Don’t be careless with the football when Loucheiz Purifoy is coming after you.
Purifoy targets “violators.” Arkansas quarterback Brandon Allen was simply the latest.
The Pensacola native forced two critical turnovers — including his first career interception — in Florida’s 30-10 victory on Saturday night in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.
“It’s a big game, just have to make big plays,” Purifoy said. “That’s how they look at it. They always say big players come out when the lights come on.”
The Gators’ victory against the Razorbacks was a return to form for Purifoy, who has struggled with both consistency and injury this season. Before Saturday, his blocked punt against Miami on Sept. 7 was one of few highlights for the junior through three games.
“I just take it one game at a time,” Purifoy said of his unremarkable start to the season. “I knew sooner or later, the teams we are playing, they’re going to start coming my way, so just got to make plays.”
Purifoy’s loss in the box score has been Vernon Hargreaves III’s gain.
The freshman has recorded three interceptions through Florida’s first five games. Hargreaves proved his worth, so the opposition is now forced to pick its poison — Hargreaves or Purifoy.
“We seem to all say he’s not playing good,” coach Will Muschamp said. “He hasn’t had a lot of balls thrown his way this year. A little bit of that is how many opportunities you’ve had.”
Defensive back Cody Riggs added: “People don’t throw at him because they don’t want the ball to get intercepted. You see what happened when they threw at him.”
Purifoy didn’t wait for Arkansas to throw the ball at him to make a play on Saturday.
Everyone watching the Gators and the Razorbacks saw Purifoy invade the backfield. Well, everyone except Allen. Blitzing from the blind side without a blocker in sight, Purifoy sacked Allen from behind, knocking the football loose for his first forced fumble since Florida’s 37-26 win against Florida State last November in Tallahassee.
“When I seen he still had the ball in his hand, my eyes got big,” Purifoy said. “I knew if I got to him with the ball in his hands I’m going to get it out. It’s just what we talk about: Get the ball out.”
One quarter later, the ball-hawking junior finally forced a new kind of turnover. Shortly after Florida cut the Arkansas lead to four, Purifoy picked off Allen and returned it 42 yards for a touchdown, giving Florida the lead for good.
“I’ve seen that play a lot. I haven’t seen him finish that play. I’ve seen him be in that position,” Muschamp said. “To finish on that play, to create some momentum, to get that crowd going — the top came off the place when it happened.”
Senior defensive back Jaylen Watkins added: “The interception definitely was what we needed at the time.”
Purifoy earned some of the loudest cheers in The Swamp last season. One game-changing play after another put the playmaker on the map.
In a cornerback blitz similar to his strip and sack of Allen on Saturday, Purifoy set the tone in Florida’s 44-11 win against South Carolina by doing the exact same thing to Gamecocks quarterback Connor Shaw on the game’s first play from scrimmage.
Three weeks later, he blocked a punt against Louisiana that former Gator Jelani Jenkins caught and ran into the end zone for the game-winning touchdown in a 27-20 victory.
With Marcus Roberson still nursing a sprained left knee that has sidelined him for three straight games and Hargreaves still coming into his own, UF needs Purifoy to perform.
On Saturday, the junior delivered. Moving forward, the Gators expect even more.
“He knew he had to fill a void,” Watkins said. “He knew the last few weeks that he needed to step up. He did that today. He definitely came to play today.”
Follow Joe Morgan on Twitter @joe_morgan.
Loucheiz Purifoy returns an interception 42 yards for a touchdown during Florida’s 30-10 victory against Arkansas on Saturday in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Florida forced two turnovers during the game.
