- Sep 8, 2014
- 25,454
- 59,486
Good article, w/ number of starts of returning players.
We need depth at DT & LB and the secondary needs some bodies but hopefully it won't be a horror show like the 2007 defense.
http://florida.247sports.com/Bolt/H...170108_154049_Florida Gators&utm_content=Link
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- On Saturday, GatorBait.net took a look at two key question marks for the Florida defense, pointing out that the squad will lose 184 collective starts from this year's departing seniors and early entry NFL Draft juniors.
Today, we look at exactly what that means in terms of the experience returning.
We compare to two other years when Florida lost a ton of talent to the NFL Draft: 2007 and 2011. First, here's a look at what Florida has returning next year in terms of career starts.
Florida's Returning Defensive Starts, 2017
11 - Jordan Sherit
10 - Nick Washington
10 - CeCe Jefferson
9 - Marcell Harris
8 - Duke Dawson
6 - Kylan Johnson
5 - Keivonnis Davis
4 - Khairi Clark
4 - David Reese
3 - Chauncey Gardner
3 - Taven Bryan
3 - Jabari Zuniga
1 - Chris Williamson
1 - Vosean Joseph
How does that stack up? Well, that's 14 players with at least one career start, which is actually a great deal of starting experience. However, the clear issue for Florida is that there aren't many true multi-year starters.
You'll see as we outline the 2007 and 2010 classes exactly how that fits in.
First off, it's not nearly as dire as 2007 was, when Florida lost seven NFL Draft picks off the defense. The following year the Gators returned just four players who had ever started a game, with a collective 32 starts between them.
Florida's Returning Defensive Starts, 2007
11 - Kyle Jackson
15 - Tony Joiner
5 - Derrick Harvey
1 - Brandon Spikes
Now, how does what's returning next fall stack up to another year that Florida lost a bunch of NFL talent but still had some quality returning? In 2010, Florida had lost Joe Haden, Carlos Dunlap, Brandon Spikes, Jermaine Cunningham and Major Wright to the draft.
But the Gators still returned a ton of experience. That unit saw a considerable dropoff in play, even so, giving up about 60 yards and nine points per game more.
The 2010 defense returned a bevy of experience, with what we'd describe as five multi-year starters (15+ starts). Overall, the 2010 defense returned 13 players with starting experience, for a combined 164 career starts.
Florida's Returning Defensive Starts, 2010
29 - A.J. Jones
26 - Ahmad Black
25 - Janoris Jenkins
20 - Terron Sanders
18 - Justin Trattou
13 - Lawrence Marsh
11 - Omar Hunter
9 - Brandon Hicks
5 - Will Hill
4 - Jaye Howard
2 - Brandon Antwine
1 - Duke Lemmens
1 - William Green
So what do we think it means for the Florida defense in terms of experience? Well, it almost certainly won't be as green a unit as it was in 2007. That defense had virtually no experience but a massive amount of young talent in terms of first- and second-year players.
Still, that defense finished ranked 41st nationally in total defense and 46th nationally in scoring defense.
The 2017 squad also doesn't return nearly as much experience as the 2010 defense, which finished ninth in total defense and 29th in scoring defense.
So you can probably expect somewhere in the middle of those two years in terms of production. Florida won't be able to rely on its defense to keep it in every single game, but you probably already knew that heading into the offseason.
What has to happen is the offense stepping up enough to make up for some dropoff next fall. Because there will be some. It just likely won't be nearly as dire as it seems when you hear Florida's losing eight starters and 184 career starts.
We need depth at DT & LB and the secondary needs some bodies but hopefully it won't be a horror show like the 2007 defense.
http://florida.247sports.com/Bolt/H...170108_154049_Florida Gators&utm_content=Link
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- On Saturday, GatorBait.net took a look at two key question marks for the Florida defense, pointing out that the squad will lose 184 collective starts from this year's departing seniors and early entry NFL Draft juniors.
Today, we look at exactly what that means in terms of the experience returning.
We compare to two other years when Florida lost a ton of talent to the NFL Draft: 2007 and 2011. First, here's a look at what Florida has returning next year in terms of career starts.
Florida's Returning Defensive Starts, 2017
11 - Jordan Sherit
10 - Nick Washington
10 - CeCe Jefferson
9 - Marcell Harris
8 - Duke Dawson
6 - Kylan Johnson
5 - Keivonnis Davis
4 - Khairi Clark
4 - David Reese
3 - Chauncey Gardner
3 - Taven Bryan
3 - Jabari Zuniga
1 - Chris Williamson
1 - Vosean Joseph
How does that stack up? Well, that's 14 players with at least one career start, which is actually a great deal of starting experience. However, the clear issue for Florida is that there aren't many true multi-year starters.
You'll see as we outline the 2007 and 2010 classes exactly how that fits in.
First off, it's not nearly as dire as 2007 was, when Florida lost seven NFL Draft picks off the defense. The following year the Gators returned just four players who had ever started a game, with a collective 32 starts between them.
Florida's Returning Defensive Starts, 2007
11 - Kyle Jackson
15 - Tony Joiner
5 - Derrick Harvey
1 - Brandon Spikes
Now, how does what's returning next fall stack up to another year that Florida lost a bunch of NFL talent but still had some quality returning? In 2010, Florida had lost Joe Haden, Carlos Dunlap, Brandon Spikes, Jermaine Cunningham and Major Wright to the draft.
But the Gators still returned a ton of experience. That unit saw a considerable dropoff in play, even so, giving up about 60 yards and nine points per game more.
The 2010 defense returned a bevy of experience, with what we'd describe as five multi-year starters (15+ starts). Overall, the 2010 defense returned 13 players with starting experience, for a combined 164 career starts.
Florida's Returning Defensive Starts, 2010
29 - A.J. Jones
26 - Ahmad Black
25 - Janoris Jenkins
20 - Terron Sanders
18 - Justin Trattou
13 - Lawrence Marsh
11 - Omar Hunter
9 - Brandon Hicks
5 - Will Hill
4 - Jaye Howard
2 - Brandon Antwine
1 - Duke Lemmens
1 - William Green
So what do we think it means for the Florida defense in terms of experience? Well, it almost certainly won't be as green a unit as it was in 2007. That defense had virtually no experience but a massive amount of young talent in terms of first- and second-year players.
Still, that defense finished ranked 41st nationally in total defense and 46th nationally in scoring defense.
The 2017 squad also doesn't return nearly as much experience as the 2010 defense, which finished ninth in total defense and 29th in scoring defense.
So you can probably expect somewhere in the middle of those two years in terms of production. Florida won't be able to rely on its defense to keep it in every single game, but you probably already knew that heading into the offseason.
What has to happen is the offense stepping up enough to make up for some dropoff next fall. Because there will be some. It just likely won't be nearly as dire as it seems when you hear Florida's losing eight starters and 184 career starts.