Florida Gators Football: Grading Each Position From 2016 Season

Defensive Line: C

Don’t let the overall stats fool you, this has been a very disappointing group  Outside of the first three games against weak opponents, this group has allowed 158 rushing yards per game over the last 10 games.

Time and time again, Florida has seemed to struggle to stop the running game, and played very poorly in big games. While it’s well-known that Florida has gone through more than their fair share of injuries in the front seven, that doesn’t warrant the drop-off that they had this season.

This is the position group where Florida needs to improve as far as recruiting. Not only to have capable starters—which they had this year—but to also have some depth in case of injuries.

Linebackers: B

This group has been solid this season. Nothing spectacular, but they held their own when facing adversity. Despite losing Jarrad Davis and Alex Anzalone for several weeks, David Reese, Vosean Joseph, and Kylan Johnson all stepped up in their absence.

Davis and Anzalone were the true leaders of the defense. They led in many ways, whether it was making plays or making sure everyone else were doing their assignments to the best of their ability.

The issue this position group will face next year is losing the veteran leadership that they had this year.

Both Davis and Daniel McMillan are seniors and going pro. Alex Anzalone is skipping his senior season to play in the NFL, as well. So the aforementioned freshman linebackers will have to step up in a bigger role next year as sophomores.