Grantham is more concerned with building a rotation than he is the scheme
From the moment Todd Grantham was announced as the new defensive coordinator for the Florida Gators, there has been debate and speculation as to what kind of defense he would implement in Gainesville.
His history would lend itself towards the argument that he will strictly run a 3-4 scheme. However, Grantham has repeatedly asserted that he isn’t locked in to that mold. He prefers one-gap play and let’s that serve as his base. Whatever formations come from that will differ from week-to-week and player-to-player.
But as he spoke to reporters on Tuesday following the Gators third spring practice, another piece of the Grantham defensive puzzle fell into place. If there’s one marker of this new defense—especially here during spring as installs are coming on day-to-day basis—it’s rotation.
The rotation will begin up front and last throughout the season.
“Guys will cross train and play more than one spot. We’ll end up having enough depth [at tackle].”
That rotation will continue once Kyree Campbell recovers from a scooter injury he sustained last fall.
And once in game play, the rotation will be key.
“Really right now at that position it’s more of a matter of trying to develop depth and a rotation because I really do believe you got to play a lot of front guys. And to get to where we want to go, you gotta win a lot of games and to win games that means you gotta have pass rush in the 4th quarter which means you gotta have guys fresh. So the front in general, you need to have enough depth so you can rotate guys so you can keep them fresh so we can finish the game in the 4th quarter.
On the end, Grantham will use hybrid guys the majority of the time to compensate while in the nickel package. On the end he sees several guys bringing depth, but two in particular have already stood out.
“CeCe [Jefferson] is a guy that has embraced playing outside backer for us and what we are trying to do with him. [Jabari] Zuniga is a guy that can play more than one spot. I am encouraged about where we are moving but we've got to continue and develop.”
Behind them in that nickel spot will be Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, rotating up field from his spot at safety. The decision to put him there was an easy one for Grantham, who is juggling a wealth of talent in the secondary.
“You need a guy that has some stout and some strength. He can cover in the slot, he is going to set the edge on the bubble which is more like a safety; he is a good blitzer coming off the edge. I mean he does multiple things. He could play corner for us but it's a matter of getting out best 11 players on the field, it's a matter of putting him at nickel.”
The reason Chauncey isn’t playing corner is because that is one position that seems set in stone. Sophomore’s Marco Wilson and C.J. Henderson split time on the corners and at nickel in 2017 and with the departure of Duke Dawson to the NFL, the two are all but set for the spot this fall.
“I have been impressed with our corners and their play and certainly continue to develop those guys. I think they can bring something to the table.
“When you have guys that have their ability to change direction, transition, cover guys, play tight coverage, they do two things. One, the tighter the coverage, the more accurate the quarterback has to be with the ball. The tighter you are to the guy, the better chance you have to get your hands on the ball. And these guys have size, which allows you in the possession downs—third downs—and in the red zone, to play tighter to guys and be more physical and don’t get pushed off at the sticks. So, the combination of all of that allows those guys to help your team and play really good situational defense.”
Chauncey will share phonetic responsibility with middle linebacker David Reese, who Grantham says, “has shown up to be a player.”
The linebackers as a whole though are still getting comfortable in their new roles, rotating into this new scheme and what their responsibilities are within.
“The outside guys, we’ve gotta continue to develop to understand the importance of setting the edge of the defense and being able to manufacture some pass rush. We’ve gotta continue to work understanding half man, landmarks, those kind of things, and the ability to convert to power.
“The inside guys instinctively continue to understand our matches because we’re a different defense than before, in the sense that we’re a pattern match team defensively, which means we play zone but we match it relative to the routes, the way they’re distributed. It’s really zone, but it looks like man-to-man at the end of down. And that’s a little bit new for them. They’ve been fine with it, but that’s just developing that.”
Early enrollee Amari Burney could become a part of this linebacker corp...or the secondary. It’s yet to be seen because Burney fits right into Grantham’s rotational mindset.
“He’s an athletic guy that really can play safety or linebacker. You know, he had a couple picks in the first practice. He’s a guy that I think can play either strong safety or linebacker. We played him at safety to start with based upon our need...we’re gonna continue to develop him there and see how it unfolds and kind of go from there, but I’m certainly glad he’s a part of our program.”
And as Grantham explains, a lot of these position pairings are subject to the arrival of more signees this summer. Things could change again, but that’s the mark of this defense.
The rotation of spring will continue to move players into roles suited to their talents. Once that’s set, the rotation of fall will help the Gators work as a cohesive unit, and that’s something Todd Grantham won’t want to change.
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