GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- One of Florida's biggest offseason coups was keeping defensive coordinator Todd Grantham from bouncing for a job in the NFL.

That was a huge deal because it meant that the players on defense wouldn't be playing in a new system for the third straight year. That continuity could really pay dividends on a defense that returns most of its starters from a year ago.

"We're just having fun now. It feels great to finally know the defense, just refreshing our minds about what we already learned," senior linebacker David Reese said. "Last year it was chaos and we were trying to learn everything. It was a quick learning curve. Now we kind of got the basics, got the foundations, and it's time to just get better."

Reese will anchor the middle of the defense.

There's some retooling that has to take place at certain spots after the departures of edge rushers CeCe Jefferson and Jachai Polite, linebacker Vosean Joseph and nickelback Chauncey Gardner-Johnson. But the Gators are well-suited to make those moves.

Louisville graduate transfer Jonathan Greenard has stepped in seamlessly for Polite this spring, while promising sophomore Amari Burney is being groomed as Joseph's replacement. After a stellar freshman season Trey Dean has moved inside to nickelback and looks poised to pick up right where Gardner-Johnson left off.

The biggest thing, though, is that everyone seems to be on the same page this spring.

"It’s a lot different. You know the whole defense," senior defensive end Jabari Zuniga said. "Last year we came out here and we didn’t know nothing. Everybody was everywhere, there was a lot of confusion. Now everything is on point. We have, basically, eight guys from the defense returning."

The big focus this spring, then, isn't who wins what job. It's more just making sure everyone knows how their individual job fits into the big picture.

That's the key to making sure Grantham's defense takes it to the next level.

"Right now we just have to worry about communicating so everybody is on the same page," Zuniga said. "Last year Grantham made a big emphasis that all of our bad plays came off of miscommunication. We had probably nine guys running one defense but two guys doing their own thing. We just have to communicate better."

With a higher comfort level in the system on both sides, Florida players haven't been shy talking about expectations coming off a 10-win season.

The logical next step is to compete for an SEC title. If that happens, the national championship discussion enters the picture. The Gators are embracing those expectations and that reality. They certainly aren't scared to talk about it.

"Definitely not. I feel like we're going to take it game by game," Reese said. "Miami's up first, Aug. 24. So I'm excited about that. That's a big stage, a big brand-name team. But that's far away. So we're just going to keep working, keep getting better during the spring."