Twelve plays. It sounds minimal, but it is making a big difference for Florida’s defensive front.
The emergence of reliable second-string defensive linemen has enabled the Gators to reduce the workload on their starters by anywhere from 12-20 snaps per game this season, according to coach Will Muschamp’s estimate. At linebacker, the added depth has helped No. 10 Florida weather major injuries.
Muschamp and defensive coordinator Dan Quinn are utilizing quality backups in the first half to preserve disruptive pass rushers like Sharrif Floyd, Dominique Easley and Omar Hunter and cut down the number of times they must exhaust themselves pushing through clusters of gigantic offensive linemen.
“As a result, I think we’ve played better as the game has worn on,” Muschamp said. “They have been able to withstand because the other guys have been playing more. We have more confidence in the other guys than we had a year ago.”
Quinn could trust seven defensive linemen last year; now he is comfortable with nine of them. At linebacker, the pool has doubled from three to six.
One of the benefits, coaches said, is that the defensive front looks faster and more aggressive late in games. Muschamp charted Floyd, for example, at roughly 50 defensive snaps against Tennessee last month. When Florida hosted the Volunteers in 2011, he probably played 65. Considering Floyd often takes on double teams that require him to muscle through 700 pounds worth of blockers, those 15 snaps matter.
Keeping the defensive front fresh is particularly important in sweltering afternoon games and against powerful running teams. Both of those factors will be in play when No. 4 LSU comes to Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on Saturday.
The Tigers (5-0, 1-0 SEC) are second in the conference in rushing yards at nearly 260 per game. Their offensive line, which averages 6-feet-6, 318 pounds, is manhandling defenses at a rate of 5.5 yards per carry. It allows fewer than two sacks per game.
Florida’s numbers on the opposite side of the line of scrimmage are solid but need improvement if the Gators (4-0, 3-0) are going to compete with LSU.
UF is No. 6 in the conference in run defense, allowing 119.2 yards per game, and tied for last with five sacks. In addition to sacks, the Gators have 15 other tackles for negative yardage.
Those statistics commonly serve as an evaluation for offensive and defensive lines, but they are not all-encompassing. Quinn and Muschamp both say the defensive line is more energetic late in games, which allowed Florida to use a four-man rush and go heavy on pass coverage to protect leads. They also record “forced interceptions,” which are plays in which the defensive line pressures the quarterback into a bad decision.
“A lot of that has to do with our rotation,” said Hunter, a senior. “We’ve got a lot of guys that can play a lot of different positions and a lot of young guys that stepped up this year, and that’s really helped. We’re fresh going into the second half. It’s very different.”
At linebacker, the Gators primarily leaned on starters Lerentee McCray, Jelani Jenkins and Jon Bostic last year. When they lost defensive end Ronald Powell, the team leader in sacks, to an offseason knee injury, McCray moved to his spot. They also lost Jenkins in the second game of the year due to a broken bone in his right thumb.
With McCray playing the Buck position, a linebacker-end hybrid, Florida counted on Darrin Kitchens and Neiron Ball to fill his spot. When Jenkins went down, the Gators felt good about starting true freshman Antonio Morrison in his place. They also are confident in Michael Taylor’s ability to play multiple linebacker positions, and he proved them right with an interception against Kentucky two weeks ago.
Jenkins saw a specialist last week and was cleared to practice with a hard cast on his right arm, but the Gators do not know if they will get him back for the LSU game.
“Right now, our depth at linebacker is being tested,” said Muschamp, who acknowledged that Florida has survived that challenge so far.
This week is the biggest test yet, both for the front seven and the team as a whole. LSU has two straight wins against the Gators, including a 41-11 bashing in Baton Rouge, La., last October.
The Tigers humiliated Florida with 238 rushing yards that day, and the game never was close. LSU quickly went up 17-0 and buried the Gators in the fourth quarter by driving 81 and 76 yards for touchdowns. The Tigers possessed the ball for 24 of 30 minutes in the second half, finding little resistance at the line of scrimmage.
