Why Gators Freshman Safety Kamari Wilson Can Make Immediate Impact
It's not often a freshman makes an instant impact for a program, at least not in Week 1, but the Florida Gators could have one of those rare players in safety Kamari Wilson, who enrolled on campus early after becoming one of head coach Billy Napier's prized signings during the early signing period in December.
The last true freshman defensive back to earn a Week 1 start for Florida as a freshman was Marco Wilson in 2017. Safety Rashad Torrence II earned reps in his first week as a freshman in 2020, filling in for Shawn Davis that season who was ejected during the contest.
Wilson, 6-foot, 201 pounds hails from IMG Academy out of Bradenton (Fla). He was graded as the No. 3 safety in the 2022 recruiting class according to Sports Illustrated All-American and signed with Florida over schools such as Georgia, LSU, Florida State and Texas A&M.
Here is Sports Illustrated All-American's scouting report for Wilson:
An explosive, physical enforcer who flashes against the run and the pass, Wilson has throwback strong safety traits with the athleticism to challenge for a versatile role. He is among the most comfortable in the class running the alley and finishing with force. The coverage instincts are strong in both reaction time, redirection and breaking downhill on the ball or ball carrier. Wilson may have been the best player on a star-studded IMG Academy defense in 2020, flashing the range and sideline to sideline ability to match his confidence.
Still, Wilson is only a freshman and with that, there are certain to be some stumbles along the way as he works his game into the next level of college football. Where Wilson shines, though, Florida is lacking to a degree.
Sure, the team is returning starting safeties in fifth-year senior Trey Dean III and Torrence this season, but the depth behind them is either inexperienced or lacking in one way, shape, or form.
Kamar Wilcoxson, listed as a safety on the official UF roster, has played incredibly limited snaps, seeing action in just one game during his freshman season in 2020, while missing the entirety of his redshirt freshman season due to an injury.
It should also be noted that Wilcoxson projects as a STAR in Florida's defense, making him a long shot to become a heavy rotator at the safety position.
Redshirt freshman Corey Collier Jr. didn't play a snap in 2021 and is currently listed at 6-foot-1, 179 pounds, far from the ideal playing weight for a safety in college football. He would need to bulk up some to earn meaningful snaps.
Though sophomore Donovan McMillon saw action in all 13 games last year, he remains inexperienced at the position and has the potential to rotate some in the STAR position as the Florida coaching staff figures out its ideal rotation for a struggling position group.
That essentially leaves Mordecai McDaniel, a rising junior who struggled at the position last season, and Wilson as the last two standing to play primarily safety this season along with Torrence and Dean.
With McDaniel's struggles, Wilson has a big opportunity to emerge as the third safety in a rotation with McMillon at that spot as the team continues to find out what they have in its two returning veterans, making Wilson's potential impact from the onset of the season incredibly high.
This is all hypothetical, but given Wilson's size and acumen, it would make sense for him to be a player worth depending on in the backend of the Florida defense, something the team has struggled with mightily in the past.
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