Many unproven players will take on prominent roles for the Gators this season, but perhaps no position will need to replace as much production as defensive end.
Seniors Justin Trattou and Duke Lemmens will be charged with taking over for Jermaine Cunningham and Carlos Dunlap, two second-round NFL Draft selections, when Florida opens up its season Saturday against Miami (Ohio).
Coach Urban Meyer said junior William Green and freshman Ronald Powell will be counted on to provide depth to the rotation, and starting defensive tackle Jaye Howard could see some time at end.
Trattou has logged seven sacks in his career, but Lemmens and Green have combined for just three sacks in their time at UF.
“There’s one known commodity, but there’s a little bit of a rotation we’re going to run, especially on Saturday,” Meyer said.
Opening up the playbook: Just as Saturday’s game against Miami (Ohio) will give UF a chance to test its defensive end depth, it will also give the Gators an opportunity to see what they have on offense.
No one expects Florida to dig deep into its playbook out of necessity, but that won’t keep Meyer and offensive coordinator Steve Addazio from seeing how their new players perform in the offense.
Meyer said he plans to use every package against the Redhawks, including some single-wing plays with Trey Burton and under-center packages with John Brantley.
“You’ll see the whole gamut this week,” Meyer said. “We’re doing everything we can. Some people say, ‘What do we save?’ Save it? We’ve got a bunch of new players.”
Wide receiver Deonte Thompson and running back Jeff Demps are the only returning offensive starters at skilled positions. Meyer added that receiver Andre Debose, who previously worked in the slot with Chris Rainey, will move to “X” receiver and serve as Thompson’s backup.
Open linebacker spots down to two: Meyer announced Monday that senior A.J. Jones will start Saturday’s game at strong side linebacker, where Jones played along Brandon Spikes and Ryan Stamper a season ago.
Meyer didn’t, however, announce that senior Brandon Hicks will start at weak side linebacker. Instead, Hicks is expected to be in a rotation with sophomore Jon Bostic and redshirt freshman Jelani Jenkins at middle and weak side linebacker.
Bostic and Jenkins were thought to be competing for the middle linebacker spot, but the coaching staff has preached versatility to its linebacking corps, something Bostic was weary of initially.
“At first I was like why was I rotating, but then I saw the good thing that we did was start rotating,” Bostic said. “Because if somebody goes down in this spot, somebody else can step in there without bringing somebody else in who may not be as talented in that position.”
