Carlos Dunlap stepped into the national spotlight in January, but that may have been just the beginning.
The defensive end earned Defensive MVP honors during UF's 24-14 win over Oklahoma in the BCS National Championship Game and admits to being recognized more than ever.
The scary thought for UF opponents is the junior says he reached only about half of his potential in 2008, a year in which he blocked three punts and led the team with 9.5 sacks.
He tallied those stats while splitting starts with Justin Trattou, but the breakout season has Dunlap primed to be the starter opposite Jermaine Cunningham in 2009.
He was recently named to the watch list for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, awarded annually to the best defensive player in the country.
"Last year, it was just hard to get Dunlap to run from me to that door," said defensive coordinator Charlie Strong, referring to a door about six feet away. "I think that what helped him was being MVP last year of the national championship game. He's got so much publicity. He's taken that upon himself to be a better football player."
Then again, Dunlap's potential was never in question.
The 6-foot-6, 290-pounder has always earned praise for his freakish athletic ability and physique.
Dunlap returned kickoffs for his high school team. Strong saw Dunlap catch a ball carrier from behind during two-a-days.
But it was a different story when he arrived in Gainesville as the fifth-best recruit in the country, according to Rivals.com.
Struggling with the pressure, coaches saw him as lazy. Just last week, coach Urban Meyer characterized Dunlap as a "dog" his freshman year.
"When I came in, a lot was expected of me," Dunlap said. "When I messed up, coaches got on me, and I took it the wrong way.
"Everybody that comes to Florida is a star at their high school. When they get here, they expect to make plays like they did in high school."
The last year has seen quite a transformation from Dunlap. His successes in '08 have him working harder than ever during two-a-days, and coaches and teammates can't help but praise his newfound work ethic.
Defensive line coach Dan McCarney said he has seen a change in maturity from meetings to the practice field. Fellow lineman Earl Okine looks up to Dunlap and says he doesn't want to let his upperclassman teammate down.
"His practice habits (this fall) have been better than they've ever been," McCarney said. "I never had one issue with him on gameday.
"He just needed to put more emphasis on (practice) and give more effort and be more relentless and just practice better and prepare better, and he's doing that right now."
In addition to the Gators' quest to repeat as national champs, Dunlap still has some things to prove individually.
He has targeted Alex Brown's single-season record of 13 sacks set in 1999, and McCarney agrees he's capable of breaking that mark. Scout.com currently has Dunlap slotted as the eighth-best defensive end if he were to leave UF and enter the 2010 NFL Draft.
But for now, he'll just keep worrying about practice.
