Florida Gators

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Florida’s pass rush pretty much disappeared when Carlos Dunlap and Jermaine Cunningham left the program after the 2009 season.

Production dipped the following season by nearly half. UF had 21 sacks in 2010, 28 in 2011, and 30 last season -- well below the 40 the Gators had in 2009. Though the numbers have climbed in the past two years, the Gators haven’t been able to consistently generate pressure on the quarterback.

That’s about to change -- theoretically, anyway.

With the expected return of buck Ronald Powell and the development of sophomore buck Dante Fowler Jr., and defensive end Jonathan Bullard, the Gators should have their best pass-rushing group since '09.

“We’re going to get our best rushers out there,” UF coach Will Muschamp said. “Big guys that run out of gas are done. You’ve got to get as much speed on the field as you can.”

That begins with Powell, who missed the 2012 season after tearing the ACL in his left knee in the spring game. His attempt to return by October was thwarted when he suffered a second tear during his rehab in September. Muschamp had raved about Powell throughout the spring before his injury and said he appeared ready to become an elite player.

The 6-foot-4, 240-pound Powell, who had 6.0 sacks as a sophomore, did not participate in spring practice but is expected to be cleared for full-contact work in August. If he returns to the level at which he was before his injury it’s not unreasonable to expect 8 to 10 sacks out of the redshirt junior, who will be the starter at strongside linebacker.

With Powell out of the lineup in 2012, the Gators were forced to rely on freshmen Fowler and Bullard. They combined for four sacks and eight quarterback hurries, including Bullard’s team-high seven -- not bad for freshmen, but neither was anywhere close to being an elite rusher.

However, the experience they gained was invaluable. The 6-3, 270-pound Bullard and the 6-3, 265-pound Fowler followed that up with a solid offseason in the weight room and on the practice field.

As a hybrid defensive end/linebacker, Fowler has multiple rushing and coverage responsibilities, and Muschamp said he has made strides in each area.

“Dante’s had a really good spring,” Muschamp said. “He’s a guy that really worked hard in the pass rush. Brad has done a really nice job of developing a solid move and a counter off of that. That’s something he needs to continue to refine over the summer. Played the runs well, strong at the point of attack. He’s got good initial quickness. He’s a really good athlete.”

Fowler sometimes didn’t play that way last season, mainly because he felt overwhelmed at times.

“There was a point when I first started playing where I was a little slow, because I didn’t know all the plays,” Fowler said. “I was scared for Coach Muschamp to get on me and things like that. I really wasn’t able to play fast, and then toward the South Carolina game, I started to go in and watch a lot of film trying to get better. That’s when I was able to play fast, because I knew everything and I had no worries or doubts.

“I just want to be able to play fast and shed some of that baby fat that I had. Just being able to be in shape, so I can play almost every down. I feel like I’ve got more acceleration. I have more wind, so I’m not getting as tired as I used to.”

He has certainly impressed left tackle D.J. Humphries, who had the job of blocking Fowler every day in spring practice.

“Dante, he’s a freak now,” Humphries said. “He’s getting better every day.”

Bullard dealt with a minor hamstring injury in the spring, but showed when he was healthy that he was going to have no problem getting to the quarterback.

“[Bullard] had a great offseason,” Muschamp said. “He’s changed his body. He’s gotten a lot stronger.”

A wild card in the Gators’ pass rush is Dominique Easley. The 6-2, 285-pound senior was supposed to be the starting defensive end, but a lack of depth at tackle -- as well as Bullard’s development -- has him starting the season at tackle. He has 5.5 career sacks.

Muschamp and defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin have more options now than last season and can tinker with the lineup. Powell can play buck and strongside linebacker. Fowler can play both, too, as well as defensive end. If needed, Bullard could play inside.

Redshirt junior linebacker Neiron Ball also can play the buck.

“To get our best guys on the field is a lengthy discussion we’ve had as a defensive staff,” Muschamp said. “Certainly Ronald, we feel like’s going to be one of those guys. Neiron Ball is another guy who has done some really nice things for us and played well. Darrin Kitchens’ development as an inside linebacker enables that move to happen and he played extremely well throughout the spring for us.

“All of those kind of mingled together, you feel comfortable how [the pass rush] is shaping up at this time.”

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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Edward Aschoff talks with Florida defensive end/linebacker Dante Fowler Jr.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- It was all about baby steps for Ronald Powell, both as a player and a person.

The two ACL injuries that ended his 2012 season took away his passion, but he also admits it improved who he was as a person.

“It was like God did this to make me a stronger person, a better person,” Powell told ESPN.com earlier this week.

“I’m a better person and a stronger person because of what I’ve had to endure with going through both of these ACL [injuries].”

It’s no secret that Powell, who led Florida with six sacks at Buck linebacker (linebacker/defensive end) in 2011, wasn’t the most personable guy around Florida’s football facility when he first arrived as the nation’s No. 1 high school player in 2010. He was sometimes standoffish and had attitude issues.

There were transfer rumblings after locker room spats with veterans and he wasn’t always receptive to coaching. Powell was a hotshot whose talent did everything for him in high school.

Talent couldn’t help him when he landed awkwardly while making an across-the-field tackle on running back Mike Gillislee during last year’s spring game. Powell was playing arguably the best football of his Florida career that spring until a freak injury ruined everything he’d done to that point.

Powell’s mental transformation was already beginning, and it was paying off on the field. It would have been easy for Powell to sulk, and it would have been hard to blame him.

“I saw a guy who handled hardship much better than I would have,” coach Will Muschamp said. “I saw a young man grow up. I saw a young man handle adversity better than I would have ever handled what he went through.

“There were people in the organization that didn’t handle it as well as he did.”

Powell said his ACL injury finally gave him something to get up and attack daily. He wasn’t only learning how to walk again or fire his quads up again for leg exercises, he was learning to have a more positive attitude. His goal was to find a way back on the football field, but he ended up finding more of his human side.

“I had to overcome that stuff and be positive when I wasn’t feeling up,” he said. “I still came in and showed smiles and was positive to my teammates. Still come in here and not be an [expletive].”

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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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GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- When fall camp opens on Friday, the Florida Gators will bring one of the top-ranked freshman classes in the country. With more depth and experience at UF than last year, this freshman class will have to earn its playing time.

Fifteen true freshmen played last season, including five who started games, but don't expect to see a repeat of that in 2012. Florida head coach Will Muschamp says playing time is not promised to anyone. It has to be earned.

"I tell those guys when they first report and I tell them again in the team meeting: 'What you've done and what you've accomplished in high school does not help you at Florida. It's over. You have not made one play in our league and you have not made one play in our stadium. So you need to earn the respect of your teammates first in how you prepare and how you play and how you compete every day,' " he said Thursday at the school's annual media day.

"Some of those guys possibly have done that in workouts this summer; I don't know. But at the end of the day, those guys haven't made any plays for us. At the end of the day they are good players and I'm glad they are Gators and I'm glad they are here. But they need to go out in camp and play well and create their opportunity with our football team."

When Muschamp is on the recruiting trail, one pitch you won't hear him make to a prospective athlete is a promised starting position as a freshman.

"When we recruit them, we tell them we are going to promise them one thing -- an opportunity," Muschamp said. "That's it. That's it. My loyalty is with the young men on campus. And the young men that want to come to the University of Florida, we promise them one thing -- an opportunity. And if they are the best in their position, in my history as a defensive coordinator, as a head coach, they will start if they are better than the guys in front of them. I don't care where you're from. How many freshman did we start last year? Several.

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GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- After receiving word that four-star defensive tackle Dante Phillips (Venice, Fla./Venice) would not be accepted to the University of Florida, the Gators received some good news Monday afternoon, as four-star defensive end Dante Fowler Jr. (St. Petersburg, Fla./Lakewood) was accepted to the school.

Fowler had been waiting on clearance from the university before heading to Gainesville to enroll in classes for the Summer B semester.

"Dante is good to go, he has been accepted," Dante Fowler Sr. said in a text message. "We are leaving for Gainesville in an hour."

Fowler, who was the No. 10-ranked defensive end in the country, will be able to participate in offseason workouts and be eligible to compete in the fall.

The Gators are still waiting on another four-star defensive end, Jonathan Bullard (Shelby, N.C./Crest). A source close to the Florida program said Bullard is expected to be cleared.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Four-star defensive tackle Dante Phillips (Venice, Fla./Venice) said Monday he has been denied admission by the University of Florida. Phillips was set to begin classes at Florida on Monday but said he received a phone call from Florida head coach Will Muschamp, informing him of the school's decision.

A source close to the program said two other key recruits -- four-star defensive ends Jonathan Bullard (Shelby, N.C./Crest) and Dante Fowler Jr. (St. Petersburg, Fla./Lakewood) -- have not yet been cleared by the NCAA, but both are expected to be admitted very soon.

Phillips was rated the No. 110 prospect in the nation in the ESPN 150 for 2012. Bullard was the No. 4 defensive end in the nation and the No. 37 overall prospect in the ESPN 150, while Fowler was ranked No. 71 in the ESPN 150.

"Everything on my NCAA Clearinghouse website has been cleared," Phillips said on Monday. "I'm cleared. I should be able to go to any school in the country. I just know that Muschamp told me that admissions wouldn't admit me. I'm not sure how. I'm not sure why."

Phillips originally committed to Urban Meyer's Gators and became the second commitment of Florida's 2012 class on Oct. 25, 2010. As for what he will do now, Phillips said he has contacted several coaches, but most schools have already filled their rosters.

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