The Gators absolutely need to improve their defensive secondary before the 2021 college football season kicks off. For as experienced and athletic as their starters were last season, their on-field product was simply inexcusable. Defensive coordinator Todd Grantham was given another year to turn the ship around, and he’s not going to fail for a lack of trying.
One of the players the Gators brought in-house was Missouri transfer cornerback Jadarrius Perkins. The JUCO product was only with the Wildcats for a little while before and after their spring practice before hitting the transfer portal again. He landed with the Gators in late May, expected to compete for a role as one of the starting defensive backs.
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Fans of the program got a better idea of who Perkins is through a story written by G. Allan Taylor based on interviews with and about the newest addition to the team.
“I wanna press. I can play off, but I wanna press,” Perkins said to Taylor. “I’ve got faith in my ability that I won’t get beat.”
That bully attitude fits well with the kind of gritty, high-effort defense that Grantham wants to execute in his revamped defensive unit. It also meshes well with the man coverage ability of his fellow defensive backs Kaiir Elam and Jason Marshall Jr.
However, when the rubber meets the road, Perkins will be in direct competition for playing time with that duo. Despite eventually deciding he wasn’t a fit for the Tigers, he counts his time with Mizzou as valuable in preparing him for the Gators.
“All of the reps were valuable because you only get better by playing. It helped me get accustomed to the SEC and helped me know where I was against other SEC athletes with me coming from JUCO,” said Perkins.
The 2021 season will be one that presents Perkins with opposition tougher than he’s faced before and no guarantees about his role on the squad. His mentality and experience give him an edge, but with Grantham setting a high standard and facing the SEC for the first time, he’ll have to put up a good product on the field.
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