Florida’s defense ranks near the bottom of almost every statistical category entering week nine of the 2022 college football season. The Gators rank 12th in the SEC in total defense and 13th in rush defense.
Perhaps the only bright spot for Florida’s defense is their ability to force turnovers. Florida has gained 13 turnovers this season, which ranks T-29th in the FBS. Many of those turnovers came in crucial moments leading to victories. That’s a major improvement from last year’s team, which totaled 13 turnovers all season.
Tyreak Sapp, a redshirt freshman defensive end, spoke to the media on Monday to discuss the Gators’ defense and their week nine matchup with the Bulldogs.
Sapp believes this defense is closer to putting it together than some might think.
“We’re just a few plays away. Just a few plays away,” Sapp said. “We know all this hard work we’re putting in, it’s not for nothing, but we’re just a few plays away. We feel like we’re so close, we just feel like there’s something there we’re missing and there’s a reason we can’t break that barrier. I feel like we are going to figure it out this week.”
“I feel like we’re a very, very talented defense, Sapp said. “We just have to bring it all together, and we all understand that it’s going to take work and it’s going to take time, but at this point it’s a matter of time, and that time is coming up and time is ticking. We’ve just got to take advantage of it, take a look at this moment, and we’ve seize it put our best foot forward as a defense, as a team.”
Florida’s worst display of defense this season has come on 3rd downs; the Gators rank last in FBS on 3rd down conversion rate. Sapp says the key to 3rd downs is getting to the QB.
“Affect the quarterback,” Sapp said. “3rd down and affecting the quarterback, taking some of the heat off our DBs, because our DBs over the past this season, they had off in coverage. Our linebackers as well have done an exceptional job.”
“I feel like we should affect — we can affect the quarterback more, just be more precise in our rushes and understand who we’re actually up against,” Sapp said.
Sapp says it’s more than just getting pressure, you want to sack the QB as well.
“I just feel like up front we can just be a little bit more effective rushing up front,” Sapp said. “Got some great guys. Just being more effective, because a lot of the times we get pressures where we’re just about there. 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,” Sapp said. “You just want to try to get more of those sacks and try to just affect the QB more get their off of their game and get their off of their throwing.”
The majority of the Gators’ struggles this season have been mental, according to Sapp.
“I feel like it’s probably about 80 percent between the ears, about 20 percent physical,” Sapp said. “It’s just us, we’ve got to see things better. We’ve got to understand situations, be situational aware where we are on the field, and how can we take advantage of the game on that part of the field.”
Florida’s week nine matchup with Georgia will be one of the hardest of the season for the Gators’ defense. The Bulldogs rank 2nd in the country in total offense, trailing only Tennessee.
“We view it as a great opportunity, a big opportunity because we know it’s a game that we’re going to all have to come together as a team and execute on all phases of the game,” Sapp said.
The Gators currently sit as 22-point underdogs against Georgia. Sapp says he feels a little disrespected by that line.
“We both put on our cleats the same and we understand that — we understand that, yes, this team we’ve got a chance, too,” Sapp said.
“We’ve always got to fight, the fight is punching these games, and just feel like we can just take over this game and just be successful in all phases if we just all come together and execute, and we understand that,” Sapp said.
Georgia’s QB, Stetson Bennett, is putting together the best season of his career. He’s thrown for 2,033 yards while completing 70.7% of his passes.
“Very sharp guy, very sharp quarterback,” Sapp said. “I can see that he has a very well understanding of the game and he can be very, very dangerous for the defense all because in between the ears he can slice you up.”
“He’s an opportunistic guy, opportunistic guy with his legs, but he is dangerous with his legs, as well, and very opportunistic,” Sapp said. “Has a great arm, can sit back there and throw, even though being a short guy, even though being a shorter quarterback, he can sit back there and throw, so I just know he can be dangerous, but we’re going to find ways to affect him to get him off his game.”
Sapp says the key to stopping Bennett is keeping him in the pocket.
“You’ve got to keep him in the pocket. You’ve got to make him throw from the pocket. You can’t let him out of there,” Sapp said. “You’ve got to keep him contained, and you have to make him move, as well, but you have to keep him contained in that pocket. You’ve got to keep him in that bubble and you’ve got to make him really analyze the defense and try to slice him.”
“You’ve got to make him work. You can’t let everybody else do the work for him,” Sapp said. “You can’t make it easy for him on the back end, either. You’ve got to make the quarterback work. Pressure, you’ve got to pressure, you’ve got to sack him, you’ve got to put him in bad situations to get him off his game.”
If the Gators want a chance to shock the nation on Saturday, they’ll need their best defensive performance of the season. The key to victory is getting to the QB, something the Gators have struggled to do this season, especially on 3rd downs.
Florida is set to clash with Georgia in Jacksonville at 3:30p.m on CBS.