2020 Florida Gators Season in Review: Linebackers

The linebacker position plagued the Florida Gators defensive unit from reaching its full capability in 2020. However, it's not due to the lack of talent.

Underutilized potential, the story of the 2020 Florida Gators linebacker position.

Losing the leader of the pack in David Resse II following the 2019 season, the linebacker position was one that looked to be undergoing some growing pains in the early portion of the season.

Having Ventrell Miller step into the middle of the Gators defense, the virtue of leadership was one he needed to develop and do so quickly to fill the void left by his former partner in crime.

Producing at a high level — compiling 86 tackles, 3.5 sacks, 7.5 tackles for loss, three passes defended and one fumble recovery — Miller was a major reason for the successes the unit did see throughout the year.

However, the Gators handicapped Miller’s ability to prove his standing as the field general of the defense by employing a boring and ineffective rotation of upperclassmen all season long.

While Miller holding his starting spot at middle linebacker in all but the last game of the year, the weak side linebacker spot was often occupied by Amari Burney and James Houston IV over the year the season.

With each player giving indications that there was a possibility of righting the ship, the ideas (and hopes) of consistency alongside Miller never came to fruition for Christian Robinson’s unit. Combining for 81 tackles, three sacks, one pass defended and one interception, the rotation was serviceable at best.

Without the necessary complementary pieces around Miller to combat some of the higher octane offenses (and support a historic one Florida carried in its own right by creating stops) in what seemed to be an offense-oriented SEC, the Gators were seemingly hurting themselves with their own seniority.

As a result, many on the outside of the program began to call for young players such as Ty’Ron Hopper and Derek Wingo to see more action in the Gators’ lineup.

A non-issue if what they were sporting on the field was working; it became a bigger concern that the coaching staff wouldn’t entertain the idea of change along the defensive side of the football in the face of inadequacies defending in between the hashes in the passing game. Especially given the fact Hopper and Wingo present the best talent available for Florida as coverage linebackers.

As we look forward to next season, copious amounts of turnover are yet again expected to occur, with Miller expected to announce his departure to the NFL and Houston and Jesiah Pierre with intentions to transfer out of the program.

Leaving behind 130 tackles and 5.5 sacks from last season alone, there will be a necessity for younger players to step up to see increased success at the second level. As a result, the call for youth given throughout 2020 will be carried out in 2021.

Unlike this time last year, though, the turnover could result as a breath of fresh air for a linebacker unit that was suffocated by unwavering loyalty that failed to produce results.

Now, the Gators will gain the opportunity to employ the talented youngsters they neglected this past season. In a year that should bring spring practice and a normal business schedule, the future of the linebacker position is looking up from the low point it reached.