March only DT standout

[TheTodd]

It’s a matter of days before Dan McCarney steps into The Swamp for his first game as Florida’s defensive line coach. He is well aware that great defense is the standard at Florida and what happened last year is considered unacceptable. Last season, the Gators ranked 41st nationally in total defense, allowing 361.8 yards per game and 37 touchdowns. To improve on those numbers, McCarney has a solid nucleus of talent to work with and while he seems relatively pleased about where they are at this point, he knows there is still work to do.

It all starts up front and the middle proved to be a void for the Florida defense last year. There was no push in the middle of the line. Eight games into the season, true freshman Mike Pouncey jumped over from the offensive line and put forth his best effort, which gave the young, inexperienced Gators defensive unit a real burst of energy. It’s a new season and Pouncey is back on the more familiar offensive line along with twin brother Maurkice, where he has been challenging his former mates on the D-line to improve every day.

Thanks to a very solid offensive line, McCarney’s defensive line is indeed getting better and the one player that has been most impressive is third year sophomore tackle Lawrence Marsh, who is close to earning the starting nod at the nose.

“(Lawrence) Marsh is our starter right now --- definitely our starter,” he said. “He’s got ten or eleven more days to solidify that before that first game. He’s been the most consistent and if we were starting tomorrow, Marsh would be our starting nose guard.”

There are no other defensive tackles who have established themselves as a starter. At this point it appears doubtful that one guy will step up and take over the position, but that might work itself out in the future. The positive is that the effort is there.

“We’re rolling guys in there right now,” McCarney said. “It’s been (Terron) Sanders; it’s been Jaye Howard; Javier (Estopinan) has been doing a real good job and improving. (Matt) Patchan is the only guy who hasn’t practiced. He still hasn’t practiced yet and he was our starter coming out of spring ball. Everybody else is back in the mix. Earl Okine has been sick with a bad fever and he hasn’t practiced in a few days. But, as far as all of those few guys who have missed practice the only one who still hasn’t come back is Patchan.”

Patchan is working his way back after getting shot in the shoulder in a Tampa park and then suffering a partial tear of a pectoral muscle. The Gators haven’t pushed Patchan to get back on the field too fast but have maintained a steady build-up to get him ready.

“I think that we’ve been real smart about his rehab,” said McCarney. “They’re basing a lot on what he does in the weight room and he’s getting his strength back. I’d much rather be a little conservative right now and slow in bringing him back and have him for the season, rather than brining him back too soon and losing him for six or eight weeks. But, he’s staying in great shape. He’s working out, but we just don’t get him into anything live at all.”

True freshman Omar Hunter came in with all of the accolades, but has struggled with a back injury, which has caused him to gain some weight. He is slowly getting back to full speed. The staff is proceeding cautiously.

“He’s (Hunter) had two practices,” McCarney stated. “Strong, tough, but it’s hard to say. Is he going to be ready in eleven days to go on the field and play winning football? I don’t know, because it’s not much of an evaluation. But, he’s in the right place. He’ll play at Florida --- whether it’s this year or this game or not, I don’t know? And that’s a two-day evaluation. But, we’re throwing him into the mix and we’re trying to get him some work.”

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I suppose that it could be said that defensive end Jermaine Cunningham suffered through a sophomore slump --- if you choose to believe in that sort of thing. Much more was expected of the Stone Mountain, Georgia native. He finished with 12.5 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks per game but Coach Urban Meyer and McCarney both indicated he should have had more production.

“We want him to use his hands more,” McCarney said. “He was a solid player last year. Jermaine Cunningham needs to be more than solid. He was solid for twelve games. I’m not buying solid in 2008 and I don’t think he is either. Our expectations are that he’s a lot better player than average and solid, which is what he was last year. That’s not good enough. He needs to be a better player. He needs to make more game changing plays- sacks, tipped passes, disrupts, lay downs at the quarterback, forced fumbles, recovered fumbles, maybe score --- all of those things. It’s not some dream. He needs to do those things and be that kind of player for us. I think by using his hands, going against a really outstanding offensive line everyday in practice sure helps him become a better pass rusher everyday. And he really has improved. He’s gotten a lot better.”

Cunningham is the clear number one at the position but he’s got some healthy competition behind him.

“Cunningham will be the starter, but (Duke) Lemmens and (William) Green will play,” he said. “I’d like to roll three guys in that position. Unlike last year when guys were on the field too long for too many snaps we’re going to roll with more guys. I made up my mind a long time ago and I think the guys have bought into that and they’ve proven that they deserve more playing time.”

Green, a true freshman, has demonstrated the quickness, speed, and effort that McCarney is looking for in his players. He was the first to lose the stripe on his helmet and has impressed his teammates with his talk on the field and crazy sense of humor.

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We also learned that former Gainesville High star Earl Okine will not be playing anytime soon. Okine reports on his Facebook site that he has mononucleosis.