Dan, Dan, Dan…
Dan Mullen calls Florida DC Todd Grantham ‘probably the top defensive coordinator in all of college football’ https://t.co/QFijlngM2p
— SEC Football News (@SECfootball) September 11, 2019
As I tend to say, “probably” is doing a shit ton of work there.
](https://blutarsky.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/screenshot_2019-09-12-bigorangepruitt-on-twitter-secfootball-todd-grantham-total-defense-rankings-since-2010-flo-e2809819-13th...1.png?w=500)
His highest finish on that list was fueled by a ridiculous amount of experienced talent — and should have been better. But if you’re good with him, Coach, we are, too. Especially on third down.
Filed under Gators, Gators...
“We remember the Sugar Bowl, I think it my junior year of high school, we let Alabama beat us twice,” Brinson said of a team that also lost to the Crimson Tide in the SEC Championship game. “We’re not letting Alabama beat us twice. In the Sugar Bowl in 2018, they… thought they should have been in the playoffs and lost to Texas.” -- AB-H, 12/27/23
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I hope CTG never leaves UF. We need to get a plan together to keep him there indefinitely.
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As far as defensive coordinators go, Grantham is certainly one of them.
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My brother was watching the Tenn game last Saturday and texted me: “Did you see what f$#@%g TN just did?” ….”They just gave up a 3rd and Grantham to let BYU tie the game and send it to OT.”
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May Dan and Todd be cuddled up in Florida forever
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Was he an upgrade over Willie?
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Overall? Barely.
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Yes, decidedly.
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That’s setting the bar AWFULLY low
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Hmm, eyeballing it, it looks like TG’s D’s have an average ranking in the 30’s dating back to 2010. Does this mean that Arizona State probably has been the best college program over the past 10 years as well? Algeria was 37th in GDP rankings the past few years – Ol’ Dan would probably have you believe that they are the true economic powerhouse of the world that we all should aspire to.
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the thing that jumps out to me on this list is that he was 93rd in 2017 with the talent base that led the nation in defense the next season and sent a whole bunch of high picks to the league.
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The post-Grantham bounce is huge. I’ll never forget how great our defense looked when they finally knew where to line up before a play.
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What really made it apparent to me was the 2013 season. The defense looked as confused against Nebraska in the bowl game as they were against Clemson in game 1. I laughed when they gave up that 99-yard touchdown because it was so on point with their play to that point. Maybe he will be the interim coach there in 2021.
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I have to ask, and no I’m not being rhetorical: did that 99 yard play occur on 3rd down?
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3rd and 14 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=v7oZnPDqtSw
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Seriously, Grantham is the only DC in the history of football that could possibly allow a team sitting on their own 1 yard line at 3rd and 14 to score a TD on the very next play. Kevin ‘cool breeze’ Ramsay perhaps could have as well if you gave Ben Leard the ball on the 1.
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That play has all the elements of a 3rd & Grantham: a) its 3rd and 14, b) sort of confused movement prior to the snap c) the receiver has no defender within 5 yards d) a heroic but wasted attempt by the defender e) another defender arms raised in confusion f) success for the offense.
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You forgot (g) driving rain storm and sloppy field, (h) 99 yards away from the go-ahead score and (i) we’d beaten them (fairly soundly) in the game the year before…
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AGGGHHHH KEVIN RAMSAY FLASHBACK SOMEBODY GET ME SOME THORAZINE
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KR story for you: spring of ’99, a buddy of mine was a starter on D, and I remember him telling me that KR was clueless and he didn’t think it would end well. Fast forward to that fall and UGA’s opening game against a horrible SCU team at home (SCU would go on to go 0-11 and score something like 80 points the entire year), and UGA pretty much shut them out, and the cocks got a late TD against 3rd stringers to make it somewhat respectable.
Afterwards, I gave him a hard time while gushing about the play of our D, and basically said I was impressed with KR thus far. He just smiled and basically said, ‘yea? Well just wait. You’ll see soon enough.’ Sure enough, things went downhill quickly after that.
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What really sucks is that we actually had a pretty good D-line that year—that was Seymour’s and Stroud’s last season. Notched a ton of sacks and held most of our opponents’ running games in check, if memory serves. If we’d had even a marginally competent secondary, that team would’ve been right in the thick of the SEC East race. But dear Lord, my mom could’ve thrown for a couple hundred yards against our pass defense. Driving all the way down from Virginia to Athens, only to see a 5–6 Auburn team strafe us like they had Tom Brady under center, is still one of my all-time lowest points as a Bulldog fan.
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Ol’ Dan probably forgot about the dude coaching “D” up at Clempson.
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This. Brent Venables strenuously objects.
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Todd “3rd &” Grantham is without question the finest defensive coordinator in all of college football…..that is currently employed as said defensive coordinator of the Florida Gators football team. Anything else is merely supposition and conjecture.
Dan Mullen
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I’m reminded of Jethro Bodine proudly telling Grranny Clampett that he’s the “highest in his class” indicating his height when they ask how he is doing in school.
As for Grantham, he has to be one of the greatest, if not THE greatest, contract negotiators and check signers in college football.
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Mullen’s comment made me wonder if he’s angling for Grantham to get another raise.
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I know 3rd and Grantham is all the rage, but have you tried 4th and Grantham? It’s the rare instance where the sequel is better than the original.
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You mean like this?
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Awwww….you didn’t have to do THAT!
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In fairness to him, he shows up better for the most part by S&P+:
2010: 36
2011: 3
2012: 15
2013: 33
2014: 9
2015: 42
2016: 15
2017: 40
2018: 17
He’s not bad, but I’m perfectly content with him at Florida.
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Grantham’s style is high-risk, high-reward. A bit like Joe Lee Dunn from the old SEC days. His defenses will get some havoc plays, but are always in danger of giving up big plays (usually big pass plays to WRs in one-on-one coverage).
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I agree with you on the high-risk, high-reward aspect, but I’d love to know what it is about that style that also leads to poor fundamentals/discipline such as bad angles and bad tackling. You see the same thing at Miami too with Manny Diaz (even though he’s head coach now). Guys hit someone in the backfield but can’t wrap up, so the QB or RB slips out and what should have been a 5-yard loss ends up being a 10+ yard gain and a new set of downs.
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the miss state year stats seem off here did that guy mean to show total “scoring defense” and which year is represented? either way grantham d is better suited for nfl than college….cause he never could stop the run.
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That’s a good question. I just looked it up, and they were 10th in total defense (YPG). They were 26th in scoring, so it’s not that. Digging deeper, Louisville was 14th in 2016, 18th in 2015 and 6th in 2014. Georgia was 45th in 2013, 32nd in 2012 (damning with the talent on hand), 5th in 2011 and 23rd in 2010. I’m not sure what metric this guy is looking at, because Florida was 28th last year and is 19th this year.
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I’m having “Wheel Route” flashbacks..
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Ahh, Joe Lee Dunn. The Dave Dave and Dave crew from the Jefferson Pilot days loved them some JLD. I swear they would show and talk about him more than either of the HCs on any given telecast.
Ironically enough JLD was the cause of that infamous fight between Jackie Sherrill and Tommy West after a MSU- Memphis game some years back.
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2012 stat just reminds me of our roster with less than 70 scholarship players. I was sitting at the seecg with my father saying we can not substitute our front 7. We are going to give out of gas stopping them in the 4 qtr. boy what 10-15 more players that year on defense could have done for us.
By no means am I giving grantham an excuse. He is definitely not a top defensive co-ord. But spifty shoes mullen and the go gayta fans need to keep loving them some of 3rd and grantham.
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It’s good to see all the 3rd and Grantham nostalgia revived in the comments above. I feel like it was being forgotten after that blown 4th and 34 against Miami.
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Wasn’t Miss State a top 10 defense last year? They were at least top 25. So they obviously had a bunch of talent there the year before when Grantham coached them to being the 93rd best D in the country. That’s a great coach right there…
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….. in Alachua County, FL.
Good thing he’s so good, uga might have hung 100 on them last year. Or this year.
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G.D.C.O.O.E. (Trademark please, Florida people…)
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Is that comment the old “vote of confidence?”
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For my money…that gator just “BLOWS”.
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