Florida Gators

Earlier, we took at look at five SEC Eastern Division players from the offensive side of the ball to keep an eye on in 2013 when it comes to potential breakout seasons.

Now, we're taking a stab at breakout defensive players to watch out for this fall (in alphabetical order):

Caleb Azubike, DE, Vanderbilt: With a defensive end spot up for grabs, Azubike has a chance to make a real name for himself in 2013. With limited snaps last fall, Azubike finished the year with 21 tackles and 4.5 tackles for loss, including four sacks. He's athletic and fast and with even more snaps this year should grow into a fine player for defensive coordinator Bob Shoop. The Commodores will need Azubike to step up and take some pressure off of other end Walker May.

Jordan Jenkins, LB, Georgia: Jenkins found himself in a starting position for most of the second half of the season and was quite the performer for the Bulldogs. While Jarvis Jones grabbed all of the attention, Jenkins made a handful of plays for the Bulldogs and finished the season with eight tackles for loss, five sacks and 22 quarterback hurries. He has good speed on the outside, which helps him cover a lot of ground and make it tough for teams in both the running and passing game. With Jones gone, Jenkins has a chance to put up some fine numbers in 2013.

Ronald Powell, DE/LB, Florida: Last year was supposed to be Powell's breakout year, but he tore his ACL during Florida's spring game and had a setback during the fall. But Powell will sit out the spring and should be healthy for the upcoming season. With the Gators losing some quality talent on the defensive side of the ball, Powell's return is very important. He had a tremendous spring last year and if he returns to that form, he could be one of the top pass-rushers in the SEC. He arrived in Gainesville with a ton of hype, but has yet to live up to it. He's much more invested now, and that's a good thing for Florida.

(Read full post)