No. 25 Florida looks to continue defensive turnaround when it hosts Charlotte in the Swamp

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — The most surprising part of Florida’s suddenly surprising season has been its defense.

The No. 25 Gators (2-1) have been downright stout on that side of the ball, giving up less than 16 points a game through an early season schedule that included two ranked teams. Florida leads the Southeastern Conference and ranks 10th nationally in total defense.

New coordinator Austin Armstrong, a 30-year-old whiz kid who’s sure to show up on head-coaching radars, has plenty to do with the turnaround. So does improved depth, better front-line talent and being in the same scheme for a second year.

The combination has Florida feeling confident that this season could be considerably more successful than preseason pundits predicted. The Gators, picked to finish fifth in the SEC's Eastern Division, hope to keep it rolling when they host Charlotte (1-2) in the Swamp on Saturday night.

“Armstrong just really trusts his players,” edge rusher Princely Umanmielen said. "He tells us all the time, 'Good players make good defenses.'"

After ranking among the best defenses in the country for a dozen years (2008-19), Florida dipped dramatically the last three years. They were 83rd in total defense in 2020, 51st in 2021 and 97th last year.

Coach Billy Napier responded by overhauling much of his roster, and he hasn’t hesitated to move younger guys into starting roles. The result: a unit with no seniors has no preconceived notions about what it can or can’t do in 2023.

“One of the things we benefitted from is we have more competition,” Napier said. "Almost every position group we have, every week there’s competition relative to who’s going to play and what the ratio of plays basically will be.

“And you can’t fool players. They’re much like the coaches. They’re watching, they’re evaluating, they’re in the film room. They know who the better players are. So there’s a certain level of integrity there. … It benefits the overall culture of the team.”

Armstrong has received much of the praise, partly because his guys love playing for him.

“He’s like a best friend off the field,” defensive back Devin Moore said. “When you got a coach that you can connect to off the field, I would say vibe with, we’re going to play that much harder for a coach that you can really connect to.”

Added Umanmielen: “He’s young, more relatable to us. … I never hear him saying anything negative to us. The whole game he makes sure the only thing coming out of his mouth is positivity.”

SUSPENSIONS, INJURIES

The Gators will be without three starting offensive linemen. The SEC suspended tackle Damieon George and guard Micah Mazzccua for the first half for throwing punches at the end of the Tennessee game. And center Kingsley Eguakun (ankle) was ruled out after aggravating a previous ankle injury.

JONES RETURNS

Charlotte quarterback Jalon Jones is returning to where he began his college career. Jones signed with Florida in 2019 and was accused of sexual battery twice in a 30-minute window after a few months on campus. No charges were filed.

He transferred to Jackson State, where he played one season before moving on to Mississippi Delta Community College and then Bethune-Cookman. He’s now splitting time with Trexler Ivey. Jones leads the team with 196 yards rushing.

FLORIDA PRAISED

Napier’s main concern this week has been how his team would handle success. The Gators upset then-No. 11 Tennessee last Saturday and got ranked for the first time in nearly a year. Players and coaches were overrun with congratulatory texts, and Napier wasn’t pleased with how they responded.

“You got to hit the reset button,” Napier said. “You got to start over. ... When we allow the past maybe to affect us, that’s not what we want. We want a certain consistency here, a culture of competition and ‘We can do better.’”

CHARLOTTE POUNDED

The 49ers have been “getting pounded” following first-year coach Biff Poggi’s post-game comments last week. Poggi ripped his assistants after Charlotte allowed 568 yards to Georgia State. He vowed to grade coaches “more strictly” and put them “on a much tighter leash.”

“We’re getting pounded from the outside. I’m getting pounded and I should be,” Poggi said. “But we’ve kind of circled the wagons, and we believe in ourselves.”

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AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll