Florida ranked fourth nationally in rushing defense last season, surrendering only 94.5 yards per game on the ground. Defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd was the driving force.
The junior recorded 46 tackles, including a team-best 13 tackles for loss. His three sacks and six quarterback hurries both ranked second among Gators.
Now departed and likely a top-five pick in this month’s NFL Draft, Floyd leaves a significant void in a defensive line that also lost nose tackle Omar Hunter and Buck linebacker Lerentee McCray.
“He held that spot down,” senior defensive tackle Damien Jacobs said of Floyd. “I’ve got a lot of respect for him as a player.”
Jacobs, nose tackle Leon Orr and freshmen Darious “Bear” Cummings and Joey Ivie will shoulder the responsibility of creating penetration and anchoring the middle, as Floyd and Hunter did last season.
The departed interior duo combined for 86 tackles, 17 tackles for loss, three sacks, six quarterback hurries, four pass breakups, two blocked kicks and a forced fumble in 2012.
Jacobs’ desire to make Floyd proud has been a driving force this offseason.
“He expects a lot out of me because he left it over to me,” Jacobs said. “It’s real, real big. I know how he would feel if I wasn’t to hold it down.”
Jacobs has impressed this spring, building on a strong first season at Florida. As a junior, he recorded 10 tackles, 2.5 sacks and a quarterback hurry in a reserve role.
“Damien Jacobs is playing very well,” Muschamp said. “Consistently, through 12 practices, he’s improved himself, and he’s gotten better.”
Muschamp wants consistency from his other defensive tackles. He specifically named Cummings and Orr as two players who need to improve before fall.
If neither makes significant progress, Muschamp said defensive end Dominique Easley would move inside, creating room for sophomore Jonathan Bullard at end.
Easley started 12 games at defensive tackle as a sophomore in 2011.
“Right now, if we had to start the season, Dominique would play inside,” Muschamp said.
Contact Joe Morgan at joemorgan@alligator.org.
Florida defensive tackle Damien Jacobs tackles Louisville quarterback Teddy Bridgewater (5) during the Gators’ 33-23 loss to the Cardinals on Jan. 2 at the Superdome in New Orleans.
