Getting to know the Gators: Six Florida players to keep an eye on

Kentucky (0-1, 0-0) travels to Florida on Saturday in hopes of ending a 29 game losing streak to the Gators. The Wildcats haven’t won a game in Gainesville since 1979. While Kentucky has come close to ending the streak the past two seasons -- the Wildcats have lost by a combined 11 points the last two years -- it is still a 16.5 point underdog going into the weekend.

Cats Illustrated takes a look at three offensive players and three defensive players on Florida’s roster that fans should know.

Del Rio completed 29 of 44 passes for 256 yards and two touchdowns in his Florida debut. He took care of the football and managed the Florida offense in its 24-7 win over UMASS. It was just his first career start so Del Rio still has a ways to go, but overall it was a solid performance for the junior.

Kentucky’s front seven showed that it is vulnerable, but Del Rio will be throwing against a much more talented secondary this weekend.

Scarlett and the other Florida running backs only rushed for 107 yards against UMASS, but the Gators running back rotation should still be excited for Saturday. Kentucky surrendered nearly 300 yards rushing against Southern Mississippi in the loss on Saturday. Both sides have adjustments to make when it comes to the rushing game, but the talent is there for Florida to control the ground game on Saturday.

Callaway was one of the top freshman receivers in the conference a season ago. Despite a rocky offseason, Callaway got his sophomore season off to a fast start by catching eight passes for 72 yards. He’s Florida’s go-to receiver and one Kentucky must focus on come Saturday.

Davis entered the season as a second-team All SEC linebacker after finishing his junior season with 98 total tackles. He led the Gators in tackles against UMASS with 9 on Saturday and also had 0.5 sacks.

Tabor served a one-game suspension against UMASS so his season debut will come against Kentucky. Tabor was the lone Gator to be placed on the preseason All SEC first team. Kentucky quarterback Drew Barker will have to know where Tabor is lined up at all times. The Wildcats have the talent at receiver to move the ball through the air, but Barker must pick his battles with Tabor wisely.

Kentucky offensive coordinator Eddie Gran said this was a normal defense for Florida. Solid top 10 type defense that is disruptive up front. One of the best players up front for the Gators is Cox Jr. Another preseason All SEC member, Cox Jr. only recorded one tackle against UMASS but still affected the game in other ways.

Landon Watnick of InsidetheGators.com had this to say about Cox Jr.:

“Saturday saw a solid performance from Cox, who consistently generated pressure off the edge in the pass rush,” Watnick said. “Although he finished with just one tackle, Cox notched an important quarterback hurry on UMass quarterback Ross Comis on a 3rd and 12 to give Florida the ball back in the fourth quarter leading 13-7. Cox contributed to another third-down stop earlier on in the game, generating pressure on Comis after a spin move and forcing the Minutemen signal-caller to throw it to the ground. Florida once again utilized Cox as a lead-blocker on fourth down in its short-yardage jumbo package.”

Cats Illustrated subscribers can read the rest of Watnick's report on Florida's defensive players here.