Quarterback John Brantley may have the biggest shoes to fill at Florida as the successor to Tim Tebow, but he’s certainly not alone.
The Gators’ premier pipeline to the NFL has been at defensive end. Jermaine Cunningham and Carlos Dunlap were second-round picks in April’s draft, bringing Florida’s defensive end draft tally to 10 since 2002.
Looking to help fill their void is Justin Trattou, a 6-foot-3, 265-pound senior from Ramsey, N.J.
“As a defensive end at Florida, you’re expected to be the best,” Trattou said. “Over the years, that is what it has been, and I’m really looking forward to getting out there and playing this year and that guy being me.”
Trattou made 13 starts for the Gators during their BCS championship run in 2008, though he wasn’t as productive as Cunningham and Dunlap. He is very well known to South Carolina fans, tallying five tackles and a sack during Florida’s 56-6 win two years ago in the Swamp and providing a momentum-changing 53-yard interception return in last year’s 24-14 win at Columbia.
His playing time diminished midway through last season after he suffered a biceps injury, but he was thrust back into a starting role days before the SEC title game when Dunlap was arrested on a DUI charge. Trattou enters his final year with 64 career tackles, 15 for loss, seven sacks and two interceptions.
“I’ve had some sacks and had some interceptions, but hands down my best play would be last year versus South Carolina,” Trattou said. “It’s all about how you play in big games. I didn’t play that many snaps last year after I hurt my arm, so I tried to come up big in big situations for us.”
Said safety Ahmad Black: “He’s a hard worker. Justin and I came in together, and what I know about him is that he’s never going to give up.”
Trattou, Black, safety Will Hill, cornerback Janoris Jenkins, linebackers Brandon Hicks and A.J. Jones and defensive tackles Brandon Antwine, Lawrence Marsh and Terron Sanders give new defensive coordinator Teryl Austin plenty of veterans with whom to work. It’s not as nice as last summer, however, when Florida returned every defensive starter.
“The biggest concern on our team is depth at linebacker,” head coach Urban Meyer said. “We have some really good young players, but there is not much depth and not much experience.”
Florida had five defensive players drafted in the first three rounds in April, but they don’t mourn their losses for long in Gainesville. The Gators signed a class in February that, depending on the recruiting service, contained the nation’s No. 1 defensive end (Ronald Powell), No. 1 safety (Matt Elam) and No. 3 inside linebacker (Michael Taylor).
It also included the nation’s top two defensive tackles, Sharrif Floyd and Dominique Easley.
“There is definitely a bright future at Florida on the D-line,” Trattou said. “Being with these guys so far in the offseason, they’re all very eager to work. We lost some great players, no doubt about it, but at Florida there is never a lack of talent.”