The case for Justus Boone as 'the heart and soul of Florida's defense'

The Florida Gators have generated some offseason buzz as they enter their third season under head coach Billy Napier. Highlighted by recent improvements in recruiting classes and potentially having the most talented roster of Napier’s tenure ahead of the 2024 season.

Strength on the defensive side of the ball could take the Gators a long way this season after finishing 11th in the SEC in points and yards allowed per game in 2023, giving up 38.2 points per game in their five-game losing stretch to close out the year.

Florida lost some key players on their defense this offseason, including EDGE Princely Umanmielen. But Gators Online‘s Nick de la Torre shared with On3’s Andy Staples that Justus Boone will now be looked upon to pick up the slack both on and off the field for Florida’s defense.

“We were ready to talk about him last fall before he got injured in a fall scrimmage,” de la Torre said. “So Justus Boone is a talented player, we really haven’t seen him at his best on the field. I think we were anticipating seeing that in 2023 before the injury.”

Boone missed all of 2023 with a season-ending injury, appearing in 15 games with two starts between his two previous seasons with the Gators. But even when he wasn’t able to play last season he proved himself as a valuable asset and necessity to the team.

“But he’s almost the heart and soul of Florida’s defense. Even when you look at what travel rosters are in the SEC and you can only bring a certain number of guys when you go on the road, they brought Justus Boone on crutches,” de la Torre explained. “That’s kind of what he means to the locker room, to bring a player, to use a roster spot on the road I think speaks a lot for just how respected Justus Boone is. But he’s going to be coming off edge for Florida, they feel really good about him.”

If Boone can translate his off-the-field impact on the field between the white lines for the Gators this upcoming season, there’s no question that Florida’s defense can take a step in the right direction in 2024. Serving as the main catalyst of a defensive front that boasts plenty of depth according to de la Torre.

“Florida’s kind of deep, like two or three deep, at all those positions,” de la Torre said. “I always go back to what Chris Rumph told me, he said he learned those defensive lineman have one gas tank. There’s not enough whole milk and orange slices to give them in the locker room to fill that gas tank up. I don’t know that Florida has a First-Team All-SEC defensive lineman Andy, but I think the sum of the parts and being able to only play guys 25, 30 snaps and keep them fresh should play well for Florida.”

2024 could be a breakout year for Boone, which could directly correlate to Florida’s entire defense breaking out as well given his impact on the unit ahead of an intriguing season in The Swamp.