Florida Gators CB Marco Wilson Opts Out of Bowl, Entering NFL Draft

Florida Gators cornerback Marco Wilson has opted out of UF's upcoming Cotton Bowl appearance against the Oklahoma Sooners and will enter the 2021 NFL Draft, as confirmed by Nick de la Torre of GatorsTerritory.

Wilson was the fourth cornerback in program history to emerge as a day one starter, a spot he held onto during his entire freshman season. In the second game of his true sophomore season, Wilson tore his ACL and was forced to miss the rest of the year.

The 6-foot-1, 191-pound cornerback returned in 2019 and started at both outside cornerback at STAR nickel cornerback, two spots in which he bounced between during the 2020 season. In his UF career, Wilson tallied 99 tackles, including 2.5 for loss, three interceptions, and 17 defended passes.

Despite a strong start to his UF career that was undoubtedly hampered by such a major injury, Wilson will, unfortunately, be remembered for a blunder against LSU on Dec. 12, where he earned an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for throwing the shoe of LSU wide receiver Kole Taylor after a third-down stop. The Tigers received a fresh set of downs and went on to kick a game-winning field goal, effectively upsetting the No. 6 Gators in the 2020 regular-season finale.

Wilson is the brother of former Gators cornerback, and 2017 second-round draft pick, Quincy Wilson. He joins Florida wide receivers Trevon Grimes and Kadarius Toney, as well as tight end Kyle Pitts, as players who have opted out of Florida's Cotton Bowl appearance against the Oklahoma Sooners on Dec. 30, and those three have also declared for the annual NFL selection ceremony.