Florida Football: Definitive all-time 2-deep Gators depth chart
Linebackers
Starting middle linebacker: Wilber Marshall
Backup: Brandon Spikes
As a member of the College Football Hall of Fame and Florida Ring of Honor, Wilber Marshall remains the best linebacker in Gator history – he was even named the “Gator Defensive Player of the Century” by The Gainesville Sun. Marshall’s list of accolades is lengthy: Three-time member of the First-Team All-SEC, two-time consensus First-Team All-American, ABC Sports Defensive Player of the Year in 1983. Marshall finished his career as one of the most productive players in Gator history amassing 343 tackles, 58 tackles for loss and 23 sacks.
Marshall may be the most dominant linebacker in Gator history, but Brandon Spikes helped lead the Gators back to the promised land twice during his memorable career. Equipped with a truckload of talent, Spikes racked up three First-Team All-SEC honors and two consensus First-Team All-American nominations. Spikes also holds the school record for interceptions returned for touchdowns – an impressive feat from the linebacker position.
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Starting outside linebackers: Jevon Kearse, Alonzo Johnson
Backup: Scot Brantley
If a player receives the nickname of “The Freak,” it’s probably because he accomplished a lot in his career. That’s certainly the case with Jevon Kearse. Starting his career at safety, Kearse eventual moved to linebacker and even played some defensive end during his final season. In additional to helping the Gators to their first national championship in school history during the 1996 season, Kearse was named the SEC Defensive Player of the Year in 1998 and secured a spot on the First-Team All-American roster that same year.
The “Gator Great” Alonzo Johnson finds himself on the all-time depth chart for several reasons, not the least of which is because he was both a First-Team All-SEC and First-Team All-American in consecutive seasons (1984-85). He finished with 335 tackles and 27 sacks – good for tenth and third respectively in school history.
The player with the second most tackles in Gator history, though, is Scot Brantley. In fact, Brantley’s name can be found twice on the list of most tackles in a single season – second and seventh. He’s a member of the Florida Athletic Hall of Fame and was twice named First-Team All-SEC.