Defensive lineman Antwaun Powell-Ryland Jr. battles Texas A&M's offensive line on Saturday. (Photo: Jordan McKendrick/UAA Communications)
Turnaround at Texas A&M Delivered Optimism for UF Defense
Sunday, November 6, 2022 | Football, Scott Carter
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By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The snapshots afterward were a blend of satisfaction and relief, mixed with perhaps some unadulterated joy. Why not? The Florida defense has taken a beating literally and figuratively this season.
Members of UF's much-maligned defense hung outside the visiting locker room at Kyle Field on Saturday afternoon every second they could. Freshman defensive lineman Chris McClellan welcomed Amari Burney and Miguel Mitchell to the postgame celebration with high-fives. Texas native Princely Umanmielen shared Florida's 41-24 win at Texas A&M with family and friends hanging on the rail. Once players showered and started to stream outside toward the busses, they took extra time to bask in the moment. Defensive backs Trey Dean III and Rashad Torrence II took photos with family. Linebacker Ventrell Miller, one of the last to exit, carried a Texas-sized smile.
"Definitely proud of those guys,'' quarterback Anthony Richardson said. "They get a lot of hate, backlash, you know. It's hard to play defense."
The Gators played it as well as they have all season in the second half Saturday, limiting the Aggies to 106 yards of total offense. The Aggies led 24-20 at halftime, rolling up and down the field for 307 yards. But when the game was on the line, the Gators answered the call, including rising to the challenge on third down. Texas A&M, after converting 3 of 5 on third down in the first half, moved the chains just once in eight third-down attempts in the second half.
"I think it just had to do with the halftime speech from some of the coaches and players,'' said Miller, who finished with four tackles and one for loss. "A little bit of tough love. It was more of an effort thing. We came out flat-footed, very flat-footed. We came in at halftime and everybody took accountability for that."
Gators coach Billy Napier and linebackers Ventrell Miller and Justus Boone celebrate a big stop on Saturday. (Photo: Jordan McKendrick/UAA Communications)
Miller said the halftime message was simple: the defense wasn't playing up to its capabilities and the game was still anyone's to win. Play better and win it.
The Gators entered the game ranked 117th in the country in total defense, but they responded by shutting out the Aggies in the second half. When Texas A&M failed to score in the third quarter, it marked the first time since the third quarter of the Missouri game (11 consecutive quarters) that Florida has held an opponent scoreless in a quarter. The Aggies scored on four of their five first-half drives but came up empty on eight second-half series, punting five times, committing two turnovers and turning the ball over on downs once.
The Gators turned up the heat in their first game without fifth-year defensive lineman Brenton Cox Jr., who was dismissed from the team after the Georgia loss by head coach Billy Napier. In Cox's absence, Umanmielen, Antwaun Powell-Ryland Jr. and Lloyd Summerall III all stepped up. Umanmielen and Powell-Ryland forced fumbles on sacks, with Summerall recovering Umanmielen's strip-sack of Aggies quarterback Haynes King in the fourth quarter. Later in the period, Burney recovered a fumble on Powell-Ryland's sack.
"We made him hold the ball and we affected the quarterback,'' Napier said. "You know, we didn't anticipate that kid [King] playing, but we've been talking all week about making it hard, getting them in passing downs and affecting the quarterback."
King, Texas A&M's starter at the beginning of the season before losing the job, returned to the starting lineup when freshman Conner Weigman was ruled out due to the flu. King finished 23 of 45 for 279 yards, but he was just 9 of 26 for 95 yards in the second half.
Lloyd Summerall III following his fumble recovery in the fourth quarter at Texas A&M. (Photo: Maddie Washburn/UAA Communications)
Napier said the defense's response had as much to do with attitude than the adjustments made at halftime by co-coordinators Patrick Toney and Sean Spencer.
"Ventrell obviously is the alpha. I see Gervon Dexter, I see Antwaun Powell, I see Rashad Torrence,'' Napier said. "There's a lot of young players I see taking ownership. Antwaun has been in the rotations. Antwaun's a good football player. He's been productive when given opportunities in the past.
"Princely's another one of those guys with minimal experience to some degree before this year that really is starting to develop nicely as a player. We've played him more in the third down packages here as of late, and he's been productive."
The defensive turnaround in the second half led to Florida's first road win in conference play since 2020. It also moved the Gators within a win of becoming bowl eligible in Napier's first season.
Florida snapped a two-game losing streak and returns home on Saturday to face South Carolina in the home finale. Napier is ready for a repeat performance.
Especially the defensive effort that made the trip home from Texas A&M a pleasant one.
"They haven't got frustrated or bored with trying to do the right thing, making good decisions when there's been plenty opportunity, you know, to maybe go the other way," Napier said. "So, we've got a lot of work left to do. But I think the human element … there's a lot of good going on in there right now."
