Gators’ Corey Raymond Sees Potential in CB Jason Marshall Jr, ‘He’s Buying In'
Photo: Jason Marshall Jr.; Credit: Alex Shephard
When the Florida Gators brought in cornerback Jason Marshall Jr. last year as the program's high-prize recruiting signee, the idea was he could come in and assert himself as one of the team's top defensive backs right away.
Ultimately, that came to fruition when Marshall saw first-team reps early, starting in six contests while playing in all 13 games for Florida.
His play was more than admirable, as he dominated his side of the field, allowing just 36.8% of his passes targeting him to be completed. Just one other CB finished with a better completion percentage, Wester Michigan's Dorian Jackson at 34.5%.
That, of course, doesn't tell the whole story about Marshall, who continues to work hard at his craft, refining his technique. But it does point to his potential and future projection at the position while he continues his career at UF.
His new position coach, Corey Raymond, was bullish when asked about the young CB during spring. Raymond recruited Marshall while he was still at LSU and Marshall resided at his high school in South Florida, Miami Palmetto. Now, it's come full circle, Raymond said.
"I thought he was one of the top guys coming out. He decided to come to Florida [and] just [to] come full circle, we wound up coming here," Raymond said. "So everything works for a reason."
Marshall's game isn't complete just yet. And how could it be? The true sophomore is barely over a year out of high school and while he might show on the field that he's ahead of the curve, he still has plenty to learn.
Raymond himself might be just the man for the job. After years of teaching some of the top NFL prospects in recent history, including Eric Reid (2012), Jalen Mills (2015), Jamal Adams (2016), Tre’Davious White (2016), Greedy Williams (2018), Grant Delpit (2018 and 2019) and Derek Stingley Jr. (2019, 2020).
Gators DB coach Corey Raymond
Alex Shepherd
With an extensive list of top-tier defensive backs that have made plenty of money in the NFL, perhaps no one has a better resume. Part of what has made Raymond such a good coach over the years, aside from his past playing career himself, is his ability to relate to players and get to know them.
Though Raymond admitted he's hard on players on the field, it's more than on-field work that makes a coach relatable, likable and getting an understanding for them. It's about being there for them away from the gridiron, too.
"It's just like they [are] family. You playing like it's a relay race ... now I got the stick. It's their a kid, so I got to make sure that the values that they have with their families expect of them that's the values they gotta tend to have and in college."
Players will react to that, and of course, that helps them on the field as well, taking to coaching and learning from Raymond himself.
"You want to get to know the player because you expect him to give it all he got for you." Raymond acknowledged. "So you got to make sure that he knew he could trust you. And that you're A1 for him."
For Marshall, having Raymond brought in has been a "blessing," it was hard to turn the former LSU coach down when he committed to Florida, but now it doesn't matter.
"It was a blessing, you know, I turned him down there. And then all of a sudden, he's here now," said Marshall.
Raymond's coaching is already taking to Marshall, who says he's improved his press-man coverage technique, something that he's had to adjust from this past season.
Marshall's "welcome to college football" game last season occurred in Week 3 against Alabama, going up against some of the top receivers this past season such as John Metchie and Jameson Williams to name a couple. That was when Marshall felt like he was able to stand out.
Marshall would play just 21 coverage snaps in that game, according to PFF, but allowed only one reception for seven yards, targetted just once against one of the top passing offenses in the entire nation.
"Them being the top contenders for years, with Jameson [Williams] and [John] Metchie, they're good players. Playing against good players, made me stand out as well," Marshall said during spring. "That was a big opportunity," he later added about playing a decent bit last year. "And it gave me the experience. The experience. Playing in the SEC, one of the hardest conferences to play [in]."
Still, Marshall understands that he has plenty of work to do, working on areas of his game like being more "smooth" in press, finishing, breaking up passes, and making more plays on the ball. Under Raymond, Marshall says his technique is already improving.
"With [Raymond's] experience is helping everybody in the corners room. And he is very specific with the details," Marshall said of his position coach. "And that will help a lot of us, not [just] here, but in NFL, in the next level too."
Raymond says he's already seen improvement from Marshall, noting that he's still getting to understand how he is as a coach. That he has a chance to be "really good."
"He has a chance to be really good. You know, he's buying in, he's a good kid. He's doing everything that he's supposed to do to get better," Raymond said.
"Just cleaning up all those little bitty things, just learning to position, learning how to be out there as a corner in different scenarios, because you're not going to do the same thing every time, you're going to have to change up every play when it comes to a different technique at a different coverage.
"That goes to different eye progressions. And just learning how to do that. If you learn that, you take yourself to another level. So when you get to that next level, you're already ahead of the game. You know, you see most of my guys that I coach when they go to the [NFL] you know, they're ready to play."
Though Marshall is still just a sophomore, it's clear to see how much of an impact a coach like Raymond will have on the young player. His attention to detail and his reputation speak volumes. Now, it's all about Marshall himself continuing to buy in, attempting to become the next great talent produced by one of the top assistants in football.
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