Florida Gators

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Florida has lost a pair of reserve defensive linemen to knee injuries this week, and at least one is definitely out for the season.

UF coach Will Muschamp said Friday that senior defensive tackle Nick Alajajian suffered a fractured right knee and will miss the 2012 season and redshirt junior defensive end Kedric Johnson suffered a dislocated left knee and will miss a significant period of time. Both players were involved in special teams and haven't made any impact on defense, but losing those two does hurt the Gators in terms of veteran depth.

Alajajian (6-foot-4, 285 pounds) was a reserve offensive lineman for his first three seasons but was moved to defensive tackle in the spring. Johnson has just nine tackles and one sack in 25 career games.

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ESPN’s GatorNation is previewing each position leading up to the start of the season with a short video. Each Friday until the season kicks off, Michael DiRocco and Jeff Barlis will analyze a position group, tell you who is starting and why, and provide a breakdown of the depth at the position. This week it’s linebackers.

The starters: SLB Michael Taylor (RSo.) OR Antonio Morrison (Fr.), MLB Jonathan Bostic (Sr.), WLB Jelani Jenkins (RJr.)

The backups: Lerentee McCray (RSr.), Darrin Kitchens (Jr.), Neiron Ball (RSo.), Jeremi Powell (Fr.), Gideon Ajagbe (RSo.), Kedric Johnson (RJr.), Alex McCalister (Fr.), Bryan Cox, Jr. (Fr.)

Comment: Bostic and Jenkins are stalwarts who are tackling machines. UF coach Will Muschamp, however, challenged them in the spring to start making more big plays. That’s directly related to Jenkins dropping six interceptions last season. Taylor is a versatile player who can play all three spots and Morrison was an early enrollee who drew praise for his physical play. If or when DE/LB Ronald Powell returns from his ACL tear this season, McCray will move back to strongside linebacker.

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ESPN’s GatorNation is previewing each position leading up to the start of the season. Every Friday until the season kicks off, Michael DiRocco and Jeff Barlis will analyze the players, tell you who is starting and why, and provide a breakdown of the depth at the position. This week it’s the defensive line.

The starters: DE/LB Lerentee McCray (RSr.), DT Dominique Easley (Jr.), DT Omar Hunter (RSr.), DE Sharrif Floyd (Jr.)

The backups: DE/LB Dante Fowler, Jr. (Fr.), DE/LB Gideon Ajagbe (RSo.), DE/LB Kedric Johnson (RJr.), DE/LB Alex McCalister (Fr.), DE/LB Bryan Cox, Jr. (Fr.), DT Leon Orr (RSo.), DT Damien Jacobs (Jr.), DT Dante Phillips (Fr.), NT Nick Alajajian (Sr.), DT Quinteze Williams (Fr.), DT Jafar Mann (Fr.), DE Jonathan Bullard (Fr.)

Comment: The line would be much better with DE/LB Ronald Powell, who is out for at least part of the season with a torn ACL. There is a lot of depth, which is in contrast to last season. Easley and Floyd have All-SEC potential, and the hope is some of the freshmen will develop enough to allow the Gators to slide Floyd inside to tackle, which is his more natural position. McCray was having a solid season last year until a shoulder injury caused him to miss four of the final five games. Fowler and Cox could see a lot of time at DE/LB (which UF calls the buck) early in practice to see if they can handle the spot.

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Four-star defensive end Alex McCalister (Clemmons, N.C./West Forsyth) announced live Monday at his school his choice of college, the University of Florida.

1 p.m. -- Alex does the chomp as he announces he'll attend the University of Florida. His mother joins him in the chomp.

1 p.m. -- Alex thanks everyone who helped him, his mom, coach, grandparents.

12:59 p.m. -- Snow welcomes everyone, thanks coaches, faculty and students for attending. He hands over the microphone to McCalister.

12:54 p.m. -- Just received the 5-minute warning from West Forsyth head coach Adrian Snow and we appear to be right on time for a 1 p.m. start.

12:51 p.m. -- There are now four television news teams and several other media in attendance. The North Carolina hat finally arrived and all three finalist's hats are sitting on the table.

12:38 p.m. -- Confirmation that, though there are just two hats on the announcement table, a third hat, expected to be North Carolina, is on its way.

12:21 p.m. -- McCalister steps out of the gym, presumably to phone the respective coaches at Florida, UNC and Georgia Tech to let them know of his decision.

12:18 p.m. -- McCalister and his family arrive at the West Forsyth gymnasium, where two hats are placed on the main table. Florida and Georgia Tech. Looks like he has already eliminated in-state UNC from his top picks.