Picture this.
Tennessee comes to Gainesville on Saturday with a quarterback who is leading the Southeastern Conference with a passer rating of 204.2. He’s thrown for nearly 700 yards in just two games, with seven touchdowns and zero interceptions. He’s completing just shy of 80 percent of his passes.
No, this isn’t a story pulled from the 90s archives. Those stats belong to sophomore gunslinger Tyler Bray, arguably the best thing to happen to Knoxville, Tenn., since a guy named Manning.
Asked Wednesday what he had to do to prepare his inexperienced secondary for Bray and the Volunteers’ potent passing attack, Florida coach Will Muschamp was forthcoming.
“Well they’ve got to look at the stats — this guy is completing 80 percent of his passes. It’s pretty easy to get ready,” Muschamp said.
“He’s been very accurate with the ball not just in the intermediate, but also the vertical passing game. He’s got two explosive guys outside, so we’ve got our work cut out for us.”
By no means is Bray a one-man show.
Wide receivers Justin Hunter and Da’Rick Rogers represent a deadly combination on the perimeter, as the two have combined for 502 yards and five touchdowns through two games.
Rogers can also line up in the slot, presenting matchup problems for the defense.
Safety Josh Evans said Florida has been preparing for Rogers to motion around and for multiple personnel groupings, adding the Gators are confident their corners can play man defense against the Volunteers.
Evans said the key was to “attack them early in the game and let them know that we’re confident in our DBs.”
Whether UF’s corners can hold their own remains to be seen, as Cody Riggs (5-foot-9) and Marcus Roberson (6-foot) have yet to be challenged by the combination of size and speed possessed by Hunter (6-foot-4) and Rogers (6-foot-3).
Both Tennessee receivers have a reception of more than 45 yards this season, and Hunter had a touchdown grab of 81 yards in the opener against Montana. Hunter leads the SEC with 16 catches, and Rogers is nipping at his heels with 15. Both average more than 13 yards per reception and are electric after the catch.
Defensive coordinator Dan Quinn said Wednesday that he will use each corner to his strength, meaning Riggs could try to be more physical at the line to counteract the discrepancy in size.
“They know they’re probably going to want to take shots due to his height, but I think [Riggs] covers up pretty good with them,” Evans said. “He’s a real aggressive guy. He’ll get hands on you and he likes to press guys.”
But Riggs, a sophomore, and Roberson, a freshman, haven’t seen anything like they will come Saturday.
“Everyone recruited them,” Muschamp said of Rogers and Hunter, “and everyone in the country wanted them.”
Contact Matt Watts at mwatts@alligator.org.
Tennessee wide receiver Da’Rick Rogers (21) and teammate Justin Hunter have combined for more than 500 yards and five touchdowns this year.
