Florida Gators Defensive End Competition

At the traditional defensive end position, Jonathan Bullard will likely get the start. Bullard, now a sophomore, played in every game as a freshman and started two of them. He was named to the SEC All-Freshman team, as he finished with 27 tackles, 5 of them for a loss and 1.5 sacks. In a game against Missouri, he had 3 tackles and 1.5 sacks. He only played in rotation last season, but with a chance to start, I expect a breakout season. He is a talented player against the rush and the pass, which means that he will likely play all three downs. If Bullard can provide consistent pass rush off of the edge, teams will start fearing the thing the Gators lacked last season, a pass rush.

Bryan Cox Jr. will be his backup. Cox did not see any action last season and ended up with a red shirt. Out of high school, he was ranked as a three star athlete. He is more of a run stuffing type than a pass rusher, but he does have some skill in that area. I expect him to see a fair amount of playing time as a rotational player, but there is no way that he jumps Bullock on the depth chart. '

At the Buck defensive end position, Dante Fowler Jr. will take the starting position. Like Bullard, Fowler started every game as a true freshman. He finished with 30 tackles, 2.5 sacks and 8 tackles for a loss. He got better as the season went on, as he garnered at least one tack for loss in four of his last five games. He has the ability to be a very dominant player, he is a bigger player, but he has a lot of pass rushing ability. Like Bullard, if he can proved consistent pass rush, the Gators defense will be better than it was last season, which is saying a lot, considering it was downright amazing last season.

Ronald Powell will be backing him up. Powell was injured last season and was the starting Buck before that. However, it seems as if Fowler was able to bump him from his starting position. Powell will still be starting at the strong side linebacker, but if Fowler gets injured he will slide back into the Buck position and take over the starting duties.

Bullard and Fowler provide good pass rushing potential to go along with solid run stopping ability. They are both only sophomores, therefore they have a lot of room and time to improve. Powell and Cox will both be good backups. Cox is young and inexperienced, but Powell provides veteran leadership and a lot of experience if Fowler goes down with an injury. If teams are worried about the pass rush coming off of the edge, teams will have to spend more time game planning for this defense than they normally would. With an added pass rush, this will be a very scary defense to play.