Florida's Greenard, Henderson Named to AP Midseason All-America Team

The two star defenders have been honored by the Associated Press for their performances halfway through the 2019 season.

Photo by David Rosenblum/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Two Florida Gators' have been selected to the 2019 Associated Press Midseason All-America Team, and if you've watched a lick of Florida football this season, you can probably guess which side of the ball the two players hail from.

Defensive end Jonathan Greenard and cornerback C.J. Henderson were honored by the AP, as both were named to the Second Team.

Greenard, who transferred to Florida as a graduate student under the idea of serving as a band-aid to replace Jachai Polite's 11.5 sacks and 19 tackles for loss at the BUCK pass-rushing position, while younger players continued to develop. However, Greenard has exceeded all expectations and has arguably been a more well-rounded edge than Polite was during his time in orange-and-blue.

The BUCK pass rusher has accumulated four sacks, 6.5 tackles for loss, 27 quarterback pressures, three batted passes, an interception, and a forced fumble in just over six games for the Gators. He exited last week's contest against LSU with an ankle injury and is being considered a "game-time decision" for Florida's upcoming game against South Carolina.

Henderson making the list is a bit head-scratching - certainly not from a talent perspective - but because he has only played in four of seven possible games after suffering an ankle injury in Week 2 against UT-Martin. That injury sidelined him up until the Auburn game almost two weeks ago.

However, when grading Henderson from purely a talent perspective, it's clear why he was included. Henderson has defended a career-high eight passes, averaging two per game, and has allowed a completion percentage of only 45% on 20 targets, per Pro Football Focus. 

Bleacher Report's lead NFL Draft scout Matt Miller has consistently viewed Henderson as a Top 10 prospect in the 2020 NFL Draft class. Greenard, on the other hand, has been a fast-riser among the NFL Draft community - currently rated as the classes 85th-best prospect at The Draft Network, and earning some serious love from the Senior Bowl scouting staff.

You can check out the entire AP Midseason All-America Team here.