SEC INSIDER

Florida’s Fowler comes up big in final game with Gators

The Sports Xchange

January 03, 2015 at 2:57 pm.

Dante Fowler was a dominant force in Florida's win over East Carolina in the Birmingham Bowl. (Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports)

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama — Florida defensive end Dante Fowler Jr. didn’t carry home the MVP hardware from Saturday’s Birmingham Bowl. But, with apologies to MVP running back Adam Lane Jr., perhaps no player’s fingerprints were more evident on the 28-20 victory over East Carolina at Legion Field than Fowler’s.

Besides his three sacks, Fowler’s stats don’t necessarily jump off a page of postgame statistics. In fact, those three sacks were the lone tackles he was credited for in the game. But it was the timing of his big plays that helped Florida celebrate a bowl game victory after regulation play under interim head coach D.J. Durkin instead of possibly playing overtime.

Two of Fowler’s three sacks came in the final 11:06 when the Gators were clinging onto the 8-point advantage. The first came on the opening drive of series when he dropped Carden for a 6-yard loss on first down. Fowler also hurried Carden into a third-down incompletion to force a punt.

East Carolina moved to the Florida 27-yard line on its next series before the drive was stunted by a false start penalty and an 8-yard sack by Fowler. Two plays later, East Carolina had to punt the ball away.

“Dante was disruptive in the backfield all day long,” said Florida interim head coach D.J. Durkin.

Fowler, an All-SEC selection and second team All-American, is regarded for his consistent play.

Dante Fowler was a dominant force in Florida's win over East Carolina in the Birmingham Bowl. (Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports)

But he felt more of an urgency to do so when leading tackler Antonio Morrison left the game with a knee injury early in the second quarter.

“My mentality was to basically put the team on my back, the defense on my back” Fowler said. “I had to keep going because Antonio is basically our leader, our quarterback of the defense. When he got hurt, I told him I was going to hold it down and anchor everything.”

Now Fowler is off to chase an NFL dream. He has one more season of eligibility but has opted to leave school early. He leaves after contributing 140 tackles, 34 tackles for loss and 15.5 sacks in three seasons. Afterward, he stayed on the field longer than most teammates and was the only Florida player still wearing his jersey in the postgame press conference.

“Basically going out with a W and celebrating with my teammates and my coaches,” Fowler said when asked about his final Florida memory. “Durkin was one of my recruiters. Just to see how everything is ending is kind of crazy. Like I said before, I think this is the best decision I ever made. I was fortunate enough to do great things here and now I’m able to go on to the next level. I can’t ask for a better feeling.”