2022 Florida Football Season Preview: Cornerbacks
The penultimate group in Gators Wire’s preseason position-by-position breakdown of the 2022 Florida football roster is none other than the cornerbacks.
Gone is Kaiir Elam, the team’s lockdown and lead corner last season. The man who backed Elam up in 2021, sophomore Jason Marshall Jr., will replace him as the team’s No. 1 in the position room after proving himself worthy as a true freshman.
Behind him, things are less clear, but there’s a group of serviceable defensive backs that could use some playing time to reach their full potential. There’s also Jaydon Hill, who missed all of last year with a torn ACL. He’s out to start the season but should work his way back into the rotation over the course of the year. Before the injury, he was projected to compete for starting time opposite of Elam.
Here is a look at all seven cornerbacks on the 2022 Florida football fall roster.
See also:
2022 Florida Football Season Preview: Quarterbacks
2022 Florida Football Season Preview: Running Backs
2022 Florida Football Season Preview: Wide Receivers
2022 Florida Football Season Preview: Tight Ends
2022 Florida Football Season Preview: Offensive Line
2022 Florida Football Season Preview: Defensive Line
2022 Florida Football Season Preview: Outside Linebackers
2022 Florida Football Season Preview: Linebacker
Starter: No. 3 Jason Marshall Jr. (So.)
AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack
Stats:
Year | GP | SOLO | AST | TOT | TFL-YDS | SACKS-YDS | INT | PD | FF | FR |
2021 | 13 | 15 | 8 | 23 | 2-7 | 0-0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
Despite a down year for the defensive unit overall, the first season of Jason Marshall’s Florida career went exceptionally well. He filled in for Kaiir Elam while injured and never looked back. He started six games and appeared in all 13 for the Gators, totaling 23 tackles, four pass deflections and one interception.
He’ll be Billy Napier’s top cornerback all year and has impressed position coach Corey Raymond during the offseason. He dealt with some injury issues during camp but should be a full participant in the season opener.
Starter: No. 24 Avery Helm (R-So.)
UAA Communications/Isabella Marley
Stats:
Year | GP | SOLO | AST | TOT | TFL-YDS | SACKS-YDS | INT | PD | FF | FR |
2020 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2021 | 11 | 17 | 5 | 22 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
Total | 12 | 18 | 5 | 23 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
[autotag]Avery Helm[/autotag] will be opposite Marshall to start the year after starting nine games in 2021. This spot could change over the season as Helm found himself in an open battle for it during preseason camp. However, he took first-team reps most of the time, so it’s not too surprising to see him get the nod.
Helm has the most starting experience of anyone in the position group, including Marshall. He might not be the biggest name in the secondary, but Helm has steadily improved over the years and should be a decent piece for the Gators.
Backups: No. 8 Jalen Kimber (R-So.)
UAA Communications/Isabella Marley
Georgia transfer [autotag]Jalen Kimber[/autotag] and true freshman [autotag]Devin Moore[/autotag] are the second team listed on Florida’s depth chart to start the season.
Kimber redshirted after playing three games with Georgia in 2020 and then had his 2021 taken away from him due to shoulder surgery. He fell behind on the Bulldogs’ depth chart and decided to switch to Florida, where there was a need for cornerback depth. If Helm struggles, Kimber might be the guy to take over for him.
Backups: No. 28 Devin Moore (Fr.)
UAA Communications/Isabella Marley
Moore, who was rated a four-star safety by 247Sports out of high school, signed with Florida as a cornerback and quickly impressed after enrolling early during the spring. He should see a decent amount of playing time as a true freshman and is one of few who may forgo a redshirt year.
Reserves: No. 25 Ethan Pouncey (R-So.)
UAA Communications/Tiffany Franco
Rounding out the group are [autotag]Ethan Pouncey[/autotag], [autotag]Jordan Young[/autotag] and [autotag]Jaydon Hill[/autotag]. All are listed as third-stringers in the season-opening depth chart and should serve as reserves for most of the year, barring an injury. Pouncey is in his third year with the Gators. After redshirting during a 2020 season that he saw no playing time in, Pouncey played in 11 games last year for Florida.
Reserves: No. 11 Jordan Young (R-Fr.)
UAA Communications/Isabella Marley
Young impressed during the Orange and Blue Game in April and even saw some first-team reps during fall camp, but he’s starting the year at the bottom of the food chain. A redshirt sophomore, Young has plenty of time to develop and claim more playing time at Florida, and his snap should increase as the season goes on.
Reserves: Jaydon Hill (R-Jr.)
UAA Communications/Isabella Marley
Hill shouldn’t be at the bottom of this list, but we’re forced to put him here as he’s still on the road to recovery from an ACL injury suffered last August. He didn’t work out in fall camp and is listed as one of four injured players on the team to start the year. Hopefully, he can get some playing time, but things seem to be progressing slowly.
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