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UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

July 25, 2019

Todd Grantham

Gainesville, Florida

Q. So much talk about Jabari Zuniga, CJ Henderson going into the season. What makes each of those guys special?
TODD GRANTHAM: Well you start with C.J., C.J. from a skill standpoint has the size, the speed, the physical skill set to play the tough routes, to play one-on-one, to be able to play in press, make plays on the ball. You take that along with a guy that works his tail off, you talk about a guy that's one of our hardest workers in the off-season, and then you go out to the practice, he's a guy that you'll see him stay after practice with Marco or Trey or the younger guys and not only work on his craft, but kind of work them a little bit too. So he works at it, he's got a lot of passion for the game, and he can make plays. And then when you get with Zu, Zu's the same way, Zu's a guy that gives us a lot of flexibility in the sense with his size and speed he's an effective guy on the edge as far as being a defensive end, but last year he had four and a half sacks as an inside rusher and he gives you flexibility, which in this day and age with wanting to be multiple and play in situations and things like that, he gives you a lot of flexibility with his skill set to be able to try to match the situation at hand.

Q. What do you need to see from this defense during this camp in order to like feel good going into the opener?
TODD GRANTHAM: Yeah, I think the biggest thing is you always start back with day one from the standpoint of we got to understand that there's a certain amount of relentless effort you got to have. We always going it to talk about competitive toughness and understanding that you have to compete every day, you've got to be able to handle situations, this day and age everybody works hard, but it's really more about being able to take coaching, being able to take the pressure at hand and execute, being able to respond to adversity. Being able to take all those challenges and go out and be productive. I think that's real critical and then the other thing is, I always think that you kind of want to talk to them about stay above the line. And what I mean is like there's certain things that just kill you defensively. You miss tackles or you give up explosive plays, you don't play with the energy needed. So, and it's not, in this day of analytics, you know, it's not really an analytics thing, it's like, hey, stay above the line. We need to play a certain way to be good and when we get below the line we create, we can create inconsistencies or give up things easy. You can play 10 plays great, but if you bust two and give up 14 you're not doing really good. So from a consistency standpoint that's important. But really to me it's about everybody coming in and understanding last year was last year, it's time for this year. I like the way our guys have taken ownership in the team, I like our work ethic, I like our confidence, but we still got to go out and continue to execute. We got to develop guys at a few positions and put it all together.

Q. How big a jump do you usually see from year one to year two in running your system and do you think that's applicable with this group, even despite roster turnover and things like that?
TODD GRANTHAM: Yeah, I mean every year you're different. Meaning that last year we were new, we had a guy like Jachai Polite, Chauncey Gardner. Well those guys are gone, now we have added some freshmen, we have added Jonathan Greenard. So you're always different, so I think the biggest thing as a coach you're going to have certain core things you're always going to do but you always want to play to the strength of your players. So I think you always got to be working to tweak what you do. How do I get my best 11 players on field. Because at the end of the day defense is about making plays on the ball. It's about handling blocks up front, it's about -- at the end of the day when you look at it, don't let them run the ball and how do we make the quarterback play bad. That's really what you try to do. It's about beating blocks, it's about tackling the guy with the ball and being an I believe to win your one-on-one matchups, so how do we win those one-on-one matchups. So that's the biggest thing. So we're going to change our personnel and our team every year relative to who we have, but you would hope that you would continue to improve as you move forward.

Q. How much technical improvement have you seen both on film and since he got here from Jonathan Greenard from whether you guys were together in Louisville?
TODD GRANTHAM: Yeah, I mean he knew our system because he had been in it. So from a mental standpoint that was more recall, it wasn't a big thing. From a technical standpoint he had a decent foundation and it was really just as guys continue to grow it's about perfecting your craft. That's what I always tell our guys is be an expert at your position. It's a craft. And that allows you to make plays. I tell our guys, learning a position, learning creates opportunity and the opportunity is to make plays. So as you develop and become an older guy like him, it's about honing in on your craft. So it was not a hard adjustment and he's done a good job.

Q. There were times on his tape back in 2017 where he was playing a lot inside as well. Is that going to be factored in at all or do you strictly see him outside?
TODD GRANTHAM: Buy a ticket. We'll see.

Q. A lot of people focus on Polite for the pass rush you guys put together last year but Chauncey and Vosean were both pretty good as creative blitzers that you used. Do you have guys that can kind of replicate some of that?
TODD GRANTHAM: Yes.

Q. You had Adam Shuler transfer in, becomes a starter for you. How have you seen him evolve? In high school he dealt with a lot of injuries, transferred high schools, so what has made him such a great fit here and how has he is evolved as a player?
TODD GRANTHAM: I think he's a guy that has accepted the grind. It's funny, if you go back and watch like scrimmage tape of last preseason, watch maybe the early games last year, he's really just trying to find himself because he basically came in and got rolling. So now he's been with the best strength staff in the country in Coach Savage and his staff and what they do, he's been with them for a full year and he's been in our program for a year, got to watch himself, he's a guy that works to improve his craft. He was able to go into the off season understanding these are the things I want to work on from spring practice standpoint and continued to develop himself at being a defensive lineman. So what you've got is a more seasoned mature guy that understands the system, understands what we're looking for, and has taken ownership in being a good player. And he's, he's just an older guy, he's more seasoned, so I think you'll see a lot of production from him this year.

Q. Trey Dean as well, how do you see him kind of being the star filling big shoes that were left?
TODD GRANTHAM: Trey is a guy who gives you a lot of flexibility in the sense that because of his size he can play inside, meaning he can play nickel safety. Because of his athletic ability, he played corner last year. So what that does is it gives you the flexibility to move him around a little bit. And then my whole thing is how do you get your best players on the field. Well, with Marco coming back, and the void left by Chauncey, it was who can move inside to get those three guys on the field at the same time. So talking to Trey about it and letting him understand it really gives him more value moving forward in his career, it gives our team an opportunity to get our best 11 on the field, and his skill set at that position is something that we'll cater to and allow him to make plays and looking forward to watching him play there, really.

Q. Are there one or two guys that you've got that just kind of define toughness for you? Because with you, wherever you've been you've always talked about having tough guys on your team.
TODD GRANTHAM: Right. Yeah, I think when you look, Kyree Campbell up front, David Reese is a guy. One of the reasons I was excited about Jonathan Greenard coming back is I knew that he had that kind of toughness. So those are guys. I like the attitude of our team as a whole. So to answer your question, CJ Henderson's a tough guy, Trey Dean's a tough guy. I mean we have some, what I consider tough guys in the sense that they play the game the right way. Zu's a guy that can do that. So we have probably more this year than, I wouldn't say more, we have developed guys or guys have shown that kind of toughness as we move forward in the program this year, so I'm looking forward to those guys taking ownership in what we're doing and continuing to play that way.

Q. Do you see with Jonathan a little bit of a fire having to sit out almost all of last year and having to wait for it and excitement about getting to that play at this level?
TODD GRANTHAM: I think that the answer is yes in the sense of I think you have a fire and it's also humbling in the sense that this sport can be taken away from you at any time, don't take things for granted. He's got really good leadership qualities, he gives us position flexibility in the sense he can play buck or end. And I think that the players see that and I think he's -- one of the reasons that excited me is every room, every room has like, for example, at our outside backer room we have three new guys and really Moon was a guy that was the only guy that really had quality snaps last year in that room. Now you get through new guys like that and then Jonathan comes in and has a work ethic that you like and that can feed off into the young guys as, yeah, this is how to do it. So I always think it's critical that it's important to get those kind of guys in each room to kind of bring the young guys along. And I think he's done a really good job with that but I know he's excited to get going, to play at this level, and get back on the field and make plays.

Q. Is that part of why you wanted him here?
TODD GRANTHAM: Yeah, because, you know, with the grad transfer thing and the transfers is because as you develop your team, I've always thought it's important that you have guys just like we were talking about a minute ago with toughness like you have a guy in each room, to make that room a quality room. And as they move forward, what's the competitive toughness of that group. And if that group can come along, then it can bring another group along with it and then all of a sudden your team's that way. And if you get away from that, it can be death by inches in the sense of one guy's late, and nothing, and then all of a sudden you got two guys late. So it's always good to get a guy that understands the value of accountability and can breed that into the young guys, this is how we need to prepare each week, this is how we need to work and he certainly does that.

Q. David raised kind of a coach on the field so to speak and that's the nature of the position for one. But is there anyone you see younger players kind of following in his footsteps for the future, because he'll be gone obviously?
TODD GRANTHAM: Yeah, I mean well I think that when you look, Stiner's a guy in the back end that has done a good job. Same thing with Sean. Those guys have tried to take ownership in the back end with what they do. Houston's a guy that's backing up David that he's being told that, to understand that, hey, you kind of need to be understanding what the quarterback, what David is doing because you're his backup or you're rotating with him to give us that. But like Ventrell Miller and Burney, they're in that same room, and I've kind of seen a difference in those guys as far as encouragement or taking the bull by the horns a little bit and being a leader at times. And that's good. So I would see those guys there being that guy maybe when David's not around as we do rotations.

Q. Is there anyone that's surprised you this off season with his commitment and focus or is that kind of a remains to be seen now that cam's started?
TODD GRANTHAM: I think it's a little bit remains to be seen. The one guy that's impressed me is Brunson. I think it's always important that you listen to other coaches, because Coach Knox is -- so last year Brunson was a guy that wasn't, didn't get a lot of snaps on defense, really didn't say a lot, was kind of feeling his way, both in our off season program he first got here and through the spring and all that. And as things moved, sometimes you can get left. But he kept working and grinding and he showed up in special teams, which guys that play on special teams always indicate to me they can probably play on defense, but we got to continue to work with them. I think he's made the biggest jump since we have been here from being a guy that wasn't quite with it. What I mean by with it is, wasn't, wasn't maybe keeping up and kind of got left a little bit. But he kept working hard and he got into special teams and making plays. And now he's a part of our rotation with our inside backers and he's a guy that we're going to count on to give us some snaps at some point this year. So that's probably a name that a lot of you haven't heard about that I'm excited to see what he can do in training camp, because that would give us some snaps that have been left with Vosean leaving and that kind of thing.

Q. I don't think we talked to you since its spring game.
TODD GRANTHAM: That was probably a good thing, but, yeah.

Q. I mean, the deck is obviously stacked against the defense that day.
TODD GRANTHAM: It's like batting practice.

Q. But, yeah, but do you take anything away from that, the safeties maybe or --
TODD GRANTHAM: Oh, yeah, you take away, how do guys play. I mean, you know, how do they play individually. I think that spring games are a little bit lake your scrimmages, because you try to look at things, you try to get guys reps, so sometimes you're going to have guys playing with guys that may not play as quickly and you can't look at the whole, you got to look at the individual and understand that how is this guy doing, because when we put that together that's when the whole needs to become complete. Sometimes in spring games and scrimmages trying to get guys reps and matchups and those kind of things you kind of got to be careful about looking at the whole sometimes because you're trying to work certain guys in and protect certain guys to make sure they're healthy for the season. So it's really about getting individuals play, get their play and how do they play their position.

Q. Has there been any sort of tempering in bringing back Marco or is he ready to head back out?
TODD GRANTHAM: He's ready to go. I know he's chomping at the bit to get out there, he's really excited. He's worked extremely hard to get back, really excited to get him to be a part of our secondary and our team. So I'm really looking forward to him being out there.

Q. With some of the departures this summer where is your comfort level with that corner depth?
TODD GRANTHAM: Yeah, this time last year we were really in the same situation and Trey Dean came along. I mean every year you're going to have to develop guys at certain positions, so what we're going to do is we're going to have the flexibility to play the best guys. So with the guys that have come in at corner this year, we're going to roll those guys, let them compete and find ways to get them a part of what we're doing. And communicate with them as far as what they understand, what they know and try to bring them along, but that's going to be every year any more with the way college football is. You're always going to have young guys at certain positions and you're going to have to develop them so no one is going to feel sorry for us, so we got to make the best of it and find ways to make it work.

Q. Without using the next man up, how much of a loss was it to lose Marco so early last year?
TODD GRANTHAM: Yeah, I mean, I always say that injury creates depth. And what I mean is is sometimes as a coach like you, we wouldn't have played Trey Dean as much last year as we did without the injury. But now what happens is it when a guy goes down it forces you to play somebody else, then when that other player comes back, now you have more depth because it's forced you to play another guy. So in that sense Trey's a guy that's had a lot of snaps, we understand what he can do and the flexibility he has. We probably wouldn't have had that comfort level with him if not for the injury to Marco. So I think that I've always been a guy that injury creates depth and the guy when he gets back it just allows you to have someone that has a few more snaps.

Q. How do you feel about your the interior of the defensive line, your defensive tackles? Do you like the depth and experience have you there?
TODD GRANTHAM: Yeah, I mean I think that we have guys in the sense of you look at Shuler and Kyree, that played last year. Outside of that, there's a lot of guys battling for snaps, I mean we have the flexibility that with Conliffe and TJ and Dunlap those guys were all in there last year, they're going to compete to see how they can do and be a part of what we're doing. But also Zach Taylor and Luke are guys that have worked their strength, have added a little bit of mass, there's nothing that says they can't play in there either. So I think you're always looking to find ways to get your best players on the field and if we have to move someone in there then we'll do it and those two would be the best candidates to do that.

Q. Zach Carter?
TODD GRANTHAM: Zach Carter and Luke, yeah.

Q. You mentioned James Houston earlier. How much further along has he come from like last year and like the mental side of things and handling emotion, understanding the defense, that sort of stuff?
TODD GRANTHAM: I think a lot. I think that he is a guy that is way ahead of where he was last year. The thing with him is he still has room to grow and develop and as long as he continues to take the coaching of David Reese ahead of him, showing him what to do and Coach Robinson and myself and understanding consistency in play is real critical, he has the tools to be a really good player and we're going to continue to work to develop that to get that out of him. But I like what he's done in the off-season and look forward to seeing him play this year and continue to improve because he's a good player.

Q. With all the changes and almost everybody is running like 11 personnel now and they're spreading the field different. How has that changed your philosophy and as far as how does that change how you rotate people in and out because the game is always constant change with personnel on the offensive side.
TODD GRANTHAM: Right, yeah, so it used to be when you started day one you started with base, meaning you went with everything against two wide receiver sets. So you had your base package with your 3-4 and all that kind of stuff. Now days with the three wide looks, you actually start with nickel as your base because you play that 85 to 90 percent of the time. So that's one change. And then the other change is we say we're a 3-4, we're a 3-4 defense but in reality we play as much four down as three down, so I think that gets into you want to be flexible and have ways to give different looks. I think any time you can get in and out of those looks it's just a matter of trying to make the offense work. Offenses are really good now, they got ways to create space for runners, points go up and things like that. So how can we give them a little confusion to try to put them behind the sticks or to win a possession to give us the chance to get the lead. Because defensively any time you can play with the lead it's a lot more fun and other teams become a little more predictable. So that's probably the biggest changes is, one you start with nickel now and then we're really a multiple defense, just like we were talking about, we have ways that you we can play four down or three down, we can play with multiple outside linebackers playing other position, we can play with multiple corners, and really trying to be multiple in what you do just to create a little bit of confusion in the offense.

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