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Here are five Florida Gators who are in the spotlight, and on the spot, to perform this week against No. 20 Tennessee.
Lagonza Hayward
Hayward has had a solid start to his career in Gainesville, registering his first sack last week against Ole Miss. The problem for Hayward hasn’t been his production on the field; it’s been his ability to even get on the turf. The defensive depth has kept several high-ranking freshmen off the field for Florida, but Lagonza has been slowly carving out his time. With several DBs still out on the team, Hayward should be in line to keep making himself known on the defense.
TJ Abrams
Abrams is coming off probably his best game so far at Florida. 3 catches for 76 yards, with the longest being a 47-yard deep ball. Much like the defensive back’s room, the Gators’ receivers have been beaten and battered. After last week, when Abrams saw eight targets, I would assume he will have a big role in the Tennessee game. Especially since Tennessee has allowed more passing yards than any team in the SEC.
Jake Slaughter
The offensive line for Florida has finally started to find its groove after a rocky season. They allowed 3 sacks in the last four games after allowing 12 sacks in the first 6 games. The Tennessee defense has registered 33 sacks so far this season, so the offensive line is going to need to bring its A game. I assume he is ok, but Austin Barber did go down for a play last game, so the guys might have to pick up a little slack. Most of the sacks for Tennessee come from the interior line, so Slaughter is going to be on full display.
Cormani McClain
Cormani has been a workhorse for the Gators so far this season, playing in every game besides Mississippi State and totaling over 450 snaps. He has been one of Florida’s best defenders in man coverage this season, which is exactly what UF needs in this matchup. The Volunteers have one of the best passing games, not just in the SEC but in the country, with the 4th most passing yards in DI football. It doesn’t matter that UF is 3-7 right now; UT is coming into this game knowing the history and wants to destroy Florida.
Jayden Woods
Even though the Rebels would eventually get the win, Jayden Woods had his biggest and probably most impactful play as a Gator so far. Florida looked like they were just going to roll over the first four drives of the game, with two punts and two Ole Miss scores. Then Florida scored a touchdown, and on the first Ole Miss play, Woods picked off Trinidad Chambliss and took it back to the Ole Miss five-yard line. The true freshman has shown he is a playmaker, and with a ranked Tennessee coming into town, which hasn’t won in Gainesville since 2003, Florida will need playmakers to hold them off.
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