It has been almost two years since Ronald Powell lined up at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium to face an opposing team.
After being sidelined for the entire 2012 season because of two ACL injuries, Powell will take the field with the rest of the starting defense when No. 10 Florida opens its season against Toledo on Saturday at 12:21 p.m.
"I only can expect the great feeling of running back out in The Swamp," Powell said Monday. "I haven’t done it in so long. I’m just expecting the anxiousness to set place."
Said defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin: "I’ll be very excited for him."
Powell first injured the ligament during the 2012 Orange and Blue game. He then suffered another setback while rehabbing his knee in September.
Two surgeries and a medical redshirt later, he expects to return at the top of his game..
"I always expect the most out of myself," he said. "That’s every day I wake up. I think I was raised like that. That’s just something I’ve carried with me all my life."
Durkin said he has not seen a player work harder at his rehab than Powell, and he is looking forward to Powell getting a chance to show his talent on the field again.
"Anytime you have a guy who has gone through what he has gone through, you look forward to seeing that guy on the field," he said.
Powell has assumed a leadership role since rejoining the team. As a fourth-year junior, he has been around the Gators defense as long as some people play college football.
"He brings a leadership; he brings a vocal word," linebacker Michael Taylor said. "He’s going to say something whether it needs to be said or not. He’s going to let people know if they are slipping or not. He’s going to bring a level of toughness that will be needed out there."
Powell said the time away from football has made him appreciate playing the game more.
"When you come into the defensive meeting rooms and that depth chart goes up, your name is not on there" he said. "That was something that I had to really realize, ‘Man, I appreciate when my name is up there.’"
Powell returning to the field is meaningful to more than just him. It is significant to Florida’s defense, which lost seven starters, including linebackers Jon Bostic and Jelani Jenkins, from last year’s unit.
Powell will play both the Buck and Sam linebacker positions this year. When he plays Sam, the Gators will get to pair Powell with explosive sophomore Dante Fowler Jr.
Fowler notched 30 tackles, including eight for a loss, and 2.5 sacks at the Buck position while Powell was sidelined.
"It’s going to be really nice having us on both side," Fowler said.
"Especially with what he had to deal with having two ACL surgeries. A lot of people would just be like, ‘I’m done. I’m done with football.’ But he never gave up. He kept pushing, and I can’t wait for him to play."
Florida’s defense still has a lot to prove. Last year’s unit finished fifth in total defense but only tied for 42nd with 2.31 sacks per game.
Powell recorded six sacks in 2011. If he duplicated those results last year, the Gators would have finished 19th in the country.
"When he sees someone that he knows is capable of doing better kind of slacking," sophomore defensive end Jon Bullard said, "it makes him want to try to talk to the guy and tell him, ‘Don’t take anything for granted, push it and let’s get better.’"
Follow Adam Lichtenstein on Twitter @ALichtenstein24.
Ronald Powell looks up at the crowd during Florida’s 33-23 win against Tennessee on Saturday, Sept. 17, 2011, in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Powell is ready to return to the UF defense after missing the entire 2012 season with a torn ACL suffered in the Orange and Blue Game.
