Gators' new Green monster?

William Green is one of those players that prefers to be seen and is rarely heard.

Florida’s sophomore defensive lineman quietly contributed to UF’s defense and special teams during its 2008 national title run and participated in every game last year, except for UF’s 31-30 loss to Mississippi.

He doesn’t even touch the idea of his absence being a reason for the Gators’ only blemish a year ago. In fact, he barely talks about his on-field success from last year – seven total tackles, two for a loss and one sack. It even takes Green a few seconds to recall his punt block against Kentucky back in October that was almost returned for a touchdown.

Green has a hard time taking any credit, because he feels hasn’t yet developed into the player he wants to be. Green might have seen decent playing time as a true freshman, but he said he couldn’t show his full potential until he got his body into better shape.

“When I came in I was about 208 pounds, soaking wet,” Green said.

Green put on some considerable weight after the season and reported to spring practice weighing 235 pounds.

But he just shrugs off his nearly 30-pound turnaround.

So it comes as no surprise that when he was asked about the cast on his left hand he had toward the end of spring practice, all he had to say was that he had a sprained wrist and a few “bad fingers.”

Those sore digits didn’t hindered Green during the spring, or when he came up with a sack during Florida’s orange-and-blue game. According to defensive line coach Dan McCarney, Green became the top reserve to senior defensive end Jermaine Cunningham.

“He’s a backup, but he’s a backup that’s going to play a lot,” McCarney said. “We’ll trust him. We’ll put him on the field against anybody and believe that he can play winning football.”

To gain that sort of trust, Green had to learn to be a more disciplined player on the field. Green said he relied heavily on his athletic ability in high school, which made him such a threat at defensive end and linebacker.

Once McCarney stressed improving his form, Green started to blossom into a solid product on the field. He was even named the player of the game by his coaches after posting a season-high four tackles, including one for loss, in UF’s 42-14 win over Vanderbilt in November.

Still, Green takes the humble approach when talking about his past.

“I didn’t really do anything special,” Green said of his freshman season. “I just went out, worked hard, played hard and ended up being pretty successful.”

After the way Green stepped up this spring, he looks primed to have another successful year with the Gators.

McCarney said he isn’t concerned with getting big plays out of Green this fall. All he wants is to see Green’s business-like approach, something McCarney wishes more of his players would emulate.

“We can’t bring in enough (players like Green),” he said. “If we sign 20-25 Willie Greens every year, we’ll keep challenging for a national championship.”