Keanu Neal, Marcus Maye Will Be Vital To Gators Success on Defense in 2015

Typically, safeties are the most under-appreciated players on defense in any football, especially when there superstar defensive linemen and standout corner backs.

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In 2015, the Gators will need all hands on deck, so the play of safeties Keanu Neal and Marcus Maye could very well dictate just how good the defense will play.

A 4-star recruit out of Bushnell, Florida, Neal possesses the ideal height and body size that any team looks for in a safety.

At 216 pounds, Neal is a decent athlete who has surprising speed and has good hops with a 37-inch vertical, allowing him to battle for jump balls with receivers.

A true junior, Neal played limited snaps on defense in his freshman year, before exploding on to the scene in 2014 in his sophomore year.

The South Sumter product totaled 50 tackles and a forced fumble in eight starts last year, including a two interception performance against Kentucky in Week 3.

Sep 20, 2014; Tuscaloosa, AL, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide running back Derrick Henry (27) pushes away Florida Gators defensive back Keanu Neal (42) at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports

Along with Neal, Maye will be his backfield mate at safety.

Maye, the no. 5 rated recruit in 2012 by Rivals.com, is the smaller of the two safeties and should be named the starting free safety for the Gators.

At 6’0, 207 pounds, Maye is a natural athlete that has the quickness and speed to make him what I like to call a “jackknife safety,” a safety who can cover receivers from both the safety position and the slot corner position.

Besides being able to flash his 4.49 40-yard dash speed, Maye will definitely mix it up in the run defense and actually tallied more tackles than Neal.

Maye, a redshirt junior, had 62 tackles, five pass defenses and two forced fumbles in 2014 after playing sparingly in 2013.

Sep 13, 2014; Gainesville, FL, USA; Florida Gators defensive back Marcus Maye (20) works out prior to the game against the Kentucky Wildcats at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Under the guise of new defensive coordinator Geoff Collins, you can probably expect the unexpected when it comes to figuring out the Gators defense in 2015.

Collins has already described his own defense as relying on mayhem and confusion in order to force opposing offenses to make crucial mistakes.

This means that one linebacker can blitz off the edge of the defense on one play and in the very next play, another linebacker blitz can come off the other edge.

In last year’s Auburn vs Mississippi State game on Oct. 11, the very first two plays from scrimmage that Auburn had resulted in turnovers because of the pressure brought on QB Nick Marshall from blitzes.

Under this aggressive pursuit to bog down plays at the line of scrimmage, corner backs and safeties will be expected to cover receivers one-on-one or play in heavy doses of zone packages.

What you might also see is Maye and Neal playing lots of off-coverage and lining up sometimes almost 15 yards from the line of scrimmage.

You can see just how deep the safety is playing, so Collins figures to rely on his Gator safeties to play center field in the same fashion.

I expect Maye to hold his own a bit better when it comes to pass coverage, especially when he’s called on to cover slot receivers since he has played the third corner position before.

Neal, on the other hand, may be a bit more liable to mistakes in coverage, so it will be interesting to see how much Collins trusts Neal at the back of the defense.

In terms of the run defense, it doesn’t appear that much will be different, although I think Collins should be aggressive with them as well.

On this second and six play, notice how RB Roc Thomas moves closer to Marshall for a potentially easier hand-off running play.

The Bulldogs pull their OLB closer to the play to counter, rather than bringing a safety closer to the box.

The play results in Marshall faking a hand-off to the RB and running up the gut of the defense for a huge 26-yard gain.

Maybe Collins didn’t trust Kivon Coman and Jay Hughes to play effective run defense but he should at Florida, as Neal and Maye have proven that they can do it consistently.

Safety play may not always get the most shine on defense but it could very well be the key for a successful, aggressive Gators defense in 2015.

Next: Geoff Collins: Four Things to Know About the Gators Defensive Coordinator