Florida’s defense was towed into the repair shop last week. The more they looked under the hood , the more problems they found.
“Our alignment, assignment, technique and fundamentals,” Billy Napier said.
On the positive side, players haven’t started putting their helmets on backward.
UF’s defense has provided comic relief to the SEC for longer than Florida football fans want to remember. This season’s been no different, so last week’s open date was a chance for a quick overhaul.
Among the recommendations: More Jack Pyburn.
“He makes everybody around him better,” Napier said. “Ultimately, what I would say is not only production, but also just a little bit of that edge that rubs off on the rest of them.”
Pyburn was atop his list of players who are earning more snaps. Though given the circumstances, will it matter?
Florida football's defense needs a boost Pyburn can provide
Sticking to the car metaphor, the UF’s defense is a 2007 Kia Rio. Even when it gets out of the shop this week against UCF, it will still be a 2007 Kia Rio.
Napier hopes Pyburn can be a jolt of booster oil to the engine. After a slow start, the junior edge rusher has asserted himself the past couple of games.
“We need more like him,” Napier said.
That gets back to Pyburn’s “edge.” It starts with his appearance.
I’m not sure if Pyburn looks more like a granite statue or a clean-cut bouncer at a biker bar, or maybe a granite statue of a bouncer. Then there’s his attitude.
“I just play with a chip on my shoulder,” he said, “like I have something to prove.”
Pyburn doesn’t just play that way, he lives that way. Nothing shows it more than the mere fact he’ll be chasing UCF quarterback KJ Jefferson around Saturday night .
He was doing that last November when Jefferson played for Arkansas. That was the day Pyburn suffered a torn ACL, an injury that typically takes at least nine months to recover from.
Pyburn was back in six.
“I told my trainers that I wanted to do it faster than anybody’s done it,” he said. “And do it better than anybody’s done it.”
Jack Pyburn's road back to the Florida football team
That required countless days of hobbling out of bed at 6 a.m. to rehab before school. Then more rehab before and after classes.
The regimen included yoga , running stadium steps and swimming. When he was in the pool, the 265-pound Pyburn envisioned himself racing against Florida Olympian Caeleb Dressel.
“Man, I feel like I was flying out there,” he told his trainer one morning.
“Yeah, you were about 12 seconds off his pace,” the trainer said.
“Wow, that’s pretty embarrassing,” Pyburn said. “Not really. I’m still proud of myself.”
He created an Instagram account to track his progress. About 30 people with ACL tears became Pyburn devotees, seeking tips and tricks to expedite their recoveries.
There were no tricks.
“It’s just a mentality thing,” Pyburn said. “If you have the right mentality about things in life, you’re always going to move in a positive direction.”
How Pyburn is making a difference for Florida football
He didn’t just return sooner than expected. The junior from Jacksonville returned bigger and stronger than ever, improving his best marks in the squat, bench press and power clean.
Pyburn was ready for the start of fall practice but didn’t make much impact the first couple of games. He’s gotten 52 snaps the past two games.
“Proof’s in the pudding. He’s done a lot with the snaps he’s gotten,” Napier said after Wednesday’s practice. “Then, obviously, his practice habits. Even today, it’s very evident 44 is on the field.”
What hasn’t been evident on defense is a pass rush, sound tackling, forced turnovers and communication. The open week has been a reboot of sorts.
There was more scrimmaging than usual. Nobody was “coddled,” as Napier put it.
At least one guy loved the intensity.
“I’m telling you,” Pyburn said, “I think there will be a different mentality when this defense steps on the field Saturday.”
If Florida’s defense is ever going to stop being a punch line, that’d be a good way to start.
David Whitley is The Gainesville Sun's sports columnist. Contact him at dwhitley@gannett.com. Follow him on X @DavidEWhitley
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: More Jack Pyburn may mean less laughter when it comes to Florida football defense
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