UF defense remembers 2007

Florida’s defensive players groaned earlier this week when defensive coordinator Charlie Strong told them they were going to watch a tape of the 2007 LSU game.

“We told him we didn’t want to watch it, and he still put it on,” strong safety Ahmad Black said.

To the players, that game is old news, ancient history. That was a loss, this is a different defense now, so why bother?

But there was a message (and a reminder) in that tape Strong wanted to get across to his players.

“He showed it to us because he’s scared that we’re going to get complacent, and he wants to make sure that we’re always working hard, and remember what we used to be like,” junior cornerback Joe Haden said.

The tape is painful to watch. It shows a young Florida defense playing with great effort, making some plays, but unable to get off the field when it needed to. The Gators failed to stop LSU on five fourth-down conversions, three coming on the Tigers’ two touchdown drives in the pivotal fourth quarter in the come-from-behind 28-24 victory.

The tape is not only a reminder of what the Florida defense once was, it also is motivation for so many of the current players who played that night two years ago. Seven of those 11 defensive starters are on this year’s team.

“Thinking back to when we couldn’t make a tackle and on fourth down when they had five first downs, including a fake field goal, it’s tough” Black said. “We just have to go out there and make sure we make that tackle.”

The defense UF takes into Tiger Stadium on Saturday night is much different than the one that faltered there in 2007.

The 2007 defense was very young and inexperienced, with many freshmen and sophomores starting, and it was a defense still searching for an identity.

This year’s defense is dominated by seniors and juniors who have performed in championship games and have made big plays in critical situations.

Haden, who started as a true freshman on the 2007 defense, predicts there will not be a repeat performance in Tiger Stadium on Saturday night.

“We feel there’s no way that can happen anymore unless our whole team just lays down, honestly,” Haden said. “We feel like if everybody does their job, there’s no way that should ever happen to us again.”

Just to make sure, Strong rolled the 2007 tape to remind them what it was like.

It wasn’t a good night for the offense, either.

The Gators were leading 24-14 late in the third quarter, but a Kestahn Moore fumble and a Tim Tebow interception led to two LSU touchdowns in the fourth quarter.

“It was tough not being able to make a stop,” Meyer said. “But it was much more than just making a stop. All we had to do is go score. All we had to do is not turn the ball over twice. Does it haunt us? It sure does.

“That (LSU) team won the national championship that year. Our guys played hard. I expect the same type of game. We have to make the plays and go win.”

The 2007 tape is tough to watch, but safeties coach Chuck Heater said it also offers a glimpse of a brighter future for the Florida defense.

“That was a real defining moment for our defensive guys,” Heater said. “We had a really young defensive team that went in there and played hard and tough. We couldn’t get off the field, we couldn’t make a play.

“That’s when I felt that some day, we’re going to be pretty good if we just hang together. What we did that night was pretty salty. You couldn’t see it because we couldn’t get off the field. We had guys who really played hard, and all those guys are kind of still playing. That’s the positive part. We’ve still got them around after three years.”