Five players on defense for Florida Football who are not the problem in 2024

There are a lot of statistics that paint a grim picture for the defense for Florida Football. The Gators are 92nd in the country in points against per game, 113th in yards against per game, and 120th in 3rd down conversions against.

As we have pointed out, part of the problem is the overall scheme for Florida in combination with some genuine weak links in the unit. But fair is fair and not everyone has been a dumpster fire for Florida on defense.

It's with that in mind that these are five players on defense that haven't been the problem in 2024.

Jason Marshall

The single biggest problem for Jason Marshall in 2023 was that when he gave up a completion, it was usually for a massive gain. His 17 receptions against in 2023 was 47th best in the coutry, but his 24.2 yards per reception against was the 2nd worst in the country.

Fast forward a year, and the five receptions against are 5th best in the country among corners with at least 100 snaps in pass coverage. Also important, his 8.4 yards per reception against is 35th best in the country.

Tyreak Sapp

There are two different ways to look at the metrics for Tyreak Sapp. His overall metrics paint a middle-of-the-road pass rusher with an 8.5% win rate on his pass rush attempts.

But considering that Sapp has eight total QB pressures compared to the four from George Gumbs, despite the fact that Sapp has taken 44 fewer snaps than Gumbs, we wouldn't mind seeing their snap counts flipped moving forward.

Pup Howard

We hyped up Pup Howard from South Carolina quite a bit in the offseason, and he is one of the few Gators not to disappoint in 2024. With Shemar James still not at the level he was in 2023, which part of that is he is being asked to blitz in more often in 2024 than he did in 2023, Howard has been been flying around to the ball carriers and has 15 tackles on the season with just one missed tackle.

Trikweze Bridges

Safety play for Florida has been a trainwreck this season. Part of it is that they have been asked to play a gazillion yards off the line of scrimmage, but part of it is the fact that Jordan Castell and DJ Douglas seem unwilling to make a tackle in 2024.

Trikweze Bridges is far from perfect after transferring in from Oregon, but he at least seems willing to come down and make a tackle. If we had our way, keep Castell as a single high safety and let Bridges come into the box and at least try to make a play.

Jaden Robinson

Somewhat overshadowed by Pup Howard and our assumption that Shemar James will return to form, Jaden Robinson has quietly put together a solid campaign in rotation at linebacker.

Like Howard, Robinson has 15 tackles in 108 total snaps. He also has zero missed tackles and has only been targeted in pass coverage once.