When Will Muschamp took over as Florida’s head coach, he inherited an unproven collection of talent. It was high on potential, but low on experience.
One luxury, though, was that the Gators already had reliable middle linebacker Jon Bostic in place when Muschamp walked in the door. As he began building his defense, he started with Bostic at the very center.
“Oh, yeah,” Muschamp said. “I’m young, but I’m old-fashioned. You’re only as good as you are up the middle.”
This year has been one of Bostic’s best, and it seems like no coincidence that No. 3 Florida is seventh in the country in total defense and 10th against the run.
The linebackers were vital in shutting down South Carolina and LSU this month and will be tested again Saturday when they play No. 12 Georgia at EverBank Field in Jacksonville (3:30 p.m., CBS). The Bulldogs are sixth in the Southeastern Conference in rushing, led by true freshman Todd Gurley at 88.9 yards per game.
Both teams prioritize their ground attack, and whichever side has the superior run defense likely will head to the SEC Championship Game. If Florida (7-0, 6-0 in the SEC) wins, it clinches the Eastern Division. The Bulldogs (7-1, 5-1) can take control by beating the Gators, though they would be at least another week away from securing the division title.
Bostic, a senior from Palm Beach Central High School, goes into the game leading Florida with three sacks and six tackles for loss. His 38 tackles are third on the team behind safeties Josh Evans (44) and Matt Elam (39). He is one of seven Gators to force a fumble.
“I’ve improved a lot in a lot of areas,” Bostic said. “Really just trying to get the defense lined up, bring everybody along. We’ve got some young guys that have to step up… just bringing them along and helping them.”
He joins weak-side linebacker Jelani Jenkins, a red-shirt junior, as the heart of the run defense. The Gators also have Neiron Ball at strong-side linebacker and Lerentee McCray at the Buck, which is a combination of a defensive end and linebacker.
Muschamp believes Bostic is “playing as well as any linebacker in the country,” and credited him for upgrading several elements of his game in the off-season. Mainly, he is disengaging from blocks more quickly and delivering more forceful hits.
“Good players don’t stay blocked long,” Muschamp said. “And Jon hasn’t.”
When the coaching staff made off-season recommendations, they were geared toward setting Bostic up for a strong senior year and a shot at the NFL.
Throughout his sophomore and junior seasons, Bostic maintained that a pro career was not on his mind, but he is closing his time at UF and was eager to hear the staff’s critiques.
“Pretty much in every area they wanted me to improve,” he said. “They wanted me to improve in tackling. They wanted me to improve on my leadership. They wanted me to be a lot more vocal.”
ESPN analyst Todd McShay has Bostic as a third- or fourth-round pick — and rising. At 6-foot-1, 246 pounds, he is roughly the same size as San Francisco 49ers middle linebacker Patrick Willis. If he makes it professionally, he will be following his father, also named Jon, who played cornerback for Detroit in the 1980s.
Muschamp envisions Bostic as an every-down linebacker who also can help on special teams. UF uses him on punt and kickoff coverage and against field goals.
“There’s not a lot of guys that can play inside and can cover and can play on third down, and he can,” Muschamp said. “He’s very intelligent, but the other thing about Jon is he does a lot of other things that bring value to the organization.”
