Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Five Observations From Florida's 56-0 Victory Over Vanderbilt
An all-around shut-out, the No. 10 Florida Gators (8-2, 5-2 SEC) dismantled the visiting Vanderbilt Commodores (2-7, 1-5 SEC) at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium today by a score of 56-0.
Such a demanding lead allowed young players to earn valuable playing time, including the likes of defender Mohamoud Diabate, quarterback Emory Jones, and others.
Here are my five takeaways from the "contest".
Mohamoud Diabate's career day was promising for his future
A true freshman chess-piece defender is hard to come by, but the Gators found theirs.
True freshman linebacker Mohamoud Diabate had himself a career game against Vanderbilt, tallying three sacks and a forced fumble that defensive end Jonathan Greenard took 80 yards for a Gators touchdown. All three of Diabate's sacks came on third down (more on this later).
Diabate primarily played the BUCK edge rushing role and linebacker today, which allowed him to utilize his burst and speed to make an impact in the backfield. However, Florida has had little issue dropping the freshman back into coverage at linebacker, as well as the STAR nickel cornerback position.
That versatility is special, especially for a player of Diabate's experience. Look for Diabate to become a special contributor on Florida's defense for years to come.
Ethan White had a solid debut at right guard
Other than getting beat with power on an inside move in the first half, which led to a quarterback hit on Kyle Trask (it didn't matter, the ball was out and caught), true freshman right guard Ethan White enjoyed his debut start in orange and blue.
White held his own against a (borderline) SEC defensive line throughout the day, with solid push in his vertical power blocking. Other than the one play discussed above, there was no reason to say White's name during the game - that's a good thing when you play on the offensive line.
Starting right guard Brett Heggie missed the game with an injury, which led to White's first career start following Chris Bleich entering the transfer portal. Look for White to remain the team's sixth offensive lineman when Heggie returns, working towards a starting role in 2020.
Cornerback rotation was much needed
After nine games, the Gators finally made legitimate adjustments to their starting secondary.
Trey Dean III was benched from his typical starting role as the STAR nickel cornerback in favor of Marco Wilson, who slid to STAR from the boundary cornerback position. True freshman Kaiir Elam started outside as a part of the lineup shuffle.
Dean would rotate between outside cornerback and STAR during the day, and as a whole, the secondary looked much improved. Vanderbilt was held to only 77 passing yards on 21 attempts, good for a mere 3.6 yards per attempt. Elam and C.J. Henderson both broke up a pass.
This should be the starting lineup to finish the 2019 season, allowing Dean to get playing time at a more natural position and letting the physical Wilson to play a position where he can show that physicality off more often.
Kyle Trask had a productive, but far from perfect day
Completing 67.6% of your passes for 363 yards and three touchdowns will earn you plenty of praise, and Florida quarterback Kyle Trask deserves it where it's due.
But were also some issues in Trask's game as well. He threw two interceptions on the day, the first in which he missed a safety in the middle of the field - and threw a pass directly into his chest. On his second pick, Trask threw an early pass down the sideline to a well-guarded Van Jefferson near the endzone, which the cornerback broke up and a safety intercepted. Meanwhile, Josh Hammond was open running down the seam, Lamical Perine was a checkdown option, and Trask had nothing but field to work with should he have rolled right.
Trask was also inconsistent with a collapsing pocket, sometimes making good adjustments and stepping up to throw or escaping, but at times also failing to utilize space and in return getting hit. It was a good, not great day for Florida's starting QB.
Meanwhile, backup QB Emory Jones scored three rushing touchdowns, with five carries for 33 rushing yards. Jones also went 2/3 for 47 passing yards, including a beautiful 37 yard pass to wide receiver Jacob Copeland down the sideline late in the fourth quarter.
Third down defense drastically improved, but that was to be expected
Last week against the Bulldogs, the Gators defense allowed Jake Fromm and Co. to march their way to 12 of 18 third down conversions, a crucial stat that was a large part of why Florida dropped the game.
No such issues were present against Vanderbilt, as the Gators only allowed 3/15 conversions on third down. The team also tallied five sacks and two interceptions on third down, with Diabate recording three of the sacks.
Granted, this was against Vanderbilt and not a team like Georgia, but that amount of improvement is a really encouraging sign.
