2017 Orange & Blue Debut: In-Depth Defensive Observations

After taking notes throughout Friday's Orange & Blue Debut and then reviewing the film the next day, Inside the Gators presents a list of in-depth offensive observations from UF's spring game.

--The first-team defense on the Orange squad mainly consisted of: Defensive ends CeCe Jefferson and Jabari Zuniga; defensive tackles Khairi Clark and Taven Bryan; linebackers Kylan Johnson, Vosean Joseph and walk-on Cristian Garcia; cornerbacks Duke Dawson and Chauncey Gardner; and safeties Nick Washington and Marcell Harris. Defensive end Keivonnis Davis and defensive tackle Luke Ancrum saw action with the Orange squad as backups.

--The second-team defense on the Blue team featured: defensive ends Jordan Smith, Jachai Polite and Antonneous Clayton rotating; defensive tackles Kyree Campbell, walk-on R.J. Raymond and Richerd Desir-Jones rotating; linebackers Jeremiah Moon, Rayshad Jackson and Camrin Knight; cornerbacks McArthur Burnett and Joseph Putu; and safeties Chris Williamson and walk-on Garrett Stephens.

--Florida operated out of a traditional 4-3 look for much of Friday night, with strongside linebackers Johnson and Moon often tasked with the responsibility of defending slot receivers in a hybrid role. Defensive coordinator Randy Shannon called the game from the booth rather than the field.

--Duke Dawson looked more than comfortable as one of the anchors in the Gators secondary. The ball kept finding Dawson all night long as he recovered a Mark Thompson fumble and later tipped a Kyle Trask pass that landed in the hands of linebacker Vosean Joseph. Dawson’s coverage was sharp on Friday night as he was lockdown on deep and roll out routes. Dawson often found himself lined up on the outside against Tyrie Cleveland. Dawson was with Cleveland stride to stride and did not allow the deep touchdown pass. The spring game marked the first game since switching to outside corner full-time.

“It’s basically the same thing,” Dawson said after the game. “On the outside, you have bigger and stronger guys and in the slot, you have small and quick guys, me transitioning over there won’t be a problem.”

--The spring game is usually the time where players show how much they have improved since the fall and really start show what they are capable of. That is the case with weak-side defensive end Antonneous Clayton. The former five-star was quiet in his freshman season but is primed for a big season. The defensive end looks more comfortable on the field and it showed in the spring game. Clayton found himself lined up with fellow sophomore, offensive Jawaan Taylor, and that was not a problem at all. Clayton beat him to the edge and was able to effectively rush Trask, as the second-team secondary covered the receivers downfield well.

--One of the things Clayton struggled with Friday night was Kadarius Toney and the read option. The DE admitted that he has ways to go when it comes to defending the read option. Clayton earned a face mask penalty in the game on a tackle on Toney on third down. However, it is clear that the game is slowing down for him and that his game is progressing.

“When I first got here it was fast," Clayton said. I was an athlete but I wasn’t breaking down the plays. That happened a lot to me tonight, I was in the right place at the right time.”

--For some players, the spring game is a measuring stick to see where they line up with the rest of their teammates. For guys like Cece Jefferson, it’s a showcase of their next level talent. Jefferson was playing like a man amongst boys on Friday night, penetrating the backfield regularly. There were times during the game that Jefferson found himself lined up with early enrollee left tackle Kadeem Telfort. The result looked like a cruel joke was being played on the freshman by the coaching staff. Jefferson was playing with high energy and was set on causing havoc.

--Others along the defensive line, like Jabari Zuniga, Keivonnis Davis and Luke Ancrum, got involved in the pass rush against the second-team offensive line. Davis batted down a pass from Trask early in the second quarter, Zuniga sacked Trask and forced him to fumble after beating Stone Forsythe on the edge, and then Ancrum took advantage of an offensive miscommunication to also sack Trask.

--Linebacker Vosean Joseph carried over the aggressiveness we saw in the Outback Bowl over to the spring game as he was aggressive from the get-go. Joseph was laying the boom on his own teammates.

--Defensive tackle Khairi Clark was quite disruptive against the second unit's interior linemen Friday night. On one play, he beat guard Nick Buchanan on a swim move and forced Trask to dump it off quickly to Lamical Perine, who was then tackled for a loss of yardage. After the game, Trask said, "I definitely felt like Khairi Clark, he was in my face just about every play."

--Another Gators linebacker who impressed Friday was redshirt freshman Jeremiah Moon, who displayed his pass-rushing skills and ability to cover receivers downfield. Moon laid a strong hit early on against Thompson and then covered C'yontai Lewis well enough on a short route to force a Franks incompletion.

--One of the guys who came to play early on Friday was sophomore Camrin Knight. The linebacker showed that he could be relied upon in the red zone and in pass coverage. On the first drive of the game, Knight tackled running back Jordan Scarlett short of the end zone to force 3rd down.

--Senior cornerback Joseph Putu exited the game midway with an injury. After the contest, McElwain said Putu "got his eggs scrambled a little bit there, and we held him out."

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