Thoughts of the Day: June 24, 2021

A few thoughts to jump start your Thursday morning:

THINKING OUT LOUD ON A THURSDAY

Florida’s defense will be vastly improved: Let’s start with the fact that because of COVID-19, 2020 was a football season like none other that we’ve ever experienced, particularly on the defensive side. While offenses didn’t suffer all that much, nearly every defense in the country took a hit. In 2019, six SEC defenses (3. Georgia; 9. Florida; 14. Missouri; 20. Kentucky; 21. Alabama; and 23 Tennessee) ranked among the top 25 nationally. In 2020, Georgia was the only top 25 defense and the Poodles ranked 12th, giving up 46 yards and 7.4 more points per game than they did in 2019. Florida’s defense went from giving up 304.8 yards and 15.5 points in 2019 to 428 yards and 30.8 points in 2020. Florida only survived because the offense was prolific and the UF defense did show up to play one game – Georgia.

It’s not an excuse to say that the Gators were seriously hurt by a lack of spring practice and offseason workouts nor is it an excuse to say the Gators were hurt by a serious cutback in the amount of contact work in both August and game weeks during the 2020 season. Those are facts, just as it is a fact to say defensive coordinator Todd Grantham had a year to forget and that the coaching in the secondary was AWOL. Despite plenty of calls for his scalp, Grantham is returning with the understanding that if there isn’t drastic improvement in 2021 he will be looking elsewhere for gainful employment. He’s replaced his secondary coaches with Wesley McGriff (safeties) and Jules Montinar (corners). After the year the UF secondary had last year (allowed 257.5 yards per game and 28 touchdown passes), it’s difficult to imagine McGriff and Montinar aren’t a significant step in the right direction.

Everything points to a vast improvement in 2021. Here are five reasons to believe the Gators are going to be better on defense:

1. The defensive line will be much, much better thanks to the return of Zachary Carter and the transfer tackles Antonio Shelton and Daquan Newkirk. Sports Illustrated ranks Carter as the No. 6 defensive end in the country. Shelton and Newkirk can collapse the pocket from the inside and they are significantly better against the run than either Kyree Campbell or Tedarrell Slaton were last year. The backups are bigger, stronger and faster. I expect Gervon Dexter, Dante Lang and Princely Umanmielen to be major contributors in the rotation.

2. Add Diwun Black to a linebacker room that already had Ventrell Miller, Brenton Cox Jr., Mohamoud Diabate, Amari Burney, Jeremiah Moon and Ty’Ron Hopper and you have the best depth and the most talent at the position since 2012 when UF had Antonio Morrison, Jon Bostic, Jelani Jenkins, Lerentee McCray and Neiron Ball. Mel Kiper Jr. ranks Miller as the No. 7 inside linebacker for the 2022 draft and Cox as his No. 6 outside linebacker. Black was the top junior college linebacker in the country. He can play inside, outside, in space or off the edge. He is a difference-maker.

3. Kaiir Elam is Mel Kiper’s No. 2 cornerback. He is poised for a big year as a lockdown capable of taking away one side of the field. Jaydon Hill or freshman Jason Marshall will probably line up on the opposite side. Jadarrius Perkins didn’t transfer in to sit. His combination of size and cover skills should lock up the nickel. The depth behind these guys is young but guys like Tre’vez Johnson, Avery Helm and Kamar Wilcoxson don’t lack for talent, just experience. Elijah Blades might be transferring in from Texas A&M, adding experience and talent to a very strong position.

4. Ever since his freshman year, we’ve expected big things out of Trey Dean III. Consider this his contract year. If he plays the way he did in the spring and the way he’s led in the offseason workouts, he will have a great year at one of the safeties. If you’re looking for answers at the other safety figure it’s going to be one of two freshmen – Donovan McMillon or Corey Collier Jr. Depth could be a problem here, but if the Gators stay injury-free safety will be solid.

5. Don’t sleep on kids like Chief Borders, Jeremiah Williams, Christopher Thomas or Desmond Watson. This was a defense-heavy recruiting class and these guys came to Gainesville to play. If Desmond Watson can get his body weight to less than 400 he can be a two-gap guy at the nose like Terrence (Mount) Cody was at Alabama.

I’m not being a Gator homer when I say the defense will be vastly improved. Any improvement will be welcome but I’m of the opinion that last year was an aberration and that Todd Grantham hasn’t forgotten how to coach. If he can get the Florida defense anywhere close to what it was in 2019, it could turn the Gators into contenders.

Do not assume the Gators are doomed for a second place finish in the SEC East: Whether it’s a preseason college football magazine, a sports website or a newspaper poll, the story is going to be the same – Georgia will win the SEC East and Florida will finish second. Georgia, they all say, is capable of beating Alabama and going to the College Football Playoff. Some of those same folks say the Poodles could actually win the national championship. None of them give the Gators a chance. Nowhere is the so-called gap between Georgia and Florida more pronounced than at Lindy’s preseason magazine. In the position rankings for the SEC, Georgia ranks either No. 1 or No. 2 at every position except receivers (No. 3) and secondary (No. 4). Nationally, Lindy’s has Georgia top 10 in every position group except secondary. Here is where Lindy’s ranks Florida in the SEC – Quarterbacks 6, running backs 9, receivers 6, O-line 9, D-line 7, linebackers 5, secondary 4, special teams 12. Based on those rankings, the Gators probably shouldn’t bother to show up in Jacksonville on October 30. I know a lot of folks will accuse me of seeing things through orange and blue colored glasses, but this Florida team shouldn’t be under-estimated. I’m of the opinion that far too much is being read into those last three games and not enough attention has been paid to a roster that, unlike the one Dan Mullen inherited when he arrived in 2018, has quality players and depth at every position. I’m also of the opinion that Mullen, who has always coached with a chip on his shoulder, will play the disrespect card to the hilt. Hungry teams are dangerous teams and this Florida football team is going to be very, very dangerous in 2021. Dangerous enough to win the SEC East.

Sporting News ranks the top 25 quarterbacks in the country: Sporting News has published its quarterback rankings for 2021 and to no one’s surprise, the top two are Spencer Rattler of Oklahoma and Sam Howell of North Carolina. Rattler and Howell are ranked 1-2 at Lindy’s. At Athlon, it’s Howell first and Rattler second. Sporting News gives a much higher ranking to Ole Miss QB Matt Corral (No. 4) than Lindy’s (No. 9) and to UCF’s Dillon Gabriel (No. 5 while Lindy’s has him at No. 16). Georgia’s JT Daniels is No. 3 at Lindy’s and No. 9 at Sporting News.

Florida’s Emory Jones cracks the top 25 (No. 21) at Sporting News. He’s not even on the Lindy’s radar.

Here are the Sporting News top 25 QBs: (1) Spencer Rattler, Oklahoma; (2) Sam Howell, North Carolina; (3) D.J. Uiagalelei, Clemson; (4) Matt Corral, Ole Miss; (5) Dillon Gabriel, UCF; (6) Kedon Slovis, Southern Cal; (7) Desmond Ridder, Cincinnati; (8) D’Eriq King, Miami; (9) JT Daniels, Georgia; (10) Brock Purdy, Iowa State; (11) Bryce Young, Alabama; (12) Grayson McCall, Coastal Carolina; (13) Michael Penix Jr., Indiana; (14) Jayden Daniels, Arizona State; (15) Carson Strong, Nevada; (16) Malik Willis, Liberty; (17) Phil Jurkovec, Boston College; (18) C.J. Stroud, Ohio State; (19) Malik Cunningham, Louisville; (20) Spencer Sanders, Oklahoma State; (21) EMORY JONES, FLORIDA; (22) Tanner Morgan, Minnesota; (23) Jarret Doege, West Virginia; (24) Bo Nix, Auburn; (25) Dorian Thompson-Robinson, UCLA.

The 12-team playoff will make a hotter seat for a lot of coaches: Since the advent of the College Football Playoff, three of the four spots have been occupied by usual suspects Alabama, Clemson and Ohio State. That’s one of the reasons the playoff is going to expand to 12 teams. Expansion will increase the number of teams involved and create more interest in college football. An unintended consequence of expansion is going to be making a lot of Power Five coaches’ already hot seats even hotter. With a four-team playoff of which you can almost pencil in three of the teams, coaches of schools not named Alabama, Clemson and Ohio State figure they’ve got a one in 62 shot at getting that fourth spot. In a 12-team playoff in which the same three teams figure to be in along with probably two from the Group of Five, there are seven more spots available. It’s a lot easier to justify why you weren’t one of the four than why you weren’t one of the 12.

Maybe I’m old-fashioned but I liked Olympic basketball better when the US sent its college players: Once again the United States will be represented in Olympic basketball by a team of NBA All-Stars like Kevin Durant, Draymond Green, Jayson Tatum and former Gator Bradley Beal. Although this won’t be the 1992 Dream Team that included future Hall of Famers such as Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Patrick Ewing, Charles Barkley, David Robinson, Karl Malone and Magic Johnson, the United States team should still be the most talented in the field and favored to take home the gold medal. I actually liked it better in the days when the United States sent its college players rather than a pro all-star team. I will never forget how Dean Smith coached the US to the gold medal in 1976 in Montreal or how Michael Jordan led the US to the gold medal in Los Angeles in 1984. I remember how angry I was when the US was cheated at Munich and the USSR won the gold medal. I didn’t like it when the US lost to the USSR in the semifinals in Seoul in 1988, the last year the US sent a team of collegians, but as much as I was unhappy with the loss, I always liked that our college kids typically beat the pros the rest of the world was sending. I know we will never see those days again, but I do miss them.

ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: Philadelphia Phillies manager Joe Girardi is getting a lot of heat for asking the umpires to check Washington Nationals ace Max Scherzer for an illegal substance Tuesday night. Scherzer said Girardi’s suspicions were unfounded and ridiculous but if I’m Joe Girardi and my team has to face a pitcher with Scherzer’s stuff, I’m going to do whatever it takes to get under his skin even if it means asking the umpires to check to see if he’s loading up the baseball. If Scherzer can’t handle it, that’s his problem.