Florida football: Pre-Season Gators’ defensive depth chart

COLUMBIA, SC - NOVEMBER 11: Defensive lineman Jabari Zuniga #92 and defensive lineman Khairi Clark #54 of the Florida Gators sack Jake Bentley #19 of the South Carolina Gamecocks during their game at Williams-Brice Stadium on November 11, 2017 in Columbia, South Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
COLUMBIA, SC - NOVEMBER 11: Defensive lineman Jabari Zuniga #92 and defensive lineman Khairi Clark #54 of the Florida Gators sack Jake Bentley #19 of the South Carolina Gamecocks during their game at Williams-Brice Stadium on November 11, 2017 in Columbia, South Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /
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ATLANTA, GEORGIA – DECEMBER 29: Shea Patterson #2 of the Michigan Wolverines is sacked by Amari Burney #30 of the Florida Gators in the third quarter during the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on December 29, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GEORGIA – DECEMBER 29: Shea Patterson #2 of the Michigan Wolverines is sacked by Amari Burney #30 of the Florida Gators in the third quarter during the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on December 29, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

STAR

This happens to be the most interesting position on the field for Florida football.

Chauncey Gardner Johnson truly dominated in 2018, thanks to Grantham’s scheme; however, since then, things haven’t been the same.

The Gators have witnessed many well-equipped, talented players struggle here.

For example, Trey Dean is an outstanding defender that would start on most power five schools, but he couldn’t quite piece together what it took to be successful at STAR.

And he would admit that.

After Dean’s struggles, Marco Wilson stepped in and performed steadily, but Grantham is still seeking the true playmaker that the position needs.

Amari Burney is a strong candidate to take on the role.

It will be near impossible to keep Burney off of the field after seeing his ability to play multiple positions thanks to his size at 6’2, 224 pounds.

It also helps that he ran a 4.48 40 yard dash time in high school. And I’m sure his speed has advanced since.

It’s obvious that he’s a versatile defender that has all of the physical and mental tools to succeed where many others come up short.

However, if things don’t go as planned, I believe that we can expect to see a conservative move from the coaching staff, placing Marco Wilson at STAR and moving Trey Dean to the outside.

Projection

1- Amari Burney

2- Marco Wilson

3- Trey Dean