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Florida Football: 5 takeaways from Gators’ 2018 season

By Connor Muldowney

ATLANTA, GEORGIA - DECEMBER 29: Head coach Dan Mullen of the Florida Gators reacts in the fourth quarter against the Michigan Wolverines during the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on December 29, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Mike Zarrilli/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - DECEMBER 29: Head coach Dan Mullen of the Florida Gators reacts in the fourth quarter against the Michigan Wolverines during the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on December 29, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Mike Zarrilli/Getty Images) /
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ATLANTA, GEORGIA – DECEMBER 29: CJ Henderson #5 of the Florida Gators celebrates his first quarter sack on Shea Patterson #2 of the Michigan Wolverines during the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on December 29, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GEORGIA – DECEMBER 29: CJ Henderson #5 of the Florida Gators celebrates his first quarter sack on Shea Patterson #2 of the Michigan Wolverines during the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on December 29, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

3. Florida’s defense a year away from elite level

Don’t get me wrong, Florida’s defense was good enough to get by in 2018, but it’s a year away from truly dominating the rest of the SEC and becoming top-10 caliber.

Florida ranked 28th nationally in yards allowed per game and allowed about 5.1 yards per play. That’s good enough to be considered a contender, but not elite. For reference, the teams in the national title game — Alabama and Clemson — rank No. 13 and No. 2, respectively, in total defense and each allow well under 5.0 yards per play.

The Gators had an above average secondary coupled with a decent, but not great, run defense and that led to the No. 28 unit in the country.

Give this group a year and it could be right up there with the Clemsons and Alabamas of the college football world.

Dan Mullen must replace guys like Jachai Polite, Vosean Joseph and Chauncey Gardner-Johnson but he’s bringing in a solid class of linebackers in 2019 and had some elite defensive backs in the Gators’ 2018 class. This team could be scary on defense in 2019.

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