On the Gators’ defense, some players are more visible than others.
In addition to his well-publicized dance moves, Dominique Easley turned heads by blasting into the Tennessee backfield more often than not Saturday.
Matt Elam’s interception that sealed the victory will be replayed time and again, but he also made headlines for Twitter barbs exchanged with Vols receiver Da’Rick Rogers.
All Jon Bostic and Jelani Jenkins do is show up and make plays.
The unsung heroes of Florida’s defense, Bostic led the team with eight tackles against Tennessee, and Jenkins was second with six. Both linebackers also picked up a sack of quarterback Tyler Bray, and the Gators held the Vols to minus-9 yards rushing — the best effort by Florida’s defense since the 2006 Tennessee game (minus-11).
“The (defensive) linemen did a great job of keeping the offensive linemen off of me, and I give all my praise to them,” Jenkins said after the win.
Quiet and modest in interviews, Jenkins and Bostic come alive on Saturdays.
While Easley, Jaye Howard and the rest of the defensive front play a large role, they also need reliable talent behind them.
Together, the unit has limited opponents to 92 yards rushing through three games, tops in the nation.
Against Tennessee, Bostic said stopping senior running back Tauren Poole (nine rushes, 18 yards) definitely “changed the game,” allowing the defense to key on Bray and the passing attack.
For the seventh straight game in the series, the team that won the rushing battle won the game; and again, that team was Florida.
Despite all the attention on Bray and the Gators’ inexperienced secondary leading up to the game, it all came down to basics: run the ball and stop the run.
“All throughout two-a-days and even this summer, even when the coaches first got here in the spring, that was an emphasis we wanted to make,” Bostic said.
“We want to stop the run. We want to be one of the most physical defenses in the country.”
He said the defense’s ranking is unimportant.
What is important is making the opposition one-dimensional.
Jenkins agreed, saying how Florida started the game set the tone.
The Gators scored on their first four possessions, and apart from a 10-yard run from Poole on the Vols’ first drive, the defense didn’t allow a rush for more than 6 yards the rest of the way.
“That forces them to try to get points and they start forcing the ball in the air a lot more,” Jenkins said.
The secondary benefited, recording the team’s first two interceptions of the season, including Elam’s exclamation point as time was running out in the fourth quarter.
“The front seven played phenomenal, like always,” Elam said.
“They played a very good game, stopping the run, forcing the pass, and we handled our business.”
Contact Matt Watts at mwatts@alligator.org.
Gators linebackers Jon Bostic (52) and Jelani Jenkins (3) helped limit Tennessee to minus-9 yards rushing Saturday — the lowest total for a UF defense since 2006.
