"You are the weakest link."

Antrel Rolle heard those words so often this summer, he might have envisioned himself on the set of the popular television game show.

Everywhere Rolle turned, someone was pointing out that the only obstacle between the Miami Hurricanes and another national championship was the team's inexperienced secondary.

"Everyone thinks we're the weak links," said Rolle, Miami's sophomore cornerback. "We hear that everyday."

On Saturday, Rolle and his fellow defensive backs get to prove otherwise when the top-ranked Hurricanes meet No. 6 Florida and quarterback Rex Grossman in Gainesville.

	“	We're not going into this game with any kind of low expectations. We're going into to play darn well and try not to let them catch a pass. ”
		— Miami DBs coach Mark Stoops

Grossman, last year's Heisman Trophy runner-up, will face a secondary greener than the grass at Florida Field.

Of the eight defensive backs on the Hurricanes' two-deep depth chart, four are freshmen, two are sophomores and the two greybeards -- cornerback Al Marshall and safety Maurice Sikes -- are juniors.

None had ever made a start until last week, when Miami began defense of its 2001 national championship with a 63-17 rout of Division I-AA Florida A&M at the Orange Bowl.

The novice defenders performed well in their debuts, holding the pass-happy Rattlers to 94 yards through the air.

But, if Saturday's showdown against the Gators is a major test, the FAMU game was merely a pop quiz.

"Definitely the receivers will be a lot better, the quarterback will be 100 times better and the speed will be a lot different," Sikes said.

How Miami's defensive backs react, will go a long way in deciding whether or not the Hurricanes extend the nation's longest win streak to 24 games.

"We know the personnel is going to get better," said Mark Stoops, Miami's defensive backs coach. "It will be a challenge, but we're up to the challenge."

Stoops is in charge of rebuilding a secondary that was impenetrable last season.

Miami ranked first in the country in 2001 with 27 interceptions while allowing just five touchdown passes, a total matched only by Florida.

The Hurricanes ranked second nationally in pass defense (138.18 yards per game) to West Virginia, but only because the Mountaineers were horrible against the run, inviting opponents to keep the ball on the ground.

Three of last season's starters -- cornerbacks Mike Rumph and Phillip Buchanon and safety Edward Reed -- were selected in the first round of April's NFL draft. That marked the first time that three defensive backs from one school were taken in the opening round of a single draft.

Safety James Lewis, the fourth member of the starting unit, was also drafted.

With that quartet on the field most of the time, there was little playing time for anyone else. Of the defensive backs presently on Miami's roster, only Marshall saw regular action during crunch time.

They'll get plenty of it against the Gators, who opened the 2002 season last week with a 51-3 victory against UAB. Grossman completed 16-of-26 attempts for 337 yards and two touchdowns while receiver Taylor Jacobs broke Florida's 33-year record for most receiving yards in a game, piling up 246 on eight catches.

Free safety Sean Taylor indicated he wasn't particularly impressed with Jacobs' performance.

"You got to think about it -- that was UAB," said Taylor, a 6-3, 220-pound sophomore. "(They're) playing Miami."

Taylor, who may have the biggest shoes to fill in the secondary as he takes over for Reed, said the Hurricanes' young defensive backs won't be intimidated by Florida.

"The same talent they have over there, we have over here," Taylor said. "Probably even better."

Miami may be getting more of that talent back for Saturday's game.

Redshirt freshman Kelly Jennings, who may be the Hurricanes' best cover cornerback, is expected to play after missing the opener with a tendon injury to his right hand.

Jennings originally injured the tendon prior to fall practice and underwent surgery. He re-injured the hand a week before the season opener, requiring more surgery.

"The pin is there again, but I just want to play," Jennings said.

Miami is also expected to have All-America defensive end Jerome McDougle back for the Gators. McDougle sat out against Florida A&M with a strained pectoral that has limited him most of the fall.

McDougle's return should give added zest to the Hurricanes' pass rush, which Miami coach Larry Coker said will be the key to whether his defenses plays well on Saturday.

"The thing is, if we don't get pressure on Grossman, I don't care who you're secondary is," Coker said. "It's going to be a long day."

The Hurricanes got plenty of pass rush against Florida A&M, registering seven sacks and countless hurries. The pressure was so fierce on Rattlers' quarterback Casey Printers, that Miami's defensive backs weren't called on to make many plays.

Still, Coker was encouraged by what he saw.

"I realize that Printers was under a lot of pressure, but a lot of times there was no place to go with the ball," Coker said.

If that's the case again on Saturday, Miami's defensive backs will surely shake the tag of weakest link.

"We're not going into this game with any kind of low expectations," Stoops said. "We're going into to play darn well and try not to let them catch a pass."

Jorge Milian covers college football for the Palm Beach Post.