Florida defensive lineman Zachary Carter played just two quarters against Georgia with no tackles recorded, but made his presence known coming off a half-game suspension.

He got pressure on UGA signal callers Stetson Bennett and D’Wan Mathis, including back-to-back quarterback hurries during his first series of the second half. Carter finished with a career-high five QB hurries, surpassing his total for all of last season (four) and the first four games of 2020 (four).

He spent the first half listening to “hype music” in the locker room.

“The music got me going. I was getting hyped,” Carter said. “It was weird for me because I never had to sit out a first half before, so I really couldn’t stay still.

“When I came out at halftime, one thing I did was make sure I brought juice and energy because I had a lot stored that first half.”

Florida had a TV set up for him, so the game kept his attention while he sat out. Carter made use of his time, too, watching Georgia’s offense closely and relaying what he saw to his teammates at halftime.

“Shoot, I was basically a scout for the first half, honestly. You know, seeing formations,” Carter said. “So when I got in there, I was ready to roll.

“There wasn’t anything in particular they were doing that was really beating us other than those first two drives. After that, I think we settled down and we started getting a good grip on the game.”

Florida’s defense dominated the second half with Carter back in the lineup, allowing just one third-down conversion in seven attempts, picking off three passes and sacking Mathis three times. Like many UF players, this was Carter’s first win over the Bulldogs.

“It meant the world to me,” he said. “I’m really a team guy. It wasn’t about me in the second half. I was just happy I was able to be out there with my team and we really got that win. It’s been a long four years since I’ve been here.

“We never got to check that off the list, accomplish that. But it’s far from over, because Georgia that’s just one game. We have way bigger games ahead of us.”

Carter, Florida’s Antwuan Powell and three Missouri players were suspended by the SEC for fighting during the Halloween halftime melee. Carter regrets that video of him throwing punches was circulated on social media and TV networks.

“I don’t want to be considered as a hothead or anything like that,” Carter said. “I mean, I see what people are saying now. I let my emotions get the best of me in that situation. I think it was a dirty hit on our quarterback. But what really got guys riled up when they started to come at us. I didn’t want to hit anyone; that wasn’t my intention to hit anyone. But I got caught in the moment.

“I really didn’t want that image portrayed of me. Everywhere I looked on TV, on the Internet, they were showing it everywhere. I didn’t like that image being shown because I just let my emotions get the best of me for 30 seconds and I ended up getting ejected and costing the team. But that’s not that type of guy I am. Hopefully I learned from it. I’ve moved on. We’re onto the next one.”