Florida Gators position reevaluation: Front Seven

Before the season, I broke down every position group for the Gators. Five games in, let’s reevaluate and see how each has done.

A senior captain and two elite defensive ends. 

That highlights the Gators’ front seven. David Reese has been this defense’s foundation since the Miami game and honestly last season, and Jabari Zuniga and Jonathan Greenard are borderline unblockable. 

This front seven not only has the talent, but the chemistry to make this defense elite. The linebackers complement each other extremely well - here’s what each one is and does. 

David Reese: The leader and the tackler

The senior linebacker is the obvious leader of the entire defense. He does not do really anything at an elite level, but he is so reliable. He is the Josh Hammond of the defense in that regard. Just like you know Hammond won’t drop a pass, you know Reese won’t miss a tackle. 

Amari Burney: The athlete and the coverage guy 

With an LB group full of tacklers, Burney is the one guy that is excellent in coverage. He is excellent at sticking with quick tight ends and running backs. He makes defensive coordinator Todd Grantham’s life much easier when he wants to send those heavy blitz packages.

Ventrell Miller and James Houston: sideline-to-sideline speed  

These are your modern linebackers. Both have tremendous lateral speed and get wide very quickly. That’s huge for UF defending screens and short passes. While the Gators struggled with screens, especially early against Miami, it’s been much better as of late and these guys are a huge credit to that. 

The defensive line does not need much explaining. They are elite, we know this. 

Greenard and Zuniga have the ability to singlehandedly change football games. Against Auburn this week, I could see a strip-sack on freshman Bo Nix who runs himself into pressure quite often. 

During Zuniga’s injury, we have seen Jeremiah Moon play really solid football in his absence. Not many teams in college football have a backup defensive end as good as Moon. 

The front seven probably worries me the least of any group on the entire roster, specifically the defensive line. Those guys are special, no other way to put it.