Florida Gators 2022 Positional Outlook: Defensive Line
Billy Napier's first offseason in charge of Florida Gators football is sure to be a busy and exciting one.
With roster reconstruction already underway via recruiting and the transfer portal, the next step in preparing for his first season as Florida's head coach will focus on identifying and developing talent already on the roster, and determining how to use it best in 2022.
In order to best preview the Gators' upcoming spring camp and the season to come, AllGators is taking a look at each position on the roster to recognize the strengths and weaknesses at each spot, as well as put together early projections of individual depth charts.
RELATED: Gators 2022 positional outlooks
After moving to the defensive side of the football on Friday, we're moving back to the trenches to break down the future of the Gators' defensive line.
Gators 2022 defensive line outlook
This season will be the most different the Florida defensive line has looked in years. Gone are former graduate transfers and long-time staples such as Antonio Valentino, Daquan Newkirk, Zachary Carter, Khris Bogle, Jeremiah Moon and Tyrone Truesdell.
Those players left either due to their eligibility running out, the transfer portal or to move on to greener pasture in the NFL or other pro leagues. Now, the team will undergo a youth movement on the defensive line, getting a great first look at the players as spring opens up on March 15.
For purposes of this outlook, we broke the defensive line into four different categories: Strongside defensive end, nose tackle, three-technique and JACK — the weak-side rush end, formerly known as a BUCK in UF's previous defensive scheme. Florida, of course, has the most depth at its defensive tackle position group with plenty of young players headed to the university.
Incoming freshmen include JACK Jack Pyburn, defensive end Andrew Saviinaea and defensive tackles Jamari Lyons and Chris McClellan.
It should be noted that player positions have not been finalized, however, these are our projections based on either past playing time or future projections. We have broken the defensive line up into three categories: SDE, DT and JACK.
Strongside Defensive End
At SDE, the Gators will have to do a lot to replace Carter, the heart and soul of the team's defensive line over the past two seasons. The players that are set to enter the fray include Justus Boone, Princely Umanmielen, Tyreak Sapp, Dante Zanders and Saviinaea.
There will be battles at this position group, of course, but the frontrunners are likely Umanmielen and Boone, who have the most experience among the group. Umanmielen also has some versatility to play on either side of the DL at SDE or JACK.
Umanmielen, 6-foot-4, 259 pounds, is entering his junior season at Florida and saw action in all 13 games last season at DE. He accounted for 17 tackles (nine solos), 1.5 sacks and a forced fumble. Playing behind Carter, Umanmielen is set to become the primary player at the position this season under the new staff.
Boone, 6-foot-4, 245 pounds is entering his redshirt freshman year after playing just a few games last year. Boone entered the fray last year as a highly-rated prospect with plenty of potential. Though we have him classified as an SDE, his future projections include a move inside as well.
As for Sapp, the 6-foot-2, 264-pound defensive lineman is set to enter his most-important developmental year, not having played a down last season. He came to Florida as one of the top recruits in the country for a reason, finishing his high school career with overall 100 total tackles, 21.5 sacks and five forced fumbles.
Now, Sapp will be in store for some more playing time under the new staff with the expectation he's at least a part of the rotation early on.
As for Zanders, a former tight end, he looks to continue growing as a player but hasn't shown too much on the defensive side of the ball due to a lack of playing time. He shouldn't be overlooked, though, because at 6-foot-5, 261 pounds, he certainly has the chops to take on blockers.
Saviinaea will likely enter the fray during fall camp with the expectation of limited playing time, but it would be a good developmental period for him.
Defensive Tackle
With so much depth now lost at the DT position for Florida, this is one of the hot spots for competition via both incoming players and those already on the roster.
It's no secret that rising junior lineman Gervon Dexter is the leader of the group, and will certainly get the most playing time out of perhaps anyone on the defensive line this season.
He enters this year with high expectations after a stellar 2021 season where he accounted for 51 total tackles, 2.5 sacks, two fumble recoveries, seven quarterback hits and a pass breakup. Sure, he didn't have an interception last season as he did in his first collegiate game in 2020, but as a lineman, his stats show progression like none other.
Another rising player entering the fray more this season will be rising sophomore defender Desmond Watson. Watson joined Florida last year well over 400 pounds but has steadily chipped away at the unnecessary weight, while still maintaining his strength and physicality, able to be an anchor on the Florida defensive front.
Jalen Lee, a rising junior would play eight games last season, starting in the Gasparilla Bowl against UCF. He would make an impact, notching three tackles and a tackle for loss.
Lee's development within the defense, however, hasn't gone as quickly as one would like. While he provides good depth, his development during the spring will be paramount to his playing time moving forward.
Chris Thomas Jr., a rising redshirt freshman would play in just one game last season, the Gasparilla Bowl. He was hurt throughout much of the year, but comes in with an ideal size for either tackle position at 6-foot-5, 309 pounds. A highly-rated defender coming out of high school, there's certainly a spot for him somewhere in the rotation.
Rising redshirt sophomore defender, Lamar Goods, likely projects inside as a nose tackle given his stature at 6-foot-2, and size at 351 pounds. He hasn't had much playing time over his two years at Florida, appearing in just two games last year, while not playing at all in 2020.
To round out the defensive tackles, Florida made good on its need to acquire talent by targeting McClellan, who comes in as an SI99 recruit from the 2022 recruiting class.
While his playing time is to be determined, considering the lack of (veteran) depth on the roster at this position, it wouldn't be a surprise to see the 6-foot-3, 305-pound freshman earn some playing time with a solid spring and fall.
The final two scholarship players at the position, Jaelin Humphries and Griffin McDowell (converting from the offensive side of the football), likely will become depth players, but with a new staff, everything is on the table.
JACK rush end
The Gators lost Bogle, Diabate and Moon to either the transfer portal or the NFL over the offseason. Three players who could have done serious damage at this position, making it a tough one to project so far as depth is concerned.
Remaining on the team this year, however, is standout defender Brenton Cox Jr., who looks to parlay his more-than-solid redshirt junior campaign into a stellar season before heading off to the NFL. Last year, Cox started all 13 games at BUCK (JACK) even while dealing with recovery from foot surgery throughout the year.
He would account for 41 total tackles, 14.5 tackles-for-loss, 8.5 sacks, four pass breakups and one forced fumble.
Behind him, though, is far more uncertain. As mentioned earlier, it's likely that Umanmielen can find himself on either side of the defensive line, but one player to really look for this spring and moving forward is redshirt sophomore defender Antwuan Powell.
Listed at 6-foot-2, 245 pounds, Powell has shown plenty of promise in limited snaps. Last season, he accounted for five tackles, 1.5 sacks and 1.5 tackles for loss on the year. He appeared in 12 games but was pushed down the depth chart.
Powell's ability to use both speed and power off the edge, while showing plenty of bend off the edge makes him an intriguing player to watch moving forward.
Other players that will see their development continue, include redshirt senior David Reese, redshirt junior Lloyd Summerall and redshirt freshman Chief Borders.
Perhaps the more intriguing player among that group is Borders, who is listed at 6-foot-4, 232 pounds. Borders was a sought-after recruit during last year's cycle and will likely look to build off of that moving forward. He saw action in just four games last season.
Early 2022 depth chart projection
Starters: Brenton Cox Jr. (JACK/WDE), Gervon Dexter (3T), Desmond Watson (NT), Princely Umanmielen (SDE)
Key backups: Antwauan Powell, Christopher Thomas, Jalen Lee, Justus Boone
Reserves: Lamar Goods, Jaelin Humphries, Griffin McDowell, Tyreak Sapp, Dante Zanders, Andrew Saviinaea, David Reese, Lloyd Summerall, Chief Borders
Florida's defensive line group will be perhaps the most intriguing one to watch as far as the competition goes during spring this year. The starting line, for the most part, should already be fleshed out with all four of those players have earned some serious playing time.
Defensive lines in general, however, rely on a heavy rotation, so the backup line will be just as important. With rising players like Powell, Thomas, Lee and Boone rounding out the backups, they stand to have at least high-impact players with plenty of juice moving forward.
There will certainly be some bumps in the road as the line takes shape and gets moving, but Napier and his staff have a bounty of young talent ready to showcase their abilities and it all starts on March 15.
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