The Gators have one of the toughest schedules in the country. As most fans admit, we must upgrade our roster AND improve our coaching, especially on gameday to make a necessary boost to our won/loss record. While some see that as a tall task, I'm going to focus on roster development from opening day 2023 to today. DTs - Who's Who? Lost: C.McClellan (highly rated, had some promise but ceiling capped, lost snaps to Lyons down the stretch) W.Norman (highly rated but a project, too light, not focused) J.Humphries (highly rated non-contributor for 4 years/ typical Mullen miss that looked great on paper NSD but wasn't) Gained: J.Slackman (arguably one of the top DTs in the portal, hope he has the physical ability to make the jump from Ivy football, projected key contributor/starter) D.Robinson (eventually projects to a starter/key contributor level, much more comfortable with him than Norman for long term development) B.Taylor (could play F or edge, one of the top JC players in the nation, highly athletic, can push for backup/situational time especially on passing downs) M.Boireau ( a developmental depth piece, must get into shape) Return: Both Starters- T.Sapp (the top DT on the team per PFF, versatile and athletic, took him a few years to figure it out and get his body right) C.Jackson (the transfer has major talent, and is large, maybe too large, hope new S&C maximizes his potential) Both Backups- C.Banks (technically he started most games, only a RS FR, prototypical athleticism and size, will improve, very experienced now for a SO) J.Lyons (highly rated but came in not ready and completely out of shape as a true FR, improved shape and became a key contributor by the end of last year playing over McClellan, does not like FSU!) The Big Wildcard- Big Dez (a fan favorite was being counted on to be a key/contributor/starter 2 years ago as the DT room was abysmal, unfortunately he's never been able to play his way into shape, could see him playing situationally on goal line and spot snaps UNLESS he committed himself to losing 100 pounds, still highly athletic for a 450+ man). Could also possibly hit the portal for lesser competition. Recap: Moderate to Strong Upside Tyreak, Cam, and Slackman will probably be your starters. Banks and Lyons may also start and all push for regular minutes. All are highly experienced. We did not lose any player better than these 5. Taylor may contribute another skillset, as a pass rushing interior DL. We finally have SEC depth at the position. D'auntre is a future core interior player that they can develop and fill one of these slots next year. And now there is no pressure on Big Dez now, its up to him how he fits. The Math: Slackman > McClellan, D'auntre > Norman, Taylor(+), and Boireau > Humphries, Banks/Lyons improve a bit. All players more experienced.
Very nice write-up. Now to make all that happen... the way we Gator fans want to see our D-line perform all starts with Gerald Chatman - Gators D-line coach. The one tenet that all good/great D-line coaches have is is attitude. The attitude to affect the game one man at a time working as a unit on a team... all on the same page. “Trying to figure out the best way to explain me having this job right now,” he told Gators Online. “I got a little bit of attitude right now with this job and I think it’s getting ready to rub off on these players. “It’s just a little bit of a different demeanor right now. I ain’t in the honeymoon phase of taking this job. I got a little chip on my shoulder. In the SEC, man, there’s gotta be an attack mentality to it.” “I’m excited for the opportunity at Florida,” he said. “I think an attack approach to the defensive line job for the Florida Gators is dangerous. That’s how I view it, especially coaching the defensive line and recruiting at this position. You gotta be ready to go toe to toe with the top teams in the country. Gerald Chatman brings an ‘attack mentality’ as Gators D-line coach
Nice job. I'm really liking the 2-deep at 1/NT with Jackson & Lyons and the 3/DT with Slackman & Sapp. Banks will get PT NT/DT, too. Frankly, I’m over 400lb+ Watson. If it was me, I don’t play him if he’s over 390 lbs.
I don't think the interior DL was as bad as some of the numbers would lead most to believe. The LB play was so poor that even when the line was holding up and doing their job, the D was still getting gashed. Pass rush, however, left much to be desired. If they can do a better job in 24 of collapsing the pocket with a good push, that will go a long way to improvement of the D overall. The fact 3 of the top 4 are transfers, speaks volumes of recent recruiting.
We've got to be able to get more pressure on the QB without blitzing. The secondary got a ton of blame this year and some of it was justified, but when you have to blitz to get QB pressure or when you don't blitz and the QB has all day to scan downfield, no secondary can hold up for very long. Slackman is rated very high by the experts and hopefully he's as good as advertised. He was great in the Ivy League and hopefully he will be able to do his things in the SEC. I think L.J. McCray, even as a true freshman, will help a lot with improving the pass rush.
Excellent post, thanks for taking the time for this. I’m fairly certain that Sapp started at SSDE last season and not DT. He moved to DT in some obvious passing downs, but he was primarily a DE at 275 pounds. Banks started at DT and Jackson at NG. Agree that we should have some improvement at the position this year.
Now if we can snag that OC everyone is hoping for things might be heading in the right direction. If we can squeak out 7 or 8 wins, the next recruiting class will get huge! They will come. It doesn't suck that we have two of the best five stars here right now...WOOHOO! Go Gators.
Thanks for this. Sapp is more of an DE that I think will be pushed this year. He may slide inside on pass rush downs but he’s primarily a SSDE.
I'm a little confused about Sapp as well, but he's listed as the starter at "DT" for every game last year except Arkansas. Banks was listed as the starter at DE, and Umanmielen at Jack. Maybe it's just the terminology, because I also considered Sapp a DE last year. Whatever it was, it was working for him and hope he really brings it this year.
Sapp is an F, and a tweener. He is a great Gator and experienced at diagnosing the play. But unless he has a complete body makeover, he is not a starter and will likely lose minutes to younger guys to get the best players on the field. Boone coming back makes his position even more precarious.
