NFL scouts and college football pundits have furthered a source of immense frustration for UF football fans this offseason: that despite the unit’s shoddy performances last season Florida’s defense enjoyed incredible individual talent.
Marco Wilson and Shawn Davis, two members of Florida’s secondary in 2020, were both selected in the first five rounds of April’s NFL Draft, and the Gators return a number of highly-regarded defensive players.
Todd Grantham largely morphed his defensive diamonds into coal during his third season in Gainesville, allowing more than 40 points on six occasions and dragging a transcendent offensive unit out of the playoff picture.
Grantham enters the 2021 campaign returning the team’s two leading tacklers, Ventrell Miller and Mohamud Diabate, along with standout cornerback Kaiir Elam, and has practiced a focus on “synergy” in his defense.
“When you play with synergy, when you bring guys together, you still have an individual grade for your players, but collectively we have more power,” Grantham said. “We look forward to playing as a unit, and as you play as a unit, you can create that synergy that allows you to be the defense you want.”
Last season’s COVID restrictions provided a major disruption to the normal process of developing players for Grantham and the rest of the Florida staff.
Grantham relishes the opportunity to call full-team meetings and other all-defense activities, which were restricted by contact tracing protocols last season, and believes that a return to normalcy will create a more organized defense.
“I think that it (team-building) really goes back to COVID, and I think as we move forward, we're going to look forward to showing our improvement with a normal process of developing players. I really feel as we are able to have a normal developmental process, we can improve our synergy as a unit.”
Unrestricted practices allow Florida’s players to see what the rest of their unit is working on and develop a sense of respect and mutual appreciation with their teammates, a point of emphasis for Grantham and his staff this summer.
Grantham has worked to point out strong performances across the different defensive units, and foster a mentality that his defense moves and acts as one.
“You can define things as a unit,” Grantham said. “You can show examples as we go through training camp. The D-Line can see guys in the back end making plays, well that's a respect factor because you pointed it out to them. When guys up front make plays, well then the corners and the off-the-ball players get to see that, so that becomes a respect factor.”
The Gators also welcomed a pair of grad transfers for this season, DaQuan Newkirk and Antonio Shelton, which offer a welcomed veteran presence and a pair of talented edge rushers. Grantham cited the duo’s ability to hold the point and make impressive one-on-one plays but focused more on Newkirk and Shelton’s valuable presence in the locker room.
The Florida defensive coordinator likened their impact to Jon Greenard and expects the pair to become leaders on a young defensive line.
“Their work ethic, their character, and all of that becomes contagious,” Grantham said. “I think that can breed into the habitual traits that we want from that unit, so what’s great about having two veteran guys that have played snaps and have some maturity to them.”
Ultimately, Grantham’s calls for synergy will require an attitude shift from the Florida defense, and he’s been encouraged thus far with the character of his team.
“I really do love the attitude of our players and the vision they have for the kind of team we want to be,” Grantham said. To them, this is their team, and I like the accountability that those guys have from a leadership standpoint.”
