GAINESVILLE, Fla.-- Kentucky lost a lot of senior leadership from that 2018 defense that helped beat Florida in the Swamp.
Although the Wildcats are younger in certain positions, their defensive line is still made up of experienced talent, since UK returned the majority of its nine-man rotation on the defensive line.
The biggest loss is of course Josh Allen, however, they do return starters like Calvin Taylor and Quinton Bohanna.
According to Florida co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach John Hevesy, the Wildcats defensive front is practically the same as a year ago.
"I mean (Allen’s) gone,” he said. “That's one of their good players, but to me they've done a great job of putting players there in the defense they play and their scheme, of putting three big guys inside to stop the run and they get their fast guys to the edge for pass rush and four-down, so to me they do a good job with their personnel and they've recruited the personnel to fit their defense."
“Their front seven is pretty big," added tight end Kyle Pitts. "They’re older guys who have been playing for a long time. We just got to play our game.”
Many point to this defensive line as one of Mark Stoops' most talented groups. Hevesy agrees.
"They're big,” he said. “They're talented kids and they're big kids. Their three (technique), I mean he's a quarter of a ton or something at nose there, and then the two ends are both really big guys. That's what that defense is built for, that's why you see them from three-down to four-down to changing up to stop the run or to stop the pass."
"Mark's done a great job of building that program up,"remarked Gators head coach Dan Mullen. "You can see they've built a great foundation. They have depth. They have experience. They play very physical style of football, both offensively and defensively on the lines of scrimmage. They've got starters back. They've built a consistent winner, which is a lot of credit to what Mark Stoops has done and what he's been able to do and their university, the patience. You're in an instant gratification society right now, it's like, hey, you gave him a chance to have a plan, implement a plan and now they're reaping the rewards of that, of what they're doing. So it's going to be a huge test for us going up there."
A test for a young Florida offensive line and a test for the Gators offense.
"They're very sound and very complimentary in terms of how things marry together," said quarterbacks coach Brian Johnson. "Structurally they have guys in the right spots and they put them in position to make plays. We have to be sound in what we do and how we attack and put our guys in position to play to the best of their ability."
