Florida Football: 5 reasons to be excited about 2019 season after spring

NASHVILLE, TN - OCTOBER 13: Jordan Scarlett #25 of the Florida Gators is congratulated by teammates Nick Buchanan #66 and Trevon Grimes #8 after scoring a touchdown against the Vanderbilt Commodores during the second half at Vanderbilt Stadium on October 13, 2018 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Frederick Breedon/Getty Images) /

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ARLINGTON, TX – SEPTEMBER 02: David Reese #33 of the Florida Gators tries to stop the touchdown carry by Karan Higdon #22 of the Michigan Wolverines in the third quarter of a game at AT&T Stadium on September 2, 2017 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /

2. Elite defense

When you think of Florida football, you think of defense. It’s been that way for years, and that won’t change any time soon, even if the offense is improving under Dan Mullen.

The defense will be elite yet again with David Reese leading the way and a talented group of defensive backs that could take the SEC by storm.

Losing Jachai Polite is tough, but Jabari Zuniga will shoulder the workload on the defensive line and there’s a belief that he will be the next star to come out of Florida in the trenches. He had 11 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks as a junior in 2018 and has improved in every season since getting to Gainesville as a freshman.

CJ Henderson could be a top-tier cornerback along with Trey Dean III and that secondary should be back to its usual ways, churning out NFL prospects — also, Kaiir Elam should have an early impact.

Mix in a talented 2019 class with an already-impressive depth chart on the defensive side of the ball and you have yet another elite unit.

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