FILM ROOM: How dominant was Gators pass rusher Jonathan Greenard against Miami?

Talk about a comeback.

On September 1st, 2018, pass rusher Jonathan Greenard of Louisville broke his wrist against Alabama at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, FL.

358 days later, Greenard - now a Florida Gator - recorded 1.5 sacks and two tackles for loss in his first game action since the injury... on the same field. Greenard's performance firmly put him on the 2020 NFL Draft radar, earning attention from Bleacher Report's lead draft scout Matt Miller and Senior Bowl director Jim Nagy, among others.

Pro Football Focus gave Greenard the highest grade of any player on either team, given his seven quarterback pressures to go with his box score production.

The Gators had a fierce pass-rusher off the edge last night in Jonathan Greenard. pic.twitter.com/sf3RHFOpm8
— PFF College (@PFF_College) August 26, 2019

His 21.1% pass rush win rate, meaning he beat his block on one out of every five pass rush reps, displays just how elite his performance was. For reference, Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald - widely considered to be the best pass-rushing defensive lineman in the NFL - posted a 25.9% pass rush win rate in 2018.

Let's take a look at the tape to see exactly what Greenard did well against the Miami Hurricanes.

FILM ROOM

With incredible burst off of the line of scrimmage, times perfectly with the snap, Greenard’s pressure is what allows defensive tackle Adam Shuler and end Jabari Zuniga to split this second down sack.

Greenard flashes his ability to dip and bend from his inside shoulder to arc around the tackle, and gets in quarterback Jarren Williams’ drop-back lane before he can even turn around off of the play-action. Now, Greenard needs to focus on body control as he establishes contact with the quarterback or ball-carrier In order to create tackles of his own - an issue that came up throughout the game - but his initial pressure caused the big play for Florida’s defense.

Once again, Greenard’s burst out of his stands is shown off - it’s a special trait. On this rep, Greenard utilizes a dip-and-rip pass rush move, which combines his bending ability with hand technique through his arc.

Greenard clubs the tackle’s outside arm with his own, and proceeds to rip his inside arm through contact after knocking the tackle’s outside arm away on the club. That breaks any leverage the tackle had on Greenard’s shoulder, and clears the lane for Greenard to finish his arc and pursue.

On the previous play, I mentioned Greenard needing to work on controlling his body in pursuit, and while he misses the QB despite forcing pressure here, the tackle clearly held Greenard after the completion of his arc which threw the pass rusher off target.

With impressive power, Greenard can shake his arms loose from contact with a blocker. That shedding ability is a fantastic skill to pair with his burst, and makes it relatively easy to beat tackle’s within the first couple steps of his rush.

On the final drive of the game, Greenard helped cause a fumble with nose tackle Kyree Campbell. His bend didn't provide much with Williams quickly stepping up into his pocket, but Greenard utilized a spin that he flashed in the spring game as a recovery move to get back after the quarterback.

Greenard was a force for Florida's defense against Miami by all statistical accounts, demonstrating excellent and consistent burst off of the line, enough flexibility to bend through his initial burst and contact with the tackles, and hand technique to finish beating blocks and clear a path to the quarterback.

It was quite the comeback game for the graduate-transfer pass-rushing specialist, and Florida will depend on Greenard to continue producing at a high level throughout the 2019 season. Should he do so, expect his name to get called early in the 2020 NFL Draft.