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Florida Football: 3 storylines to follow in spring 2022

By Connor Muldowney

GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA - OCTOBER 09: Jason Marshall Jr. #3 of the Florida Gators looks on during the third quarter of a game against the Vanderbilt Commodores at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on October 09, 2021 in Gainesville, Florida. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)
GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA - OCTOBER 09: Jason Marshall Jr. #3 of the Florida Gators looks on during the third quarter of a game against the Vanderbilt Commodores at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on October 09, 2021 in Gainesville, Florida. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images) /
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BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA – OCTOBER 16: Jason Marshall Jr. #3 of the Florida Gators in action against the LSU Tigers during a game at Tiger Stadium on October 16, 2021 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)
BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA – OCTOBER 16: Jason Marshall Jr. #3 of the Florida Gators in action against the LSU Tigers during a game at Tiger Stadium on October 16, 2021 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images) /

2. Next great Florida defensive back?

Florida’s defense has been disappointing over the past couple of seasons under Todd Grantham and it was clear that he and Dan Mullen just didn’t see eye-to-eye — we saw a sideline interaction that was proof of that.

The pass defense did improve considerably from a nightmarish 2020 season (257 yards per game allowed) to 2021 (just over 200 yards per game). That was a bright spot, but that was to be expected. Florida had a ton of talent in the secondary and everyone who has followed college football knows that the Gators are known for churning out elite defensive backs.

So who’s next?

Florida just lost Kaiir Elam this offseason but they’re bringing back guys like Trey Dean III, Rashad Torrence, Jason Marshall Jr., and Avery Helm. They also bring in guys like Jalen Kimber, Kamari Wilson, and Devin Moore which will add depth to the secondary.

Any one of these guys could step up as the next star of the secondary and I’ll be interested to see if it’s a younger guy or one that’s been in the system for a while. My pick is Marshall Jr.

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