Resume Check: New Florida Gators CB Coach Deron Wilson

After the Florida Gators and Will Harris parted ways, Billy Napier and staff left no time for Florida fans to mourn.

On Sunday, three days after Harris' departure, the Gators were reported to hire former Arkansas defensive back coach Deron Wilson, who was slated to take over the defensive coordinator role at Georgia State.

With the move being one of the fastest hires in the Napier era at Florida, Wilson comes in as a bit of an unknown to the fanbase despite working under Napier at UF just three years prior. While his career is still young, the 34-year-old's resume has things to be excited about.

Arkansas Year One Success

In the past two seasons at Arkansas as the defensive backs coach, Wilson saw fluctuating success yet undoubtedly improved the unit.

In his first year in 2023, Wilson’s unit ranked 32nd nationally in passing yards allowed per game, good for fourth in the SEC, and was the lowest Arkansas had allowed since 2011. They also intercepted 12 passes, the third most in the SEC and an improvement from 2022 where Arkansas was ranked 131st nationally and intercepted three less passes.

Additionally, Arkansas had a PFF coverage grade of 84.0 during Wilson's first year, which was sixth in the SEC and 23.5 points higher than the season prior.

The Razorbacks also shot up to eighth nationally in completions allowed per game under Wilson, improving from 20.8 in 2022 to only 15.2 in 2023, while also seeing improvements in passing first downs allowed per game, yards per pass attempt and third down conversions allowed. His unit became a big factor in Arkansas allowing 1.3 points per game less on the year.

While Arkansas’ unit was elevated in coverage, also allowing 1.3 yards less per reception, its tackling proved to be the biggest improvement in Wilson’s first year.

The Razorbacks defense missed 42 fewer tackles on passing plays under the young coach, receiving a PFF tackling grade of 81.4. This grade ranked fourth in the conference and was 18.1 points higher than their previous grade.

On top of unit success as a whole, Wilson aided some breakouts in the secondary as well. The standout of the group was freshman Jaylon Braxton, a four-star recruit who earned Freshman All-SEC honors with a team-leading eight pass break-ups.

As a whole, Wilson’s unit was the first at Arkansas to ever have three or more defensive backs graded 77.0 or higher in PFF history.

Cornerback Dwight McGlothern possibly had the biggest improvement under Wilson of anyone.

After two years at LSU and one with the Razorbacks, McGlothern recorded his best career PFF grade in 2023, leading all SEC defensive backs with a 91.3 while also setting a new program-high. Though missing multiple games due to injury, McGlothern allowed career lows in receptions per target (48%) and yards per reception (11.0) and missed tackle rate in his four seasons (3.7%).

Year Two Regression

After producing a unit that was one of the best in the SEC at a school that doesn’t often reach such heights, Wilson saw huge regression in year two at Arkansas.

The Razorbacks’ defense went backwards in his second season, dropping to 90th nationally in pass yards allowed per game (246.9) while going from near the top of the SEC to dead last. They allowed 3,210 passing yards on the year, worst in the conference, 5.4 more completions per game and caught two less interceptions.

PFF gave the group a 61.0 coverage grade, 23 points lower than Wilson’s first year and the second worst in the SEC. The Razorbacks tackle grade also went down, dropping nealy eight points to 73.5, which moved Arkansas to ninth in the SEC in that category. Overall, no Arkansas defensive back received a grade above a 73.0.

While the regression was quite worrisome, there may have been factors outside of Wilson to point at.

Of the three defensive backs to grade 77.0 or higher for Arkansas in 2023, none played over 100 snaps for the unit in 2024. Both McGlothern and safety Alfahiym Walcott graduated after strong seasons, and Braxton missed all but two games due to injury.

On top of that, of the six defensive backs to play over 200 snaps for Wilson in 2023, only three returned in 2024 including the injured Braxton.

Though retention and injury plagued Wilson’s unit last year, he is not completely off the hook due to some of the guys he brought in.

Of Arkansas' four defensive backs to play over 100 snaps and be graded under 65.0, according to PFF, three were new to the program as Wilson recruits. Amongst the list is former Gators safety Miguel Mitchell, who in his time at Florida was consistently graded one of the worst defensive backs on the team by PFF and became infamous for a missed tackle against Missouri.

What To Expect at Florida

After managing to improve Arkansas’ defensive back unit while also turning it into one of the most productive groups the school has arguably ever had in 2023, Wilson now steps into a Gators roster with much more talent on paper.

In 2025, Florida prepares to return eight defensive backs who were rated over 90.0 as a recruit out of high school by 247sports, six more than Arkansas had last year and five more than they had in 2023. The Gators signed three top 200 defensive back commits in the 2025 class, the same amount that Arkansas has recruited since 2014.

With such an upgrade in talent, there is the expectation that Wilson can find closer success to his 2023 campaign while also improving Florida’s secondary, which had similar numbers to Wilson's group in Arkansas in certain categories.

Florida’s defense ranked 83rd nationally in passing yards allowed per-game under Harris in 2024, just seven spots ahead of Wilson’s unit. As well, Arkansas and Florida finished within 15 spots of each other in opponents' yards per completion, passing first downs per game and third down conversions per game.

On top of this, PFF graded the units relatively similarly. Both teams' defensive coverage grades finished close to the bottom of the SEC, ranking at 14th and 15th out of 16 programs. Florida’s grade at 63.4 was 2.4 points higher than the Razorbacks.

Their tackling grades were somewhat close as well, with Arkansas’ 73.5 grade finishing tied for eight in the SEC, while the Gators sat at 12th with a 69.6 grade. According to PFF, Arkansas defensive backs who play a minimum of 100 snaps had a 16.1% miss tackle rate, while Florida had a 20% rate.

Albeit close in many statistics, the Gators secondary under Harris was certainly the better unit as a result of a strong turnaround near the end of the season.

The Gators intercepted four more passes on the season than Arkansas, allowed four less touchdowns in coverage and held opponents to 2.7 points-per-game less as an entire defense. They finished the season allowing 261 yards less than Wilson’s unit, while also having one more pass breakup and a lower reception-per-target (62.3% to Arkansas' 64.8%).

While Harris’ unit was better than Wilson’s last season, the margins are not large enough to say it is impossible for Florida to see improvements under the new coach. Add Wilson’s prior success with a less-talented group, and it is easy to see a path towards an even better secondary unit for the Gators in 2025.