Tag: Gervon Dexter

Florida LB Ventrell Miller out for Week 3 matchup with USF

After missing most of last season with a torn bicep, Florida linebacker Ventrell Miller is back on the injury report and will miss Saturday’s game against the USF Bulls.

For the second straight year, the Florida Gators are losing linebacker [autotag]Ventrell Miller[/autotag] to injury heading into Week 3 of the season.

In 2021, Miller tore his bicep in a Week 2 matchup with the USF Bulls. This season, he’ll miss the rematch because of a lower-body injury, according to Florida’s Week 3 depth chart.

While last year’s injury kept him out for the remainder of the season, it’s unclear just how bad things are for Miller this time around. Head coach Billy Napier left it at “he won’t play this week,” which leaves plenty to the imagination.

The team lost its identity when Miller went down a year ago, and it was a big decision to return for a sixth year to the program. Defensive tackle [autotag]Gervon Dexter[/autotag] Sr. called him the “quarterback of the defense,” and said that losing him “makes it very difficult” for the team.

Miller is a loud, experienced presence that’s helped guide UF’s defense over the first two weeks of the year. He’s second on the team with 15 total tackles and came up big a few times against Utah.

Jeremiah [autotag]Scooby Williams[/autotag] will step into the starting role, per the depth chart, but expect plenty of field time for true freshman [autotag]Shemar James[/autotag] as well. [autotag]Amari Burney[/autotag] is now the lead man in the position group.

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2022 Florida Football Season Preview: Defensive Line

One of the biggest question marks heading into the 2022 season for Florida might be the defensive line. There’s not a whole lot of experience to work with but there’s plenty of talent.

There’s less than a week left until Florida kicks off the 2022 college football season, and Gators Wire is breaking down the entire roster before kick-off. After working our way through the offense, it’s time to look at the defensive side of the ball, the unit that struggled significantly more in 2021.

First up is the defensive line, which includes both tackle positions and a strongside defensive end. [autotag]Gervon Dexter[/autotag] Sr. is the outright leader of the group following the departure of veterans such as [autotag]Zach Carter[/autotag] and [autotag]Khris Bogle[/autotag] among others. The position room is relatively young and inexperienced, leaving Dexter as the only player locked into a starting role.

The good news is that those young players should be ready to take a big step forward. It will become evident who can handle the increased workload and who can’t rather quickly, and the depth chart should be much more clear following the first few weeks of action. Still, we have a pretty good idea of what things will look like up front for UF against Utah on Saturday.

Here’s a look at all 12 offensive linemen on the Gators’ 2022 fall football roster. Edge rushers will be included with our breakdown of the outside linebackers on the team.

See also:

2023 Florida Football Season Preview: Quarterbacks

2023 Florida Football Season Preview: Running Backs

2023 Florida Football Season Preview: Wide Receivers

2023 Florida Football Season Preview: Tight Ends

2023 Florida Football Season Preview: Offensive Line

Five Gators named to coaches’ preseason All-SEC teams

Florida didn’t have the dominating presence Alabama and Georgia do on the coaches’ preseason All-SEC team, but the Gators did manage to get five players voted onto the list.

The picks for the coaches’ preseason All-SEC teams came in on Tuesday and Florida had five players named across the three units.

Right guard [autotag]O’Cyrus Torrence[/autotag] made the first team as he has in several other preseason lists, defensive lineman [autotag]Gervon Dexter[/autotag] and linebacker [autotag]Brenton Cox Jr[/autotag]. made the second team, and fifth-year players [autotag]Ventrell Miller[/autotag] and [autotag]Trey Dean[/autotag] made the third team.

Dexter and Dean both have asterisks next to their names to denote a tie in the voting, which is not broken on the preseason lists. That’s not quite a big deal with Dexter, considering he’d make the third team instead of the second with one less vote, but Dean would’ve been left off the list if not for the tie.

Alabama led the way with a league-leading 19 representatives, six of which were first-teamers. Georgia also broke double digits with 10 players on the list and Texas A&M finished third with nine preseason All-SEC players. Every team in the conference had a player on the roster.

2022 Coaches’ Preseason All-SEC Team

This Gators offensive lineman named to AP preseason All-America team

Only one Gator made the Associated Press All-America teams and he hasn’t even played a snap in the SEC yet.

The preseason honors for Florida offensive lineman [autotag]O’Cyrus Torrence[/autotag] continue to roll in and the latest is a spot on the Associated Press All-America Second Team.

Torrence has yet to play a down in the SEC, but he’s already well respected as one of the conference’s best. He followed [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] from Louisiana to the Swamp and immediately received first-team honors from SEC reporters during the conference’s media days. He also recently was named a preseason All-American by CBS Sports, making their second team as well.

There’s no shortage of hype surrounding Torrence, which isn’t always typical for an interior offensive lineman. But the fourth-year player immediately became a veteran leader of the team. Players and coaches respect him, and they aren’t afraid to let others know how great it is to have Torrence on the team.

“Unbelievable human first, right, person and character,” Florida co-offensive line coach and offensive coordinator [autotag]Rob Sale[/autotag] said of Torrence to 247Sports. “Identified that when we were there at the other place. But he’s big, he’s twitchy, football comes easy to O’Cyrus, it really does.”

Defensive lineman [autotag]Gervon Dexter[/autotag] praised Torrence for helping him develop as a pass rusher too. Dexter, a projected first or second-round pick in his own right, said he didn’t know what going up against a pro was like until he went against Torrence.

All the praise isn’t going to Torrence’s head either. He said it motivates him to achieve the goals he believes are worthy of that recognition.

“For me, I use (preseason awards) as fuel,” he said. “I feel like it feels good to get the type of recognition. I feel like I work hard to get that recognition, but I still feel like I haven’t done anything yet to deserve it. It feels good, but I still don’t feel too deserving, so it makes me want to work harder to prove to myself that I do deserve it.”

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Three Gators ranked inside ESPN’s top 100 college football players for 2022

These three Gators are considered among the best in college football heading into the 2022 season, per ESPN.

Florida had a trio of players turn up on ESPN’s list of the top 100 college football players heading into 2022 on Wednesday. Linebacker [autotag]Brenton Cox Jr[/autotag]., quarterback [autotag]Anthony Richardson[/autotag] and offensive guard [autotag]O’Cyrus Torrence[/autotag] all fell in final 20 spots of the list.

Cox fell 21 spots from No. 59 in 2021 to No. 80 on this year’s list. After collecting 8.5 sacks and 41 tackles (26 solo) as a redshirt sophomore, he’s looking to set a new school record in sacks before heading to the pros. Injuries hurt the linebacker room early on last season, but the ESPN staff thinks that a healthy group could open things up for Cox to reach his goals.

“Change is everywhere you look in Gainesville, but Cox is a constant. He combined 8.5 sacks with 10 run stops at or behind the line in 2021, and he broke up four passes in coverage, too. With [autotag]Ventrell Miller[/autotag] returning from injury, Cox could helm a dynamite LB corps.”

Richardson comes in at No. 93 on the rankings after not placing a year ago as the backup to [autotag]Emory Jones[/autotag]. The ESPN staff isn’t shy about praising Richardson’s potential, but it’ll take actual production for him to move any higher on this list.

“He’s huge (6-4, 252 pounds). He’s got a big arm (among his 38 completions last year were six over 30 yards), and he’s ridiculously fast (rushes of 80 and 73 yards). The man has all the tools. Now we get to see if he can put them all together.”

Four spots under Richardson is Torrence, one of the five men who will be charged with protecting the first-year quarterback. Despite allowing just three pressure in 378 pass-block snaps last year, Torrence moved up from No. 100 to just No. 97. Go figure.

“An under-the-radar recruit, Torrence (listed at 6-5 and 347 pounds) was an immediate star for head coach Billy Napier at Louisiana. Now the former Freshman All-American and All-Sun Belt star will play his trade with Napier in Gainesville. He immediately becomes Florida’s most proven and high-upside lineman.”

If Napier’s guy turns out to be a success in the SEC, he could get drafted in the first three rounds this spring.

A surprising snub on the list is defensive tackle [autotag]Gervon Dexter[/autotag], who was ranked earlier in the week in Todd McShay’s top-50 NFL draft prospects. Like Richardson, he needs to add a little more consistency to his game, but Dexter has been considered one of Florida’s best project players for a few years.

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Florida has several players with NFL potential, per ESPN

After a down year in the 2022 NFL draft, Florida could have five or more players head to the league in 2023.

Most of the preseason NFL draft hype directed at Florida has been aimed at quarterback [autotag]Anthony Richardson[/autotag], but it’s defensive lineman [autotag]Gervon Dexter[/autotag] that’s the highest-ranked Gator in ESPN’s Todd McShay’s preseason rankings of the 2023 draft prospects.

Dexter cracked the top 50 with a grade of 80 (out of 100), but he’s still the seventh-ranked defensive tackle in the class. Despite totaling just 2.5 sacks last year, McShay likes his quiet disruptiveness and sees him as a player that could take a huge step forward this season.

“While he needs to be more consistent with his snap anticipation, he does a good job of getting into offensive linemen’s pads with good leverage and then using his strong lower body to walk them back into the quarterback. Against the run, he uses very good leverage to stand linemen up and gain early control. He has long arms and strong hands to control blocks, and his disengage skills continue to improve.”

Richardson is in a four-way tie for the No. 62 spot on the list, unofficially. He’s the second-highest rated Gator at 77, but he could end up getting drafted earlier than Dexter as a top-five quarterback with room to grow. A strong season could move him closer to the Tyler Van Dyke (88) and Will Levis (89) range.

Louisiana offensive line transfer [autotag]O’Cyrus Torrence[/autotag] could be an even hotter commodity come the draft. He’s the No. 2 guard on McShay’s position rankings and could easily take over the No. 1 spot if he leads Florida to a dominant rushing game. Torrence came to UF to prove that he could do it in the SEC, so he’s ready for the challenge.

Linebacker [autotag]Brenton Cox Jr[/autotag]. and safety [autotag]Trey Dean[/autotag] both skipped the draft to come back for an extra year in the Swamp and enter the season with a 70 grade from McShay. Cox has ambitions of breaking the school sack record, and Dean should be a much-needed veteran presence for a relatively young secondary that just lost [autotag]Kaiir Elam[/autotag] to the NFL.

McShay has Cox has the No. 7 outside linebacker in the country and Dean as the No. 8 safety in the class.

Finally, [autotag]Justin Shorter[/autotag] is the No. 18 receiver on McShay’s board. His 59 grade leaves a lot to be desired, but he could move up significantly if Richardson finds him in the end zone often this season.

The 2021 season marked the first time in seven years that the Florida Gators failed to send five or more players to the NFL via the draft. ESPN believes the team will bounce back to its typical rate of NFL-talent production, but another down year could hurt badly on the recruiting trail.

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Gators score huge commitment from this IMG Academy defensive lineman

The Gators scored a major coup from one of the hottest high school athletic institutions in the country — IMG Academy — on Saturday.

Billy Napier scored big on Saturday when four-star defensive lineman [autotag]Will Norman[/autotag] out of IMG Academy in Bradenton — an institution that the Gators have put a significant emphasis on recruiting from — committed to play for Florida football.

The 6-foot-5-inch, 290-pound in-state prep prospect had the Texas A&M Aggies, Penn State Nittany Lions, LSU Tigers, Tennessee Volunteers and Auburn Tigers along with Florida as his preferred destinations. It appears that Napier along with co-defensive coordinator and defensive line coach Sean “Chaos” Spencer helped tipped the scales toward the Orange and Blue when push came to shove.

“I’m closest with coach Napier, coach Spencer and also coach (ILB/OLB defensive analyst Jamar) Chaney, as well as the whole D-line room,” Norman said according to Gators Online. “I look forward to being used similar to how they are currently using [autotag]Gervon Dexter[/autotag], showing versatility as an interior defensive lineman.”

Norman is ranked No. 143 overall and No. 21 at his position in his class nationally according to the 247Sports composite, while the On3 consensus has him at Nos. 156 and 18, respectively. Florida had held a solitary crystal ball prediction from 247Sports prior to his decision while On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine gave the Gators a 63.3% chance of landing him.

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Which Gator is mostly likely to be drafted in 2023, per ESPN?

Anthony Richardson is the easy answer to which Gator is drafted next, but ESPN has a backup in case he has a down year.

ESPN isn’t shy with the [autotag]Anthony Richardson[/autotag] love. Many draft experts have pegged him as a first-round talent, and he’s the natural response when asked “who is the best NFL prospect on the 2022 Florida Gators?”

It’s not too surprising to see Richardson’s name at the top of such a list put together by ESPN, but they did hedge their bets in case Florida’s first-year starting quarterback doesn’t live up to the expectations of both fans and coaches. Defensive tackle [autotag]Gervon Dexter[/autotag] is No. 2 on the list and has been considered an NFL-caliber athlete for some time.

“When you think of potential and ceiling at the quarterback position, Richardson fits,” ESPN’s Matt Miller wrote. ” In limited action in 2021, he showed the arm strength, playmaking ability and poise to excite both the fan base and scouts. Now we have to see it over the course of a full season while he cuts down on interceptions; he had five on just 64 throws. There’s Round 1 potential, but Richardson has to play more first.

We can’t leave defensive tackle Gervon Dexter completely off our list. If Richardson fails to live up to expectations, Dexter is next in line as the Gators’ top prospect.”

Linebacker [autotag]Brenton Cox Jr[/autotag]. and offensive lineman [autotag]O’Cyrus Torrence[/autotag] might be the unofficial Nos. 3 and 4 on that list. Both are veterans of the college game and are at Florida this season to boost their draft stock. Linebacker [autotag]Ventrell Miller[/autotag] could sneak into the conversation if he has a strong bounce-back season after tearing his biceps last year.

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These 2 Gators earned a spot on The Athletic’s college football ‘freaks list’

These two Gators are destined for greatness.

College football is full of amazing athletes, from the top schools in the nation all the way down to the lower divisions. These talented young men toil endlessly in an effort to maximize their abilities, with some rising to the top while others failing to make the cut.

Among them is a group of gridiron warriors who stand out simply based on their unique physical attributes. The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman put together his top-100 college football “freaks list” for the 2022 campaign, with the Florida Gators landing a pair of its players, quarterback [autotag]Anthony Richardson[/autotag] and defensive tackle [autotag]Gervon Dexter[/autotag], who were named at Nos. 50 and 88, respectively.

Feldman offered the following on the former.

We never have many quarterbacks on this list, but this is a rare athlete. Richardson is a chiseled 6-4, 238 pounds with just 10 percent body fat and says he has run a 4.4 40 and can throw a football 75 yards. Football insiders eye-balling college quarterbacks at this summer’s Manning Passing Academy were wowed by Richardson’s physical tools, saying he and Kentucky’s Will Levis were well above and beyond every other quarterback there. Richardson cleans 325 pounds and squatted 500 this offseason.

“Anthony is physically built like an outside linebacker — tall, long, and chiseled out of stone,” said Florida strength coach Mark Hocke. “Has the athleticism (speed and agility) and bounce (plays above the rim) of a running back/wide receiver combined with a Jugs machine for an arm.”

As for the latter, Feldman had this to say.

He was a bright spot in a down year for Florida, making 51 tackles and four TFLs. This is a huge man who moves well at 6-5 1/2, 313 pounds with 24 percent body fat. Dexter squats 655 pounds and benches 425. “Gervon is a unique body type with an elite mixture of height, length and muscle makeup,” strength coach Mark Hocke said. “He’s strong enough to hold the point and quick enough to affect the QB, making him an every down QB nightmare.”

There is little doubt that the success of these two studs will play greatly into the overall outcome in [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag]’s first season at the helm. Richardson’s ceiling is that of a Heisman Trophy contender while Dexter’s disruption on defense would help solidify things on the other side of the ball for the Gators, and if the two live up to their potential, Florida’s postseason outlook could look a lot rosier than it does now.

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This Gator named to Chuck Bednarik Award watch list

Florida Gators OLB Brenton Cox Jr. was named to the Chuck Bednarik Award Watch list and is looking to become the first Florida Gator to win.

Veteran outside linebacker and holder of the coveted No. 1 jersey [autotag]Brenton Cox Jr[/autotag]. was named to the Chuck Bednarik Award watch list. The Chuck Bednarik Award is awarded by the Maxwell Club each year to the nation’s defensive player of the year.

Cox Jr. has grabbed the national attention of multiple preseason watch lists and media outlets, including the All-SEC second team from Athlon Sports, Phil Steele, and the scrum at SEC media days. Cox Jr. is the seventh different Florida player to be named to a preseason award watch list: [autotag]Anthony Richardson[/autotag] (Maxwell), [autotag]Ventrell Miller[/autotag] (Butkus), [autotag]Kingsley Eguakun[/autotag] (Rimington), [autotag]Gervon Dexter[/autotag] (Outland), [autotag]O’Cyrus Torrence[/autotag] (Outland), and [autotag]Nay’Quan Wright[/autotag] (Doak Walker & Wuerffel).

Cox Jr. is looking to become the first player in Florida football history to win the Chuck Bednarik award. Nine Gators players have been named semifinalists for the award with [autotag]Jevon Kearse[/autotag] (1998) and [autotag]Brandon Spikes[/autotag] (2009) the only finalists in program history.

Semifinalists for the award will be announced on November 1, with the three finalists to be announced on November 22. The winner will be announced on the ESPN Home Depot College Football Awards Show to be held on December 8.

The Florida Gators will open the 2022 season on Saturday, September 3, at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium against Utah at 7:00 p.m. EDT on ESPN.

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