Looking Back On, and Forward To, Florida's STAR Position
The Gators are entering a crucial offseason, the second of head coach Billy Napier's tenure, looking to turn things around after Florida posted its second consecutive 6-7 record to conclude the 2022 campaign.
After nearly two dozen scholarship players entered the transfer portal and another ten declared for the NFL Draft, the roster will undoubtedly look a lot different in Napier's second year at the helm.
Therefore, All Gators is breaking down every position on Florida's roster as the offseason gets underway, looking back on every contributor's 2022 season and looking forward to each unit's 2023.
We've examined the past and future of the quarterback, running back, wide receiver, tight end, offensive line, defensive line, JACK edge rusher, linebacker and cornerback breakdowns.
Next, we remain in the secondary to single out arguably the most important position to the defensive success in Patrick Toney's system: STAR nickel cornerback.
Looking back
The STAR position has lost its luster in recent years.
The spot that, at its peak, is a game-changing entity in the 3-4 hybrid defense Florida has run dating back to the previous staff, continues to endure troubling times. In 2022, the Gators looked to reconcile the struggles there as defensive coordinator Patrick Toney shared intentions to take the weight off the shoulders of whoever served in the role.
However, that wasn't the case, as inconsistency reigned as the theme for the position yet again.
Tre'Vez Johnson, a three-year contributor for the Gators with extensive experience as a nickel cornerback, primarily occupied the starting STAR responsibilities. Expected to make a significant jump due to his experience, Johnson was looking to showcase both the downhill run defending prowess and coverage skills that define a productive STAR.
That didn't happen as often as it should have, contributing to the overall ineptitude of the defense at points.
Jadarrius Perkins operated behind Johnson, accounting for 14 tackles and an interception in 2022, where he flashed as a coverage man against bigger receivers and tight ends and recorded his first career pick against Georgia. He was equally up and down despite his signs of promise, struggling to bring down the ball carrier in the open field, a needed practice for him to operate in the hybrid position of the defense effectively.
Kamar Wilcoxson stood as the lone viable backup option for most of the year but saw time sparingly. The two-man rotation — which included a noticeably heavier dose of Johnson than Perkins — remained intact for the greater portion of Napier and Co.'s first campaign.
Later in the season, Florida began experimenting with some young pieces, plugging true freshman Miguel Mitchell into the spot in heavy packages given his size. The Alabama native showed the capability of producing at the spot but started to align more as a backend safety in Toney's system when the year came to a close. However, his versatility offered Florida the flexibility it previously didn't have at STAR.
The unit, overall, was lackluster, continuing the painstaking trend in need of reconciliation to realize success in the future. The Gators understood that fact with their concerted efforts on the recruiting trail in the class of 2023.
Below All Gators have compiled the STAR stats from 2022.
Johnson: 26 tackles, two pass breakups, one interception, two fumble recoveries
Perkins: 14 tackles, one interception, one pass breakup
M. Mitchell: 15 tackles, one forced fumble
Wilcoxson: Two tackles
Looking forward
The unit is undergoing welcomed turnover from a season ago in the upcoming year.
Johnson is off to Missouri after three seasons with the Gators and Wilcoxson departed to Temple looking to resurrect a once-promising collegiate career. Their departure hurts in the short term but offers room for growth for the pieces of the future the room contains.
The expected starter at the spot is Perkins. The most experienced player in the mix, the Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College transfer has appeared in 22 games for Florida over two seasons.
He's accounted for 39 tackles, three for loss, one interception and three pass breakups in his career.
However, depending on his play, the Gators could look in a different direction as the year rolls on. A particular true freshman is presumably the best option to provide the steadiness STAR has yearned for the last half-decade.
After several years of inconsistency at the position, Florida did its best to recruit a specific talent for STAR during the 2023 recruiting cycle. Bartram Trail (Jacksonville, Fla.) defensive back product Sharif Denson fits that bill.
"When you go around the area and you visit different high schools, every coach talks about Sharif Denson and the competitor he is," Napier said on Dec. 21. "He's a matchup player. He can play corner. He can play STAR. He is a competitor.
"We had a chance to observe him in the seven-on-seven competition. I think [he's] very smart player that comes from a great culture there at Bartram Trail, he's going to bring a lot to our team. Mature and ready to go. So he is an early enrollee."
The position contains several other reserves that can also participate at safety; namely Mitchell to assume the STAR spot in heavy personnel as he did a year ago.
However, due to the relative lack of rotation here that other positions on the defense see, Perkins and Denson will garner the most time.
A potential dark horse candidate to make a move in the position group is rising redshirt sophomore, Dakota Mitchell.
As part of the 2021 recruiting cycle, Mitchell chose the Gators with the expectation that he would step into the STAR role after some early development. But, with the need to add considerable weight, Mitchell was buried beneath other talents at the spot, failing to see any in-game action in two years. He ranked as the No. 8 nickel in his class, according to Sports Illustrated All-American, with the ability to play safety as well.
That versatility is a calling card of successful nickel backs.
He'll continue to occupy a reserve role as of now, but he can climb the depth chart ladder with a strong showing in the spring and preseason practice sessions.
No matter how the spot shakes out in the short term, the future of the Gators STAR position presents a bright future. Toney will look to return it to its initial glory when Chauncey Gardner-Johnson occupied it in 2018.
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