Ole Miss' spread offense might not have met its match at Alabama two weeks ago, but it did so at Florida Saturday night.
Led by three of its top draft prospects, the Gators' defense keyed a 38-10 home win that pushed UF to a 5-0 start. In front of scouts from seven NFL clubs, including the nearby Tampa Bay Buccaneers, junior cornerback Vernon Hargreaves recorded his third interception of the season and made six solo tackles. NFL Media analyst Lance Zierlein rated Hargreaves the top defensive back in the college game heading into the season, and Hargreaves has shown why in the first five weeks of the season.
UF senior linebacker Antonio Morrison led the Gators with 13 tackles, 3.5 for losses, and assisted on a sack, showing scouts both toughness inside and an ability to cover space in the passing game with a nice open-field tackle in the flat. Meanwhile, defensive end Jonathan Bullard showed scouts plenty as well, harassing Ole Miss quarterback Chad Kelly for much of the night (1.5 TFLs, assisted sack, pass breakup, QB hurry).
Ole Miss was thought to have an edge at quarterback with Kelly, the nephew of Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly, over Florida freshman Will Grier. The game played out much differently, however, as Grier completed 24 of 29 passes for 271 yards and four touchdowns and no interceptions. Kelly completed 26 of 40 for 259 yards, but was never in sync with his receivers, took four sacks, and threw the pick to Hargreaves.
Kelly wasn't the only relative of a former NFL All-Pro. Bryan Cox Jr., son of the former New York Jets and Miami Dolphins star and a defensive end for the Gators, recovered a fumble and made two stops.
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