Avery Helm – Syndication Server

Florida cornerback Avery Helm headed to transfer portal, per reports

Florida is losing defensive back Avery Helm to the transfer portal. The former four-star talent out of high school signed with the Gators in 2020.

Florida cornerback [autotag]Avery Helm[/autotag] is expected to enter the NCAA transfer portal on Dec. 5, according to a report from Donovan Keiser of Gators Online. Helm took to Twitter to confirm the announcement soon after the news broke.

A class of 2020 signee, Helm broke out in the 2021 season as a redshirt freshman appearing in 11 games for Florida, including nine starts as a defensive back. He finished that year with three pass breakups and 22 tackles, five of which came in the Vanderbilt game.

Helm began 2022 as a starter for the Gators under Billy Napier but saw his role on the team reduced significantly after [autotag]Jaydon Hill[/autotag] returned from injury. Moved to the second team in Week 5, Helm’s snap count fell from around 45 per game to just 15 during Week 11. He did not play in the final two weeks of the season for Florida.

pic.twitter.com/ZqDFiRXpl6

— Avery Helm 🏝 (@FMB_Helm) November 28, 2022

A ton of attrition is expected from this team, and Helm is the first domino to fall following the conclusion of the regular season. As things stand, Florida should be alright with the current and incoming crop of defensive backs it has, but Helm was a strong depth piece that clearly wasn’t getting enough playing time to stay in Gainesville.

[autotag]Jason Marshall Jr[/autotag]. and [autotag]Jaydon Hill[/autotag] still have eligibility to return as starters for next year, and true freshman [autotag]Devin Moore[/autotag] impressed before having his season cut short by injury.

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Florida loses true freshman CB Devin Moore for season after surgery

True freshman cornerback Devin Moore impressed through the first five weeks of the season, but surgery on a lingering shoulder injury has him out for the rest of the year.

Florida true freshman cornerback [autotag]Devin Moore[/autotag] underwent surgery on his shoulder surgery on Wednesday and will miss the remainder of the season, according to head coach Billy Napier‘s comments on Wednesday night.

“Devin is, I think we listed him as out,” Napier said. “Devin had a shoulder, and truth be known, this was an injury that he had when he arrived. It was uncovered during the first few weeks of the season. He showed great toughness. He played with it for a little while and it just got to a point where he’s not able to participate, so Devin had surgery today and certainly will be out.

“We’re hopeful we’ll have him back for offseason program and spring practice.”

Moore took to Twitter during the day to confirm a successful surgery, and Napier followed up with the timeline when talking with the media later that day.

Surgery Went Great! 🙏🏽

— Devin Moore (@realdevinmoore3) November 2, 2022

Moore played in 167 snaps through the first five games of the season, according to Pro Football Focus. He mainly lined up out wide but spent some time covering the slot and at safety. Although he was a productive player during those five games, passing the four-game limit means Moore won’t be able to take a redshirt.

[autotag]Jason Marshall Jr[/autotag]. and [autotag]Jaydon Hill[/autotag] will still be at the top of the depth chart among cornerbacks on the team, but Moore’s season-ending surgery opens the door for some rotational pieces to get more playing time. [autotag]Avery Helm[/autotag], who started the season as a starter, and Georgia transfer [autotag]Jalen Kimber[/autotag] should be the primary benefactors.

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Florida will be without this defensive back against Missouri

The Gators will be without one of its young and promising defensive backs this week, according to multiple reports.

The Florida Gators won’t have true freshman cornerback [autotag]Devin Moore[/autotag] on Saturday when they take on the Missouri Tigers, according to 247Sports among others.

Moore was not dressed for the game and did not participate in the early warmups this week despite being listed as healthy on the weekly depth chart. Fortunately, the return of [autotag]Jaydon Hill[/autotag] to the rotation gives Florida a bit more depth at cornerback to work with, and Moore was listed fourth behind [autotag]Jason Marshall Jr[/autotag]., Hill and [autotag]Avery Helm[/autotag]. The Gators should be able to survive without him, but Moore has done well as a first-year player that was thrown into the fire of an SEC schedule almost immediately.

He played 35 snaps a week ago against Eastern Washington, which ranked sixth on the team but finished with just one tackle and no other stats. He’s looked like one of the young players Billy Napier is high on, but missing multiple weeks could hurt his development. Napier should provide an update after the game if it’s appropriate to do so.

This will be the second-straight week Florida is without a member of its defensive back rotation. Safety [autotag]Trey Dean[/autotag] missed last week’s game and returned to action after a week. Hopefully, Moore is only out for this week and can play against LSU.

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Florida getting a big piece of the secondary back against EWU

Florida cornerback Jaydon Hill hasn’t played in a game since 2020, but he’s finally ready to return and is getting the start for the Gators against Eastern Washington.

It’s been over a year since [autotag]Jaydon Hill[/autotag] has played in an actual football game, but that should change on Saturday when the Florida Gators take on the Eastern Washington Eagles.

Hill missed all of 2021 after tearing his ACL in preseason camp. After practicing with the team in a non-contact capacity during spring, Hill was shut down for most of all preseason camp. He hasn’t played through the Gators’ first four games of the 2022 season either, and now Gators fans know why.

According to Gators Online, Billy Napier confirmed that Hill suffered a setback over the summer, which explains his delayed return to the team. The wait will be worth it, though. Hill is listed as a starting cornerback for Saturday’s contest, moving [autotag]Avery Helm[/autotag] to the second team. Napier’s been impressed with Hill, and EWU is a good opponent to test how game ready he is.

“I think Jaydon has been very much a work in progress as he’s kind of made his return to play,” Napier said speaking to the media Wednesday night. “He’s done everything that he’s been asked to do. He’s worked extremely hard. And, you know, I think Jaydon is a guy I’ve got a ton of respect for.

“You talk about what he’s been through from an injury perspective. He had a knee in high school, had a knee here, had kind of a minor knee issue in the summertime, and then he’s been on that path to recovery.”

Napier’s hopeful that Hill can pick up right where he left off. Before getting hurt, Hill was slated to be the No. 2 cornerback on the team behind [autotag]Kaiir Elam[/autotag]. Now [autotag]Jason Marshall Jr[/autotag]. is in front of him, but it’s still the same spot. It’s rare to go through a major injury and setback and get your spot back, but that speaks to the work Hill has put in.

“Jaydon was one of the better players that we had on our team in spring practice in my opinion,” Napier said. “I was very impressed with him as a player. It’s no surprise to me, you know. He showed pretty quickly here that he’s very capable. So, I’m excited to watch him play. I’m excited how he can impact our team.”

If Napier is excited to watch him play, then the fans should be too. Shuffling up the defense after a poor performance is good, and Hill’s return could help right the ship.

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2022 Florida Football Season Preview: Cornerbacks

Kaiir Elam is off to the NFL, but the Gators still have plenty of talent at cornerback. Here’s who Florida will be using in the secondary for 2022.

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 [autotag]Kaiir Elam[/autotag], the team’s lockdown and lead corner last season. The man who backed Elam up in 2021, sophomore [autotag]Jason Marshall Jr[/autotag]., 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 [autotag]Jaydon Hill[/autotag], 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.

Report: Florida CB Jason Marshall dealing with minor injury

It’s better to be safe than sorry. CB Jason Marshall Jr. will be wearing the non-contact jersey for a bit.

The injury bug has bitten the Florida Gators a few times during the first few weeks of fall practices, but the latest player to put on the non-contact jersey shouldn’t be limited for too long.

All Gators’ Zach Goodall is reporting that cornerback [autotag]Jason Marshall Jr[/autotag]. is dealing with a minor hamstring injury and that he’s expected to take things easy for the rest of fall camp as a precautionary measure. Goodall added that the expectation is for Marshall to be back in time for the Sept. 3 season opener against Utah.

The sophomore cornerback is the presumed No. 1 cornerback for UF this season following the departure of [autotag]Kaiir Elam[/autotag]. Marshall started six games as a freshman and appeared in all 13 games for the Gators. He finished the season with 23 total tackles, four pass deflections, two tackles for loss and an interception.

Behind him are Georgia transfer [autotag]Jalen Kimber[/autotag], sophomore [autotag]Avery Helm[/autotag] and freshman [autotag]Devin Moore[/autotag]. [autotag]Jaydon Hill[/autotag] should be back at some point, but he hasn’t practiced with the team yet this fall and is dealing with an injury still. It’s unknown if that injury is related to the ACL repair that kept him out all of last year.

With all of that in mind, prioritizing Marshall’s health makes a lot of sense for first-year coach Billy Napier and his staff. They’ll need him to take down the Utes and he can’t do that properly if he has a sore hammy.

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Avery Helm surging into a starting role in his second year

It was a bit surprising when Helm was named the starter opposite Kaiir Elam, but he has held the job down through the first three weeks of the season.

Name: Avery Helm

Number: 24

Position: Cornerback

Class: Redshirt Freshman

Height: 6’1″

Weight: 180 lbs

Hometown: Missouri City, Texas

High School: Fort Bend Marshall

Twitter: @FMB_Helm

2020 statistics:

TOT	SOLO	SACK	FF	INT	PD
1	1	0	0	0	0

Overview:

A four-star recruit in the 2020 recruiting class from Fort Bend Marshall High School in Missouri City, Texas, Helm was expected to be a bit of a project player. He was only the No. 24 corner in the nation coming out of high school, and he was the third-highest rated defensive back Florida signed in the class.

He didn’t see much action as a true freshman in 2020, appearing in just one game, Florida’s loss to Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl. With a number of starters sitting out, UF gave a lot of opportunities to younger players like Helm in that game, and he earned a tackle.

Helm entered the 2021 season expected to be a rotational player in the secondary, but those plans changed when projected starter Jaydon Hill was lost for the season with a knee injury in camp. Helm won the starting job opposite Kaiir Elam over true freshman Jason Marshall, and though he’s had to deal with some learning curves as a redshirt freshman, he does have five tackles and a pass deflection through three games.

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Here are five Florida redshirt freshmen to watch in 2021

GatorCountry made a list of five Gators redshirt freshmen to look out for in 2021. Here’s our take on each one.

It’s difficult for true freshmen to enter a Power Five program like Florida and make an immediate impact. Many of these players need a year to adjust to the sheer talent difference between high school and college football. After that redshirt season, many of these former recruits grab a spot in the rotation or find themselves as a starter.

However, for Florida players, it’s not uncommon for these players to still barely see significant snaps. Coach Dan Mullen and his coaching staff have a tendency to value seniority and experience more than other programs across the college football landscape.

Ethan Hughes of GatorCountry made a list of five Gators redshirt freshmen to look out for in 2021. Here’s Gators Wire’s take on each one.

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2020 Gators Football Recruiting Profile: Avery Helm

This is a prospect player profile for cornerback Avery Helm of the Florida Gators football recruiting class of 2020.

Name: Avery Helm

Position: Cornerback

Height: 6’2″

Weight: 170 lbs

Hometown: Missouri City, Tex.

High School: Fort Bend Marshall High School

Twitter: @FMB_Helm

247Sports Composite: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rivals.com: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Overview:

Helm is a four-star recruit and the No. 24 cornerback in the 2020 recruiting class. He initially committed to the Gators in April 2019 and held firm on his pledge through his senior year, signing with coach Dan Mullen and Florida in December. He enrolled on campus in June.

The Missouri City, Tex., prospect also had offers from SEC foes Alabama, Auburn, LSU and Georgia.

He is a lengthy outside corner whose 6-foot-2 frame contributes to solid ball skills. His game relies heavily on physical man coverage, and though he has strong cover skills, he can also make open-field tackles and was a major contributor in run stopping at Fort Bend Marshall High School.

Helm is the third-highest ranked corner in UF’s loaded 2020 class, but he’s the tallest in the class, and with the team’s youth in the secondary, he could find the field as a true freshman this season.

Video:

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