CB Jason Marshall and Gators Defense 'Bought In' to Austin Armstrong's Plan

After several years of lackluster play, the Gators' defense is rallying around the plan new defensive coordinator Austin Armstrong brings to the table.

Zach Goodall

Florida's defensive resurgence has been a high priority on the wish list in Gainesville, dating back to the 2021 offseason.

Producing three straight lackluster years of ranking in the bottom half of total defense among the 131 Division-I teams — in which the Gators moved from 74th to 73rd to 87th from 2020 to 2022, according to Sports Reference — Florida is looking to reinvent its defense to return to the level of play it once realized in the mid-2010s.

Austin Armstrong, 30, is the mastermind behind the reinvigoration. As the youngest coordinator at the Power Five-level, Armstrong has acclimated well since he took over play-calling duties for Patrick Toney in February. Displaying genuine energy and a personality that radiates onto the players under his command, Armstrong made an immediate impact this offseason in rallying a struggling group over the past three seasons.

They're rallying around him as a result.

"It all starts off with his energy, his energy that he brings," cornerback Jason Marshall Jr. said at SEC Media Days. "You see him in the hallways, he's screaming your name way down. So just his energy, and, you know, it contributes to everybody. So one person picks [up] on it, it's like contagious.

"It's going to help the defense, and I like where the defense is at right now, so. We're really confident in the defense as well. We're bought into the plan that Coach Armstrong is delivering."

The defense's upturn is contingent on the performance of the unit Marshall spearheads — both as the top cornerback and a leader heading into his junior year.

Despite immense turnover at the spot from a season ago, seeing two veteran starters at safety in Rashad Torrence II and Trey Dean III, Tre'Vez Johnson at STAR and Avery Helm at the near-boundary cornerback spot depart, the Gators have retooled the unit to fill the notable voids.

Miguel Mitchell and Kamari Wilson return for their second season to take on more prominent roles in 2023 and Jaydon Hill moves to plug the STAR. Devin Moore and Jalen Kimber battle for the starting cornerback spot opposite Marshall.

The projected first-round pick is confident the fixes were proper.

"It's a good unit," Marshall said. "We're looking good right now. Confident in everybody in the room. The way, you know, coach Raymond, he holds everybody to a certain standard. No matter if you're the smallest fish or biggest fish in the room, everybody's held to that same standard, and he's gonna coach everybody hard. He wants the best for everybody, so I'm very confident in the whole room."

The combination of the safety and cornerback rooms could serve as an unsung positive to provide stability in communication for the group in the upcoming campaign. Blown coverages and missed assignments became a much-maligned norm in the already deficient efforts on the front.

"It helped a lot, you know. With his experience, it's always something to learn from him. All the guys that he coached, so, you know, like I say, it's all the experience and all the knowledge that he has, and not just passing it to me, myself and the corners and the corners room, but everybody. You know, it helps the whole secondary."

An asset to expedite growth is the addition of Michigan safety transfer RJ Moten.

Despite coming from a different program, Moten provides staunch veteran leadership — with 25 games, two Big 10 Championships and two College Football Playoff semifinal appearances under his belt — and a strong knowledge of what the Gators' defense will attempt to accomplish in 2023. Namely, Moten will serve as the glue through the medium of on-field communication on the backend.

"It helps a lot, not only with me but with everybody, you know, because he is the quarterback of the defense," Marshall said when asked about Moten's impact on communication. 

"So, him making calls and 'Oh, you do this, you do that,' you know, it helps everybody and everybody's all in on one page."

If the Gators defenders collectively turn to that page in 2023, it signals the beginning of a new chapter of defensive efforts. 

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