It’s not often that a team can lose every starter at a position and still be considered stronger the following season, but that’s exactly the case for Florida’s defensive tackle group.
That’s not to suggest that they didn’t have good players at the position last season. Nose tackle Kyree Campbell was as consistent a performer as they come over 32 starts the past three seasons. He ate up multiple blocks and allowed the linebackers to fly free downhill and make plays against the run. The rushing defense statistics were astronomically better with him on the field versus when he wasn’t.
Tedarrell Slaton never lived up to the hype, but he showed flashes of brilliance while starting alongside Campbell.
The issue was the depth. Behind Campbell and Slaton, the Gators had nothing but raw freshmen and an underperforming veteran in Marlon Dunlap. Because defensive tackle is such a physical position and is played by freakishly large humans, you can’t play the same two guys 70 snaps per game. You need a solid rotation. The Gators felt so poorly about their depth last fall that they opted to slide Zachary Carter inside as an undersized tackle when Campbell was unavailable instead of plugging in someone who was recruited to play the position.
While Campbell and Slaton have departed, brighter days figure to be ahead for UF’s defensive tackles. As he’s done several times throughout his tenure with the program, Dan Mullen used the transfer portal to transform a position of weakness into one of strength.
Antonio Shelton and Daquan Newkirk bring a combined 70 games of experience and 636 pounds of beef with them from Penn State and Auburn, respectively. You can pretty much count on Shelton being the starting nose tackle, while Newkirk will battle Gervon Dexter for the other tackle spot.
“It was vital for us because we knew we needed hopefully a couple of older guys that fit in,” defensive line coach David Turner said. “I think when you’re looking at guys transferring in the portal, there’s a whole lot more guys out there than spots. So. you want to make sure you do your homework. We were fortunate to get two really good guys, not just players, but really good people. I did my homework.
“You want to find out, No. 1, why they’re leaving, No. 2, what are their goals, and, No. 3, would it be a fit for you? Both of those guys checked all three boxes, and I’ll be honest, I’m glad to have them. They’ve been really good for the younger guys, and I think they’ve meshed really good with our group of guys.”
While Shelton and Newkirk will play integral roles on the field as the Gators look to shore up their rushing defense, it’s their leadership that might prove most beneficial at the position. Both of them are one-year rentals, so it’s imperative that young players such as Dexter, Jalen Lee, Desmond Watson and Chris Thomas take a huge step in the right direction between now and the fall of 2022.
The idea is for Shelton and Newkirk to serve as role models and supplement the teaching the younger players receive from Turner. It’s easier to understand what you need to do when you can look at the finished product sitting across from you.
“I think adding those guys is a big step in the right direction,” defensive coordinator Todd Grantham said. “When we knew that they were in the portal, we immediately got tape on them, evaluated and looked at them and made a decision that we wanted them to be a part of our team. The biggest thing I’ve been impressed with is not only their play and their performance but their work ethic, their mentality.
“I think it’s always about creating positive energy and leadership in rooms, and those guys are a lot like Jon Greenard was year two from a leadership standpoint, from an attitude standpoint. And I think that’s something that’ll be good for that unit, and I look forward to watching them play.”
Dexter is perhaps the most intriguing young player that they’ll be tasked with taking under their wings. The former five-star recruit walked on campus with an NFL body and NFL athleticism, but he’s only played football for a few years. He got by on sheer talent in high school, but that won’t be the case in college. He had some nice moments last season, but he also disappeared for large stretches. He’ll be expected to push Newkirk for the starting job alongside Shelton.
Turner likes the determination and the willingness to learn that Dexter has exhibited, and he’s seen him make some big progress over the last couple of practices.
“We just have to develop him,” Turner said. “Playing lower is one thing, playing with more leverage. But I see a change in him now. I think he’s a little more comfortable. I think the speed of the game and the understanding of what we’re trying to do in terms of blocking and hand placement and things like that. He’s a work in progress. Everybody wants him to be great now, and I’ve talked to him a little bit about that.
“Everything is new to him. Sometimes, you have to block out the noise. You got to listen to the people who are closest to you in terms of, ‘Hey, this is what we got to do as coaches. Listen and listen to me,’ and hopefully, we can get him going in the right direction in terms of his development, which we have been able to do. He knows what he’s got to work on. He’s a prideful kid. He doesn’t like not to play well. He’s just got to take it one day at a time and not worry about it. He’s not going to be as great as everybody expects him to be right now. It’s a process.”
It’s a process that will be aided by Shelton and Newkirk. Dexter and the rest of the youngsters will be able to develop at their own pace instead of having to learn exclusively through in-game failures.
When Mullen took the Florida job more than three years ago, getting bigger in the trenches was one of his top priorities. He’s done a nice job of stockpiling high school talent, which bodes well for the future. Thanks to the transfer portal, the present doesn’t look too bad, either.
“They’re both older, experienced players with maturity, and they understood coming in that they are some of the older players in that group and that meeting room now,” Mullen said. “And so, they are expected to have leadership qualities. They’re not expected to come in and just act like the new guy. They’ve got to learn the program and what it is fast, but we have very high expectations for them, and they’ve really shown that.”