How Kofi Asare Can Help a Struggling Gators' Pass Rush

Pass rusher, for every team in football, regardless of level, needs to be a priority. Currently, the Florida Gators remain in desperate need of someone to step forward and fill the need.

Can UMass transfer Kofi Asare be that type of player while those ahead of him on the depth chart heal from injury?

Asare Aims to Make an Impact

With the season, from here to the end, hanging precariously by the thinnest of strings, Florida needs to find a way to make Texas quarterback Arch Manning feel uncomfortable. needs the quickest solution is uncomfortable.

The solution is pressure. With only three sacks on the season, the anemic pass rush needs to do something. Defensive coordinator Ron Roberts does wants to send the house to generate a rush. As a result, the pass rushers up front need to affect sacks and effect change in a hurry.

Despite being in his first season with the program, Asare may be the answer Florida needs.

Uncommon Path

Asare hit the portal and ended up in Gainesville from the University of Massachusetts. To say he played through rough times is quite the understatement.

In only 28 seasons dating back to 1892, the Minutemen have struggled. The last five-win season enjoyed in Amherst was 1902. The program took a 105-year hiatus from FBS, returning in 2012.

Since its return, the school has suffered through seven double-digit loss seasons and two winless campaigns. As a result, you don't expect a transfer portal addition from such a downtrodden football school. Yet Asare made a way. He parlayed a three-sack season into coming to Gainesville.

Head Coach Billy Napier explained why they took a chance on Asare.

“He has energy. He has a motor. He's tough. He's got a work ethic, and he's passionate about the game," Napier said. "He's a really good teammate. I think he's long, long, and he's got some twitch. He's learning how to use his length, and he has some play strength that he's developed here, and I think that's translated. And look, it's the first year of the system for him, so I think in the back half of the year here he could play even better."

What Asare Is and Isn't

From the snap, Asare wants to bend the corner and win with a quick first step and speed, banking on offensive tackles to be too slow to adjust or meet him on the boundary. Moreover, his longer arms create a vast tackle radius that should keep him in the play longer. If used correctly, Asare could become a useful piece to the defense.

Do not look for Asare to win with power. Granted he did gain considerable weight and strength, adding 20-30 pounds this offseason, according to Napier, but this isn't the Mid-American Conference.

There is more to playing edge in the SEC than just gaining weight. The speed of the game from an adjustment level will take time. Not just from opponents but also from his teammates.

His Own Words

With LJ McCray injured for the long term and George Gumbs Jr., who is available for Saturday's game, battling his own injury, Asare saw more reps against Miami. During media availability, the spoke of what he needed to work on.

"As a football player, I've improved most at my play recognition, physicality, and just understanding where I need to be," he said. "And understanding that every play is not going to be your play, but you've got to do your job. So, when the time comes, you're going to be right there."

Bottom Line

Is Asare the answer to Florida's pass rush issues? Most likely not.

Still, with his speed, just narrowing his focus to nothing but rushing the quarterback will help him in the long run. On primarily passing downs, Asare just needs to find the ball and the opponent who currently holds it.

Hopefully, it will be the quarterback.

In addition, finding a speedy edge without deep commitment, Florida could have unearthed a valuable depth piece for the next few games, starting with Texas on Saturday.