Florida Gators Defensive Tackle Competition

Dominique Easley looks to be the starter at defensive tackle. Easley was a starter last season after bouncing back from a torn ACL and he played very well. He was the team leader in sacks with 4.0, he also added 26 tackles on the season. He is good at providing pass rushing pressure up the middle and he is good at stopping the run. I think he will add nice pressure up the middle, while complementing the ends providing pressure on the edges. His run stopping ability discourages a lot of teams from running inside, especially into him. He is adept at stopping running backs behind the line of scrimmage, which can put teams in a lot of second and long situations. He is an integral part of this defense and should have any amazing senior season.

Darious Cummings will likely be backing him up. Florida will be Cummings' third stop in his college career. He went to Florida State first, but had to transfer to community college, now he is at Florida, which will hopefully be his final stop. Cummings is very talented, he was ranked the number eight JUCO player in the nation. He definitely has the size to play, at 6-2 301 pounds. He should get a decent amount of playing time in the rotation. He will get a nice season of backup duty under his belt before he takes over the starting duties next season.

At Nose tackle, Damien Jacobs will be getting the start. Jacobs will be entering his second season in Florida after coming out as a JUCO player. He played defensive tackle last season, but he is making the move to nose tackle this season. He tallied 10 tackles and 2.5 sacks in limited action last year. I dont know how he will transition to nose tackle, but obviously the coaches think he can be productive at the position.

Leon Orr was supposed to start this season before Jacobs took his starting spot. Orr played well last season, in eight games he had 15 tackles, 5.5 for a loss and 1 sack. I expect him to fight tooth and nail, in order to gain his starting spot back. He is not a talented pass rusher, but is good at stopping the run behind the line of scrimmage.

Easley is the clear cut starter at defensive tackle, but the nose tackle position is a little more murky. I do not think Orr will earn back his starting spot, but he will hammer out a lot of playing time. I could even see him splitting time with Jacobs 40-60. Nose tackle might be one of the weaker positions on the team, but they have a lot of potential.