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Florida Football: Final report card for Gators’ 2019 season

By Steven Hamner

MIAMI, FLORIDA - DECEMBER 30: Head coach Dan Mullen of the Florida Gators reacts against the Virginia Cavaliers during the second half of the Capital One Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium on December 30, 2019 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
MIAMI, FLORIDA - DECEMBER 30: Head coach Dan Mullen of the Florida Gators reacts against the Virginia Cavaliers during the second half of the Capital One Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium on December 30, 2019 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /
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MIAMI, FLORIDA – DECEMBER 30: Florida Gators take the field in the first half the of the Capital One Orange Bowl against the Virginia Cavaliers at Hard Rock Stadium on December 30, 2019 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images)
MIAMI, FLORIDA – DECEMBER 30: Florida Gators take the field in the first half the of the Capital One Orange Bowl against the Virginia Cavaliers at Hard Rock Stadium on December 30, 2019 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images) /

Defense

Defensive Line: A-

The Gators had one of the best defenses in the SEC, as they always have talented players on that side of the ball. So much of what the defense line does involves creating havoc and allowing the back-seven to make plays, which a lot of times doesn’t end up in stats for the defensive line.

Florida’s defensive line played a big role in Florida leading the SEC sacks as they had 46 as a team as well as only allowing 14.4 points per game.

Linebackers: A-

Florida’s defense allowed less than 300 yards per game, which put them at second in the SEC. They also only gave up 107 rushing yards per game which put them second in the SEC as well. This was largely due to the play of their linebackers being able to cover ground as well as fill hills when needed.

The defensive line did a great job of creating plays for the linebackers to make and most of the time, they would make the play. Florida linebacker Jonathan Greenard led the SEC in sacks with 9.5 and linebacker David Reese II was tied for 10th in the league in total tackles with 88.

Defensive Backs: A

Florida is known for its defensive backs, and the Gators did not disappoint this year. Florida gave up less than 200 yards per game through the air and had 15 interceptions. The only team in the SEC to have more interceptions than them was once again, the national champs, LSU.

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Donovan Stiner led the team with four interceptions and Florida ended up having three defensive backs with three picks. The defensive backs were a big reason why offenses struggled to get anything going against this defense because going deep on them and expanding the field was tough to do.

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