Myles Graham believes Florida has absorbed enough blows during its two-game losing streak. Now, the linebacker says, it is time for the Gators to get off the mat and fight back.
Graham placed responsibility for the defense’s problems squarely on the players, calling the unit’s 20-plus missed tackles against South Carolina unacceptable while defending Brad White’s scheme.
The junior also discussed supporting Cormani McClain, Jon Sumrall’s increased involvement with the defense and the challenge Arch Manning and Texas present Saturday.
Here’s everything Graham had to say.
How disappointing were Florida’s missed tackles against South Carolina?
That’s really unacceptable. That’s not us. We’re better tacklers than that, and we’re better players. It was really just a lack of focus, a lack of strain and a lack of effort. That’s unacceptable. We can’t
put that on the field and expect to win.
How frustrated is the defense with its performance this season?
We aren’t too focused on the rankings. We’re focused on ourselves and where we can improve. Obviously, we’re frustrated with the way we’re playing. But it’s a day-in and day-out process of trying to get better one day at a time and 1% better every day.
That’s really the goal. We know how good we can be, and we’ve just got to keep working toward that goal.
How are you keeping the team confident following consecutive losses?
That’s a big deal. That’s really everything. When you get knocked down, it’s about how you respond. That’s the message to the guys this week. All right, we got hit. Now, we’ve got to fight back.
We can’t just lie down and keep taking blows. It’s time to get up, fight back and return to who we know we can be. We’ve got to have each other’s backs to do that. At the same time, we’ve got to push each other and hold each other accountable. That’s a big deal.
What do you remember about facing Manning last season?
He’s a great player. He can make you pay with his feet, and he can make you pay by throwing the rock, too. We’ve got to be disciplined in coverage and disciplined with our pass rush. Across the board, from top to bottom, we’ve got to make sure he can’t make those plays.
How do you manage fatigue entering a seventh consecutive game?
Sleep is everything. Honestly, I love sleeping. Sleeping is the best form of recovery. There’s definitely wear and tear, but you’ve got to push through it. We have a bye week coming.
Where we are right now, there’s no time to be tired and no time to feel sorry for ourselves. It’s something we have to push through.
Everybody is tired. It’s the SEC. Everybody plays hard games week in and week out. You’ve just got to push through and be tougher.
How much can you sleep when you are undisturbed?
If I’m undisturbed, I can sleep eight hours every night. No, not more than that. That’s too much sleep.
What did you think of Dallas Wilson’s postgame speech?
I loved it. I think it was called for. I was locked in, and I was really proud of him. He has a lot of passion and brings a lot of energy every day. It makes our team better.
That was something we needed in the moment. I’m proud of him and appreciate him stepping up and saying what needed to be said.
What have you seen from Vernell Brown III during his recovery?
He definitely wants to get out there as soon as possible. But the leadership isn’t going to let him put himself in a bad position where something worse happens, God forbid.
He’s a passionate leader. He’s still vocal, here for his teammates and has our backs. He’s on the sideline still having an impact and pushing us.
Every time the defense goes onto the field, he’s right there encouraging us and helping us on the sideline. He’s a very passionate leader whom we would love to have back.
Is it valuable to hear a different leadership voice such as Wilson’s?
It was great having Dallas step up. Hearing the same voice over and over happens. That’s part of being a leader and being somebody people look to. But we need other guys to step up and help get the team where we need to go.
What kind of intensity do you expect against Texas?
It’s definitely going to be an intense game. Like you said, it’s two teams that want to win and need to win. It’s going to be a dogfight and a four-quarter matchup. It’s an SEC football game. Honestly, every game is intense. It’s going to be a good one, for sure.
What do you remember about the atmosphere at Texas last season?
They draw very well. It’s big-time. They have a rowdy crowd and a passionate fan base behind them. It’s going to be fun. At the end of the day, it’s 11-on-11 and just football. We’ve got to focus on ourselves.
Did you see Matthew McConaughey at last season’s game?
I don’t even know who that is.
Did you see Bevo?
No, I don’t think we saw the big thing. We didn’t see him.
How has Philo grown as a leader?
He has grown a lot. He has gotten much better from last year to this year. He’s definitely taking it more seriously and being more intentional every day. I’m proud of him, and I hope he keeps growing in that role.
Have you noticed Sumrall becoming more involved with the defense?
I’ve seen it. He has always been involved with us on defense. He’s naturally a defensive guy, so it definitely helps to have him over there pushing us. It means more coming from the head coach.
He has so much going on, and the fact that he takes the time to come to the defensive field, coach us through drills and watch film with us in the meeting room means a lot.
We really appreciate it. It definitely pushes us more.
What technical emphasis does Sumrall bring as a former linebacker?
Really, it’s just physicality and aggression. That’s what he preaches all the time.
Has Florida’s defense regressed from last season?
No. I feel like both defenses had their ups and downs, weaknesses and strengths. I don’t feel like we’ve regressed in any way. But we have a lot that we need to work on right now. We aren’t focused on what happened last year or what the defense was last year.
We’re focused on how we can improve this year, make the most of this season, have each other’s backs and be there for the guys in the room now.
What are your thoughts on White’s defensive scheme?
I love Coach White, and I love playing in his defense. It’s a defense that can respond to everything the offense gives you. It can be aggressive. It can drop a lot of players. It can really do whatever is needed. It’s a very multifaceted defense, and I’m excited to keep improving.
Why is it important to stay the course with the scheme?
We definitely need to stay the course. Switching and changing things isn’t going to help anybody. We need to improve at what we need to improve at now.
It isn’t Coach White. It isn’t the coaches. It’s the players. We have to be more detailed, intentional and focused every day. It isn’t the scheme at all. It’s what we’re doing. We’re the ones on the field. We’re the ones who have to make the plays and tackles.
It isn’t on anybody but the 11 guys who are out there. We’ve got to communicate better, be on the same page and play as one unit defensively.
What is the biggest challenge presented by Texas’ offense?
Every week in the SEC is going to be a challenge. They’re very explosive outside with their receivers. They have two really good running backs — three good running backs — along with Arch and a solid offensive line.
It kind of is what it is. You go out there and play ball. You don’t focus on or become intimidated by what the other team has. You focus on yourself and how you can be the best version of yourself on the field. If you do that, everything else will take care of itself.
How much emphasis has Florida placed on eliminating bad habits?
We’ve all noticed it. We see on Saturdays that we aren’t playing to the standard we need to play at. Every day in practice, we have to emphasize being more focused and intentional.
Attack the day and don’t worry about the game. Be in the moment, be where your feet are and focus on the task at hand. If you’re too focused on what’s coming, you won’t be as good as you need to be. That stuff is definitely being emphasized and fixed.
How do teammates support McClain amid criticism of his performance?
That’s a big deal. Every time we talk to the corners, defensive backs, safeties, defensive line or whoever it is, we emphasize that we need them.
We need everybody. We need everybody to step up, play his role and do his job. That’s all it takes. We emphasize that we need them and can’t win without them. That’s the period, point-blank side of it. We have to have each other and have each other’s backs.
Regardless of what anybody says on social media, they aren’t in the building. They aren’t out there in The Swamp or in the arena playing with each other. It’s on us. We’re all together in this.
How is McClain handling the criticism?
I haven’t seen him get down on himself or take it too hard. I think he’s just trying to improve every day. Cornerback is the hardest position on the field. I can’t go out there and do that. Nobody on social media can go out there and do that. It’s a really hard job.
Cormani is a great player, and I think he can do it. I believe in him. No matter what happens on the field, I believe in and trust every one of the 11 guys out there. That’s the bottom line.
How can Florida learn to handle adversity better?
We can’t change anything that happened in the past. All you can do is focus on the future. If you keep focusing on the past, like you said, it’s going to keep snowballing.
We have to learn from our past mistakes but move on at the same time. We’ve got to learn from what we did wrong and improve, but we also have to keep moving forward and focus on the task at hand. We can’t focus on what we could have done two weeks ago or last week.
Is it difficult to avoid thinking that history is repeating itself?
It’s very hard. Like you said, we’ve been through it, and we don’t want to go through that again. It’s very hard not to get down on yourself and say, “Oh, here we go again.”
It’s hard, but you’ve got to be countercultural and respond. How you respond really shows who you are, more than when you’re winning or undefeated. It shows who you are when things are going badly.
What was the locker room like during the extended halftime against South Carolina?
We definitely should have had more energy. First of all, we didn’t expect to be down by seven at halftime. That wasn’t what we expected. But it’s the SEC, and it happened. We can’t act like we’re down by 40.
We’ve got to act like we’re still in the game, because we were still in the game. We didn’t have the right mindset coming out of halftime. We didn’t have enough energy or intensity, and it showed during the second half.
We didn’t respond. We got hit in the mouth, and we didn’t get back up.
How did you respond individually after the Missouri loss?
I feel like I did all right. I had an OK game, but it wasn’t enough. It wasn’t enough for our team to win the game. It’s pretty simple. It just wasn’t enough. I have to keep getting better and improving.
What caused your cramping against South Carolina?
It doesn’t concern me at all. It was pretty humid. I’ve got to take better care of my body before the game and hydrate more. It doesn’t concern me, and it won’t happen again.
How did the extended weather delay affect Florida?
I can’t say we were surprised. Coach Sumrall warned us throughout the week and on game day that we would probably have a lightning delay at some point during the game.
We had to be ready for it. We weren’t surprised, but we didn’t handle it the way we should have. We didn’t come out with the same energy and intensity that we had at the beginning of the game.
How can an unexpected delay affect players mentally?
It can be frustrating for some guys, but it’s part of the game. You can’t do anything about it. You have to learn how to adapt, improve and become better because of it.
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This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Florida’s Myles Graham says Florida got hit, it's time to fight back
