Chomp reinstalled in Gators' defense

Too many times in his first two seasons at the University of Florida, the junior defensive end would get in the huddle and want to scream.

Another passive call. Another read-and-react scheme. The Gators spent too much time sitting back on their heels instead of just going after people.

"Last season, we were staying back and waiting for stuff to happen," said McDonald, who moved from tackle to end in the spring.

Now, though, the training wheels have come off. For all the hype surrounding new head coach Urban Meyer's offensive genius, maybe one of his most innovated ideas was bringing in Greg Mattison from Notre Dame and teaming him with Charlie Strong to give the Florida defense a unique two-headed monster.

Mattison and Strong serve as co-defensive coordinators, a move that was met with some skepticism in the spring as critics wondered how Mattison and Strong would coexist.

The answer can be seen on the field in a defense that has dominated Wyoming and Louisiana Tech in early-season blowouts.

"We're a lot more attacking defense," McDonald said. "We blitz a lot, come after you through all angles."

It's a scheme the players say better matches their personalities. You don't play defense to sit on your heels and chase the ball. You do it so you can hit people, and the Gators have looked good slugging the Cowboys and the Bulldogs.

Through two games the Gators have held opponents to 192 yards of total offense a game, created six turnovers and reached the quarterback six times. For a team that had 23 sacks and 24 turnovers last season, it's an extreme makeover.

"I love to attack," said sophomore linebacker Brandon Siler. "I love to blitz. That's my style and I think that's our style for our defense."

It's a style they'll need to partner with some substance tonight when the sixth-ranked Gators (2-0) host No. 5 Tennessee (1-0) at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. The Gators don't need to pore over game film to know the Vols will try to pound them with senior running back Gerald Riggs Jr.

Yet that's the thing. For all the aggressive plays the Gators have made through the season's first two weeks, they're just as pleased with how they've grown more responsible for their actions. They don't point fingers in the huddle anymore, unless they're pointing toward the opponent's backfield.

"We're very high on maturity now," said senior defensive end Jeremy Mincey. "There are a lot of older guys in the game. Even the younger guys seem older, like Kyle Jackson and Brandon Siler."

Translation: The Gators have played defense well because all of the right players are in the all of the right spots at the right times. It's a refreshing change for a unit that ran into discipline problems last year, when players became so desperate to make plays they'd forget their assignments be out of position at crucial times.

"We'd get frustrated," said senior linebacker Todd McCullough. "We'd be losing and we'd just want to make something happen and sometimes it would hurt us worse."

As it happens, the defense has spent the first eight quarters of the season getting better. It held Louisiana Tech to minus-5 yards in the second half, and the three scores the Gators have given up have come after the Florida offense turned it over or the special teams committed a penalty.

All of which is great, but the Gators know the stakes will be raised against the Vols.

McDonald and Siler remember how the defense allowed Tennessee to go down the field in the final seconds and get in range for a game-winning field goal.

But that was the old Florida defense. The new one won't wait for the Vols to make the plays. Siler just hopes the defensive line gives him a chance to join in on the fun.

"Our defensive line is playing so hard," Siler said. "When you have a defensive line like that, it's really hard to play bad as a linebacker when you got the line flying around making plays that you should have made. We all just want to do our part."