Matchup Breakdown: Johnny McCrary looks to continue progress against Florida

The Vanderbilt Commodores (3-6, 0-5 SEC) host the Florida Gators (4-3, 3-3) on Saturday at Vanderbilt Stadium. The Commodores are coming off a 42-28 win over Old Dominion in Week 10 after recording a season-best 524 yards of total offense.

Quarterback Johnny McCrary threw for 281 yards and five touchdowns– tying Jay Cutler and Bill Wade’s single-game school record– on 20-of-29 passing. The redshirt freshman has rejuvenated Vanderbilt’s offense after the team struggled to find consistency at quarterback.

McCrary is the only quarterback to win multiple games for the Commodores this season, seeing the majority of snaps in two of Vanderbilt’s three wins. His presence as an alternate mobile option helped teammate Ralph Webb rush for a career-best 166 yards and a touchdown in Saturday’s win.

However, the young quarterback will face a tough matchup against a Florida defense coming off a surprising 38-20 win over Georgia. The Gators rank No. 22 overall in total defense and rushing defense, No. 30 in team sacks and No. 52 in passing efficiency defense.

McCrary will face pressure from several players, including Dante Fowler. Fowler leads Florida with 7.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks and is second in total tackles (40). Linebacker Antonio Morrison, who leads the Gators with 67 tackles, will also be a major factor in stopping the elusive McCrary on Saturday.

Vernon Hargreaves and Keanu Neal will handle duties in pass coverage. Hargreaves, regarded by many as the SEC’s most talented defensive back, has just one interception this season, but has been a shutdown corner during his sophomore season and has a team-best nine pass breakups. Neal, who has benefited from playing opposite Hargreaves, leads the Gators with three interceptions and three pass breakups.

Saturday’s matchup will prove whether McCrary’s performance last week was the real deal or the product of an easy matchup. McCrary must provide a strong offensive output for Vanderbilt to stay in contention.

Jason Hall

A former freelance journalist from Nashville, Jason covers Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Kentucky