David Reese ambled toward the football field with a nervous kink in his stride.
He couldn’t rid himself of the anxious jitters that clouded his mind as he entered Neyland Stadium. The Knoxville, Tennessee, dwelling would carry a special meaning for the Florida middle linebacker’s season as the first field in nearly a year on which he’d compete in an orange and blue Gators uniform.
Reese had hoped to make sooner acquaintance with his comfortable oasis, but a high-ankle sprain suffered late in Florida’s 2018 fall camp left the junior watching from the sidelines of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium as his team played its first three games of the season.
The discomfort in his ankle was a painful reminder of his unfortunate circumstances as he endured the anguish of not competing alongside his defensive counterparts.
“I was sad,” Reese said. “But then I really got to reflect on the position I was in and the leadership opportunity that I had to reach out to the other guys.”
Finding that silver lining in the adversity is the part of Reese’s character that his teammates treasure. It’s something that manifested itself in his sophomore year, and it’s something the Gators missed in his absence.
A Natural Leader
The typically reserved Reese turns into someone unlike his usual self when he’s on the field. He has no interest in mincing his words, second-guessing his instincts or fading into the background.
It seems natural that confidence pumps through his veins as if fueling him. His father, David Reese Sr., was a Division I lineman and high school football coach.
Reese always possessed the alpha mentality of a leader. He just needed the right time to realize it.
That moment came in 2017 just a week after Florida parted ways with then-head football coach Jim McElwain. All the turmoil that the team had undergone in the week leading up to a matchup with Missouri had made itself evident in the team’s lack of effort at Memorial Stadium.
Reese, then 19 years old, observed his teammates in the embarrassing 45-16 beating.
Amid the faces of defeat and self-pity, Reese went boldly to the media with a message for his team. One no one else would dare say.
This team cannot have another showing like the one it presented today, Reese contended.
Not as long as he’s around.
And from there, Reese gained notoriety as someone who won’t hesitate to hold other guys accountable.
“I just try to be a general. The linebackers are the quarterback of the defense,” he said. “I try to be vocal and make sure my guys are playing confident. If everybody is playing the wrong call, at least we’re moving fast and on the same stage.”
So when the news came that Reese was injured so close to the start of the season, the Gators knew they’d be without a backbone of their defense.
“He’s huge. He’s the voice behind us,” said defensive coordinator Todd Grantham. “He knows everything, he knows all his calls. He watches film, so what he says goes. He’s the leader pretty much of this defense.”
Something’s Missing
The Gators longed for toughness and physicality with the absence of Reese’s commanding presence.
There was no clearer indicator of that than in their Week 2 game against Kentucky. The Wildcats came to Gainesville with the hopes of putting to rest a 31-game winning streak in favor of Florida.
Defensive back Chauncey-Gardner Johnson had done his best to rally team spirit ahead of the rivalry game by making a declaration.
“It’s 31, right? It’ll be 32 after Saturday,” the junior matter-of-factly stated.
The premature promise was not what the Gators were looking for to fill the void left by Reese’s injury, and Gardner was forced to face those consequences in Florida’s 27-16 loss.
The Gators found it nearly impossible to stop Kentucky running back Benny Snell and quarterback Terry Wilson, who combined for 285 rushing yards.
“It was frustrating. But we put the best guys in there at the time,”’ Reese said. “Our guys played hard. We could have done better.”
Perhaps the Gators wouldn’t have missed 20 tackles or given up 454 yards had one of their leaders been on the field. But Reese will never know if the outcome of that game would be altered had he been out there to bring the tough presence that was missing.
“I think anytime you can add a physical presence that has leadership qualities to your team,” Grantham said. “I think, one, that position becomes better, but I think he makes other players around him better.”
Reese’s Return
Eager Volunteers fans hustled for the entrance with the excitement of 10-year-old children racing toward their treasures on Christmas Day.
None of them were more anxious than Reese, though, as he lined up awaiting the first Tennessee snap that would make his return to the game official.
Seconds passed and Tennessee quarterback Jarrett Guarantano handed the ball to running back Ty Chandler, who scampered through the hole opened up by his offensive line.
SLAM.
Chandler quickly found himself being whirled into the turf by Reese, who wasted no time to make his first tackle since 2017.
All the anxiety, the torment, the jitters ended with that first tackle.
But he wasn’t done there.
Reese leapt and caught a loose ball for a fumble recovery in that same series, thanks to a strip and sack of Guarantano by defensive end Jachai Polite.
And Reese needed just one game to prove that he was that piece the Gators were missing.
The team’s leading tackler from a year ago recorded a team-high 11 tackles to go along with that fumble recovery in his return.
“It felt good, got the little pregame jitters out,” he said. “It felt good to get back, get my feet wet. When I got that first tackle, I actually felt my ankle was going to be OK for this game and I’m going to be OK. I’m going to be solid to play.”
At the conclusion of the contest, the triumph clung to Reese’s 6-foot-1 frame in the form of tiny beads of perspiration. He missed that unmistakable feeling of basking in the glory of his success and knowing that he had a hand in propelling his team to the 47-21 victory.
“He led the team man. That speaks volumes. That speaks for itself,” defensive lineman CeCe Jefferson said.
Jefferson had competed for the first time of the season as well, contributing three tackles and 1.5 tackles-for-loss.
Only 260 yards have been gained on the ground against the Gators since the pair of veterans have been implemented back into the defense. And Jefferson was not hesitant to express his elation over Reese’s recovery.
“We’re definitely happy to have him back there calling the signals being the leader of that linebacker corps,” Jefferson said.
The linebacker will make his third start of the year on Saturday when Florida welcomes the LSU Tigers to the Swamp. And he’ll revel in the atmosphere of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium for the first time this year as Gators fans rejoice at his return home.
After all, his teammates already have.
“I love you Reese,” Jefferson said. “I’m glad you’re back.”
Follow Alanis Thames in Twitter @alanisthames or contact her at athames@alligator.org.
