Gators FILM ROOM: What Amari Burney did well in his return to the field

After missing two games with an injury, Amari Burney returned to the field for Florida on 32 snaps against Tennessee. And he made them count.

Photo credit: David Bowie - Gator Country

An explosion onto the scene for Florida linebacker Amari Burney stole some headlines amidst a dominant defensive performance in the Gators 34-3 victory over the Tennessee Volunteers.

Burney, a sophomore who transitioned to the MONEY weak-side linebacker position late last season from safety, tallied a team-leading five tackles, an interception, and a fumble on 32 of the team's 43 defensive snaps. This came after missing two games with an undisclosed injury and seeing the field on only 18 of Florida's 73 defensive snaps against Miami in "Week Zero".

On film, Burney was all over the field from his MONEY spot, displaying the range that made him an appealing safety at signing. He could drop back in coverage and mirror opposing receivers well, which led to only being targeted once by Tennessee quarterback Jarrett Guarantano on a check-down to running back Tim Jordan on 3rd and 13 and in Florida territory. The stop forced Tennessee to punt, rather than get into field goal range.

This isn't the first time Burney has done this in his 50 snaps this year, as he accomplished a key 3rd down stop against Miami on their first drive as well. Burney had dropped back into a deeper zone, but quickly broke on an underneath throw to come and stop the receiver before he reached the line to gain.

And of course, there was Burney's interception.

While this looks like a target against Burney, it is not. The ball is thrown into Marco Wilson's underneath zone with a safety looming over the top, between Wilson and Burney. Burney stays in pursuit through the release of the ball with Wilson coming up to play it, knocking the receiver as the ball touches his hands. Burney stays focused and makes a leaping grab, his first career interception.

"He's a playmaker for our defense", head coach Dan Mullen spoke of Burney's return on Monday.

Burney's safety experience gives the linebacker corps a huge boost in coverage, an area in which case David Reese II and Ventrell Miller have struggled in. However, what has stood out most from Burney - despite a limited sample size - is his adaptation to linebacker responsibilities against the run.

Burney keys in his gap and times hit shoot well here, disciplined in his timing to avoid a lineman from sliding off there block to get in his way. From there, Burney's defensive back speed comes out as he makes his way into the backfield, where he makes a tackle for loss. A great read-and-reaction play from a player who has only just transitioned to the linebacker position.

In fact, the play above reminds me of Jamar Chaney, who now serves on Florida's coaching staff as a defensive assistant and in recruiting. Chaney, much like Burney, was a bit undersized playing at 6-1, 243 lbs. (Burney is listed at 6-2, 224), but shot gaps like a cannonball. 

Here's a side-by-side comparison, using Burney's play above.

Perhaps Chaney influenced Burney in his transition to linebacker, because it's rare to see a player adapt so quickly to diagnosing and playing the run as Burney has. But that was one of Chaney's most polished skills when he played, so it'd make sense.

Considering Burney doubled the amount of snaps he played against Miami in Florida's win over Tennessee on Saturday, it's safe to assume his role will continue to increase in this defense. And it needs to, because Burney offers better pass coverage at linebacker and surprising run-defense ability for a player of his age and where he's at in his development stage.