Sharrif Floyd is starting to hit his stride coming off the edge.
Floyd, who switched from defensive tackle to defensive end before the season, has been meeting with coordinator Dan Quinn after practices this fall. The two watch film, both of Floyd’s performances and those of defensive ends who played for Quinn in the NFL.
Early in the year, Floyd struggled to identify what he needed to focus on before each snap. So while they watched Quinn’s former players on tape, the coordinator would point out to Floyd what those players were looking at as the play progressed.
“Sometimes you can have a tendency to try and look at too much,” Quinn said. “There’s an old saying: ‘If you see a lot, sometimes you don’t see much.’ But if you see a little, a key, a tackle … sometimes that can lock you in.”
Floyd finished second on Florida with eight tackles Saturday against Georgia, including a team-high two tackles for a loss and a quarterback hurry.
At 295 pounds, Floyd is much bigger than a typical end, but he is a good fit for Florida’s 3-4 scheme. He sees himself moving back to tackle in coming years, but for now he has been adjusting nicely to playing the edge.
In addition to reading the offense, Floyd has had to learn to apply his power game to a position where players are more known for speed.
“I’m a big guy,” he said. “I’m not going to be a slim (defensive) end, so I have to do big-guy moves. That’s what I’ve been doing, and it’s been working.”
McCray’s status: Quinn declined comment when asked Wednesday if linebacker/defensive end Lerentee McCray had practiced this week. McCray exited Saturday’s game prematurely with a shoulder injury.
Coach Will Muschamp said Monday that McCray was “questionable to probable.” If the junior can’t go, Quinn said Darrin Kitchens would replace him in the team’s 4-3 package.
Getting Rainey back: Muschamp said he hoped redshirt senior Chris Rainey could run a little bit to test his sprained right ankle Wednesday.
Rainey suffered the injury in the first quarter against Georgia, and he has been seen on campus wearing a protective boot this week.
Pressure, takeaways: In Florida’s last two losses, Quinn said he was most disappointed in his defense’s inability to create turnovers and put heat on the quarterback.
Against Auburn and Georgia, which beat Florida by a combined 15 points, the Gators managed a total of just four sacks and one takeaway — a first quarter interception against the Bulldogs that the offense failed to capitalize on.
Homecoming still meaningful: Despite losing four straight games, Floyd said Saturday’s homecoming game against Vanderbilt is important to Florida.
“We win, we get to have fun with Gainesville,” he said.
“We lose, we’re in our dorms, sleeping, thinking about what happened. It’s a big week. It’s homecoming and we want to be out having fun.”
Contact Tyler Jett at tjett@alligator.org.
After switching from defensive tackle to defensive end in fall camp, sophomore Sharrif Floyd is starting to become acclimated to his new position. He had eight tackles, including two for loss, against UGA.
