Gators Football Preview: A look at the defensive line
Friday, July 22, 2011 | Football, Scott Carter
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Senior defensive end William Green has sensed something different this summer as the defensive linemen worked out on their own in preparation for fall camp.
Sure, there is a new coaching staff, new alignments to learn and a fresh schematic system in place under first-year defensive coordinator Dan Quinn. But it goes beyond the obvious.
The biggest change Green has witnessed is something that comes from inside.
“I just feel like guys aren't playing around and working hard,'' he said at SEC Football Media Days. “I see guys improving physically and guys working hard on techniques and fundamentals.''
That should make Quinn and head coach Will Muschamp smile considering how important defensive line play has become in the SEC. Muschamp said Wednesday that the play up front is what separates the SEC from the rest of the country.
In some leagues, three or four teams might have superior defensive linemen to navigate over, around or through. In the SEC, Muschamp said every team in the league packs punch up front.
So when Muschamp was hired to replace Urban Meyer, he targeted Quinn as the guy he wanted to coach the unit.
“I think he's as good a front coach as I've been around from a fundamental technique standpoint,'' Muschamp said.
Quinn's decade of experience as an NFL assistant and his ability to teach has already made an impact according to Green, who said he has learned more about technique from Quinn than any coach he has worked with.
The improvements have led to a new attitude among a group that on paper is perhaps the Gators' strength heading into the 2011 season.
“We've got high expectations up front,'' Green said. “We've all been working really, really hard. This has probably been our best offseason as a group since I've been at Florida.''
The defensive line has a nice blend of experience and youth. The experience comes from Green (6-4, 245), a fifth-year senior expected to move into a starting role, senior defensive tackle Jaye Howard (6-3, 302) and junior nose tackle Omar Hunter (6-1, 305).
Howard is a strong physical presence on the inside and Hunter, recovering from a foot injury in the spring, is a space eater so important in clogging the running lanes.
But what has expectations high for the line is a group of young players that includes highly touted 2010 recruits Dominique Easley (6-2, 278), Shariff Floyd (6-3, 303) and hybrid defensive end/linebacker Ronald Powell (6-4, 250).
Easley and Floyd are both defensive tackles who played as true freshmen. Floyd came on strong near the end of the season and the coaching staff hopes Easley can overcome inconsistency and start cashing in on some of his enormous potential. Easley earned third-team All-SEC preseason honors Friday at SEC Football Media Days.
Meanwhile, Powell will be used primarily as a speed-rush specialist on the outside.
The Gators had only 21 sacks a year ago and with Quinn's system – using a mix of 3-4 and 4-3 fronts – focused on constant pressure on the quarterback that number should increase if the unit plays to its potential.
“You'll hear us say 'affecting the quarterback,' " Quinn said this spring. “There may be a day when you had two sacks but you really hit the guy. Maybe there were 10 hits and three batted balls. That was a good game, because you got the guy off his spot and affected the quarterback."
One thing to expect from the group is a lot of cross-training and players moving around the line on a regular basis. Quinn's system places a high emphasis on versatility up front.
Redshirt sophomore Kedric Johnson (6-4, 225) is expected to back up Powell at the buck position, and redshirt Lerentee McCray (6-2, 241) is another player Quinn hopes to use as a hybrid linebacker/defensive end.
While the Gators are thin at other positions, the defensive line has a strong core of young players on the depth chart, including redshirt freshman Leon Orr (6-5, 315), likely a reserve on the interior line, redshirt freshman defensive end Lynden Trail (6-7, 217), junior defensive tackle Earl Okine (6-7, 282) and true freshman defensive end Clay Burton (6-4, 234).
Muschamp said Wednesday that “potential is a dirty word'' around the Swamp, but if this group comes close to playing up to its ability, the Gators should be strong up front in the rough-and-tumble SEC.
GatorZone.com senior writer Scott Carter is previewing each position group on the Gators football team leading up to the start of fall camp.
