Florida Gators 2022 Positional Outlook: Cornerbacks and STAR
Photo: Jason Marshall Jr.; Credit: Alex Shepherd
Billy Napier's first offseason in charge of Florida Gators football is sure to be a busy and exciting one.
With roster reconstruction already underway via recruiting and the transfer portal, the next step in preparing for his first season as Florida's head coach will focus on identifying and developing talent already on the roster, and determining how to use it best in 2022.
In order to best preview the Gators' upcoming spring camp and the season to come, AllGators is taking a look at each position on the roster to recognize the strengths and weaknesses at each spot, as well as put together early projections of individual depth charts.
RELATED: Gators 2022 positional outlooks
After previewing an intriguing safety position that will bring a mixture of established veterans and fresh faces to rotation, we round out the secondary with the outside cornerbacks and STAR nickel corner positions.
Gators 2022 cornerbacks/STAR outlook
When we discussed the offense, the tight end position popped out as the spot Napier would emphasize as a key piece to the scheme.
Similarly, cornerback is vital to the defense the Gators will run going forward, as they will continue to operate out of a base nickel package.
Luckily for co-defensive coordinator Patrick Toney, a special talent is already in place there. He just has to maximize the talent of the complementary pieces around him.
At outside cornerback, Kaiir Elam hands over the crown as the unrivaled top cornerback the Gators have to offer to Jason Marshall Jr., who flashed substantiated promise last season.
Coming out of high school as a highly regarded coverage man, Marshall stepped into early action due to lack of depth and an early-season injury to Elam.
He started his first collegiate contest against Tennessee and was plugged in as the No. 2 cornerback for the rest of the season in rotation with Avery Helm due to the skillset and SEC-ready frame at 6’0”, 191 pounds.
Helm, despite his standing as a starter last season, will not have an easy path to the sideline opposite Marshall in 2022.
Instead, the returning Jaydon Hill and Georgia transfer Jalen Kimber has immediately created competition — and more importantly depth — in the cornerback room for Helm to sift through.
The nickel cornerback position presents a similar problem, or luxury, depending on which way you look at it.
Last year’s starter and backup STAR’s, Tre’Vez Johnson and Jadarrius Perkins return to the fold with a clean slate ahead of them with the new staff in place.
Johnson holds the edge in experience and playmaking ability when working downhill against the run. Perkins is more refined in his coverage technique and was tabbed as a high-potential coverage man when he moved from Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College to UF.
However, Kamar Wilcoxson will also be a factor at nickel as he looks to bounce back from a season-ending knee injury in 2021. His versatility and range will be his calling card for considerable playing time in the new-look Gators defense.
Luckily for all three, the previous duties that came with being the STAR should be simplified under Toney.
Early 2022 depth chart projection
Cornerback
Starters: Jason Marshall Jr., Avery Helm
Key backups: Jaydon Hill, Jalen Kimber
Reserves: Devin Moore, Ethan Pouncey, Jordan Young
In 2022, a new king is crowned as CB1.
In the midst of turnover last season, the cornerback position presented promise for the future with the breaking out of the former top-ranked defensive back in the 2021 recruiting cycle.
Occupying the cornerback position will be Marshall given the promise in man-to-man coverage he showed in 2021.
Accounting for 23 tackles, three pass breakups and one interception in the season, Marshall proved his worth as he shutdown opposing wideouts on an island.
He allowed the second-best completion percentage in all of college football among qualifying corners at 36.8%, according to Pro Football Focus.
In an increased role as he transitions to the far side position left available by Elam’s departure, Marshall is scheduled to take a considerable jump in his sophomore campaign.
After Marshall, the second cornerback spot is going to be a three-way battle between Helm, Hill and Kimber that spans well into the regular season and will feature a consistent rotation.
For the spring, it’s presumed that Helm will be the one to take the starting first-team reps opposite of Marshall due to his experience, production and growth in 2021.
Hill and Kimber will serve in rotation in what could be an ever-circulating position for a unit that has significantly padded its depth since the end of last season.
Hill, who is coming off a season-ending ending knee injury, will look to inject himself back into the starting role he was scheduled to take on opposite Elam.
Meanwhile, Kimber, a transfer addition from Georgia, possesses the ability to be a reliable coverage man on the outside when healthy.
Similarly to Hill though, the former Bulldog was trending toward assuming a starting spot for the eventual national champions last season before an injury derailed this plans.
Freshman Kelee Ringo took over the role in his absence, solidifying his spot in the historically dominant defense.
That ultimately resulted in Kimber’s transfer to UF.
Younger and less experienced players like Pouncey, a sophomore, Young, a redshirt freshman, and Moore, a true freshman, are expected to play minimally — if much at all — on defense this season.
Nickel/STAR
Starter: Jadarrius Perkins
Key backups: Tre'Vez Johnson, Kamar Wilcoxson
Reserves: Dakota Mitchell, Fenley Graham
The nickel cornerback position remains a staple in the Florida Gators defense as they transition from the Todd Grantham era to a Patrick Toney-led defense.
The only question is: Who will occupy that spot?
Well, that’s a complicated question.
Perkins and Johnson split time at the nickel cornerback position in 2021 with Johnson receiving more of the snaps. Each produced at a similar level and failed to set himself apart from the other to solidify their spot heading into this season.
With a clean slate for all with the new regime taking over, Johnson and Perkins will begin battling in the spring to take over that role.
Johnson, a graduate of Bartram Trail High School in Jacksonville (Fla.), has impressed the staff in the limited time he’s had working with them since Napier arrived in early December.
However, given the physical attributes and experience — albeit at the JUCO level — Perkins falls in as the projected starter at STAR for now.
But, when the fall rolls around, there’s a real possibility neither could be the one to trot out for the first defensive snap against Utah.
Bouncing back from a season-ending knee injury he suffered in fall camp, Wilcoxson is slated to re-enter the fold in a competitive defensive back room in 2022.
As he grows re-acclimated to live-action, Wilcoxson will begin to become a heavy contender — and possibly the favorite — to take on the biggest role at the nickel corner spot at some point during the regular season.
Until then, much like the second cornerback position opposite Marshall, the Gators will utilize a rotation to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses from the trio of potential suitors for the nickel spot in the spring.
Mitchell could appear sparingly if he begins to scratch the surface of expectations set out for him to be groomed as the start nickel before his time in Gainesville came to an end, but will likely spend another year on the sideline given the crowded room in front of him.
Graham is unlikely to see any defensive playing time, but will be a strong contender to carve out a niche on special teams as a return man.
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