Linebackers
Daniel: Another active day for A.J. Johnson, who continues to move up the ranks of the all-time leading tacklers in the SEC. He had 13 stops and a TFL. Jalen Reeves-Maybin had nine tackles, added a TFL and an interception as well. Chris Weatherd saw extended time and came away with his first career sack as well. Same theme as the rest of the defense – there were a couple plays they’d like to have back, but, overall, they held up their end of the bargain. Grade: B+
Houston: Jalen Reeves-Maybin and A.J. Johnson combined for 22 tackles, two tackles for a loss and an interception – that’s pretty solid stat-line. Both players were all over the field and really did a great job of tracking down the football all day long. A.J. Johnson got the best of Florida running back Matt Jones on multiple occasions and showed some speed on a few quarterback pressures. Chris Weatherd and Curt Maggitt each tallied a sack and added a spark to the pass-rush that has been missing in certain games this season. There were some missed tackles at times, but it’s hard to call the linebackers’ performance on Saturday anything other than a success. Grade: A
Reed: Nothing groundbreaking here but Johnson and Reeves-Maybin are two of the SEC’s best linebackers. Reeves-Maybin made a great play to start this second half when he intercepted Driskel. Johnson is playing quicker this year and really bottled up Matt Jones, even when Jones got to the edge. Maggitt looks more and more like his old self after turning in another solid day (one sack, three tackles, 1.5 TFLs). Grade: A
