With the Florida football team several weeks into preseason camp, alligatorSports Editors Ian Cohen and Ethan Bauer take a look at UF's position groups on defense and special teams and provide analysis from the first few weeks of Fall practice.
Defensive backs
Player to watch: Jalen Tabor. Florida’s defensive backs unit starts and ends with Tabor.
A reigning All-Southeastern Conference first team cornerback, Tabor has no Vernon Hargreaves to stand in his way this season, and should be the face of Florida’s defense in 2016.
Plus, Tabor isn’t afraid to speak his mind on any topic. From politics to religion to boasting about Florida’s 11-season winning streak over Tennessee, Tabor is a constant quote machine.
Under the radar: Chauncey Gardner, McArthur Burnett, Jeawon Taylor. All three are freshmen, and all three probably won’t see a ton of playing time this season. But UF’s coaches and players can’t stop raving about the team’s new defensive backs. Redshirt junior defensive back Nick Washington claims that Gardner and Taylor are SEC ready, while McElwain constantly lauds Burnett’s energy in each practice.
Quote: “We’ve been in the most SEC Championships, won the most SEC Championships. I don’t know when that ever changed or why people thought that someone else was running the East.” — Jalen Tabor, on Tennessee being predicted to win the SEC East division.
Analysis: There’s really only one name you need to remember in Florida’s secondary: Jalen Tabor.
The good thing is, you’ll probably be remembering plenty of other names, too.
Florida will likely start some combination of redshirt senior Marcus Maye, redshirt junior Nick Washington, juniors Quincy Wilson, Duke Dawson and redshirt junior Marcell Harris alongside Tabor in the secondary, and UF coaches have been impressed with each one.
In particular, they’re pleased with Wilson’s development at outside corner and Dawson’s performance at nickel, and they trust each one with a starting role.
Defensive backs coach Torrian Gray said Wilson will be “an integral part” of UF’s defense and praised Dawson’s and Harris’ growth.
And when talking about Tabor, Gray’s face lit up with excitement.
“He’s right in there with the mix of those guys, the Brandon Flowers, the Kendall Fullers, the Kyle Fullers. They all have got an ‘it’ factor about them,” Gray said.
“He has that savvy, that cockiness or arrogance or whatever — that competitiveness about him that you’ve got to have to be a top-flight corner.”
Linebackers
Player to watch: Alex Anzalone. The former four-star recruit has been plagued by injuries during his college career, but he’s finally healthy.
With depth concerns at linebacker following the departure of 2015 starter Antonio Morrison for the NFL, the redshirt junior will have every opportunity to contribute alongside Jarrad Davis — that is, if he can stay on the field.
Plus, if we’re literally talking about players to watch, it’s hard to miss Anzalone thanks to his glowing blonde mane. At UF’s media day, he said he’s trimmed it once in the past two years.
Under the radar: Cristian Garcia. Known more for stopping a sexual assault in progress than for his contributions on the football field (and rightfully so), Garcia has a chance to see the field in 2016. Thanks to a lack of depth and an influx of young players, the former walk-on and redshirt junior is one of the older players of the group. He forced Mark Thompson to fumble in the Orange and Blue Debut and has drawn rave reviews from teammates.
Quote: Jarrad Davis on Cristian Garcia: “The things that he’s able to do and the way he goes about the game and the way he plays is not like other walk-ons.”
Analysis: The story of Florida’s linebackers is one of unfulfilled potential.
The 2013 recruiting class was supposed to revolutionize and reinvigorate the group with an injection of top-caliber talent.
That talent came in the form of four-star linebackers Anzalone, Daniel McMillian and Matt Rolin as well as three-star recruit Davis. Everyone in that top group of three was rated a top-13 linebacker in the class by 247Sports, with Anzalone and McMillian both in the top five.
As it turned out, though, Davis surprised everyone by outperforming the group of three. His 145 career tackles are more than double the group’s output put together (they’ve combined for 69 career tackles).
A lot of that is because of injury. Rolin sustained several knee injuries and didn’t even see the field until 2015 as a redshirt sophomore and recently gave up football entirely with plans to finish his degree at UF.
Anzalone was a starter last season before sustaining a shoulder injury after Florida’s second game. And while he’s contributed on special teams, McMillian just hasn’t played well enough at linebacker to merit seeing the field consistently.
This season, though, McMillian’s likely to play plenty. Without Morrison, the remaining members of the group of three and Davis are the only recruited linebackers who aren’t freshmen.
That could open the door for some walk-ons like Garcia, R.J. Raymond or Steven Stipe to see the field. It could also lead to freshmen being given opportunities.
The possible freshmen contributors are redshirt freshmen Kylan Johnson and Rayshad Jackson along with true freshmen Vosean Joseph, Jeremiah Moon and David Reese.
In short, Florida needs what's left of the group of three to finally fulfill its potential alongside Davis. If not, it’ll have to turn — more than it’d probably like — to freshmen and walk-ons.
Defensive Line
Players to Watch: CeCe Jefferson, Antonneous Clayton. Caleb Brantley is too obvious here, so instead, Jefferson and Clayton are two up-and-comers to watch. Both were top recruits, both are young and both bring size.
Clayton brings it in the form of height — he’s 6-foot-3, 220 pounds — while Jefferson brings it in the form of girth — he’s 6-foot-1, 261 pounds. Clayton, a true freshman, could see a role as a third-down pass rusher because of his lean frame — much like Jefferson did as a freshman last season — while Jefferson has a ceiling as high as anyone on the team.
Under the Radar: Taven Bryan, Joey Ivie. Both players are interior guys who are listed at about 300 pounds each. Ivie, a senior, has been under the radar since he arrived at Florida as a three-star defensive end.
Since moving inside, he’s been productive for the Gators by racking up at least 20 tackles each of the past two seasons. He’s expected to line the interior along with Caleb Brantley.
Bryan, a redshirt sophomore who defensive line coach Chris Rumph once called the “Wyoming wild man,” is someone who will provide vital relief to the interior of the line.
He's someone who coaches have raved about as having tons of raw potential but a limited understanding of the game. With another offseason of learning opportunities, he could put the two together this season.
Quote: CeCe Jefferson: “I think on the D-Line everybody’s gonna have such a successful year that nobody’s really gonna stand out. I think everybody’s just gonna — it’s literally gonna be a feeding frenzy.”
Analysis: Florida’s defensive line isn’t lacking depth. What it is lacking is proven playmakers.
Following the departures of sack leaders Jonathan Bullard and Alex McCalister to the NFL, the Gators are looking for players to fill the void.
The starting group that is most likely to fill that void is made up of Caleb Brantley and Joey Ivie on the inside and Bryan Cox and Jordan Sherit on the outside. However, there are lots of other players to be plugged in.
The contributors start with CeCe Jefferson, Khairi Clark, Taven Bryan and Luke Ancrum at tackle. On the outside, a committee of Justus Reed, Keivonnis Davis, Jabari Zuniga and Antonneous Clayton will try to bolster the bookends.
In addition, true freshmen Jordan Smith and Jachai Polite could see action if the team suffers injuries or if the duo surprises coaches early.
That’s a lot of names to know, but before long, it’s likely that a couple of players will separate from the pack and establish themselves.
If not, the team is at least assured of fielding a stable of capable players.
Special Teams
Player to Watch: Eddy Pineiro. By now, you’ve probably heard about Florida’s long-distance kicking YouTube sensation, the guy who has posted videos of himself knocking down 50-, 60- and 70-yard field goals.
The problem — they’ve all been on practice fields. Pineiro has never kicked in a game where the score actually mattered.
The pressure is on Pineiro to solve Florida’s field-goal kicking woes after a season in which the Gators made just seven of their 17 field goals.
Under the radar: Johnny Townsend. The only reason Townsend is under the radar is because punters rarely receive much attention on any level.
But let’s not forget, #PuntersArePeopleToo.
Townsend is one of the top punters in the SEC and was the most consistent aspect of UF’s special teams unit last season. Expect another year of the same.
Quote: McElwain, on Pineiro's performance in UF’s annual Spring game on April 8: “We really got excited when he put his helmet on correctly. That was pretty cool. And then he got it buckled, and that was even better.”
Analysis: Pineiro and Townsend are the headliners of Florida’s special teams. If the two live up to their hype, there’s no question that Florida will have one of the best one-two punches of kicker and punter in the country.
Like last season, Florida may stick with Antonio Callaway returning punts.
But because the sophomore receiver’s value has risen so sharply now that he’s not an unknown freshman, UF may give some other players chances in the return game.
Some possible options include junior Dre Massey, freshman Chauncey Gardner and junior Brandon Powell, all elusive playmakers who can help out UF’s special teams.
Keep your eye on Massey, a receiver who has continually impressed McElwain since the start of camp.
“(He’s) a guy that, man, he gives us a lot of versatility in a lot of different ways,” McElwain said.
“Not only in the return game, but in a lot of things that we’re going to do offensively. He’s one of those kind of multi-spot guys. He can throw it. He can catch it. He can run it. So he’s another guy to be looking for in that situation.”
Florida defensive lineman CeCe Jefferson participates in a drill during a Spring practice on March 21, 2016, at the Sanders Football Field.
Cornerback Jalen Tabor (31) celebrates after successfully defending wide receiver Josh Hammond (10) during the Orange & Blue Debut on April 8, 2016, at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
