The Gators’ cornerback room is considered a strength of the roster leading up to the 2023 season after the return of several key players and the addition of three talented freshmen.
Leading the pack is junior cornerback Jason Marshall, who has started 19 games throughout his two seasons at Florida.
“Just the way he plays, the way he carries himself throughout the day in the facility – he’s a great leader by example,” edge rusher Princely Umanmielen said on Marshall.
The Miami, Florida native will look to build upon his productive Gators’ career in what may be his final season in Gainesville. Marshall recently received a 2024 NFL Draft first round grade according to ESPN’s Jordan Reid.
The competition for the cornerback spot opposite of Jason Marshall is heating up during fall camp.
Sophomore cornerback Devin Moore appeared in five games during his freshman campaign before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury. During those five games, Moore averaged 33.4 snaps per game, establishing himself a prominent role in his first year with the Gators.
“Last year was a bit of a roller coaster,” Moore said. “The first part of the season, just having that opportunity to get on the field early, it definitely was a blessing. It just felt like a lot of the hard work that my coaches preached, even the strength staff, and all of the help that my teammates gave me too, it definitely seemed like it paid off. And then come Missouri week, I took a bad fall and it kind of sent me down on a roller coaster a little bit. I feel like I came out of that experience with so much more of the mental game down and honestly I looked at it as more of a blessing and a lesson.”
While Moore is currently dealing with an undisclosed upper body injury, he’s already in ‘return to play’ protocol and is excited to jump back into competition for a starting spot at cornerback.
“I feel like having that competition in the room just boosts us tremendously,” Moore said. “Everybody is working hard day in and day out. And in the cornerback room, we actually have a motto that we kind of live by. It’s, ‘Everybody eats as long as you take care of your business and coaches can trust you.’ So as long as you just take care of your business, you’ll get your opportunity.”
Another player to keep an eye on is redshirt junior Jalen Kimber, who has impressed the coaching staff this offseason.
“He had a terrific offseason,” Billy Napier said on the Texas native. “Kimber’s added a lot of lean muscle. He’s always tested – he can run, he can jump, he’s had the injury upon arrival with the shoulder that was a bit of a setback. Then he had the cast last year on his hand. I think he’s a player that sees an opportunity.”
After transferring from Georgia, Kimber appeared in all 13 games in his first season with the Gators, totaling 197 snaps off the bench. Kimber will likely battle Devin Moore for a starting spot this fall camp.
The Gators will find immediate depth from a pair of true freshmen in Ja’Keem Jackson and Dijon Johnson, who could see the field very early on in Gainesville.
“You throw the young players in there, you start talking about Ja’Keem and D Johnson, who’s been very impressive,” Napier said on his young cornerbacks. “That’s a good room and certainly it’s going to be competitive.”
Dijon Johnson was one of the few players in the 2023 recruiting class who didn’t make it to spring camp, but the freshman has turned heads in his first week of practice.
“I think the corner position is really stacked. I feel like the staff did a great job of evaluating and recruiting the corner position,” Princely Umanmielen said on the cornerback competition. “We have a young guy Didi [Dijon Johnson], he’s been looking great so far this camp. I feel like the corner position is in good hands right now.”
Like many positions on the roster, the depth in Florida’s cornerback room is built on young talent. The Gators rotated 4-5 cornerbacks into the game at times a year ago, and I expect that to be the case once again.
“We are going to be dependent on young players this year, but I think we got good ones,” Napier said during his press conference on Monday afternoon.
“We are living in an era of college football where a rookies got to play, a free agents got to play, whether that’s a portal or a high school player,” Napier said. “You got to build your systems in a way to where a first-year player can contribute and make a major difference in your team.”