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Sharif Denson fails to land frustration punch on Malachi Toney

FaceProfileby: Thomas Goldkamp09/21/25
NCAA Football: Florida at Miami
Sep 20, 2025; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Miami Hurricanes wide receiver Malachi Toney (10) carries the football against Florida Gators defensive back Sharif Denson (0) during the first quarter at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

Florida played a frustrating first half against Miami, trailing 13-0 at the break. And those frustrations appeared to be boiling over toward the end of the half, with defensive back Sharif Denson tossing a fist at a Miami player.

The play in question came late in the second quarter. Following some back-and-forth contact with Hurricanes receiver Malachi Toney, Denson uncorked a punch of sorts with his right hand.

Sharif Denson failed to connect. Probably for the best, as officials missed the attempt and it went unpenalized. You can view it below.

Florida’s defense was actually playing pretty admirably in the first half, holding Miami to just 13 points despite getting almost nothing from quarterback DJ Lagway and the offense. Still, the ‘Canes were in a dominant position in the game.

Miami started off the game in great form, piling up 116 yards of total offense in the first quarter despite Florida starting with the ball. The team went 5-of-5 on third down in the opening stanza.

But Florida’s defense, including Sharif Denson, began toughening up, holding Miami without a third-down conversion on its next four attempts. The ‘Canes had 198 total yards at the break.

Special teams gaffe a familiar one

Florida has been plagued by special teams errors throughout coach Billy Napier‘s tenure. And a popular problem has been not having enough players on the field on special teams.

It appears that one has reared its ugly head yet again. Early in the second quarter in a game against rival Miami, reporters noticed that Florida only had 10 men on the field for a field goal attempt.

The Athletic’s Matt Baker pointed out the gaffe on Twitter, well before the Sharif Denson incident. You can see the issue here.

The issue getting the correct number of players on special teams plays was big enough early in Napier’s tenure that Florida went to extreme measures to correct it. The team ordered a custom mat with 11 places on it for players to stand on on the sidelines.

In theory, that would solve the problem of not having 11 guys ready to run out onto the field. In practice, results have been … wanting.