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There will be Florida stars all over the field in Atlanta Saturday for the SEC Championship Game.
Just not all of them will be on the Gators sideline.
Four of Alabama’s key players played high school football in Florida: RB Derrick Henry (Yulee), WR Calvin Ridley (Fort Lauderdale), S Eddie Jackson (Fort Lauderdale) and D.J. Pettway (Pensacola), who is part of the Tide’s six-man defensive line rotation. That obviously doesn’t include QB Jake Coker, a transfer from Florida State.
Each is involved in one of the 5 matchups to watch:
Alabama RB Derrick Henry vs. Florida RB Kelvin Taylor: Obviously, both backs will match up against the defenses, but this rivalry began in high school. It would be inaccurate to say Henry put Yulee on the map, because you can’t really find Yulee on a map (it’s tucked away just inside the Florida/Georgia border, just east, with no exit, of I-95), but he set the national career rushing record (12,144 yards) at Yulee High.
Henry and Taylor, every bit his equal at Belle Glade Glades Day, faced each other as seniors in a much-hyped game that drew national attention. Henry ran for 363 yards and six TDs. Taylor had 223 yards and one touchdown as Yulee dominated 42-6. Alabama recruited both and signed Henry.
Friends and competitors, both spent this week rekindling those prep memories while heaping praise on the other.
Henry won the high school battle, but for Florida to have any chance Saturday, Taylor has to have the bigger day.
Alabama WR Calvin Ridley vs. Florida CB Vernon Hargreaves: Ridley, the play-making freshman from suburban Fort Lauderdale, will be a first-round draft pick by the time he leaves. Hargreaves, from Tampa, Fla., could be a top-5 pick in April.
Hargreaves typically plays on the left side of Florida’s defense, and it will be interesting to see how often Coker challenges him.
In dreaming ways for Florida to upset the heavily-favored Tide, a defensive touchdown makes the most sense. And Hargreaves, with four interceptions on limited chances this season, has the ability to make such a play.
Ridley got back on track last week against Auburn, catching six balls for 90 yards, his highest total since going for 140 against Arkansas on Oct. 10.
Alabama safety Eddie Jackson vs. Florida QB Treon Harris: Another South Florida special. Jackson is from suburban Fort Lauderdale. Harris starred at Miami Booker T. Washington, 30 miles south.
Alabama has allowed just 12 passing TDs this season, and most required some good fortune or a breakdown in the secondary.
Perhaps the most memorable TD pass that Harris might borrow: Chad Kelly stole a page out of Auburn’s playbook when he rolled aggressively to his right, sold the run, pulled up and tossed a short pass over cornerback Minkah Fitzpatrick’s head. The play resulted in a 73-yard touchdown, but it required a secondary breakdown.
It’s virtually impossible to see Harris beating Alabama in a traditional drop-back fashion. And every time the ball is in the air, that gives Jackson another opportunity to impact the game. The converted cornerback leads the SEC with five interceptions, and has returned two of them for touchdowns.
Alabama’s defensive front vs. Florida’s run game: Pettway is part of the rotation that keeps Alabama’s front fresh, which will be important Saturday against a running quarterback in Harris and a capable running back in Taylor.
“We have to do it all this week,” Pettway told TideTV. “We have to make sure we get after the quarterback, don’t give him time, keep him contained inside the pocket. He throws pretty good outside the pocket. And he can run pretty well.
Pettway described Taylor as a “really good one-cut runner, one of the quickest guys I’ve seen this year. Maybe one of the best backs we’ve played this year. Really explosive and real quick, can make guys miss.”
Alabama leads the SEC in fewest rushing yards allowed at 78.2. Just two teams — Georgia and Tennessee — topped 100 yards.
FSU’s Dalvin Cook eventually wore down Florida’s line. That typically doesn’t happen to Alabama’s line, thanks to its depth.
Florida’s offensive minds vs. Alabama’s defensive minds: Conventional wisdom suggests Florida can’t just line up and play football and stay in the game. They tried that last week against Florida State and nearly were shut out for the first time since 1988.
Head coach Jim McElwain is an offensive innovator. He and OC Doug Nessmeier have to win this game in the film room.
McElwain has one huge advantage over most who try to match Xs and Os with Nick Saban: He was Saban’s offensive coordinator for four seasons — including two title years — and knows Alabama’s defensive schemes as well as any opposing coach could.
Will it matter? There aren’t many holes in Alabama’s defense. Ten-play scoring drives are non-existent.
Alabama’s defense has allowed 18 touchdowns this season.
Of those:
- Just two of those TD drives had more than 8 plays.
- Six were result of one big scoring play of 40 yards or more, including five of 50 or more yards.
Florida, meanwhile, with Harris has scored 10 offensive touchdowns in the past five games, six on drives that covered 75 or more yards.
That’s not likely to continue Saturday against Alabama. Florida had just two drives longer than 50 yards against Florida State, and neither resulted in points.
Can McElwain draw up enough big plays to keep it competitive? Twice in the past five games Harris found Callaway for long TD passes — the kind of plays Alabama is susceptible to.
That’s what it will take Saturday to derail the Crimson Tide’s bid to return to the College Football Playoff.
Managing Editor
A 30-time APSE award-winning editor with previous stints at the Miami Herald, The Indianapolis Star and News & Observer, Executive Editor Chris Wright oversees editorial operations for Saturday Down South.
