Your services, Brandon Spikes, are no longer needed.
Whichever NFL team uses its first-round pick on you this spring is getting a middle linebacker who will run its defense well for the next 10 to 12 years. They know you can be part of a changing environment on defense because they see what you did in Gainesville.
Charlie Strong, Urban Meyer, Dan McCarney, Vance Bedford, whoever has had a part in transforming this defense, the rest of the Southeastern Conference is not happy with you. Especially opposing offensive coordinators. For the next two years, their job is going to be very difficult.
Even without Spikes next year, the Gators defense will be better. Good luck passing on a unit that already has 17 interceptions. Good luck running the ball on a unit that is second in the league in run defense and allowing just 3.3 yards per carry.
Sans Spikes and perhaps Jermaine Cunningham, they'll all be back. Ahmad Black will still be looking up at the sky and laughing his typical, goofy laugh. Joe Haden will still be one of the best pure athletes in the conference. Carlos Dunlap will become one of the best pass rushers in the country.
Spikes is the engine in this Ferrari. He has become one of the top players in the country, and he's become one of the best emotional leaders as well.
The players he has been leading, however, are now ready to perform without him because of what he has done. Why did Spikes return his interception for a touchdown Saturday against South Carolina? Because backup weakside linebacker Brandon Hicks put pressure on the quarterback. Ryan Stamper has learned what it takes to be the emotional leader of a top defense, and he'll be the one jumping around during pre-game warm ups. Just don't expect him to grow any dreads. Then there are still veterans Dustin Doe and A.J. Jones with youngsters Lerentee McCray, Brendon Beal and Lorenzo Edwards. Consider the linebacker unit a check.
Okay, secondary. I give up. If Haden had said last season that his unit was working on becoming the best in the nation, I would've given him a stranger look than I give my engineering friends who try to explain how simple 18-step energy equations are.
Now, we're expecting this group to be what Haden said recently - the top unit in the country. Sophomores: Haden, Black and Major Wright. Freshmen: Janoris Jenkins and Will Hill. That's not fair that this group could all potentially play together for at least two more years.
I was expecting the defensive line to depend on freshman Omar Hunter to be successful. Oops. Lawrence Marsh is just a sophomore and has transformed himself into one of the most consistent players on the defense. Same for Terron Sanders. Let's put it this way: Carlos Dunlap could be better than Derrick Harvey, who was a first-round pick in the NFL Draft by the Jacksonville Jaguars, and Dunlap hasn't earned a starting spot because there's so much competition in this group.
This defense remembers the embarrassment of last year. They remember the sickening feeling of watching the film. And, now, they're the ones making everyone else sick.
