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As the Florida Gators were one of the strongest teams offensively last year, this year’s focus is on defense. Losing offensive star power from Kyle Trask, Kyle Pitts, and Kadarius Toney, the Gators are still optimistic about their upcoming season. And while the defense was a question looming large last year, it seems to be the focus this year.
A Good Foundation is Everything
Having a defensively lackluster season as a whole in 2020, the Gators still had some bright moments to their season. One of those bright moments being Ventrell Miller’s season. Miller led the team in total tackles tallying 86. Muhamoud Diabete was second on the team in total tackles and tallied 67 of them. Miller having 19 more tackles than every other player on the Gator’s defense in 2020 speaks volumes to his impact on the team.
Miller has proved that he can lead the Gator defense alongside fellow senior and leader, defensive lineman Zach Carter. When Miller was asked about this upcoming year, Miller responded with, “whoever in our way got to pay.” Many answers Miller gave were short and sweet answers, making it clear he was all about business.
Humble Beast 😤#GoGators x #SECMD21 pic.twitter.com/lSgS7f4wKJ
— Southeastern Conference (@SEC) July 19, 2021
Much Needed Improvements
The defense was the Gator’s biggest downside of their 2020 campaign. With this, many Gator fans had called for defensive coordinator Tom Grantham to be removed. In a surprising decision to many, Dan Mullen decided to stick with Grantham for 2021. When Zach Carter discussed the troubling 2020 season on defense, Carter said, “spring was great for our defense… we were juiced every day…” Carter also mentioned that the biggest thing this offseason has been all of the defense really “coming together”.
Carter is looking to continue to improve in his senior year at the University of Florida. Carter’s statistics have improved every year he has played. The Gators hope he continues to improve on them for what could be his final season at UF. With both Ventrell Miller and Zach Carter leading the way for the Gator’s defense, it seems as if the sky is the limit for 2021.
