When Tennessee cornerback Alontae Taylor was preparing for last December’s game against Florida, he was bracing for an aerial attack headed by quarterback Kyle Trask and containing tight end Kyle Pitts and receivers Trevon Grimes and Kadarius Toney.
The good news for Taylor and his fellow Volunteers defenders is that they’ve all moved on. The bad news is that Florida’s offensive overhaul under fourth-year coach Dan Mullen into a ground-oriented assault has been mighty effective through three games as the No. 11 Gators await this Saturday night’s visit from Tennessee.
“We understand that Florida likes to run the ball,” Taylor said this week in a news conference. “They’ve got really good, strong backs and a good offensive line, and the quarterbacks like to run as well. We’ve got to make sure we can make tackles.
“If we can lower our missed tackles, it would certainly be a positive.”
Despite coming up short 31-29 this past Saturday to top-ranked Alabama in the Swamp, the Gators served notice that they are not looking to retreat after winning the Southeastern Conference’s Eastern Division title a year ago. Florida racked up 440 yards to 331 by the Crimson Tide and was overwhelming in the rushing statistics, amassing 245 yards to Alabama’s 91.