Justus Boone, leader of the 'Wild Dogs', introduces himself to the SEC

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida’s SEC opener against Kentucky was the third-most watched game of the week with 4.3 million viewers, making it ESPN’s most-watched Saturday September game since 2018.

That TV audience, along with a sold-out crowd of nearly 90K that included half of the NFL, tuned in to see Anthony Richardson vs. Will Levis. They were also introduced to Justus Boone.

After the Gators took a 3-0 lead in the first quarter, Kentucky drove into UF territory and reached the 30-yard line. But on second-and-10, Levis dropped back to pass and got rocked.

A miscommunication between UK’s right guard and right tackle left Boone wide open on the edge with a free shot at Levis, who didn’t see him coming until it was too late.

“That’s probably my first mindset playing D-end, trying to get a shot at the quarterback,” Boone said. “When I saw it available, my eyes lit up.”

Levis turned toward Boone at the last second as he wrapped his arms around the projected first-round pick and leveled him, knocking his helmet off as he fell down.

Boone stood up and walked away flexing as his teammates celebrated his first solo career sack, and then the flag came flying in. He was called for targeting on the play.

“Oh Lord, I thought they was gonna try to get me up out of there,” Boone said.

The call was overturned after video review and the Wildcats took a seven-yard loss, knocking them out of field goal range and resulting in a punt after no gain on third down.

How did Boone feel when the penalty on his sack was waved?

“Exactly as I did when I first got it,” he quipped. “For me personally, it’s everything. Coming from last year, I didn’t have too much playing time on the field. So, my first full series on the field, for me being able to get a sack felt pretty good.”

Will Levis knocked all the way back to Penn State by Justus Boone 💥

pic.twitter.com/OyciJQqo3b

— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) September 10, 2022

Boone redshirted as a true freshman last season after appearing in a pair of games, recording two tackles and half a sack against Vanderbilt and tackle-for-loss in the Gasparilla Bowl vs. UCF.

The 6-foot-4, 260-pound Boone, who switched from No. 91 to 12 this year, has earned the backup job at defensive end behind starter Princely Umanmielen. Florida coach Billy Napier called Boone one of the guys on the team that he’s most proud of.

“When we first got here, the guy has grown up as a human being a lot. Just in terms of work ethic, attitude, discipline. He’s another guy who hasn’t played a lot of football. He had aspirations to get on the field. He’s one of these guys that’s earned the right to go between the lines and represent the University of Florida,” Napier said of Boone.

“Because of that, he’s given us some flexibility. He’s a guy that’s really developed well. He’s improved as a human being, and I think better humans make better football players. I think he’s a great reflection of that part. He’s improved as a person, and I think that has in turn affected his ability to play football.”

Justus Boone leads ‘Wild Dogs’ chant

His emergence this offseason was evident when his position coach, co-defensive coordinator Sean Spencer, announced last month in camp that Boone would lead the “Wild Dogs” chant each game.

Spencer refers to his defensive line group by that nickname.

“Wild dog mentality. The African wild dog, that’s a pack mentality. We have a pack mentality. We play for each other every game,” defensive end Tyreak Sapp explained. “We play every snap for each other. We would lay our lives on the line for each other each and every snap. We make sure we do that and make sure we hold ourselves to that standard.”

Florida’s defensive linemen circle around Boone as he recites the chant, to which they repeat phrase by phrase.

“I’m a dog!! I’m a villian!! Competition!! I’mma kill it!!”

Boone first led the chant in the spring game, and said he “was more eager to volunteer” for it. Spencer liked his enthusiasm, so he officially designated him as the leader of the pack.

“I took pride in then, so I figured he appreciated how I took pride in it, and he continued to let me do it,” Boone said. “I’m one of those kind of guys. Before the game goes on, I like to get hype, get in my own head, get into everybody else’s head, get everybody else riled up.”

#wilddogs hunt with a 80 percent efficiency rate. The Pack is greater than one. @justusboone6 will lead the chant each game.

— Sean Spencer (@SpenceChaos) August 10, 2022