All offensive coordinators and play-callers — whether head coaches, assistants or youth league dads — fret constantly about the players on their teams getting things right and then executing them.
But they also must account for “The Disruptors.”
Those are the guys on the other side of the ball who can waylay the best-laid plans a coach might have stayed up all night preparing.
Yes, the whole goal of all defenders is to disrupt things. It can be done in a variety of ways — a big hit, speed you can’t prepare for, the instincts that allow a defender to take away what worked well in practice.
We have seen some great ones at Florida, and for this Dooley’s Dozen, we look at the top 12 Gator Disruptors.
Larry Kennedy
Scott Halleran /Allsport
There have been numerous great defensive backs at Florida, but the reason I put Kennedy on here is because of his ability to disrupt the passing game by getting in the way. We all remember the iconic interception return for a touchdown against Tennessee (which disrupted some eardrums), but the key stat is Kennedy started from his freshman year and is second all time in pass breakups with 39.
Brandon Siler
Jason Parkhurst-USA TODAY Sports
Nothing disrupts a drive like a fumble recovery. Nobody was better at finding that loose ball than the Florida linebacker. He recovered seven in one year (2005) and I will never forget the sound of him hitting a Kentucky receiver near the sideline that season when I was down on the field. It scared me.
Alex Brown
Andy Lyons/Allsport
He is Florida’s all-time sacks leader and that is pretty disruptive. But remember when he dislodged the helmet from Tee Martin’s noggin? He also forced nine fumbles during his career. Sounds Ring of Honor worthy to me.
Jack Youngblood
Joe Rudis/The Tennessean
Speaking of the Ring of Honor. The skinny kid from Monticello was the guy you had to account for on the Gators’ defense from 1968-70. He was so quick that he’d often get to the running back at the same time the ball did. His forced and recovered fumble changed the game against Georgia in 1970.
David Galloway
George Rose/Getty Images
Galloway was an impressive run stopper for the Gators from 1977-81, but he was so quick that he would surprise the guards and center trying to block him. He finished his career with 21 sacks and no defensive tackle for UF ever had more.
Ellis Johnson
AP Photo/Tom Strattman
Here’s another defensive tackle that was dominant because he was able to combine…