Gators’ defense gets one last shot at spear in side Dalvin Cook
By Andrew Olson
Published:
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – In the 2016 season, the Gators have faced many elite ball-carriers: Nick Chubb, Sony Michel, and most recently, Leonard Fournette and Derrius Guice. Even Tennessee quarterback Joshua Dobbs counts.
In the opinion of Gators coach Jim McElwain, however, none of them have the same big-play ability as the man they’ll face Saturday night, the man they thought would be theirs back in 2013.
“This Dalvin Cook guy is the most explosive player in all of college football,” McElwain said. “You can just look at his plays, both running and catching, he’s a special, special player who is going to play a long time at the next level.”
Even though Cook (242 carries, 1,467 yards, 17 TD) is the star player of Florida’s arch-rival, McElwain can’t help but appreciate watching the elite running back with the football in his hand.
“Just talking as a guy who enjoys watching good things on film, this guy is awful fun to watch,” McElwain said. “He plays the game the way it’s supposed to be played. We have our work cut out for us.”
That “work” has been complicated by the injury bug’s assault on the Florida defense in recent weeks. McElwain announced Monday that S Nick Washington would be out due to an ankle injury. The coach also ruled out LB Jarrad Davis and DE Bryan Cox Jr. Earlier this month, the Gators learned that the season was over for LB Alex Anzalone and S Marcus Maye, both having suffered broken arms.
Not all hope is lost, however, as all the above names except Washington were out against LSU and the Gators managed to contain Fournette (12 carries, 40 yards) and Guice (19 carries, 83 yards), who entered the game averaging 8.7 yards per carry. As coaches everywhere love to to, McElwain attributed his defense’s success to following assignments instead of chasing big plays to boost their box scores.
“Here’s what I think those guys did: They did their job,” McElwain said. “As mundane and routine as that sounds, if you do that it allows the people around you to do their job. And they’re starting to get the fact that it isn’t all about these stats. Stats come when you win the game. Do your job and that’s what they were doing for the most part.”
A big part of that job was to control the gaps, and that will be key Saturday night, because Cook has the ability to turn one small hole into a 70-yard touchdown.
“It was good to see the guys up front starting to really understand – and they’ve put some of these things together – when you don’t jump out of gaps, when you maintain what you need to do when you go against the double team or the down block, whatever that might be, when they do that, they’re pretty effective,” McElwain said.
On the defensive line, Florida is led by starters DE Keivonnis Davis, NT Joey Ivie, DT Caleb Brantley and DE Jordan Sherit. Those four will get the first snap, but one can expect to see plenty of DE Cece Jefferson, NT Khairi Clark, DT Taven Bryan and DE Jabari Zuniga. They will be looking to put pressure on FSU QB Deondre Francois, but make no mistake – priority No. 1 is slowing down Cook.
“Here’s what I like, is the guy can run behind his pads the way he’s built, and yet, he can give you that side-to-side jump cut and get to top speed so quickly,” McElwain said. “You can’t blink. You gotta keep your head up and you gotta wrap this guy up. The big thing is, we gotta get people around the ball because he’s going to make some guys miss and that’s what makes him so special.”
Florida fans thought they would be watching Cook make those side-to-side jump cuts for big gains in orange and blue. The former five-star Miami Central product – rated the No. 1 Sunshine State prospect, No. 2 running back and No. 13 overall recruit of the 2014 class – was a Gator-chomping Florida commit as late as Dec. 30, 2013:
Dalvin Cook just walked up behind Chad Thomas who was doing a video interview and did the Gator chomp. #Gators
— Derek Tyson (@DerekJTyson) December 30, 2013
But the next day, he revealed he had other plans:
This is how ESPNU announced Dalvin Cook's flip from the #Gators to the #Noles. pic.twitter.com/sAXH6iV4SD
— Alligator Army (@AlligatorArmy) January 1, 2014
Flips between the two schools are frequent, but it’s hard to think of a recent Gators pledge who has done more damage in garnet and gold. Two years ago, the Gators went to Tallahassee determined to play spoiler and ruin FSU’s undefeated season and repeat bid. The defense picked off Jameis Winston four times and held the Seminoles offense to a season-low 306 yards of offense, but Cook’s season-high 144 yards on 24 rushes helped carry FSU to a 24-19 victory.
The Gators and Noles looked to be in for another tight game during the first half of last year’s meeting in The Swamp. Florida trailed 10-0 at the break and had held Cook to only 25 yards through two quarters. FSU added a field-goal in the third quarter and then Cook broke the game wide open, rushing for two touchdowns and 150 of his 183 yards in the fourth quarter en route to a 27-2 Seminoles victory.
He’s just a junior, but he’s as good as gone. As a projected first-round NFL Draft pick, Cook’s final game at Doak Campbell Stadium is likely his last against the Gators. His freshman and sophomore standout performances guarantee his prominent placement in the rivalry’s history.
On Saturday it comes to a game of final opportunities: UF’s last shot at revenge vs. Cook’s opportunity to go out with a bang and crush the Florida faithful one more time.
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
