This could be another monster year for the Florida defense, and the man at the center of it will be linebacker Antonio Morrison.
Morrison, coming off a strong freshman season, had 3.5 tackles in the scrimmage periods of the Orange & Blue Debut, and coach Will Muschamp believes he could be the best linebacker in the SEC this fall.
“You’ve got to be strong up the middle, and I think he’s played really good football for us throughout the spring and he’s going to continue to improve,” he said.
“He’s a violent player. He plays the game the way it’s supposed to be played. He’s showing up in the right place over and over and over because he’s got really good instincts for the game and he enjoys the contact part of it.”
Muschamp's rebuttal: A story last week revealing a slew of alleged problems at Auburn included a former player's claim that Muschamp paid him $400. Muschamp denied the allegation when it surfaced and reiterated that Saturday.
“Yeah, I’ve already responded to that and really there’s nothing to dignify (with) any other response,” he said.
Mike McNeil, who played safety there when Muschamp was the defensive coordinator, said Muschamp gave him money unsolicited after a practice. Muschamp was not mentioned anywhere else in the report and had never been publicly accused of a major NCAA violation previously.
Quarterback concern: With minimal experienced talent behind starting quarterback Jeff Driskel, the Gators will need to be cautious with Driskel's health.
“That’s something we’ve discussed lengthily as a staff,” Muschamp said. “We need to pick our spots where we’re gonna carry Jeff as we continue to develop the position behind him.”
He missed a game and a half with an ankle injury last year, but the team was prepared with fellow true sophomore Jacoby Brissett on the bench. This year, the back-up candidates are junior Tyler Murphy, red-shirt freshman Skyler Mornhinweg and incoming freshman Max Staver.
