On one side stood Jayden Daniels; on the other stood Florida’s defense.
The Louisiana State quarterback, standing at 6-foot-4, looked over the Gators’ defense with poise. The floodlights at Tiger Stadium illuminated the Louisiana night sky as Daniels readied for the play to unfold.
At the blink of an eye, he quickly broke free, bursting down the center of the field as the defensive line parted.
The Heisman winner gracefully avoided Florida tacklers and outran the Gators’ defense into the end zone to seal LSU’s 52-35 win against UF Nov. 11, 2023.
That was two seasons ago.
Since then, the Gators have made strides toward improving their ability to contain mobile quarterbacks, but the issue has occasionally occurred. As Florida prepares to face Long Island on Saturday, tackling and swarming the quarterback has become a point of emphasis throughout the Gators’ practices.
“At the top of the list in terms of the challenges this week is the quarterback run element,” head coach Billy Napier said Wednesday. “These guys put two quarterbacks out there, so [there’s] unique personnel groupings.”
The Sharks have an unorthodox approach to the signal calling position. Long Island uses redshirt juniors Ethan Greenwood and Luca Stanzani at quarterback. The tandem shared snaps throughout the 2024 season, with Greenwood dominating the snap count toward the tail end of the year.
He finished the season with 921 passing yards and 915 yards on the ground. Stanzani was outpaced by Greenwood, logging 728 passing yards and 174 rushing yards.
Factoring in Florida’s past troubles containing mobile quarterbacks, Greenwood could impose a significant threat to UF’s defense.
“He’s good in making things happen, so we’re gonna need to try to keep him in the pocket and rush as a unit,” Napier said. “When he does break, we have to do a good job getting him on the ground.”
Over the past week, the Gators have placed extreme emphasis on tackling and “wrapping up” ball carriers, which is the preliminary action tacklers make when initiating contact with a ball carrier. Tacklers will wrap their arms around the legs of the offensive player, which is followed by a squeeze and roll, ensuring the ball carrier falls to the ground.
According to Napier, it often is the “No. 1” thing prone to mistakes at the beginning stages of the season.
Florida and most NCAA teams avoid tackling teammates at game speed during practices leading up to the season. The Gators incorporate tackling in practices three times in the spring and twice in the fall.
“We did an additional circuit today, specifically on tackling,” Napier said Wednesday. “The approach is key, the posture, the stagger, where your eyes are at, and then obviously the finish is a huge part of it.”
Florida junior defensive back Sharif Denson is one of the more talented tacklers on Florida’s roster, finishing fourth in tackles among UF defensive backs in 2024 with 36. Denson also added two sacks, two pass deflections and an interception.
“We have to tackle,” Denson said on Wednesday. “It’s huge because all the other teams that we play are definitely gonna be watching whatever film we put out. So, if we put out bad tackling film, then they're probably going to do a lot of perimeter plays.”
Along with forcing turnovers, tackling is one of the main priorities Denson and Florida defenders are emphasizing heading into the season opener. Napier said Florida’s goal this season is to have a “championship-caliber” defense.
Florida’s head coach led some of the top defenses in college football during his tenure at Louisiana. In his final three seasons, the Rajun’ Cajuns ranked No. 19, No. 31 and No. 11 from 2019-2021.
Meanwhile, his Gator defenses have ranked No. 87, No. 78 and No. 44 from 2022 to 2024.
“We are on a mission here to play championship-caliber defense,” Napier said Aug. 18 at a press conference. “It's one of the things that we have failed to establish here since I've been the head coach.”
Florida will get the opportunity to kick off its quest for a championship-caliber defense against the Sharks at 7 p.m. Saturday. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
Contact Luke Adragna at ladragna@alligator.org. Follow him on X @lukeadrag.
Luke Adragna is working his fifth semester at The Alligator and returns as the Summer 2025 assistant sports editor. In his free time, he enjoys hanging out with his cat Pete and researching niche professional athletes (shoutout Jacquizz Rodgers).
