Florida coach Urban Meyer has said repeatedly that he has three starters at the safety position, though that was not the case against Charleston Southern.
When the Gators lined up on the first defensive play of the game against Troy, Will Hill, Major Wright and Ahmad Black were finally all on the field at the same time.
Meyer and defensive coordinator Charlie Strong made good on their promise to start all three by utilizing their "Joker" package - a 3-3-5 formation with junior defensive end Justin Trattou playing the nose tackle.
"If you're able to play four-down, 3-3-5 and be competent, it's all personnel related," Meyer said. "Put those three safeties on the field at the same time, and the speed of the defensive end, that's hard to block. It's a pressure oriented package, a lot of blitzes."
The Trojans struggled to move the ball on the Gators' defense, amassing only 139 yards of total offense.
Black and Wright patrolled the back of the defense while Hill moved up to cover Troy's slot receiver, as the Trojans ran the majority of their plays with at least three wideouts in the game.
On the defensive line, the Gators played Carlos Dunlap and Jermaine Cunningham on the outside and moved Trattou inside while using linebackers Brandon Spikes, Ryan Stamper and A.J. Jones in varying blitzes.
Trattou responded with three tackles, a fumble recovery and a tipped pass that lead to a Janoris Jenkins interception.
"Being small in there doesn't matter as long as they're passing the ball," Trattou said. "They're not used to a 260-pound guy who runs fast in there."
UF's offense struggled to move the ball early and lost three fumbles in the game, but the defense reversed field position on multiple occasions, jump starting a 28-point second quarter.
The Gators started on the Trojans' side of the field on three separate occasions, resulting in a touchdown each time.
Meyer said he was nervous about the way the offense started the game as UF scored just seven points in the first quarter, crediting the turnaround to the defense.
"It takes the wind out of the team on the opposing sideline when you just can't gain any yards," he said.
