Florida’s EDGE Room Reloads With Rising Stars and Veteran Talent
Staying on the defensive line, but shifting just outside to the EDGE room; which reloads with stars and rising talent. Early last season, Florida struggled to create consistent quarterback pressure, giving opposing quarterbacks clean pockets and leaving the secondary vulnerable.
However, the Gators turned it around late, eventually forcing 39 sacks – their most since 2019 – and had a 9% negative play rate, which was 47th best in the country. Despite losing key pieces like TJ Searcy, Jack Pyburn, and Justus Boone to the transfer portal, Florida returns multiple impact starters that should help cover up for those losses.
The returns of DT Caleb Banks and EDGE Tyreak Sapp for their senior seasons were massive boosts for the Gators. Other returning linemen are redshirt senior George Gumbs Jr., sophomore LJ McCray, and junior Kamran James. Some new faces that will mix into the rotation are UMass transfer Kofi Asare, freshman Jayden Woods, and Jalen Wiggins.
Sapp broke out in 2024, playing all 13 games and setting career highs in total (46) and solo (20) tackles. Additionally, he led the team with seven sacks and 13 tackles for loss, and he posted the highest PFF grade among all qualified Florida players at 90.4—the best by a Gator defender since Jonathon Greenard’s 90.5 in 2019. Sapp tied for second on the team with 26 quarterback pressures and made 13 defensive stops, which occur when the offense fails on a play.
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At his first media appearance, defensive coordinator Ron Roberts spoke about the impact of having Sapp back this year and what he brings to the team.
“I mean, he’s an experienced vet. He’s got a lot of experience on his papers. Again, one of the things, he’s just such a high motor guy. His motor never stops. He’s going to go full throttle no matter what you do. I don’t care if it’s Tuesday or Saturday, he’s going. And really the biggest impact — he’s a great player,” Roberts said on July 29.
As a freshman, McCray appeared in all 13 games, recording 13 tackles—three solo and 10 assisted—and tying for second on the team with five quarterback hurries. UF director of strength and conditioning Tyler Miles praised McCray’s offseason body transformation.
#Gators EDGE LJ McCray (@LJMcCray11) pic.twitter.com/4qPdZoo6kR
— Cam Parker (@camparker25) August 2, 2024
“Honestly, he probably had one of the best offseasons out of anybody. He gained like 40 pounds in each one of his lifts, PR’d by 40 pounds. You can see it now in his arms. He’s more thicker with more muscle,” Miles said via Swamp247 Graham Hall. “He had a phenomenal offseason.”
James, his counterpart, will also take on a larger workload in 2025. In 2024, he recorded 28 total tackles, 20 solo, two sacks, 16 QB pressures, and one forced fumble. The 6-foot-5, 270-pound junior from Orlando will see most of his time at strong-side end (F), but with the lack of depth at defensive tackle, James could see some time there, too. That would not be anything new for him, since 17 percent of James’s defensive snaps came at defensive tackle.
Last season, Asare stepped up as one of UMass’s best pass rushers. In 11 games, Asare recorded 30 total tackles, including 11 solo stops, along with three sacks, 5.5 tackles for loss, and 19 pressures. Against SEC teams Georgia, Mississippi State, and Missouri, Asare had a combined five total tackles and a sack.
No one is turning heads more at fall camp on the defensive side of the ball quite like Woods is. The 6-foot-3 freshman has been getting time this fall with the first-team defense, and has now found himself getting a decent role in his first year.
“He has the DNA to play early, I would say,” Napier said this spring via Swamp247 Graham Hall.
His head coach would double down on that point, with added compliments during fall camp.
“Jayden Woods is a unicorn, man. They don’t make them like that,” Napier said. “I mean, just phenomenal, and just a different level of focus and maturity and physically. And, listen, he came from a very well-coached high school team. You know? The detail. That was one of the things that impressed me, watching it in the evaluation process, with the technique that he played with on the edge, but also on the second level as a stack backer. Yeah, the mindset is different. He’s got incredible focus and discipline. I think all our players will tell you the same thing. He’s got a bright future in front of him.”
Jayden Woods, ladies and gentlemen.
Practice updates: https://t.co/t81FMVGvOu pic.twitter.com/enokQCD1SG
— Zach Abolverdi (@ZachAbolverdi) August 14, 2025
Woods joined running back Jadan Baugh on The Athletic’s annual “Freaks List,” which “chronicles the strongest, fastest and most physical players in college football,” ahead of the 2025 season.
Over three varsity seasons at Shawnee (Kan.) Mill Valley, Woods piled up 212 tackles, including 25.5 for loss, along with 18.5 sacks, 29 quarterback hurries, 12 pass breakups, seven forced fumbles, and one interception in 37 games.
Standing 6-foot-4.5 and weighing 270 pounds, Wiggins projects as an F. In three varsity seasons at Tallahassee (Fla.) Rickards, he recorded 188 total tackles, including 39 for loss, 31 sacks, 17 quarterback hurries, 10 pass breakups, and two forced fumbles across 27 games.
Category: College Football, Feature Sports News, Gator Sports, Gators Football, NCAA, SEC
