'The Sky's the Limit' for Florida Gators CB Kaiir Elam
When Jules Montinar accepted the role of cornerbacks coach for the Florida Gators in January, he walked into a room filled with young, inexperienced - but high potential - talent. There is, however, one player who jumps off the charts as far as potential at the position to Montinar, third-year cornerback Kaiir Elam.
“I think the sky’s the limit in terms of his potential," Montinar said at his first media availability earlier this month. "First off, the kid’s very coachable. I love his attitude. He comes to work every day. Since Day 1 his attitude’s been awesome in the room. Has great leadership qualities. He comes in. He writes notes. He asks questions."
Elam, a true junior, began to show promise at the cornerback position during his freshman season in which he started five games, appearing in all 13 in 2019. He was able to tally 11 tackles, three interceptions and four pass breakups. He would go on to finish as one of seven FBS and one of two true freshmen in the SEC with at least three interceptions.
The accolades speak for themselves, and Elam has shown enough promise that he could one day finish as one of the best to play the position at the university, granted he and the talent around him continue to improve week-in-and-week-out. Montinar has already begun to see where Elam might need to improve, and how much of an active listener he is in the classroom.
Montinar began work right away in learning about his star cornerback when he arrived on campus earlier this year. Watching every play Elam was involved in last season, he looked to find ways to improve and to build off of the good plays that occurred in 2020.
Even though Elam is a veteran within the young Florida secondary, he might still be the most studious, according to Montinar Elam still takes notes even while some of the younger players might not be.
"He was asking for more, 'Coach, when can we meet. I’m available this time.’ It’s been great. I can’t say enough great things about this kid because he leads by example," he explained. "We’ll be in a meeting room and some of our younger guys that haven’t learned this defense and they’re not taking notes. And this is Kaiir’s third or fourth time hearing this stuff and he’s writing down everything us coaches are still saying."
It is hard to find players as ready to take the leap as Elam seemed to be as soon as he got on campus in 2019. The Gators have been in search of plenty of talent, and they hope Elam can pass down his knowledge to some of the younger generations.
This year, Florida brought in star cornerback Jason Marshall Jr. out of Palmetto, he is expected to earn early playing time within the team's young secondary, and having someone like Elam could be incredibly beneficial.
"I think he’s a student of the game and I’m really fired up about having him in the room.”
