It may have nine stanzas, but the good ‘ole song from Rocky Top has a catchy ring to it. In Knoxville, Tenn., it’s a touching rendition to the simple life in the foothills. In many other places, “Rocky Top,” is an annoying battle cry that people would rather do without.
Gators senior defensive tackle Dominique Easley has an interesting way to deal with Tennessee’s theme song: He sings it himself.
“They hear me,” Easley said. “I don’t know if they consider it a taunt, but I just do it for my own enjoyment.”
Easley does not shy away from having fun on the football field. For him and nine other seniors, Saturday marks the last matchup in their careers against the Volunteers (2-1). No. 19 Florida (1-1) attempts its ninth-straight victory in the series at 3:30 p.m. in The Swamp.
In his three previous Tennessee-Florida games, Easley recorded three tackles, two of which went for a loss, and two quarterback hurries. Florida defeated Tennessee 37-20 last season at Neyland Stadium on the heels of an 80-yard touchdown run from Trey Burton and a 75-yard touchdown catch by Frankie Hammond Jr.
Florida quieted the band with 24 unanswered points. Senior defensive back Jaylen Watkins picked up a tackle in the 2012 victory. He won’t miss the tune of “Rocky Top,” either.
“It’s bittersweet,” Watkins said. “Obviously, I’ve enjoyed my time here, but all of us hate the Rocky Top. It’ll be good to not hear it anymore.”
Driskel ready despite sprained knee: A knee injury was the last thing on Jeff Driskel’s mind. The quarterback and his team were on the ropes in a raucous away atmosphere at Miami. Florida, down 14-6 at halftime, never recovered.
Driskel, meanwhile, had perhaps his worst game as a starter, committing three turnovers — two of which were interceptions thrown in the red zone. All of this happened on a sprained left knee. The school announced the injury via Twitter on Sept. 9.
“A lot of adrenaline going during the game,” the junior said Monday. “I felt it, but not as much as I did after the game. I don’t think it affected me at all.”
A bye week could not have come at a better time for UF. When Florida kicks off against Tennessee, it will be 13 days since he last played a football game. The injury occurred during one of his nine rushing attempts.
“It was in the second quarter. It got high-lowed, (and) got stuck in the ground a little bit,” he said. “It could have been a lot worse, so that’s the good news. It’s feeling a lot better now and I’ll be ready to go.”
Gators update depth chart: Despite having the nation’s third-ranked defense, coach Will Muschamp wasn’t pleased with the performance against Miami. The Gators held a potent Hurricanes offense to 1.8 yards per rush and 162 yards passing.
Receiver Phillip Dorsett beat starting strong safety Marcus Maye on a 52-yard touchdown catch in the first quarter for the game’s lone big play.
The redshirt freshman defensive back was listed behind Watkins in the latest depth chart released by Florida on Monday.
“You just can’t give up big plays. We can’t afford that to happen,” Muschamp said.
“You’ve got to tackle better. Marcus knows that. Jaylen’s played well at safety for us. He will still play some corner, but he’s a guy that covers well. This will be mostly a sub game in nickel and dime personnel, so we need to be in some situations where we get our best cover people on the field.”
Maye is listed as the first-team dime defensive back. Middle linebacker Antonio Morrison moves into the starting spot after backing up Michael Taylor in Week 2. Defensive back Loucheiz Purifoy will return kicks with Solomon Patton on the kickoff unit.
Right guard Jon Halapio makes his first start after missing the first two games with a pectoral injury.
Right tackle Tyler Moore remains the starter despite suffering a right ankle injury in Miami. Muschamp said Moore would’ve been the only player not able to go if Florida played last week.
Follow Adam Pincus on Twitter @adamDpincus.
Jaylen Watkins runs down the field during Florida’s 21-16 loss against Miami on Sept. 7 in Sun Life Stadium. Watkins is now starting at safety for the Gators.
