Triple-threat linebackers

He wasn't flashy, he didn't say much, he didn't show up on a lot of highlight videos. On a star-studded defense, the unassuming senior was usually overlooked.

Maybe most in Gator Nation have already forgotten Ryan Stamper.

Urban Meyer and the Florida coaches haven't.

In their eyes, Stamper was one of the Gators' most valuable players last season. He was a rare talent, a special commodity, one that not many defenses can say they've ever had — a guy capable of playing all three linebacker positions, and playing them at a high level.

"He was special," Meyer said.

And a player who is tough to replace.

But the Gators apparently have found their Ryan Stamper for 2010 — and more Stampers may be popping up in The Swamp in the near future.

Under new linebackers coach D.J. Durkin, all the linebackers are learning and working at all three linebacker positions. Apparently, senior A.J. Jones is the first to master all three.

"A.J. Jones is our Stamper," Meyer said Wednesday. "He's the only one we feel comfortable moving around. A.J. is the one guy that can play all three.

"To be able to play all three, you have to be a special guy. A.J. is the only guy who falls into that category right now."

In his first three seasons at Florida, Jones was a strongside linebacker (the position he will start at in Saturday's game). But since the spring, he's simply been a linebacker. Not a strong, not a weak, not a middle. But all of the above.

"To tell you the truth, it has made me a better player," Jones said. "Now that I know all the positions, it helps me grasp an understanding of the whole defense. That is why last year learning from Ryan Stamper helped because he knew everything, from calls to defensive formations. That's what made Stamper such a big part of the defense. He knew everything."

Although Florida's other top linebackers (Brandon Hicks, Jelani Jenkins, Jon Bostic and Lorenzo Edwards) aren't quite ready to fill the Stamper role, they seem to be benefiting from the triple-training.

"All of us have learned and worked on all three different linebacker positions," Bostic said. "It has helped us understand the defense as a whole, compared to a single part.

"I wasn't sure (at first) why we kept rotating, but I learned that if someone gets hurt or can't go, then he can be replaced a lot easier. We add a lot of variety to each other rotating all the time."

In Stamper, the Gators had depth and an instant replacement at all three linebacker positions, which Jones should be able to provide this season.

Given the overall lack of players at linebacker, having guys who can step in at any of the three positions gives the Gators a much deeper look at linebacker.

It also gives the linebackers a better understanding of the defense as a whole, new defensive coordinator Teryl Austin said.

"It's good any time you can learn more than one position because you learn more about the defense," Austin said. "If you get penciled in (at one position), this is all I have to do right here, sometimes you don't see the big picture.

"As a player, when you have to learn another position, you learn the big picture — what hurts you, what helps you, all those good things. It's good to do that."

Jones said having the linebackers working at all three positions has increased the competition level.

"It brings competition to the practice field," Jones said. "Competition always brings the best out of all the players. Hopefully, we can implement it in every game."

At the moment, Jones is the only Ryan Stamper on the defense. But that could change over the course of the season.

"We could have about five or six of them," Jones said.

That would be a good thing.

Contact Robbie Andreu at 352-374-5022 or andreur@gvillesun.com.