Two Who Need to Hit Ground Running for Florida Gators

The Florida Gators need two of their new hires to hit the ground running.

New Florida Gators secondary coach Will Harris will need to get his unit up to speed quickly. / Doug Engle/Gainesville Sun / USA TODAY NETWORK

Most of the time, the media and fans will pick players who need to prove themselves. Maybe it is a quarterback who struggled in previous years or a linebacker who hasn’t been able to stay healthy and on the field. 

However this time, the Florida Gators are going to need two of their newest coaches to step up and take the bull by the horns in Week 1 by making sure their guys are energized and prepared heading into a heated in-state matchup.

Those two are secondary coach Will Harris and defensive line coach Gerald Chatman.

This is due to how inconsistent and underperforming the defensive line and secondary units have been these past couple years. 

There was a ton of praise when Billy Napier hired Corey Raymond. He was considered one of the best secondary coaches in college football at that time, but that version of Raymond never came to fruition while with the Gators. 

Additionally, there were positive emotions surrounding the hire of former Gators defensive line coach Sean Spencer as well. Unfortunately for the Gators, he didn’t work out either.  

So, just how bad was the defense with these two on staff? It was pretty ugly. That’s not to say they were the only problems, but that their groups had larger parts in the defense's demise than others. 

There were rarely any positives to take away from the performances each week in 2023. In terms of passing defense, it was tied for last in the country in passes intercepted with just three last season. Moreover, it placed 70th in passing yards allowed per game and 108th in team passing efficiency defense. 

As for the defensive line, they weren't awful, but it sure could have been better. Florida’s rushing defense ranked 79th in the country with 155.6 rushing yards allowed per game. Also, it only totaled 22 sacks in 12 games, which was good (or bad) for 92nd in the country. 

All of these numbers are nowhere near good enough, especially not for a team such as the Florida Gators. 

If they are going to surprise the world, then it’s going to come down to the defense. More specifically, these two position groups. Both of them have as much talent as almost any school in the country and should perform as such. 

However, talent can only take a player so far. At some point, the coaching will need to be up to par to help maximize these talents and put them in positions to succeed.

And Will Harris and Gerald Chatman are the leading figures for their units.