If the shoulders of Justin Trattou and Duke Lemmens can carry as much weight as their scooter, the Gators’ pass rush should be in good shape.
The senior defensive ends often climb onto Trattou’s motorized scooter to get home from practice, a 505-pound test for the bike and an odd site for passersby.
“Obviously, it’s a chick magnet,” Trattou said.
Trattou, the tough kid from New Jersey, and Lemmens, the laid-back Californian, make for a funny — and odd — pair, but the task of facing them this season is a serious one.
They’ll be counted on to fill a big void at defensive end, where Carlos Dunlap and Jermaine Cunningham suited up last year before earning second-round NFL Draft selections.
“Those were two of the best pass-rushers and two of the best players in college football,” defensive line coach Dan McCarney said. “I know we have players who can be solid and consistent, but who can step up and make those plays on goal-line stands, 3rd-and-8, who’s going to get the pressure, make a sack, knock a ball out?”
UF coach Urban Meyer hopes Trattou and Lemmens are the answer to that question, but he doesn’t hide his apprehension.
“A little concerned,” he said. “We’re used to having some freaks out there.”
Trattou and Lemmens may look the part of “freaks” by season’s end, as they say they won’t cut their hair, but the term isn’t often used to describe their athleticism.
That fact isn’t lost on them, and both have breakout seasons in mind.
“There’s a bar set here at Florida for D-line, and I’m just trying to live up to that,” Lemmens said. “I know the guys who were here last year were awesome, and those are some big shoes to fill.”
Critics of UF’s defense would say the shoes are a few sizes too large for Lemmens.
The 6-foot-3, 250-pounder played in 32 games in three seasons, notching just two sacks and one start, but reviews of his play in practice have been positive.
Trattou called him “the most improved guy on the defense” from spring practice to fall camp.
Meyer and McCarney lauded him for his leadership, with Meyer even calling him one of the faces of the program.
Still, none of that matters until Lemmens shows it in games, and he’s itching for the chance.
“I’ve just always been a serviceable backup my whole life and I know that,” Lemmens said. “I know that’s what everyone says about me. I love it. And it’s true. They’re not lying, but this is my chance to prove to everyone that I can do more than that.”
Lemmens will have to fight off competition from the likes of William Green, Lerentee McCray and highly touted freshmen Ronald Powell and Lynden Trail to keep his spot, but Trattou is entrenched as a starter.
Trattou will have to make the leap from an excellent backup to a star.
His first three years produced 18 starts, 15 tackles for loss, seven sacks and two interceptions. He made one of the biggest plays of UF’s 2009 season with a pick and 53-yard return against South Carolina, stopping the Gamecocks’ potential go-ahead touchdown drive in the fourth quarter.
And Trattou will have the added duty of serving as a team leader, a role that his teammates say he fills well. Center Mike Pouncey singled Trattou out as the top dog on defense with former UF middle linebacker Brandon Spikes gone, and defensive tackle Terron Sanders added that Trattou’s demeanor is well suited for the task.
“I have to say it’s that Jersey attitude,” Sanders said. “He has that spice about him. He’s one of the hardest workers this year. … He’s taken that role and ran with it.”
On a unit that lost most of its veterans, Trattou is one of the players grizzled enough to remember the Gators’ defensive turnaround from 2007 to 2008 (28 points per SEC game allowed to 12.5), and he’s using that example of a defense rising above expectations as motivation for his teammates.
“In our 2008 year, we headed into that season coming off a pretty rough year in 2007,” Trattou said. “We had the same type of role where we were just hungry and got after it, and that’s the same attitude we have right now.”
