It took a team effort for No. 14 Florida to overcome an early deficit to defeat rival Georgia 24-10 on Saturday in Jacksonville, but one player who really inspired the defense to play at high level is senior middle linebacker Jarrad Davis.
Davis suffered a badly sprained ankle against Missouri, and at first it wasn’t a sure thing that he would take the field against the Bulldogs on Halloween weekend.
However, Davis played through his injury Saturday - and in the process emotionally lifted the Florida defense.
“I didn’t know how it was going to end up, I just knew that I had to keep fighting no matter what,” explained Davis. “Our training staff is one of the best in America. I came in there early, be in there all day, go to class come right back, go get some lunch comes right back. It’s like I lived in there this week. They knew I was going to do everything I could to be out here with my boys man. Once I came out for warmups I felt good. I felt the environment a little bit. I came out for pregame, pregame warmups, I just felt the energy in the stadium and I knew I had to play. I knew I had to play.”
Even with an ankle giving Davis some pain, the senior linebacker showed another level of toughness and really didn’t miss a beat, as Davis lead the team with seven total tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss.
"I can't say enough," Florida head coach Jim McElwain said. "Like I said, he practiced Wednesday, and not great. He got beat up by a tackling dummy on one play. But then was there Thursday and obviously full-walk through Friday. He came back in after warmups and said, 'Coach I'm playing.' And like I said that was totally up to him. And yet, he means, like I said man, he's the heart and soul of this team. For him, this game meant a lot. And he's gonna be sore.
"We got to do a great job of continuing to get him back, but only saw one time, we actually ended up getting to the quarterback, where they might have had him isolated, had a guy in the flat. And he was chasing, and he wasn't chasing as fast as he normally chases. but we did a good job up front."
Davis made a couple of key plays down the stretch to get the defense off of the field, one play being a crucial fourth down stop late in the fourth quarter to give the Gators offense field position in Georgia territory.
“I saw the formation before the play and I kind of knew what was coming,” Davis said. “I took a really good educated guess and I guessed right. To make that play, it meant a lot. It’s fourth down, get the ball back to our offense we can run the clock out and get back outta here. It meant a lot to end the game like that, my last Florida-Georgia experience."
Linebacker Alex Anzalone made an impact alongside Davis at the linebacker position, adding five total tackles with a sack and a tackle for loss, but even the redshirt junior was glad to have the leader of the defense back on the field with him.
“He’s our Mike linebacker, so he’s the guy who runs the show,” Anzalone said. “If you lose him, it’s a big hole to fill. You saw on the field today what he can do, and how he’s a big emotional leader on our team.”
Defensive lineman Khairi Clark shared the same sentiment about Davis.
“We got a huge emotional lift, because I say Jarrad is probably a main leader on this team," Clark said. "He always encourages us, whenever and however, for us to get the job done.”
Davis, known for being an emotional leader, said that there was no way he was going to miss Saturday's game.
"I talked with my mom a lot this weekend, you know it was a very emotional week," Davis said. "It was hard, man. I didn’t want to miss this game, you know. As much as it might have been a smart decision to just sit out and stuff like that, but I mean it’s football man. At the end of the day, you’ve got to play this game.
"A lot of people don’t get that, but if I would have sat out, I mean that makes me question myself and what I actually do this for, you know? Those guys, the time we put in this summer, the time we put in throughout this season. The energy, the blood, the sweat the tears we’ve shed. What I’m about wouldn’t have showed up if I would have sat this game.”
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* Video: Jim McElwain post-game press conference
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CRONKRITE CURRENTLY NOT WITH THE TEAM
Over the past week, sophomore running back Jordan Cronkrite has not been with the Gators in team meetings or practices. He did not make the trip with the Gators to Jacksonville for the Florida-Georgia game.
Right now, Cronkrite's future with the Gators remains up in the air, as McElwain said the sophomore is currently not with the team.
“He’s right now kind of trying to figure out whether he wants to play or not," McElwain said. "Our door’s always open for him until he finds his way in what he wants to do we’re here to support him.”
This season, Cronkrite has seen the fourth-most carries of the Florida running backs as the Gators have stuck by a committee approach until Saturday. The sophomore tailback has 112 rushing yards and a touchdown on 26 carries - receiving just 11.5% of the touches in the backfield through UF’s first six games - while also logging 82 receiving yards and a touchdown on 12 catches.
Cronkrite entered - and exited - Florida’s 2016 spring practices as the apparent leader in the running back rotation, but fellow sophomore Jordan Scarlett, JUCO signee Mark Thompson and freshman Lamical Perine each gained ground in the competition during fall camp.
By the start of the year, Cronkrite found a role in Florida’s running back rotation as a change-of-pace back who could serve as a pass-catching threat out of the backfield. He was effective early on in third-down situations, but since the Tennessee game, his role in the offense has gradually decreased - leading up to his indefinite departure from the team this past week.
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