He’d basically been written off before the start of the season, seemingly consigned to the low expectations of others.

But like the surprising Florida football team as a whole, senior middle linebacker Antonio Morrison has defied cynical preseason prognosticators, shaking off a serious knee injury to again become the heart and soul of a tenacious defense that has helped the 11th-ranked Gators remain undefeated after their first five games.

“There’s the story of this football team,” first-year Florida coach Jim McElwain said during his weekly press conference this week. “What he has overcome, the work that he has put in …”

Morrison (6-foot-1, 229 pounds) was initially expected to miss a large part of the season – if not all of it – after suffering a serious injury to his left knee during last year’s Birmingham Bowl in early January. He underwent two surgeries in the offseason and sat out the entire spring and preseason as he tirelessly worked to rehabilitate the damaged joint and rejoin his teammates.

His relentless battle to get back on the field has inspired his teammates and coaches alike.

“My hat’s off to that guy for what he did,” McElwain said, “giving of himself for this team to be good.”

But his sooner-than-expected return to the lineup meant considerably more than just symbolism. Florida entered the season lacking depth at the linebacker position, and the subsequent shoulder injury to Alex Anzalone left the unit perilously thin. It was imperative that Florida had a playmaker in the middle to anchor the defensive front seven.

A Second Team All-SEC pick a year ago after registering a team-high 101 tackles. Morrison surprised everybody outside the program when he took to the field with the starting defense in the season-opening win over New Mexico State on Sept. 5.

He’s started every game and gotten stronger each week since, although Morrison remains far from 100 percent physically.

Morrison was named the Walter Camp National Defensive Player of the Week after registering his best game of the season during last weekend’s 38-10 drubbing of Ole Miss. He was all over the field in tallying a team-high 16 tackles, including 3.5 for losses, to pace a Florida defense that forced 4 turnovers while limiting the Rebels to 69 yards rushing.

The Gators will look for more of the same this week when they play at Missouri on Saturday evening.