Spring Preview: Outside linebackers

Since Billy Napier was hired on Nov. 28, much of the discussion surrounding the Gators has been about the future. With the splash that Napier made on early national signing day and the seemingly never-ending staff that he’s putting together, fans have reason to believe that brighter days might be on the horizon.

However, it’s almost time to stop dwelling on the future and start thinking about what the 2022 season might entail for the Gators. They’ll begin spring practice in three weeks.

Until then, we’ll break down what to watch for from each position during the spring. We’ll continue today with the outside linebackers.

The Returnees

Chief Borders, Brenton Cox, Antwaun Powell, David Reese and Lloyd Summerall

This is another one of those positions that is extremely unbalanced as far as experience goes. Cox has played in 38 games and started 26 of them over the past four years. The other four scholarship players have combined for 43 games played, and 18 of them are by Summerall.

So, it’s going to be imperative that some players explode onto the scene this fall to create depth. That process starts in the spring.

Cox should be a solid player to build around. He led the Gators with 8 ½ sacks and 14 ½ tackles-for-loss and was named to the Associated Press’ All-SEC Second Team last year. He did most of his damage over the final two games, as he made four sacks against Florida State (the most in school history since sacks became an official NCAA stat) and four tackles-for-loss against UCF. He finished the season with at least one sack in four consecutive games.

If he extrapolates that production over the course of a full season, he’ll be in All-American and NFL Draft first round discussions.

Summerall played in all 13 games a year ago and made just five tackles and half of a sack. He entered the transfer portal after the season but opted to stay.

Reese has received some preseason buzz throughout his career, but he hasn’t been able to stay healthy. He suffered season-ending injuries in 2019 and 2020 and didn’t play in any games last year. If he’s finally healthy again, he’s the type of player that the coaches can move around to exploit mismatches. Counting on him, though, is very risky because of his history.

Powell played in 12 games in 2021 and made 1 ½ sacks against Vanderbilt. Like most of these players, he’s a pass-rushing specialist who needs to become much sturdier against the run and learn to play with more discipline.

Borders is a really intriguing player. He has the size (6-foot-4, 232 pounds) to be that traditional inside linebacker that crushes running backs, but he’s also athletic and strong enough to rush the passer off of the edge, which is what his role primarily figures to be this year. He only played in four games last year to preserve his redshirt, and he made his first career tackle in the bowl game.

Newcomers

None

The Gators’ lone outside linebacker signee, Jack Pyburn, won’t enroll until the summer.

Breakout Watch

Chief Borders

The Gators need somebody to complement Cox. Nobody else on the entire roster has proven themselves as an outstanding pass rusher yet, so opposing offenses are going to shift their protection Cox’s way if somebody else doesn’t emerge as a legitimate threat.

Though he’s the least experienced returning outside linebacker, it feels like Borders has the best chance of becoming that guy.

He’s a unique athlete. He’s basically a defensive end in a linebacker’s body. He’s also extremely intelligent, as he nearly chose Stanford over Florida as a recruit.

He’s got the complete package athletically. Now he gets the chance to work with outside linebackers coach Mike Peterson, who developed several excellent edge rushers during his time at South Carolina.

It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Borders vault up to second on the depth chart by the end of spring.

Three Questions

1. Can Cox become more consistent?

For the first time, Cox looked like a former five-star recruit during the final four games of the season. Was that a fluke, or has he really turned the corner for good?

Obviously, nobody expects him to make four sacks every time out, but the tenacity that he played with looked entirely different in those games. Whether it was a technique issue or a motivation thing, he disappeared for large stretches of games prior to that season-ending stretch.

The Gators need the high-energy version of Cox all the time in 2022 with players like Zachary Carter and Khris Bogle no longer around. They also need him to play with more discipline against the running game. He can’t be a one-trick pony anymore.

2. What will the defense look like structurally?

Based on the way that players are listed on the roster and what Patrick Toney did at Louisiana, it looks like the Gators will operate from a base 3-4 defensive scheme.

Obviously, we know that Cox will likely be one of the starting outside linebackers, but what happens at the other spot? Will that be occupied by someone like Borders or Summerall, or will they put a third inside linebacker out there? They do appear to have more depth at inside linebacker if they choose to go that route.

This spring will provide some insight into what the defensive scheme will actually look like. Oftentimes, the scheme will look one way on paper and another way when you actually watch it. For example, former defensive coordinator Todd Grantham technically ran a 3-4 scheme, but it turned into more of a 4-2-5 when it was applied.

Will Toney’s scheme have a similar dynamic?

3. What kind of influence will Peterson have?

As mentioned previously, the Gators don’t have any proven players behind Cox, and even Cox isn’t guaranteed to be a star.

Can Peterson work his magic and get Borders, Powell, Summerall and maybe even Reese to become not just serviceable players but really good ones?

Peterson has proven himself to be a terrific coach, and he’s going to need to do a great job with this group for the defense to drastically improve over 2021.