Latest / A Peek Inside Gators Football: A Show About the Florida Gators / Gators Football: HOW THE HECK Did This Happen? 🤔

Transcript

Gators Football: HOW THE HECK Did This Happen? 🤔 · A Peek Inside Gators Football: A Show About the Florida Gators

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Welcome back to A Peek Inside Gator Football. Allie Peek here.
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: This video is presented by PrizePix, where all new users
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: can download the app, play a $ 5 lineup, and use
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: our code. It's 8 to May. If you win, you'll
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: get $ 150 in lineups instantly. We appreciate PrizePix for all
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: their support. Okay, so I don't know about you guys,
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: but watching Florida's defense against Texas, I found myself asking
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: the same question over and over and over again. And
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: it's essentially... Where in the world has this defense been? Seriously?
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: Because for the better part of the first six games,
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: Florida's defense has been one of the bigger disappointments surrounding
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: this football program. It wasn't just the Missouri game where
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: the Gators gave up 560 yards and 45 points. And
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: it wasn't just South Carolina where Lenora Sellers accounted for
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: five touchdowns and the Gamecocks put up 38 points. Even
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: when Florida was winning games earlier in the season, there
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: were some pretty significant warning signs defensively. Tackling wasn't good enough.
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: The secondary was giving up too many big plays. The
• 1:04
  Speaker 1: pass rush was inconsistent. And perhaps most concerning, there were
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: too many occasions where guys simply weren't executing their assignments.
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: And then Florida goes into Austin against the seventh-ranked team
• 1:17
  Speaker 1: in the country, and suddenly we see a completely different defense?
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: Five sacks! Texas held a 272 total yards, just 99
• 1:26
  Speaker 1: rushing yards, only 13 first downs. And perhaps the most
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: impressive statistic of all, the Longhorns converted just two of
• 1:35
  Speaker 1: their 10 third down opportunities. This was a Florida defense
• 1:40
  Speaker 1: that had struggled to get off the field for weeks.
• 1:43
  Speaker 1: Against South Carolina, the Gamecocks converted 10 of 16 third downs.
• 1:47
  Speaker 1: Against Texas, two. That is an enormous difference. And with
• 1:51
  Speaker 1: the game on the line, it was the defense that
• 1:53
  Speaker 1: delivered the final blow, forcing Arch Manning's fumble, which secured
• 1:58
  Speaker 1: that 27-24 victory. So what changed? Was it Brad White's
• 2:03
  Speaker 1: play calling? Was it John Sumrall getting more involved in
• 2:06
  Speaker 1: the defense? Or was it simply players finally executing the
• 2:10
  Speaker 1: way they're supposed to? I think the answer is a
• 2:13
  Speaker 1: combination of all three. But after listening to what Summerall
• 2:15
  Speaker 1: said before and after the Texas game, I think there
• 2:18
  Speaker 1: is a much bigger story here about accountability, coaching adjustments,
• 2:22
  Speaker 1: and the difference between knowing what you're supposed to do
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: and actually doing it. Let's go back to last Monday.
• 2:29
  Speaker 1: Florida was coming off that embarrassing loss to South Carolina,
• 2:32
  Speaker 1: and John Summerall was clearly frustrated. But what stood out
• 2:35
  Speaker 1: to me during his press conference wasn't just that he
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: was frustrated. It was how specific he was about what
• 2:41
  Speaker 1: needed to change. He explained that he'd had an increased
• 2:45
  Speaker 1: involvement with the defense that week, and he went into
• 2:47
  Speaker 1: the defensive meeting room and showed the players approximately 15
• 2:52
  Speaker 1: plays from the South Carolina game. He wasn't showing them
• 2:55
  Speaker 1: missed tackles or big gains. He was pointing out individual
• 2:58
  Speaker 1: decisions that were costing Florida opportunities to make plays. He
• 3:02
  Speaker 1: gave an example involving a pressure where a defender didn't
• 3:06
  Speaker 1: execute his blitz properly. Had the player done what he
• 3:11
  Speaker 1: was coached to do, done his blitz responsibility, some all
• 3:15
  Speaker 1: believe Florida would have had a sack. Instead, the opportunity disappeared.
• 3:19
  Speaker 1: He also talked about a third and 17 situation where
• 3:22
  Speaker 1: Florida jumped off sides. So now it's third and 12.
• 3:25
  Speaker 1: The coaching staff wanted to change the defensive call, but
• 3:30
  Speaker 1: some of the players weren't even looking back to the
• 3:32
  Speaker 1: sideline to get the adjustment. And I think that example
• 3:36
  Speaker 1: tells you an awful lot about what's wrong with this defense.
• 3:39
  Speaker 1: It's not necessarily a talent problem. It's not necessarily a
• 3:43
  Speaker 1: scheme problem. They have an execution problem. You can have
• 3:48
  Speaker 1: the perfect defensive call, but if your players aren't communicating,
• 3:51
  Speaker 1: they aren't lined up correctly, and they aren't executing their responsibilities,
• 3:55
  Speaker 1: it doesn't matter what Brad White calls. And Summerall understands that.
• 3:59
  Speaker 1: He also acknowledged that coaches have a responsibility to make
• 4:02
  Speaker 1: sure the players are being taught properly. So this wasn't
• 4:05
  Speaker 1: simply the head coach pointing fingers at his players. It
• 4:08
  Speaker 1: was about getting everybody on the same page. And I
• 4:10
  Speaker 1: think that was the first step towards what we saw
• 4:12
  Speaker 1: against Texas. And now here's where I think the story
• 4:15
  Speaker 1: gets particularly interesting. There was a lot of talk after
• 4:18
  Speaker 1: the South Carolina loss about whether Summerall needed to take
• 4:20
  Speaker 1: control of the defense away from Brad White. And Summerall
• 4:23
  Speaker 1: made it very clear that that wasn't going to happen.
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: He had a history with White. They'd worked together at Kentucky.
• 4:29
  Speaker 1: They'd helped produce some pretty successful defenses. He believes in
• 4:33
  Speaker 1: his defensive coordinator. But there is a bigger difference between
• 4:37
  Speaker 1: trusting your coordinator and allowing things to continue when they're
• 4:42
  Speaker 1: clearly not working. And Summerall isn't willing to do that.
• 4:45
  Speaker 1: In fact, after the Texas game, he revealed some of
• 4:48
  Speaker 1: the specific things he had asked White and the defensive
• 4:51
  Speaker 1: staff to change. First, the cornerbacks. Florida's secondary has been
• 4:55
  Speaker 1: a problem all season. And one of the issues was
• 4:57
  Speaker 1: how the corners were aligned before the snap. Summerall explained
• 5:00
  Speaker 1: that he had the coaching staff give the corners three
• 5:03
  Speaker 1: distinct signals governing how they should play coverage. One for
• 5:07
  Speaker 1: press coverage, another for pressing and then playing off at
• 5:10
  Speaker 1: a designated depth, and then third for playing off from
• 5:14
  Speaker 1: the beginning. Now that might sound like it's not some
• 5:18
  Speaker 1: kind of revolutionary defensive adjustment, but think about what he's
• 5:21
  Speaker 1: actually doing. He is taking some of the decision-making away
• 5:25
  Speaker 1: from young DBs who have struggled to consistently recognize situations
• 5:29
  Speaker 1: and then execute their assignments. Instead of hoping a quarterback
• 5:33
  Speaker 1: understands exactly how much cushion he's supposed to give based
• 5:36
  Speaker 1: on the defensive call and the down and distance, the
• 5:39
  Speaker 1: coaching staff is telling him every single play, here's how
• 5:42
  Speaker 1: we want you to line up. Here's where we want
• 5:44
  Speaker 1: you to be. Now go execute. That's important because I
• 5:47
  Speaker 1: think sometimes coaching isn't about making your defense more complicated.
• 5:52
  Speaker 1: Sometimes it's about making things easier for the players so
• 5:55
  Speaker 1: they can stop thinking so much and start playing football.
• 5:59
  Speaker 1: Against Texas, I thought Florida's corners looked more confident. They
• 6:02
  Speaker 1: were more aggressive. They weren't playing nearly as tentatively as
• 6:05
  Speaker 1: we'd seen in previous games. Now, was every coverage perfect?
• 6:08
  Speaker 1: Absolutely not. But the mentality looked different, and that wasn't
• 6:12
  Speaker 1: an accident. The other adjustment Summerall specifically discussed involved the
• 6:16
  Speaker 1: pass rush. He said he asked Brad White to mix
• 6:18
  Speaker 1: up the pressures more. And here's why that's important. Florida
• 6:22
  Speaker 1: has some talented defensive linemen and some really talented edge rushers.
• 6:26
  Speaker 1: But throughout the season, there have been too many situations
• 6:29
  Speaker 1: where opposing quarterbacks have had time to sit in the
• 6:31
  Speaker 1: pocket and let plays develop. And when you combine that
• 6:34
  Speaker 1: with a secondary that has struggled in coverage, it is
• 6:37
  Speaker 1: an absolute recipe for disaster. Against Texas, we saw Florida
• 6:40
  Speaker 1: become much more aggressive. And after the game, Summerall admitted
• 6:44
  Speaker 1: that during the middle portion of the game, he essentially
• 6:46
  Speaker 1: told White, listen, you need to stop relying so heavily
• 6:49
  Speaker 1: on coverage and start coming after the quarterback. Now, that
• 6:52
  Speaker 1: doesn't mean that Florida abandoned its entire defensive philosophy. It
• 6:55
  Speaker 1: doesn't mean that White suddenly installed 25 brand-new blitzes. In fact,
• 6:59
  Speaker 1: Summerall specifically said they weren't running a bunch of new calls.
• 7:03
  Speaker 1: They were more willing to attack, and that aggression did
• 7:06
  Speaker 1: make an enormous difference. Florida sacked Arch Manning five times.
• 7:10
  Speaker 1: LJ McCray finished with one-and-a-half sacks and two-and-a-half tackles for
• 7:13
  Speaker 1: a loss. Miles Graham had a sack and a forced fumble.
• 7:16
  Speaker 1: Brendan Bett and Laganza Hayward also contributed to the pressure.
• 7:19
  Speaker 1: And I thought the defensive front was noticeably more disruptive.
• 7:23
  Speaker 1: But there's something else I want to point out. When
• 7:25
  Speaker 1: you pressure the quarterback, you're not necessarily going to get
• 7:28
  Speaker 1: a sack every time. Sometimes you force him to throw
• 7:31
  Speaker 1: the ball before he's ready. Sometimes you make him move
• 7:34
  Speaker 1: off his spot. Sometimes you disrupt the timing of the
• 7:37
  Speaker 1: entire play. And when your secondary is struggling, making life
• 7:40
  Speaker 1: uncomfortable for the quarterback can be one of the best
• 7:42
  Speaker 1: things you can do to help out those DBs. Against Texas,
• 7:46
  Speaker 1: Florida finally looked like a team that understood that, and
• 7:49
  Speaker 1: the results spoke for themselves. I want to take a
• 7:52
  Speaker 1: short break to give a little bit of love over
• 7:55
  Speaker 1: to our friends at Alumni Hall. Guys, do not forget
• 7:59
  Speaker 1: to take advantage of our code. It's PEAK15. That's P-E-E-K-1-5.
• 8:04
  Speaker 1: You can use it online at alumnihall.com or in stores.
• 8:08
  Speaker 1: Alumni Hall is located in Gainesville on Archer Road. But
• 8:11
  Speaker 1: if you live in another city in this country, there
• 8:14
  Speaker 1: are alumni halls all over the place. This code will
• 8:16
  Speaker 1: work in every single one of them. Alumni Hall has
• 8:20
  Speaker 1: all the top brands you're looking for. They've got all
• 8:22
  Speaker 1: the Nike stuff. They've got Jordan. They've got Peter Millar.
• 8:24
  Speaker 1: They've got Cutter and Buck. They've got all the best
• 8:27
  Speaker 1: kids stuff. They have a huge selection of graphic tees.
• 8:30
  Speaker 1: Every sport that Florida offers, they've got merchandise in this store.
• 8:34
  Speaker 1: Make sure you go and check it out. Let them
• 8:36
  Speaker 1: know I sent you and Take advantage of a 15%
• 8:39
  Speaker 1: off discount on everything you are going to buy anyway.
• 8:43
  Speaker 1: We appreciate Alumni Hall for all their support. Don't forget
• 8:46
  Speaker 1: to go check them out. Make sure you tell them
• 8:48
  Speaker 1: Allie sent you. Okay, so let's get back into this
• 8:53
  Speaker 1: a little bit. So I want to spend some time
• 8:56
  Speaker 1: on what I think was the most important part of
• 8:58
  Speaker 1: Florida's defensive improvement. As much as we've talked about the
• 9:00
  Speaker 1: adjustments and the pressures and the coverage alignments, there's something
• 9:03
  Speaker 1: Summerall said after the game that really stood out to me.
• 9:06
  Speaker 1: He was asked about the defensive turnaround, and his answer
• 9:09
  Speaker 1: wasn't that Florida had completely reinvented its defense. It was
• 9:13
  Speaker 1: that the players finally executed the calls with more detail,
• 9:16
  Speaker 1: more urgency, and more physicality. That's the biggest takeaway from
• 9:19
  Speaker 1: this entire game for me. Sometimes we get so caught
• 9:22
  Speaker 1: up in the defensive schemes and the play calling that
• 9:25
  Speaker 1: we forget how much execution actually matters. Think about what
• 9:29
  Speaker 1: we watched against Missouri. Missouri's running backs were getting into
• 9:32
  Speaker 1: the second level far too easily. Jamal Roberts, who by
• 9:35
  Speaker 1: the way, I do think is incredible, rushed for 211
• 9:38
  Speaker 1: yards and three touchdowns. And there were plays where Florida
• 9:40
  Speaker 1: defenders simply weren't in position to make tackles. Against South Carolina,
• 9:45
  Speaker 1: we watched Lenora Sellers repeatedly extend plays and find open receivers.
• 9:50
  Speaker 1: There were missed assignments and coverage breakdowns. And there were
• 9:53
  Speaker 1: some times when Florida looked completely out of sorts defensively.
• 9:57
  Speaker 1: And what was so frustrating about it was this defense
• 9:59
  Speaker 1: isn't with talent. We know LJ McCray can play. We
• 10:03
  Speaker 1: know Miles Graham can play. We know there are talented
• 10:05
  Speaker 1: players in the secondary. But talent only gets you so
• 10:09
  Speaker 1: far when you're not executing. Against Texas, there was a
• 10:11
  Speaker 1: noticeable difference in how Florida played. Guys were attacking instead
• 10:16
  Speaker 1: of reacting. They were getting off blocks. They were pursuing
• 10:18
  Speaker 1: the football. And perhaps most importantly, they were playing with
• 10:21
  Speaker 1: a level of urgency that we haven't consistently seen. And
• 10:25
  Speaker 1: I think there's a connection between that mentality and the
• 10:28
  Speaker 1: changes Summerall demanded during the week. When players know exactly
• 10:32
  Speaker 1: what's expected of them and when coaches hold them accountable
• 10:34
  Speaker 1: for executing those responsibilities, the game becomes a little simpler.
• 10:38
  Speaker 1: And when the game becomes simpler, players can play faster.
• 10:42
  Speaker 1: That's what Florida needed. Not a completely different defense. A
• 10:45
  Speaker 1: defense that actually played the way it was designed to
• 10:48
  Speaker 1: be played. And I don't want to make this entire
• 10:51
  Speaker 1: conversation about Summerall and Brad White. Ultimately, the players were
• 10:54
  Speaker 1: the ones who had to go out and execute, and
• 10:56
  Speaker 1: several of them deserve a ton of credit. Let's start
• 10:59
  Speaker 1: with LJ McCray. I think his development over the last
• 11:01
  Speaker 1: couple weeks is particularly interesting. Summerall actually used McCray as
• 11:05
  Speaker 1: an example during his Monday press conference before Texas. He
• 11:09
  Speaker 1: showed the team a play where McCray technically didn't execute
• 11:12
  Speaker 1: his assignment correctly. He was supposed to line up and
• 11:15
  Speaker 1: play one gap, but he ended up playing another. So
• 11:18
  Speaker 1: from a technical standpoint, it wasn't a perfect rep. But
• 11:21
  Speaker 1: Summerall loved the physicality. He loved the way McCray attacked
• 11:24
  Speaker 1: the tight end. And essentially, his message was, if you're
• 11:27
  Speaker 1: going to make a mistake, make it while playing aggressively.
• 11:31
  Speaker 1: And against Texas, McCray was one of Florida's most disruptive defenders.
• 11:35
  Speaker 1: One and a half sacks, two and a half tackles
• 11:36
  Speaker 1: for a loss. The kind of impact Florida needs from
• 11:40
  Speaker 1: a player with his ability. And it wasn't just McCray.
• 11:43
  Speaker 1: Miles Graham finished with seven tackles, a sack, and a
• 11:45
  Speaker 1: forced fumble. Cormany McLean had six tackles and a tackle
• 11:48
  Speaker 1: for a loss. Kanye Clark finished with six tackles and
• 11:51
  Speaker 1: recovered that fumble that ended Texas' final possession. Florida also
• 11:55
  Speaker 1: got contributions from players who haven't necessarily been at the
• 11:59
  Speaker 1: forefront of the conversation. Summerall talked about Ty Jackson and
• 12:02
  Speaker 1: the importance of rewarding a player who continued to compete
• 12:05
  Speaker 1: and play hard even when he wasn't getting the defensive
• 12:08
  Speaker 1: opportunities that he wanted. He also mentioned Steven Bentley earning
• 12:11
  Speaker 1: some defensive line opportunities because of how hard he'd been
• 12:14
  Speaker 1: working on the scout team. And I think that's an
• 12:17
  Speaker 1: important part of building a program. Players need to understand
• 12:20
  Speaker 1: that opportunities are earned. And when somebody is doing something
• 12:24
  Speaker 1: the right way in practice, that should matter. And for me,
• 12:27
  Speaker 1: the biggest takeaway against Texas was that Florida finally looked
• 12:30
  Speaker 1: like a defense playing together. Not 11 individual players trying
• 12:34
  Speaker 1: to make spectacular plays. 11 guys doing their job. And
• 12:37
  Speaker 1: when that happens, suddenly the talent starts to show up. Now,
• 12:41
  Speaker 1: Here's something else that's important. It's easy to criticize a
• 12:44
  Speaker 1: defensive coordinator when things aren't going well. And Brad White
• 12:47
  Speaker 1: has certainly deserved his share of criticism this season. But
• 12:50
  Speaker 1: if we're going to criticize him for the defensive performances
• 12:53
  Speaker 1: against Missouri and South Carolina, then I also think we
• 12:55
  Speaker 1: have to give him credit for what happened against Texas.
• 12:58
  Speaker 1: Whatever conversations Summerall had with White during the week, the
• 13:01
  Speaker 1: defensive staff responded. They made adjustments. They simplified responsibilities in
• 13:05
  Speaker 1: certain areas. They found ways to be more aggressive. And
• 13:08
  Speaker 1: they got their players to execute. I also think the
• 13:11
  Speaker 1: relationship between Summerall and White is worth discussing. Summerall clearly
• 13:15
  Speaker 1: trusts him, but that doesn't mean that they agree on everything.
• 13:18
  Speaker 1: In fact, Summerall told a pretty interesting story after the
• 13:20
  Speaker 1: Texas game. He said there was a third and long
• 13:23
  Speaker 1: situation where Florida had a corner playing press coverage. And
• 13:26
  Speaker 1: Summerall was yelling to get the corner backed off because
• 13:29
  Speaker 1: he didn't want to give up a big play. But
• 13:31
  Speaker 1: White actually liked the fact that the corner was challenging
• 13:34
  Speaker 1: the receiver. And I think that tells you something about
• 13:36
  Speaker 1: how this defensive staff is working together. They're communicating. They're
• 13:40
  Speaker 1: challenging each other. They're trying to find the right balance
• 13:43
  Speaker 1: between being aggressive and being sound. And ultimately, I think
• 13:47
  Speaker 1: that could be a positive thing. Summerall doesn't need to
• 13:50
  Speaker 1: become the defensive coordinator, but he absolutely needs to hold
• 13:53
  Speaker 1: the defensive coordinator accountable. And White needs to be willing
• 13:56
  Speaker 1: to make adjustments when something isn't working. Against Texas, that
• 13:59
  Speaker 1: relationship appeared to produce a much better result. There's also
• 14:04
  Speaker 1: another factor in Florida's defensive turnaround that I don't think
• 14:07
  Speaker 1: we should overlook. The offense helped the defense a lot.
• 14:11
  Speaker 1: Florida possessed the football for 38 minutes and 11 seconds.
• 14:14
  Speaker 1: Texas had it for just 21 minutes and 49 seconds.
• 14:17
  Speaker 1: That's more than a 16-minute difference. Florida ran 81 offensive plays.
• 14:21
  Speaker 1: Texas ran just 50. Think about what that means for
• 14:24
  Speaker 1: a defense. You're getting time on the sidelines. You're able
• 14:28
  Speaker 1: to make adjustments. Your defensive linemen aren't constantly being asked
• 14:31
  Speaker 1: to get back on the field after three and outs.
• 14:33
  Speaker 1: And you're not spending the entire game defending short fields.
• 14:37
  Speaker 1: In the third quarter, Florida put together a 15-play touchdown
• 14:40
  Speaker 1: drive that took more than eight minutes off the clock.
• 14:42
  Speaker 1: That was enormous. While Florida's offense was controlling possession, Texas'
• 14:47
  Speaker 1: offense was standing on the sidelines, and that's the kind
• 14:49
  Speaker 1: of complementary football that Summerall wants. Now, I don't want
• 14:53
  Speaker 1: to take too much credit away from this defense, because
• 14:56
  Speaker 1: the defense earned those opportunities to rest by getting off
• 14:58
  Speaker 1: the field. Two third-down conversions on 10 attempts, five sacks,
• 15:02
  Speaker 1: just 13 first downs. That doesn't happen simply because the
• 15:05
  Speaker 1: offense possesses the football. The defense had to do its part.
• 15:09
  Speaker 1: And against Texas, both sides finally complemented each other. And
• 15:13
  Speaker 1: now here's where I want to pump the brakes just
• 15:14
  Speaker 1: a little bit, though. Because as impressive as Florida's defense
• 15:17
  Speaker 1: performance was against Texas, I am not ready to say
• 15:20
  Speaker 1: the problems have been solved. I want to be realistic.
• 15:23
  Speaker 1: Arch Manning and the Texas offense has had their own struggles.
• 15:26
  Speaker 1: Texas was not lighting up the scoreboard coming into this game.
• 15:29
  Speaker 1: And there were still some opportunities where Florida could have
• 15:31
  Speaker 1: played better. The Longhorns had a 62-yard completion. They had
• 15:34
  Speaker 1: a 32-yard run. And they still managed to make things
• 15:37
  Speaker 1: uncomfortable late in the fourth quarter. So this was not
• 15:40
  Speaker 1: a perfect defensive performance. But it was a major improvement.
• 15:43
  Speaker 1: And I think the bigger question is whether Florida can
• 15:45
  Speaker 1: sustain it. That's what separates good defenses from inconsistent ones.
• 15:49
  Speaker 1: Can you play with the same urgency every week? Can
• 15:51
  Speaker 1: the DBs continue to improve their technique? Can the pass
• 15:54
  Speaker 1: rush consistently affect opposing quarterbacks? Can Florida tackle the way
• 16:00
  Speaker 1: it needs to tackle? And can Brad White continue to
• 16:02
  Speaker 1: make the adjustments necessary to put his players in the
• 16:04
  Speaker 1: best position to succeed? The challenge coming out of the
• 16:07
  Speaker 1: bye week is significant. Georgia is next. And while the
• 16:11
  Speaker 1: Bulldogs are coming off a surprising loss to Auburn, the
• 16:15
  Speaker 1: talent on that roster is incredible. This is not a
• 16:18
  Speaker 1: position I would love to be in. And Florida can't
• 16:20
  Speaker 1: afford to go back to playing the kind of defense
• 16:22
  Speaker 1: we saw against Missouri and South Carolina. The Gators need
• 16:24
  Speaker 1: to build on what happened in Austin. So when we
• 16:29
  Speaker 1: ask what changed with Florida's defense against Texas, I don't
• 16:32
  Speaker 1: think there's a simple answer. Yes, Summerall became more involved. Yes,
• 16:37
  Speaker 1: he asked Brad White to make specific adjustments to the
• 16:39
  Speaker 1: pressure packages and the way the corners were being instructed
• 16:41
  Speaker 1: to line up. And yes, the defensive staff responded. But
• 16:44
  Speaker 1: I think the biggest difference was that the players finally
• 16:47
  Speaker 1: played with the mentality this coaching staff has tried to
• 16:50
  Speaker 1: be demanding of them. They played faster. They played more aggressively.
• 16:54
  Speaker 1: They executed their assignments. And they played with confidence. And
• 16:57
  Speaker 1: I think that's why Summerall was so encouraged after the game.
• 17:00
  Speaker 1: It wasn't just about beating Texas. It was about seeing
• 17:03
  Speaker 1: a football team respond to adversity. Remember, this is the
• 17:06
  Speaker 1: team that had been embarrassed in back-to-back weeks. The defense
• 17:08
  Speaker 1: has been heavily criticized. The coaching staff was questioned. And
• 17:11
  Speaker 1: the Gators went on the road against a top-10 opponent
• 17:14
  Speaker 1: and delivered their best defensive performance of the season. That
• 17:17
  Speaker 1: says something. But now comes the hard part. Doing it again.
• 17:22
  Speaker 1: Because if Florida can play defense the way it did
• 17:24
  Speaker 1: against Texas, this team becomes considerably more dangerous. We already
• 17:28
  Speaker 1: know the offense has the ability to score points. We've
• 17:30
  Speaker 1: seen it against Ole Miss. We've seen it earlier in
• 17:32
  Speaker 1: the season. But the defense has to give this team
• 17:35
  Speaker 1: a chance. And against Texas, they finally did. So I
• 17:39
  Speaker 1: think my biggest takeaway is that Florida didn't completely reinvent
• 17:44
  Speaker 1: its defense. It didn't need to. It needed its players
• 17:46
  Speaker 1: to execute the defense it already had while making adjustments
• 17:50
  Speaker 1: necessary to help them succeed. That is what Coach Summerall demanded.
• 17:54
  Speaker 1: That is what Brad White helped deliver. And more importantly,
• 17:57
  Speaker 1: that is what the players finally went out and did.
• 17:59
  Speaker 1: Now we're going to find out whether this was a
• 18:01
  Speaker 1: one-game response to two embarrassing losses or if it was
• 18:04
  Speaker 1: the beginning of a legitimate defensive turnaround. Because if Florida
• 18:09
  Speaker 1: is going to compete with Georgia and make something special
• 18:11
  Speaker 1: out of the second half of the season, it's going
• 18:13
  Speaker 1: to need more of the defense that we saw in Austin.
• 18:18
  Speaker 1: I want to know what you guys think. Who was
• 18:20
  Speaker 1: your favorite player that you saw on Saturday? Who stepped
• 18:23
  Speaker 1: up the absolute most? Who were you the absolute most
• 18:27
  Speaker 1: impressed with? Let me know down in the comments. I
• 18:29
  Speaker 1: want to give a big thank you to our partners
• 18:31
  Speaker 1: over at PrizePix. Don't forget, new users should download the app,
• 18:35
  Speaker 1: play a $ 5 lineup, and use our code. It's HMA.
• 18:38
  Speaker 1: If you win, you get $ 150 in lineups instantly. We
• 18:41
  Speaker 1: appreciate PrizePix for all their support. I appreciate you guys
• 18:44
  Speaker 1: for tuning in. And as always, go Gators.