How Could Jadarrius Perkins Shakeup the Florida Gators Secondary?
After welcoming four transfers before spring football camp, the Florida Gators welcomed another experienced college prospect who has a chance to take the field immediately.
Cornerback Jadarrius Perkins, formerly with Missouri for three months after two years at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, pledged to become a member of UF's secondary on Saturday evening. A long, athletic defensive back with positional versatility, the hope is that Perkins can come in and make an immediate impact on the backend of the Gators' defense.
Perkins took first team reps during Missouri's spring camp this offseason, quickly adapting to the Tigers defense after enrolling in January. With two new defensive backs coaches on staff and following numerous veteran departures, it isn't out of the question to suggest Perkins will similarly surge up the depth chart in Gainesville.
The question is, where does Perkins fit into Florida's secondary entering the 2021 season? UF has yet to confirm his transfer, but Perkins is expected to be immediately eligible after the NCAA Division I Board of Directors shifted toward a one-time transfer rule in April.
So long as that is the case, Perkins should be expected to find playing time rather quickly with the Gators.
Capable of playing both outside and nickel cornerback, Perkins could factor into both spots on the depth chart as he offers playing experience in an otherwise young secondary. Florida really only has one starter set in stone among its three cornerback positions: Kaiir Elam, who primarily mans the outside, boundary corner spot.
With three All-SEC honors (two Coaches, one Associated Press) in two seasons at Florida, Elam is locked into a starting role and won't leave the field often. Snaps could open up outside if Elam shadows an offense's best receiver into the slot or in some sub-packages, but in base defense he'll mainly play outside.
That leaves Perkins with snaps to take between the field and STAR nickel cornerback positions, where no player has put together a résumé quite like Elam's. Given Perkins' length and speed, he's an ideal fit to play outside opposite of Elam and man up on receivers in press coverage. Perkins also has the speed to play off-man and various outside zone schemes.
In that case, Perkins would chiefly compete with junior cornerback Jaydon Hill for playing time. Hill made five starts last season and broke up seven passes, ranking second-best on the team behind Elam, and has been expected to take over the starting role that Marco Wilson vacated by entering the NFL Draft.
If anything, Hill and Perkins are likely to rotate significantly at the field cornerback spot as UF's defensive backs have regularly rotated in the past.
Should Florida elect to play Perkins in the nickel as well, he'll battle sophomore Tre'Vez Johnson for playing time at STAR. Johnson didn't start as a true freshman but appeared in 11 games defensively, making 15 tackles and defending two passes while playing in the slot almost exclusively.
Although his skill-set may fit best outside, Perkins could also thrive in the STAR role in redzone packages where Florida wants bigger defensive backs in coverage. Such packages could pave a way for UF to get freshman cornerback Jason Marshall Jr. onto the field as well, creating a trio of physical, press-man corners in Marshall, Perkins and Elam that can lock down receivers in a confined area of the playing field.
Otherwise, Marshall, a consensus five-star in Florida's 2021 signing class, won't need to be rushed onto the field. That could prove pivotal in his development as Marshall's senior season of high school ball was altered and shorted amid the coronavirus pandemic. With Perkins now in the fold, Marshall can instead play in a limited fashion and take on snaps as he gains comfort within the defense.
Perkins will have to prove himself in Florida's fall camp to earn immediate playing time as he makes the leap from junior college football to the SEC, but the arrow appears to be pointing up. Perkins' versatility and college experience could prove instrumental as coaches Wesley McGriff and Jules Montinar reconstruct Florida's secondary, offering the team a stop-gap and a proven commodity of sorts as it attempts to stabilize its passing defense.
