Cece Jefferson, Taven Bryan and line helping young Florida defense through growing pains

GAINESVILLE — It’s no secret that Florida has built back-to-back SEC East division championship teams on the backs of elite defenses. As poor as the team has been offensively since Tim Tebow departed nearly a decade ago, Florida has rarely slipped defensively, finishing no worse than 13th nationally in defensive S & P+ efficiency since 2007. There’s a culture of excellence around the Florida program when it comes to playing defense.

Maintaining that lofty standard of excellence after losing five players to the first three rounds of the NFL draft in April figured to be a key challenge facing this Gator coaching staff in 2017. Defensive coordinator Randy Shannon has started as many as seven underclassmen this season, and there certainly have been some growing pains in the first three games, especially in the second half when Florida’s youth has been exploited as the players get tired. But there have been bright spots, including a very young secondary producing three touchdowns, and the Gators defense produced key stops against Kentucky to seal Saturday night’s comeback win in Lexington.

All told, the Gators enter this week’s Vanderbilt game 2-1 and ranked 10th nationally in S&P+ defense, a number that is more than respectable by recent Florida standards and bound to improve as the unit matures.

The biggest reason for this surprisingly sound number? A talented and active defensive line, which has eased pressure on the young linebackers and secondary.

Mainly what the Gators have done is generate pressure with the front four, making it easier for Shannon to let his young, physical corners play press coverage and protect with deep umbrella safety help. The Gators’ front four have produced 9.5 of Florida’s 10 sacks in the season’s first three contests, with junior Cece Jefferson leading with 2.5 sacks. Coaches often emphasize the need for young defenses to play fast and not overthink. It’s easier said than done, but Florida’s pass rush has truly simplified things so Shannon and his staff can take risks, like starting two true freshman corners on the road against Kentucky.

Jefferson, a five-star recruit from Baker County, was expected to produce. But after losing two defensive tackles to the NFL draft, Florida has to be pleased with the All-SEC type production it is getting elsewhere on the defensive front.

Defensive end Jachai Polite is rarely moved in the run game, which is challenging for young defensive ends in this era of pulling guards and RPOs. Polite has three tackles for loss and a sack, and he plays with a relentless motor, which allows him to do incredible things like below:

This is how you guarantee a spot to play on Sunday.
JACHAI POLITE #99
DL 6'2" 260 Soph.@RetireMoms #NeverEverGiveUp #GoAllOutOrGoHome pic.twitter.com/mCGZjp6sAz

— bleechr (@bleechr) September 18, 2017

Tackle Taven Bryan has been a monster since SEC play began. He has done a nice job of containing the run game and has 1.5 sacks and a quarterback hurry. Bryan was in good tackling position when he was tackled by Kentucky senior offensive lineman Nick Haynes on the Wildcats’ final possession Saturday night. The holding call negated one of Kentucky’s largest runs of the evening and pushed Austin MacGinnis, the Cats’ tremendous kicker, out of his field goal range. Bryan drew lofty comparisons — one to J.J. Watt, of all people — in the offseason thanks to his strength and speed. He’s just now tapping into that potential.

Other Gators have stepped up as well. Sophomore Jabari Zuniga ranks fourth on the team in tackles and leads the team in quarterback hurries with four. He could play with more discipline, as a costly roughing-the-passer penalty showed against Kentucky, but he plays with outstanding effort and has quick feet.

Senior Jordan Sherit has two sacks and 2.5 tackles for loss, and his quicker-than-anticipated return from a knee injury suffered last season has been immense from a leadership perspective. And freshmen linemen Kyree Campbell and Tedarrell Slaton have provided quality snaps in SEC play, collectively tallying 1.5 tackles for loss and allowing Shannon to rotate as many as nine players on the defensive front, keeping the unit fresh.

There’s plenty of work for the Gators to do defensively. They still miss tackles and the linebacking corps lacks depth, eviscerated by a witches’ brew of early NFL departures, injuries, recruiting losses and offseason suspensions. But Florida remains deep and elite up front, and for a unit with only one senior, like the rest of the Gator defense, they are only likely to keep getting better.

Neil Blackmon

Neil Blackmon covers Florida football and the SEC for SaturdayDownSouth.com. An attorney, he is also a member of the Football and Basketball Writers Associations of America. He also coaches basketball.