Florida defensive line coach Chris Rumph met with the media on Wednesday to discuss a number of topics. Below is a Q&A of what he had to say to reporters:
How are the ailing defensive linemen on the team, defensive ends Bryan Cox Jr. (thumb), Jordan Sherit (knee) and nose tackle Joey Ivie (thumb), doing?
Rumph: "I tell you what, man. Where I'm from they got this thing called the root doctor. You go to the root doctor and you can get all kind of stuff to fix things. ... I'm over there from that Charleston (S.C.) area. I'm thinking about making a trip to the root doctor to see if I can get some ointment or something for those guys.
"Nah, we'll see what happens. Cox was out there yesterday. Right now he's still here or there so whatever the doctor decides then we'll go with. And hopefully we'll have them available, but we've hit here recently the last few weeks with guys going down. The next guy is going to have to step up. I think it's a good thing because we've had a chance to see some young guys step into some roles and get some snaps that we probably wouldn't have gotten this year. So it's a good thing and it's a bad thing, but we've got some guys. It'll get bad when you see me out there stretching and getting ready to go in, so it's not that bad yet."
Is Sherit on track to return?
Rumph: "Yeah. Sherit was out there bouncing around a little bit. Just got to make sure he's full-go and can do the things that we're asking him to do. He wants to go. So if you ask him he's going to tell you, 'I'm good, coach. I'm fine. I'm ready.' But we've got to see him really turn it loose. So hopefully some things tomorrow we'll get a chance to open him up a little bit and see what he can do?"
Is Ivie close to returning?
Rumph: "He's close, man."
How did Cox hurt himself in pre-game warmups before the Missouri contest?
Rumph: "I don't know, I'm still trying to figure it out. He just came up to me and said, 'Coach, I need somebody to go in for me.' We're doing our little team stuff and I'm like, 'What's wrong?' He said, 'I think I hurt my hand, just jammed my hand a little bit.' I said, 'All right,' and the next thing I know, boom, he's out. So I'm like, 'Wow.' The first time for me it happening something like that, a broken hand or whatever in the pre-game."
What have been your thoughts on redshirt freshman defensive end Jabari Zuniga's development?
Rumph: "Man, this guy, you know, you don't even know he's in the room, first of all. He's so quiet. And I think with all, even some of the success he's having, it's still not going to his head. I think he's eager to learn. I think one of the things that he does is not only does he listen to what I'm saying, but he also listens when I'm talking to other players and he also listens to players. He'll ask a question. He's not intimidated or he doesn't have any insecurities about asking a question.
"Sometimes it may be a stupid question. We all say, 'There's no such thing as a dumb question,' whatever. He's definitely bought into that, and like I said, the guy was 5-11, 6-foot in high school, junior year, and all of a sudden he shot up. So I think he's going to grow even some more. His dad (Carlos Zuniga) is a big tall guy, played in the NBA."
------
* The Edge: Florida-Georgia Breakdown
* Tuesday Practice Notes: Injured Gators on defense present
* Game Week Headquarters: Michel makes a promise
* Del Rio excited to make debut in Florida-Georgia rivalry
* Notebook: McElwain discusses familiarity with Smart
* Status of key injured defensive Gators uncertain for Georgia game
* FREE ONE MONTH TRIAL MEMBERSHIP TO ITG
------
Has Zuniga been following your infamous keep-your-shirt-on rule?
Rumph: “Yeah, yeah. He tried to pull it off the other day. I said, 'Nah big dog. Put that thing on. Cover it up. I don’t wanna see that.'”
What's your evaluation up to this point of freshman defensive end Antonneous Clayton?
Rumph: "Man, this guy, boy I'll tell you what. When he first got here, I thought 'Wow. You sure missed out on that one.' He was bad. I mean he was bad, bad, bad bad, but then all of a sudden you saw him. He wants it so bad. He's just so eager and he's just great to be around. He's right there on your hip. I mean, you're talking to somebody else and he's right there trying to absorb everything.
"But now, I think he's starting to settle down and you know, I'm from a small town and Dooly County, they just said 'Hey, go get the man with the football.' No technique. Just run and go get him, and that was some of the things we liked when we saw it on film, but the problem to be honest early on, I think he would have caught on quicker but I think it was some of that small-town blues or whatever. But now, he's not affected by -- and this is not a big city - but I don't think he's affected by the big city or stuff like that. He's learning. He's getting better every day."
How do you contain Georgia's running game with Nick Chubb, Sony Michel and Brian Herrien?
Rumph: "Man, we're just going to have to do a great job at first of all everybody being gap sound, playing unselfish ball, just playing for the team. Don't try to go out there and get stats or stuff like that. Just play within the scheme of the defense. If I've got the A-gap, then be in the A-gap. If I've got the B-gap, be in the B-gap. Gap control and just controlling and dominating the line of scrimmage. He (Chubb) is a good back. He's going get some yards. We've just got to understand that we've just got to go on to the next play, whether it's a good play, bad play. Just go to the next play. Don't give up the big stuff. Make him earn everything and just hit him. Be real physical with him.
"It's the same game-plan for all three of them. You put any one of them back there and they're pretty special. Each one of them brings a little different flavor to the party, but it's going to come down to us doing our job up front, hold our gaps, the linebackers filling the gaps, whatever secondary we have coming. Everybody has to do their job and be committed to doing it."
What kind of luxury is it when you have talented underclassmen and veteran leaders?
Rumph: “I’m blessed, I really am. I got a good bunch of guys, not only just football players but good people, I enjoy being around them. And they’re funny and they come out to the house, they hang out and stuff like that. They’re just good to be around. You know we’ve got a group chat and some of the things that we pick at each other at. But I think the injuries again you don’t want to see them happen, but they’re going to happen. But it was good just to see some of those younger guys step up and play really well. And the lights wasn’t too bright for them, and now, I’m telling you, the flip side on what it’s created is it’s created competition now. So now those guys, you know, they’ve tasted some of that stuff and how it feels and they don’t want to relinquish it. And now the old guys are like ‘Hold, hold on now, I’m the big dog here.' But they ain’t scrapping for it, ‘Hey I’m that dude now’. So it’s creating competition which is always good.”
How has CeCe Jefferson handled the change of moving to defensive tackle this offseason, and then moving back to defensive end midseason?
Rumph: “Man, he loves it. I love that guy. He’s just, I mean, he is a fun one to coach, man.” You know, he got rolled up yesterday and he just hopped up and he’s just laughing and, ‘You got me, let’s go,’ you know, one of those dudes. But, you know, he just wanna play ball. He doesn’t care. He’ll just play anywhere. ‘I’ll back-pedal. I’ll throw the pass, or whatever I gotta do.’ He just enjoys playing. And I think with him being inside, it’s sort of hardened him up a little bit. You know, getting banged around up in there by about 600 pounds. Now he’s out here playing against 240, 250 pounds and it’s a whole lot easier for him.”
Who from the defensive line group has seized his opportunity with all of the injuries?
Rumph: “Out of the young guys, I think, you know, Jabari, he’s in the position right now if Cox can’t go, then he’s going to start. You know, you’re seeing Khairi Clark. You know, he’s been in there and he’s been starting ball games. Taven Bryan, he’s been getting a lot of playing time. He started against Vandy and he’s done a really, I mean — who’s the last game? Missouri? Yeah. I’m getting old man. Missouri, he got his first start and we started seeing some flashes of things we thought he could do. So those are the ones right now, off the top of my head, are the ones that — and Keivonnis Davis also. He’s also playing well.”
------
Thank you for reading this Inside the Gators article. To discuss it, please visit the Alligator Alley Forum.
