The Gators landed the former Louisville Cardinal roughly two weeks before Cam’Ron Jackson made his announcement in December of last year.
The two-time captain at Southfield A&T High School was named a SI All-American Candidate in 2020 after totaling 42 tackles, 12 TFL and three sacks. The Michigan native was a three-star prospect in the 2021 class that went on to redshirt during his first season with the Cardinals.
“Tremendous athlete. I mean, he’s 6-foot-6, I think he’s 300 pounds, he can bend, he can touch the ground easy,” Spencer said on Banks. “He’s a basketball player. He’s a natural athlete. He’s exciting to watch right now. He moves like a little guy.”
The last Cardinal defensive lineman the Gators landed out of the transfer portal was defensive end Jonathan Greenard. The former Gator had 122 career tackles, three interceptions and four forced fumbles in his career.
Banks was the No. 9 defensive lineman and ranked a four-star prospect coming out of the transfer portal. I’d expect the redshirt freshman to have a very similar impact to what we may see from Cam’Ron Jackson. Both players have the potential to be special for the Gators this season.
Tyreak Sapp
The redshirt sophomore is going into his third season as a Florida Gator with 20 tackles, 0.5 TFL and two quarterback hurries in 13 games played in his career.
The Fort Lauderdale native has shown great promise at times while being an undersized player at 6-3, 271 pounds. However, taking the next step is the biggest concern for Sapp and other returning Gators on the line this season.
“I just feel like up front we can just be a little bit more effective rushing up front. Got some great guys. Just being more effective, because a lot of the times we get pressures where we’re just about there,” Sapp said last season on struggles up front. “The thing is there’s a difference between sacks and pressures like seconds, inches between. It’s a difference between that sack and that pressure. You just want to try to get more of those sacks and try to just affect the QB more get them off their game and get them off of their throwing.”
With a full season under his belt, I’d expect Sapp to be a valuable piece up front rotating in on the defensive line.
Chris McClellan
When thrown into critical situations, the 6-3, 325-pound sophomore has been a key rotational piece early on in his career. The Oklahoma native played in all 13 games as a true freshman totaling 23 tackles, 2.5 TFL, 1.5 sacks, one fumble recovery and a quarterback hurry.
“Yeah, Chris, he’s just a freak, right? Natural, naturally gifted, naturally talented,” Hocke said on McClellan in the spring. “We’ve been telling those guys, ‘hey, some you guys had to play this year. But now you don’t have to play. So, you have to go earn it,’ right. So, I think seven will be the first to tell ya, he’s trying to be a great example. He’s trying to step into a leadership role. He’s still got things to work on. He’d be the first to tell you that, but really excited about what Chris McClellan’s gonna do.”
“His whole thing was first year, a lot of talent. Let’s master in the intangibles, so I think he’s been working on those intangibles,” Hocke said. “The sense of urgency, the detail, the discipline, he keeps doubling down on those things. He’s got a chance to be dangerous.”
I expect McClellan to compete for a starting spot at defensive tackle in 2023.
Desmond Watson
The 6-5, 439-pound lineman appeared in 13 games with 10 starts last season totaling 25 tackles, 1.5 TFL, one forced fumble and a fumble recovery.
The Florida native saw limited action as a freshman in 2021, recording a total of seven tackles and half a sack.
Watson was the first player that was brought up last week when Coach Austin Armstrong was asked who had been standing out this summer. I expect the junior to get many snaps coming off the bench this season.
“I don’t want to get into individuals, but you talked about the D-line, you have Desmond Watson, Cam Jackson, Caleb Banks, Chris McClellan, Tyreak Sapp, Jamari Lyons and Will Norman all battling to play and contribute,” Armstrong said. “You’ve got seven guys in there to play two spots. We’ve got to figure out four or five that can do it for us.”
Will Norman
The Camden, New Jersey native was a four-star recruit across all four recruiting sites and ranked as the No. 7 defensive lineman in the Class of 2023, according to Rivals.
The true freshman takes his work seriously and is very detailed when it comes to technique on the practice field.
“It was very nice to see him mature into a football player. I’m hard on him,” Coach Spencer said on Norman in the spring. “He expects me to be hard on him. He can take it because he knows it comes from a great place. Correcting the mistakes, really, I’m just teaching him from scratch. It’s like molding clay.”
If injuries become a persistent issue this season, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the freshman get some playing time this season.
Other players to watch out for:
On scholarship: Jaelin Humphries, Jamari Lyons, Gavin Hill
Walk-on: Nicolas Flynn, Connor Homa, Tyreik Norwood, Sebastian Scott, Keenan Landry, Andre Morris