Shortly after he broke down some film of Florida's secondary earlier this week, Tyler Bray took a glance at the Gators' depth chart. What the Tennessee quarterback saw on film didn't match what he saw on paper. "They're listed at 206 (pounds) or something like that," Bray said. "We know how that one goes. I was listed at 210 last year." Bray, of course, wasn't 210 pounds last year, and only one Gators defensive back, safety Matt Elam, officially weighs in at 206 pounds. The rest hover between 180 and 190 pounds and all but two players who will likely see the field Saturday (TV: WVLT, 3:30 p.m.) are shorter than six feet tall. Bray's point was clear: The Gators' secondary is as small, if not smaller, as advertised.
With Bray divvying the majority of his pass attempts between the 6-foot-3, 215-pound Da'Rick Rogers and the 6-foot-4, 200-pound Justin Hunter, size is clearly on the Vols' side. "Height advantage always helps no matter what sport it is," Bray said.
"Sometimes athletic ability overcomes size," wide receivers coach Charlie Baggett said. "We have stressed to our guys that no matter what size they are we have to win. And winning from a receiver standpoint means getting open."
Few teams in college football have been as successful stopping the pass as Florida through the first two games of the season. The Gators are 12th nationally in pass defense, as they've allowed 124 yards per game and have yet to surrender a touchdown.
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