2020 Florida Gators Season in Review: Cornerbacks
The black mark of the Gators team in the 2020 season, defined by a play that will forever live in infamy.
With 2:45 left to go in the fourth quarter on a foggy Gainesville night, Florida had just hit a field goal to tie up the score at 34 against cross-divisional rival LSU.
Stopping the Tigers for no gain on the first two downs of the drive, first-time starter at quarterback Max Johnson would complete a pass to Kole Taylor for four yards. As a result, the Florida defense looked as if they had prevailed, giving Kyle Trask and their prolific offense another shot to ice the game and escape the gritty LSU team's upset attempts.
However, following the play's end, Gators cornerback and defensive captain Marco Wilson would throw the game away (literally) and give the LSU offense a second-chance to get into field goal range.
Wilson would be penalized for “throwing the LSU player’s shoe twenty yards downfield” on the play, giving the Tigers a fresh set of downs. Capitalizing upon the mistake, Ed Oregeron’s unit would push into field goal range where kicker Cade York would split the uprights from 57 yards out, giving the Tigers a three-point lead and ultimately be the contest's deciding factor.
Looking to enter the SEC Championship game against Alabama with just one loss and an opportunity to find themselves in the College Football Playoff with a victory over the Tide, discombobulation defensively would squander any chances they had.
A record that played on repeat throughout the season.
So without further ado, as we round out the defensive side of the football in our 2020 Florida Gators season in review, today AllGators’ takes a look at the oft-tumultuous cornerback position.
Despite the loss of C.J. Henderson to the NFL following the 2019 season, the believed emergence of true freshman Kaiir Elam as the heir to Henderson’s throne provided anticipation to see how the unit would perform without their top-ten draft pick.
However, the ships' transition to the post-Henderson era saw rockier waves than advertised. A ship that struggled to stay afloat throughout the majority of the season, finally sinking in the loss to LSU.
As a unit plagued by soft cushion and routes across the middle, the first few matchups against the likes of Elijah Moore of Ole Miss and Shi Smith of South Carolina — combining 22 receptions, 312 yards, and one score — creates concerns for the performance of the position as the season wore on.
Majorly employing Elam and Wilson on the outside, with Brad Stewart Jr. seeing starting time at the nickel or STAR position — one in which he started to flourish at come the SEC Championship game — Florida struggled to find the production many are accustomed to seeing from defensive backs wearing orange and blue.
Combining for 116 tackles, three TFLs, 18 pass breakups and two interceptions, the trio of starters saw brief moments — some longer than others — of filling the expectations they were given.
However, according to PFF, their coverage numbers were sorely lacking.
While Elam and Wilson both allowed three touchdowns throughout the year from their boundary positions, the discrepancy in volume of completions was one of great variance.
Seeing just one more target on the season than Wilson (53), Elam — Florida’s best cornerback on the season statistically— allowed 42.6% completion for 326 yards compared to Wilson’s 69.8% completion rate for 490 yards. The evident weak link between the two, Wilson created turmoil in more ways than the shoe throw throughout the year as he was a direct correlation to both regular-season losses Dan Mullen's team endured.
Against Texas A&M, it was his inability to play Aggies wide receiver Caleb Chapman, who had caught one reception in his collegiate career before their meeting. He would account for nine receptions, 151 yards, and two touchdowns. Against LSU, see the tweet above.
On the interior of the secondary, Stewart allowed a horrid 73.9% of his 46 targets to be completed for 383. However, where his efficiency came was allowing his man to score, doing so just once throughout the year.
As a result of the often lackluster consistency from Wilson and Stewart —similarly to the linebacker position — calls for youthful individuals to see more playing time rang (loudly) amongst Gator Nation.
Having young players like Tre'Vez Johnson and Chester Kimbrough (who recently announced his intentions to transfer) play in relief of the aforementioned corners, employing one person specifically was the major focus of the outcries for change.
Namely, sophomore defensive back Jaydon Hill.
Ha while Hill accounted for having the same amount of touchdowns caught on him as Wilson with three, the Huntsville (Ala.) native held an allowed completion rate 10% lower than Wilson. Holding the second-best completion percentage rate of any Florida outside cornerback at just 59.1% for just 160 yards,
Despite his smaller sample size of just 22 targets, Hill held his own in the role he did sport for the Gators defense and presented an upside that had the opportunity to be a game-changing factor for the UF secondary.
With the departures of Wilson, Stewart, and Kimbrough from the program, the cornerbacks are the latest position group to see a significant amount of turnover. However, unlike the defensive tackle group, the cornerbacks will keep their leader in Elam and see a significantly talented freshman class — highlighted by Jason Marshall Jr. — enter the fold.
