With Jon Bostic graduated and off to the NFL, the Gators need to find a suitable replacement. Antonio Morrison looks to fill the void after a very good freshman season. In only his second career game, he had six total tackles against Texas A&M. He finished his freshman season with 34 tackles, 2 for a loss and 1 forced fumble. He will look to continue his success as a starter this coming season. He will not be as good as as Bostic was, at least this season, but he is going to be a very good replacement. He is a balanced player, both good against the run and pass, which means he will be able to be on the field for all three downs. Morrison is only a sophomore so he has a lot of room to improve and he could be better than Bostic was before his time is up.
Michael Taylor is listed as the backup middle linebacker, but he has a decent shot at winning the weak side linebacker battle. However, if he does, if Morrison went down with an injury, he would move to middle linebacker, which is more of a natural fit for him. He finished last season with 32 tackles, 1.5 for a loss and 1 sack. That is a step down from the season before, but it is still pretty good for a backup linebacker. Taylor is not that good in pass coverage, but he is a good run stopper and would fill in nicely if Morrison went down with an injury.
I think Morrison will be a nice replacement for Bostic. There should not be that much of a drop off between this season and last season. Morrison is still young so he will have a lot of room for improvement. Taylor is going to be a good backup because he has experience and is very talented himself. The defense will still be top notch even without Bostic, who was the leader of the defense, because of the talents Morrison possesses and the potential he has.
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