Carlos Dunlap is a physical freak.

Standing at 6-6 and weighing 290 pounds, Dunlap has been clocked at 4.4 in the 40-yard dash. It’s the extremely rare combination of size and speed that makes him, perhaps, the most feared pass rusher in the SEC.

In January, Dunlap put his athletic prowess on display in prime time when he earned Defensive MVP honors in Florida’s 24-14 win over Oklahoma in the national championship game. He finished the game with four tackles, a half-sack, two tackles for loss, a quarterback hurry and a pivotal field goal block.

In April, SI.com’s Andrew Perloff put out a 2010 NFL Mock Draft and projected Dunlap, a rising junior, to go 15th overall to the Minnesota Vikings. Of course that came with one caveat. Perloff noted that Dunlap would likely go higher if he dominates. And, just about every other 2010 projection has Dunlap as a high first-round selection.

Before he was a Gator, however, Dunlap was a star at Fort Dorchester High School in North Charleston. The big defensive end was so athletic that the Patriots used him to return kickoffs at times. Friday, the Florida Gators held practice at 5 a.m., and when the team’s work was done, Dunlap made the drive back to South Carolina so that he could catch his old high school team take on Camden in a scrimmage.

It just so happens that the Camden-Fort Dorchester scrimmage takes place every year at a halfway point -- South Carolina State University. Following Friday’s season-opening practice for the South Carolina State Bulldogs and prior to the prep scrimmage, the 2009 All-SEC preseason first team selection took time to speak with T&D Sports Editor Brian Linder for The T&D’s Sunday Conversation.

Q: So, you guys started practice Thursday?

A: Yeah, we started Thursday. We practiced with no pads.

Q: How excited are you about this season?

A: I’m anxious just to live up to the hype. Everybody is expecting us to be the number one defense to ever play football so we are just working to live up to that.

Q: What’s it like for you being a part of that Florida Gator defense?

A: Playing around those guys, it doesn’t take much to get going. You just see those guys going and you just try to keep up.

Q: Saturday in “The Swamp.” You guys are the defending national champions and are always contenders. What is it like to be down on the field, Saturday, in “The Swamp”?

A: It’s great to be a Florida Gator playing in “The Swamp.” It’s something. Just that stadium. Just the fans. Just the atmosphere. It’s crazy. You can’t even talk to the man standing right next to you.

Q: When you line up in the SEC, what’s it like in terms of the game on the field?

A: There’s a lot of competition. That’s why I stayed in the SEC ... for the competition. The only way you are going to better yourself is to compete against somebody who is just as good or better than you. That’s the only way you are going to better yourself.

Q: Summer workouts at Florida. I remember you in high school being a tall, skinny kid. You have beefed up a good bit. What are the workouts like?

A: I put on 90 pounds before I came to Florida. I came in at 290, but of course that toned it up and right now they are training us as if we didn’t go to a bowl game. So, we are going to be ready for next year.

Q: There are a lot of high expectations for you. How are you handling those and approaching this season?

A: I’m just staying humble. I’m just thinking about all the things I did wrong. The things that I messed up or the things that I think I need to work on better to improve. I’m just constantly thinking about things I can work on to improve myself.

Q: You won a national championship last year and had a huge game in that win. What was that like for you?

A: I was more surprised than anything when I got the MVP because I was more disappointed in the way I played. I’m still disappointed in some of the stuff I did in that game. That’s the reason my motivation has been high for this whole summer of workouts, just working on things that I messed up in that game. But, the whole defense together, we just want to be the number one defense to ever play college football. That’s what we are working toward this year, and everybody is working and striving to reach that goal.

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