Ad Disclosure
Florida report card: Defensive grades for Gators’ season-opening win
By Drew Laing
Published:
School is officially in session. The Florida Gators took their first test yesterday, facing Eastern Michigan for their 2014 season-opener.
The Gators won 65-0, but how did each position group perform in last night’s blow out win? We hand out grades for every defensive position group.
DEFENSIVE LINE: A+
The defensive line was in the face of the Eastern Michigan quarterbacks all night. Only one lineman registered a sack, but six different linemen notched QB hurries: Dante Fowler, Alex McCalister, Bryan Cox Jr., Jonathan Bullard, Gerald Willis and Caleb Brantley.
Fowler looked especially disruptive. He was very quick off the edge and forcing the quarterback to make several hurried decisions. The overall aggressiveness from the defensive line was evident all game as they collectively had five tackles for loss for a total of 12 yards.
LINEBACKERS: A+
Hard to pinpoint any low points from the Florida linebackers yesterday. Neiron Ball and Mike Taylor shined, leading the team with six tackles each. Perhaps what is most impressive was the lack of production EMU got from their running game throughout the entire game. The Eagles have a very talented senior running back in Bronson Hill, but were unable to get anything going and only rushed for 80 yards.
They didn’t get a first down until around 13 minutes left in the second quarter and only ran two plays from Florida’s side of the field. In addition to Taylor and Ball, the coaching staff had to love what they saw out of sophomore Daniel McMillian. In addition to his two tackles and one TFL, McMillian also recovered a fumble in the fourth quarter.
SECONDARY: A+
If you thought the run defense was impressive, the pass defense was even better. The secondary only allowed 45 passing yards and were able to intercept an errant throw by EMU quarterback Rob Bolden and house it for six. True freshman Duke Dawson made the play late in the third quarter.
Other than the Dawson pick-six, it was a relatively quiet day in terms of big plays for the secondary, but they were pretty dominant against Eastern Michigan’s up-tempo offense. All four freshman defensive backs – Dawson, Jalen Tabor, Quincy Wilson and JC Jackson – were able to play yesterday. Developing those guys will be crucial for the Gators. The secondary may have a ton of talent, but it’s largely an unexperienced, unproven group of players. Gaining game experience like in last night’s matchup is always critically important when developing depth.
Drew Laing will be providing analysis and insight on Florida, Georgia, Missouri and South Carolina.
