Florida Gators

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Florida released a post-spring depth chart on Wednesday. There were no big surprises, although seeing running back Mack Brown behind Matt Jones and ahead of Kelvin Taylor did earn a raised eyebrow.

Here’s the breakdown:

Offense

LT: D.J. Humphries (6-5, 285, So.)/Trenton Brown (6-8, 363, Jr.)

LG: Max Garcia (6-4, 307, RJr.)/Ian Silberman (6-5, 290, RJr.)

C: Jonotthan Harrison (6-3, 303, RSr.) /Kyle Koehne (6-5, 314, RSr.)

RG: Jon Halapio (6-3, 317, RSr.)/Trip Thurman (6-5, 313, RSo.)

RT: Tyler Moore (6-5, 315, RSo.) OR Chaz Green (6-5, 305, RJr.)

TE: Clay Burton (6-4, 247, Jr.)/Tevin Westbrook (6-5, 258, Jr.) OR Colin Thompson (6-4, 250, RFr.) OR Kent Taylor (6-5, 223, So.)

RB: Matt Jones (6-2, 228, So.)/Mack Brown (5-11, 215, RJr.)

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Junior college defensive tackle Jarran Reed (Goldsboro, N.C./East Mississippi CC) has signed his letter of intent to play football at the University of Florida.

The 6-foot-4, 305-pound lineman chose Florida over Alabama.

Reed, who previously had been committed to Ole Miss before officially decommitting last Thursday, joins two other defensive tackles in Florida's class: commit Caleb Brantley and early enrollee Darious Cummings.

Reed, Cummings and Florida defensive tackle Damien Jacobs all attended EMCC.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Florida coach Will Muschamp has a saying he likes to use when he talks about injuries: Man down, man up.

In other words, when somebody gets injured, his backup is expected to step in and play well.

That is exactly what happened in the Gators’ 31-17 victory over Vanderbilt on Saturday. UF was without three starters for the start of game, had two more go down with injuries during the game, and lost two more for significant periods of time because of minor injuries. Yet Florida was still able to rush for326 yards and extend its streak of not allowing opponents to score 20 points to seven games (including last year’s bowl game).

Even better news for third-ranked Florida (6-0, 5-0 SEC) is that most of those injured players should be fine for Saturday’s showdown against No. 9 South Carolina (6-1, 4-1) at Florida Field. If the Gators beat the Gamecocks, they would be able to clinch the Eastern Division title by beating Georgia in Jacksonville, Fla., the following Saturday.

Florida started the Vanderbilt game without starting LG James Wilson (eye), LB Jelani Jenkins (hamstring) and DT Dominique Easley (knee). Wilson suffered his injury during Wednesday’s practice and did not make the trip. Jenkins ran in pregame warm-ups but his hamstring, which he injured against LSU, didn’t feel right, so he was held out.

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GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Florida nearly doubled its season total in sacks after taking down LSU quarterback Zach Mettenberger four times in a 14-6 victory on Saturday.

Linebackers Jon Bostic and Lerentee McCray, safety Josh Evans and defensive tackle Damien Jacobs each recorded a sack. The Gators had only five sacks in their first four games, but UF coach Will Muschamp said that was more a result of the style of offenses the Gators faced in the first four games than a lack of production from the pass rushers.

Bowling Green and Texas A&M were teams that used short, quick timing passes that didn’t allow enough time for UF’s rushers to get to the quarterback. Kentucky used a rolling pocket to keep the rush off backup QB Morgan Newton. The only team that used a seven-step drop and wanted to throw the ball vertically down the field was Tennessee -- and the Gators sacked QB Tyler Bray three times.

"I think we’ve pressured pretty well but we haven’t faced a team other than Tennessee that throws the ball vertically down the field," Muschamp said. "We can talk about pressuring all you want, [but] you’re not going to get there [against those type of teams] in most situations. We’ve been pressuring them but we’ve been more effective this game."

Bostic and Evans’ sacks came on blitzes. McCray was able to beat the tackle around the edge, and Jacobs’ sack was the result of him helping collapse the pocket in the middle.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Florida is playing better defensively in the second half and fourth quarter partly because of what the Gators are doing in the first half.

UF's additional depth along the defensive line and at linebacker means the Gators are playing more players early in the game, which is keeping their top-line players fresher for the second half. That has been especially noticeable in their two SEC games. Florida held Texas A&M and Tennessee to just 125 combined yards, forced two turnovers and forced nine punts in the fourth quarter.

"At the end of the game you really need those guys to go win the game," defensive coordinator Dan Quinn said Wednesday afternoon.

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GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- It’s time to dip in to the GatorNation recruiting mailbag and answer your questions. Because of the number of questions we’ve received, we won’t be able to get to all of them today, but we encourage you to ask your questions on our Insider fan forum, The Chompions Club. Astute readers will also notice a new spot on our homepage where you can submit mailbag question about the football team at any time. We read every question we receive.

GatorT51: Do you think Mike Gillislee will be the featured back and get bulk of the carries against BG or do you think it will be by committee with Gillislee, Mack Brown, Matt Jones & Trey Burton getting an equal number of touches?

A: Gillislee will be the main back and I expect him to average about 15-18 carries per game this season. He had a fantastic spring and August and made his biggest improvement in pass protection. He’s had a nagging ankle injury the past two seasons but seems to be over that. Mack Brown and Matt Jones will get their share of carries against Bowling Green and the two will continue to battle throughout the season to be the No. 2 back behind Gillislee.

Impulse36: Haven't seen many Boise St. games, what is Pease's passing game like? Does he go with short passes, screens, throws that require timing? Does he usually throw it deep? From the spring practice, sounds like we play action into deep throws. The coaches (or possibly the reporters) tended to mention receivers getting behind the defense and catching deep passes. Are the QBs capable of making that quick three-step drop slant throw (pinpoint accuracy) or are they more suited for throwing deep (strong arm)? How much is expected of the QB at the line of scrimmage, is he expected to make hot reads, call out blitzes? Thanks!

A: Whew, long list of stuff. I’ll try and answer it all as succinctly as I can. Pease’s offense uses all of those things, and one of the things I’m eager to see is the screen game. UF hasn’t really been a good screen team, with the running backs, anyway, and I’ve always thought that was an area in which the Gators could excel. The problem the QBs are having right now, though, is in their timing. They’re both holding onto the ball too long, which is normal for any young quarterback. Jacoby Brissett seems to be having that trouble a bit more than Jeff Driskel because he doesn’t want to leave the pocket. There are some play-action deep throws, but I question the ability of the receivers to consistently get open.

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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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Schedule: The Gators' first practice is on Friday, and their first day in pads is on Aug. 8. They open the season at home against Bowling Green on Sept. 1. The game will air on ESPN at 3:30 p.m. ET.

Returning starters: Seven on offense, 10 on defense, and the place-kicker and punter on special teams.

Star power: Junior safety Matt Elam was one of Florida's most heralded recruits in the 2010 recruiting class, and now could compete to be one of the top safeties in the SEC. He's the heart of the Gators' defense and can make plays all over the field, as he led Florida with 11 tackles for loss and totaled 78 tackles last fall.

New faces: Will Muschamp isn't afraid to play freshmen, and he has a handful who could see time early. Defensive end Dante Fowler Jr. is on campus and could get looks at the hybrid linebacker/defensive end Buck position. Fellow end Jonathan Bullard could also compete for time outside. Also, keep an eye on tight ends Colin Thompson and Kent Taylor, who should get more reps this fall with A.C. Leonard's departure this summer. And cornerback Brian Poole could get quality reps on defense during camp.

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We continue our "One good reason" series looking at the Florida Gators.

Good reasons:

• Alabama
• Arkansas
• Auburn

Let's see what the Gators could have in store for 2012:

Florida will win the SEC Eastern Division: The Gators' defense is stacked

We all know that defense wins championships, and Will Muschamp has a group that could be one of the country's elite defensive units this fall. Led by All-SEC safety Matt Elam, the Gators return 10 starters from last year's squad. Buck Ronald Powell, who had an exceptional spring, could miss most of the season after suffering an ACL injury during the spring game, but the staff is confident that senior Lerentee McCray will fill in nicely in Powell's absence. Even without Powell, Florida's front seven is stacked. Defensive tackle Dominique Easley should be healthy after his ACL injury in last year's season finale, and Sharrif Floyd will be at his more natural position of tackle much more this fall. Veteran tackle Omar Hunter is back, and junior college transfer Damien Jacobs had a solid spring at tackle.

The linebackers are experienced, starting with All-SEC candidates Jon Bostic and Jelani Jenkins, and rookie Antonio Morrison was a real spark for the defense this spring. The secondary should be decent as well, with sophomore Marcus Roberson back after a solid freshman season. Fellow sophomore Loucheiz Purifoy could be a budding star.

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