Florida Football 2024 Position Preview: Cornerbacks

The winds of change hit Florida’s secondary room hard over the offseason.

In addition to several departures via the transfer portal, the Gators parted ways with defensive backs coach Corey Raymond and hired Will Harris from the Chargers to take over the reins. Harris has received positive reviews, but his players haven’t taken the field for a real game yet.

First, we’ll take a look at the cornerbacks on the roster. These are the guys who line up on the outside, rather than the safeties who play more up the middle. There’s also the STAR position, which is what Florida calls its nickelback, but we’ll go over those hybrid defensive backs with the safeties.

Let’s take a look at every cornerback on Florida’s roster. Check out Gators Wire’s other position previews for the 2024 season below.

Starting Cornerback: No. 3 Jason Marshall Jr. (Sr.)

Defensive Stats:

Year	GP	SOLO	AST	TOT	TFL	SACKS	INT	PD
2021	13	15	8	23	2-7	0-0	1	4
2022	13	20	9	29	1-2	0-0	1	9
2023	12	20	6	26	3-19	1-9	0	10
Total	38	55	23	78	6-28	1-9	2	23

[autotag]Jason Marshall Jr[/autotag]. is a former five-star recruit who draft experts view as Florida’s best prospect in the coming cycle. He could have tried his luck in the NFL at the end of his junior season, but he decided to return to Florida to increase his draft stock.

As the unquestioned No. 1 of the unit, Marshall should be on the field for most plays. He took 651 snaps a year ago, and ended the 2023 season with a 68.6 overall defensive grade on Pro Football Focus. There are some questions about his tackling ability, but Marshall showed he has lockdown ability by allowing just 17 catches on 38 targets (44.7%).

“I think Jason has taken a step forward as a leader. I’m proud of him. I think he’s been more vocal. I think his practice habits have improved. I think Coach Harris has been good for Jason. I also joke with him all the time, it’s a contract year for him,”Billy Napier said. “He’s back. I think he came back for a reason – not only to leave a better legacy at UF, but to increase value at the same time.”

Starting Cornerback: No. 28 Devin Moore (Jr.)

Defensive Stats:

Year	GP	SOLO	AST	TOT	TFL	SACKS	INT	PD
2022	5	4	2	6	0-0	0-0	0	0
2023	7	5	1	6	0-0	0-0	1	4
Total	12	9	3	12	0-0	0-0	1	4

Devin Moore has shown flashes of greatness in both years he’s been with the Gators, but he can’t seem to stay healthy throughout the regular season. Ten pounds heavier coming into the 2024 season, Moore is hopeful to double his games played from 12 to 24 (or 25 with a bowl game).

Moore was Florida’s highest-graded cornerback in 2023. Pro Football Focus gave him a 78.3 overall defensive grade and an 81.7 coverage grade. His completion percentage allowed of 41.7% was even better than Marshall’s last year, albeit over 12 targets. Still, there’s some draft hope here if he can get stay healthy this season and put up similar numbers.

“During the offseason, I did everything I can to prehab you know just work on my body,” Moore said. “Make sure I’m in the best position to be healthy and stay healthy.”

Backups: No. 2 Ja’Keem Jackson (So.) and Dijon Johnson (So.)

Ja’Keem Jackson:

Year	GP	SOLO	AST	TOT	TFL	SACKS	INT	PD
2023	11	5	2	7	0-0	0-0	0	3

Dijon Johnson:

Year	GP	SOLO	AST	TOT	TFL	SACKS	INT	PD
2023	12	1	1	2	0-0	0-0	0	0

[autotag]Ja’Keem Jackson[/autotag] saw more snaps at cornerback (113) than [autotag]Dijon Johnson[/autotag] (22), but both are expected to move up the depth chart in Year 2 with the Florida Gators.

Jackson’s numbers aren’t too gaudy, but he showed promise as a pass rusher, which is unique for a defensive back. He allowed 6 catches on 11 targets a season ago, so there’s some work to be done in coverage.

There’s a lot of confidence that Jackson will take a big step forward with more time on the field. He’s a former track star who also played receiver, so there’s an understanding of both sides of the ball there.

Johnson didn’t see the field a ton last year, but he impressed in fall camp. It might take an injury for him to see 200-plus snaps this season, but the former four-star recruit should up his total from the 22 snaps he played a year ago.

Reserves: No. 25 Cormani McClain (So.)

At Colorado:

Year	GP	SOLO	AST	TOT	TFL	SACKS	INT	PD
2023	10	6	7	13	1-2	0-0	0	2

[autotag]Cormani McClain[/autotag] is finally a Gator, but it might take some time for him to fit into the rotation at cornerback in Gainesville. The former No. 1 overall recruit left Colorado after a season and joined Florida as a preferred walk-on.

It wouldn’t be shocking to see him get regular playing time this year, but McClain’s best moments are still likely 12 months or more away. Learning a new system is tricky, and Colorado’s coaching staff might have done more harm than good from a mental standpoint. You have to root for a story like this, but allow McClain a season to readjust.

Freshman: No. 4 Teddy Foster (Fr.) and Jameer Grimsley (Fr.)

Florida added two cornerbacks to the roster from the 2024 recruiting cycle. Teddy Foster and Jameer Grimsley are the new faces in the position room, although the latter is actually a transfer who left Alabama after learning Nick Saban was stepping down.

Grimsley is the more highly-touted prospect, but he might be held back a bit because of the transfer situation. Both he and Foster should serve in reserve roles, similar to what Jackson and Johnson did last year.

Walk-On: No. 37 Javion Toombs (R-So.)

Year	GP	SOLO	AST	TOT	TFL	SACKS	INT	PD
2023	7	1	0	1	0-0	0-0	0	0

We only have one walk-on cornerback to go over as the rest of the walk-ons in the defensive backs room profile as safeties. Javion Toombs joined the team in the summer of 2022 and redshirted after making no appearances.

He played in seven games a season ago, mostly in a special teams role, but he managed to record his first defensive tackle at the college level.

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