With all 11 defensive starters returning and so many newcomers trying to find a place for themselves in the spring, Florida players say it's not just a motivational tactic when coaches say no job is completely safe.

And that has made spring drills much more intense this year.

"Practice is now like game-situations and you know any play you get beat on could win or lose the game, or win or lose a position,'' senior LB Dustin Doe said. "So I think it's making practice a lot better, and it's making the team a lot more competitive. Every day in the meeting  room, in the offseason, a lot of guys are more focused because they know if you make that wrong step, there's a guy behind you that can play just as good or better.''

UF coach Urban Meyer has said he doesn't want this Saturday's Orange and Blue game to end without having decided on a definitive starter and backup at each position.

Doe said the defensive players have been given a book of statistics from last season, showing everything they accomplished - and that they didn't. One that especially irritates the defensive players and coaches is the fact they didn't register a shutout last season. So the goal isn't to be as good as they were last season.

"We don't want to be the same team we were last year, we want to be better,'' Doe said. "We want to be the best defense in the NCAA.''