Gators Defensive Line Poised for Breakout 2025 Season

A big part of Florida’s midseason turnaround on defense last season was the defensive line’s ability to stop the run and pressure the quarterback. Now they enter the 2025 season with hopes of replicating the final four games of the year into a full season of dominance.

Florida’s front seven will be the biggest story of whether the defense comes together or returns to inconsistency.

Up front, the defensive line will be led by returning senior tackle Caleb Banks, who will return for his last season in the Orange and Blue after deciding to withhold his name from the 2025 NFL Draft. He has already been named to the Bronko Nagurski Trophy watch list after his 2024 season, which he finished with 21 total tackles, 10 solo tackles, 4.5 sacks and one forced fumble in 10 games.

Caleb Banks and Tyreak Sapp meet Jaxson Dart in the backfield!

Florida ball with 6:24 left pic.twitter.com/TOU2hgmjb4

— Stadium and Gale: A Florida Gators Podcast (@StadiumAndGale) November 23, 2024

But no matter the preseason projections, Florida defensive coordinator Ron Roberts is aware that Banks will need support from teammates as he figures out his rotation in the trenches.

“Our inside players, we got about seven that can play,” Roberts told the media on July 30 via Goodall. “So it’s going to come down to competition, [who is] healthy and who can do that and who becomes the impact players and who’s going to turn it up a notch.”

Back in Action

The rotation includes redshirt junior Jamari Lyons, who is looking to bounce back from a season-ending foot injury that forced him to miss all of 2024. While Florida is playing it safe by easing him back into full contact, there is anticipation about his return to the field this season. 

Jamari Lyons pic.twitter.com/ANuSnYKTEu

— Nick de la Torre (@delatorre) April 1, 2025

“Jamari [Lyons], obviously, he’s a guy coming back off injury, he came back slowly. But Jamari, I call him — we gave him a nickname a long time ago, ‘The Junkyard Dog.’ Jamari just goes in there and he makes a mess,” said edge rusher Tyreek Sapp said via Goodall. “He makes it easy for the edge guys to make plays. And having Jamari back is going to be a big help. And I love having Jamari back and him being out there making plays. It’s always fun to play with Jamari. He’s going to push the pocket. I know Jamari is going to give it his all.” 

Lyons will likely be the starting nose tackle for Florida, with Banks at the three-technique tackle spot. Brendan Bett, a Baylor transfer who made only one start in 2024 due to being academically ineligible to play most of the season, will back up Banks. Also mixing in at that spot would be Brien Taylor Jr., a 2024 junior college transfer, who played in nine games last season and made 14 tackles in 119 snaps.

Michael Boireau will rotate behind Lyons at nose. Boireau played in eight games last season for Florida and recorded 15 tackles. Likely falling to third would be Tarvorise Brown, a walk-on junior college transfer last season, who appeared in one game and recorded one tackle. 

Freshman Phenoms

A couple of freshmen to keep an eye on this year would be Jeremiah McCloud and Joseph Mbatchou.

McCloud, who stands 6-foot-2 and weighs 294 pounds, is a versatile defensive lineman who could see snaps both on the edge and at tackle. At Leesburg (Ga.) Lee County, he posted 108 total tackles, including 31.5 for loss, 13 sacks, six forced fumbles, one interception and two pass breakups over 20 games during his junior and senior seasons.

Freshman DL Jeremiah McCloud pic.twitter.com/MwlYpvwBln

— Nick Marcinko (@marcinko_nick) April 1, 2025

Mbatchou, a 6-foot-4, 300-pound prospect from Cameroon, made an immediate impact in his first season of high school football in 2024 at Loganville (Ga.) Grayson by tallying 30 tackles, 13 for loss, three sacks, and a forced fumble.

Freshman Joseph Mbatchou getting work in. #Gators pic.twitter.com/3WCW5PIswQ

— Dylan Olive (@DylanOlive_UF) August 2, 2025

With so much inexperience on the interior line, it could be a big opportunity for some of these young players to find their way into the rotation and play meaningful snaps this season.