Gators head coach Dan Mullen said Monday that linebacker David Reese could possibly make his season debut against Colorado State. (Photo: Tim Casey/UAA Communications)
Gators Notebook: Secondary Gets Thinner, Other Tidbits
Monday, September 10, 2018 | Football
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By: Ethan Hughes, FloridaGators.com Intern
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Gators' first loss to Kentucky since 1986 arguably wasn't the biggest loss they suffered on Saturday night. On Kentucky's opening possession, sophomore cornerback Marco Wilson went down with a knee injury.
On Monday, UF coach Dan Mullen confirmed what had been reported Sunday – Wilson tore the ACL in his left knee and will miss the rest of the season. A 2017 Freshman All-SEC Team member, Wilson played an important role in Florida's rebuilding defense this year under new coordinator Todd Grantham.
"You feel terrible for Marco, a guy that's worked really hard, a star player in our secondary," Mullen said. "If you ask me coming into the season, 'Hey, who are your best players? What's the strength of the defense?' I would've said our two corners. To lose one of the absolute best players on your roster, is obviously a big, big loss for us."
Sophomore cornerback Marco Wilson. (Photo: Kaila Jones/UAA Communications)
Aside from losing Wilson's top-notch coverage skills, Mullen said his absence will mostly be felt in his team's depth. The Gators entered fall camp already four defensive backs short of the number he likes to have on his roster. Add in the season-ending injuries to Wilson and redshirt sophomore safety Quincy Lenton and indefinite injuries to redshirt sophomore cornerback C.J. McWilliams and sophomore safety Shawn Davis, and UF is essentially down eight defensive backs.
Sophomore CJ Henderson now becomes the only corner with significant experience. Freshman Trey Dean, who enrolled in January, will slide into the other starting spot.
"The lack of depth we have at that position certainly has helped him accelerate his role to get ready," Mullen said of Dean. "He was a two on Day 1, and so to me, ones and twos need to at some point be interchangeable. So, when you show up and you're kind of forced into this position where you'd love guys to have time to develop, but when you're in a position where you're forced and there is no choice and you have to develop, you often see that accelerate their growth. He's done a good job of doing that."
Sophomore Brian Edwards will be the top reserve. Behind him, the Gators are down to walk-ons. Mullen said he and his staff will discuss the possibility of moving offensive players to the defense to improve depth.
Cornerbacks play a vital role in Grantham's defense. He likes to blitz from all areas of the field, leaving the corners on an island frequently. Despite inexperience and lacking depth, Mullen said he will not limit what Grantham can do. He will continue to bring pressure, and it's up to Dean and Edwards to fill the void left by Wilson. Junior nickelback Chauncey Gardner-Johnson said he's not worried about Dean.
"Lengthy, aggressive and fast," Gardner-Johnson said. "He fits right in. He came in early, so he's been around the guys for almost a year, so he knew what to expect when he got in. He made plays, and he held his own out there. Whatever happens, he's getting prepared for this week and ready to play the whole game." REESE TO RETURN?
In more positive injury-related news, Mullen said junior linebacker David Reese could make his season debut on Saturday against Colorado State.
Reese missed the first two games due to an unspecified injury, and UF's run defense suffered immensely without him on the field. Against Kentucky, Florida gave up more than 300 yards rushing for the first time since 2013. Through two games, the Gators are last in the SEC in rush defense – by 60 yards per game. Mullen said Monday that the Gators missed 20 tackles against UK, which led to 168 yards.
Reese led Florida with 102 tackles and finished second with 10 tackles for loss a season ago. He and former Gators linebacker Antonio Morrison are the only UF players to post 100-tackle seasons this decade.
"A guy that's played, that has experience, that adds depth and lets you roll players through more is certainly going to help," Mullen said. "He's a guy that's on the Leadership Committee, so I mean, he brings something. I'm not going to say that him coming back is the answer, but it certainly is not going to hurt."
Added Gardner-Johnson: "He's our leader, our star linebacker."
Also, Mullen said McWilliams could return to action this week while Davis will be out once again. He also said he anticipates senior defensive end/linebacker Cece Jefferson returning to the field this Saturday. Jefferson missed the first two games while serving an academic-related suspension. TONEY'S ROLE
Sophomore wideout Kadarius Toney touched the ball four times in his season debut against the Wildcats. He gained a total of 45 yards, leaving fans wanting to see the ball in his hands more. Kadarius Toney made his season debut against Kentucky. (Photo: Allison Curry/UAA Communications)
Mullen acknowledged that he has special abilities with the ball in his hands, although he struggles with route-running and consistency in catching the ball.
He said he will continue to have packages designed for him to make plays without having to run precise routes or catch the ball downfield. That could include screen passes, handoffs and direct snaps.
"He's a dynamic guy with the ball in his hand, and he's learning to be a wide receiver," Mullen said. "He's a guy that didn't do that [in high school]. You know, we'll have some things. He's still going to play a bunch at wide receiver.
"There's ways to touch the ball without him just being a great route-runner within the system, and we'll continue to do those things." LEMONS LEAVING
Perhaps the strangest part of Saturday was sophomore running back Adarius Lemons announcing his intent to transfer in a note posted to his Twitter account minutes after the game.
Mullen confirmed that Lemons is no longer part of the program. He will finish this semester at UF and then find a new home elsewhere.
"We'll wish him the best," he said. "We'll sign his release for him to go anywhere he wants to go and support him however he does."
Lemons was the Gators' primary kick returner in his brief UF career but recorded just 19 carries for 136 yards on offense. He found himself buried on the depth chart behind redshirt junior Jordan Scarlett, junior Lamical Perine and fellow sophomore Malik Davis. He was battling freshman Dameon Pierce for the No. 4 spot on the depth chart. CULTURE CHANGE
Following the loss to Kentucky, Mullen said the players learning to practice up to his standard and expectation is a process, and he reiterated that point on Monday. The team practiced better in Week 2 than in Week 1, and he expects an even larger jump this week. He wants to see his team practice with energy and a positive mindset on Monday. He doesn't want any lingering effects from the loss to UK.
"There's different ways you can take it," he said. "I can be mad and be like, 'It wasn't my fault, or we lost because of this, or we lost because of that.' Or, we can be upset that we didn't win, right? And, it's something else or some other thing out there, or I can be upset that we didn't win, and, 'I can't wait to get better and fix the problem.' " Gators head coach Dan Mullen during the Gator Walk on Saturday. (Photo: Ashley Williams/UAA Communications)
While winning is obviously important, Mullen said his focus after every game is to evaluate the problems with his team and work toward improvement. By focusing on the improvements, Mullen believes the results on Saturdays will follow.
"If we make that one stop at the end of the [Kentucky] game and go down and score, we still have to get a lot more physical, we still have to tackle better on the defensive side of the ball, be more physical up front," he said. "We still have to execute better within the run game on the offensive line knocking guys off the ball. We still can't have the massive number of [missed assignments] that we have."
He said he hasn't seen any resentment from the players, but they might be having a hard time parting with the practice habits they learned under the previous staff.
Nobody is going to feel sorry for the Gators, especially not a Colorado State team that is hungry for its second straight upset of an SEC opponent, having rallied from an 18-point deficit to defeat Arkansas at home on Saturday.
"Everybody in the world's got problems," Mullen said. "Successful people have solutions, and our guys, we've got to go out on the field today and find the solution to fix our problem."
