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The Florida offense was wretched at times last season, one of the worst in the nation in terms of passing yards. The biggest reason that the Gators won seven games and reached a bowl in coach Will Muschamp’s final season was an excellent defense.
That defense still looks miles ahead of the offense, but it’s also possible that Florida will have all new starters at linebacker in 2015 — at least early in the season.
Last year the Gators ran a 4-3 base defense. That’s expected to be a 4-2-5 under new defensive coordinator Geoff Collins, the former Mississippi State DC. Michael Taylor, Neiron Ball and Antonio Morrison were last season’s starters. Taylor (64 tackles) and Ball (49 tackles, 2.0 sacks) both have moved on.
Morrison, a team captain and a second-team All-SEC selection, was the best of the three. He became the first Florida player to reach triple-digit tackles (101) since Ahmad Black in 2010 and the first linebacker since Brandon Spikes (131 in 2007). Morrison also made 14 tackles on third down that prevented the opponent from gaining a first down, tied for the most on the team.
Likely to declare for the NFL draft, he suffered a serious injury in the second quarter of the Birmingham Bowl against East Carolina and was carted off the field. That made Morrison’s decision to return to school for his senior year an easy one.
Unfortunately, Morrison has endured two surgeries on that injured left knee, according to reports. Coach Jim McElwain has said Morrison is well ahead of his rehabilitation schedule, but he has yet to take part in any contact drills as far as we know.
McElwain on Antonio Morrison, who's been going through "a ton" of LB drills. "He's doing great. It's amazing to me how far along he is."
— Zach Abolverdi (@ZachAbolverdi) August 10, 2015
Morrison, who can be seen wearing a big brace during practices (but hasn’t been noticeably limping), has no timetable to return. Florida still hasn’t revealed details about his mysterious knee injury.
“My parents don’t want that information disclosed,” Morrison told the media. “I feel like y’all don’t need to know that. It’s not helping me in any way.”
So where does that leave new linebackers coach Randy Shannon?
Junior Alex Anzalone and junior Jarrad Davis (23 tackles in ’14) are the most experienced returners behind Morrison. Anzalone had 14 tackles and has been taking the snaps at Morrison’s spot. Davis played in nine games, making one start, before a torn meniscus suffered against South Carolina forced him to miss the rest of the season and spring camp. Davis has recovered from the injury and has been running with the first team next to Anzalone this fall.
Junior Daniel McMillian figures to be the main beneficiary of any Morrison absence. McMillian made 11 tackles in six games last year. He took over for Morrison in the bowl game and had a career-high five tackles in the win over the Pirates. There’s also junior Jeremi Powell, who mostly played special teams in 2014.
Perhaps when or if Morrison is healthy — I doubt he plays in the opener considering UF doesn’t need him to beat New Mexico State — the Gators might run more 4-3 in obvious running downs. But using a 4-2-5 works out well with the uncertainty at linebacker.
Matt Severance is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers SEC football, Florida, Tennessee and South Carolina.
