Florida Football: Gervon Dexter is set up to have monster season

Gators DL Gervon Dexter should have a monstrous 2022 season

The Florida football program has a stud in the making, and we should all expect him to break out in 2022.  His name is Gervon Dexter, or “The Gorilla”, as many of you know.  The reason I wanted to write this article, is while he gets plenty of attention from Gators fans, it seems he is still going slightly under the radar nationally.  His statistics leave a bit to be desired at times, as many people only look at sacks and tackles, then move on and disregard anyone who doesn’t have elite numbers in either.  Dexter brings something to the field that is not necessarily quantified in stat sheets, as he has what NBA fans call “player gravity”.  This is when a player requires attention from opposing players, where that one player will draw in so many defenders that it creates almost a gravitational look.

This is what Gervon brings to Florida football, gravity.  He takes on double teams rather often and requires offensive linemen to get in front of him at all times.  Otherwise?  He is going to wreak havoc in the backfield.  In fact, according to PFF (a somewhat flawed system, but shows relative success at least), he was the #2 graded DT in pass-rushing for the early portion of the 2021 season.

A 6’5″ 303-pound man up the middle is something QBs dread, especially when they have the hand movement that Gervon has.  One of the scariest parts of his game is that he can go from being fully engaged to an offensive lineman to completely removed and tackling a ballcarrier in the gap.  His hand control and raw upper body strength allow him to just tear through the offensive line at times, and close gaps with ease.  Here is a good example of such a play:

The main reason why Gervon should breakout is a bigger role in the defense, however.  With Zachary Carter going to the Cincinnati Bengals in the 2022 NFL Draft, as well as DTs Tyrone Truesdell and Antonio Valentino being signed in UDFA, he should be expected to be “that guy” on the defensive line.  He has also stated that he expects a larger role this year due to that fact, as he said:

"“So that’s been the thing for me like with Zach Carter and a lot of the older guys leaving it’s like, each year, I have to step into a bigger role. And so now this year, all eyes on me and as the D-line leader, so that’s just been a thing where I’m the older guy that the younger guys look to now. So it’s time for me to lead.”"

Dexter did improve from 2020 to 2021 however for sure, here are the increases in each statistic recorded just to show this:

• 13 games played (+3 from 2020)
• 50 total tackles, 30 assisted, 20 solo (+30, +15, +15 respectively)
• 4.5 TFL, 2.5 sacks, 2 fumble recoveries (+2.5, +2, +2 respectively)

So, we should expect this jump to happen again, and potentially even more of a gap from 2021 to 2022 comparatively.  Regardless, 2022 should most definitely be a monster year for Gervon Dexter, and we should expect him to be on breakout watch for the season.