Can Florida football defensive line generate more heat on the QB in 2024?

The SEC is a line of scrimmage league, and Florida football needs to show improvement up front to contend with the top teams in the conference.

The Florida Gators lost top pass rusher Princely Umanmielen (7 sacks, 11.5 tackles for loss in 2023) to Ole Miss last season, but added new defensive line coach Gerald Chatman, who brings a no-nonsense approach in leading the position group. Chatman was hired from Tulane after Florida jettisoned former defensive line coach Sean Spencer, who landed at Texas A&M.

“We talk a lot about mentality — attacking what’s in front of you," Chatman said. "Kind of like we’re not hitting a man in the back, so to speak. If you took it to an actual fight, right? We want to see everything we hit. We want to attack everything that’s right in front of us, that’s on and off the field."

Florida will again look to generate more of a pass rush up front this season after recording 22 sacks in 2023, which ranked 12th out of 14 SEC teams.

Here's a look at UF's defensive line entering the 2024 season:

Florida football defensive tackles

Cam Jackson and Caleb Banks are back as the starters inside. At 6-foot-6 and 374-pounds, Jackson used his long wingspan to deflect two passes near the line of scrimmage last season. But he would like to slim down to a playing weight of 345 to become a more effective pass rusher after recording no sacks last season.

Banks, in first season at UF after transferring from Louisville, recorded 19 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and one sack while playing at 6-6 and 325 pounds.

Desmond Watson and Jermari Lyons return to provide depth. Listed at 6-5 and 464 pounds in the spring, Watson will need to shed some weight to last for consistent snaps in the SEC after finishing with 11 tackles, one sack and two quarterback hurries last season. Lyons, at 6-5 and 298 pounds, showed promise last season with 20 tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss.

Florida dipped into the transfer portal to add Joey Slackman, the Ivy League defensive player of the year from Penn who posted 12 tackles for loss last season. Slackman (6-4, 304 pounds), who recorded a sack in the spring game, was slowed by a biceps tear in the spring — but is healed following surgery and projects to play heavily in UF's defensive line rotation.

Florida football defensive ends

Justus Boone is back as an edge rusher for Florida after sitting out the 2023 season with a torn ACL. The 6-4, 267-pound Boone finished the 2023 season with 24 tackles, one tackle for loss, one sack, and a quarterback hurry.

Tyreak Sapp (6-3, 275 pounds) returns as another defensive end after posting two sacks and 4.5 tackles for loss in 11 games last season.

Rising sophomores T.J. Searcy (3.5 tackles for loss in 2023), Kelby Collins (1.5 sacks in 2023) and Kamran James also will contribute as edge rushers in 2024. Collins, at 6-foot-4 and 270 pounds, has the versatility to play both outside and inside.

Transfer edge rusher George Gumbs (Northern Illinois) flashed in the spring game with 1.5 sacks, along with Quincy Ivory, a 2023 JUCO transfer edge rusher who played sparingly for the Gators last season. Ivory had two sacks in UF's spring game.

Florida football defensive line future

Five-star incoming freshman edge rusher LJ McCray, rated the number six national recruit by ESPN in 2024 out of Mainland High in Daytona Beach, gives Florida a potential impact pass rusher. At 6-6 and 274-pounds, McCray has the speed and wingspan to create havoc on the outside. The former high school tight end posted 62 career tackles and 18 career sacks at Mainland.

McCray enrolled early and took part in spring drills. He recorded one tackle, one pass breakup and one quarterback hurry in UF's spring game.

"He showed out there today that it's not too big for him either," Florida coach Billy Napier said following the spring game. "He was able to kind of get into that competitive mode. It's one thing to practice. It's another thing when that ball is put down, and there's a crowd in there to be able to narrow your focus and turn into a competitor and not be distracted."